Dugu Liang's carriage slowly stopped in front of Dugu Zhen's mansion, Dugu Liang got out of the carriage, and the housekeeper stepped forward to salute, "The elder is here!" ”

"Hmm!"

Dugu Liang had something on his mind, he casually agreed, walked directly to the house, and walked to the front of the study, and a scholar at the door immediately said loudly: "The elder is here!" ”

"Let him in!" Duguzhen's voice came from the study.

Dugu Liang walked into the study quickly, only to see that in the room, Dugu Zhen was sitting down under the lamp to write a letter, seeing him come in, Dugu Zhen put down the pen in his hand and said: "Sit down!" ”

Dugu Liang sat down and asked, "Eighth Uncle is looking for me, but is it because of the recent proverbs in the capital?" ”

Dugu Zhen nodded, "It's more serious than you think." ”

Dugu's conscience was a little uneasy, could it be that something he was worried about had happened? He asked, "Is it the prophecy that has been confirmed?" ”

Dugu Zhen took out a note and sighed: "This is the note that Li Zhongliang just sent someone to send, the saint found the monk Anjiatuo, I am afraid that Anjiatuo confirmed this proverb, saying that the saint came back from Penglai Pavilion, and his eyes were terrifying." ”

The proverb itself is not terrible, what is terrible is that it is confirmed by the royal priest, then the situation will be serious, most of the time it will cause a bloody case, Dugu Liang is worried that Li Yuan will have an accident, not only their hard work will be in vain, but also may implicate the Dugu family.

"Eighth Uncle, then how should we deal with it now?"

Dugu Zhen walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, "The nobles surnamed Li in the DPRK are none other than Li Hun, Li Min and Li Yuan, some middle and low-level officials don't need to be considered, among these three, if you talk about high status, it is Li Hun and Li Min, but if you say that you are in charge, it is Li Yuan, it is very likely that Li Yuan is the first to deal with it, and we must help Li Yuan get out of trouble as soon as possible." ”

"But there is no reason, the Holy One can't do it easily!"

Dugu Zhen smiled bitterly, "Isn't it easy to find a reason?" After the Battle of Goryeo and the rebellion of the Yuan family, the Guanlong nobles have been almost suppressed, and they are powerless to resist, so they can only let him slaughter, if he wants to kill Li Yuan, he can find an excuse casually, just like he dealt with Zhang Jin, transferred Li Yuan to Beijing, and then sent someone to Taiyuan to investigate him, no problem will be planted to cause a problem. ”

Dugu Liang asked worriedly: "But where can you start to help him get out of trouble?" ”

Dugu Zhen pondered for a moment, "I want to start with the two paths of Yuwenshu and Empress Xiao at the same time. ”

"Do you still want Li Shentong to come forward?"

Dugu Zhen nodded, "It's most appropriate for him to come forward, we will find the way, he just needs to give gifts." ”

"I don't know what path Empress Xiao has on her side?"

Dugu Zhen smiled, "I know that Huai En and Xiao Yu's son Xiao Jingyi have a very good relationship, and Xiao Jingyi is extremely favored by Queen Xiao, so I let Huai En pull the strings." ”

Dugu Liang pondered for a moment and said, "I'm worried that even Empress Xiao won't be able to get rid of the suspicion of the saint. ”

Dugu Zhen laughed, "I know this, our key is to gain time, now the rebellion in the world is intensifying, Luoyang is the hinterland of the Central Plains, surrounded by enemies, it is no longer safe, I estimate that next year at the latest, he will not be able to stay in Luoyang, it is likely to move the capital, and move the capital, he will inevitably move to Jiangdu, at that time, our opportunity will come." ”

"Eighth uncle, why didn't you move the capital back to Chang'an?"

"Humph! He regards the south as his foundation, he has built Jiangdu for many years, just to move the capital south one day, Chang'an is the nest of the Guanlong nobles, how dare he go back? As long as he moves the capital to Jiangdu, then Li Yuan can follow Yang Yuanqing's example, support Sui and stand on his own, even if he wants to kill, he has no chance, so now we must do everything possible to delay time. ”

Speaking of this, Dugu Zhen smiled again: "In addition to Li Hun and Li Min, there is actually Yang Yuanqing, isn't Yang Yuanqing's mother surnamed Li?" With the excuse of Yang Yuanqing, are you still afraid that Yuwenshu will not work hard? ”

"Eighth Uncle is really smart!"

．．．．．．．．

At night, Zhang Liang's carriage drove into the copper camel workshop on the north bank of Luoshui, which is the place where craftsmen in the capital are concentrated, this time Zhang Liang entered Beijing in addition to persuading Zhang Xutuo, he also undertook a task, that is, to recruit a group of swordsmiths back to Fengzhou, most of the world's excellent armorymen live in the capital, there are tens of thousands of people, they belong to the general supervisor, the ordnance supervisor and the Shaofu Temple, most of these craftsmen have craftsman status, generations of craftsmen, no personal freedom, every day to work, it is difficult to take them away.

But if the son takes over, the father can retire and retire at home, Fengzhou is the idea of these old craftsmen, they are experienced and skilled, if they go to Fengzhou, they will be able to improve the quality of Fengzhou's weapons.

Yang Yuanqing gave Zhang Sheng an order a year ago, Zhang Sheng had recruited five hundred good craftsmen and sent them back to Fengzhou one after another, and this time Zhang Liang came with other plans.

The carriage stopped in front of a small house that covered an area of only one acre, seven or eight rooms, with a low wall surrounding a small courtyard, a typical small household.

"Zhang Yuanjun, this is it."

The person who brought Zhang Liang here is called Zhao Yiqing, he is Zhang Sheng's deputy, shrewd and capable, and he is responsible for recruiting ordnance craftsmen, and he is very familiar with the craftsmen of the ordnance prison and this area.

Zhang Liang got out of the carriage, Zhao Yiqing stepped forward and knocked on the door, and after a moment the door opened, a young man took a look, "Who are you looking for?" ”

"Is your father here?" Zhao Yiqing asked with a smile.

"Erlang, who is it?" A middle-aged man's voice came from the courtyard.

"I don't know, there is a scholar who says he is looking for his father."

"I'll come, you go!"

Footsteps sounded, the door opened, and it was a middle-aged man, thirty-five or sixteen years old, of medium stature, very strong, and honest.

"Are you ....."

He saw that Zhao Yiqing was a little familiar, but he couldn't remember it all of a sudden, Zhao Yiqing smiled slightly: "Brother Wang forgot?" I approached you last year. ”

"You're Mr. Zhao!"

The man finally remembered that in October last year, this Mr. Zhao had approached him three times and recruited him to Fengzhou with a high salary, but because of his father's death, he did not go.

He immediately became enthusiastic, "Sir, please come in!" ”

Zhao Yiqing nodded, gave Zhang Liang a look, the two walked into the courtyard, Zhao Yiqing said in a low voice: "This person's name is Wang Zhongsheng, known as the first knife maker of the Ordnance Supervisor, he can make the knife that Mr. wants." “

Zhang Liang smiled and walked into the room, the furniture in the room was shabby, the lights were dim, although these craftsmen were highly skilled, but their income was very meager, and they could only barely maintain the family's food and clothing.

The two sat down, Wang Zhongsheng poured them a bowl of water, it could be seen that he was a little excited, Wang Zhongsheng belonged to the timid people, last year Zhao Yiqing invited to Fengzhou, he was afraid of an accident, he did not dare to agree, under the pretext of his father's death and pushed it away, this year he heard some news, the income of his companions to Fengzhou is ten times higher than here, the housing is spacious, the food and clothing are rich, and more importantly, he can be converted to a civil nationality and lose the identity of a craftsman, Wang Zhongsheng has always regretted his original decision.

Zhao Yiqing said with a smile: "If you have the opportunity to go to Fengzhou now, is Brother Wang still willing to go?" ”

Wang Zhongsheng scratched the back of his head and smiled embarrassedly: "Who wouldn't want to increase their income and improve their family's lives?" ”

Zhao Yiqing nodded and introduced Zhang Liang to him, "This is Mr. Zhang from Fengzhou, he wants to ask you something first." ”

Zhang Liang took out a drawing from his arms, spread it out on the table, and asked, "Will you build this kind of knife?" ”

Wang Zhongsheng took the oil lamp forward, looked at it carefully, and laughed, "This is a slap blade, one foot three feet long, weighing fifty catties, with two sharp edges, which can be split and stabbed, and those who are not tall and strong cannot use it, and they don't use it much, but I can build it." ”

The slap blade is also the Mo knife, which has appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but because of the limitation of the forging process, the Mo knife at this time is very heavy and difficult to dance, so it is not popular, but decades later, with the development of forging technology, the Mo knife has become light and thin, and it has become popular.

Because it is not popular, there are not many craftsmen who can make Mo knives, and Wang Zhongsheng is one of them.

Zhang Liang was overjoyed, and said with a smile: "Brother Wang, please come to Fengzhou with us this time, we will treat you well." ”

Wang Zhongsheng stood up excitedly, "My family and I can leave at any time." ”

A few months ago, a craftsman revealed a news, five years ago, Wang Zhongsheng, who was the head of the knife smith, led more than 100 knife makers to build thousands of Mo knives, but before they were finally completed, they were ordered to stop work, and turned to prepare for the war in Goryeo, this batch of Mo knives became semi-finished products, according to the rules of the Ordnance Supervisor, semi-finished products do not need to be registered, Yang Yuanqing let Zhang Liang enter Beijing, and get this batch of semi-finished Mo knives.

Zhang Liang pondered for a moment and asked, "Five years ago, you built a batch of blades, but they were not completed, do you remember this?" ”

Wang Zhongsheng pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered, "Yes! This batch of blades is still there, and two days ago, the director thought that the batch of blades was taking up space, and said that he would clean them up. ”

Zhang Liang perked up and hurriedly asked, "How do you clean it up?" ”

"Generally, it is returned to the furnace, but in fact, this kind of thing will not be returned to the furnace, once it is returned to the furnace, it will be returned to the pig iron warehouse, anyway, after five years, there is no account to check, generally the official will sell them privately to the pig iron shop, in the pocket."

Wang Zhongsheng understood what Zhang Liang meant, and said with a smile: "If Mr. Zhang wants to buy it, I can contact the principal for you, and in three days at most, they will have a way to ship this batch of blades out." ”

"You tell the principal, I'm willing to pay a high price!"

．．．．．．．．．

Three days later, in a warehouse in Fengdu Iron Bank, Zhang Liang saw this batch of semi-finished Mo knives, the so-called semi-finished products, in fact, have been formed, but there is no final blade, Zhang Liang picked up a Mo knife, about one zhang four feet long, heavy, at least more than 50 pounds, he is a scholar, can only barely move, but can not dance.

Director Pan of the Ordnance Supervisor next to him said with a smile: "There are a total of 1,200 handfuls, all of which are made of fine iron, according to the price of pig iron, a piece of ten hangings, you say that the price is twenty hangings, then it is 24,000 hangings, but we don't want money, we want to convert it into silver, that is, two thousand taels of silver, or one thousand taels of gold, is it okay?" ”

Zhang Liang glanced back at Kangbas, who placed a heavy wooden box in front of Chief Pan, "This is one thousand taels of gold, the official gold of Shaofu Temple, twenty-five taels of bread, a total of forty breads." ”

Director Pan opened the box, and the yellow gold shone on his eyes, he couldn't help but be angry, quickly clicked the gold, and then smiled at them and arched his hand, "We made a deal!" ”

He and two other officials carried the boxes and got into a carriage, which sped away.

Kang Ba stepped forward and picked up a Mo knife, danced twice, and frowned: "What is the use of this knife?" ”

"Manager Yang said that this will be a sharp weapon against the Turks in the future!"