jdhmnovel Chapter 271 Apprentice
Chapter 271 Apprentice
Central Plains, the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Li Xuanji of the Great Liang Dynasty was lying on his dragon throne, looking at his ministers below with a bored expression, listening to their daily debates. His gaze was calm, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that we should form alliances with distant states and attack nearby ones, joining forces with the farthest states of Shang and Min to fight against the other states' divine palaces."
An elderly man dressed in court robes and wearing an official hat spoke loudly to the emperor above.
No sooner had that person finished speaking than a rebuttal rang out from the other side.
"Lord Du, I think it's better to maintain stability and watch the unrest in several states."
Du Zihui looked at the person speaking opposite him, and his expression immediately turned cold.
The entire Great Liang Dynasty now exists in name only, largely due to the policies of these conservatives.
If the other states were to be integrated, the only outcome for Zhongzhou would be destruction. Therefore, Du Zihui had been advising the emperor to adopt a policy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, in order to gain a glimmer of hope in this chaos.
As soon as the two spoke, the officials in the court immediately began to argue.
They accused each other, their faces flushed, and when their emotions got so high, they even took off their official hats and tried to throw them at each other.
Looking at the absurd scene below, Li Xuanji suddenly felt somewhat bored.
They say the same things every day; these people never seem to come up with anything new.
Thinking of this, Li Xuanji waved his hand and then said:
"Dismiss the court."
Upon hearing this, the officials below exchanged bewildered glances, but they seemed unsurprised by the outcome. They quickly quieted down, then knelt and bowed to the person on the dragon throne before leaving the hall.
After the officials left, a young man dressed in a blue eunuch's robe quietly walked behind the emperor. He looked down at his toes and muttered:
"Master, things are in chaos in Bazhou as well. I heard that many people died in the battle on the border of Qingzhou."
Hearing this, Li Xuanji became slightly interested. He propped himself up and sat up, looking at the eunuch before asking:
"Who did it?"
The eunuch was slightly taken aback, then said:
"It is Her Highness the Third Princess."
"Wanyun, where is she?"
"On the way back."
Li Xuanji was taken aback, then lay back on the dragon throne and said:
"When she comes back, I'll have her come to see me."
...
Ding Yi rode his horse into the city below Zuowang Peak.
Zuowang City, known as the safest city in Qingzhou, is about the same size as Baihe City, but has far fewer people.
After all, those who can stay here all have certain skills.
No matter what kind of craftsman, blacksmith, cook, or even someone who does a good job serving others, they can find a place here.
Ding Yi, on the other hand, successfully entered the city using the documents prepared by Liu Xun.
With just a few scans using his divine sense, Ding Yi spotted his target.
A blacksmith shop.
At this moment, a large number of finished swords and knives are hanging outside the blacksmith's shop for passersby to view and purchase.
Behind the shop was a huge shed, where many strong men, shirtless, were constantly hammering red-hot iron blocks in their hands.
Ding Yi stood in front of the blacksmith shop, peering inside for a while, when a man hurried over and asked Ding Yi:
"What do you want?"
The man seemed to be in a hurry to get back to blacksmithing, so he spoke quickly and briefly.
"Are all the weapons here supplied to the palace?"
Ding Yi suddenly asked.
"Of course, you haven't even asked around. Who in this city doesn't know the name of Duan Hai!"
The man wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel draped over his shoulder, then frowned and asked Ding Yi.
Clearly, Ding Yi was a complete newcomer, and Duan Hai thought Ding Yi was wasting his time.
"You've misunderstood. I'm not here to buy weapons, but to become an apprentice."
Ding Yi chuckled.
The man flew into a rage upon hearing this, grabbed a long sword hanging on the shelf, pointed it at Ding Yi, and cursed:
"Look at you, all fair and clean-cut, yet you're spouting nonsense. I'm warning you, get out of here right now! If you delay my sword-forging, no one can protect you!"
Duan Hai was right; his weapons were regularly delivered to the Yin Yang Palace and transported to the front lines.
With the Yin-Yang Palace and Taiping Palace at war, weapons are in dire need. Therefore, his blacksmith shop is working day and night to forge weapons in order to meet the quota set by the Yin-Yang Palace.
Ding Yi seemed to have expected this. He calmly took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the man.
Duan Hai was a little puzzled, but seeing Ding Yi's calm demeanor, he took the paper and then saw the words on it.
"It's actually a letter of recommendation from Yangji Palace. Well done, kid, you've got a powerful backer."
Looking at Ding Yi's handsome appearance, Duan Hai seemed to have guessed something, and immediately gave a cold snort with a forced smile.
Duan Hai despised people like Ding Yi who knew how to take shortcuts.
How much hardship did he endure to open a forging shop in this city back then? Which powerful figure in the Yin-Yang Palace hasn't he licked?!
If he hadn't been born with such a rugged appearance, he would have succeeded long ago!
But the person behind this kid is not someone to be trifled with. Duan Hai knew that the person behind him was just a steward, so he waved his hand and said to Ding Yi:
"come in."
Upon hearing this, Ding Yi smiled and then followed the man into the greenhouse at the back.
There are more than a dozen stoves burning in this shed.
A dozen or so blacksmiths were busy in the shed. Some were hammering the rough blanks in their hands, some were polishing the newly forged iron swords, and some were constantly quenching the red-hot sword blanks in cold water.
The temperature inside the shed was frighteningly high, but not a single blacksmith complained.
After all, their lives belong to the Yin-Yang Palace. If they fail to complete the mission, everyone will lose their heads.
Duan Hai led Ding Yi over, glanced at the shop casually, and then roared:
"Wang Zhou! Come here!"
The blacksmith whose name was called by Duan Hai immediately put down his work and walked up to Duan Hai with a displeased expression.
"What's going on?! Do you know how busy I am?!"
Wang Zhou complained.
"This person will be with you from now on; you'll take him with you."
Duan Hai pointed at Ding Yi and said.
"Damn it, I'm already on the verge of being beheaded, and you're giving me an apprenticeship?"
Wang Zhou was dumbfounded.
"Stop talking nonsense, or I'll kick you out right now!"
Duan Hai cursed, then asked Ding Yi:
"what's your name?"
Ding Yi said with a smile:
"Ding Hai".
"Ding Hai, from now on you'll follow him. How much you learn depends on your abilities. His name is Wang Zhou!"
After saying that, Duan Hai ignored the two of them and left on his own.
Wang Zhou looked at the fair-skinned, delicate-looking young man in front of him and was speechless.
More than one person came to their shop through back channels, but in the end, none of them could keep up with the demand.
After all, to forge iron, one must be strong oneself; it requires real skill!
"You, just watch me forge the iron later, don't say a word, don't make a sound!"
Wang Zhou quickly came up with a solution and then spoke to Ding Yi.
Ding Yi seemed to have no dissatisfaction with Wang Zhou's arrangement, and instead nodded with a smile.
Seeing this, Wang Zhou didn't say anything more. He hurriedly returned to his furnace, used iron tongs to hold the now-cooled sword blank, and then turned around and put it into the furnace.
Ding Yi stood quietly to the side, watching until Wang Zhou finished forging a sword. Then, as if remembering something, Wang Zhou handed the sword to Ding Yi, saying:
"Go and test its sharpness. If it's good, send it to the warehouse."