Chapter Seventeen: The Famous Sword Appears in the World

  The war knife is an indispensable sharp weapon for every dynasty. A prosperous dynasty must have a famous war knife. The Han Dynasty had the Ring-Headed Knife, the Tang Dynasty had the Cross Knife, and the Song Dynasty had the Decapitating Barbarian Knife!

  The Zhan Yu Dao is a sharp weapon created by Wu Ji, the master of weapons, inheriting the Han Huan Shou Dao and the Tang Heng Dao.

  The Great Song army, relying on its sword that beheads the barbarians, set foot on the journey of destroying the Khitan, annihilating Western Xia, sweeping across the world and conquering all nations!

  Cast an unparalleled brilliance!

  Proclaim the prestige of China to the world beyond the distant lands!

  "Song Dynasty Military Equipment Catalogue - Lu You"

  Gui Xing, Wu Shi Jun Gong.

  Qiao Dayuan, Zhang Daniu and Duan Dapeng stood there, very tense, sizing up Wu Ji. Looking at their tense appearance, it was not much different from when the Flying Wind Bandits raided the city initially.

  They couldn't help but feel nervous, because today they were going to forge a war knife under Wu Ji's guidance. This war knife was the result of Wu Ji's exploration over the past few days, and it was said that this war knife inherited the characteristics of the Ring-Headed Knife and the Cross Knife, while also making some progress.

  The ring-shaped knife, perhaps because the years were too long ago, the three people didn't quite understand it. After listening to Wu Ji's explanation, they finally knew that it was the war knife of the powerful Han army. The powerful Han army relied on this knife to dominate the world, defeat the Xiongnu, and make all nations surrender.

  "Those who offend the strong will be executed, no matter how far away they are." The backing of this heroic statement is the ring-necked knife!

  As for horizontal knives, they are no strangers. After all, horizontal knives were the war knives of the previous dynasty and had a great reputation. Even in the Song Dynasty, there were many horizontal knives that were passed down.

  The war knife that Wu Ji wants to forge, inherits the characteristics of these two war knives. What kind of height will it reach? They are very curious, also very lucky, and even more tense.

  It's a great fortune to be able to forge such a fine sword, it's the blessing of eight lifetimes. If one can't forge it well, then he is a sinner, who wouldn't feel anxious?

  "Master Dong, can we start now?" Qiao Dajun finally couldn't help but ask.

  "Alright!" Wu Jie appeared calm on the surface, but was actually excited inside.

  It is worth noting that the reputation of Huan Shou Dao and Heng Dao is extremely great. Wu Ji, although he has not seen Huan Shou Dao with his own eyes, has been using Heng Dao for a very long time. Heng Dao inherited the advantages of Huan Shou Dao, and the war knife he wants to forge, although it comes from Heng Dao, also comes from Huan Shou Dao.

  This is not just about inheriting the war sword, but also the spirit it represents and the glory forged by the war sword!

  The majestic momentum of the Han and Tang dynasties!

  If Wu Ji's creation is successful, this battle knife will be widely used. Will it achieve the same level of martial arts as Han and Tang? If so, Wu Ji will become a legendary craftsman, which is a great honor. Who can't be nervous about that?

  "Light the fire!" Zhang Daniu shouted, putting the charcoal into the stove and igniting it with kindling.

  Coal was mainly used as fuel for heating and cooking, especially in the north.

  The capital of the Song Dynasty, Bianjing, had many workshops that specialized in coal processing, which processed coal into various shapes for convenient use.

  To forge the most ideal war knife, it's best to start with steel and refine high-quality steel. Wu Ji studied many things in order to avenge himself and knew some steel-refining techniques. However, time was pressing now, and there wasn't enough time for that; after all, the equipment of the Gui Xin army was too lacking, so they had to be equipped first. Refining steel could only be done later.

  In the absence of better steel, it is not impossible to forge a superior war sword. Using coal instead of charcoal for heating was one improvement adopted by Wu Jie.

  Coal has a higher calorific value than firewood and is more suitable for heating.

  Burning coal was nothing new to Zhang Daniu and his men, and soon a fierce flame rose up, the fire crackling loudly as it burned vigorously.

  "Let's get started!" Wu Ji gritted his teeth and gave a loud order.

  Qiao Dayuan and the others had been waiting for this moment, Duan Dawei used iron pliers to clamp a piece of carefully selected steel, put it into the furnace. This furnace was specially designed by Wu Ji for forging war knives, Qiao Dayuan and the others made it with their own hands, and it was very suitable for use.

  Duan Dapeng grasped the bellows, pulling it with all his might. The wind roared, and the flames shot up, a foot-high blaze of blue-green fire that contained intense heat, as a wave of warmth washed over him.

  "Having hammered iron all his life, he had no idea that charcoal could be so useful!" Qiao Dajun grasped the hammer in his hand and gazed at the jumping flames with great emotion.

  At that time, charcoal was only used in small quantities for smelting and refining iron. The fuel used for heating the forge to make knives was firewood, which had a much lower calorific value than coal. When Wu Jie first suggested using charcoal for heating, the three of them thought they had misheard him and were quite astonished.

  They never thought that in their eyes very ordinary coal would have such a wonderful use, it's really unthinkable.

  "The master has a clever mind, he says it's useful, and it must be useful!" Zhang Daniu admired Wu Ji deeply.

  As they spoke, the iron block was heated to redness. Zhang Dabull used tongs to hold it and placed it on an anvil. The fiery iron block, under their hammering, sent sparks flying everywhere, which was quite frightening, so Wu Ji and Huang Fucong had to retreat a long way off.

  "Heh heh! Using coal is just different, it's much better than using firewood!" Zhang Daniu exclaimed while hammering away.

  Just now, I was watching him heat up with coal, it felt great. At this time, he personally forged, with his rich experience as an old blacksmith, naturally knowing the difference between the two, and he couldn't help but be delighted.

  A burst of hammering, the iron block began to dull down, needing to be reheated, Zhang Daniu put the iron block into the furnace.

  "You pull, I'll hit!" Duan Dawei had never experienced it personally and couldn't miss the opportunity. He pushed Zhang Daniu to the bellows, grasped the tongs, and waited for the iron block to turn red.

  "You just know how to loot, like a bandit!" Zhang Daniu muttered in dissatisfaction, but he grasped the handle and started pulling the bellows, with a whooshing sound.

  Before long, the iron block was red-hot. Duan Dawei hastily picked it up with tongs and placed it on the anvil, then began hammering away. As he hammered, he exclaimed, "Not bad! Not bad! It's even better than burning straw!"

  Three men worked together, hammering away at a piece of iron. Under their efforts, the piece of iron was hammered into shape and forged into a knife blade.

  For this forging, Wu Ji was well-prepared and had Ge Daoyuan and the others practice first, tempering the blade. Now, with the formal forging, they were familiar with the process, and the smooth blade gradually took shape.

  The blade is streamlined, extremely smooth, and gives a sense of beauty just by looking at it. The blade length is 60 cm, thickness is 7-8 mm, and width is 4 cm. Although it's not yet complete, I can tell that compared to the Miao Da knife, it will be about 4-5 jin heavier.

  A weight of 40-50 kilograms, once chopped down, the force will be much greater, and the power will also be much greater. It is necessary to know that with one strength, ten skills are reduced, the greater the strength, the more advantageous it is to chop down. A weight of 40-50 kilograms, when chopping down, will be amplified into a force of several tens of kilograms, its advantage is obvious.

  "Dong! Dong! Dong!"

  The crisp and pleasant sound of hammering rose, listening to it was very uplifting. Looking at the blade taking shape bit by bit, Wu Ji felt very comfortable, yet somewhat tense.

  Design needs physical verification, whether Wu Ji's design is good or not can only be known after it is made.

  "Alright!"

  Qiao Dà Yuān and the other two spoke in unison, their eyes wide open, their gaze piercing as they sized up the war knife. Qiao Dà Yuān clamped down on the war knife and submerged it into the quenching liquid, emitting a hissing sound, with wisps of white smoke rising up.

  This quenching is another improvement by Wu Jie. Quenching is quite important, if the quenching technique is not good enough, no matter how well it is forged, it will be useless.

  Huang Pu's eyes widened, staring at the rising white smoke in surprise. Although he was not a blacksmith, he knew that the Song Dynasty did not have this quenching method.

  Apart from the hissing sound of quenching, no one spoke. Time passed in silence, and it was unknown how long it had been. Qiao Dayuan excitedly grasped the war sword, raised it up, and stared with wide eyes: "It's quite unusual! It's quite unusual!"

  Wu Ji changed modern quenching technology to make it suitable for the Song Dynasty, Qiao Da Yuan and others had never seen it before, they couldn't help but be amazed.

  The three of them were overjoyed: "What a wonderful treasure! What a wonderful treasure!"

  Wu Ji grasped the sword in his hand, weighed it slightly, and found that it was a bit heavier than the hemp-wrapped knife. On the battlefield, its power would be even greater when chopping and killing. He was very satisfied. With a forceful slash, he felt pretty good.

  Huang Fu Cong had already widened his eyes, and as soon as Wu Ji showed off, he hastily took over, chopping a few times before saying: "Not bad! Not bad! Mount the knife handle, sharpen it, and try its sharpness! Will it be very sharp?"

  As for this question, Wu Ji was also unclear and needed verification: "Try it out and you'll know!"