Chapter 888 Go to the 'Blacksmith Village'! Start the 'Zhurong Furnace'! 【4100】
Although she did not use complicated words, her emotions and determination were clearly felt by Tokugawa Iemo.
Looking at the beauty in his arms, Tokugawa Iemo was slightly surprised at first, and then smiled calmly.
He didn't say much, just hugged each other tightly silently.
"Actually, another major reason why I set up this ambitious goal is that I am forced by reality."
"In recent years, I have increasingly felt that the corruption and weakness of the shogunate is inevitable."
"Now, no matter what strategy is adopted, it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, delaying the complete destruction of the shogunate by a few days."
"Since the building is about to collapse, it is better to prepare early and entrust the people of the world to trustworthy people as soon as possible."
"I also had high hopes for the Tokugawa clan."
"Unless I give birth to an heir, my successor will definitely be a happy man."
"Hitabashi Keiki has great ambition but little talent. He comes up with ideas one after another. He has neither the indomitable will nor the will to endure hardships."
"Allowing him to take charge of the shogunate will only accelerate the demise of the Edo shogunate."
"As for the other general candidates besides Hitotsubashi Keiki, they are all weak people who cannot be reused."
"So, after searching around, the only person who fits the image of a 'saint king' in my mind is Mr. Tachibana."
"Therefore, my favor for Mr. Tachibana is largely due to my disappointment in the Tokugawa clan."
Wagongong said in a teasing tone:
"Your Highness, if others hear your ambition, they will probably think there is something wrong with your brain."
Tokugawa Iemo smiled and said half seriously, half jokingly:
"Let them talk. I don't have anything else, but I still have the courage to withstand ridicule, and there is a lot of it."
"...Your Highness, can I ask you another question?"
"Well, tell me."
"Why do you trust General Tachibana so much?"
He Gong suddenly asked a sharp question.
"It is true that General Tachibana is the best among men."
"But... Zhou Gong was afraid of the day of rumors, but Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time."
As a princess of the imperial court, He Gong has extremely high cultural accomplishments - after all, they have nothing else to do except reading books and reciting poems.
She has all the Sinological allusions at her fingertips.
"Your Highness, how are you sure that General Tachibana is the Holy Master who can make the people happy?"
"Just because he can govern Qinjin Fan well does not mean that he can govern the entire world well."
"What's more... Your Highness, please forgive me, I feel that even if I entrust the world to General Tachibana, he will not be able to bring about earth-shaking changes in this world."
"At most, it will just create another shogunate, changing from 'Tokugawa Tenka' to 'Tachibana Tenka'."
"Perhaps...it will end up being another 'prosperity, the people suffer; death, the people suffer'...Huh? Your Highness, why do you look at me like this?"
Tokugawa Iemo said with a smile:
"It's nothing, I just feel happy."
"You didn't agree with me blindly, you had your own thoughts - this makes me very happy."
"He Gong, what you just said was very good."
"Indeed, I am not a god and cannot predict the future."
"So... to put it bluntly, I'm just betting that Mr. Orange is the one who can make history."
"However, bets are bets, and I'm not betting randomly without any strategy."
"Tachibana-kun... is a very magical person."
"I can vaguely feel that there is a 'fire' hidden in his heart."
"Because the time has not come yet, this 'flame' has not yet burned violently."
"But when the time comes, this 'flame' will show unprecedented heat."
"It was this 'fire' in his heart that made me make the decision to 'bet on Qingdeng'."
"I'm very stupid, so all I can think of about a prosperous life is nothing more than digging my belly into the ground and not picking up lost things along the way."
"Looking at Qingdeng...the world in his mind and his 'realm' may far exceed my imagination!"
"All in all, let's wait and see for now."
"This is the path I chose, and I have to witness it with my own eyes until the end."
Speaking of this, Tokugawa Iemo seemed to think of something, paused, and then changed the subject:
"Ah, right."
"This is a rare opportunity. Taking advantage of the good atmosphere tonight, He Gong, I have a piece of advice that I must tell you."
"Things in the world are often unpredictable."
"In this troubled world where war is everywhere, even the general conquering the barbarians cannot escape danger."
"So...if one day in the future, I can no longer be by your side, there are three people you can always trust."
As he spoke, he held out three fingers.
"The first is Tachibana Aoden, the second is Katsu Rintaro, and the third is mother."
"Tachibana-kun and Sheng-jun don't talk much."
"As for Mother... I know that your relationship with Mother is not very good."
"But, mother, she is not a bad person, she just doesn't know how to get along with you. It's not that she hates you."
"If you encounter difficulties that are difficult to cope with, or have no choice, you might as well go to these three people for help."
"They will never let you down."
As soon as he finished speaking, He Gong scolded him angrily:
"Your Highness, please stop saying such ugly words as 'I can no longer be by your side'!"
"I don't like such unlucky words!"
Tokugawa Iemo smiled:
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you unhappy."
"I just mentioned it to you out of caution."
"You just need to keep my words in your heart and think of them all the time."
…
…
The next day, early morning——
A certain deep mountain west of Edo——
Chirp——!Chirp——!Chirp——!
From time to time, you can hear the chirping of birds in the trees.
The early winter mountain wind blew past my ears, bringing with it a biting chill.
Qingto pushed aside the cane in front of him and asked Shikisaki in front of him:
"Mr. Shikizaki, haven't you arrived yet?"
Shikisaki replied without looking back:
"We're almost there. Do you see the mountain in front of us? We will reach our destination when we get over this mountain."
Last night, after using his money power, Shikizaki Kikiyoshi, who was initially hesitant, made up his mind instantly and said boldly, "Just leave it to me!"
This left Boss Kiryu speechless for a long time, who had spent a lot of time trying to understand the situation with emotion and reason.
Such a result was within Qingto's expectation. After all, Shikisaki Shiyō was a prodigal son who lingered in Yoshiwara all day long.
It would be really strange if such a person did not love money.
Of course, Qingdeng had no intention of blaming the other party.
Who would hate money? What's wrong with chasing money?
For Qingdeng, who now owns 400,000 shi of rich land, a mere 3,000 taels of gold is not worth mentioning at all.
If only this amount of money could be used to recast Vairocana and turn it into the legendary "black sword", that would be great.
After solemnly accepting the commission, Shikizaki Shiyuki said to Aonto:
"The 'Wanliang Steel' is far beyond what extraordinary iron can offer, and ordinary furnaces can't do anything to it."
"If you want to make a knife from this steel, you have to use a 'special furnace'."
"Come to Nihonbashi tomorrow morning at six o'clock in the morning, and I will take you to my 'secret workshop'."
In this way, today, as soon as the sky turned white, the master and the apprentice arrived at Nihonbashi on time - Shikizaki Shiyō was already waiting here.
He said lightly, "Come with me," and then led the master and apprentice to the west, plunging into the deep mountains west of Edo.
As early as last night, Aoto asked Boss Kiryu if he had been to Shikizaki Jiyose's "secret workshop".
The old man said:
"According to legend, the Shikisaki family has a large furnace that has been passed down from generation to generation, and is known as the 'Zhurong Furnace'."
"The furnace has unparalleled firepower, and the flames it emits are like a blessing coming to the world, hence its name."
"However, I have never seen this furnace."
"Shikizaki Jiyose's 'secret workshop' should be where this 'Zhurong Furnace' is located."
The large-scale furnace passed down from generation to generation, with firepower as strong as Zhu Rong's birth... These words all aroused Qingdeng's curiosity.
As a lover of swords and very knowledgeable about swords, Boss Kiryu also wanted to see the whole picture of "Zhu Rong Furnace" with his own eyes.
Ever since, both the master and the apprentice had strong expectations for Shikizaki Shiyose's "secret workshop".
This deep mountain is really remote and rarely visited.
Only the small paths on the ground, trampled by countless feet, silently announced that this deep mountain was not an uninhabited land.
While Qingden quietly followed Shikisaki Jiyō, he couldn't help but have doubts in his heart:
——Why would he build his "secret workshop" in a place where birds don't poop?
Climbing up hills, jumping down hillsides, climbing over stone walls, pushing through bushes, occasionally flowing through a few streams... Finally, a few wisps of smoke from outside the woods caught Qingdeng's eyes.
Qingdeng asked in surprise:
"Huh? Is there a village here?"
Shikisaki Jiyō smiled and nodded:
"That's right, welcome to the 'Blacksmith Village'!"
"'Blacksmith Village'?"
Qingteng cast a doubtful look at Shikisaki Jigen.
The other party explained slowly and understandingly:
"The history of this village can be traced back to the Warring States Period."
"In the tenth year of Tensho (1582), Oda Nobunaga attacked and destroyed the Takeda family and annexed the two kingdoms of Kai and Shinano."
"Because they hated Oda Nobunaga and were unwilling to obey the rule of the Oda family, a group of blacksmiths from the Shinano Kingdom fled to the mountains of Kanto, where they took root and reproduced their descendants - their descendants are the descendants of the 'Blacksmith Village'
Villagers."
"Even though time has passed, their blacksmithing skills have not been lost and have been passed down from generation to generation."
"For this reason, the men in the village basically know how to forge iron, and their skills are very good."
“When the farming season is busy, I farm, and during the slack season, I forge sickles, hoes and other simple tools to sell and earn money for my family.”
"Our Shikisaki family has always been on good terms with the Blacksmith Village, and we have a very deep friendship with each other."
"My 'secret workshop' is built in the 'Blacksmith Village'."
"Recasting Vairocana with Ten Thousand Refining Steel is a big job, and I can't handle it on my own."
"Therefore, I need help from the 'Blacksmith Village'."
It just so happened that they walked out of the woods at the same time Shikisaki finished his message.
At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.
In front of you is a flat wilderness with dozens of straw huts arranged neatly and at random intervals.
There is smoke coming from the kitchen here, and there are green waters and green mountains there.
There are women chatting here and children playing there.
The laughter and laughter were interspersed with the sound of "ding-ding" and "ding-dang" of forging iron... It was such a happy, quiet and peaceful scene, it was like a paradise.
At this time, an old woman squatting next to the village entrance, smoking a pipe, spotted Qingdeng and others walking towards them.
"Isn't this Ji Ji? Why are you here? Are they?"
"I took a big job with good pay! These two are my employers! Grandma Tie, I need your help, I want to activate the 'Zhu Rong Furnace'!"
When the old woman who was called "Grandma Iron" heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up:
"Oh? 'Zhu Rong Furnace'? What kind of job do you do? You actually need the help of 'Zhu Rong Furnace'?"
"Yes, this should be the most difficult challenge in my life."
Granny Tie nodded gently, with a cheerful smile on her face:
"That big furnace hasn't burned for a long time. It's really been a long time..."
Qingto, who was listening quietly, subconsciously turned to look at Boss Kiryu next to him - Boss Kiryu was also looking at him.
Looking at each other, the two of them found strong curiosity and expectation in each other's eyes.
——Boss Kiryu really guessed it right, Shikizaki Jiyose really planned to activate the "Zhurong Furnace"!
At this moment, Qingdeng's curiosity about the "Zhurong Furnace" has reached its peak.
After exchanging a few words with Granny Tie, Shikisaki Jiyō led the master and apprentice deep into the village.
Along the way, the villagers cast strange looks at Qingden and Boss Kiryu, mostly confused.
It seems that few foreigners visit this village.
The specific location of "Zhurong Furnace" is more remote than Qingdeng expected.
Led by Shikisaki Shiyō, they walked to the back of the village and finally stopped when there were no more houses around.
"We're here."
As Shikisaki Shiyose spoke, he stood sideways so that the master and apprentice could see clearly what was in front of them.
"This is the pride of our Shijizaki family - the 'Zhu Rong Furnace'!"
In an instant...at the moment when they saw the scene ahead, both Aoto and Boss Kiryu had expressions of astonishment on their faces.
In front of their sight was an extremely huge furnace!
Its foundation is a compacted dry earth mound, on which there is a rectangular bellows furnace made of clay, about 5 meters long, 4 meters wide and 3 meters high.
Next to the foundation bed is the bellows furnace.
There are foot-operated bellows on both sides of the bellows furnace. As long as you step on the thick pedal, you can send air into the furnace and make the fire blazing.
Before this, the largest furnace Qingdeng had ever seen was the size of a refrigerator.
Has he ever seen such a giant furnace measured in meters and covering an area of 20 square meters?
Just as the master and the apprentice were carefully looking at the "Zhu Rong Furnace", Shikisaki Jiyoshi on the side said quietly:
"It takes about 1,000 coals to light a furnace like this."
[Note·1 string=3.73 kg, 1000 string≈3.75 tons]
"We will use this furnace to welcome the God of Fire and forge a sword that is unparalleled in the world!"
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