Lao Liu turned around and walked into the thatched hut, took out an iron bar from it and handed it to Liu Xiu. This was a prototype of a sword. It had not yet been equipped with the hilt, tandem, sword grid and sword jaw. It looked like
A black, gray iron bar.
Liu Xiu took the sword and weighed it. It was not light. He touched the blade again and found that it was quite sharp.
He looked around and saw a lot of firewood piled in the corner of the yard. He stepped forward and picked out a thicker one. With a wave of his hand, he heard a click in his ear and the branch as thick as his wrist broke.
.
Upon seeing this, everyone present showed a look of surprise and secretly said "Good Sword".
Liu Xiu looked at the half-finished sword in his hand with a smile on his face. He turned around and walked back to Lao Liu and said, "In Lao Liu's eyes, this sword is only barely usable?"
Such a sword no longer needs to be forged, polished, or added with hilts, sword frames and other bits and pieces before it can be sold on the market.
Lao Liu took the iron sword back and said seriously: "Everyone has a different understanding of swords. To me, this kind of sword is somewhere between a semi-finished product and a failed product."
As he spoke, he threw the shuriken back into the thatched hut as if throwing away rubbish. There was a clanging sound, and when people took a closer look, it turned out that there were many such iron bars piled on the ground.
Liu Xiu was silent for a moment and asked: "Lao Liu, if you are not allowed to make swords and only make spearheads, how long will it take to make 500 swords?"
Lao Liu thought about it for a moment and said, "If there are enough manpower, a month will be enough."
"So, what if I want five thousand?" As soon as he said this, Deng Chen was frightened. Five thousand? Even if he spent all his wealth, he would not be able to recruit as many people as five thousand.
Lao Liu's eyes flashed and he asked seriously: "I would like to ask, what is Mr. Liu's intention in making so many weapons?"
Liu Xiu smiled and asked: "Lao Liu, what do you think the use of such a large number of privately made weapons will be?"
Since ancient times, there has been no alternative to large-scale private manufacturing of weapons other than rebellion.
After all, if you are caught, you will definitely die. For someone who is willing to risk his head to do this, his goal can only be rebellion.
Lao Liu and Liu Xiu looked at each other for a moment, then turned to Deng Chen and asked suspiciously: "Master Deng?"
Deng Chen said sternly: "The tyranny of reckless thieves and perverse actions have made the people miserable, the sky is angry and people are resentful, and now the world is in chaos and Kyushu is on fire. I, Deng Chen, am willing to assist the Liu brothers and do something great. Lao Liu, are you willing to help me?"
The sixth child was stunned for a moment, then he took two steps back, bowed respectfully to Liu Xiu and Deng Chen, and said, "Zhang Tong is willing to work hard for Mr. Liu and Mr. Deng!"
It was also the first time that Deng Chen learned that Lao Liu's real name was Zhang Tong.
Deng Chen was somewhat surprised that Lao Liu could agree to him so simply.
In Deng Chen's heart, although Lao Liu is a trustworthy person and he can be told about rebellion, it is not certain whether he is willing to join his side and help his side.
He couldn't help but ask: "Lao Liu, do you know what we are going to do?"
"I see."
"Not afraid of death?"
"Zhang Tong is the one who deserves to die."
Lao Liu's real name is indeed Zhang Tong. He is originally from Yuzhou. He has learned sword-making from his father since he was a child. When he grew up, his sword-making skills were extremely high and he was also very famous in Yuzhou. People came to pay tribute to him.
There is an endless stream of people seeking swords.
However, Zhang Tong has a weird temper. If someone he likes comes to ask for a sword, even if the person can only offer a few hundred or dozens of dollars, he will make a sword for him.
Even if you come to him with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, he will just shut up and disappear.
This kind of character of his laid the foundation for his trouble. Once, the son of a state official came to ask him to make a sword. When Zhang Tong saw him, he refused immediately. Even though the other party had offered him 100,000 yuan, he still refused.
Unmoved.
Zhang Tong's attitude finally angered the other party.
Not long after the incident, the official's son took more than a dozen subordinates and bloodbathed the Zhang family at night. Zhang Tong's entire family was killed, including his wife and three-year-old child, leaving only Zhang Tong.
Live mouth.
Afterwards, the official son wiped the sword stained with the blood of his relatives in front of Zhang Tong and said word by word: "Killing you is like squeezing an ant to death. It doesn't show my strength.
If I don’t kill you and let you live in pain, then the difference between you and me will be highlighted.”
Sure enough, Zhang Tong went to the local government to report to the official, but the local county magistrate did not dare to interfere with the subject of his complaint. Zhang Tong went to the county government to report to the official again, but the result was the same, and the county magistrate did not dare to interfere with the matter.
Finally, he sued the state capital, but still to no avail. Instead, he only attracted more abuse and humiliation.
Zhang Tong, who had no way to sue, also thought about committing suicide and settling the matter, but he was unwilling to accept that his whole family was innocently killed, and he was unwilling to accept that the murderer lived freely and freely.
Later, he left Yuzhou and went to Nanyang Xinye in Jingzhou, where he worked as an ordinary blacksmith.
If he hadn't met Deng Chen and been supported by Deng Chen over the years, Zhang Tong would not be able to live with his increasingly weird temper. It is not an exaggeration to say that Deng Chen was his savior.
Zhang Tong suffered deeply from the Xinmang regime and naturally hated it deeply. Now that he heard that Deng Chen was going to rebel with the Liu brothers, he immediately decided to follow them without even thinking about it.
To him, he has long been a damned person and should go to the underworld to reunite with his family. The reason why he is still alive is entirely supported by the power of hatred. Now that he finally has the opportunity to take revenge, how can he miss it?
?
After listening to Zhang Tong's story, everyone present sighed and their hearts were full of resentment. Zhu You gritted his teeth and said: "If this kind of court can last for a long time, it is simply that God has no eyes and no way of heaven!"
Deng Chen patted Lao Liu on the shoulder and comforted him, then turned to Liu Xiu and asked: "Axiu, do we really want to build five thousand spearheads?"
Liu Xiu nodded.
"Isn't that too much?" Deng Chen murmured in his heart. It was impossible for them to organize 5,000 people in Xinye.
Liu Xiu saw Deng Chen's concerns and said seriously: "Brother's side also needs weapons."
Deng Chen showed a look of realization, that's it! He finally understood Liu Xiu's intention, and secretly thought that A Xiu had thought it through!
Although Liu Yan recruited many people in Chongling, there were no blacksmiths in Chongling, so it was very difficult to obtain a large number of weapons.
Take for example when they went to join the rebels, many of them had no weapons and only had sticks, hoes, sickles and other items.
Deng Chen said to Lao Liu: "Lao Liu, it seems that we really need so many weapons!"
Lao Liu smiled and said: "If we had placed the blacksmith in the city, we would not have been able to make so many weapons, but here, there is no problem."
To produce 5,000 spearheads in a short period of time, we need to work day and night. If we were in the city, it would be impossible for such a big movement to go unnoticed.
But here, on the edge of the Baihe River, there are few people around. Even if they make a big noise, they will not alert the government.
After hearing what he said, Deng Chen also laughed, and an idea flashed in his mind, and he asked: "Speaking of Lao Liu, you have always insisted on placing the blacksmith shop in such a sparsely populated place. Have you been waiting for this day for a long time?"
Lao Liu raised his head and smiled, but did not answer. After a while, he said to Liu Xiu: "Master, please wait here. Lao Liu has a meeting gift to give to my lord!" As he spoke, Lao Liu did not wait for Liu Xiu to answer.
Then he hurriedly ran into his room.
Liu Xiu and Deng Chen looked at each other, shook their heads and sighed: "I didn't expect that Lao Liu would have such a miserable life experience."
Deng Chen smiled bitterly and said: "I have known Lao Liu for so many years, and this is the first time I have heard him mention his past. It is not easy to grit one's teeth and persevere after such a big blow!"
While they were talking, Lao Liu came back quickly carrying an exquisite mahogany box. When he got close to everyone, he opened the box, which contained several strange-looking gadgets.
Everyone gathered around and looked down, but they didn't understand what was in the box. Lao Liu took out a pair and put it on his wrist skillfully. Before everyone could understand, he suddenly raised his hand,
Aiming at the wooden pillar on the side, he pressed the thing on his wrist with his other hand, and heard a snap. A thin and short crossbow arrow suddenly shot out. It was nailed to the wooden pillar with a clanging sound.
There was a muffled sound.
At least half of this crossbow arrow had not penetrated into the wooden pillar, and only half of the arrow body was exposed.
Seeing Liu Xiu, Deng Chen and others all looking dumbfounded, Lao Liu explained proudly: "During these years in Xinye, I have not been idle either. I have been studying machine skills. This is who I am.
The sleeve arrows made. This set of sleeve arrows is easy to hide and easy to launch, especially at close range. The effect is excellent. Within ten steps, the force can penetrate the bones!"
As he spoke, he took off the sleeve arrows worn on his wrists and handed them to everyone for circulation.
Liu Xiu, Deng Chen and others were all amazed at the sight. They had never seen such a clever sleeve arrow before.
In fact, the principle of this set of sleeve arrows is very simple, similar to that of crossbow arrows. Fortunately, it is made extremely small and delicate.
The entire crossbow box is less than half the size of a palm and is fixed on a belt. On weekdays, you can wear the belt on your wrist and block it with your sleeve, so outsiders cannot see it at all.
Zhu You walked up to the wooden pillar and used a lot of strength to pull out the crossbow bolt nailed to it. He grinned secretly. The sixth man said that this thing's strength can penetrate the bones within ten steps.' It was not an exaggeration at all.
The Tao is indeed astonishingly great.
After Liu Xiu finished reading, he handed the sleeve arrows to Deng Yu and others. He looked at Lao Liu and asked curiously: "Lao Liu, how many sets of sleeve arrows have you made?"
Lao Liu smiled bitterly, patted the wooden box, and said: "My subordinates made a total of five pairs. Four of them were not very successful. Only this one is the most stable and has never had any problems."
After a pause, he said seriously: "I am willing to dedicate this set of sleeve arrows to my lord!"
When Liu Xiu heard this, he immediately stood up, bowed deeply to Lao Liu, and said, "I am too embarrassed to deserve such a generous gift!"
In Liu Xiu's eyes, this set of sleeve arrows is a priceless treasure. In times of crisis, it can be a life-saving weapon.
While Lao Liu bowed in return, he frowned and said, "If the lord doesn't accept it, then he is looking down on me, Zhang Tong!"
