Qin Official

"What's your name?"

Heifu walked over. The outspoken little blacksmith lowered his head. All he could see was his sleeveless shorts, and his arms were all strong and thick muscles.

Li Cang was standing by and said again: "The Lord asked you, what is your name?"

The little blacksmith just raised his head. He had some black stubble growing on his chin. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old. His hair was covered with sweat. He didn't know whether it was because of the heat at the forge or because he was frightened by the black man. He just said calmly. Answered:

"Your Majesty, my name is Guo Shao."

"Guo Shao?"

Heifu nodded, it was such a familiar name, I just couldn’t remember where I had seen it.

"Looking at your accent, you're not from Hengshan County. Are you from other places?"

"Jun Hou, I am a native of Handan County, Zhao District. I moved here with my family a few years ago and continue to engage in my ancestral business, forging iron and making swords in Iron Mountain."

Heifu thought for a while: "Handan, Guo family, blacksmith, are you the queen of Guo Zong?"

The young man was a little happy: "The Lord actually knows! Guo Zong is the ancestor of the villain!"

During the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, Guo Zong was a famous industrialist and merchant in Handan. He became extremely wealthy by operating the iron smelting industry. After the fall of the Zhao State, Qin officials took the iron smelting back into state ownership. The Guo family tree became a big problem, and the entire clan was dismantled and relocated. When he went to the iron officials in various counties, he also spread Zhao's advanced iron smelting technology throughout the world...

It seems that the young man in front of me is also one of them.

Heifu walked behind the boy and next to the blazing forge. Lying on the anvil was a four-and-a-half-foot-long sword, which had been forged...

The ruler is a Qin ruler, which is just over one meter at four and a half feet. It may seem a little short in later generations, but at the same time, swords that were generally three feet long already stood out from the crowd.

Bronze swords in the Spring and Autumn Period were generally no more than half a meter long because bronze was brittle and easy to break, and the swords were relatively wide and thick.

After entering the Warring States Period, iron swords became popular in various countries. The blades and blades became thinner and sharper, and the length also began to increase. The "three-foot sword", which is a seventy centimeter sword, became the standard equipment of scholar-bureaucrats, soldiers, and light knights. .

Heifu picked up the iron sword in front of him and weighed it. He was not an expert, but after more than ten years of military service, he could still tell the difference between good and bad. He couldn't help but praise:

"What a sword. This sword is not bad, and it can be forged so long. It is almost as good as His Majesty's sword!"

Although most of the Qin army still used bronze swords, Qin Shihuang was a follower of the trend. His sword was five feet long. Because it was too long, when Jing Ke stabbed Qin, he couldn't pull it out in desperation, so he could only avoid it by circling a pillar. . In the end, Qin was reminded by the left and right, "The king bears the sword (ship)", and successfully pulled out the sword and hacked Jing Ke to death.

Yes, it's cutting. The sword has a double edge. It has a straight body and a pointed head. It can hurt people horizontally and vertically. It can penetrate armor with its stabbing. Stabbing is its main method of killing. But at that moment, Qin Shi Huang, who had never suffered such a humiliation, was so angry that he could only vent his anger by slashing Jing Ke's thigh with his sword!

That's not even the longest one. Hei Fu had seen a long sword that could only be operated with two hands in Qi Di, but it was actually six feet long, nearly one meter four! No wonder there is a nursery rhyme in Qi Di: "The crown is as big as a dustpan, and the sword is leaning on the Yi", which means that the hilt of the sword can touch the cheek.

At this moment, the young blacksmith Guo was praised by Hei Fu and raised his head happily: "If you don't mind me, I am willing to forge a sword for you!"

Hei Fu nodded: "A swordsman is a gentleman armed with weapons, so self-defense began in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. His skills first appeared in military formations. When the army and horses are competing, when the weapons are clashing, use long weapons to resist the enemy, and use short weapons to resist the enemy." The sword is used to defend oneself, to kill at a distance and to fight at close quarters, and the length and shortness complement each other. After the Spring and Autumn Period, the sword became popular among celebrities, princes, generals, ministers, and noble people all wore famous swords and learned their skills, understood their principles and mastered their ways, and used them for their studies. If you use it to govern a country, you will become a hegemonic and powerful country; if you use it to kill, you will become a powerful army and general."

"However, although the sword is good, what I need more in the army right now is the sword."

Guo Shao loved swords. A few days ago, Hei Fu asked Tieshan to forge a sword, but he was unwilling to participate. Now he just felt that the sword had been insulted and a little aggrieved.

"Your Majesty, a knife used to chop wood is a lowly weapon. How can it be compared to a sword?"

Heifu smiled: "Have you ever used a bronze sword to chop wood?"

Guo Shao shook his head: "No."

"Why?"

Guo Shao felt that the prince was knowingly asking: "Bronze is brittle and easy to break. It's okay to kill people, but it's too much to chop wood."

Copper is originally soft, too soft to be directly used as a weapon. Only when combined with tin and turned into bronze can it be a suitable material. But it goes to the other extreme, becoming brittle and easy to break if you chop it hard.

Therefore, throughout the Bronze Age, knives mainly used for chopping were only short-lived. At most, they were small knives used to pry shells and peel skins. They became popular in Yanqi and gradually evolved into knife coins.

The sword is undoubtedly the most suitable short weapon for bronze, and it is the well-deserved king of a hundred weapons.

Among the people, copper axes are also the main tools for chopping firewood.

Until the advent of the Iron Age, this situation began to change. Although the military still followed the previous inertia of using swords, among the people, rough-made iron hatchets had quietly appeared.

Especially in Nanjun, Yuzhang, Hengshan, Changsha and other places, in recent years, in order for plantation owners to let their slaves chop sugar cane, a machete with a long rib, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom has become popular, and its shape is quite similar to that of later generations. Guo Shao has naturally seen the Jingpo Sword since he has been here for several years.

"Have you ever chopped firewood or sugar cane with an iron sword?"

Heifu seemed to be interested, so he sat down in the workshop and chatted leisurely with Blacksmith Guo.

"The iron sword is so precious, how can it be used to chop firewood!"

Guo Shao was a little confused. What was wrong with this prince? He had a problem with chopping wood. Could it be that he, the marquis, was made by chopping wood...

"Yes, iron swords are expensive, and a good long sword is hard to find for a hundred gold. And I have tens of thousands of soldiers. How can I not let all of them be men of a hundred gold? I...the court cannot afford to support them."

Heifu asked again: "How long did it take you to forge this long sword? How many days did it take them to make a knife?"

Guo Shao answered honestly: "I spent a month."

The iron officer on the side also came to report, saying that on average, each iron sword only lasted three to five days.

This is natural. In terms of production technology, swords are much more difficult than knives. The sword is a double-edged sword with a narrow and thin body and a sharp tip. Therefore, the material and smelting process of making the sword are very demanding. It should not be too soft or too brittle, but just right. For a good sword, it will take at least a month to complete the entire process and forge it a hundred times. Some swords may even take a year and a half...

As for a machete that ordinary people can afford, it only needs to be made of good iron and has a single blade. The blade is wider and the back is thicker. It generally won't break. It's okay if the craftsmanship is sloppy. If it's slow, it can take five days. If it's fast, it can take two or three days. If mass production can be done on an assembly line, it will be even faster.

No wonder there is a saying in later generations called "ten knives and one sword", which means that making knives and swords of the same quality takes ten times as long as making a sword.

Generals must understand one thing: just like soldiers, weapons are consumables, not collections!

The military's standard equipment has always been cheap, simple, and easy to mass-produce on the premise of ensuring power. This is why the Qin army is always equipped with bronze weapons.

The same goes for Heifu. What he needs is a machete that can be mass-produced, cheap, and adaptable to the dense forests of the south. It can not only chop down trees and vines, but also be able to fight at any time. There is no need for it to be refined into steel hundreds of times, no need for it to be immortal for thousands of years, no need for it to sharpen iron like clay. Anyway, we are dealing with the Yue people who are fighting naked. No matter how blunt the knife is, it is enough to draw blood.

Moreover, the sword is faster than the sword. Even in the encounter, the Qin soldiers were so panicked that they forgot all the techniques. They just closed their eyes and slashed hard like Qin Shihuang did when he attacked Jing Ke.

It is only a matter of time before bronze is replaced by iron. Even if the steel technology is not yet mature, the biggest advantage is the large output and low cost.

And in history, the sword will replace the sword sooner or later, just like the noble gentleman is replaced by the common man...

Finally, Heifu asked Tieshan to make five thousand machetes within three months, and he also asked blacksmith Guo, who was very skilled in craftsmanship, to make ten good swords for the generals, but he also said:

"Although the cost is high or low, there is no distinction between high and low weapons. They are suitable for the battlefield. If they can kill the enemy, they are good weapons!"

…

The weapons Heifu made for the army were more than just a jungle machete.

After leaving Iron Mountain, he took a trip to the Tonglu Mountain forty miles to the south. Even if there were water drains to fan the flames, the quality of iron made from charcoal alone was still worrying. Except for iron knives, other weapons were still made of bronze. host.

Considering that the Lingnan mountainous forest area is good at attacking and ambush, close combat, and it is difficult to use spears, in addition to Tieshan's 5,000 machetes, Heifu also customized 10,000 daggers in Tonglu Mountain, which are only one and a half feet long. It is not an exaggeration to call it a dagger, and it is also bladed on one side. Its shape is quite similar to the 95 Army Spur, so everyone has one.

"At that time, the equipment of each village will be mainly short-armed soldiers with shields, supported by bows and crossbows, and supplemented by a few long-armed troops. This configuration is much more reasonable than the previous spears and halberds."

After finalizing the army's standard weapons, Heifu ended his trip. He didn't really want to go back to E County and Wuchang, so he decided to take a detour, take a small road, and go directly to Changsha County.

In late February, when Heifu and his party arrived in Zhouling County, Gong Ao, who was training at the Wuchang camp, sent someone to tell him the news:

The supervisors sent by the imperial court have finally arrived in Nanjun!

"Oh? Who is the supervisor?"

Heifu secretly complained: It’s not Fusu again, is it? It was okay the first time, but it didn't matter the second time. If Qin Shi Huang wanted the two of them to be together this time, Hei Fu would even suspect that the emperor wanted them to be together...

The messenger reported: "Two people came this time, one old and one strong."

"The old man is Mr. Lunhou."

"It turns out to be Marquis Changwu..."

Hei Fu nodded. Indeed, the supervisors of the Qin Dynasty liked to send clan members or cronies of the emperor, and they had to have a high status, so that they would not be ignored by the generals and lose the meaning of supervision.

This young master, Cheng, is the grandfather of Qin Shihuang and the youngest son of King Qin Zhaoxiang. He has no great abilities, but he is the highest-ranking member of the clan. In his early years, as Zongzheng, he was one of the nine ministers. A few years ago, as Wang Jian's supervisor, he contributed greatly to the destruction of Chu. He was later named the Marquis of Changwu by Qin Shihuang. He was one of the seven Lun Marquises in the Qin Dynasty. He was on the same level as Changnan Marquis Heifu. He was indeed a suitable candidate. .

It's just that Marquis Changwu is already seventy years old. He can only look at food in Nanjun. It's impossible to go to Lingnan with Hei Fu. Don't be like Yang Duanhe, who would be embarrassed if he died on the way.

Therefore, Qin Shihuang sent a double insurance, a young and strong man who could follow Hei Fu at any time.

"For whom is the strong man?"

Heifu asked casually, guessing whether it was a distant clan member. Anyway, it couldn't be Fusu, let alone Hu Hai, haha.

"Your Majesty, that strong man is Zuo Shu Zhang, Zi Ying!"