Afterwards, the Tang army took Dabolu and surrendered their troops to build a camp outside the city of Khotan to imprison themselves. King Dabolu probably fled back to his own country, Xiaobolu had been destroyed by Gao Xianzhi, and all the passes in Congling were occupied by the Tang army. The country of Dashi could only send a small force like Iben, and the large army could not reach Khotan. City, I didn’t have any worries for the moment.
The Khotan Kingdom was extremely wealthy. Not only did it provide a large amount of supplies to the Tang army and prisoners outside the city, but there were also banquets every day in the city. Brother Yuchi was not stingy with Feng Changqing, Li Siye, Cheng Qianli and others, and was also courteous to the heroes. There are plus.
Jiang Shuo, Yuchi Sheng, and Li Siye gathered together every day to talk. Li Siye had a lot to talk about during his military campaigns in the south and north. Although Jiang Shuo was young, he had many adventures since his teenage years, from the south of the Yangtze River to the Song Desert in the northeast, and from From Heluo to Kongtong, from the West Sea to Shaqi, his experience was not inferior to that of Li Siye. In comparison, Yuchi Sheng, the leader of the country, seemed to have the least experience.
It was inevitable for the three of them to talk about military affairs when they were together, and what Jiang Shuo was most interested in was undoubtedly Li Siye's Mo Dao. Li Siye did not hide his secrets and generously ordered his soldiers to fetch the Mo Dao. He saw that the Mo Dao was about one foot long. The blade was wrapped in a large cloth bag. The shaft was made of wood but was much thicker than an ordinary gun shaft. , when stored in a cloth bag, it really looks like a military flag.
Li Siye untied the cloth bag to reveal the blade inside. In the dark night, he could only see the cold light flickering, but could not see the structure of the Mo Dao clearly. Only then did Jiang Shuo see the true appearance of the Mo Dao's blade.
He wondered: "This Mo Dao is called 'Dao', why does it look like a big sword?"
Li Siye said: "Mo Dao originated from the horse-slaying sword of the Han Dynasty. It was originally a broad sword with two sides. However, with the sword-making technology of the Han Dynasty, such a giant sword could not kill horses. It was only used as a guard of honor in the palace and was actually used in the army. It is a long and narrow ring-shou sword. The smelting technology of our country in the Tang Dynasty has advanced greatly. The blade is repeatedly strengthened by forging it with steel, and then the blade is made by covering it with soil and tempering it. The double-edged sword cast in this way is both strong and tough. It is not easy to break, the blade is sharp but will not chip, and it has the power to crush people and horses."
Jiang Shuo took a closer look at the body of Mo Dao and saw that it was covered with layers of continuous forging patterns like water ripples. They were the marks left by repeated folding and forging of the steel. When it reached the blade, it turned into long, straight and fine lines. As for the texture, it turns out that the blade and blade are forged using completely different processes.
Li Siye said: "The horse-slaying sword is not a magic weapon that blows hair and cuts off hair, because a too sharp blade will inevitably have a thin blade. Once it accidentally cuts into a thick horse bone on the battlefield, the blade may be curled, or it may become stuck. Drawing it out, this can be fatal on the battlefield. The Mo Dao's edge is between thick and sharp, and it needs to be slashed quickly to exert its power."
Jiang Shuo recalled that the Mo Dao team led by Li Siye used all slashing moves that day, and he couldn't help but nodded. Li Siye happened to see several fruit trees with thick wells in the Khotan palace city. He raised his Mo Dao and said to Jiang Shuo: "Brother, come and see!"
He waved his hand casually, and the one-foot-long blade made a sound of wind and thunder. There was only a "click" sound. The main trunk of the fruit tree was cut into sections diagonally. If you look closely, the ends are even and straight. The lethality of Mo Dao is horrifying. Watching it from such a close distance is even more thrilling.
Li Siye handed the Mo Dao to Jiang Shuo, pointed at another tree and said, "Little brother, give it a try."
Jiang Shuo weighed the Mo Dao in his hands. It weighed about fifteen kilograms, which was very heavy for a weapon. However, Jiang Shuo's internal strength was extremely strong, and fifteen kilograms was not heavy for him. It's nothing, but it's only one foot in length, but it makes it quite inconvenient for him to swing it.
At this moment, Jiang Shuo suddenly understood why the pole of Mo Dao was made thicker than that of long soldiers such as spears. It was not because he was afraid of being cut off by the enemy, but because the steel part of Mo Dao was too heavy. If it was equipped with a thin pole, , the center of this weapon is too far forward.
Even so, Jiang Shuo still felt top-heavy while holding the Mo Dao, like a flag in the wind, with a subtle sense of disharmony. The thick pole also made it almost impossible for him to hold it and exert force.
Fortunately, Jiang Shuo's internal energy was very strong. He used Yin energy in his hand, firmly sucked the wooden pole, and aimed at another fruit tree to slash at it. He felt that the Mo Dao's blade did not cut through the wood as easily as the seven-star sword cuts through tofu. In the middle, it seemed to stop when it was only about halfway through. However, after just this pause, the blade continued to penetrate downward under the blessing of its own weight, and cut off the fruit tree with a "chi" sound.
If Jiang Shuo hadn't regained his strength, Mo Dao's sword would have almost fallen straight into the ground. With just one swing and one chop, it seemed that it was extremely easy to cut off the trees, but it was much harder to swing the sword and put it away.
Li Siye laughed loudly, took back the Modao, and said to Jiang Shuo: "Brother, although you are strong physically, your body is a bit short. With your body type, you cannot be selected into the Tang Army's Modao team."
Jiang Shuo then remembered that the Tang Army's Modao team was indeed a giant man with a height of about seven feet like Li Siye.
Yuchi Sheng couldn't help but praise: "Mo Dao is not easy to forge, and the soldiers who use Mo Dao are only one in a hundred heroes!"
The two trees Li Siye and Jiang Shuo chopped off were the precious Yingri fruit trees in Khotan. The Yingri fruit trees are slender and can grow as thick as the mouth of a well. They are hundreds of years old. Li Jiang and Li Jiang The treasure hunter actually killed two trees in a row, but Yuchi Sheng didn't feel any pain at all. He only felt that the two heroes were enjoying themselves, and he couldn't help but feel happy in his heart.
Jiang Shuo said: "Brother, I have something unclear and would like to ask for advice."
He took off the Seven-Star Sword from his waist and handed it to Li Siye. Li Siye handed the Mo Dao to the sergeant beside him and took the Seven-Star Sword. He was used to using the heavy Mo Dao, and holding the Seven-Star Sword in his hand was like a wooden toy used by children. funny.
Jiang Shuo said: "Brother, please draw your sword."
Li Siye took out the seven-star sword, glanced at it briefly, and said: "This is a magical weapon forged from ancient meteorite iron. Although it is extremely sharp, the meteorite iron comes from outside the sky. Such magical weapons cannot be copied in large quantities."
He also said that Jiang Shuo wanted him to see the sharpness of the seven-star sword. Jiang Shuo said: "Brother, I'm not asking you to see this. Just twist the hilt of the sword and the tail of the scabbard together to see."
Li Siye followed his instructions and connected the hilt of the sword to the scabbard to form a smaller "Mo Dao". Holding the sword in his hand, Li Siye couldn't help but be stunned.
Yuchi Sheng said: "This ancient sword can actually take the shape of Mo Dao? It's really strange."
Jiang Shuo said: "I heard from General Pei that this sword is an ancient artifact from the Han Dynasty, but the scabbard was made by a great craftsman of this dynasty."
Li Siye was shocked and said: "So this is the sword 'Meteor' of Sword Master Pei Min?"
Jiang Shuo nodded and said: "General Pei gave me this sword. Later..." He thought for a while and decided not to tell the two brothers about the hidden alliance for the time being. He just said: "Later, I lost it during the battle in the West Sea. , only recently returned to my hands.”
Li Siye nodded thoughtfully and said: "Although Sword Master Pei Min has high martial arts skills, he is not obsessed with fame and wealth. I heard that he is not good at killing. Although he has served as a military envoy in both the Eastern and Western armies, he has not made any military exploits. With his sword In the name of Sheng, he was assigned to serve as General Youwuwei, who was responsible for the garrison of the capital. Four years ago, there was a banditry in Pingkangli of the capital. Pei Min took responsibility for it and resigned from his post and retired."
Jiang Shuo smiled bitterly in his heart after hearing this. He was the one who made the big fuss in Pingkang. It was himself, and Pei Min resigned not because he took responsibility for the lax defense, but just to facilitate his hidden alliance in Tubo and the Western Regions. thing. It's just that the matter of the Hidden Alliance was too complicated and unclear to explain at the moment. Jiang Shuo wanted to find another time to explain it to his two eldest brothers, but at this moment he did not refute what Li Siye said.
Li Siye waved the Seven-Star Sword casually in his hand a few times, and praised: "The center of gravity matches very well, making it almost difficult to notice that the scabbard and the sword body are not the original pair." He then held the sword vertically and compared it, and said: "This length should be tailor-made for Pei Min. I heard that Pei Min is only of medium height and is a general on horseback. The Mo Dao cannot be used in tricks. This weapon is the perfect substitute for the Mo Dao. It can be used for both foot and foot combat." And it can be used right away.”
Jiang Shuo said: "Pei Min is indeed about the same height as me. It seems that the master craftsman who made the scabbard made this scabbard specially for him."
Li Siye separated the scabbard from the hilt, put the sword into the scabbard, handed it to Jiang Shuo and said, "There is only one person in the Tang Dynasty who has such means."
Jiang Shuo took the sword and said, "Master Zhao Rui once said that this was made by a great weapon craftsman of this dynasty, but he didn't tell me his name."
Li Siye smiled and said: "In retrospect, you are young after all, and you don't even know my name as Master Sword Master. This great master is also a descendant of a famous family, but he is not from a prominent martial arts family, but from the Hedong Liu family who has served as a minister for many years."
Jiang Shuo smiled secretly in his heart: Another queen from a famous family who is not doing her job properly.
Yuchi Sheng said: "The Liu family, together with the Pei family and the Xue family, are known as the 'three surnames in Hedong'. It is not surprising that this great craftsman of the Liu family made the scabbard for Pei Min."
The Kingdom of Khotan is seven thousand miles away from Hedong. Yuchi Sheng actually knew "the three surnames in Hedong". Li Siye couldn't help but look at him with admiration and continued: "This man was born in the Liu family of Hedong. His name is silent, and Liu Buyan is drunk." Weapons manufacturing, smelting, forging, wood treatment, and glue making are all excellent. He is good at swords, spears, and bows, but he is not an illiterate craftsman. I heard that he was reading scriptures while smelting iron, and hammering swords. He was able to recite poems aloud, and he was handsome in appearance and elegant in manners. He had the style of Ji Kang, a famous scholar in the Wei and Jin Dynasties."
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but yearn for it after hearing this, but he didn't expect that Li Siye's next words were: "It's a pity that this senior master has passed away. This seven-star sword is his magic touch. There is no such god in the world." Skilled."
Jiang Shuo and Yuchi Sheng both sighed together when they heard this. Although Yuchi Sheng was the king of Khotan and a Sai tribe in the Western Regions, with a different race and language from the Tang people, he loved the scenery of the Tang Dynasty and admired the celebrities of the Tang Dynasty. After hearing this, Such a person is no longer alive, and it is natural to feel regretful that he will never be able to see him again.
Li Siye said: "In retrospect, since you have this small Mo Dao, it's better for me to teach you the Mo Dao's moves. This way you can make the best use of it. I just don't know if you like this, brother." A little bit of effort."
Jiang Shuo was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "What did the eldest brother say? I wanted to ask for advice but I didn't get it. Since the eldest brother is willing to teach me, how can I not be willing to do it?"
