"You take these pictures to the craftsman's workshop, and let the craftsmen there build the objects according to the pictures."

Zhao Xiao handed a few pictures to Zheng Siyuan, and the other party took a look at them and found that they were several big mallets with strange shapes, as well as various mortise and tenon teeth that matched them.

"What is this?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

"The wooden spoon used to ram the cotton wool of the talismans." Zhao Xiao stretched: "Didn't you take me outside the city to see the waterwheel and rice the day before yesterday?" That thing does replace manpower, but with a slight modification. I have already informed Anyang Hou of my idea, and he will arrange it for us at the waterwheel workshop. ”

"Got it." Zheng Siyuan rolled up the drawings, and at the same time held a bamboo tube: "This is the latest batch of talisman arrows, and I also ask the deacon to take a look." ”

Zhao Xiao took the bamboo tube a few feet long and opened the cover, and inside was a bundle of wooden pole rune arrows, and the arrow clusters were slightly copper-colored. After looking at it for a moment, Zhao Xiao nodded and said:

"Yes, sure enough, it is still necessary to use the copper ladle casting method. In this way, there is no need to sacrifice each arrow individually. ”

Even though the Jin Ding Division was able to create rune arrows earlier, when the new army practiced soldiers and horses and practiced martial arts, it was found that runic arrows were not as easy to use as runic soldiers, and the effectiveness of the spell would often be exhausted with a single shot, and the level of training of each rune arrow was uneven, making it difficult for the soldiers to adapt.

In other words, how could ordinary soldiers dare to be dissatisfied with the magic talisman refined by the monks of the pavilion? But Zhao Huang was not tired of being cumbersome, and personally communicated with the soldiers of the new army, and after learning about the specific situation, he immediately re-improved the process of making talisman and arrow sacrifices with Zheng Siyuan, Shi Huoguang and others.

In the end, after several explorations and experiments, it is no longer the way of sacrificing arrows alone in the past, but similar to the alchemy of spell water, casting spells and chanting on the hot copper water, casting the copper water package lit by the charm on the arrow cluster, and then placing it in a separate mandala to stagnate and condense and consolidate the charm.

The good thing about this method is that it can be sacrificed in batches and a large number of talisman arrows, and the spiritual effect is consistent. It's just that this kind of rune arrow may not be able to shoot everything, at best, it has the sharpness of gold and fire to break through armor, and if it is used properly on the battlefield, it can't stop the power of rune arrows with armor and shields.

As for the kind of ballista iron arrows used to siege the city, or the talisman arrows that can be tracked by the enemy, they have to be sacrificed by Zhao Xiao or Zheng Siyuan alone, even among the new army.

Sending batches of runic arrows to the school field, Zhao Xiao also met General Wei, and the two exchanged pleasantries, chatting about the recent border wars from the runes and arrows.

"Could it be that the Jiuli Kingdom has raised troops to invade again?" Zhao Xiao asked.

General Wei said solemnly: "It's the people who live in the mountains, but they don't carry the banner of Jiuli Kingdom. ”

"Beaked people? Those pig-headed barbarians? Zhao Huang was puzzled: "Didn't they belong to the Jiuli Kingdom a long time ago?" ”

Between the mountains and mountains of Jiuli Kingdom, there are also all kinds of foreign barbarians, not human but human, non-beast but beast-like, pig beak people are one of them, their facial features and nose are like pigs, so they get a common name of pig's head barbarian.

General Wei waved his hand and said: "The southern barbarians of the Jiuli Kingdom claim that the people of the Pig Beak have not been canonized by their seals, and they belong to the Huawai barbarian tribe and do not belong to the control of the Jiuli Kingdom. And said that the peasants of Huaxu reclaimed the mountains and invaded the territory of the people of the beaks.

To put it bluntly, I just want to get rid of the notoriety of breaking the alliance of Shouyang's soldiers, and let those pig-headed barbarians fight instead of them. However, the fighting is not fierce now, and although the pig's head has a lot of brute strength, it is not a lot of them, and at best it slaughters a few villages. ”

Zhao Xiao was in a trance when he heard this, and he was assassinated in the Jackpot Pavilion half a year ago. During this time, I focused on the creation of ritual charms in the Jinding Division, and unconsciously the years went from winter to spring. He was in peace in Dongshengdu, and he was unaware of the war in the distance.

"Then what is the court going to do?" Zhao Huang asked, "Does the lord of the country want to send a new army to conquer?" ”

"It's not up to me." General Wei shook his head and paced: "By the way, I heard that the Yingzhou Club will be held soon, does Marquis Zhenming want to show his skills?" ”

"General Wei is laughing at me again." Zhao Huang said: "The Yingzhou Club is a grand event for the national lord to select the talents of the pavilion to serve the country, and Zhao is now the deacon of the Jinding Division, so why bother to compete with others for the limelight?" Don't you think you're annoying enough? ”

"Some gossip in the market, Zhenming Hou doesn't have to worry about it." General Wei said.

Since the fall of the Zheng clan in Jiujiang, Zhao Huang was awarded the title of Marquis of Zhenming, and all kinds of news about him have spread in the Dongsheng capital, among which the true and the false are difficult for outsiders to distinguish.

One of the most fatal points is that Zhao Huang made a statement to the lord of the country to investigate the land people, which was leaked to everyone in the government and the opposition for some reason. Some local officials have figured out their intentions, but have not yet obtained a clear decree, and have taken the initiative to start investigating the large households under their jurisdiction, or simply take the opportunity to extort money.

Sure enough, some places made a lot of noise because of this, and there were even incidents of large wealthy families and slaves surrounding the county government and throwing bricks and setting fires.

For this reason, the ministers of the DPRK and China quarreled again. On the one hand, the state should issue an edict and no longer check the acres of land and people, so as to stabilize the people's hearts; On the other hand, they believe that they can take advantage of this opportunity to reverse the momentum of hiding people and merging acres of land and acres that have accumulated in the country for a long time.

And Zhao Xiao, who provoked this incident, was inevitably suspicious because he was awarded the title of Marquis of Zhenming, and was considered to be used by the lord of the country to test the hearts of the people of the government and the wilderness, to see if he could use this to carry out an inventory of fields and people across the country.

"The sun and the moon are unknown, but the light is born. The grain is not abundant, but the warehouse is full. The people are uneasy, but they are happy......"

Zhao Xiao in the carriage heard the nursery rhyme on the street, and smiled helplessly, he couldn't deal with those market boys who took a piece of cake and sang the ballad.

Back in the north of the city, the Marquis of Zhenming's mansion, after the departure of the Zheng family of Jiujiang, this deep mansion compound was owned by Zhao Huang.

It's just that now the Hou Mansion is a little deserted, Zhao Xiao has no family, and the Zheng family's slaves and servants have been dismissed. The Marquis of Anyang couldn't stand it, so he sent dozens of slaves to Zhao Huang to serve him and sweep the house.

"Master Hou, the arrest of the Si Lai, is currently in the living room."

As soon as Zhao Xiao entered, a housekeeper came to tell him.

"Arrest Division?" Zhao Xiao muttered in his heart, and came to the living room to see two people, one was Captain Lu of the Reward and Punishment Academy, and the other was Yan Sicheng, the arrest department.

"I've kept you two waiting." Zhao Xiao stepped forward and apologized.

Yan Sicheng and Captain Lu got up to salute back, Zhao Xiao asked the housekeeper and servant to retreat, and asked, "The two adults came to visit in person, I don't know what is important?" Could it be that there are still doubts in the Jackpot case that have not yet been clarified? ”

"It's not, I'm waiting to come here because I got a tip, and someone may be trying to disadvantage Marquis Zhenming recently." Yan Sicheng said.

"Not good for me?" Zhao Xiao was stunned: "Another assassin from Jiuli Kingdom is coming to kill me?" ”

Yan Sicheng replied: "Recently, we have conducted a strict search inside and outside Dongsheng Capital, and arrested the spies of Jiuli Kingdom one by one, and the Marquis of Zhenming can rest assured for the time being. ”

Zhao Xiao's eyes were deep: "Yan Sicheng might as well speak bluntly." ”

"The one who really wants to be unfavorable to the Marquis of Zhenming may be the people in the country." Yan Sicheng said: "The current situation in the government and the opposition, I think Zhenming Hou has also heard of it. A few days ago, we took a few Jiangyang thieves, and learned that recently on the green forest road of Huaxu Kingdom, someone actually offered a reward for the Marquis of Zhenming. ”

"Green Forest Thief, offer me a reward?" Zhao Xiao raised his hand and pointed at himself.

He felt a little upside down, obviously in the past, the imperial court officials in order to catch the thieves, and when they issued the arrest documents, they would attach a reward. Why is it the other way around this year, and it is my turn to be rewarded by the Green Forest Thieves?

Yan Sicheng laughed dryly: "Marquis Zhenming doesn't know, these Jiangyang thieves and green forest giants can also be regarded as a major disease in my Huaxu country. Not to mention the chaos of the Five Kingdoms War, since the Shouyang Army, many of the Liumin troops who belonged to Huaxu State have been dismantled, but many things were not done well at that time, causing some troops to rebel. There are also some military units that have been cut off on the surface, but in fact they have turned into robbers, Wuthering Mountains, and have close relations with local tycoons. ”

For these things, Zhao Huang was almost used to hearing them, and asked: "In other words, my matter of talking about the lord of the country has touched the interests of those local wealthy families, and these people plan to gather a group of Jiangyang thieves to deal with me?" ”

"Exactly." Yan Sicheng replied.

Zhao Xiao sneered: "I'm being looked down upon, what kind of thieves dare to come to me for trouble?" ”

"That's what we're going to tell Marquis Zhenming." On the side, Captain Lu said: "These Jiangyang thieves are not all ordinary people, they are entrenched in several treacherous mountains, and there are also monsters and evil cultivators in them. ”

Zhao Xiao asked, "Oh? Isn't that what the Arrest Division is responsible for? ”

"I'm ashamed, what the Arrest Division can really control is only the area inside and outside Dongsheng Capital." Yan Sicheng sighed: "And those thieves and demons hide in many dangerous mountains and rivers, and it is difficult for the army to attack. If only a few monks enter, it will be difficult to get out of the predicament if they are ambushed. ”

Zhao Xiao was not harsh, although the Arrest Division had the duty of arresting demons and evils, it was inevitable that the handling of cases would be hindered by all parties, and there were not so many monks who could be sent out to fight demons and demons.

In fact, being able to mobilize the monks of various pavilions to participate together at the same time like the bandits in Xingluo County was already the largest battle in which the monks of the Huaxu Kingdom participated in the war since the Shouyang Soldiers of the Five Kingdoms.

And Xingluo County is widely involved behind the bandits, and Zhao Xiao estimates that there is also the intention of the lord of the country to judge the pavilions.

But in any case, there are always very few monks in the world, and it is impossible for Cao Zuo, the official who is responsible for the official office everywhere, to be all monks.

This is also the reason why Zhao Huang has concerns about the Dao Kingdom of the world. How difficult and difficult are the military, political and civil affairs of a country? With the current number of monks in Huaxu Kingdom, even if all of them are sent out to serve in important positions, they will not be able to fill the officials in Huaxu Kingdom at all. What's more, the level of cultivation is not necessarily related to whether or not it can govern the military, government and civilians.

Zhao Huang himself has had personal experience, even if he condenses Xuanzhu, he is also the number one person in Huaxu, but he still knows very little about the specific military and political practice, and he is far less than a veteran like Wang Juncheng.

If you really let someone like Zhao Huang govern the military and people's livelihood, I am afraid that it will not immediately cause disaster to one party.

Not to mention the monks who are truly committed to the Immortal Dao, if they deal with all kinds of mundane affairs all day long, not to mention hindering Qing cultivation, they will also work hard physically and mentally and self-harming their cultivation in the depths of time.

In fact, Hua Xu Guo, these pavilion monks, are still a few, even if Liang Tao is also the national teacher, he walks in the court on weekdays and relies on fractal changes to pick up people. And how many monks in the world can compare with Liang Tao? This Liang Guoshi himself is a rare outlier.

Even if Liang Tao can really create a human dao country, how many monks can there be in charge of things in the future? If the officials of the local magistrates and Taoist offices are just mortal officials who have changed their names, I am afraid that there will not be much difference from the current situation.

Even if Zhao Huang was really able to lay down the rituals and rituals covering the entire Huaxu Kingdom, the result would be nothing more than Liang Tao ascending to the Immortal Dao and ruling the ghosts and gods of a country, and the monks in the world would not improve their cultivation and increase their mana, let alone have an extra group of monks out of thin air to help govern the country.

"Marquis Zhenming?" Yan Sicheng shouted lightly a few times, waking up Zhao Xiao, who was deep in thought.

"It's rude." Zhao Xiao rubbed his eyebrows lightly: "Jin Dingsi is busy with official business, and his mind is a little trance, where did the two adults just go?" ”

Yan Sicheng said: "It's about the safety of Marquis Zhenming. Although our arrest division can ensure that the area inside and outside Dongsheng Capital is not plagued by demons, if we reach the mountain and wilderness realm, I am afraid that the arrest division will be powerless. ”

"I see, just try not to stay away from Dongshengdu, right?" Zhao Xiao asked.

Yan Sicheng arched his hand and said: "In fact, with the cultivation of Marquis Zhenming, the idle demons dare not offend." However, you now have the responsibility of the Jinding Division on your shoulders, and if something goes wrong, it will be a great loss to the imperial court, and we dare not ignore it. ”

"Thanks to the two adults, Zhao remembered it." Zhao Xiao nodded.

In fact, Zhao Xiao was not surprised by the situation mentioned by the Arrest Division. Now I am afraid that there are many local wealthy families, and they are eager to eat meat and sleep skin for Zhao Xiao. If it weren't for the fact that he had cultivation skills in his body and was an upstart in the court, he would have secretly entangled the killer assassin to come to Dongshengdu and engage in a good show of smashing his head with a sledgehammer in broad daylight.

"By the way, Zhao still has something to ask." Zhao Xiao asked, "What happened to the two demon assassins of the Jiuli Kingdom before?" ”

Yan Sicheng said with a smile: "Those two have been abolished for cultivation and cut off the tendons of their hands and feet, but they are temporarily left with their lives. When the lord of the country ordered the conquest of Jiuli Kingdom, he beheaded them and sacrificed the banner to strengthen the morale of the army. ”

Zhao Xiao nodded silently: "I heard that Qing Luoyi is a half-demon before, so what is the origin of the other wolf-headed monster?" Is he also a half-demon? ”

Captain Lu said: "We have checked and found that his appearance is a demon. ”

"Demon mutation?" Zhao Xiao's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered the young master of the Dai family in Chengyang County, and the monster that drove the walking corpse in Xingluo County.

"Not bad." Captain Lu said: "According to the demon, he took an elixir called 'Danglu Bone Strengthening Pill', and then the body demon became like this. And there is more than one similar demon mutant in the ghost market. ”

"Could it be that Jiuli Kingdom has already mastered the means of using pills to induce demon transformation?" Zhao Xiao was very surprised, even if the Yao Chi Kingdom, which had mastered the method of demon transformation, wanted the soldiers to obtain the magic power of the Divine Bird, it was impossible to do it just by taking pills.

"The chaos of demons and evil in Jiuli Country is far greater than that of Huaxu Country, and it is not unusual for strange things to happen there." Yan Sicheng said: "However, these southern barbarians are destined to become such a non-human and non-demon appearance when they take the demon transformation pill, and they will not see the light at all." As long as he appears in front of people, he will be exposed immediately, and Marquis Zhenming does not need to worry too much. ”