The Fifty-Four Ink Confucians mutually rejected each other, but shared a common goal in passing on their craftsmanship.

  Lü Bu didn't know why ōki Masamune was hiding, but he knew that ōki Masamune had a tattoo on his back. So with a sly smile, like a leopard staring at a small deer, he stared at ōki Masamune and laughed: "What's the meaning of the tattoo on your back, Master ōki?"

  Ou Zhi's heart sank as soon as he heard it, blaming himself for being too talkative. He forced a smile and said: "Hehe... tattoos? It was just Ou Zhi being naughty when he was young, just playing around. Hehe."

  Lü Bu didn't care if Ou Xingzi was a Mohist or not, he was just curious for the moment. Now that the other party didn't acknowledge it, he wouldn't pursue the matter either. Lü Bu knew that Ou Xingzi's craftsmanship was extraordinary, and what the army lacked most at present were good craftsmen. He wanted Ou Xingzi to come to the army as a craftsman, so he said: "I don't care who you are, but my army is currently lacking a skilled craftsman like Master Ou, so I'd like to invite Master Ou to join my army as a crafts officer. What do you think, Master Ou?"

  Ou Zizong felt a pang in his heart, fearing what might happen. He had no intention of going to the government office, so he said: "Sir, I appreciate your kindness, but I still have an iron shop that has been passed down from my ancestors, and I cannot abandon it. So I hope you will excuse me."

  Lü Bu wouldn't let such a good craftsman go, so he invited him: "Master Ou, don't worry too much, as long as you agree, your ironwork shop will still belong to you. I just want you to make weapons for my army. As for the pay, whatever you can get in a month, I'll give you ten times that."

  The hostage saw Lü Bu and was unwilling to let him go, feeling distressed in his heart, but still refused: "Thank you for your kindness, sir, it's just that the hostage really can't follow orders, I hope you'll understand."

  Lü Bu saw that Ou Xingzi was not yielding, and his heart became even more arrogant. He naturally did not want to let the good craftsman go. Since soft tactics didn't work, he resorted to hard ones, shouting an order: "Take him away!"

  Lü Bu's subordinate, Zhang Liao, quickly responded by fetching a rope from a nearby rack and calling over several soldiers to bind Ou Xing. Lü Bu sneered, "Today, the country is in turmoil, and the people are in danger. Even a commoner should contribute to the nation. Currently, our army lacks skilled craftsmen like you, so I'm offering you a favor. Why don't you know how to appreciate it? If you agree today, that's fine. But if you refuse... humph! I'll throw your entire family into prison."

  "Sir, why are you making things difficult for me? I don't know what crime I have committed. Do you want to imprison my whole family?"

  Lü Bu laughed treacherously: "What crime do you know?! Your great sin can destroy your clan. Now the Xianbei are spying on our Great Han from the north, and there are many rebellious officials and traitorous sons in the world. If you don't respond to my army now, we won't be able to produce good weapons. How can soldiers without good weapons kill enemies and protect their families and country? As a hostage, you have an extraordinary skill, but now you're not contributing to the country. In the future, if barbarian slaves invade China or rebellious bandits cause chaos and take you away, then you'll be working for the barbarians, making weapons for them. Isn't that aiding the enemy and rebelling?"

  Yuwen Ke heard Lü Bu's words and knew that he was trying to frame him, but he couldn't refute it. He could only sigh and say: "Alas... Yuwen also knows that General Lü is a great general of the Han Dynasty. If you agree to one request from Yuwen, then Yuwen will follow your orders."

  Lü Bu was delighted and laughed: "Speak quickly. Whatever I, Lü Bu, can do, ten or eight of them will be fully granted to you."

  "Then, sir, have someone untie the ropes on me first."

  Lü Bu personally came forward, untying the ropes from Ou Xing's son while laughing and saying: "Just now I scared you, son of Ou, don't blame me. I truly appreciate your talent."

  Lü Bu untied Ou Xingzi's bonds. Ou Xingzi then said to Lü Bu, "Tell others to withdraw first, I have something to say."

  Lü Bu drove Leng away and only kept Zhang Liao by his side, saying: "Wen Far is my close relative, you can rest assured to speak."

  "Your Excellency's eyes are indeed good, the tattoo on my back is indeed a Mo family mark. To be honest, I am indeed a member of the Mo family. I refused to surrender to Your Excellency and join the army because the Mo family has a rule that all members of the Mo family are not allowed to submit to Han officials and military."

  Lü Bu was taken aback and asked, "What's going on?"

  Mozi smiled wryly and said, "I'm not very clear about it either, but I know the general idea. It started from the time of Emperor Wu of Western Capital. During his reign, he favored Confucianism and abolished all other schools of thought. My Mohist school values life and strength, and strongly rejects the Confucian idea that life and death are predetermined by fate, and that wealth and honor come from heaven. This is just a way to deceive foolish people and waste their creative energy. We Mohists only believe in human effort, not fate. There's no such thing as destiny; there's only what we can't achieve with our strength. Therefore, my Mohist school has always been dedicated to researching and mastering skills, perfecting our craft. Unfortunately, Emperor Wu only believed in Confucianism. The Confucians looked down on our technical skills as cunning tricks, and despised us. We once presented precise instruments to the imperial court, but unfortunately, they were not adopted, and instead, we were ridiculed by the Confucians. That's why our ancestor, Mozi, passed down a strict rule: all Mohist disciples are strictly forbidden from serving in the Han imperial court or military. Our discipline is as strict as Lord Lü's military law. That's why I refused your kind offer earlier."

  Lü Bu was shocked upon hearing this. It turned out that the Mohist and Confucian schools were at odds, and the Mohists had lost. The Mohist master, in a fit of anger, had set down those infuriating rules, which unfortunately meant that the Mohist's exquisite craftsmanship would not be used by the great Han dynasty. Alas... since he had come to this era, he would not let Chinese talent be buried forever. He then said to Ou Yezi: "What a pity about the Mohists' fine craftsmanship! Is it possible that the Mohist master will be buried and forgotten like this? If so, I fear that the Mohist school's learning will eventually have no successors."

  "Alas... the lord is indeed extraordinary. I, too, have thought of this. Therefore, I have a request to make of the lord. If the lord agrees to my proposal, I will devote all my energy to assisting him. But if the lord refuses my request, then he might as well kill me and my entire family, for I would not submit."

  Lü Bu had already guessed what Ou Xingzi wanted, and with both hands grasping Ou Xingzi's palms, he excitedly asked: "Is it that you want me to spread the fine learning of the Mohist school far and wide, so that it will be passed down forever?"

  "Indeed, just as you said, sir."

  Lü Bu laughed and said: "Haha... What you ask for is what Lü Bu wishes."

  Yu Wentai was overjoyed when he heard this. He repeatedly bowed to Lü Bu as his superior and offered to surrender with his entire family. He also promised that if he had the opportunity to meet the great Mozi, he would do his best to persuade him to bring his clan to surrender.

  Yu Bu used both soft and hard tactics, and also threatened Ou Xingzi's family. Later, because the two had the same ambition, he followed Yu Bu and entered his army as a crafts officer. When Yu Bu saw that Ou Xingzi had agreed, he hastily ordered someone to serve him well, and rewarded him with many gold, jewels, and jade utensils.

  Lü Bu obtained Ou Xingzi, and first asked him to take care of the matter of Ou Xingzi's armor and equipment. What he wanted most now was for Ou Xingzi to improve Lü Bu's near-guard crossbow machine. Due to the time and distance relationship, Lü Bu's cavalry could only shoot once when killing enemies, so Lü Bu thought that the cavalry should be able to shoot multiple arrows at once. So he said to Ou Xingzi: "I'm very happy to have you as a hostage now. I wanted to let you get familiar with some military matters first. But today, there are many urgent things in the army, so I want to trouble you for a while."

  Ou Zizhong smiled and said: "Since it's urgently needed in the army, we should prioritize it. Why does Milord need to be so polite?"

  Lü Bu smiled and said, "You are indeed a wise man." He then took down a special crossbow for cavalry from a nearby rack and handed it to Ou Xing. "This crossbow is used by our army when we charge at the enemy on horseback. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good craftsman to make it, so the workmanship is a bit rough. When we're charging, time is of the essence, so we can only shoot once with this crossbow. It only has one slot for arrows. I'd like you to think carefully and come up with a way to improve it. If we could shoot multiple arrows at once, our army would gain an even greater advantage."

  Yu Wuzi held the crossbow made of lychee wood, played with it for a while, and praised: "Hmm, this crossbow is a bit rough, but it's simple and light, the one who made this crossbow must be a skilled craftsman."

  Lü Bu laughed and said: "Hehehe... What's the point of being clever? It's just Lü Bu showing off."

  Yu Jin looked at Lü Bu in surprise and said, "Oh. So our lord also has such a clever mind."

  Lü Bu laughed and said: "Hehe, don't boast, Mo. I'll make you proud. How about it? Can you improve this crossbow?"

  Ou Zizhong smiled and said: "No need to improve. What Master wants, there is already something ready in our Ou family."

  Lü Bu was overjoyed and said: "Oh, in that case. Hurry to the hostage's residence to take a look."

  Lü Bu wanted to improve his archery skills, and didn't think that Ou Xingzi's family had a good crossbow, so he hastily brought Zhang Liao along with Ou Xingzi to go see.