retrograde

Chapter 36

Xiangyang City is a must-pass between the north and the south.

Although it is not like the southeast land with smoked willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and emerald curtains; it can also be said to be listed on the market with pearls, households full of Luoqi, and prosperous since ancient times.

In this era, the flames of war have not yet spread to Xiangyang.

The north-south exchanges and merchant transactions are all here.

The streets are bustling and bustling. In the tea shop, there seems to be someone telling a book, and there is a sound of laughter from time to time, so it is very lively.

In the depths of the alley, there is a store, with rows of hoes, sickles and other agricultural tools hanging at the door.

The store has been smeared with soot all year round, it is dark, and it is filled with the smell of fire.

From time to time, there was the sound of "clinking" irons in the house.

In Xiangyang City, this iron shop is the oldest. It is said that it was opened by military households who retired from the northern battlefield.It's a pity that the imperial court banned soldiers. Usually, they can only make some farm tools for a living.

In the store, an old man was fiddling with farm tools.His arms were bare, his skin was as dark as oil, his hands were covered with black calluses, and his thin body had refined muscles.

At this moment, a young man in white came in.

"My lord, what do you need?" A trace of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes.

Usually, the people who come here are some rough men, or peasants from the countryside. Could it be that such an imposing Mr. Pian Pian is the son of a rich family, how could he come to this kind of place?

"I heard that you have the best craftsmanship in Xiangyang City, and I want to ask you to make a handy weapon!"

The young man in white was none other than Ye Jun. He came with a black iron epee, intending to forge the black iron epee into a long spear.However, ordinary blacksmiths only know how to make some farm tools.Although it is said that long spears do not require high skills, black iron cannot be made by ordinary blacksmiths. Ordinary blacksmithing methods cannot melt black iron at all.

After inquiring around in Xiangyang City, Ye Jun found this place.

"I don't know what kind of weapons the young master wants to build?" The old man was not surprised. After all, although the imperial court banned soldiers, how could the merchants traveling between the north and the south and the rivers and lakes have no weapons?Everyone knows about the secret business.

Ye Jun stretched out his hand and tore off the package on his back. With a light shake, a black object fell out.

With a muffled "dong", the bluestone on the ground was smashed to pieces.

"This is... Xuan Tie!" The old man's eyes shrank suddenly, and he couldn't help exclaiming.

Fortunately, he is an expert, so he recognized it at a glance.Before Ye Jun found several blacksmiths who made farm tools, they didn't even know what black iron was.

"Used to build a gun, can it be done?"

Hearing this, the old man showed surprise, and said: "The black iron is extremely hard and much heavier than ordinary refined iron. If all of it is made into a long spear, it must be very heavy and inconvenient to use. Why not just make the spear head and make the rest of it With a sword, it will surely cut iron like mud, and become a peerless magic weapon..."

Ordinary weapons, mixed with some black iron, can cut iron like mud.For such a large piece of black iron, it would be a bit extravagant to forge all of it into a weapon.Especially if the gun shaft is also made of black iron, it is too wasteful.

If it is an ordinary person, it is natural.

However, for Ye Jun, if only the tip of the gun is black iron, it is too light and unsuitable for his method.

Ye Jun said in a lukewarm voice, "Shopkeeper, just ask if you can build it."

Seeing that Ye Jun was dissatisfied, the old man couldn't help but smiled coyly, and said apologetically, "This is the first time the old man has seen such a big and fast black iron, so he must have been a little reckless, please forgive me, my lord."

The guests can fight whatever they want, and when will I have to worry about other issues?

After a pause, the old man said: "Master, the spear is easy to make, but black iron is not easy to melt. I need to configure some special materials. If you trust me, you can come to pick up the weapon in three days."

Ye Jun nodded slightly and asked, "How much silver do you need?"

"It's the dream of craftsmen all over the world to be able to build a black iron weapon. The little old man doesn't dare to make money, so he only charges the cost of the work. 20 taels of silver, what do you think?"

In this era, the lives of ordinary people were relatively affluent. According to the records of the Song Dynasty, the family property of ordinary people was around 120 to 3000 guan.In "Water Margin", Yang Zhi's sword can be bought for three thousand guan, which is [-] taels of silver.It shows that the prices in the Song Dynasty were quite high.

The price of 20 taels of silver is indeed not expensive.It can be seen that the old man is a real person.

Ye Jun nodded, agreed on a date, drew the size of the spear, and left.

……

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Ye Jun narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking about how to earn the 20 taels of silver.

When he just crossed over, he didn't have any long possessions.

And this month, most of the time was spent in the valley with the eagles, how could I have time to make money?

When the money is used, I hate less.

In The Deer and Ding Ji, as the emperor of a country, how could Ye Jun be short of money?
Now, instead, he was worried about 20 taels of silver.

As the saying goes, a penny beats a hero.

However, Ye Jun wants to say, how can a hero be stumped by money?
These heroes in ancient times cost dozens of taels of silver, where did they come from?If you have no money, go to the rich to "borrow".In Tianlong Babu, when Qiao Feng left Yanmen Pass and had no money, didn't he just pass by the county government and steal hundreds of taels of silver from the public treasury?
The euphemistic name is: Robbing the rich and helping the poor.

Of course, what is robbed is the wealth of others, and what is benefited is the poor.

"It seems that I'm going to be a hero of "robbing the rich and helping the poor"!" Ye Jun sighed slightly, and then disappeared into the crowd.

That night, Ye Jun took advantage of the darkness and sneaked into the prefect's mansion.

This Xiangyang prefect was later the famous "Lv Wende".

Lu Wende, who colluded with the power minister Jia Sidao, supported the soldiers and respected himself, and he was no different from the Tu Emperor in Xiangyang.

The Taishou Mansion was built extremely luxuriously, comparable to the Pingxi Palace of the later generation Wu Sangui.

Just as Ye Jun entered the prefect's mansion, he suddenly heard exclamations coming from the mansion.

"Catch the thief!"

"There are thieves. The guards..."

Ye Jun frowned suddenly, was he discovered just after he came in?

How can it be!

If someone really found out, he, a master of strength, could almost commit suicide.

The mansion was noisy, and the lights were lit up.

It can be seen that teams of guards rushed to the backyard.

It seems that these people did not discover him.

However, Ye Jun also became curious.

Under the cover of night, he followed a group of guards and entered the backyard.

The backyard was already a mess.

It can be seen that in the backyard, there is a black figure, short in stature, as agile as a monkey, walking back and forth.

Dozens of guards were fooled around, and after most of the day, they didn't even touch the corner of the man in black.

Ye Jun frowned slightly, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He didn't expect to meet a fellow in the first time "robbing the rich and helping the poor".

PS: Well, everyone can guess who this man in black is!By the way, ask for a recommendation ticket!Do you have any recommendations?Help vote.Thanks!
(End of this chapter)