Chapter 58: Didn’t graduate from junior high school

Then Pu Tiechui added: "There is a drop in the mountain stream at the mouth of the valley."

He pointed to the mouth of the valley in the distance: "The stream in the valley goes down there. If there is enough water, you can make a water mill. But now..."

It hasn't rained for more than half a year. Although Bibo Lake still has certain reserves, the mountain streams flowing along the lake have almost dried up.

"So, the little old man has reserved a piece of land at the mouth of the valley. If it rains and the mountain streams are plentiful, we can build another golden workshop there. Or we can move the whole place here. Once there is a water mill, It’s much easier to make a gun barrel.”

Ying Yi nodded repeatedly as he listened: "I can rest assured that Master Pu is here."

He was also thinking in his mind that if the 'water mill' could meet the requirements, it could also be used to forge armor. The armor of the Ming Dynasty was mostly made of iron pieces connected in series, not a whole. In the West, there is a type of plate armor with pretty good defense. The key is that hydraulically forged plate armor is much easier to press than scale armor.

After understanding the situation in Bibo Valley, Ying Yi was still satisfied. Before leaving, he asked Pu Tiechui to make him a big sword. Ever since he started killing people, Ying Yi was accustomed to using a knife and felt comfortable with it. It's just that his killing efficiency is so high that if a weapon falls into his hands, it will basically be useless after one use.

And any knife he had used before was too light for him. He has a strong body and strength. The weapon weighing ten to twenty kilograms is like straw when used, but it actually limits his lethality.

Therefore, this custom-made knife is mainly heavy and supplemented by sharpness.

In Ying Yi's words, it is as heavy as it can be. A knife, no matter how big it grows, has its limit. In other words, within the limit, it should be as heavy as it can be.

"The shape is just like a plain knife." He lifted a box of iron materials weighing thousands of kilograms with one hand, and the wooden box could not bear the rattling sound. When Pu Tiechui saw this, he was horrified and had nothing to say.

"The knives used by adults cannot be made casually." Pu Tiechui suppressed the fear in his heart and said: "The old man forged it with his own hands. I estimate that it can be completed in half a month."

It takes half a month to make a knife, and it is naturally carefully polished. With Pu Tiechui's forging technology, the result is definitely not bad.

Before leaving, Ying Yi went to the salt mine to have a look. The salt mine has begun to operate. Although there are only a few dozen people mining and making salt due to a lack of tools for the time being, with the operation of the workshop and the tools being available, this place will become lively.

After chatting with the person in charge of the salt mine for a while, Ying Yi left for Crescent Valley.

There is still no trace of what was originally said about opening the way. Even the salt mine has just begun, let alone opening a road? The problem still focuses on the tools. The workshop is now focused on arms manufacturing, and other tools can only take a back seat.

Sun Xiucai's labor allocation to young and middle-aged men in Crescent Valley was temporarily focused on collecting fuel. That is, cutting wood and splitting firewood. After the workshop was put into operation, the demand for fuel increased sharply. Especially the Huozihao workshop burns a lot of wood every day.

The other thing is to send out manpower to look for mineral deposits everywhere. Don't care if you can find it, just care that people don't sit around. The left and right will be paid for their work, and the people will not complain.

As for making gun shafts and other items, most of them are done by young and middle-aged women.

This time when Ying Yi comes back, there are other things that will probably fall on the women.

But when Ying Yi arrived at Crescent Valley, the situation was beyond his expectation.

"Did you capture Zhongguan Wang?"

Ying Yi looked at Sun Xiucai and Lian Biao with a look of surprise.

Sun Xiucai bowed and said: "My lord, that eunuch conspired with the Yuan family to drain the fire and destroy your foundation, so my subordinates captured him."

Lian Biao also said: "My lord, I just sent someone to Xiaowangzhuang to report this matter, but my lord unexpectedly came back."

Sun Xiucai then explained the matter in detail. Ying Yi frowned after hearing this: "Then why don't you take the Yuan family's woman into custody and let her run around in the valley?"

Sun Xiucai accepted Ying Yi's blame and bowed: "My lord, please forgive me. In fact, the Crescent Valley is your foundation. Both Wang Zhongguan and Zheng County Zun are all hidden dangers. My subordinates are good at making opinions and use them as a guide." , to prevent future troubles, please punish me!"

Ying Yi was silent.

Lian Biao hurriedly said: "My lord, all the scholars are doing this for your lord! This time not only did they capture Wang Zhongguan, but the county magistrate's side was also properly dealt with."

"Oh?" Ying Yi was startled: "How can the county government solve it properly?"

Speaking of which, Ying Yi showed no mercy to Wang Zhongguan. Because Ying Yi felt that he had no way of being sorry for Wang Zhongguan, he did not feel sorry for the imperial court by swallowing the military salary, because he had no loyalty to the imperial court in the first place. If Wang Zhongguan dares to act recklessly, Ying Yi will dare to kill him. But Zheng Yunzhi is not like that. Ying Yi can't kill anyone.

Therefore, it is most difficult and can only be placed under house arrest.

Suddenly hearing that it was properly resolved, Ying Yi couldn't help but be a little surprised.

At this time, Sun Xiucai bowed his head and said nothing, while Lian Biao said happily: "Congratulations, sir. Congratulations, sir. Zheng County Zun wants to betroth Mrs. Zheng to you as your wife, and we will marry Qin and Jin. In this way, you and the county Zun have become a family, and there are hidden dangers." Naturally it’s gone.”

Sun Xiucai's head dropped even lower.

Ying Yi was surprised at first, then his eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Is this the proper solution you said?!"

Lian Biao didn't react, and nodded happily: "Yes, sir, Madam Zheng is a lady of our family, and her age is suitable. Sir, you are a hero, and you are unmarried..."

"The right age?!" Ying Yi shouted: "Zi Niang is only fourteen years old!"

"Yes." Lian Biao said ignorantly: "My wife was married to my subordinate at the age of fourteen."

Ying Yi was speechless and choked.

He glared at Lian Biao hard, which made Lian Biao confused, and then he looked at the scholar: "Xiucai, is this your idea?"

The scholar bowed and said, "Sir, as Lian Baihu said, Madam Zheng's ladies are all outstanding in appearance. You are also a hero. One is unmarried and the other is unmarried. My subordinates also want to win at one stroke..."

"Furthermore, County Honorable Zheng has already agreed. Sir, you cannot go back on your word. Otherwise, you will kill your subordinates, and where will the honor of the County Honorable be at stake?" Sun Xiucai suddenly became earnest: "The County Honorable has such a grand prestige, if we can compete with the Zheng family Getting married will be of great benefit to your career. I heard that the Zheng family is quite wealthy..."

Ying Yi was almost speechless. He pointed at the scholar for a long time and said, "Do you know that the Zheng family has wealth again?!"

The scholar smiled and said: "When my subordinates were chatting with Zheng Wu and the others, they found out that the Zheng family's ancestral home is in Jiangnan. The family is mainly engaged in silk business. Not to mention their wealth, they are also quite well-connected. Zheng County Zun's brother is also well-known in Jiangnan. He is a decent person. Your business has just started. If you can combine with the Zheng family, you can purchase all the materials you need through the Zheng family’s channels without worrying about being cheated.”

Hearing this, Ying Yi couldn't help but be tempted.

Indeed, now he has money, but no channels. If there was a channel that could cash out the money as quickly as possible, it would be of obvious benefit to him. Not to mention other things, just talking about iron materials, the tens of thousands of kilograms stored in Ye County will not last long at all. Sooner or later I will buy it from outside. How to find channels at that time will be a big problem.

Ying Yi didn't care about marrying Zheng Yunzhi's family. The problem was Zi Niang's age. He was only fourteen years old. A few hundred years later, he would not have graduated from junior high school. He can't do it.