Blacksmith Beard Smith has worked hard and thrifty for generations of his family, and by the time Beard's generation had a lot of family wealth and a considerable amount of family property that he could dispose of. As Isabel had said before, Beard was already a well-known "yoman" in the county at this time.

According to the division of social hierarchies by Henry VII and Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty, there were four main classes of population in the Kingdom of England at this time. The knights, i.e., nobles, knights, quasi-knights, and gentlemen, are the first rank.

Some people who are close to the first class and have the potential to integrate into this class, i.e., citizens who use towns as their main social bases, are classified as second estate; The working population is classified as the third estate.

The fourth estate consisted of the vast majority of the population living at the bottom of society, including hired laborers, poor farmers, hawkers, bookkeepers (tenant farmers of nobles and knights' estates who evolved from serfs in the Middle Ages), and artisans. Blacksmiths are not included in the handicraftsman.

In the villages where the population lived in 9/10 of the 16th century, the village hierarchy also changed according to the division of social hierarchies. At this time, the term "yoman" has become popular in the southern countryside. "Yoman" refers to the wealthy "freelandholders" in the villages, who were not required to perform menial labor for any one of the nobles or lords, and were much richer than the landholders, who made up the vast majority of the villages.

According to the composition of a particular era in later generations, Yoman can be a wealthy middle peasant or a rich peasant. If he was lucky enough to be a retainer of a northern nobleman, he would have become a landowner or a bully landlord through and through. Of course, there is still a certain gap between him and the real landlord, that is, the gentleman, which is mainly reflected in the quantity and quality of the land he owns.

As for those knights who had become accustomed in the north to be called Trove Knights, such as Sir Alex Ferguson, the dead Sir Victor and Sir Edward, if they had lived in the South, they would have been classified as quasi-knights or gentlemen of the First Estate. After all, during the Tudor period when a unified nation-state and powerful royal power were gradually formed, Henry VIII had firmly grasped the title of nobility and knighthood in his own hands.

However, this is a closed, backward north. Although the North is gradually "civilized" in the footsteps of the South, it is slower than a turtle crawling. Economically backward, ideologically backward, religiously backward, and even the social hierarchy is backward. The backward North did not fully transform into a civilized society until after 1570 under Elizabeth I.

Isabel knew that the term "yoman" and the hierarchy of southern society were mainly due to Henry's governess Abraham? Grant spoke to her from time to time. Beard, the more affluent blacksmith, knew more than the other commoners and peasants in the county, because he often dealt with would-be knights and gentlemen.

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Isabel certainly knows what kind of fruit blackberries are, because blackberries are one of the important species of the four major fruit trees widely cultivated in Europe and the United States. Because of its rich nutrition, bright color, mellow flavor and unique pleasant fragrance, it is known as the "emerging small fruit". So, in her personal life, she has always been very fond of eating fresh blackberries directly.

She picked up the jar of blackberry wine that little Beard gave her, sniffed it, and asked the blacksmith curiously, "Beard, is there any blackberry wine sold in the county market?" I think it's definitely delicious. ”

After taking a big sip of ale, Beard laughed and said, "Ma'am, the only fruits on the market are apples, pears, cherries, grapes, prunes, gooseberries, strawberries and mulberries. The blackberries my son picks are wild fruits, and they are found everywhere, and no one here uses them to make wine. ”

"What? Wild fruits? ”

"Yes, my son loves the look and smell of this wild fruit, so he tried to make wine with it this summer. Anyway, it's wild, and you don't need money to buy it. ”

"Beard, you, as Yoman in the county, should know how to make more money. It's just that what I don't understand is, why don't you see the value of BlackBerry? ”

"What is the value of BlackBerry? Ma'am, this is a wild fruit. Even if you use fruit for jam or pickle, no one will think of using blackberries. ”

"I guess it must have something to do with the legend of the Blackberry, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Because every year after September 15th, blackberries are taken over by demons and leave a mark on the leaves. Therefore, the people here will never pick it and sell it. ”

"Well, I see." Isabel nodded her head and decided to find a way to find out the reason behind this dark legend that had caused a bad influence on the people. If she could further decipher the demonic legend of blackberries, she believed that she would be able to eat large quantities of fresh blackberries by September every year.

"All right, ma'am. Did you come to me today to forge some weapons or armor? Feeling that he was almost drunk, Beard turned the conversation to the purpose of Isabel's visit.

Isabel gently pushed the blackberry jar aside, took out a piece of letter paper for the Duke of Richmond from the inside of her cuirass and spread it on the table, and said to the bearded blacksmith, "Beard, what do you think of this short sword that combines the characteristics of a left-handed short sword, a Roman short sword, and a Viking sword?" ”

Glancing at the coat of arms of the Duke of Richmond painted on the letterhead, Meridian quickly turned his gaze to the short sword style painted below. After taking a closer look, he smiled and said, "Madam, of course I can forge such a short sword." I need at least three days, though. ”

"Oh, so can I get the sword before Sunday Mass?"

"I think it should be fine."

"Well, can you tell me how you'll forge this sword?"

Beard smiled and said, "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't tell a guest a word about how to forge the technique. You're an exception, though. After the blacksmith finished speaking, he casually pointed to the Duke's coat of arms on the letterhead.

Isabel smiled and said, "Don't mind this. If you're not used to seeing it, I'll tear it off. ”

"No need, ma'am. My son, are you done? "Old Beard, who was fat and strong, even spoke a little harshly.

"Yes, father, do you have any commands?" Little Beard said respectfully as he walked into the living room.

Old Beard pointed to the letter on the table and said, "Tell me how to fight this sword." ”

Little Beard frowned slightly, and after thinking about it, he said: "There are two wide blood grooves on both sides of the sword body of this sword, coupled with those snake-like markings on the surface of the sword body, I think it can only be forged by multi-layer forging method. ”

As soon as the words fell, little Beard looked at Isabel sitting opposite in surprise, and whispered to old Beard: "Father, did I just tell outsiders about the forging technique, I mean Ms. Isabel?" ”

Old Beard waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Son, you should know what that lord's coat of arms on the letter paper means. ”