I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 888 Go to the "Blacksmith Village"! Start the "Zhurong Furnace"! [4100]

Although she did not use complicated words, Tokugawa Iemochi could clearly feel her emotions and determination.

Looking at the beauty in his arms, Tokugawa Iemochi was slightly surprised at first, and then smiled indifferently.

He didn't say much, just hugged the other person silently.

"In fact, another major reason why I have this ambition is because of the reality."

"In recent years, I have increasingly felt that the corruption and decline of the shogunate are inevitable."

"Now, no matter what strategy is adopted, it is only a temporary solution, and it will only delay the complete demise of the shogunate by a few days."

"Since the building is about to collapse, it is better to prepare early and entrust the people of the world to trustworthy people as soon as possible."

"I once had high hopes for the Tokugawa clan."

"Unless I give birth to a child, my successor will definitely be Ichihashi Yoshinobu."

"Ichibashi Keiki has great ambitions but little talent. He does whatever he wants and has neither the will to persevere nor the will to endure hardships."

"Letting him take charge of the shogunate will only accelerate the demise of the Edo shogunate."

"As for the other candidates for general except Ichibashi Yoshinobu, they are all weak people who are not worthy of being appointed."

"So, after searching a lot, the only person who fits my image of a 'holy king' is Tachibana-kun."

"Therefore, my favor towards Tachibana-kun is largely due to my disappointment in the Tokugawa clan."

Kazunomiya said in a joking tone:
"Your Highness, if others heard your ambition, they would probably think you have a mental problem."

Tokugawa Iemochi smiled, and said half seriously, half jokingly:

"Let them talk. I have nothing else, but I have the courage to endure ridicule, and a lot of it."

"…Your Highness, can I ask you another question?"

"Well, tell me."

"Why do you trust General Tachibana so much?"

He Gong suddenly asked a sharp question.

"Indeed, General Tachibana is a rare talent among men."

"But... Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the throne."

As princesses of the imperial court, He Gong had a very high level of cultural accomplishment - after all, they had nothing else to do except reading books and reciting poems.

She can quote all the Sinology allusions at will.

"Your Highness, how can you be sure that General Tachibana is the Holy Lord who can bring peace to the people?"

"Just because he can govern Qinjin Clan well doesn't mean he can govern the whole world well."

"What's more... Your Highness, please forgive me for being frank, but I feel that even if we entrust the world to General Tachibana, he will not be able to bring about earth-shaking changes in this world."

"At most, it would just be to create a new shogunate, changing the 'Tokugawa world' to the 'Tachibana world'."

"Can 'Tachibana World' really defeat 'Tokugawa World'?"

"Perhaps... in the end, it will be 'prosperity, the people suffer; decline, the people suffer'... Hmm? Your Highness, why are you looking at me like this?"

Tokugawa Iemochi said with a smile:

"Nothing, I just feel very happy."

"You didn't just agree with me, you had your own thoughts - that made me very happy."

"He Gong, you just said it very well."

"Indeed, I am not a god and cannot predict the future."

"So... to put it bluntly, I'm just betting - betting that Tachibana-kun is the one who can make history."

"But gambling is gambling, and I don't just bet randomly without any strategy."

"Jujun... is a very amazing person."

"I could vaguely sense that there was a flame hidden in his heart."

"Because the timing is not right, this 'flame' has not yet burned vigorously."

"When the time comes, this 'flame' will be hotter than ever before."

"It was this 'fire' in his heart that made me decide to 'bet on Qing Deng'."

"I am very stupid, so the only prosperous era I can imagine is one where everyone is happy and no one picks up things on the road."

"On the other hand, Qing Deng's view of the world and his 'realm' may be far beyond my imagination!"

"All in all, let's wait and see for now."

"This is the path I chose myself, and I have to witness it to the end."

At this point, Tokugawa Iemochi seemed to remember something, paused, and then changed the subject:
"Ah, right."

"This is a rare opportunity. While the atmosphere is just right tonight, Kazumiya, I have something to say to you."

"Things in the world are often hard to predict."

"In this chaotic world, even the Shogun cannot escape danger."

"So...if one day in the future I can no longer be by your side, there are three people you can always trust."

As he spoke, he held up three fingers.

"The first is Tachibana Aoto, the second is Katsurintaro, and the third is mother."

"Tachibana-kun and Katsu-kun don't say much."

"As for Mother... I know that your relationship with her is not very good."

"But, mother is not a bad person. She just doesn't know how to get along with you. She definitely doesn't hate you."

“If you encounter difficulties that are hard to deal with, or problems that you can’t make a decision on, you might as well ask these three people for help.”

"They will never let you down."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Gong rebuked him unhappily:

"Your Highness, please stop saying things like 'I can't stay by your side anymore'!"

"I don't like such unlucky words!"

Tokugawa Iemochi smiled:
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm just mentioning this to you out of caution."

"You just need to keep my words in mind and think of them from time to time."

……

……

The next morning,

A mountain deep in the west of Edo——

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
From time to time, you can hear the chirping of birds in the bushes.

The early winter mountain breeze blows past my ears, bringing a biting chill.

Qing Deng pushed aside the vines in front of him and asked Shikizaki Kiyomi in front of him:

"Mr. Shikizaki, are you not here yet?"

Shikizaki Kiyoshi replied without even turning his head:
"We're almost there. Do you see that hill in front of us? Once we get over it, we'll reach our destination."

Last night, after using his money ability, the originally hesitant Shikizaki Kiyomi instantly made up his mind and said, "Just leave it to me!"

This left Mr. Kiryu, who had spent a lot of time trying to persuade the client with emotion and reason, speechless for a while.

Such a result was within Qing Deng's expectations. After all, Shikizaki Kiyoshi was a prodigal son who spent all his time in Yoshiwara.

It would be strange if such a person did not love money.

Of course, Qing Deng had no intention of blaming the other party.

Who would hate money? What's wrong with chasing money?

For Qing Deng, who now owns 400,000 shi of fertile land, a mere three thousand taels of gold is not worth mentioning at all.

It would be great if we could recast Vairocana with just this little money and turn it into the legendary "black sword".

After solemnly accepting the commission, Shikizaki Kiyoshi said to Aoto:
"'Wanlian Steel' is far superior to ordinary iron. Ordinary furnaces can't do anything to it."

"If you want to forge a knife with this steel, you have to use a 'special furnace'."

"Come to Nihonbashi at 6: tomorrow morning and I will take you to my 'secret workshop'."

Just like that, as soon as the sky turned light today, the master and the disciple arrived at Nihonbashi on time - Shikizaki Kiyomi was already waiting there.

He said lightly, "Follow me," and then led the master and disciple westward, diving into the deep mountains west of Edo.

As early as last night, Qing Deng asked Boss Kiryu whether he had ever been to Shikizaki Kiyoshi's "secret workshop".

The old man said:
"It is said that the Shikizaki family has a large smelting furnace that has been passed down from generation to generation, known as the 'Zhurong Furnace'."

"The furnace has unparalleled firepower, and the flames it emits are like Zhurong descending to the earth, hence the name."

"But I have never seen such a furnace."

"The 'secret workshop' of Shikizaki Kiyoshi should be where this 'Zhurong furnace' is located."

The large smelting furnace passed down from generation to generation, the firepower as strong as Zhurong's descent to the earth... these words all aroused Qingdeng's curiosity.

Mr. Kiryu, who is a sword lover and has extensive knowledge of swords, also wants to see the full picture of the "Zhurong Furnace" with his own eyes.

Therefore, both the master and the apprentice had strong expectations for Shikizaki Kiyoshi's "secret workshop".

This deep mountain is really remote and seldom visited by people.

Only the narrow path on the ground, trampled by countless feet, silently declares that this deep mountain is not an uninhabited area.

While Qing Deng was quietly following Shikizaki Kiyomi, he couldn't help but wonder:

——Why would he build his "secret workshop" in such a remote place?

Climb up the hill, jump down the slope, climb over the stone wall, push aside the bushes, and occasionally cross a few streams... Finally, a few wisps of smoke floating outside the woods came into Qingdeng's sight.

Qing Deng asked in surprise:
"Hmm? There's a village here?"

Shikizaki Kiyoshi smiled and nodded:
"Yes, welcome to 'Blacksmith Village'!"

"'Blacksmith Village'?"

Qing Deng cast a puzzled look at Shikisaki Jiyou.

The other party understood and slowly explained:

"The history of this village can be traced back to the Warring States Period."

"In 1582, Oda Nobunaga conquered the Takeda clan and annexed the two provinces of Kai and Shinano."

"Because they hated Oda Nobunaga and were unwilling to obey the rule of the Oda family, a group of blacksmiths from Shinano Province fled to the mountains of Kanto, where they settled down and multiplied. Their descendants are the villagers of the 'Blacksmith Village'."

"Even though time has passed, their blacksmithing skills have not been lost and have been passed down from generation to generation."

"For this reason, almost all the men in the village can do blacksmithing, and their skills are quite good."

"I worked on the farm during the busy season, and during the slack season I forged simple tools such as sickles and hoes to sell to earn money for the family."

"We, the Shikizaki family, have always been on good terms with the 'Blacksmith Village', and we have a very deep friendship with each other."

"My 'secret workshop' is built in the 'Blacksmith Village'."

"Recasting Vairocana with 'Ten Thousand Refined Steel' is a huge job, I can't handle it by myself."

"Therefore, I need the help of 'Blacksmith Village'."

Coincidentally, they walked out of the woods at the same time when Shikisaki finished his message.

At this moment, Qing Deng suddenly felt as if everything was suddenly enlightened.

Before my eyes was a flat wilderness with dozens of straw houses neatly arranged in an orderly manner.

There are curling smoke here and green water and green mountains there.

Here women were chatting, there children were playing.

Amidst the laughter and joy were the sounds of "ding ding" and "dang dang" from blacksmithing... It was such a happy, quiet and peaceful scene, like a paradise on earth.

At this time, an old woman who was squatting at the entrance of the village and smoking a pipe discovered Qing Deng and others who were walking towards them.

"Isn't this Ji Ji? Why are you here? Who are they?"

"I've accepted a big job with a good paycheck! These two are my employers! Granny Tie, I need your help. I want to start the Zhurong Furnace!"

The old woman called "Iron Granny" heard this and her eyes lit up:
"Oh? 'Zhurong furnace'? What kind of work is this? Do you need the help of 'Zhurong furnace'?"

"Yes, this should be the most difficult challenge in my life."

Granny Tie nodded slightly, with a happy smile on her face:
"That big furnace hasn't been burning for a long time. It's really been a long time since I last saw it..."

Qing Deng, who was listening quietly at the side, subconsciously turned his head to look at Boss Kiryu beside him - Boss Kiryu was also looking at him.

When they looked at each other, they both noticed strong curiosity and anticipation in each other's eyes.

——Boss Kiryu actually guessed it right, Shikizaki Kiyomi really planned to activate the "Zhurong Furnace"!
At this moment, Qingdeng's curiosity about the "Zhurong Furnace" has reached its peak.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Granny Tie, Shikizaki Jiyi led the master and his apprentice into the depths of the village.

Along the way, the villagers cast strange looks, mostly of confusion, at Qing Deng and Boss Kiryu.

It seems that this village rarely has outsiders visiting.

The specific location of "Zhurong Furnace" is even more remote than Qingdeng expected.

Led by Shikizaki Kiyomi, they walked all the way to the back of the village and finally stopped when there were no more houses around.

"Here we are."

As Shikizaki Kiyomi spoke, he stood sideways so that the master and disciple could see clearly what was in front of them.

"This is the pride of our Shikizaki family - the 'Zhurong Furnace'!"

In an instant... at this instant when they saw the scene in front of them, both Qing Deng and Boss Kiryu showed expressions of surprise.

In front of their sight was an extremely huge furnace!

Its base is a compacted dry earth pile, on which there is a rectangular bellows furnace made of clay, about 5 meters long, 4 meters wide and 3 meters high.

Next to the bed is a bellows furnace.

There are foot-operated bellows on both sides of the bellows furnace. Just step on the thick pedals to send air into the furnace, making a big fire burn.

Before this, the largest furnace Qing Deng had ever seen was about the size of a refrigerator.

When had he ever seen such a giant furnace that was measured in meters and covered an area of ​​20 square meters?

Just as the master and the apprentice were carefully examining the Zhurong Furnace, Shikizaki Jiji said quietly:

"A furnace like this would use about 1000 strings of coal to light a fire."

[Note: 1 guan = 3.73 kg, 1000 guan ≈ 3.75 tons]

"We will use this furnace to welcome the God of Fire and forge a sword that is unrivaled in the world!"

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