Chapter 42

"Master Hua, if you are willing to stay and help me, you can widely recruit disciples throughout Youzhou, establish a school, and found a medical college. This way, the more disciples you teach, the more hands you will have to help you achieve your grand wish of healing and saving lives. Moreover, I am not boasting, but I have the Fire Cloud Trading Company under my command, with considerable assets. I believe you have also come to understand my character over these few days. In the future, I will certainly assist you in providing medical care and distributing medicine. Furthermore, you have stayed here for a few days and helped me save Han Sheng's son, and solved the problem of the epidemic. I certainly will not treat you poorly. If you establish a medical college here, with your medical skills and virtue, you will have many disciples, and the prosperity of your school will be a given. At that time, when you write books and pass on your medical knowledge, it will not only bring you fame in this world and benefit the present generation, but also leave a legacy for future generations, spreading your name for a thousand years and demonstrating your achievements for generations to come. What do you think, Master Hua?" Liu Yao spoke all the thoughts he could think of in one go.

In ancient times, people had an insatiable desire to found a school and pass on their knowledge, achieving eternal fame. Founding a school and achieving eternal fame was something even a sage would find hard to resist. Liu Yao did not believe that Hua Tuo was so indifferent to fame and fortune, so detached from the world.

Sure enough, upon hearing Liu Yao's words, Hua Tuo became excited, taking deep breaths to calm the turmoil in his chest. Hua Tuo was not a sage, and he could not escape the allure of fame and fortune. He knelt down before Liu Yao, "Hua Tuo pays respects to my lord. I am foolish. Today, after hearing my lord's words, I realize that what I have been doing all these years is just a small matter. Thanks to my lord's guidance, I have suddenly seen the light. How can the strength of one person compare to the strength of thousands? I am willing to join my lord, establish a medical college, achieve eternal fame, and benefit the people of the world and future generations."

"Good! Good! Good!" Liu Yao, full of excitement, helped Hua Tuo up. "Master Hua, there is no need for such formality. I will have someone take care of the medical college for you. You only need to focus on writing books, teaching disciples, and this achievement will be enough to bring you eternal fame."

"Thank you, my lord." Hua Tuo said, moved. "I will do my utmost to repay my lord's kindness."

Liu Yao looked at this with satisfaction. Hua Tuo was thus retained. This also led to the gradual establishment of the medical system in Youzhou, which later increased the average lifespan of the people in Youzhou. This is a story for another time, and we will not delve into it now.

After retaining Hua Tuo, Liu Yao immediately headed to the foundry where Oufeng was located.

Oufeng's foundry was established within the military camp, with heavy troops guarding the perimeter, not even allowing a fly to enter. All the blacksmiths inside were strictly monitored, and no spies could infiltrate. No one was allowed to leak any information. Anyone who wanted to enter this place needed Liu Yao's order, even Juzhu and others were no exception. After all, iron and steel were too important, and if the information leaked, Liu Yao would become a target for everyone.

When Liu Yao arrived personally, the guards naturally did not dare to stop him. As soon as he entered the foundry, he felt a strong wave of heat hit him. A huge furnace was in front of him, emitting waves of heat. Beside it, hundreds of bare-chested blacksmiths were hammering away, the sound of "clanging" deafening.

Liu Yao quickly found Oufeng in the crowd. This old man had become somewhat arrogant since he forged some divine weapons not long ago. Without Liu Yao's orders, he would no longer personally forge, but instead direct his blacksmiths to forge ordinary steel weapons.

Oufeng also saw Liu Yao and hurried over to pay his respects. Liu Yao nodded and gestured that it was too noisy here. Oufeng understood and led Liu Yao to a small room outside the foundry. This room was for Oufeng's rest, and he had put a lot of effort into it. He used some unknown material, and the soundproofing was excellent, so even near the foundry, no sound could be heard.

As soon as they entered the small room, Oufeng bowed respectfully to Liu Yao, "Oufeng pays respects to my lord. I did not welcome you far, please forgive me." Over these days, Oufeng had become extremely admiring of Liu Yao, and the blueprints Liu Yao gave him had excited him greatly.

"Rise." Liu Yao waved his hand and said, "Master Oufeng, I have come to ask you to forge two types of weapons, and I hope you can help."

Oufeng, hearing this, asked excitedly, "Oh, does my lord have something new?"

"Indeed." Liu Yao nodded and took out two blueprints from his sleeve.

Oufeng took them with great excitement. One blueprint showed a broad blade, more accurately, a broad blade mounted on a wooden shaft. The other was a very strange weapon, neither a spear, a lance, nor a sword. Oufeng was completely baffled and asked curiously, "My lord, what are these two things?"

Liu Yao pointed to the first blueprint and said, "I call this a 'Moke Dao.' It has a double-edged blade, is thick and wide, one zhang long, and weighs over 50 pounds. It is used by infantry and can both stab and slash, being particularly effective against cavalry."

Then he pointed to the second blueprint, "This is a knight's lance. It is like a four-meter-long triangular prism, sharp at the top and thick at the bottom, with three edges, and a flared guard at the bottom, with the internal part being the handle. It is mainly used for cavalry charges and thrusts."

Indeed, these two weapons were the Moke Dao, which appeared during the Tang Dynasty, and the Western knight's lance, which was widespread in the West. In his previous life, Liu Yao had the opportunity to study these two weapons during his archaeological work, so he had some understanding of them. However, the original knight's lance was a cone shape because the West did not have stirrups at that time, so the lance could only be used for thrusting. Now that Liu Yao's army had stirrups, he adapted it into a triangular prism shape, which could be used for both thrusting and slashing, achieving two goals at once.

The reason Liu Yao did not have Oufeng forge these weapons earlier was simple: they were too heavy, both weighing over 50 pounds, and it was difficult to find people who could use them. After all, even Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade only weighed 82 pounds, and how many people had the strength of Guan Yu?

However, now with Hua Tuo's help, through the Five Animals Play and modern military training, training a group of physically outstanding soldiers who could easily use these weapons was not difficult. This was Liu Yao's current plan for elite troops. A large army was costly and labor-intensive, but if there was a small elite force that could match ten ordinary soldiers, these problems could be solved.

After hearing Liu Yao's explanation, Oufeng quickly understood the practicality of these two weapons. His eyes lit up, and he stared at the blueprints intently. He had never thought about the shape of weapons before, only their sharpness. Now, seeing his lord's endless creativity, he admired him even more. He said with enthusiasm, "My lord, I will take charge of forging these two weapons. I will definitely complete them."

Liu Yao nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Master Oufeng, I also need you to forge a light and highly defensive armor. Can you do it?"

"No problem, my lord. I know how to forge fish-scale armor, which will definitely meet your requirements," Oufeng said confidently.

"Oh, fish-scale armor, the kind made in the shape of fish scales?" Liu Yao exclaimed in surprise. He was very clear about the defensive capabilities of fish-scale armor.

"Exactly! I didn't expect you to know about it," Oufeng said, taken aback. "However, forging fish-scale armor is quite difficult. It requires exquisite craftsmanship and a lot of time."