My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 101 Take it now!

A farce finally came to an end with Liu Rong's "unexpected dagger".

Not long after, Cen Mai took Liu Rong back to his class room, casually asked Liu Rong to sit down, and started studying the pile of drawings.

After all, he was the Young Master - even though he was not a 'craftsman', Cen Mai could still easily see the contents of the pile of drawings in his hand.

"Stirrup……"

"Bilateral stirrups?"

"There are tens of thousands of single-sided stirrups in the fund. If you match them two by two, there is no need to make them fresh..."

···
"saddle……"

"--so tall?"

"Since it is placed on the horse's back to serve as a seat cushion, there is no need for pig iron, only leather, cloth and the like..."

···
"It's this horseshoe..."

"To be nailed under a horse's hooves?"

"Sensational..."

Seeing that Cen Mai understood what he wanted to do so quickly, Liu Rong also smiled a little embarrassedly and nodded with evasive eyes.

——Zhajia, it is impossible for Cen Mai to give anything to Liu Rong.

The reason is very simple: Today, the Han Dynasty, basically all units with official background, such as county and county government offices, official workshops, etc., have inherited the "Wule Gongming" system of Ying Qin.

To put it bluntly, detailed records must be kept of the finished utensils, documents, and letters, no matter whose hands they passed through.

Take the Zhajia produced by Shaofu as an example.

Initially, the ledger of the Shaofu's internal funds would read: Due to a certain person's application, the Emperor's approval, the Prime Minister's Office's approval, and the court's decision, on such a certain day, month, and year, the amount and quality of leather were allocated from the internal funds. Approval person: Shaofu Ling XX.

Later, this batch of leather will be sent to the military workshop of the Shaofu, where it will be signed by the chief officer of at least Qianshi or above and distributed to the craftsmen.

Every time the craftsmen make a piece of armor, they also leave a message on the inside of the piece: On a certain day of a certain year, a certain supervisor of a certain department of the Shaofu, a craftsman named so-and-so made this leather armor piece. , the number is xx of the day;
Then, these batches of armor pieces will be sent to the Western Weaving Room, and then signed by the person in charge of the weaving room: one of the six prime ministers of the Shaofu. On a certain day of a certain month in a certain year, the Western Weaving Room will receive as many pieces of armor pieces as possible. The numbers are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd on a certain day of a certain year and a certain month...

It's not over yet.

After each piece of armor is sewn into a complete piece of armor in the hands of the weavers in the Western Weaving Room, a separate file will be established for this piece of armor.

The content of the file is roughly as follows: on a certain day of a certain year, a certain month, a letter from the Shaofu Western Weaving Room No.

There are as many pieces of armor as there are in total, and they are as follows: Shaofu No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 on a certain day of a certain year and a certain month...

Then, from the day the Zhajia made by the Shaofu leaves the Western Weaving Room, all its movements will be recorded in this file that belongs exclusively to the Zhajia.

For example: on a certain day of a certain year, a certain month, a certain person, on the order of a certain person (shaofu or emperor), transferred this piece of armor from the arsenal/internal funds for blah blah blah...

Even each piece of armor can be traced back to the entire process from production to discarding and destruction, or the entire 'life' from birth to death.

This is the system that the Han Dynasty, especially the Han Shaofu, inherited completely from Ying Qin: Wule Gongming.

The name of the maker must be engraved on the utensils.

This means that every piece of equipment produced by the Shaofu, whether it is weapons or agricultural tools, will be controlled by the government for life because of the "identity card" and "household registration" of people in later generations.

As for armor, crossbows and other standard weapons that are not allowed to be privately owned, let alone the entire suit;
——Even if it is a small part, the difficulty of obtaining it in the Han Dynasty is not much lower than that of hand-made photolithography machines in prehistoric times.

Under such circumstances, Liu Rong wants to fight?
I want to eat fart!
Don't even think about a piece of nail or even a suture on the nail!
Of course Liu Rong knew this too.

But time was running out, and Liu Rong had no choice but to make a move to prepare the three-piece cavalry suit that he had been unable to prepare before due to lack of a suitable 'reason'.

Some people in later generations said: If you propose to open a window to your roommate, there is a high probability that he will be rejected;

But if you propose to lift the roof, then your roommate will take the initiative to tell you: Lifting the roof is too outrageous, let's just open a window...

"This is not because I want to embarrass the young master - it is actually not convenient to take out these things in the past;"

"And now, we are eager to make these things to put down the rebellion."

Under Cen Mai's resentful gaze, Liu Rong looked left and right, moving uneasily, feeling a little restless.

Finally, he gave up the struggle and went straight to Cen Mai for a showdown.

"Before the rebellion broke out, it was very taboo for me to ask the young master to make these weapons."

"Right now, my father has worshiped Jianghou as Taiwei. In at least seven days, Taiwei Zhou will lead the troops to go on an expedition."

"——These seven days are really too tight."

"In desperation, I resorted to such a useless method..."

Liu Rong stopped grabbing the armor and took out another pile of blueprints. Cen Mai had already calmed down from his previous excitement of shock and anger.

The last trace of resentment completely dissipated with Liu Rong's confession.

After looking at the three-piece set of drawings in his hand, Cen Mai finally looked up at Liu Rong with a serious face and raised the drawings in his hand.

"There are a few things that I need to explain clearly to the young master first."

"First: Even if these things are made, they cannot be handed into the hands of the young master."

"Who it will be handed over to depends on His Majesty's will."

"——That's natural."

As soon as Cen Mai finished speaking, Liu Rong nodded quickly, obviously expecting this.

Then he saw that Cen Mai's frown relaxed slightly, and then said: "Second: As the young master said, Wu Chu has raised his troops to plot chaos, and the Taiwei will lead his troops to leave soon."

"——In the next few days, everyone in the Young Mansion will be extremely busy."

"If it hadn't been for Young Master's commotion today, even I should have been busy right now."

"So, whether these things are worth doing, whether we should do them in such a hurry and do so much - it doesn't matter what you say, and I can't make the decision."

"We must first figure out the purpose of these things, and then let a specialist evaluate them before leaving it to His Majesty to make a decision."

Cen Mai's words are reasonable, and Liu Rong's words are right.

I just didn’t expect that Cen Mai would do what he said, and after half an hour, everything was done!
Unilateral stirrups x2 - bilateral stirrups!
The wooden base is roughly wrapped in leather - a high bridge saddle!
Only the horseshoes could not be found now, but this did not prevent Cen Mai from finding the most authoritative cavalry expert in the Han Dynasty: Gong Gaohou Han Dandang to test the performance of Liu Rong's new products.

"Ok?"

"Bilateral stirrups?"

As a descendant of Han Wangxin and a 'half-Hun' who grew up on the grassland since birth and returned to the Han Dynasty a few years ago, Han Daidang immediately paid attention to the old horse almost as soon as he saw it. Abnormality arrived.

"What's the use?"

"The purpose of the stirrups is for the knights to use strength to mount their horses - and only the cavalry of my Han family can use them."

"The Huns learned how to ride horses from an early age and did not need stirrups at all."

"But even if the stirrups are needed to mount the horse, one side is enough, right?"

"——Wherever the stirrups are, you can mount the horse from that side?"

"Why bother..."

As he said this, Han Daodang couldn't help but look to his side, the eldest son of the emperor Liu Rong, who was smiling and telling him to 'try it and then talk'.

Seeing this, even though he had no expectations for the stirrups from both sides, Han Bai finally decided to give Liu Rong some face.

As a surrendered general of the Huns, especially one with an extremely special status as the 'son of King Han Xin', Han Daidang's popularity inside and outside the Han family's court was actually not very good.

That is to say, the slightly older Li Ji and Luan Bu - two old and unruly people. They thought about the friendship between them and Han Wangxin in the past, so they were willing to take Han Dai to play with him as the 'son of an old friend'.

In addition, Han Daidang could not find even three or five people who had attended a banquet together in and outside the court, let alone anyone close to him.

This is both good and bad for Han Daedang.

The good thing is: Han Daidang's interpersonal relationships are simple and overly simple, which makes Emperor Qi very relieved.

The disadvantages are also obvious: humans are social animals.

No matter who they are or in what circle they are not accepted, they will instinctively have a sense of crisis.

For example, Han Daodang currently only has two "year-old friends", Li Ji and Luan Bu, and these two guys are both in their seventies and eighties.

What if one day these two crooked men also stare at each other's legs?
If anything happens, and he is imprisoned or punished, wouldn't it be that there is no one to help intercede?
So these years, Han Daidang has been thinking about what to do to leave something for the future of the family. ——At least leave some connections, so that in twenty or thirty years, the family will end up with the ancestral hall destroyed and the family destroyed because of someone who disdains the descendants.

Regarding Liu Rong, the eldest son of the emperor, Han Dangdang's attitude in the past was very ambiguous: not deliberately getting close to avoid violating taboos, but not too distant to avoid regrets.

Today, he had a rare chance to interact with Liu Rong, so Han Daidang was happy to betray Liu Rong.

"How should I praise the young master..."

"Well……"

"As for the bilateral stirrups, they still have some use;"

"In case the knight accidentally falls off his horse, and there are stirrups on both sides, he doesn't have to go around to the side with the stirrups to get on the horse again. Instead, he can start from any side..."

With this in mind, Han Dangdang walked to the old horse, raised his foot and stepped on the stirrup, then turned over lightly and got on the horse.

Sitting on the high bridge saddle that rose up from the horse's back, Han Dandang subconsciously adjusted his sitting posture, and with a slightly stiff smile, he turned to look at Liu Rong, who was not far away.

"This saddle is nice!"

"It's very stable to sit on!"

"I'm good at riding, so I don't feel it very well;"

"If you are someone who has never ridden a horse, you should have a very obvious feeling."

After saying this, he was about to say the words of praise he had just organized for the saddles on both sides, but he saw Liu Rong raising his feet and walking towards him;
Han Daedang couldn't help but be surprised when he saw Liu Rong walking to the side of the horse without any care, grabbing Han Daedang's soles and stepping into the stirrups...

"Master?!"

Frightened by Liu Rong's sudden and strange behavior, Han screamed, but he didn't dare to exert any force on his feet, for fear of stepping on Liu Rong's thin-skinned and tender hands again.

However, Liu Rong ignored Han Badang who was already a little restless on the horse. He went around to the other side and put half of Han Badang's other foot into the stirrup.

Then, he raised his head with a smile and spoke, but Han Dandang was shocked again!
"Please also ask Gong Gaohou to stand up."

???

The first image that appeared in Han Daidang's mind was a rare skill on the grassland: the knight stepped on the horse's back with both feet, walking on the horse's back as if it were flat ground;
But Liu Rong spent so much effort, maybe he didn't want to see himself juggling, right?

With this thought, Han Xuan became even more uneasy and subconsciously stepped down...

!!!

It was this step that allowed Han Daidang to discover the New World and finally realize what Liu Rong wanted to express - stepping on the stirrups with both feet and raising his buttocks slightly from the saddle!
After a brief pause...

"Go! Get the bow!!!"

After giving the order, all the officials of the Young Mansion looked at each other in confusion, and cast their doubtful eyes on Ling Cenmai, who also had a look of embarrassment on his face.

--what's the situation? !

——Young Master, did you stab the traitor's den today? ! !

It’s the eldest son of the emperor, and it’s Marquis Gong Gao—why are they always talking about arms? ? ? ? ? ?

However, Han Daedang's personal guards did not notice the strange faces of the young officials. They only ran to Han Daedang's horse, picked up a bow, and ran back.

After Han Daida took the bow and pulled out an arrow from the arrow cluster, all the officials and subordinates realized belatedly: Now in the Han Dynasty, crossbows are banned but not bows, armor is not banned but not soldiers...

Holding the bow in one hand and holding the arrow in the other, Han Daidang first followed his muscle memory and drew the bow in a still state on the horse's back.

Very stable!

There is no need to carefully maintain the balance of the body as in the past, and then look for that fleeting shooting opportunity, that is, the body's balance state that occasionally appears;
Instead, you can adjust your breathing slowly and aim carefully...

Realizing this, Han Dang's expression, which was still somewhat dazed, suddenly became serious.

But he did not rush to speak. Instead, after repeated hesitation, he slowly drove the old horse forward;
Try to draw the bow again - it's still stable.

Then increase the speed and draw the bow;

Increase the speed, draw the bow again...

Until the old horse reached its speed limit, which was close to the speed of a galloping war horse, Han Daandang found that he could still free his hands to draw a bow and arrow on the galloping horse...

“Seal down the school grounds immediately!!!”

He ran all the way towards where Cen Mai and Liu Rong were. When Han Baidang turned over and dismounted with shock on his face, he shouted this for the fourth time: "Master, please seal this place immediately!"

"Anyone who sees this saddle and stirrups should take them immediately!!!"

Han Daidang roared several times without warning, which only made everyone present - including Liu Rong - couldn't help but be stunned;
However, Han Daandang stepped forward with a solemn face, even grabbed Cen Mai's arm somewhat roughly, and took two steps out.

Then, under Cen Mai's suspicious eyes and eyes narrowed due to the pain in his arm, he said word by word: "If the Huns get these two things, our Han family will never be able to get them again." Defeat the Huns!"

"——The Huns started riding sheep at the age of four, and started riding horses at the age of seven. Everyone is good at riding, but they can only stop their horses and draw their bows after galloping!"

"Being able to draw a bow while riding a horse and moving slowly is enough to attract the attention of Shan Yuting, and even be directly included in Shan Yuting's bodyguards!"

"But with these two things, even a person like me, who is only a 'middle-class figure' in the grassland, can draw a bow and nock an arrow while galloping on horseback!"

“What if the Huns got these things???”

When Han Dang pointed out the pros and cons with one word, Cen Mai's expression suddenly became solemn.

Without a trace, he pulled his arm out of Han Daidang's powerful steel-clamp-like palm, but he didn't panic too much, but walked forward smoothly and walked in front of the officials.

"You all should be used to things like this."

"——Go and gather here immediately everyone who has seen the stirrups, saddle drawings and actual objects!"

"I will personally go to the palace and ask Your Majesty to send court officials and people from the Prime Minister's Palace to investigate the family backgrounds of these people."

"Then, the wives, children, and children of these people were placed in Shanglin Garden."

Although the officials of the Young Mansion were a little surprised by Cen Mai's explanation, they did not feel too panicked.

——As the department with the highest level of confidentiality and the strongest awareness of confidentiality in the Han family, thousands of officials and assistants in the Shaofu have been prepared for this since the day they took up the post of Shaofu.

Most of the people present have even enjoyed such treatment: their families live in Shanglinyuan, they receive a salary worth a thousand stones, and they grow royal fields without paying taxes. Not to mention how nourishing their small life is.

If there is any discomfort, it is that it is not convenient to communicate with the outside world. If you need to buy things, you can only have someone do it for you.

But on the plus side, it saves a lot of effort?

"Here."

Cen Mai was not too worried about these people present.

——The person who can accompany Cen Mai and Liu Rong here and watch Han Daodang test the performance of stirrups and saddles cannot be a small shrimp in the first place.

If even these department chiefs, who are more than a thousand stones in weight and have "Adjutants of the Shaofu" per capita, are likely to accuse Han Han of betraying Hu, then there is no need for the Shaofu to implement any confidentiality measures.

After watching the officials and subordinates take their orders and leave, Cen Mai turned around and looked at Liu Rong and Han Daidang seriously.

"Young master and Marquis Gong Gao, do you want to enter the palace with me to meet the saint?"

He could ask questions at any time, but Cen Mai's eyes that kept wandering around the two of them had undoubtedly given the answer.

"I'm going!"

"I have other concerns about stirrups and saddles!"

"I must tell His Majesty personally so that I can feel at ease!"

Han Daidang was a straight-tempered person and did not realize the toughness in Cen Mai's words.

Liu Rong smiled bitterly, shook his head, and let out a long sigh.

"I just went to the propaganda room in the morning..."

"Hi, that's all..."

"The worst-case scenario is that I will be ridiculed again..."

"Let's go;"