Less than an hour after Yan Dechang arrived at the Artisan Camp, he received a notice from Qian Su that the officer who had ordered 100 Yan's swords, "Yan's Scimitars", came to the Artisan Camp in a hurry, riding on a rhinoceros horse and accompanied by several attendants and guards.
The first big client of Yan Liqiang's family was the commander of the 2,000-strong battalion-level troops stationed in Huanglong County, the Eagle Captain Gong Tieshan. The battalion led by Gong Tieshan was called the Gongzi Battalion in the military sequence of the Pingxi County Military Governor's Office. According to the military regulations of the Han Empire, the names of troops above the battalion level can be named by the chief officer.
Qian Su was the battalion supervisor of the Artisan Battalion, with the military rank of Feiyang Xiaoliu. Gong Tieshan was the chief commander of the Gongzi Battalion. Although they were both Xiaoliu, his military rank was one level higher than Qian Su. In Huanglong County, Qian Su and Gong Tieshan were both considered prominent figures with military backgrounds, and they had a good personal relationship. A few days ago, Qian Su received a curved knife made by Yan Liqiang from Yan Dechang, which happened to be seen by Gong Tieshan who came to the Artisan Battalion. Gong Tieshan tried it and was very interested. After asking about the origin of the curved knife, he placed an order for 100 swords from Yan's family without hesitation.
Neither Qian Su nor Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang dared to neglect Gong Tieshan's arrival. When Gong Tieshan and his men arrived at the gate of the craftsmen's camp on rhinoceros horses, Qian Su, Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang were there in person to greet them.
Gong Tieshan was a strong man, nearly two meters tall, almost as wide as Yan Liqiang. Riding on his rhinoceros horse, he looked like a moving mountain. With his big black beard and the soft scale armor he wore, he looked like a warrior from a distance, and no one dared to underestimate him.
It was thanks to the strong physical strength of the Rhino Horse. If it was an ordinary horse, I'm afraid Gong Tieshan would not be able to run if he rode it.
There were ten personal guards riding on rhinoceros horses in two rows following behind Gong Tieshan. Five of the ten personal guards carried bows, and five carried swords. They were dressed in bright clothes and armor and looked very stylish.
Seeing this team riding on rhinoceros horses running towards him, Yan Liqiang turned his head to look at Qian Su, thinking secretly, it is just as Uncle Qian said, this Captain Gong is a man who cares a lot about style and face. An ordinary captain would just go out in a county, there would be no need for such a scene, at most four or five people would be enough, but this Captain Gong came out as if he was afraid that others would not know that he was the commander of the Gong Camp.
Qian Su also glanced at Yan Liqiang and smiled slightly.
The eleven men rode their horses like thunder until they arrived at the gate of the craftsmen's camp, then they pulled the reins of the rhino horses together. The eleven rhino horses raised their front hooves high, neighed loudly, and almost stood up...
“Hahaha, Brother Qian, it’s finally arrived. I’ve been waiting for it so impatiently…” Gong Tieshan laughed. Although he was big and burly, he was very agile. Before the Rhino Horse’s front hooves landed on the ground again, he pressed his palm lightly on the horse’s back and with a kick of his leg, he jumped lightly from the Rhino Horse’s back and came in front of Yan Liqiang and the other two.
"Well, I just arrived. How dare I let Lord Gong wait? Hahaha..." Qian Su laughed, then pointed at Yan Dechang and said, "Let me introduce Lord Gong. This is my senior brother, Shopkeeper Yan. The knife that Lord Gong likes was made in Shopkeeper Yan's blacksmith workshop!"
Yan Dechang was probably introduced as the shopkeeper when he was first introduced, and he felt a little embarrassed. "Yan Dechang greets Mr. Gong..."
"The Yan's scimitar made by Manager Yan is unique and ingenious. Not bad, not bad..." Gong Tieshan laughed and exchanged a few words with Yan Dechang.
Yan Liqiang was standing next to Yan Dechang. I don’t know if it was because Yan Liqiang was too young and didn’t look like an important person, but when Gong Tieshan was talking to Yan Dechang, he just glanced at Yan Liqiang and then treated Yan Liqiang as a transparent person.
"Ahem... Ahem... Sir Gong, this is Shopkeeper Yan's son and my nephew, Yan Liqiang..." Seeing this, Qian Sucai hurriedly introduced Yan Liqiang to Gong Tieshan.
"Yan Liqiang greets Lord Gong..." Yan Liqiang stepped forward and saluted Gong Tieshan in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.
Although Gong Tieshan's status was higher than anyone present, Yan Liqiang had experienced everything in Pingxi City, even the county magistrate had dared to trick and fight him. Although he respected an Eagle Captain, he was not nervous at all. When he greeted Gong Tieshan at this time, he naturally had a demeanor that ordinary young people did not have.
Yan Liqiang's demeanor made Gong Tieshan look at him seriously. Then Gong Tieshan frowned slightly, as if he remembered something, "Wait... Yan Liqiang... I seem to have heard of this name..." After thinking seriously for a few seconds, Gong Tieshan clapped his hands fiercely, "Oh, right, the boy who was said to have received a divine teaching in a dream and passed down the method of using moxibustion on the navel to save drowning people in Huanglong County a few months ago seems to be called Yan Liqiang!"
"Hahaha, it's rare that Lord Gong still remembers!" Qian Su laughed. "My nephew is quite capable. He stayed in Huanglong County for a few days a few months ago and left behind a method to save drowning people. Later, he returned to Qinghe County and won the top three in the county martial arts examination. He is now a student at the Pingxi County Martial Arts Museum. Just two days ago, Li Qiang learned that his family had made a batch of goods for you. Yesterday, he ran from Pingxi City to the Craftsman Camp and said that he would come here in person to welcome Lord Gong and thank him for taking care of their family business. If there is a chance in the future, Lord Gong must take care of my nephew more..."
If an ordinary person came here to welcome Gong Tieshan, Gong Tieshan would naturally not feel anything. However, a young man who was taught special skills by a god in a dream and won the top three in the Qinghe County National Martial Arts Examination took the trouble to "specially" run all the way from Pingxi City to Huanglong County to "welcome" him, which was a great honor.
After listening to Qian Su's words, Gong Tieshan really felt very proud. When he looked at Yan Liqiang again, his eyes became ten times warmer and more friendly than before. "Liqiang is so young and promising. He will have a bright future. If you need Uncle Gong's help in the future, just come to me..."
"Thank you, Master Gong..."
“Hahaha, come on, let’s go in and take a look at some things first…” Gong Tieshan smiled and walked towards the craftsmen’s camp. Qian Su, Yan Liqiang and the other two naturally followed him.
Yan Dechang brought a total of more than one hundred Yan's scimitars to the craftsman camp this time. In addition to the one hundred ordered by Gong Tieshan, there were a few more. Yan Dechang had just given them as gifts to Zhou Yong and others who came to the Yan family to help last time. After receiving the scimitars sent by Yan Dechang, Zhou Yong and others loved them very much and were very happy.
One hundred scimitars were packed in several simple wooden boxes, separated by several layers of straw. Each scimitar was also equipped with a cowhide scabbard. It looked simple and generous. The wooden boxes were placed in the living room where Qian Su lived. The group of four came directly to Qian Su's residence.
Arriving here, Gong Tieshan casually opened a wooden box, took out a scimitar from the box, pulled the scimitar out of the cowhide scabbard, checked the quality of the scimitar, weighed it with his hand, waved it twice in the air, then nodded and put the scimitar back into the scabbard, "Not bad, not bad, it is indeed made of tempered steel, well-made..."
"Of course. Everything Lord Gong wants is made under the supervision of my senior brother. We don't dare to be careless in the slightest!" Qian Su said from the side.
"I wonder how much silver these goods will cost?" Gong Tieshan was very satisfied and prepared to pay directly.
Yan Dechang was about to name a price, but Yan Liqiang glanced at his father and said with a smile, "My father told me before that Lord Gong's recognition of the swords made by our Yan family is the greatest trust and encouragement for our Yan family. This is something that no amount of money can buy. Therefore, our Yan family will not accept any of these Yan family's scimitars and will give them all to Lord Gong. Thank you Lord Gong for your support to our Yan family!"
After Yan Liqiang said this, Yan Dechang remained silent, as if he agreed, while Qian Su and Gong Tieshan were slightly stunned.
"How can this be done? The price of these one hundred scimitars is not a small amount..." Gong Tieshan also said hurriedly.
"Everyone says that it is hard to find a true friend in the world. For these swords, Lord Gong is their true friend. As the saying goes, a beauty is given to a beautiful woman, and a precious sword is given to a hero. What is this little money? Lord Gong's recognition and vision cannot be bought with money..."
"Okay, okay, okay..." Gong Tieshan burst into laughter and said three "okay" words in succession. His face suddenly flushed and he looked proud. "Since Li Qiang said so, I will accept this gift!"
"It should be so, it should be so. This is originally a little gift from my senior brother and Li Qiang. It's really hard to find a true friend. It's also thanks to Lord Gong who understands knives and can see the mystery of this knife at a glance. When I first saw this knife that day, apart from feeling weird, I didn't feel the benefits of this knife at all!" Qian Su, who reacted quickly, also started to "assist" from the side.
"Of course..." Gong Tieshan said proudly, "This knife may look strange, but once it falls into the hands of someone who really understands knives, they will understand the secret of this knife. When swinging it, they can use less force and achieve greater power by relying on the changes in the force of the blade itself. This knife is simply amazing. I have seen thousands of knives, but I have never seen such an ingenious scimitar. Compared with it, the scimitar of the Shatu people is not worth mentioning. By the way, I wanted to ask before, how did Shopkeeper Yan come up with the idea of creating such an ingenious scimitar?"
…
(End of this chapter)