"The god of fire, Kagi, has earth on top! The utensils used in the blacksmith shop are: one is a charcoal furnace with an external bellows, which burns charcoal to make a fire. The hotter the better. The second is an iron hammer, at least three large, medium and small ones, which need to be forged repeatedly to strike fine iron. The third is the anvil, which has different shapes and needs to be strong and thick. The fourth is the pliers, which have a flat head, a round head and a cone head, which are clamped and fixed for forging..."
"Fifth is the fire sickle, trim and cut the iron while it's hot, and the start is right. Six is the oil in the sink, cold water and oil quenching, the colder the better, after quenching, apply oil to protect it. Seventh is the iron file, with different thicknesses, file and repair the iron surface. . Eight are molds, used for large pieces, mostly ironware for daily use..."
“All these eight categories, furnace, hammer, anvil, tongs, sickle, groove, file, and mold, are the work of a good craftsman in forging iron!…”
The head of the weapons team, Otani Kengang, sat on the snow with his head lowered, and drew the appearance of different instruments with his fingers. Then, he wrote a Chinese character name next to each utensil. However, he doesn't know many Chinese characters, so if he wants to explain in detail, he can only write the pinyin kana.
Watanabe Masumi, the monk warrior, also lowered his head and wrote down line-by-line explanations of Otani Kengo's narration. The exploration captain Zuvalo's eyes widened and he was amazed. After finishing talking about these eight types of utensils, Zuvalo was extremely happy and his lips were raised! He generously took out a gold amulet and put it on Otani Kengang himself, laughing happily.
"Haha! God bless you! What a master forging iron! Good!...Haha! Your Majesty said that those who can forge fine iron weapons, pour steel and fry steel are the talents that the kingdom needs most! And as long as you can do these things When the skilled West Sea craftsmen arrive in the Lake Kingdom, Your Majesty will never begrudge you a reward, and you will even directly make them hereditary nobles of the kingdom!…"
"Fire God Kagutsuchi! Forge fine iron weapons, pour steel and fry steel?..."
After hearing Watanabe's report, the head of the weapons team, Otani Takeru, was sweating on his forehead and his eyes were wandering. Zuvaro said happily for a while, but saw Otani's nervous expression. He was stunned for a moment, then he asked aloud after pondering for a moment.
"Witness the Lord God! Can you pour steel and stir up steel?"
“…”
The head of the weapons team, Otani Takeru, was silent for a moment and shook his head bitterly. It is said that this kind of professional skill from the Kara area can produce ordinary fine iron knives in large quantities, and only the Bizen-ryu swordsmiths with the largest scale and the largest number of people, who also produce a large amount of iron sand locally, can do it. As for other schools, including his father's Yamashiro-ryu, they all follow the path of forging ordinary refined iron and forging fine jade steel...
"Uh... where are the weapons made of fine iron? Do you know how to do it?..."
“…”
There was another awkward silence. You couldn't hide things like knife forging from others. If you didn't have enough skills, you just couldn't do it. Forging ordinary iron tools is one level of difficulty, and forging fine iron steel knives is another level of difficulty. And going up to the top to forge the best jade steel sword in the country, or "property", is the top level of difficulty!
As for Otani Kengo's level, it belongs to the lowest level of forged iron. However, he has seen more and has seen the forging of fine iron and jade steel since he was a child. As long as you don't do it yourself and just tell me one, two, three, it won't be a problem...
After a while, Otani carefully wrote a line of words on the snow.
"My father, the Otani clan, is a disciple of the great swordsman of Yamashiro Ryōya, and he knows how to forge the precious swords of the industry!... My name is Otani Kengo, and I am the head of the Uyizaki clan's weapons group. I know how to forge iron farm tools and repair fine iron weapons... As for forging fine iron weapons... I saw my father forging iron and jade steel blades when I was young, so I might give it a try..."
Seeing this, Zuvalo was stunned for a moment, then after thinking for a moment, anger showed on his face. He suddenly pulled out the copper axe. His heart was in a state of ups and downs, and he wished he could just kill the injured Japanese warrior with the axe.
"Witness the Lord God! You can't even forge fine iron weapons? How dare you call yourself a blacksmith?!..."
"Ah? Buddha's blessing! Your Majesty, please be patient and let me explain to you! There are not many blacksmiths who can forge fine iron weapons. There must be a school of inheritance!..."
Monk soldier Watanabe Masumi was sweating on his forehead and carefully explained for a while. He had actually heard about Otani Kengo's situation. He could even guess the reason why the other party appeared in the fleet.
"Otani's father's family is a swordsmith with a real heritage. Different from the ordinary blacksmiths of the villagers, he is a professional swordsmith who can forge jade steel!..."
Ōtani Kengo's father, named Ōtani Ubobo, was an outstanding swordsman from Wakasa Province. He studied under a great swordsman from the Yamashiro-ryu line. The "karma" is a sword, and the so-called "good karma" means a good sword.
The sword-forging schools of Japan can be roughly divided into five branches. The oldest founding school is naturally the Yamato-ryu in the ancient capital of Nara. The nominal founder is the legendary "Ten Craftsmen", but the actual founder should be Yukino nobu of the Heian period. There are many temples in Nara, and Buddhism is huge, and the Yamato-ryu is also famous for making weapons for monks. Like the exquisite naginata used by the monk warrior Watanabe Masumi, it is tough and cold-resistant. It is a fine iron sword and was forged by Yamato-ryu craftsmen!
In addition to the ancient Yamato-ryu, there are also the Yamashiro-ryu of Yamashiro country, the Bizen-ryu of Bizen country, the Soshu-ryu of Sagami country, and the Soshu-ryu of Mino country. In fact, the five major swordsmith schools of Yamato-ryu, Yamashiro-ryu, Bizen-ryu, Soshu-ryu, and Soshu-ryu also mark the five iron-making and forging centers of Japan: the ancient capital Nara, Kyoto Yamashiro, the iron sand production area Bizen, and Kamama Sagami, the center of the Kura Shogunate, and Mino, the transportation hub of Kanto and Kansai.
All in all, the swordsmith skills of the country, just like the swordsmanship of various sects, have the characteristics of a small circle of closed inheritance. The swordsmiths of various schools, those are the most skilled blacksmiths, are all passed down from generation to generation according to the school, and the special steel forging skills will not be allowed to leak out.
Therefore, among the ordinary people with no roots, there are at most only craftsmen who can make iron farm tools, but there will never be outstanding craftsmen who can make fine iron armor. If the kingdom wants to find outstanding blacksmiths, it can only find them from the five major sects in the country, or from the five iron smelting centers.
"Huh? This guy can forge fine iron weapons, the son of a master blacksmith? That's it!..."
After listening to Watanabe's explanation, Zuvalo's anger subsided. He looked at Kengo Otani who lowered his head slightly and looked ashamed, then looked at Masumi Watanabe, and asked with some expectation.
"God bless you! Then, is his father currently in some oyster tribe in the far north?"
"Well…"
Hearing this, Masumi Watanabe pursed her lips and whispered a few words to Kengo Otani. Otani just blinked, lowered his head sadly, and wrote seven characters,
"Five years ago, my father died..."
"Ah! What? He's dead!..."
Looking at Zuvalo who was angry again, Watanabe Masumi touched his nose and was speechless for a moment. Although Ezo produces iron sand and coal, it is extremely difficult to find an outstanding swordsmith in the wild Ezo!
As an outstanding swordsmith of the Wakasa country and the sword forger of the Wakasa Takeda clan, the reason why Otani clan left the auspicious Wakasa country and came to the bitter cold Ezoji Mountain Resort was naturally because of Nobu Takeda, who was also born in the Wakasa Takeda clan. wide. In fact, he is Takeda Nobuhiro's hometown party and an old friend whom he met when he was young. He is one of the people who is most trusted by Takeda Nobuhiro. It is precisely because of this relationship that his eldest son Takeda Otani became the head of the weapons team of the Oyizaki clan.
As the leader of the weapons team, Otani Kengo was only the second person among the Oyezaki samurai to follow Murakami Yoshitsuo on board the ship. The apparent reason why he appeared on the ocean-covering ship heading north this time was to repair the easily damaged iron swords and spears in the extremely cold climate, and to maintain the large number of trade iron tools carried on the ship. As for the secret reason, that is, as a descendant of Takeda Nobuhiro's trusted hometown party, he secretly supervises the trade in the Far North and prevents Murakami Yoshitsuki and Watanabe Masumi from colluding to embezzle the property obtained from the maritime trade!
After all, the last trade in the North, just around Korewakatai Island and the Shantaru trade on the opposite side, made the Uyizaki family ten times the profit! With the previous harvest, the large amount of cargo carried northward this time was already all-consuming for the small Oyizaki clan. The expected profit from the furs in exchange is also very staggering. Murakami Yoshitsugi must be given someone who can check and balance the supervision...
"Uh... Don't be impatient, my dear! Otani's younger brother is also a swordsmith with a heritage. Although he is not as good as his father, he can also forge fine iron! And Otani Kengang has been used to the work of a swordsmith since he was a child. Although he is not good at forging swords, But he is also a blacksmith on board the ship, and can repair weapons for your troops..."
After writing this, Watanabe Masumi, a monk soldier, pointed his fingers, and then he remembered that the Jiaoren leader in front of him was using expensive bronze weapons. But perhaps only craftsmen in Nara and Kyoto can forge such a collection of retro, arrogant and wealthy weapons...
"Phew!...Blessed by the Lord God! With such a son of a master blacksmith, it's okay to use it! At least he is a knowledgeable blacksmith who can guide the kingdom's arduous journey..."
Exploration captain Zuvalo took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. He inserted the copper ax back into his waist and held the bunch of horizontal hair in the center of Takeshi Otani's head. Otani Kengang's body stiffened for a while, but he bowed his head and bowed respectfully.
"The Lord God bless the kingdom! Go! Take him to manage the captured iron weapons and iron soldiers... By the way! He has access to weapons, arrange three warriors, and watch him carefully!"
"Yes! Captain!..."
"Are there any more? Are there any others with special skills?!..."
Seeing Otani Kengo limping away, the remaining eight Oyezaki warriors looked at each other for a while, and then four more injured people walked out.
As ordinary Ezo samurai, they didn't know much, and their best skills were actually not fighting, but farming and hunting! They also know some simple spear skills and bow skills. As for the various sword skills that will be famous in later generations, you have to join a school to learn them. In fact, swordsmanship is more suitable for one-on-one fighting, and it is far less useful than spears and spears on the battlefield. It is more like martial arts rather than battle formation skills.
"Well...these four injured people who took refuge were all arranged in a small tent and squeezed together! As for the last four remaining guys, they were arranged on different sleds and slept together with the transported goods. ...What kind of tent? They don’t have a tent. Each person is given a thick robe, so as not to freeze to death! The rest will be discussed after returning to the camp in the south and holding a conversion ceremony..."
"Yes! Captain!"
"God bless you! Let's do it!"
Zuvalo waved his hand, and the last prisoners were arranged. With this layer of differentiated treatment, coupled with the subsequent blood oath, I am afraid that I will not be able to dismantle and conquer this group of captives...
"O Lord God! The blizzard is getting closer and closer. We have to set off today..."
After pondering for a moment, Zuvalo looked at the gloomy sky in the north, then stepped on the deep snow marks and walked towards the glacier not far away. Before leaving, he had one last tricky thing to do, which was to arrange the hard-won and precious five-masted ocean boat. That ship seems to be much better than the kingdom's longship. It will happen that next year someone will be sent back on the ship to pack up and transport these captives back to the kingdom...
