Chapter 54

In the middle of the first month, a messenger arrived in Jinyang via Ji Province. After receiving the messenger, Duke Yu Shi immediately convened a meeting with his subordinates. When Lu Yao returned to the military camp from the provincial governor's office, he also convened all the officers under his command and delivered a message that left them uncertain whether to mourn or rejoice: the second emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Zhong, had passed away. He was posthumously known as Emperor Xiaohui.

This Emperor Xiaohui was an unprecedentedly incompetent and foolish ruler. In fact, he was a mentally deficient individual, merely a puppet in the power struggles among the feudal lords. During his reign, the Jin Dynasty rapidly transformed from a period of peace to one of chaos. When the news of his death was conveyed, even Lu Yao couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, and the officers' reactions were similar to his.

"Really?" Xue Tong asked, "How did he... uh... pass away?"

Lu Yao nodded and said, "It's absolutely true. On the night of the sixth day of the eleventh month last year, the emperor fell ill and passed away the next day in the Xianyang Hall. Three days later, the royal younger brother ascended the throne, changing the era name to Yongjia. Therefore, this year is the first year of Yongjia. The court in Luoyang has already sent messengers to inform the whole country, but due to the rampant Xiongnu, the route to Bing Province was cut off. The messenger had to take a detour, hence the delay."

"Oh," Xue Tong nodded and drank his porridge.

Lu Yao cleared his throat a few times and continued, "With the emperor's passing, all under heaven should mourn. In principle, everyone should wear mourning clothes and weep in sorrow..."

The group nodded woodenly. Xue Tong put down his bowl and turned to look at the white clouds outside the window; Shen Jin seemed to be counting ants on the ground; Gao Xiang stifled a yawn halfway through; and Deng Gang's weathered face appeared particularly dull. After noticing that Lu Yao was staring at him, he hesitated for a moment before reluctantly said, "Um... ah... General, what you said is very true! Very true..."

Indeed, even the most steady and conservative Deng Gang had no affection for this emperor. Lu Yao couldn't help but sigh.

Behind the emperor's death, there were probably not-so-simple circumstances. This mentally deficient emperor had been isolated in the palace in recent years, with most of the palace guards, imperial army, and inner court attendants controlled by Prince Sima Yue of Donghai. Prince Donghai monopolized the court's power, and people at the time believed his authority surpassed that of Cao Cao and Wang Mang. Such a rare powerful minister might naturally have the thought of "he can be replaced." Perhaps...

Lu Yao shook his head: What does it matter to me what's happening in Luoyang?

"Damn it, you all act so proper, but I can't hold it in anymore!" Gao Xiang, the most impatient, finally couldn't hold back and shouted, "He's dead, so what? Why mourn? This idiot emperor is dead, and I can't cry, I want to laugh!"

"Damn scoundrel, dog emperor! Good riddance! Hahaha!" He pounded the table and roared, "During his reign of over ten years, did we ever have a single day of peace? Feudal lords vying for power, corrupt officials in charge, cruel officials running rampant, constant natural disasters, and chaos... Damn, I only feel a glimmer of hope now that he's dead!" Due to the incident at Guo Family Fort, his mood had been poor for several days, and this outburst was a good release.

As he spoke more and more out of line and louder, almost to the point of madness, the others looked at each other in dismay. Xue Tong reacted quickly and pounced to cover his mouth.

"His Majesty is the son of heaven, and the people are his children. If you dare to laugh again, Old Gao, I'll have to charge you with the crime of disrespecting the emperor," Lu Yao sighed. "You all, go back to your duties! Old Xue, wait a moment, you'll accompany me to receive the military equipment."

In addition to conveying the news of the new emperor's ascension, the messenger brought many other pieces of information. For example, the former governor of Bing Province, Si Teng, after fleeing to Ye City in a panic, was actually promoted and is now the Prince of Dongyan, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Commander of the military affairs in Ye City. Another piece of news was that after the defeat and death of the rebel Liu Bocong in Qing Province, a major bandit named Wang Mi declared himself the Grand General of the East and successively captured cities in Qing and Xu Provinces. Grand Tutor Sima Yue dispatched the public vehicle orderer Ju Xian to lead an army to suppress him, but Ju Xian was defeated and killed by Wang Mi. In the distant southwest, the Di person Li Xiong, who claimed to be the Prince of Chengdu, had formally declared himself emperor, with the state name Cheng, and appointed Fan Changsheng as the Grand Master of Heaven and Earth and Prime Minister.

These pieces of news were not pleasant, and Lu Yao didn't bother to convey them, so he let the group disperse hastily and took Xue Tong out of the camp.

In this era of chaos, the emperor's death was just a small episode in life. The Bing Province army, facing the imminent and massive threat of the Xiongnu, was busy with their own tasks, and there was no one in the entire Jinyang City who was in mourning or mourning. In fact, no one cared about the change of the throne in Luoyang anymore.

Due to the ample supply of grain and the increase in population, the once almost ruined Jinyang City gradually recovered its vitality. As Lu Yao and Xue Tong rode along the streets, they saw people coming and going; some areas that were once ruins had been cleared, and many logs were piled up, indicating that new houses would be built; not far away, a tavern had even opened, though it only sold newly brewed sweet rice wine, which Xue Tong thought was just water with a hint of alcohol.

In the west of the city, there was a place where the sound of hammering could be heard from a distance. This was the location of the artisan camp organized by Duke Yu Shi.

The artisan camp was built on the foundation of the existing Jinyang iron official, led by a blacksmith surnamed Han, who was about forty years old. Years of smoke and fire had made him look much older than his actual age. His family was originally a dependent of a powerful clan, but recently, Wen Qiao, according to Duke Yu Shi's requirements, had cleared the powerful clans' private armies and re-registered a large number of people into the yellow register. This family moved from the fort to Jinyang. Due to Han the blacksmith's exceptional skills and his three sons' unique ironworking techniques, they were tasked with manufacturing military equipment, leading dozens of selected apprentices in working day and night.

In addition, there were dozens of carpenters, bow makers, and other craftsmen assigned to the artisan camp. To ensure the army's needs, more than two hundred able-bodied men were also serving here, performing various heavy physical auxiliary tasks.

At that moment, Han the blacksmith was fully focused on working by the furnace, holding a forging hammer in his right hand and a pair of tongs in his left, slowly turning a piece of iron. His eldest son, bare-chested with bulging muscles, was swinging a thirty-pound iron hammer, striking forcefully; while his second son was rapidly pulling the bellows, fanning the flames in the furnace, turning the iron red. Although it was a cold spring day, the three of them were all sweating profusely.

Lu Yao seemed to be familiar with the blacksmith family and called out from a distance, "Master Han! Master Han! Is what I asked for ready?"

Han the blacksmith smiled and said, "It's been ready for a while! Little Third, quickly bring it to General Lu!"

The one called Little Third was Han the blacksmith's third son, a sturdy and cheerful young man. He rummaged in the dark depths of the shop for a while, carrying out two burlap bags in each hand, and then returned to fetch more. After several trips, there were ten burlap bags in front of Lu Yao. Han the third son untied each bag, revealing a glint of cold light inside.

"General Lu, these are the spearheads you ordered, all made from the finest iron, a total of four hundred, each weighing more than three and a half ounces, using a total of eighty-eight pounds of iron. Please inspect them."

Lu Yao nodded and said, "I naturally trust Master Han's skills, no need to inspect..." and left with Xue Tong, each carrying five bags.

After they had gone some distance, Han the blacksmith hurriedly caught up from behind, "General Lu, I almost forgot... The method of steel casting is showing some progress. If you have time, I hope you can come and give more guidance!"

Lu Yao nodded and said, "The method of steel casting I mentioned is just something I heard. I can't really guide Master Han. I have other matters today, but I'll come back in a few days when I have time, and we can study it together."

Han the blacksmith thanked him repeatedly, and Xue Tong praised, "I didn't expect that Daoming is also familiar with iron smelting techniques, truly multi-talented."

Lu Yao shook his head and said, "I wouldn't say familiar, just a bit of knowledge. In the past, when I was in Luoyang, I saw the famous craftsmen of the Office of Works use secret techniques to manufacture iron, which were different from the usual forging methods. That's why I mentioned it to Master Han. If we can produce high-quality weapons based on this, I would be overjoyed."

This method of steel casting was not what Lu Yao saw in the Office of Works in Luoyang, but if he didn't say it this way, he wouldn't know how to explain it. He lifted the burlap bag and changed the subject, "These spearheads are very well made. Master Han is indeed one of the best blacksmiths in Taiyuan."

To be honest, Lu Yao's original intention in befriending Han the blacksmith was not for these cold weapons. As a穿越者 (穿越者 means "time traveler" or "穿越者" in this context), even Lu Yao, who knew his scientific and technological knowledge was limited, couldn't suppress his desire to develop firearms. A few days ago, he and Han the blacksmith had planned to try to make a primitive firearm.

Unfortunately, reality was not as smooth as in time-travel novels. How to forge the barrel? What kind of firing mechanism? What shape of bullet?... In just half a day, these questions left Lu Yao in a mess. Not only were there many design challenges, but there were also many technical difficulties that were hard to overcome or required significant investment.

After much deliberation with Han the blacksmith, they ultimately confirmed one thing: with the current material foundation, it was impossible to climb the technology tree alone.

******

The homepage's featured image recommendation is over, and I don't know if there will be such an opportunity again, so I laugh. The number of people who have collected this book is gradually increasing, and I am very grateful for everyone's trust. I will work hard to write and repay everyone.

Also, I continue to seek more collections and red votes. Thank you to Brother Tie Shou Youqing for your support.

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends