Pirate Song

And at the request of Huang Zhen and Zhou Laowu, the brothers and sisters of Huang Yan and Zhou Hao were also included in the youth team in the backyard, which fulfilled their ideas, and from a selfish point of view, he also hoped that Huang Yan and Zhou Hao These brothers and sisters can fully integrate into the system of Crouching Tiger Manor, otherwise there are so few idlers in Crouching Tiger Manor, it may affect the training of others.

Moreover, even their female relatives were not left idle, and were arranged to manage some trivial matters, or take care of the daily life of the teenagers. Although there were not many women who came out to do things in ancient times, they were far less strict than those after the Ming Dynasty. However, although the worship of Lijiao has risen since Zhu Xi, Song Lizong, who has not yet taken over the post of emperor, is the one who really promotes it. Therefore, the defense against men and women is not as strict as in later generations.

As for Huang Yan and Zhou Hao's brothers and sisters, Gao Huaiyuan doesn't need to take care of them. Diligence, nepotism is of no use.

At the beginning, these little guys were really not used to this kind of role change. They instinctively felt that their elder brother was the leader here. They were a little complacent and wanted to specialize. However, when Gao Huaiyuan heard about it, he would just curl his lips and not make any statement. Huang Yan and Zhou Hao couldn't help themselves, and rushed over to teach them a lesson without showing any sympathy. The sisters were not happy at first, and wanted to find their parents to protect them, but Huang Zhen and Zhou Laowu had already received Huang Yan and Zhou Hao's explanations in advance. After being honest, I also understand that I am here, I can only be honest and obedient, and work with these orphans, there is no privilege at all!

In this way, the days passed in a busy way. In addition to watching the young people in Crouching Tiger Village grow up day by day, after the end of the busy spring farming, Gao Huaiyuan, the elder, was also very responsible for taking care of the young men in the area he was in charge of in the village. They were convened two days a month to train them routinely, and arranged for them to conduct inspections in the village to guard against robbers and prevent fires. After a period of contact, these strong men who were much older than Gao Huaiyuan They were also impressed by Gao Huaiyuan, and they understood that this kid should not be underestimated. Once he was serious about doing things, it was for the local people himself, so they all became obedient. What did Gao Huaiyuan ask them to do? They do their best to obey the arrangement.

Gradually, a small circle of martial arts was formed in the local village. Some young people were full of blood. Under the guidance of Gao Huaiyuan, they fell in love with martial arts. Groups practiced swords, guns, bows and arrows, which Gao Huaiyuan was very happy to see.

The expansion project of the backyard was basically completed in April, and this time the expansion was mainly to level some land and build a high wall, but the real building, in fact, did not increase much, but expanded a larger one At the same time, a raw material warehouse, a finished product warehouse and a grain warehouse were built respectively, and the original school yard was doubled to accommodate more teenagers practicing martial arts in the school yard.

In addition to these things, Gao Huaiyuan personally led the teenagers to cut trees in the mountains to clear the way. The reason why he didn't spend money to hire people to do these things was not because he lacked money and wanted to use these teenagers as free labor, but because he had The purpose is, right now he is not in a hurry to open this path, the real purpose is to take this opportunity to train these teenagers.

Swinging an ax is a must for logging, which is of great benefit to the teenagers in exercising their whole body strength. You must know that swinging an ax is not as simple as most people imagine. To complete such a simple action, it took one day to cut down a big tree by one person at the beginning, and I was so tired that I was so sore at night that I couldn’t even lift my arms. However, after a period of exercise, most of the teenagers can do it. The same big tree was felled very quickly, which was very effective for the physical exercise of the teenagers. After a few months, under Gao Huaiyuan's generous nutrition supply, all the strong ones walked like calves. Huhushengfeng, almost very quickly, each of them can draw more than eight hard bows, so that when they go to practice archery again, it has the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort.

After cutting down these trees, Gao Huaiyuan came up with a unique trick. Under the guidance of Zhou Laowu, ordinary trees were cut to a length of about two feet to ensure that they would be used for building houses without losing money, and then mules were not allowed. When Mara returned to the villa, he asked a team of ten people to carry it back with collective cooperation on his shoulders. This is the method he saw from the training of the special police and the Marine Corps. What he wanted was to exercise the teamwork awareness of everyone in the team. At the same time, they also exercised their sense of obedience. Although the teenagers did not understand why such a stupid method was used to transport the wood, Gao Huaiyuan's words were the highest instruction and should not be violated. So they were divided into groups according to their size, and a team leader was selected to lead them. Anti-wood returns to Zhuangzi.

In this way, they not only exercise their endurance, but also exercise their spirit of cooperation. No one can be lazy, otherwise they will not be able to hang out in the team. It can be regarded as the best of both worlds.

In short, Gao Huaiyuan basically thought of all the methods he could think of for military training, and these teenagers grew up day by day through his strange drills, and the results were far better than Gao Huaiyuan expected at the beginning. Less, this is the thing that makes him most gratified. Thinking about the reason, it is probably that the ancients were born to suffer more than the later generations!That's all he could explain.

As for the road leading to the mountain, the progress was not smooth. Some places were not well thought out. After logging, the road was found to be too narrow. With such a method, it is estimated that it will take some days before he wants to get to the copper mine.

And during this period of time, Gao Huaiyuan also managed to subdue the two blacksmiths that Xue Yan hired from outside. One of them was older, about 50 years old, and his name was Zhou Botong. Afterwards, Gao Huaiyuan was stunned on the spot, the old man actually had the same name as the old naughty boy, it was so ridiculous to think of it.

Counting the time, the old urchin Zhou Botong described by Jin Yong is probably also a person of this era. Unfortunately, what I met today was not a martial arts master, but a blacksmith who fled from the north to the south. What a world!

As for the other blacksmith named Lu Laoshi, he was younger, only in his 30s, and he was as strong as iron. He was also a blacksmith who escaped from Xingzhou, Hebei. In a fit of rage, he killed the official and went south to escape from Jin Kingdom's territory, and finally drifted to Daye. He wanted to rely on his skills to find a living job, and happened to meet Xue Yan who was also looking for such a person. , and accepted them.

At first, the two of them felt a little uncomfortable working with a half-sized man, but when they got to the old house and got in touch with Gao Huaiyuan, they found that Gao Huaiyuan was actually much stronger than they imagined, and Gao Huaiyuan was still an elder. The local reputation is quite good. The two of them can be regarded as stowaways. They have no legal status here. If anyone troubles them, the government can arrest them at any time. Gao Huaiyuan promised them that as long as they are steadfast If you really follow him, you will ensure that they will have no worries for the rest of their lives, so after thinking about it for a while, the two of them agreed to stay and work with Gao Huaiyuan.

After having these two blacksmiths, Gao Huaiyuan even arranged for them to live in Crouching Tiger Manor, and in the corner of the backyard, according to their requirements, built a blacksmith's shop, specially for Crouching Tiger Manor. Ironware, and after the two of them compared their skills, Zhou Botong was an old blacksmith, and his skills were much higher than that of Lu Laoshi. Lu Laoshi obediently became Zhou Botong's apprentice. The request, worked up.

Because Daye County produces copper and iron locally, it is very convenient to purchase some iron materials. After Gao Huaiyuan ordered Huang Zhen to purchase a batch of copper and iron, the blacksmith shop officially opened for production.

The sound of tinkling irons attracted the resting teenagers to watch the fun, but Zhou Botong was very stingy with his craft and refused to let the teenagers watch, and Gao Huaiyuan didn't force him to teach his teenagers how to forge iron. He used to watch them work. From Gao Huaiyuan's point of view, the old man didn't dare to say no. After all, he and Lu honestly ate Gao Huaiyuan's food now, so he let him watch.

Gao Huaiyuan didn't know much about this craft. At first, he asked them to make some farm tools. Seeing that the two of them were good at their craft, after getting used to each other for a while, they became familiar with the coordination of movements, so he asked them to make a few knives to see the specific craft. How about it depends on whether they can make a good knife.

Zhou Botong and Lu Laoshi also knew that Gao Huaiyuan was testing their craftsmanship, so after selecting the iron materials, they began to cut and forge.

Gradually, Gao Huaiyuan saw some tricks from their craftsmanship. He had never eaten pork, but he still knew how pigs run. Once an expert stretched out his hand, he would know if there was any. The old man this week is really not good. Soon, Lu Laoshi and Lu Laoshi repeatedly forged iron materials into fine steel, and this is not a knife blank. They selected two or three types of iron materials and processed them separately. Finally, it took several days to finish After forging various materials, these kinds of soft and hard steels were clamped together again for forging, and gradually the shape of the knife appeared.

Gao Huaiyuan was overjoyed at once, and now he found another treasure. This week, the old man actually used the method of clamping steel to make steel knives. This kind of craftsmanship is also the way Japanese knives are made in later generations. The steel knives he made It is elastic, but also very strong and sharp. It is a knife made by using the properties of steel of different materials, and it is easy to know that the craftsmanship of old man Zhou is definitely not bad.

Although the knives haven't been formed yet, Gao Huaiyuan already knows that the knives he makes will not be too bad. The key is that as long as he masters the final quenching, at least the knives he makes will be stronger than the hand knives that Xing Tutou gave them at the beginning. out a lot.

Sure enough, a few days later, after careful forging, quenching, annealing and other complicated processes, the knife was basically successful, and finally a copper handle was added to sharpen the knife. After finishing, a natural cloud-like pattern appeared on it, and when the sun shone, the cold light shone very beautifully.

After Gao Huaiyuan took these knives and inspected them one by one, he finally nodded his head in satisfaction. Although these knives were not as good as the two Mo knives and Heng knives he treasured, they were better than the lying knives. The mass-produced Song hand knives in Huzhuang are much better.

"This saber-making technique is a skill handed down from the old man's family. After the blade is shaped and polished, there are natural moiré patterns. I wonder if the young master is satisfied?" Old man Zhou said to Gao Huaiyuan proudly, looking at Gao Huaiyuan's expression.

"Good knife! Not bad! Very good!" Gao Huaiyuan repeatedly nodded in praise, he was so lucky that he reached out and picked up a master knife maker, it seems that the sky has not failed me!

With Gao Huaiyuan's compliment, Zhou Botong and Lu Laoshi were satisfied, so they planned to go back and continue working.

"Wait! Master Zhou, please listen to me. This knife is quite well crafted. Its toughness is far better than the hand swords in the army. But Gao wants to improve it. I wonder if Master Zhou is willing to listen?" Gao said. Huaiyuan shouted at old man Zhou holding a Liuyun knife.

"Oh?" Zhou Botong stopped when he heard this. As a swordsmith, he has been immersed in this field all his life, and he really has never heard of anyone wanting to improve the technique of his swords, so he felt a little displeased. .

"So the young master is still dissatisfied with Zhou's craftsmanship?" Zhou Botong asked Gao Huaiyuan with a somewhat unsightly expression.

Gao Huaiyuan immediately saw Zhou Botong's dissatisfaction, knowing that he had misunderstood himself, so he quickly shook his head and said, "No! Master Zhou misunderstood, how could Gao be dissatisfied with your craftsmanship? This level of craftsmanship is already There is no one in a thousand, Gao Mou meant to slightly change the shape of this knife, but it was not because he was dissatisfied with Master Zhou's craftsmanship!"

Only then did Zhou Botong feel relieved a lot, so he was very surprised, this kind of knife shape has been experienced for hundreds of years, and there has been no change, and how could his young master be dissatisfied with this kind of knife shape?So he asked curiously: "I don't know what kind of knife the young master wants the little old man to make?"

Gao Huaiyuan thought about it for a while, and felt that it was a little unclear to just say it, so he asked someone to bring his earthen pencil and paper, and started to draw on it.

Although the shape of hand knives in the Song Dynasty has changed significantly from that of Tang knives, there are still shortcomings of straight blades, and the knives themselves use chopping as the main means of killing the enemy. It is not as powerful as a knife with a curvature. From a mechanical point of view, a blade with a certain curvature can exert more power when chopping. The Japanese sword of later generations is a good example. It is a pity that after a long period of evolution, China's knife-making skills have gradually declined since the Song Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty, the power and quality of Chinese swords were far inferior to Japanese swords. Huaiyuan really wanted to have a batch of war knives similar to the Japanese knives of later generations, so after seeing Zhou Botong's excellent craftsmanship, he had an idea to change the shape of the knives.

After getting the pen and paper, Gao Huaiyuan found a nearby table and began to draw on it, while Zhou Botong and Lu Laoshi stretched their heads to watch.

After Gao Huaiyuan finished drawing, he handed the piece of paper to Zhou Botong: "I wonder if Master Zhou can try to make me a batch of such knives?"

Zhou Botong took over the blueprint and looked at it carefully. The blade on the graph has a relatively large arc, and the blade is slightly narrower and longer than the current hand sword. The spine is wider and thicker, and the blade is slightly steeper. In this way, it can not only chop and slash, but also has a certain stabbing ability, and the handle is relatively long, it seems that it can be held with both hands. The shape of the knife is very strange. It is the first time he has seen such a knife shape, but although It's just a picture, at first glance, it gives people a very powerful feeling, and makes people feel that after the knife is cast, it will not be too bad.

In fact, this sword did not completely imitate the shape of the Japanese sword of later generations, but Gao Huaiyuan imagined it on the basis of the Japanese sword and combined some shapes of the waist sword of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said to be a comprehensive product of the Japanese sword and the Han sword. It's just that it hasn't been built yet, so I don't know how it will work.

Zhou Botong was very curious, so he nodded and agreed: "Since the young master said it, I will give it a try! But I have never used this kind of knife before, so it may take a little longer!"

"It doesn't matter, master Zhou just try to do it, it may not be able to type it out in one go, take your time!" Gao Huaiyuan nodded in agreement.

During the following period of time, Zhou Botong and Lu Laoshi began to work in the blacksmith's shop. He still made this kind of knife with the method of clamping steel according to the previous skill of casting knives. At first, he didn't encounter any problems, but During quenching and annealing, some troubles were encountered. The arc of the knife was often uncontrollable and could not reach the ideal level.

This situation was very strange, and Zhou Botong was very depressed. He scrapped several knives in a row, which made him lose his temper. He stuck himself in the blacksmith's shop and could not get out. Days of thinking about this matter.

Of course Gao Huaiyuan knew why, it was mainly caused by the different expansion coefficients of several materials, but he had no choice but to tell Zhou Botong what he knew, and let him do the rest. These two professionals have gone out on their own to figure it out.