Master Kong Zhongni

Chapter 55
The sun still rose as usual today, and when the first ray of sunlight fell on Jae Yu's cheeks, he slowly opened his eyes.

Then, he lifted the quilt up again.

However, I have slept enough and can't sleep anymore.

"Oh..." Zai Yu sighed, "If you give me a little more time, maybe I can figure out what the 2A65 howitzer is."

Last night, he was going to look up information about bows and arrows for Zigong, but after searching, he somehow switched from the history of bows and arrows to the development of modern firearms, and finally saw On the howitzer.

It is a pity that the materials in the library did not tell Zaiyu how to make the howitzer.

Otherwise, he might have to save one to play.

There is no reason why the barbarians in the north can bombard the Winter Palace, but Zaiyu can't bomb the Palace of the Duke of Lu!
Maybe as soon as the cannon was fired, Da Zhou embarked on some unimagined path.

But play is play, and trouble is trouble. Although Zaiyu watched the howitzers all night, he didn't forget what he had to do.

He memorized a whole set of information about modern compound bows by rote, although most of them could not be fully understood.

But he can't understand it, it doesn't mean that the craftsmen of Lu State can't understand it.

Zai Yu jumped up suddenly, picked up the paper that was placed next to his pillow last night, and began to write a lot.

After writing the materials in his mind, he brought into play his lack of artistic skills and added some illustrations next to the text descriptions, trying to perfectly restore the books he saw in his dream last night.

After sorting out the materials at hand, Zaiyu looked up at the sky, the sun was high up, and it was almost noon.

"Fortunately, the master was called to the palace again today, otherwise there would be no way to finish so much work at noon."

Jai Yu stretched his waist, and was about to retreat into the quilt to steal half a minute of leisure.

There was a bang, and the door was kicked open by Zi Gong.

"Son! Why are you still sleeping? Get up! I have found a craftsman who is willing to help."

Zaiyu raised his eyelids to glance at Zigong, then shrank his head back under the quilt.

"The blueprint is on the table, why don't you take it and go to him?"

Zigong didn't want to talk nonsense with him, he grabbed the two corners and threw the entire quilt up.

"Do you think what ordinary craftsman I found this time? He has a lot of background, and he is a descendant of Zhang Hui!"

"Zhang Hui?"

Zaiyu recalled it.

Legend has it that Zhang Hui was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Because he invented the bow and arrow and helped the Yellow Emperor defeat Chi You, he was given the family name Zhang, which is the source of the Ji surname Zhang.

It is precisely because he invented bows and arrows that he and his descendants have inherited the position of bow Zheng from generation to generation and are responsible for managing and making bows and arrows.

In other words, in ancient times, the old Zhang family was the monopoly trust of the bow and arrow industry, not only the regulator of the bow and arrow industry, but also the sole manufacturer of the industry.

It's just that in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the voice of the old Zhang family in the bow and arrow industry was seriously diluted.

Although it is still a well-known and time-honored brand, its market share is already higher than it was in its heyday.

But no matter what, the old Zhang family still has ancestral craftsmanship that has been passed down for thousands of years. It is inconceivable that ordinary Confucian scholars like Zaiyu and Zigong, who are unknown to the public, can get help from a master of bow and arrow of this level.

After thinking about this, Zaiyu suddenly felt that he was simply, Zigong moved——I couldn't hold it anymore!
He jumped up with a jerk, straightened his clothes and was ready to go.

"Hurry up and lead the way."

Seeing his burning appearance, Zigong hastily poured water on him to cool him down.

"Don't worry. Mr. Zhang originally served as Gongzheng under Zhou Tianzi, but because of his age, he resigned from his position and came to Lu State to teach his skills.

The reason why he agreed to meet us is because I told him that you have mastered a new method of making bows and arrows.When I see his old man later, you have to take back that broken mouth of yours.

If he said something wrong and angered him, not to mention that he didn't help, it is estimated that the bowsmiths in the entire Lu Kingdom would not dare to accept our order again. "

Zai Yu quickly promised: "Don't worry, I can still tell which is more important. Whether you can not lose face on the big gun and whether I can achieve good results on the big gun depends on Mr. Zhang's performance." .How could I offend him when I have nothing to do?"

Seeing Zaiyu's sincere expression, Zigong nodded half-believingly.

"You just understand."

After unifying their thoughts and conversing with each other, the two set off for Mr. Zhang's residence.

In fact, it is not appropriate to say that it is a residence, because the whole Qufu can be roughly regarded as a back shape, and the inside is called Cheng, and the outside is called Guo.

The biggest difference between a city and a Guo is that a city is protected by walls on all sides, while a Guo is not necessarily surrounded by walls.

However, whether it is a city or a country, in general, it is roughly divided into several major areas according to land functions.

The palace where the monarch works and lives is located in the very center of Qufu City.The first half of the palace is called the court, and it is the place where the monarch and officials deal with government affairs.The second half is called the bedroom, which is the place where the monarch lives.

Mr. Lu usually lives in the road bedroom, and besides the road bedroom, there are also other palaces such as the high bedroom, the east palace, the west palace, and the Chu palace. As for the specific people who live there, Zaiyu is not clear, and he is embarrassed to ask .

On the east side of the palace is the ancestral temple dedicated to the ancestors of the Lu Kingdom.

On the west side is the shrine for offering sacrifices to the Empress Dowager, but although it is said to be a temple, it is actually a high altar, so it is also called the Sheji Altar.

On the outskirts of the palace, there is an area where craftsmen produce and a market where merchants buy and sell things.

The places where artisans and merchants live are generally set up on the periphery of these workshops and markets.

These people above are all upper-class people living in Qufu City.

As for those poor people who make a living by farming, they mainly live in Guozhong outside Qufu City.

The destination Zaiyu and the others are going this time is the artisan workshops located near the palace in Qufu City.

Not long after Zigong led Zaiyu along the straight road, he saw a workshop full of people standing in front of it.

A group of craftsmen with various tools in their hands were looking inside on their tiptoes, and a few words of admiration came from the crowd from time to time.

"As expected of the master who once made the king's bow for Zhou Tianzi! This shot shows that the skill is profound."

"Look at Mr. Zhang's selection of materials. They are all high-quality materials. How dare we use them like this?"

"Zhe wood, ox horn, deer glue, buffalo tendons, and finally softened and lubricated with bear brains. Such a time-consuming and costly bow, probably only the king can afford it?"

"You really guessed right. The bow in Mr. Zhang's hand is exactly what the monarch is planning to use in the archery instrument."

When Zaiyu and Zigong heard this, they couldn't help being overjoyed.

They really came to the right place this time. Where can a craftsman who is qualified to make bows for the monarch go?
They squeezed through the crowd, came to the front row, and finally got a glimpse of the true face of this master bowsmith.

Mr. Zhang is stepping on the tip of the bow with one hand and pulling the string with the other hand, testing the tension of the new bow.

Although he is over sixty years old, he does not look old at all. Although the beard on his chest is gray, his eyes are hale and hearty.

The two sleeves were pulled up high, revealing the arms with bulging veins and knotted muscles. The high raised biceps looked like a coiled tortoise, which seemed to be indestructible.

With such a body, even if he is not a bowsmith, even if he goes to the battlefield to kill the enemy, he must be a brave warrior.

Zai Yu's heart jumped when he saw it, and he hurried forward to meet him: "May I ask if you are Mr. Zhang?"

The old man raised his eyes to look at Zaiyu, then at Zigong beside him, and immediately understood why they came.

"Are you the young man who claims to have mastered the new bow and arrow manufacturing process?"

　Some readers are like wine, worth keeping, the longer it gets, the thicker and more fragrant it becomes.

　　Some readers are like tea, which tastes delicious at first and warms the heart, but after a long time, the heart cools down.

　　——Excerpt from "Zaiyu's Diary"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)