Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 68 The Decree
Wang Tiechui took it carefully, and held the handle made of beef bone with his hand, feeling very comfortable to hold. With a light pull, the dog-leg knife came out of the box, and a ray of cold light burst out from the blade. The cold air was overwhelming, and he couldn't help but Called: "Good knife!" Several people sitting next to him also cheered, such a good knife is really rare.

Yang Menglong smiled: "What's so good about it?"

Wang Tiechui didn't speak, his eyes flicked slowly from the tip, back, blade, and handle of the knife, like an antique expert appreciating a rare treasure, or like a pervert who looks gentle but is really lustful looking at a Stunning beauties are all fascinated.This knife is indeed a good knife. After so many fierce battles, there is not even a small gap, it is still extremely sharp, and it is a bit more murderous.It's just that its shape is really weird, like a dog's leg, with a thick and blunt back, and a wide front and narrow back. No matter how you look at it, it feels weird and does not conform to everyone's aesthetics.Wang Tiehammer looked at it for a long time, and flicked the blade with his fingers. The sound was clear and buzzing, and the quality of the steel was rare.He slashed a few times vigorously, and the sound of the blade cutting through the air could be heard clearly. He couldn't help saying: "What a clever design! The front is wide and the rear is narrow. It looks ugly, but in fact it greatly strengthens the chopping strength, and it acts like an axe." No wonder such a short knife can chop off a horse's head with one blow!"

Yang Menglong gave him a thumbs up: "You can see its advantages so quickly, you are really an expert!"

Seeing the tense faces of the people around him, Wang Tiechui was very embarrassed, put the dog-leg knife back into its sheath, and reluctantly returned it to Yang Menglong, saying: "It's really a good knife, but it's a pity that the steel is so rare, otherwise I can try it Give it a shot."

Yang Menglong looked skeptical: "You mean, as long as you have enough good steel, you can also make such a good knife?"

Wang Tiehammer said: "It is impossible to make a knife as good as this one, but it is not difficult to forge a slightly inferior one... This knife is so powerful, even if it is slightly inferior, it is still a rare good knife gone."

Yang Meng shook his head like a splashing drum: "I don't believe it. Seeing is believing, and hearing is believing. Unless you can really show me a shot, you are just bragging."

As a senior blacksmith in the field he is good at, it is very embarrassing to be openly questioned by others. Wang Tiehammer blushed and wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to refute. Finally he took a breath and muttered: "If you can Find a good piece of steel like this and I'll let you know in a second if I'm bragging!"

Yang Menglong smirked: "Then find a piece of steel and punch it out to prove it to me."

Wang Tiechui said in a low voice: "Little General Yang, you said it lightly. Steel is so precious. Do you mean you can find it if you look for it? Do you know how rare a piece of good steel is?" He stretched out a finger, his tone very Zhong: "If you want to get a good piece of steel, you have to repeatedly heat and forge it for many years. A piece of [-] steelmaking takes at least a year to make it. Even if it is almost [-] steelmaking, it takes half a year to make it Success, that's how the idiom 'hardened into steel' comes from!"

Yang Menglong began to curl his lips habitually again: "It takes a year to smelt a piece of steel? You are really stupid, there are so many ways to make steel, why do you have to choose this tiring and inefficient method?"

Wang Tiechui snorted: "You have never made steel, and you haven't experienced that kind of suffering, so of course you can talk about it!" He looked at Yang Menglong's dog-leg knife again, and said, "Until now, weapons made by smelting steel are still very powerful. It is precious, and it is known as a sharp weapon of the gods, so many generals would not be able to buy it!"

Yang Menglong propped his chin with his hand, and said as if he had a toothache: "In fact, steelmaking is very easy. As long as we build a blast furnace capable of high temperature, ensure the temperature, and make each process more precise, we can smelt high-quality steel in one furnace." Ten thousand catties of good steel!"

This time it was Wang Tiehammer's turn to curl his lips: "Bragging!"

Yang Menglong said: "I'm bragging? Well, if you have the guts, you follow me. When I have money, I'll let you know if I'm bragging!" He said in his heart: "Lao Tzu's ancient literature is not very good, but mathematics, physics and chemistry are good. It’s so good at learning. It’s not difficult to smelt a few furnaces of steel by following the gourd drawing ladle, right? If it’s not possible, give some advice to those steel craftsmen. Combining theory with practice, it’s not very difficult to smelt good steel. !"

Wang Tiechui said: "Anyway, you are..."

The words "bragging" were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the other side of the stairs. Fang Yingqiu Feng rushed up and glanced at the crowd. He didn't look for anyone and went straight to Yang Menglong. When they met, He shouted: "Brother Yang, I have found you, come back with me quickly, come back with me quickly!"

Yang Menglong asked angrily: "What's the matter? Is Jiannu coming or is the county government on fire?"

Fang Yingqiu choked for a moment and said, "Neither of them."

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes: "Since it's not true, then it's nothing serious. Why are you running in such a hurry? Those who know say you have something serious, but those who don't know think your ass is on fire!"

Fang Yingqiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, stomped his feet and said, "It's really a big deal!"

Yang Menglong murmured: "It will be no good when you come, I'm used to it."

Fang Yingqiu was so anxious that he almost jumped off the building: "Imperial decree! The imperial decree is here! Hurry up and get back to receive the decree. If this continues, good things will turn into bad things!"

The eyes of Wang Tiechui and the two little brats who were immersed in eating and listening to nothing outside the window suddenly widened. Yang Menglong was also stunned for a moment and asked: "Imperial edict? Has the emperor sent someone to issue an edict?"

Fang Yingqiu nodded vigorously.

Yang Menglong pointed to his nose: "Do you want me to receive the order?"

Fang Yingqiu yelled: "Nonsense, otherwise why would I come here in such a hurry? Come back with me!" Dragging Yang Menglong up, he ran out. In desperation, this son erupted with enormous strength, which even Yang Menglong couldn't compete with, and was caught He dragged his body involuntarily and ran to the county government office.He shouted: "I haven't paid the bill yet!" Fang Yingqiu said: "The county government will send someone to pay the bill later!" Dragging this bastard all the way away in smoke and dust.

Everyone was dumbfounded, there was no sound in the restaurant, and a needle could be heard.After a long while, the waiter in the shop came to his senses, and cautiously reminded the shopkeeper: "Boss, he hasn't paid the money yet!"

The shopkeeper rubbed his big hands, excited: "Oh, the court is here, and it's time to commend General Xiao Yang! General Xiao Yang has made great achievements, so he should be a general this time, right? A great general actually came to my small restaurant to eat, and the wall is shining, the wall is shining!" He completely forgot that Yang Menglong is not even a soldier now.

Running all the way back to the county government office in smoke and dust, he rushed into the back hall in a hurry. Yang Menglong saw that there were more than ten cavalrymen in the small county government office. Their clothes were bright and gorgeous, and there was a sense of arrogance everywhere. A thin and beardless middle-aged man The young man stood there with his hands behind his back. Fang Yizhi and others were accompanying him and talking carefully to him.Seeing Yang Menglong coming, Fang Yizhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took a few steps forward and lowered his voice and asked, "Where have you been? Why are you back now?"

Yang Menglong was a little wronged: "I went out to have a meal, and I was having a good time. Your precious son rushed up like the house was on fire and dragged me back!"

Fang Yizhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Forget it, I don't care about your affairs!" He pulled him towards the middle-aged man: "This is Eunuch Wu from the capital, why don't you meet Eunuch Wu soon?"

Father-in-law?

Yang Menglong looked at the legendary dead eunuch very curiously, er, he was thin, with several wrinkles on his forehead when he was only in his forties, his eyes were twinkling, his chin was smooth, and he didn't have a beard , the corners of the mouth are professionally turned up, which always gives people a feeling of a superficial smile, which makes people very uncomfortable. Apart from that, there is nothing special about it!He cupped his hands and saluted: "Hello, father-in-law, my name is Yang Menglong, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

What a special self-introduction!

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked by Lei, and Fang Yizhi almost went crazy.My ancestor, this is the emperor's trusted servant, the emperor's confidant, and he is passing the edict on behalf of the emperor. What a noble status, you old man is good, you can just hand in hand, and dare to make friends, not afraid of offending him?Eunuch Wu was even more taken aback, with an ugly expression on his face. He stared at Yang Menglong, seeing Yang Menglong's calm expression and a bit of curiosity. It seemed that this was a very common thing. Without a smile on his face, he hummed and said, "You are Yang Menglong, the little General Yang who has been praised by Mr. Lu, right? Our family name is Wu Mingyong. It's a pleasure to meet you." The voice is not as sharp as that of ordinary eunuchs, but more feminine. Much like a woman, it sounds uncomfortable, but not enough to give goosebumps.

Yang Menglong's eyes lit up when he heard the word "Lord Lu", he couldn't help but stepped forward, and asked anxiously: "How is Master Lu? Has he arrived in the capital a long time ago? Did he fight Jiannu? Yes." Is there no danger?" A series of questions were urgent and fast, like machine gun fire, and the concern was palpable.

After a series of questioning, Wu Yong knew it in his heart, and said to himself: "As Master Lu said, he is just a child who hasn't fully understood! From this point of view, it wasn't that he offended just now, but that he didn't understand at all. These etiquettes... It's fine if you don't mean to offend, our family has a bit of status anyway, and we don't need to care about a child." Thinking of this, he smiled and said: "Master Lu has a great reputation now, and he is very popular. He brought [-] heads of Tartars into Beijing, all of them were heads of real captives after inspection, and brought so many captives with him, but he gave a bad breath on behalf of Long Live God! Since the establishment of slaves last year, our family It was the first time I saw Lord Long live really smile! Elder Sun Ge personally went to Lord Lu’s camp to challenge Lord Lu with all kinds of military problems. Lord Lu solved them one by one. In time, he will surely become the Optimus Prime of the Ming Dynasty! Later, Master Lu competed with the frontier warriors in the school field, and with a big knife, he was able to prevent the water from entering. He defeated [-] generals in a row, and he was unscathed. Give it three 'yes'!"

Fang Yizhi said sincerely: "Master Lu is versatile in both civil and military affairs, brave and resourceful, and worthy of the three words 'good' of the emperor."

Wu Yong said: "That's right. After that, the Long Live Lord often called Master Lu into the palace. The two of them talked for a long time. Every time I saw Master Lu, the Long Live Lord was always in a good mood. The Long Live Lord said Now, I want to be promoted to Lord Lu's official position, let Lord Lu build an invincible iron-blooded force, and wash away his shame and humiliation of becoming a slave and entering the bandits!"

Yang Menglong smiled wryly in his heart.Lu Xiangsheng was originally a foolish and loyal person. Emperor Chongzhen appreciated him so much, why didn't he show his heart?I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing for Lu Xiangsheng... Forget it, good or bad can't be avoided, just let nature take its course.

Wu Yong looked at Yang Menglong and said: "Lord Lu often mentions the name of General Yang to Long Live Lord, saying that General Yang is the champion of the three armies, and he has a pure heart. He is a rare talent. Long Live Lord is thirsty for talents. Naturally, such a talent will not be let go, so we sent our family here." Seeing Fang Yizhi's expression is not very good-looking, he added: "Master Lu also praised Fang Zhixian's dedication to his duties, and praised Master Fang as a competent person. Parents and officials, you have great talents, and Long Live Lord is also very happy, and wants to reuse you! Kneel down and accept the order!"

Yang Menglong muttered: "Kneel down again?" He was very resistant to kneeling, because he had never kneeled before since he was a child.But when he saw the people around him kneeling down, he had no choice but to kneel down as well, muttering silently: "By God, the emperor ordered——"

Wu Yong unfolded the imperial decree and read it in cadence, and the beginning was exactly as Yang Menglong guessed: "Follow the heavens, the emperor's decree says——"

Look, you guessed it right?

However, he didn't guess the following content:

"Yang Menglong, a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, was honest, brave, and naturally chivalrous. He led the soldiers and civilians in civilian clothes to bravely resist the slave army. He fought bravely and repelled seven attacks by the slaves. He killed two generals in white armor and shot them to death. As a member of Ezhen, he tried his best to protect the county seat and tens of thousands of lives from the poison. He is also a sincere and brave man! Now he has been promoted to Wuyang Thousand Households, hereditary, and will be rewarded with 3000 taels of snowflakes, silver, a golden gun, and brocade. One piece of robe to show Yang Qing's achievements!"

"Fang Yizhi, the magistrate of Dingxing County, fulfilled his duties and was not afraid of danger. He actively moved the people into the city when the army of slaves was overwhelmed. A single army in the city gave up their lives to fight each other, and finally defeated the Jiannu soldiers, leaving nearly a thousand Jiannu corpses. I give you 3000 taels of snowflake silver, a brocade robe, and a gold sword to show your merits to Fang Qing. I admire this!"

(End of this chapter)