33. The road to standard weapons has come to an end.
"Old Zhou, they really made it!"
Xiao Zongshui, Li Hongyuan and other forging apprentices under the chief gave a cheer. Sun Pingping glanced at Zhou Shu, who was still swinging the hammer, and couldn't help shouting.
Zhou Shu seemed to have not heard his voice, his expression was calm and calm, and his beating rhythm was not messy at all.
"Ding-ding-dang--"
The crisp knocking sound echoed in the courtyard.
The weapon-making apprentices all looked at Zhou Shu with pity on their faces.
We are all cheating, how do you win?
"Crunch——"
The courtyard door opened, and Xiao Zongshui, Li Hongyuan and other workshop owners filed in.
As soon as they entered the door, they all glanced in the direction of the weapon-forging apprentices. After seeing the successfully forged weapons in the hands of the weapon-forging apprentices, everyone's mouth corners slightly raised.
Seeing that Zhou Shu was still hammering, they laughed even more happily.
"The time has come. It seems that Master Zhou hasn't cast it yet. This competition——"
"What nonsense! Zhu Chuanfeng hasn't come yet, are you the referee?"
Sun Pingping interrupted him angrily.
Xiao Zongshui's expression froze, and he swallowed what he said, his face flushed from holding it back.
If he hadn't been afraid of Sun Ping Ping's identity, he would have really wanted to greet Sun Ping Ping's eighteenth generation of ancestors!
"Master Zhu will be here soon, so what if we wait a little longer?"
Li Hongyuan sneered and said, "The result has been obvious for a long time."
All the workshop leaders laughed.
They are already thinking about how to distribute the benefits after getting the First Sword of the Hundred Refining Ring.
The number of cavalry in the Great Xia National Guard Army exceeds 10,000. Counting losses, the number of Hundred Refined Ring-headed Swords required every year is no less than 10,000.
The cost of the Bailian Huanshou Sword is higher than that of the Huben Sword. After a year, each of them can get at least a few thousand taels of silver.
All the principals were very happy, and a few of them were even considering whether to rent an extra room?
Sun Ping Ping was about to explode with anger. What the hell, these guys thought they were sure to win?
"Go back and put a sack on him and give him a good beating!"
Sun Pingping said secretly in his heart.
"Ding Dong——"
Zhou Shu dropped the hammer, then swung it gracefully, and the hammer fell to the ground. Then he flicked his wrist. Before anyone could see clearly, he had already pierced the weapon in his hand into the cold oil that had been prepared.
"Stab-"
There was a harsh sound, accompanied by the scent of hot oil...
Xiao Zongshui, Li Hongyuan and others looked at each other. For some reason, they had a vague feeling of something bad in their hearts.
Is it possible that this boy Zhou Shu really forged a new standard weapon?
How is this possible?
Master Zhu Chuanfeng has said that the development of standard weapons is almost perfect. Even they can only add to it at most.
Unless more precious materials are used, standard weapons are just like that.
Even if the boy surnamed Zhou has some talent, he is already lucky to be able to develop the Huben Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword. It is impossible to forge better standard weapons.
As for the secret weapon-making recipe they spent a lot of money to find this time, although the weapon is not as powerful as the Huben Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword, it is still stronger than the ordinary standard long sword.
Unless Zhou Shu forges a new weapon that is not weaker than the Huben Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword, there is no way he can win!
"Don't worry, the upper limit of standard weapons made of ordinary iron materials is there, Zhou Shu can't win us!"
Xiao Zongshui whispered.
"Master Zhu is here!"
Just as Li Hongyuan and others nodded, they heard shouting outside the door.
The ten days have come, and Zhu Chuanfeng also came on time.
"The time has come. Is the casting completed? Bring the things up."
After Zhu Chuanfeng sat down, he said coldly.
"Haha——"
Before he finished speaking, a laugh suddenly sounded.
Along with laughter, I saw a man dressed as a general walking in from the door.
"I was passing by the Weapon Forging Department and happened to hear that there was a Weapon Forging Competition here. Master Zhu, wouldn't you mind if I came to watch the fun?"
As soon as the general entered the door, he smiled and said.
Zhou Shu raised his head and took a look at the general.
The general looked to be quite old, at least in his fifties. His temples were gray and there were deep traces of time on his forehead.
He has an ordinary appearance, but his eyes are extremely bright, with deep and far-reaching pupils, full of a sense of vicissitudes of life.
Just this temperament made Zhou Shu feel that this person was quite extraordinary.
But the strange thing is that he feels that this general is not a powerful warrior, but more like an ordinary person.
Although Daxia also has a national defense army composed of ordinary people, this ordinary means that they are not high-level warriors, not that they are really ordinary people.
In fact, the soldiers of the National Defense Army also practice martial arts, but their qualifications are limited, and they have not become high-level warriors.
Compared with ordinary people, they are still much stronger, such as Xiao Zongshui, Li Hongyuan and others, as well as Cheng Wanli, the commander of the Huben Army before the breakthrough.
Although they are not top-grade warriors, their skills are definitely not weak.
But there is no trace of martial arts cultivation in the general in front of him.
Just as Zhou Shu was thinking about it, Zhu Chuanfeng had already stood up and bowed his hands respectfully.
"I didn't expect the general to be here. Zhu is rude."
Zhu Chuanfeng's tone was very polite, with a hint of awe.
Xiao Zongshui and others also stood up without saying a word, not even daring to breathe.
Even Sun Pingping, who has never been serious, stood there honestly and rarely interrupted.
Zhou Shu was a little surprised. It seemed that this old general had an unusual identity.
"The general is so elegant, Zhu naturally has no objection. General, please take a seat."
Zhu Chuanfeng said.
The old general smiled and looked at Zhou Shu.
"Is this the person who developed the Hundred Refining Ring First Sword, Zhou Shu, Chief Zhou? He is indeed young and promising."
Zhou Shu didn't expect that he would talk to him, and said with some surprise, "Old General, I'm grateful."
The old general's words made Xiao Zongshui and others look at each other, and their hearts trembled at the same time.
Who can tell us what is going on?
Why did General Meng come? He also said that Zhou Shu was young and promising. If we beat him later, wouldn’t it be a slap in General Meng’s face?
All the principals felt a little bitter. First it was Da Sikong, and now it was General Meng. Are these big shots idle with nothing to do?
Why do you pay attention to such a trivial matter?
Normally, even the owner of the workshop would not be qualified to see them.
"Originally, Her Royal Highness the Princess invited me to come to the Forging Department to take a look at the Hundred-Refined Ring-Shou Sword. However, Her Royal Highness was ordered to go on an errand, and I was also busy with mundane affairs. I didn't have time to come here until today."
"But it's a coincidence that we caught up with such a wonderful thing."
"It has been years since the Weapons Forging Department has produced a new standard weapon. Master Zhou is doing a great job. The Tiger Bend Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword are both very good. I heard that you are competing this time to see who can forge a new standard weapon.
If we can produce another good soldier, it will be a great blessing for our Daxia army."
Meng Bai said with a smile, sounding like he was explaining to everyone why he came.
However, his words also showed that he had a very clear understanding of the competition between Zhou Shu and others.
"It was just a small fight between the forging apprentices, but I didn't expect it to alarm General Meng." Zhu Chuanfeng smiled and said.
"The standard weapons of our Daxia are almost perfect. It is impossible to forge better standard weapons from ordinary iron materials. Zhou Shu can forge the Tiger Ben Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword. He is indeed somewhat talented. However,
I want to achieve greater success——"
Zhu Chuanfeng shook his head and said, "General, it's better not to have any expectations for standard weapons. The right way is to forge weapons together with first-class weapons. No matter how well the standard weapons are cast, compared with the first-class weapons, they are nothing more than copper and iron.
That’s all.”
"Master Zhu is an expert in forging weapons." Meng Bai's smile remained unchanged and he said, "High-quality weapons are naturally the most important weapons of the country, but standard weapons are also the cornerstone of the country.
I think the Huben Sword and the Bailian Huanshou Sword are very good, especially the Bailian Huanshou Sword. If the sons of the National Protector Army Cavalry can equip them, the strength of our Daxia Cavalry Army can be increased by another 10%.
Next."
Sun Pingping banged Zhou Shu with his shoulder. With a look of joy on his face, he said to Zhou Shu with his eyes, "Did you hear that?" As soon as General Meng said this, it will be okay even if you lose this competition. No one dares to question your merits.
!
Zhou Shu answered with his eyes, will I lose?
"What the general said makes sense. What Zhu means is that the general should not have any expectations for this competition." Zhu Chuanfeng said, "Some young people have a sudden inspiration and achieve some negligible results in the process of forging soldiers. This is normal.
Yes, but it’s hard to say whether he can become a weapon maker."
"Which armorer is not an amazing and talented person?"
Meng Bai smiled, noncommittal.
"Let's see if these young men can add a little more sparkle to Daxia's arsenal?"
Zhu Chuanfeng nodded, "Bring up all the weapons you forged."
Upon hearing this, the weapon-making apprentices tremblingly presented the weapons they had forged in front of Meng Bai and Zhu Chuanfeng.
To them, the master of the workshop was already a very important figure. How could they have imagined that they could stand in front of the great general and the great craftsman?
Seeing the weapons handed over by the weapon-making apprentices, the white brows wrinkled slightly.
Although his movement was slight, Xiao Zongshui and others who had been paying attention to him still noticed it, and their hearts suddenly picked up.
"General, Chief Zhou is a genius with a well-known reputation. Naturally, we, the apprentices of soldiers, cannot compare with him, so you guys-"
Meng Bai waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to say more.
More than a dozen weapon-making apprentices finally handed over two identical weapons. You don't need to ask to know that they worked together to forge them.
"In just ten days, a new standard weapon can be improved. The Weapons Forging Department is really full of talents."
Meng Bai said with a half-smile, and it was clear at a glance that the weapon they forged was not a brand new weapon, but an improvement on the original standard weapon.
This is a kind of trick. If it is a new standard weapon, it would not be a bad idea.
"Master Zhou, where's yours?"
Meng Bai looked at Zhou Shu, with some expectation in his eyes, and said.