When Pu Yuan talked about the creation of swords, he talked about the truth, Ma Chao and everyone listened to it with relish, and Ma Chao no longer doubted that this person seemed to be Pu Yuan, the weapon master who was like a fake.

Ma Chao nodded and said, "Is the water in my Liangzhou suitable for refining?" ”

Pu Yuan shook his head and said, "Only the Shu River in Yizhou, the subordinate hometown, is the best water for refining. ”

"Isn't this knife of poor quality?" As soon as he heard that this batch of knives might not be as good as the knives that Pu Yuan made for Zhuge Liang, Ma Chao suffered some gains and losses.

Pu Yuan shook his head and said, "Young master, rest assured, my subordinates have found that the water of the West Sea is different from the ordinary water, and it should be no less than the water of the Shu River." ”

Ma Chao was relieved, the West Sea is Qinghai Lake, and Qinghai Lake is a saltwater lake, which may contain many metal minerals.

The knife made by Pu Yuan still has a ring on the handle, the handle is iron, and the upper circumference is tied with hemp rope to increase friction, which is conducive to gripping, and it is not easy to get out of the hand when the palm is sweaty. The hilt was long enough to be held in both hands, allowing the sergeant to slash with all his might, like the two-handed swords of medieval crusaders; It can also be held in one hand, which is convenient for cavalry to slash on galloping horses.

There are also two words engraved on the handle of the knife: broken gold, Ma Chao knows that this is probably boasting of the sharpness of the knife, which can break the gold and stone with one blow. Tao Hongjing's "Ancient and Modern Sword Records" records that in the first year of Zhangwu of the Shu Han Dynasty (221), Xin Chou, the lord of Shu, Liu Bei, mined Jinniu Mountain Iron, and ordered Pu Yuan to "make 50,000 knives, all of which are connected and blades, and are seventy-two refined, and the handle is through, and there are two words", which seems to be true.

Ma Chao pulled out the knife made by Pu Yuan, and as soon as the knife rubbed against the scabbard, there was a crisp and loud "Canglang" sound. As soon as the blade was revealed, a dazzling golden light was immediately reflected, illuminating Ma Chao who had to squint. Looking closely, Ma Chao saw that the blade of this knife was actually slightly golden, which should be due to the addition of copper to the creation process.

Pu Yuan said: "This knife is three feet six inches long, and it has been refined for seventy-two years. Although it is less than 100 steel-making tough, it is enough for ordinary sergeants. ”

Ma Chao bowed his head and said, "Come on, take the first knife of the ring." ”

A personal guard took out the ring head knife and held it to Ma Chao with both hands. Ma Chao threw the ring head knife to Ma Dai, and Ma Dai understood, holding the ring head knife tightly with both hands. Everyone also understood Ma Chao's intentions and retreated a little. Ma Chao crossed the knife, Ma Dai raised the knife above his head, and then roared and slashed hard.

"Dang!" The two knives struck, and suddenly a white light flashed. When they looked again, it turned out that the ring head knife was broken, and the broken blade flew high in the air, and then pierced the ground.

When Ma Chao looked at Pu Yuan's knife again, there was no damage on the blade. Even Ma Chao put the blade on his face, squinting his eyes, he couldn't see even the slightest notch in the blade. Ma Chao was very satisfied, and after making a knife flower, he inserted the knife into the scabbard fluently.

Ma Jun saw Ma Chao's face with a smile on his face, and just wanted to further ask for credit for Pu Yuan, Ma Chao immediately spoke: "Pu Yuan, you made 80,000 knives, right?" ”

Pu Yuan lowered his head and said, "The plan is like this, and now we can only barely equip the whole army, which means that there are still 30,000 people left." Also beg the young lord for forgiveness. ”

Ma Chao was noncommittal, and turned his head to ask Ma Jun: "What is Pu Yuan's current position?" ”

Ma Jun was overjoyed and said, "Back to the young master, it is a servant Cao." ”

Shi Cao is the lowest level of official, equivalent to the service soldiers of Cao Peng, Peng Shi and others.

Ma Chao shook his head and said to Pu Yuan: "The servant Cao is too low, I will discuss with the assassin history and allow you to make a history." ”

Thorn Shi is his own father, where is there any need to discuss? Everyone knows that Pu Yuan's promotion is a certainty.

Happiness came too fast, Pu Yuan was still a little stunned, Ma Jun hurriedly pressed Pu Yuan, and said anxiously: "What are you doing in a daze?" Don't you want to thank the young master for his kindness? ”

Pu Yuan hurriedly bowed his head and said, "Yuan thanked the young master." ”

Ma Chao nodded and said, "In the future, I will hand over the weapons of my Xiliang Army to the two of you, don't let me down." ”

Pu Yuan and Ma Jun both said: "Thank you, Young Master! ”

Ma Chao remembered that Pu Yuan was suspected to be the inventor of the wooden ox flowing horse, and said: "Pu Yuan, I am long and narrow in Xiliang, spanning four thousand miles, if I want to conquer Han Sui, it will be very difficult to transport grain, and the supply line is bound to be thousands of miles away." Therefore I want you to make it into a grain transporter. ”

"Young master, please command."

Ma Chao thought for a moment and said, "Well, this kind of grain transportation equipment should have such characteristics: the appearance is like a cow and a horse; It can carry one-year-old food, dozens of miles for special travelers, and thirty miles for groups; Press the mechanism, you can walk on your own, without labor; Insert the wooden shaft to block the grain and prevent it from leaking; With only a few soldiers, it can walk from mountain to mountain. Can you make such a grain transport utensil? ”

When everyone heard this, they all felt that Ma Chao's words were a fantasy, and they were really deliberately embarrassed for Pu Yuan.

Pound frowned and said, "Young Master, how can there be such a mysterious thing?" ”

Ju Yi also complained: "Yes, let's honestly levy and send people to transport grain and send troops to protect grain." ”

Ma Chao felt that since authoritative historical books such as "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" and "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" had recorded that Zhuge Liang had used wooden oxen and flowing horses, and he could also provide food for the 100,000 Northern Expeditionary troops of Shu, it should be more credible, and wooden oxen and flowing horses should exist. It may be that it was only because it was made so delicately that the craftsmen who mastered this technique lost their inheritance, so the wooden oxen and horses were not handed down.

Therefore, the audience was gossipy, but Ma Chao was silent, just waiting for Pu Yuan's response.

After Pu Yuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, he said: "It's not easy to say about the subordinates now, it's better to let the subordinates try, maybe they can make it, but I don't know." ”

Yang Fu said: "This is also true, if it can't be made, it doesn't matter, but if it is made, it will be terrible, our army will not have to levy conscription and labor the people to transport grain in the future, and there will be no need to spend too many troops to protect the grain road, and there is no need for the people to transport grain and soldiers to protect the grain, and there is no need to consume more grain." ”

Jia Xu also echoed: "Yes, as recorded in the "Historical Records": Hantong Southwest Yidao, the author has tens of thousands of people, thousands of miles of burden to feed food, and the rate is more than ten minutes to one stone. This bell is six stones and four buckets. In other words, if you want to transport one stone of grain, you have to consume sixty-four stones on the way. If the wooden ox and flowing horse are really made, it will be a great achievement. ”

Seeing that the two sacrificial wines were so supportive, the generals no longer questioned it.

Ma Chao remembered the current way of farming, or two oxen pulling the plow, very backward, and said to Ma Jun: "I see that farmers are farming, and they need to drive two oxen." I hope you can invent a new kind of rake, which can be cultivated with only one ox, and only one person can steer the direction. ”

Without thinking, Ma Jun said: "This matter is much easier than the wooden ox and flowing horse, and the subordinates will definitely build this plow before the beginning of the next month." ”