Du Chengfeng took the blood-stained sword with an expressionless face.
In front of him, he stabbed his subordinate to death with a sword. Was he planning to give himself a blow? Or is he simply mentally ill?
Du Chengfeng didn't know very well, but he didn't care too much. Although as a peace-loving person who just wanted to live a peaceful life, he was not very happy to see this kind of killing scene, but compared to him killing When there were more than two hundred barbarians, the scene was still a bit too small.
"Get someone to come over and clean it up. It smells too strong."
After casually giving Yang Xuan instructions, Du Chengfeng placed the sword on the grindstone and started grinding it.
Water was sprinkled on the edge of the blade, and not only blood flowed down the edge, but also the long past.
Although this sword had only killed one person, Du Chengfeng still keenly felt the experience of this sword.
Unlike other weapons, this sword has a luxurious origin. The highly skilled blacksmith used fine steel to create this seemingly slender but extremely strong sword body, which is decorated with gold and silver. The handle was carved by several carvers who worked tirelessly. When the brass mouthpiece was put into the sharkskin sheath, everyone would say that this was an extremely good sword.
However, hundreds of such good swords were made at one time.
It was hard to imagine that such exquisite swords would be manufactured as mass-produced goods, but soon, Du Chengfeng knew the reason - it turned out that these swords were used by the Chen court to reward new officials. Because there are two classes of civil and military swords on the court, they are also called class swords.
To put it bluntly, these are a batch of ceremonial swords, mainly used for decoration.
Although the Chen Dynasty established its country by force, and all men had the tradition of wearing swords, most of the time, these nobles who wore ban swords did not have the opportunity to draw their swords. After all, even if there is any danger, there are still soldiers under his command to fight, so how can it be the noble's turn to draw the sword? Therefore, many nobles simply replaced the sword blade with a piece of wood, which is lighter but still keeps the sword. valiant.
But the grinder named Wang is an exception.
Just because he had received the transfer order and was to be sent to Jizhou.
The grinder surnamed Wang was named Wang Gaocheng, and he studied under the great sage Ruan Shantao of Yanzhou. At a young age, he was recommended to the imperial court by Ruan Shantao in a letter - he was very young and was about to receive his salary. This Wang Gaocheng was the proud one. time, but who would have thought that when an official document from the imperial court was issued, he would actually be sent to join the army at the border of Jizhou.
It was at this time that Wang Gaocheng realized that the reason why his mentor lived in seclusion in Yanzhou was because he had offended too many people in the court.
But it was too late to say anything at this time. Military orders were overwhelming and he would die if he dared to disobey them. Therefore, Wang Gaocheng could only go back to Yanzhou to see if his mentor who had sent him into a pit of fire could think of a way.
But what greeted Wang Gaocheng was a scolding from the old man.
"As a scholar, you don't want to work hard to repay the country's kindness, so you dare to come to me and ask?"
With two slaps on the face, Wang Gaocheng realized that his revered teacher was probably crazy about studying. He actually felt that studying was not for being a high-ranking official and being elegant, but for serving the country wherever there was danger. -The border of Jizhou is undoubtedly the most dangerous place, and it was his revered master who personally ordered this damn transfer order.
Faced with such a good teacher, what else could he say?
So Wang Gaocheng could only pack his luggage and rush to northern Xinjiang.
Although Wang Gaocheng, a scholar, still wears a wide robe and long sleeves and looks like a famous official, for the sake of safety, he does not dare to replace the sword blade with a wooden one - after all, apart from being a grinder, that This military order also gave him another identity.
That is, as a supervisor, secretly watching every move of Governor Liu, the commander of Jibei.
There is nothing the court can do about the border army. If the border army is too weak, the grassland people will come over, and no one in the court can sleep well. But if the frontier army is too strong... no one in the court will be able to sleep well. Therefore, there has always been a tradition of sending grinding craftsmen outside the court as a second level of control over the border army in addition to the grain and grass supply system.
In a sense, the importance of this position is even comparable to that of the logistics manager. After all, for frontline sergeants, the weapons in their hands are as important as the food in their bowls. If you can't eat, you won't have the strength, and if you can't hold a weapon, you won't be able to kill even if you have the strength. Putting the grinding craftsmen who are devoted to the imperial court on the frontier will give reassurance to both the civil and military classes in the court.
However, as the person involved, Wang Gaocheng could not remain calm.
The border is dangerous and the north is bitterly cold. Wang Gaocheng only feels that he is no different from the sinners who were assassinated. Fortunately, Governor Liu is still easy to talk to. He has even read books about sages for several years. He usually behaves like a famous official. Endless unrestrained romance - Wang Gaocheng also liked this. The two parties soon had a common language, went out and went in the same place for a while, slept together, and actually became close friends who talked about everything.
Of course, Wang Gaocheng still kept his mission in mind, but no matter how you looked at it, Governor Liu was as unambitious as him. What he needs to worry about now is not what threat Governor Liu will pose to the court, but whether Jizhou, which is lightly armed, can withstand the attack of the prairie people.
Fortunately, just like Governor Xuan Liu who likes to talk nonsense, the grassland people in the north are also bastards. Although some conflicts occur on weekdays, they are only to the extent of horse thieves and plunder. This kind of thing is simply ordinary. Not to mention the frontier, even in the hinterland of Dachen, wouldn't those bandits and road bandits not rob?
So just keep waiting. After all, Governor Liu has said that as long as he is willing to spend some time in Jibei, he will definitely ask the court to find him a noble position where he can concentrate on studying the books of sages.
The so-called reciprocation, since Governor Liu treated him like this, he naturally had to leave something for him.
For example, Liu Qingyun's horse-breaking sword.
With Wang Gaocheng's eyes, he could tell at a glance that this long sword, modeled after the ancient Broken Horse Sword, must have come from the hands of a palace craftsman in the past. After all, only the craftsmen there could master this kind of real military sword. device size. In addition, he had also heard that this sword had been polished by his respected master, Yanzhou Ruan Shantao, who had seen ghosts, which meant that this sword had been read by sages.
A sword that has been read by sages is just right for a humble gentleman like Governor Liu.
So this time, Wang Gaocheng is bound to win.
Although this knife was said to have been bought by a private grinder, this did not matter to Wang Gaocheng. Strictly speaking, all the grinding craftsmen in Jizhou are under his jurisdiction, so it's no problem if he comes to get a knife.
It's just that the refugee named Du Chengfeng is really annoying. Even though he and Governor Liu have condescended to come to a place like Yangjiabao, they still don't know how to bring the knife up, and even say that they saw Hu from sharpening the knife. How is this possible when someone commits a crime? Isn't sharpening a knife something like using the scriptures of sages to suppress evil spirits? Does this refugee really know how to sharpen a knife?
"Since you said you have this ability, then why don't you take a look at what this sword has gone through?"
As he spoke, Wang Gaocheng pulled out the sword from his waist and threw it directly to the opponent.
It was at this time that Wang Gaocheng was glad that he did not replace the steel sword with a wooden one because the steel sword was too heavy, otherwise it would really give the refugee a reason to evade.
He wanted to see how this refugee dared to tell such a big lie in front of these two noble scholars.
"So, Governor Liu, I am obviously doing this for your own good."
Looking at the long sword nailed to his neck, Wang Gaocheng's words were choked back in his throat by blood foam.
"I'm doing this for your own good, why do you want to kill me?"
…
Du Chengfeng finished sharpening his sword and was speechless for a long time.
Why did you want to kill him? Hasn't this man named Wang come to his senses? As soon as Wang Gaocheng entered Jizhou, Governor Liu was probably acting for him. Even Du Chengfeng, a bystander, had already realized that Governor Liu had wanted to kill this idiot for a long time.
As a polishing craftsman with the army, he talked about mysteries all day long. In the end, he felt that Jizhou's military preparations were weak because Governor Liu had no ambition. Didn't Wang Gaocheng know how to think about how many days he spent in Jizhou after he came to Jizhou? Sharpen a knife?
He pretended to be flattering and wanted to avoid being constrained, but in the end he got a living father who didn't work. If he thought about it from his perspective, Du Chengfeng would probably want to give Wang Chenggao a few blows.
However, this experience of sharpening the sword also gave Du Chengfeng another important piece of information.
That is, the Governor Liu in front of him is not as useless as he thought before.
"It's a pity that your friend still wants to give you the knife until he dies."
Turning the hilt of the sword, Du Chengfeng returned the sharpened sword.
Although Ban Jian is good, he has no use for this kind of thing that is only used to decorate his bravery.
"Is this what he was thinking about before he died? That is indeed a pity."
Taking the long sword, Governor Liu shook his head gently.
"I originally thought he was sent by some noble person in the court to cause trouble for me. After all, they always think that we border warriors are rude and do not understand the principles of saints... Forget it, let's just say that he died fighting with Hu Lili. Well, this way his family can also have a share of the glory."
Saying this, Governor Liu turned to look at Du Chengfeng.
"But the problem is, even though Wang Chenggao is dead, someone still has to be responsible for the military equipment. You see..."
"Not going."
Du Chengfeng immediately refused.
If before polishing Ban Jian, he only vaguely felt that he and Governor Liu were not on the same page, then now, he did not want to agree to the other party's solicitation - just because he had vaguely noticed that Governor Liu had It was carrying a certain feeling that was very familiar to him.
Yes, it was very familiar. He had felt a similar feeling in the swordsman Cui Yuan, and even vaguely felt it in Yang Sanlang.
So he would not go to the other party's account to obey orders under any circumstances.
Even if he had to chop Governor Liu alive on the spot.
"No, no, no, I'm not talking about asking you to come to the military camp. After all, you have already refused once."
Hearing Du Chengfeng's refusal, Governor Liu didn't take it seriously and continued.
"I mean, are you willing to assist the Governor's Mansion in preparing weapons as a private craftsman?"
"this……"
This time, Du Chengfeng understood.
Assisting the Governor's Mansion in preparing ordnance in a private capacity can also be called outsourcing.
This time, Du Chengfeng had no reason to refuse.
After all, Governor Liu gave too much.
