Chapter Twelve: Refining the Troops

  Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion: Who knew what the hell "Uz Precision Steel" was? If it weren't for meeting Tang Long today, no one present would have heard of it.

  Xu Ning furrowed his brow, thinking to himself: "Little brother-in-law, little brother-in-law, I've finally found you a chance to make a name for yourself, don't let it slip away." He saw the disappointment on Gao Qiang's face and hastily asked Tang Long: "Brother, since you know the origin of this famous steel, surely you must have some leads?" As he spoke, he threw a glance over.

  Tang Long was quite clever and immediately understood, hurriedly dryly saying: "Although this Uighur fine steel is rare, our dynasty's commerce is flourishing, in the Eastern Capital's Southern Market there are many big eaters and Tianzhu merchants, among them must be those selling weapons, the yamen can certainly send someone to investigate, it won't be a wasted trip."

  Gao nodded strongly, thinking that this made some sense. Such a famous item would not be overlooked by merchants. If this knife could flow to Zhongtu, then Uzi precision steel naturally could too.

  A few people talked about military strategy and tactics, with Gao Gang being among them. They all benefited greatly from the discussion, and it wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that they dispersed with joy.

  The next morning, Gao Qiang was awakened by Lu Zhishen's loud voice. Lin Chong had arrived early to perform the "Two Masters Training Disciples" with Lu Zhishen. Since several heads had already been knocked, Gao Qiang could not decline and reluctantly left his warm bed, as well as Xiaoying who had just gotten used to spending the night with him.

  As the commander of the Imperial Guard, there was naturally a martial arts training ground in the mansion. The large courtyard was compacted tightly, with eighteen types of weapons lined up on both sides. Several old soldiers who were sweeping saw the official come to practice martial arts early in the morning, and they couldn't help but feel admiration for him. They busily poured tea, handed out towels, and wiped clean several spears and two wooden swords, respectfully asking the official to choose which one to use.

  Lu Zhishen couldn't bear the sight of these people, and with a few loud shouts, he chased them all away and closed the main gate. Although several old soldiers were driven out, they didn't hurry to leave, but instead stood guard outside the martial arts arena, thinking that if there was any errand from the yamen, they would have an opportunity to show their faces.

  It wasn't until nearly noon that the official and the two teachers finally came out, leaving several old soldiers stunned. The two teachers were neatly dressed, their faces not red or panting, but the official had his shirt open, his mouth askew, stumbling forward with unsteady steps, so exhausted he almost didn't have the strength to breathe, clearly having been worked to the extreme.

  The old soldiers were all indignant: where is there such a disciple, the imperial palace is made of gold and jade, but you are being ravaged like this, and in just a few days, you will be exhausted and fall ill! Unexpectedly, these two devilish teachers have another annoying aspect, they don't even allow anyone to help the imperial palace, insisting that the imperial palace must walk back to their room alone!

  The old soldiers couldn't imagine, and immediately someone flew to report to Gao Qiu, saying that the young master had been injured by two teachers. Although Gao Qiu knew that his son had invited two teachers, one of whom was Lin Chong, he hadn't had time to see them yet, and upon hearing this news, he was shocked, hastily ran over to see his son, and happened to intercept him at the gate of Gao Gang's small courtyard.

  As soon as he saw his son's miserable state, Gao Fu's heart ached terribly. He was about to scold someone when he heard Gao Qiang say with great effort: "Father, father, it is said that a strict teacher produces excellent students. Both teachers are being so severe because they want the child to succeed early on. To tell the truth, it's all because the child didn't study hard enough in the past and ended up like this."

  Gao Yun was speechless, but his son was willing. Although Gao Yun's background wasn't great, he had been through ups and downs in the officialdom for decades and knew that having more skills meant having more ways to survive. He himself was a good example of this. In the past, when he served as a clerk under Su Shi, he was praised for his "excellent writing skills", which showed that his writing was not ordinary. But who would have thought that he later rose to prominence thanks to his exceptional football skills? Life's twists and turns were indeed unpredictable. Now that his son had made up his mind to practice martial arts, it wasn't a bad thing either, so he just let him be.

  Gao Jian barely thanked the two teachers, instructed his son to rest well and be careful not to lose strength. Just as he was about to leave, Gao Qiang suddenly said: "Father, I'm learning martial arts, and the teacher says that we need to use Wuzi steel to forge weapons. Does anyone know where to get it in the capital?"

  “……” Gao Yun was shocked, where had he ever heard of such a thing? Fortunately, the commander had many people under him, and someone next to him cleared his throat and said: "Sir, according to my knowledge, this Wuzi steel is produced in Tianzhu, and it is used to cast knives and guns that are all treasures. It is the best steel, and the precious knife in the Commander's mansion was also made of this steel. This thing is rare, and only one large food merchant in Nan City has some stock, and even then, it can't be obtained easily." Gao Yun took a look at this person and recognized him as Wen Rui Zhang, whom he had spoken to the night before.

  Gao Yun was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately ordered a minor official beside him to go and purchase the goods, regardless of quantity or price. He instructed that all high-quality steel be brought back together, and that any future discoveries of such material should be sent directly to the Marshal's residence. The minor official assented and asked Wen Rui for the location and name of the shop, then rushed off to the southern market to make the purchase. As for colluding with the merchant to inflate the price and split the profit, this was a common practice that didn't need to be mentioned.

  From then on, Gao Qiang spent every day under the crazy training of Lin Ru and Er, although it was unbearable at first, but as time passed, he felt his body getting lighter and healthier, and his guns and sticks were gradually swinging.

  The wooden sword was swung all the way without hitting himself, and he couldn't help but feel a little proud.

  After more than ten days, Lu Qian came to report that he had already searched for the Uzi steel in Tokyo and found nothing. Tang Long also brought a letter of introduction from Gao Yun's palace and borrowed a steel furnace from the military equipment supervisor to prepare for making weapons. Gao was very happy and coincidentally, Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen were given a day off today. Lin Chong wanted to go to Yingzhou, while Lu Zhishen was invited by some thugs from the original vegetable garden to drink wine, so he called Lu Qian to follow him to Tang Long's place to watch the making of weapons.

  The two men walked to the gate when they suddenly heard someone calling from behind: "Inspector, wait a minute!"

  The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Gao Jian turned his head to take a look. It was Wen Ruan Zhang, so he smiled and said: "Mr. Wen has arrived just in time. The other day, thanks to Mr. Wen's vast knowledge, I was able to buy the Wuzi steel. Today, the governor is going to inspect the forging of the treasured sword. Why don't you come along with us, sir?"

  Wen Ruan Zhang originally wanted to get closer to Ya Nei, so he happily agreed. He rode a horse alone and headed towards the military equipment supervisor's office. As for those rascals who usually followed Ya Nei and made trouble, since Gao Qiang started practicing martial arts, they had no chance to cause any more trouble and could only scatter like birds and beasts.

  That military equipment supervisor was located in the western city, and the road was very far away. However, today was a fine day with a gentle breeze, and there were many people on the road. Gao Fang rode his horse, wearing a Fan Yang bamboo hat, with the brim pressed down low, and only two attendants followed him. He no longer had the grandeur of being surrounded by people in front and back as before, and for a moment, nobody recognized him.

  Watching the flowers and appreciating the scenery, they walked in silence. When they arrived at the location of Tang Long's steel refining, all they saw was a tall furnace standing upright, two bellows blowing vigorously, and flames shooting up two to three meters high. Tang Long held an iron rod, intently observing the color of the flames, occasionally giving various orders to his subordinates by his side.

  Gao Jiang didn't even call out to report, and instead went to stand behind Tang Long, watching him rush back and forth.

  Everyone in the steel mill was busy, and suddenly there were a few unrelated idle people. Tang Long immediately noticed it. He turned around abruptly, just about to scold him, but saw Ah Yan standing in front of him with a smile, fortunately having some quick wit, a coarse word had already reached his lips, but he suppressed it and changed to a smiling face: "Ah Yan, how do you have time to come here today? Don't need to practice?"

  Gao Jian waved his hand and said: "The yamen is closed today, so I came to see how busy you are, Old Tang. You don't have to pay attention to me, just focus on refining this steel."

  Tang Long nodded, but his feet didn't move. He glanced at the furnace with one eye and reported to the official: "Sir, please take a look. This time we've purchased 100 catties of Wootz steel, all of which I've put into the furnace for smelting. After three days, when we open the furnace and pour out the molten metal, we should be able to get more than twenty knife blanks."

  "Are they all like this sword I'm carrying?"

  Tang Long was slightly startled, and hastily laughed: "A treasured sword like this, even in Damascus, can't be made more than a few times a year. How could it be obtained so easily? This steel water can be divided into three grades: the top grade can make a treasured sword, the middle grade can make a crude knife or spearhead, and the lower grade is only suitable for making some clumsy military equipment, such as large axes and wolf-toothed clubs."

  Big axe? Wolf-tooth club? Suddenly, Qin Ming and Suo Chao came to mind. He hastily said: "Good, good, make them all, big axe, wolf-tooth club, spearhead, wooden sword, none can be left out. Oh, and remember to make a hook-and-sickle gun head for Xu Jiao Tou."

  Tang Long cursed in his heart, "Who uses Uzi steel like this? The big axe is fine, the axe blade must be sharp, but this wolf-toothed club is purely relying on brute force, what's the point of using good steel for this? Moreover, a hundred kilograms of steel can only produce seventy or eighty kilograms of steel water, and these two pieces are already beyond mention."

  Fortunately, there's a way to make iron, and with the wolf-toothed club and other large pieces, mixing in some ordinary steel wouldn't be noticeable. Tang Long immediately agreed.

  Gao Jiang asked how much this Wuzi steel cost, but Tang Long just focused on forging and didn't know. Fortunately, Wen Rui Zhang was a knowledgeable person who answered from the side: "Let me tell you, sir, this Wuzi steel is extremely rare, with only a few thousand catties produced each year, and it's even harder to get it in the Central Plains. This time we were able to get so much, which is already an unexpected event. The total cost should be around 30,000 guan."

  Gao took a deep breath and swallowed his saliva: "Good fellow, this one jin of steel can support an ordinary family for two years! Last year, Cai Jing reformed the tea law, and the annual tea income was only 5 million guan, which is enough to buy more than 10,000 jin of Wuzi steel. How can we afford it? Even if my old man Gao Hu holds military power and has eaten countless empty salaries, this time he will probably be in pain for a few days."

  After watching for a while, he asked Tang Long that it would take at least a month to make the weapons, and Gao Qiang gradually lost interest, so he bid farewell and left.

  Tang Long sent him off, and as he watched the yamen gate gradually recede into the distance, Lu Qian suddenly turned back around. In a low voice, he said to Tang Long, "Brother Tang, the yamen master has asked you to pass on a message to Xu Jiao Tou. When he has some free time, he must go to Xu Jiao Tou's house for a drink and take a look at that thing on the beam of his house." Having spoken, he smiled slightly, patted Tang Long twice on the shoulder, mounted his horse, and left.

  Only Tang Long was left standing there in a daze, with cold sweat dripping down his back.

  Click to view picture link: