I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 99 Auspicious Omens!

Liu Miao then observed other craftsmen and found that almost everyone used water quenching, and often the swords were completely submerged in the water, causing the teeth-grinding sound to echo throughout the forge city.

"My lord, is water quenching incorrect?"

Liu Miao certainly wouldn't say that water quenching was wrong, but seeing that weapons often broke and became unusable, he always felt that it seemed that it was something that couldn't be improved.

Curious, Liu Miao approached the craftsman and picked up a wooden fan to fan him, asking, "May I ask if the last piece of this weapon is quenched?"

Seeing that Liu Miao was sensible and humble, the old blacksmith was happy to answer his question: "Of course! An unquenched knife is as soft as anything, how can you use such a thing?"

Liu Miao unconsciously slowed his fanning motion: "The purpose of quenching is to harden the weapon?"

"Exactly."

Liu Miao then turned to Zhou Tai and asked, "Youping, is it always true that the harder the weapon, the better?"

"Nonsense! Wouldn't it be better to just use a rock to fight? Why bother with a knife!"

Zhou Tai clearly has the authority to speak on weaponry.

"The harder something is, the more brittle it is, and the easier it is to break! The reason why weapons are made of iron is not because it is harder than stone, but because it is hard enough, yet soft enough... Anyway, that's the idea!"

Zhou Tai touched the knife in bewilderment, but he didn't know how to describe the feeling of being able to handle it with ease. He could only tell Liu Miao to figure it out himself!
And Liu Miao actually understood it!
"Youping means that the blade of a weapon only needs to be sharp, but the back of the blade should ideally have some flexibility?"

"Yes! That's the word! Resilient! Haha!"

"..."

Lu Su immediately understood: "So that's how it is!"

"On the battlefield, soldiers prefer to use swords rather than short swords. This is because short swords require double-sided tempering, which makes them hard but lacks flexibility. Swords, on the other hand, can be tempered on one side to maintain their hardness for killing, while retaining their original flexibility on the other side. I see..."

After Lu Su realized his mistake, he immediately understood the error in forging the short swords and decided to forge ring-pommel swords for his soldiers from then on!

At this moment, Lu Su was filled with admiration for Liu Miao: "My lord, you have a keen eye for detail. If it weren't for you today, countless soldiers would have been at a disadvantage in the future because of their weapons."

Liu Miao had no time to pay attention to Lu Su, and instead started chatting enthusiastically with the old blacksmith. Fortunately, Lu Su knew Liu Miao's personality and didn't mind, continuing to listen to their discussion.

"Master, you said that since soldiers use hard steel for the blade in battle anyway, is it possible to use only a small piece of hard steel as the blade, and then wrap the hard steel with soft steel to make three pieces together? Wouldn't that improve the quality of the weapon and save time and effort?"

Hard steel wrapped with mild steel?

The old blacksmith was curious how Liu Miao, a young man with delicate skin who clearly looked like a nobleman, could have such a whimsical and imaginative idea!
The old blacksmith pondered, "Hmm...that's difficult!"

Hard!

But there is still hope!
Liu Miao fanned the old blacksmith even more vigorously to cool him down so that he could use his intelligence as soon as possible!

"I've heard of a technique from merchants in Sichuan called 'refining pig iron to make thicker, softer ingots'! It sounds quite similar to your idea, young man!"

Burn pig iron to make fine steel.

In short, it involves melting pig iron (soft steel) with high impurities into a liquid state and then pouring it onto wrought iron (hard steel) that has already been treated, thus creating a steel block that is both strong and tough.

After listening, Liu Miao felt that this method seemed familiar, but he just couldn't remember what it was... However, since the old blacksmith spoke so clearly and logically, Liu Miao immediately suggested, "Why don't you give it a try? I'll light the fire for you, old man?"

"Ok?"

The old blacksmith glanced at the sky, then hesitated...

Lu Su then explained from the side, "My lord, these craftsmen usually rest around this time..."

"What rest? How can you rest?"

Liu Miao personally threw firewood into the stove: "No rest! Zijing! Go kill a few sheep, and see if there are any chickens or ducks to buy and kill for food! Also... tell these craftsmen, one string of cash each, and they must get the work done even if they don't sleep!"

There's meat to eat, and money to be paid...

Go home? Go home what! This is my home!
The craftsmen, who had initially complained about Liu Miao's inspection, suddenly became incredibly enthusiastic, swinging their hammers with tremendous force! They were as if they were forging precious swords like the Longyuan and Tai'a swords, working with exceptional seriousness!

The old blacksmith praised Liu Miao, saying, "You young man, you've done a wonderful job! What does your family do?"

"There are people who work as village chiefs, cowherds, and farmers! Master, do you think this fire is alright?"

"okay!"

The old blacksmith melted the pig iron into a liquid state, then found a piece of wrought iron that had been forged earlier, and carefully poured it onto the iron, observing the subtle changes on it.

Fortunately, this method worked! After cooling, a piece of iron with an uneven surface appeared!

The old blacksmith heated it again and forged it into the shape of a knife, and then, under Liu Miao's expectant gaze, quenched it once more!

"Success?"

"Failed."

The old blacksmith examined the blade and shook his head repeatedly.

"However, this method is correct! This knife is indeed different from other knives! Its blade is sharp, but the back of the blade has a kind of toughness... A good knife! It's just a pity that the quenching wasn't done well."

Using pig iron to wrap wrought iron is fine!

Liu Miao's eyes immediately lit up. The only thing that needed to be solved now was the water quenching method that was causing weapons to frequently become scrap metal!
"Youping, go get some lard! It has to be hot!"

"Would the lord like a drink?"

"I'll watch you drink it later. If you can finish it, you're something else!"

Zhou Tai quickly brought over a basin of lard, so Liu Miao suggested, "Master, why don't we try quenching it with this?"

The old blacksmith licked his lips and chuckled, "You young man are truly extravagant! To think of using oil to quench a knife? Your family must be extremely wealthy."

Liu Miao declared righteously, "My family elders are all known for starting from scratch!" "Heh."

The old blacksmith didn't waste any words; he simply continued hammering out a knife and tested the quenching process with lard.

"Sizzle~~~~~~"

Unlike water quenching, oil quenching produces a smoother, more mellow sound that is incredibly pleasant to listen to!
Unfortunately, when the old blacksmith retrieved the knife, he was still greatly disappointed.

Because a crack had clearly appeared on the knife, it was obviously another useless knife...

"It shouldn't be!"

Liu Miao was puzzled, but he didn't know where the problem lay.

But it doesn't matter, there's more than just Liu Miao here!

Liu Miao loudly announced to the craftsmen of the forge—

"If you can solve the quenching method, I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold!"

A thousand pieces of gold!

Even the old blacksmith was shocked and said, "So much? Does your family have a lot of money, young man?"

“My family was not wealthy, but I met a benefactor who not only appointed me to an official position, but also married my brother’s daughter to me and gave me a lot of money.”

The old blacksmith immediately said enviously, "Why haven't I met such a benefactor?"

"Master, you're unlikely to meet a benefactor. Why don't you try to find a rich woman? Maybe she'll take a liking to you because you're strong and healthy, and even consider you her son-in-law!"

"Well, you dare to make fun of me, young man! You're asking for it!"

Lu Su shook his head as he watched Liu Miao being chased around by the old blacksmith.

Liu Miao was probably the only one who could be chased around by one of his own blacksmiths...

The other blacksmiths, lured by Liu Miao's promise of great profits, experimented and made mistakes!

Some people think that salt should be added to lard.

Some people think that some meat should be added to lard.

Some people think that you should add a little vinegar or soy sauce to lard...

Even when this lard is made into pork stew, no one can find a stable way to quench it.

Just when everyone thought they would never be able to come up with a stable quenching method, a young blacksmith finally shouted, "I've done it!"

In an instant, everyone in Yecheng rushed to the other side, and sure enough, they found two exceptionally perfect quenched blades on the other side's table!
"Good knife! Good knife!"

The old blacksmith and Zhou Tai ran the fastest. As soon as they picked up the short knife, they immediately felt its extraordinary nature!
Its blade is so sharp that it is no less powerful than a divine weapon forged using the most advanced techniques!

The blade is tough and resilient, comparable to ordinary cast iron!
Good knife! Good knife!

The old blacksmith and Zhou Tai were both very fond of it, but Liu Miao realized the problem and quickly asked, "What did you use to temper this knife?"

The young blacksmith, who had been all smiles, suddenly froze and glanced at Liu Miao with fear.

"Speak quickly! What's there to be afraid of? Do you think I'd renege on your reward in front of everyone?"

"No, it's not..."

The other party glanced cautiously at Liu Miao, then at the old blacksmith and Zhou Tai, who were still holding their knives—

"I was quenched with urine."

"Ok?"

Liu Miao didn't hear clearly.

"I used urine to quench it!"

The young blacksmith explained, "I drank too much water and didn't have time to run outside, so I peed in the trough... I forgot about it when I was quenching the fire, but then I remembered and quickly took it out and oil-quenched it again. I didn't expect it to turn out like that!"

It was urine!

Liu Miao immediately grasped the key!

First quench in urine, then quench in oil, only then can this divine weapon be obtained!

The old blacksmith and Zhou Tai looked incredulously at the divine weapon in their hands that could slash iron like mud, and then glared at the young blacksmith with eyes that looked like they wanted to devour him!

Zhou Tai silently lowered his blade, then tempted Liu Miao, saying, "My lord, don't you want to try it? This thing is truly a divine weapon!"

"Ah."

Liu Miao saw through Zhou Tai's little scheme in an instant, and ignoring his "if we can't be born on the same day, month, and year, then let's die on the same day, month, and year" expression, he directly reprimanded him: "How can I use such a divine weapon by myself?"

"Such auspicious omens appearing in Jiangdong are all thanks to the benevolence of the General! Therefore, these two swords must be presented to the General!"

"It's unwashed, isn't it?"

"Only in its original form can we express our respect for General Hou!"

"Understood!"

Zhou Tai felt instantly relieved, and then went to Chen Wu's side, silently wiping his hands clean on Chen Wu's clothes...

　I'm writing the next chapter now. This one is a little late, I'm so sorry~~ There will be another chapter later tonight, I'll finish it right away!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)