Lu Buwei suddenly said that these tripods are heavenly things, not made by mortals, so wouldn't they have become made by gods, but Jiuding is obviously said to be made by Dayu, could it be that Dayu became a fairy?

"What does Father Zhong mean by this?" Ying Zheng couldn't figure out why for a while, and asked anxiously.

Lü Buwei looked at Yingzheng and said softly: "This matter is a long story, and the old minister will tell the king everything he knows." ”

Ying Zheng made a gesture of invitation and said, "There is Lao Zhong's father." ”

Lu Buwei said calmly: "After the old minister took Jiuding, he had many scruples, afraid that the countries would send troops to rob it, so he sent someone to protect Jiuding and study it at the same time. ”

Ying Zheng turned his eyes to Jiuding again, listening to Lü Buwei's narration.

Lü Buwei continued: "At the beginning of the interception of Jiuding, the old minister was afraid that the royal descendants of the Great Zhou Dynasty would unite with other countries to ask for it. Therefore, all kinds of skilled craftsmen in Daqin were gathered here, the purpose was to make fakes in case of emergency. But later, the craftsmen of Daqin really couldn't figure out the way, so Lao Chen used various methods to gather skilled craftsmen from all over the world, but until now, let alone imitation, even the raw materials used in the production of Jiuding have not been able to figure out. ”

"Oh? Even the middle father couldn't figure out the raw materials? Ying Zheng looked back at Lu Buwei in surprise.

"The king also saw that the colors of the nine tripods are different, indicating that the raw materials of the nine tripods are different." Lü Buwei continued, "But the weight, tenacity, and durability of the nine tripods are almost the same. Craftsmen speculate that these nine tripods may be composed of the same main raw materials, but the auxiliary materials are different, resulting in different colors. Moreover, Jiuding is a treasure of China, and it cannot be damaged, so it is impossible to take a small piece from the tripod for smelting, so the proportion of its various raw materials is unknown. ”

"I see." Ying Zheng nodded and said thoughtfully.

"Your Majesty, there are more incomprehensible things than this." Lu Buwei said.

Ying Zheng was slightly startled and listened intently.

Lü Buwei's mood fluctuated obviously, and his voice trembled a little and said: "Over the past year or so, the craftsmen have imitated countless samples, but they are limited to similar weights, sizes, and shapes. In terms of color, texture, pattern, toughness and durability, there is a big difference. And, in these areas, the more models are made, the more problems are found. ”

It seems that Lu Buwei has indeed put a lot of effort and effort into Jiuding.

"What did you find?" Ying Zheng's tone was not calm, and he asked urgently.

"The difference in color indicates that the proportion of various raw materials is different, and the refining process is also different, in terms of the current level of Daqin's current process, without changing the basic characteristics, it is not possible to fire such a uniform texture and different colors."

"Great Qin can't even be fired? And what about other countries? Ying Zheng asked.

"Among the craftsmen gathered by the old ministers, there are many capable people from the six countries, which can be said to basically represent the highest level of craftsmanship in China." Lu Buwei said.

Ying Zheng blinked his eyes and said, "That means that even the highest level of skill in the world can't figure out the raw materials and processes for making Jiuding?" ”

Lu Buwei nodded and said, "Exactly. ”

Ying Zheng frowned, and after thinking for a while, he asked again: "Besides, what else did you find?" ”

Lu Buwei's voice was slightly low, and he still trembled lightly: "The king has also seen it, and what is more troublesome in imitation is these textures and graphics. If the hardness of the tripod is low, it saves some effort to carve, but the effect is very unsatisfactory, and if the hardness is too high, it needs to have extraordinary carving skills, otherwise it is easy to crack. In particular, those raised figures cannot be carved at all, and can only be processed with small molds to produce that kind of figures, and then welded, but welding is a difficult problem, and the craftsmen do not have such tight welding skills at present. ”

"You're saying the textures and patterns are even more unconcoctive?" Ying Zheng asked.

"If you use ordinary materials, of course, you can, but at present, I haven't even figured out the material of Jiuding, and this texture and pattern are naturally not easy to solve." Lu Buwei shook his head and said, "Later, the craftsmen guessed that these nine big tripods were probably fired as a whole with larger molds, with textures and patterns. But their attempts ultimately failed to reach a conclusion. Because the production of this large mold itself is very difficult, let alone carve the stripes and patterns of the body inside. ”

"......" Ying Zheng listened to Lu Buwei's narration in surprise, and his heart was stirred.

"Your Majesty, the most amazing thing is that these nine tripods show all kinds of visions." Lu Buwei couldn't hide the agitation in his heart.

"Vision?" Ying Zheng subconsciously retracted the hand that was placed on Jiuding.

"The surface of Jiuding is supposed to be coated with a protective layer of transparent sap, but it is not clear what it is. The surface of the body is unusually clean. Lao Chen once used clean water to clean the surface of Jiuding, but the water traces on the body of the tripod disappeared in a few breaths, and the water in the tripod also decreased rapidly, and finally flowed out from the fixed position of each tripod. But the amount of water flowing out of it is much less than the amount of water when it is injected, as if Jiuding drank that water. Lu Buwei's voice gradually raised, obviously a little difficult to hide the shock in his heart.

"There are really a lot of doorways in Jiuding." Ying Zheng sighed.

What's even more puzzling is that no matter the heat or cold, the temperature of Jiuding is constant. Lao Chen once exposed Jiuding to the scorching sun in the scorching heat, and observed its changes, but after the tentacles, it was not hot, and it was basically the same as the normal temperature. And now it is the end of winter, put Jiuding in this cold place, and the tentacles do not feel cold, and the temperature is almost the same as that of summer. ”

Ying Zheng reacted at this time, this is the basement, it is winter, the temperature is very low, and just now he touched Jiuding for a long time, and he did not feel cold, but felt very natural, and the touch on his hands did not look like the feeling of touching metal, so he ignored the factor of temperature.

Lu Buwei said again: "There is still a little doubt, and the craftsmen have also been discussing it for a long time. Even if all the problems are solved and the Jiuding is successfully copied, the fake will be confused for a few years at most, because after a long time, the copied fake will rust and be corroded by moisture, thus revealing flaws. And the real Jiuding, according to legend, since the time of Dayu asked about things, it has been more than 2,000 years now, but there is still no rust at all, just like it was just cast yesterday. Moreover, legends are legends, the real age of Jiuding may be even older, I am afraid that only the people who created it will be clear. ”

Ying Zheng looked horrified, the more he listened to what Lu Buwei said, the more curious he became about Jiuding.

"Countries have been fighting for many years, and the smelting technique has made great progress. But to the extent that today's generation can achieve, replicating Jiuding is not difficult to complete, but something that is simply impossible. Lü Buwei seems to have made a summary.

Ying Zheng did not doubt what Lü Buwei said: "Doesn't that mean that the production level of more than 2,000 years ago was much higher than today's." ”

Lu Buwei sighed lightly: "What was man-made two thousand years ago was made, but people two thousand years later can't make it, so it's not an exaggeration for Lao Chen to call it a thing made in heaven." Presumably, this is also the reason why Jiuding can be used as a symbol of royal power and a treasure of China. And what is the magic of Jiuding, the old minister has not completely figured it out. They are too mysterious, which is one of the reasons why the old ministers did not dare to return them to the king. ”

Ying Zheng believes that Lü Buwei's words are true, because what Lü Buwei said, with Jiuding, you can know that the lie will be easily exposed.

And since it is something handed down from ancient times, there must be a lot of magic, and it is even incredible. Originally, Yingzheng was still dismissive of some ancient characters and their legends, but now it seems that many myths or legends may not be made up, and the real ignorance may be himself, as well as all the people in this world who regard themselves as high but like frogs at the bottom of the well.

Jiuding brought great shock to Yingzheng at the same time, it also stimulated his curiosity and made him eager to re-understand the world.

Ying Zheng was thinking as he walked slowly around Jiuding, carefully observing.

Suddenly, Ying Zheng seemed to remember something, turned his head to Lu Buwei and said, "Middle Father, do you have a foot ladder for climbing?" ”

"Of course, Your Majesty." Lü Buwei pointed to the side of a corner, where there were two foot ladders, about the same height as Jiuding.

"Help the widow move one, and the widow wants to see what the inside of Jiuding looks like." Ying Zheng walked towards the footsteps.

"Let the old minister come by himself." Lu Buwei hurriedly walked in front of Yingzheng.

The footsteps are not very heavy, but they are very strong, and they are made by craftsmen to pedal to the upper part of Jiuding.

How could Yingzheng let Lü Buwei carry heavy objects by himself, and helped Lü Buwei carry the footladder together.

Stepping up the ladder, Ying Zheng held the upper edge of Jiuding with his hand to look at the inside of the tripod body, and Lu Buwei handed Ying Zheng an oil lamp for lighting.

The inner wall of the tripod body is also full of symbols and patterns, which is very similar to the outer wall of the tripod body. The difference is that the outer wall of the tripod body is convex outwards with stripes and patterns, while the inside of the tripod body is concave inward. Compared with the outer wall orientation, the inner wall is more like a carving, but whether it is carved or not, no one dares to say now.

The bottom of the tripod is also striped and patterned, but in different shades, there is a spherical groove in the middle, and at the bottom of the groove, there are five eyelets the size of five fingernails, evenly distributed on the outside of the groove.

Ying Zheng observed it carefully, then came down from the foot ladder, turned around and asked Lu Buwei: "Father Zhong just said that when cleaning Jiuding, the water will flow out, but it will flow out from the five hollows at the bottom of the Ding?" ”

"Exactly." Lu Buwei nodded and said, "There is only one hole at the bottom of the tripod where water flows out, and it seems that five holes are gathered in one place. ”

"The bottom of the tripod should have a certain thickness, and its internal structure must also be mysterious." Ying Zheng said, "Is this the case with every Ding? ”

"Each of the bottoms has five small holes, but the shape of the concave surface is different." Lu Buwei said.

Ying Zheng moved over the footsteps and inspected the interior of each tripod. Indeed, as Lü Buwei said, the concave part in the middle of each tripod has different shapes, but there are five small holes with water leakage evenly distributed in the groove.

"Probably because I was afraid of storing rainwater, so I guess I designed it this way." Ying Zheng said as if talking to himself.

"Lao Chen also thinks so, but whether it is or not, I dare not assert." Lu Buwei said.

"Middle Father." Ying Zheng came to Lü Buwei and said, "About Jiuding, do you know so much? ”

"The old minister is full of everything, so naturally it is not good to pay attention to Jiuding wholeheartedly." Lü Buwei said, "It's all Lu Wen and Lu Wu who are supervising, and if there is any new discovery, it is the two of them who are familiar with the old ministers." ”

"Then why do you put Jiuding here?" Ying Zheng asked, this question he wanted to ask when he came in.

"For more than a year, Lao Chen mostly placed Jiuding in different environments, and some even placed it in water. One is convenient for the observation of cold and heat changes, and the other is also convenient for the division of labor and cooperation of craftsmen. Lü Buwei let out a sigh of relief and said, "And now, the old minister knows that there is no hope of imitation, so he gathers Jiuding here to ensure its safety. ”

It seems that Jiuding is indeed very safe to be placed here, but the secret of Jiuding may not be leaked.

"Where are the craftsmen now?" Ying Zheng asked.

"They all live in an independent courtyard in the inner house, and the old minister does not dare to return to his hometown." Lu Buwei said.

"That's fine, you can't let anyone go." Ying Zheng said, "In the future, these craftsmen may be of great use, and they should be treated well." ”

Lü Buwei arched his hand and said: "The old minister obeys the king's orders. ”

Even if Yingzheng didn't have this advice, Lü Buwei would definitely not let one go.

The atmosphere of this secret room was turbid, Ying Zheng didn't stop any longer, and let Lu Buwei lead the way and walked out of the secret room.