Li Shimin on the side suddenly raised his eyebrows when he heard Mr. Hu from the Imperial Medical Department. Of course he would not forget what happened to Imperial Physician Hu. Moreover, except for his own confidants, he had never told anyone that Xiao Han had sentenced Xue Ju to death. The thing is that if something goes wrong, it will undoubtedly be a very big blow to Xiao Han.
Especially since Xiao Han is an official, this statement can be regarded as lying about military intelligence! If a genius is depressed because of this, it will undoubtedly be a great loss to the Tang Dynasty, which has just begun to rise!
"No, I want Xiao Han to leave first!"
Thinking of this, Li Shimin calmed down and stood up to explain to Xiao Han: "Last time, Xiao Han and Mr. Hu just met each other for the first time and they just made a joke with each other. It's already getting late. Xiao Han is busy improving his craftsmanship today. , I’m also tired, you might as well go back and rest first.”
According to Xiao Han's original temper, he must speak politely to the prince who was destined to be deposed at this time, but when he saw Li Shimin winking at him frequently, although he felt a little depressed, Xiao Han still gave him a long salute and prepared to leave first. .
But the tree wants to be still, but the wind doesn't stop. This world has never meant that if you retreat, others will let you go. Now that Li Jiancheng has started talking, no matter what the purpose, it is impossible to let Xiao Han leave so easily.
Seeing Xiao Han about to turn around, the smile on the prince's face did not diminish at all: "Wait a minute, Mr. Hu came to see me today and accidentally mentioned his bet with Xiao Han. I don't know how many days have passed now, but Xue Ju But he is still showing off his power outside the city. It seems that Xiao Han's chances of winning in this bet are indeed small, but the bet is just a win or loss. Poor Liu Hongji, Li Anyuan and others are still in the hands of thieves..."
The prince's voice became softer and softer as he spoke in front of Li Yuan. At the end of the sentence, he seemed to be overcome with sadness and started to choke!
Seeing the sad look on the prince's face, Li Shimin suddenly understood what Li Jiancheng was thinking! What Dr. Hu, what Liu Hongji! It's all nonsense, he is just using Xiao Han to bring up the past, and the only plan is to attack his military power!
That's right, although the emperor is still here, he is already over fifty, and although he was established as the prince, his reputation in the army is far less than that of his second brother. The prince considers himself not a mediocre person, but this big mountain lies beside him. How to make him feel at ease in front of him?
And Xiao Han was even more chilled at this moment! Thinking of the records of later generations, the person directly responsible for this war, Liu Wenjing, wasn't he the one who was accused and killed by the prince and Pei Ji, who was of the prince's lineage?
It is said that people should not be judged by their appearance, but it turns out that it is true. On the surface, he looks polite, but in fact he is a polite scum!
In Xiao Han's view, Liu Wenjing killed his subordinates in vain for his own benefit, and it was not an exaggeration to kill him. However, as a once-meritorious minister, even if he died, he should be fair and aboveboard! Rather than being secretly accused of conspiracy and dying like now!
If someone like the prince really becomes the emperor, then the direction of the Tang Dynasty is unknown. When the army first started, he left his younger brother and others behind, leading to their execution. Now the overall situation is in turmoil, and the Note that when Li Shimin was hit on the head, he was indeed a sinister person just like in the novel!
The prince was choking, Li Shimin and Xiao Han were silent, and the atmosphere of the family dinner that had just been a grand one suddenly disappeared.
Emperor Li Yuan, however, was exactly as the prince had imagined. After his mention, Li Yuan, who was originally in a good mood, fell silent for an instant. The cup in his hand was slowly placed on the table, and he sighed and stopped talking.
The battle at Gao'an was really a pity. Not only did they lose their troops, but the strategically important Gao'an also fell into the hands of the enemy. Now that Chen Bing is outside Chang'an City, Chang'an has become in danger!
"Liu Wenjing! You are not serving as an important minister!" Thinking of this, Li Yuan felt a sharp pain in his heart. He waved his hand suddenly and slapped the desk in front of him so hard that the bowls and chopsticks on it jumped!
When Li Shimin saw the situation, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he immediately knelt down: "Father, this battle is all my son's fault! Please punish me, Father!"
"Alas, the fault of this war is not your fault..."
Li Yuan saw Li Shimin prostrate to the ground, his expression softened a little, and just as he was about to go down to help Li Shimin up, he saw the prince next to him also kneeling down, and said righteously: "The second brother was seriously ill at that time, how can you blame the second brother? The main blame is Liu Wenjing's disobedience to military orders and sending troops without authorization, which caused heavy losses to our army! I ask my father to show his caution and make clear rewards and punishments, so that we can maintain our military morale!"
"well……"
Hearing the prince's words, Li Yuan's outstretched hand paused in mid-air, then sighed heavily, and continued to lean down to help Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng up: "Forget it, Liu Wenjing made this big mistake, and his crime cannot be forgiven, but considering his previous achievements, , remove him from his position first, and wait until he can be punished and make meritorious service!"
"Father, Emperor Mingjian!"
"Thank you...Father..."
The prince felt proud, while Li Shimin felt bitter, but he had nothing to say about this conclusion.
It was the best outcome for Li Yuan not to execute Liu Wenjing. Things in the court are always unpredictable. You must know that Liu Wenjing and Xue Shou are his most important right-hand men now, especially Liu Wenjing, who occupies an important position in the court today. However, after just one word, he was demoted to civilian status. This not only dealt a blow to Liu Wenjing, but also weakened his power in disguised form.
After reluctantly making the decision, Li Yuan suddenly lost interest and was about to go back to the palace. He suddenly saw Xiao Han's eyes rolling around in front of the case. He suddenly remembered the bet that the prince had just mentioned and couldn't help but ask: " Why is there anything else going on between Xiao Qing and Xue Ju?"
Xiao Han and Li Shimin were both thinking about Liu Wenjing, and before they were ready to answer, the dark man Li Jiancheng replied before Li Shimin could speak:
"Father, I don't know. Xiao Han once had a bet with Mr. Hu. Xiao Han bet that Xue Ju would not live for more than a month, and he was betting on his own life."
"Oh?" When Li Yuan heard this, he immediately laughed and said: "Nonsense, how can you bet your own life on the lives of others!"
Li Yuan's words were also because Xiao Han was young and thought they were nonsense, so he wanted to protect him. Xue Ju is still jumping up and down outside the city to fight him to the death. It doesn't look like he died suddenly.
However, the more Xiao Han looks at the prince now, the more disgusted he becomes. Xiao Han has always hated people who are good at snitching, but from school to work, there has never been a shortage of such people around him. Whenever he sees the faces of these people, Xiao Han Han always wanted to punch him and hit him all over the ground.
It’s just that the status of the snitch this time is a bit high, the emperor’s successor! He couldn't stretch his fist, but swallowing his anger was never Xiao Han's style.
So Xiao Han didn't care that Li Yuan had placed the ladder for him, and waited for him to borrow the ladder to get off the donkey. Instead, he stiffened his neck and said: "Go back to the emperor, I am not fooling around. I still say what I said, if within one month, Xue Ju If you don’t die, I’ll take the head, but if Xue Ju dies, I don’t want the old man’s dead head either, so I’ll give up his seat to my master!”
"Okay, I will accept this bet for Mr. Hu. We will see the result in one month!"
"Xiao Han, shut up!"
Xiao Han spoke too quickly and too suddenly. By the time Li Shimin reacted, Xiao Han had already finished the last word, and Li Jiancheng directly accepted the bet for Hu. The matter was a foregone conclusion.
At this point, the words were useless. A cheerful banquet was disturbed by the Crown Prince and there was no interest at all. Xiao Han experienced the cruelty of political struggle for the first time. A trivial incident caused even The prince didn't even blame him excessively, but his potential opponent was already deeply hurt.
Politics is indeed the most ruthless and dirty.
Xiao Han, who walked out of the palace gate, looked at the stars in the sky under the blowing of the evening breeze, and suddenly felt that the excitement of being promoted to an official position was gone.
The night was long, and Xiao Han was walking alone on the street. The gate had been closed, and there was no one on the street. Marquis Wu was looking over at the corner of the street. He was about to come over for questioning when he suddenly heard a crisp " "Click" sound came.
A black horse with white hair on all four hooves broke through the night and came to Xiao Han's side. As a Marquis of Wu, observing people's emotions is the most basic skill, not to mention that there are several nobles in Chang'an who are all treasures. , seeing this, they quickly shouted and dispersed aside, for fear that some unsighted people would disturb the noble man.
Xiao Han knew it was Li Shimin from the sound of his voice, because he was the only horse that could run around in Chang'an even after being shod.
He stopped and shook his long sleeves. When he saw Li Shimin approaching, he bowed and saluted: "Wei Chen has seen King Qin..."
"You're welcome!" Li Shimin turned over and dismounted beautifully, holding up Xiao Han with both hands. "I haven't congratulated you on your promotion to Marquis. From now on, you have crossed the dragon gate!"
"Thanks to King Qin, King Qin's friendship for Wei Chen will be unforgettable by Wei Chen..."
"Didn't you say you shouldn't be polite?" Li Shimin was a little dissatisfied.
Xiao Han smiled bitterly, no one listened to his flattery, it was such a failure...
Walking through Chang'an Street late at night, two people, one riding, and a bright moon. Neither of them were in a good mood. They didn't say a few words, they could only sigh...
Xiao Han didn't know why Li Shimin came to see him off late at night. Although he had been promoted to a marquis, he was still the lowest baron. It's hard to say that when Li Yuan founded the country and ascended the throne, the marquis and earls didn't even know how many enfeoffments they had. I guess everyone If there was a meeting in Daxing Hall, his little baron wouldn't even be able to enter the Xuanwu Gate...
Looking at Xiao Lizi's somewhat sad face next to him, Xiao Han thought to himself, maybe they were just in a bad mood and wanted to go for a walk together...
In the next few days, Xiao Han stayed in that small courtyard and never went out. Now the horseshoes have been completely divided and made for the apprentices. In the past, the horseshoes were waiting for the horseshoes, but now there are plenty of horseshoes. The horseshoe man worked like a charm, and a group of auxiliary soldiers almost died of exhaustion...
Likewise, the blacksmith masters are also very tired now. They are all working with Xiao Han to develop new swords.
There is strength in numbers. Xiao Han fully deployed the unique skills of each master. He did not know how many times he experimented with the proportion of molten steel, the temperature of the furnace, the amount of ore powder, etc. Finally, the final result was completed in the hands of a few people. Matching, and the sword also selected three from many designs.
Among the three types of swords, two were designed by Xiao Han himself, and there are dozens of prototype swords among them. Xiao Han understands that as a tool, the person who uses it has the most say, so every sword Xiaodong will take them to the military camp and let various sergeants experiment and solicit opinions so that they can be brought back and modified!
This unique people-oriented approach made the blacksmiths and soldiers new to the world. Unknowingly, Xiao Han was leading a new design approach!
After constant modification, trial, modification, and trial again! By the time it was finalized, three days had passed.
The first type they made was called the Breaking Formation Knife. It was narrow at the front and at the back, and had blades on both sides. It was extremely hard, and because of its shape, it was heavy at the front and light at the back. Once it was swung by a powerful person, it would have many mouths. The thick tree was cut into two pieces in an instant! If you were in a battle formation, beheading your body would be as easy as chopping vegetables!
The second type is similar to the machete used by later generations to chop down Japanese soldiers, but it is much smaller and easier to carry and wield. This knife has no name. The back of the knife is slightly thick and naturally becomes thinner towards the edge. The whole knife presents a very graceful arc. It is silent when swung and is suitable for use by agile and agile people.
The third type of knife was redesigned based on the previous Mo Dao, and the weight was reduced as much as possible while retaining its effectiveness. The blade with handle is nearly one foot, and the blade alone is two meters long and weighs twenty-eight pounds. It is equipped with The warriors in heavy armor are as invincible as heavy tanks on the battlefield!
It's just that the manufacturing process of this third type of Mo Dao is too complicated, integrating various techniques such as Xiao Han's steel frying method and the forging and folding methods of the masters! The finished product created from this has a dark black handle, anti-slip fine lines, good elasticity, and a blade that is more than two meters long and is even more radiant! There are thousands of layers of pear blossom patterns on the surface of the knife, which is extremely sharp! As he waved, the sound of breaking wind was like a ghost's roar!
On the day when the new samples came out, King Qin, whom he had not seen for a few days, came to inspect the samples in person. He was very impressed with the three weapon prototypes and immediately ordered Xue Shou to reward everyone who participated in the development. At the same time, everyone The process and formula are kept by the Ordnance Supervision and sent to large military workshops for production.
