"please!"
"Xiaowu, serve tea!"
"oh!"
Wu Laogui shouted inside, and immediately a shirtless middle-aged man with bronze skin walked out. His eyes lingered on Ning Fan for a moment, and then he walked into the inner room.
Lin Yong happened to walk in, looked at the figure, and frowned even deeper.
After everyone sat down, Wu Laogui turned his eyes to Chen Kuan and asked, "Who are these?"
Chen Kuan glanced at Ning Fan with some embarrassment. It seemed that His Highness did not want to reveal his identity, but now that his old friend asked him, he had to speak up.
"Haha, I came here from the palace."
"I came here now to invite Mr. Wu to go to Lingzhou Ironworks to take charge!"
Hearing Ning Fan's words, Old Ghost Wu couldn't help but frown, and said in a deep voice: "No, I've already told Brother Chen about this. Wu is used to being lazy and doesn't want to work for the government."
"Why?"
"You have a loose temper and can't afford to be an official!"
Seeing that Old Ghost Wu refused without hesitation, Ning Fan did not show any disappointment. He stood up slowly and walked around the weapons store. He found that most of the things hanging on the walls were farm tools.
"I haven't made a sword for a long time, old man?"
"Well, it didn't take long."
Wu Laogui glanced at Chen Kuan who was standing aside, and said calmly: "Didn't you just cast one for Chen Zaizi?"
"I heard from Mr. Chen that the Wu family is a sword-making family and has stayed in Huainan for more than ten years."
"Now, the old man is just making farm tools here. Isn't it a disgrace to his talent and breaking the family inheritance?"
"Although I don't make swords as a profession now, I have accepted my apprenticeship. I can still forge swords secretly. The inheritance will not be broken, and the craftsmanship will not be humiliated."
"If you came here for this reason, please come back!"
Seeing Wu Laogui's resolute expression, Chen Kuan on the side couldn't help but said: "Old Wu, His Highness came in person this time, but he has given you enough face. Don't be ignorant of the compliment!"
"Your Highness?"
Upon hearing Chen Kuan's address, Wu Laogui's turbid eyes suddenly looked towards Ning Fan.
"But in person to His Highness King Yong?"
"Exactly!"
When Ning Fan saw that Chen Kuan had exposed his identity, he no longer concealed it and said with a smile: "Why, is it possible that Mr. Wu will change his mind because of my identity?"
"Of course not!"
There was a complex look on Wu Laogui's face, and he said softly: "With His Highness's background, Lao Guitou can forge swords for His Highness three times, but if he wants Wu to go to the iron smelting workshop, I will not be able to obey!"
"Mr. Wu, can this sword be considered your masterpiece?"
Ning Fan took out the sword that Wu Laogui made himself. Wu Laogui nodded heavily, with a look of pride on his face: "Although it is not a famous work, looking at Wu's life, the quality of this sword , enough to be included in the top three!”
"hehe!"
Ning Fan smiled and said softly: "If I say that soon, weapons of this quality will become standard equipment in the army, and the quality of every standard long sword will not be weaker than this one, you Do you believe it?"
"How can it be!"
Wu Laogui looked at Ning Fan with a look of amazement on his face and said, "Could it be that... His Highness still has the magic iron to refine this sword in his hand?"
"What kind of magical iron is this? It's just ordinary iron forged a hundred times!"
"A hundred times!"
Wu Laogui's expression became even more astonished. He looked at Ning Fan with a look of disbelief on his face, and then suddenly looked at Chen Kuan aside: "Has your iron smelting workshop already had the manufacturing process of forging iron a hundred times?"
An unpredictable smile appeared on Chen Kuan's face, and he looked at Ning Fan with a hint of questioning. After seeing Ning Fan nod, a smile appeared on his face.
"currently there is not!"
"I just said..."
There was a look on Old Ghost Wu's face that was indeed true, and there was a hint of loss in his eyes.
"However, it will be available in less than a month."
"This is impossible!"
Old ghost Wu shook his head directly, but Chen Kuan was not excited and said with a smile: "Old Wu, do you know that it has been less than three months since the establishment of our iron and steel workshop? Three months ago, the iron and steel workshop had a continuous forging of thirty I have never mastered the craftsmanship.”
"Today, the iron blocks in my iron smelting workshop can be forged eighty times."
"In other words, Eighty Forged Iron already has the conditions for mass production."
"Although the weapon created is not as sharp as this one, it can still blow hair and break it."
Hearing Chen Kuan's words, Wu Laogui's face was full of wonder, and his eyes also lit up with a burning luster.
As the former chief swordsmith of the Great Zhou Arms Supervisor, he naturally knew what a breakthrough in iron smelting technology meant. From a young age, every innovation in iron smelting technology could increase the strength of a weapon several times.
But speaking more broadly, a change in iron smelting technology can overturn a war situation and even affect the balance between countries.
You know, in today's Central Plains countries, the iron smelting process generally starts at thirty forgings.
And what does eighty forging mean?
"call!"
"Dayu, could it be that the heaven is really blessing you?"
The old man had a sad look on his face, and a look of vicissitudes of life on his body.
"Everyone, please have some tea."
Xiao Wu came forward with a plate of tea, and handed Ning Fan and others a cup one by one. As soon as he walked in front of Lin Yong, his expression suddenly condensed, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground.
"Grandpa Lin?"
"Xiaowu, it's really you!"
After Lin Yong saw the young man's face, his expression changed with disbelief.
"You...didn't you...die in the battle?"
"Grandpa Lin, I'm not dead. It's brother Chengde. One life for mine."
Wu Xiaowu burst into tears instantly, stepped forward excitedly, and hugged Lin Yong tightly: "Grandpa Lin, why are you here?"
Lin Yong also had a look of emotion on his face, patted Wu Xiaowu's back gently, and said sadly: "It's a long story, but this is the son of my princess, Ning Fan!"
"The last general, Wu Xiaowu, the chief guard of the Royal Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is here to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Wu Xiaowu knelt down directly in front of Ning Fan, his face full of excitement: "God bless me, Da Zhou, and I can actually meet the son of the eldest princess, and also let me meet Grandpa Lin again!"
"My great Zhou, there is hope for the restoration of the country!"
Hearing Wu Xiaowu's words, Old Ghost Wu's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly shouted: "Shut up!"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Old Lin, tell me."
"yes!"
Lin Yong also had a wry smile on his face, and said softly: "Sir, the Wu family was once very famous in our great Zhou Dynasty. The ace combat power of our great Zhou Dynasty and the standard armor of the bronze swordsman were made by the ancestors of the Wu family. Build it!”
"Xiao Wu is half of my apprentice. Our Lin family and Wu family have a close relationship."
"If I guess correctly, you are the second child of the Wu family?"
"Exactly!"
Wu Laogui also recognized Lin Yong's identity, with a look of respect on his face: "I have met the National Master."
…
