The iron keel is more than ten zhang long, with a diameter of more than one foot, lying quietly on a wooden shelf, like a flat column. The shipyard supervisor has measured the size of the keel to meet the requirements, and the iron keel has been surface-treated, and the appearance is very smooth, with a slight gray metallic luster. This size surpassed all the iron guys so far, and when the officers of the Naval Division were amazed around this keel, Zhao Xingde took the small sharp-tipped hammer, and while tapping it gently, he listened carefully, and the cast iron made a crisp "ding" sound. The shipyard supervisor was still unclear, but the craftsmen of the blacksmith looked nervous.

It's a tool that only insiders have. Sometimes, when a large iron casting is made, there are holes, cracks and other defects on the surface, and if you want to save trouble, you will directly pour a piece of iron on it. The iron keel is the most important part of a sea vessel, so this behavior is absolutely intolerable. In this case, if you carefully grind the surface afterwards, it will look as if it is one. However, when an experienced craftsman struck it with a pointed hammer, the sound of the iron castings was slightly different from that of the original iron casting. The iron yard was also tried and cast several times before a whole body was created, and he was not afraid of inspection, but Wuchang Hou personally made this kind of insider means, which surprised the craftsmen of the iron yard.

Zhao Xingde tapped the iron keel every few inches, and in places with thick diameters, he even put his ears on the surface of the iron castings to listen carefully to the echoes coming from the inside. This is also the secret passed on to him by the master who used to live in the factory, if there are large cavities and cracks inside the iron casting, the echo is different. Seeing this, the craftsmen in the iron yard saw even more different colors on their faces, and even Xu Xiaoyun, Ma Yuan and others looked solemn. Watching him walk around the iron keel, he stood up with a frown.

Xu Xiaoyun asked, "Lord Zhao, how is it?" ”

Zhao Xingde shook his head and beckoned to Huang Jidao, the supervisor of the shipyard: "Lord Huang, please come here." He took Huang Ji to a place with a thicker keel, knocked it with a pointed hammer, and said in a deep voice: "There is a problem here." "Lord Xu," Zhao Xingde also beckoned Xu Zheng, the supervisor of the iron yard next to him, "You can also come and see." ”

Xu Zheng had an incredulous look on his face, this keel was forged by the iron yard with great painstaking efforts. Because the stakes are very high, they all use good new molten iron, and do not dare to mix waste scales, damaged farm tools, sand and other things, which are already very smooth on the surface, and as for the situation inside, the iron yard supervisor never cares, and he does not think that anyone can find out. He was not convinced, and muttered, "No." He turned back to greet Liu Hui, the craftsman of the iron field, and said with an unhappy face: "You can also come and have a look." ”

"Yes, sir." Liu Hui hurriedly trotted over and carefully explained: "Master Hou, this iron keel, the villains are carefully cast, and there is a slight flaw, and it has all been recast. ”

"I know." Zhao Xingde nodded, "This official doesn't blame you, it's just that the sea is stormy, and one boat is the lives of hundreds of people, so I have to be cautious." He smiled, which made Liu Hui feel a little relieved, however, then Zhao Xingde pointed to the thicker place, and still insisted, "There is a gap here, you can see it when you cut it." ”

"This ......" Liu Hui glanced at Xu Zheng hesitantly, the keel of a sea ship is usually made of a whole giant tree, and if it is cut from it, this keel will be considered a waste. Half of the success of casting such a large thing in the iron yard depends on craftsmanship and experience, and the other half depends on luck. Even this iron keel failed several times before it succeeded.

"Since Lord Zhao let me cut it, let's cut it." Xu Zheng said in a sullen voice, "If the construction period is missed, don't blame us for Yangzhou Iron Yard." ”

Xu Xiaoyun had no objection, so the craftsman immediately took the hacksaw that cut the iron. Several people pulled the saw blade back and forth, and the steel rubbed with a screeching sound. Zhao Xingde waited solemnly, Liu Wengu, Ma Yuan and others looked at each other, Xu Xiaoyun, Zhou He, Huang Ji, Xu Zheng and others looked at the cut place without blinking, but the cut gap was very small, and it was impossible to see clearly for a while, as the hacksaw cut deeper and deeper a little bit, beads of sweat gradually oozed from Liu Hui's forehead. Finally, with the sound of "dang", the hacksaw sawed the entire iron keel into two sections, and everyone gathered around to see, sure enough, in the cut section like an earthworm like a honeycomb-like gap, although it could not be seen outside, but once it encountered a huge force, the keel was in danger of breaking.

"Huh? And so it was! "How so?"

"Can this thing be used on a ship?" The crowd whispered. Liu Hui's face also turned pale, as if he had lost his soul. "Lord Zhao," Xu said with a look of shame, "I'm in an official uniform." Zhao Xingde waved his hand and replied, Liu Hui walked in front of him, knelt down and said: "Lord Zhao is proficient in steelmaking, since he can see through the inside, how to solve the problem, please give me advice." He is just a craftsman in the shipyard, and he doesn't fully understand Zhao Xingde's identity, so he asked for this, and the scholar is very talkative, such as iron smelting and utensils, even if he occasionally does it, he is much more point-in-cheek, and he will never lower his stature and equate himself with a craftsman and a vulgar person. Therefore, Liu Hui's kneeling invitation, everyone was in an uproar, Zhou He was worried that Zhao Xingde would be embarrassed, and his eyebrows were raised, so he wanted to reprimand him first, but Zhao Xingde shook his head and stretched out his hand to help Liu Hui up.

"Craftsman Liu doesn't need to blame himself too much," Zhao Xingde patted him on the shoulder, "The iron keel is unprecedentedly big. It's just that the pirates are in great trouble, and to exterminate the pirates, you need to sharpen their weapons first. It was not easy to find the giant wood used by the gunboats, and even if it was found, it would take years to dry the wood, so it had to be replaced with iron keels. Let's take a closer look at this matter, Master Liu is known as 'the best at making iron', and Zhao also has a lot to ask you for. Learn from each other, learn in no order, and the master is the teacher. ”

Although he was not in a hurry, he did not think so. The Great Eater Bandits have made a lot of looting in Quanzhou, and there should be no more large-scale looting in the short term, the only thing to worry about is that these guys are taking pleasure in killing people along the coast. Now the trade winds have not yet arrived, and it will not be until the winter season, when the north winds prevail over the South China Sea, that the Haikou will return to the Great Eclipse. If they return with a load of treasure, these robbers will surely come with the return of the trade winds next year. The sailors of the South China Sea had to supervise the construction of sea ships and train sailors to form an army, and the time was extremely limited. And the middle side of the Xia River is also eagerly waiting for the sailor to attack the port of the great cannibal along the coast. If by the end of the year, the iron-bone warship could not be formed, he could only lead the gunboats of the Han army and the warships rebuilt by the merchant ships to go to sea.

Liu Hui looked moved, stood up, and looked at Zhao Xingde. The faces of the people next to him were different. Xu Xiaoyun glanced at Zhao Xingde deeply, feeling that he couldn't see through this person no matter what, he frowned, reflecting on his words and deeds since he set off from Ezhou, this person's words and deeds seemed to be purely free, without pretending to be fake at all, and couldn't help but sigh. It is no wonder that wherever this person has been, from the literati to the heroes, and even the peddlers and pawns, they are willing to use it. On the other hand, the teacher only intends to accept the Qingliu gentry, but the pattern is smaller.

............

Hangzhou Mansion, the courtyard where Wu Zilong lives in seclusion, the courtyard is deserted.

On the day when Zhao Xingde opened artillery to bombard Disheng, Wu Zilong had already rushed to the suburbs of Ezhou, but he failed. Under the persuasion of his students, he gave up his plan to enter Ezhou and Chen Dong's theory, and reluctantly returned to Hangzhou. Wu Zilong dismissed his protégé because he was worried that Chen Dong would cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and after making his will, he read and wrote as usual every day, refined the etiquette, and only waited for the day when he sacrificed himself for righteousness. However, because of his mixed sorrow and anger, in a short period of time, his hair turned gray. As the days passed, the rumors of the outside world gradually subsided, the court did not make any big moves, and the local gentry still did not dare to come to the door for fear of being implicated. On this day, the Wu family welcomed the distinguished guests, and Shi Ting returned unharmed and came to meet his teacher.

"Okay, okay." Wu Zilong looked at Shi Tingjian with satisfaction, stroked his palms and praised, "The pines and cypresses have been windy and snowy, and they are even more upright. ”

"The student is ashamed," Shi Tingjian asked, "why haven't you seen other senior brothers, are they actually ......?" no wonder he was suspicious. The Wu family was so powerful before, but all this was false, and as soon as the Ezhou cannon rang out, it pierced the vanity outside, revealing the essence of weakness. He came back all the way and went home again, except for some colleagues and friends who were anxious for justice and righteousness, the people who were originally inclined to be inflammatory, all respected him, and the people were warm and cold, as if they were people in two lives. Therefore, as soon as he saw that Wu Zilong was cold here, Shi Tingjian subconsciously thought that the other protégés had run away, and he was shocked and angry in his heart.

"I dismissed them myself, so as not to let Chen Shaoyang catch them all. It is certainly respectable for our master and apprentice to go to righteousness on the same day, but passing on the torch is more important than a temporary reputation. Wu Zilong shook his head and said guiltily, "In the matter of Ezhou, I didn't expect Chen Shaoyang to be so ruthless, and Zhao Xingde was also willing to be his minions, and he felt guilty for those benevolent people who died as a teacher, so he didn't run away, and waited here for Chen Shaoyang's minions to come to the door." And the disciples in the door, as well as the fellow Daoists who rushed to hear the news, I sent them all away. He smiled bitterly, "After waiting for so long, it seems that Chen Shaoyang doesn't plan to ask Wu Mouxiang to take this head immediately." ”

"Teacher," Shi Tingjian suppressed the sorrow in his heart and asked, "What should we do next?" ”

"Since the imperial court is only looking at strength," Wu Zilong's face was calm, and he said in a low voice, "Then you can only block it with soldiers." As long as the hearts of the people are on our side, in time, force will also be on our side. He looked at Shi Tingjian's puzzled expression, and said in a low voice, "Your senior brother has an advantage in several prefectures and counties, and since the chaos in Ezhou, we don't have any hope for the imperial court. Sooner or later in the future, there will be a chance, if the court will force them again, we will meet them in battle and burn them together. ”