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Chapter 8 Longan

The dragon helmet is very beautiful, and each piece of armor is clearly visible. The pattern of a dragon's head happens to be on the top of the helmet. The dragon's horns are rugged and the dragon's beards are flying, as if it will fly up at any time to travel through clouds and rain.

Below the dragon head, auspicious clouds lingered, which were integrated with the cloud patterns on the neck protection. The cloud patterns on the neck protection corresponded to the breastplate, and there was almost no gap.

The breastplate is extremely exquisite. In order to ensure movement, a small amount of iron rings have to be used. The rest are made of large iron plates, and the chest, lower abdomen and other key areas have also been specially thickened.

The two iron leg guards also feature gorgeous cloud patterns. At the junction of the leg guards and the breastplate, a dark golden dragon body emerged from the cloud patterns, hovered up along the back waist, and crossed all the way to the left shoulder until the "auspicious cloud" that penetrated the neck, which was ingenious.

These are not what makes Li Xian the Emperor Yingtian Dragon of Tang Dynasty most satisfied. What he is most satisfied with is that the dragon on the helmet has no eyes, but two grooves are specifically vacant in the corresponding position. Two black glass beads are now placed in the plate in front of him, shining in the sunlight passing through the window.

"Master, please give the golden dragon the finishing touch." Gao Yanfu, the general of the prison gate, used a silk lacquer plate, and brought a silver tweezer to Li Xian, with a flattering face.

Li Xian admired Gao Yanfu's cleverness and nodded slightly at him with a smile. Then, he grabbed the tweezers with his right hand, held them in front of him and looked at them repeatedly for a while, quickly figured out the usage of this object. Then he carefully picked up a glass bead with tweezers and placed it in the longan groove specially reserved on the helmet.

"Click!" Gao Yanfu used his finger to pull a very inconspicuous mechanism at the corner of Longan's eye. The groove quickly closed, clamping the glass beads tightly, making a low but crisp sound.

"Hmm?" Li Xian was stunned, and then nodded with satisfaction again.

It is so clever. It is worthy of being the product of the Tang Dynasty military weapon supervisor. Even if the details are in detail, it is considered so thoroughly! With this mechanism, you don’t have to worry about the glass bead falling out of the longan socket. If the glass bead breaks one day, just move the mechanism and you can take it down and trade it for the old.

Quickly use silver tweezers to pick up the second longan, put it in the second groove on the helmet, and close the mechanism with your own hands. With another slight "click", the finishing touch of the golden dragon was announced to be completed. The entire set of dragon armor immediately became more noble and gorgeous. Under the sunlight, there seemed to be auspicious colors lingering in a vague way.

"Come on, senior supervisor, wait for me to wear armor!" Even though he knew that he might not have the chance to go to the battlefield in his life, Emperor Yingtian Shenlong was still itchy and took off the imperial crown on his head and put it on the desk, and shouted for instructions.

"I'm following the order!" Gao Yanfu smiled and bowed, then came forward, took off Li Xian's dragon robe with his own hands. Then he helped Li Xian wear a timber chestplate and a timber leg guard one after another. Finally, he helped him wear a timber helmet with a straightforward look.

Li Xian tentatively moved his thighs and arms, and found that it was not as heavy as he thought. He put his hand on Gao Yanfu's shoulders and walked forward a few steps. Then his confidence increased greatly. He broke away from Gao Yanfu's support and strided with his head.

The clanging sound of iron armor immediately sounded in the imperial study room on the side of Zichen Hall, instantly making Li Xian feel that he was twenty years younger. He strided to the decorative weapon stand and grabbed a sword of the Heavenly Sword. He learned without any instruction and hung the sword sheath on the golden hook specially left on the edge of the breastplate. Then, he strided to the glass mirror at the door of the imperial study room, and slowly pressed the hilt of the sword in front of the half-person-high mirror, and pointed to the stance of the sword.

The person in the mirror had a little fat face, but the iron armor just hid his oil belly just right. The iron armor was specially made into an arc-shaped protrusion to strengthen the defense of crossbow arrows, which added a bit of heroic strength to him.

"If I lead a Xuanjia Army..." In an instant, Li Xian had a little passionate fantasy. "My grandfather destroyed the Turks, and my father defeated Goguryeo. When I was a teenager, the Tang Dynasty established the Persian Protectorate thousands of miles away, which was farther from the Indian Zhu where Xuanzang obtained Buddhist scriptures. Now, the Tang Dynasty has come to my hands..."

The fat face in the mirror is as red as fire. The eyes of the humans in the mirror are twinkling with the eyes of the dragons. "The senior supervisor, how much can this kind of iron armor and military supervisor build in a year? How much is each pair worth?"

"Your Majesty, there is only one set of iron armor in the world, and I don't dare to ask about the cost." Gao Yanfu quickly walked to the mirror and bowed his body to respond.

"I know. You old guy, don't pretend to be stupid for me!" Li Xian raised his legs and made a false kick, threatening with a smile.

Gao Yanfu immediately took a few steps back and shouted loudly, "Super the Lord, please calm down, the old slave is thin and can't stand the power of the dragon!"

After shouting, he came over with a saliva face and continued to add: "I asked the emperor, if it is a steel armor of the same texture and different shapes, if the military weapon supervisor is fully constructed, it can pay about ten pieces every day. According to the military weapon supervisor itself, the current cost is about forty-seven to hang up. If you count the bag, it will cost about sixty to hang up."

"So expensive?" Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian was stunned, and his face suddenly faded away.

Although the output of ten sets a day was a little less, in one year, it was enough to arm the 3,000 Iron Armored Army. His grandfather swept across the Shandong heroes with the 3,000 Xuan Armor Army as the main force.

However, a set of iron armor costs 60 yuan, and 3,000 yuan is 180,000 yuan. Although this amount of money is not much for a country, if there is no strong enough reason, he would not have wanted the imperial edict to pass the Secretariat and the two provinces under the jurisdiction of the two provinces.

"Now that the Tang Dynasty has been peaceful, the emperor does not need to go into battle in person!" Without even asking questions, Li Xian knew how Xiao Zhizhong, Zong Chuke and others would refute it if he proposed to form a Xuanjia Army. Although these two people were as powerful as water and fire, they often had surprisingly consistent attitudes on restricting the use of the treasury money of the emperor.

The treasury of the Tang Dynasty was indeed very scarce. More than three years ago, when he just ascended the throne, the treasury of the Tang Dynasty was so poor that it could run away mice. Now, although the situation has improved significantly, and the additional 180,000 yuan incurred expenses out of thin air was enough to let the Minister of Revenue hold a gauze hat and ask him to take it back and make his life!

"Master, this armor was not used for ordinary soldiers!" When he noticed that Li Xian was in a wrong mood, Gao Yanfu hesitated and gritted his teeth and carefully added, "Although the price is similar to that of Mingguang Armor, its protective power is far greater than that of Mingguang Armor. Ten steps away, it can block the sneak attack of powerful crossbows. As for ordinary arrows, there is no possibility of breaking armor at all. Unless, unless the bow power exceeds two and a half stones, it is also an attack launched within twenty steps!"

"Yeah!" Li Xian felt a little more relaxed, but his face was still full of loneliness.

He could understand Gao Yanfu's meaning. The thirteen types of armor commonly used in the Tang Dynasty were originally divided into strict levels. Among them, the five expensive armors, such as Mingguang, Guangyao, Xiaolin, Shanwen, and Wuxi, should not be qualified to wear them unless they are the chief guard of the commander or the first to arrive in the army.

Therefore, it is impossible to expect that the iron armor is the same as the leather armor. However, the officers above the general have a generous salary. Even if the court does not give him new iron armor, he will find that the armor has superior performance, he will pay for it himself.

However, in this way, his wish to build a Xuanjia Army is even more unsuccessful. No matter how outstanding he does in his life, he will basically not see any possibility of surpassing his father and grandfather.

If that happens, when he sees his mother again a hundred years later, why should he tell the other party with confidence: You were wrong back then, and I am more qualified to be an emperor than you. You completely for your own selfish desires, and you drove me off the throne regardless of the mother-son relationship. The crimes you claimed to have been fabricated and fabricated!

"Master, I heard from the Chief Ren of the Armored Staff Office that they have also created a cheap helmet and chest armor, which is also used in iron!" I really couldn't think of any other way to make Li Xian happier. Gao Yanfu scowled for a long time, and once again gritted his teeth and whispered.

"How much does the cost? How much is the difference in protection compared to leather armor? If it is much worse, what's the use of cheapness?" Li Xian frowned and glanced at him. The frustration in his words was clearly visible.

"The cost is said to be lower than ten hangs, and the protective power of the head and front upper body is no less than that of the Mingguang Armor." Gao Yanfu thought for a while and reported with a smile, "but the arms, lower body and back are only equivalent to leather armor."

"Hmm?" Li Xian frowned and confused, "How come it's so much different?"

"It is said that it is intended to be used specifically for cavalry. So only the front of the upper body and the helmet are made of iron. The back, thighs, arms, etc., the material of the armor is all thick cowhide soaked in oil. In this way, the weight of a whole set of armor is not much heavier than the leather armor. The cavalry charges with one breath and never faces the enemy with his back!" Gao Yanfu smiled again, and said as it was when Ren Cong came to him to present armor to the emperor.

"Where is that kind of armor? Can you find me a set? I want to see it myself!" The face of Emperor Yingtian Divine Dragon Li Xian was immediately more excited than when he just put on the iron armor. He pushed Gao Yanfu and urged in a low voice.

"The military weapon surveillance offered ten sets of armor, saying that it was for the Qianniu Guard to try it out. It looked too ugly. The old slave was worried that he would taint the eyes of the emperor, so he didn't bring it in!" Gao Yanfu quickly took a few steps back and bowed to sue him, "The emperor is waiting for it, I will go and take it now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xian couldn't wait to urge him, "What do you know, are you good-looking? The military weapon magistrate dares to present the armor to me, and the quality will definitely not be too bad."

"I obey the order!" Gao Yanfu did not dare to defend himself and agreed to run out of the imperial study. After less than a quarter of an hour, he hurried back with another wooden box.

Li Xian was anxious and immediately ordered him to open the box. He looked down and felt a little amused.

The helmet and armor in the box were indeed as ugly as Gao Yanfu warned in advance. The helmet was round like a gourd, and it was bare and had no helmet tassels tied anywhere, and it also had a wide brim of hats. The so-called armor was nothing but an iron plate with holes around it and connected to a set of leather armor.

‘That’s it, how dare I ask for ten hang money?’ With a deep confusion in my heart, Li Xian copied the helmet with his own hands and played with it carefully in the sun. However, he was shocked to find that the thickness of the helmet was extremely uniform and there was no trace of splicing on it. Then he tapped it gently with his fingers, and a crisp sound immediately came from his ears, "Dong"

The sound of the lingering sound lingers on the beams and does not disperse for a long time. Li Xian took off the helmet on his head and compared it with the wide-edge iron helmet. He found that except for the position of the dragon, the thickness of the two helmets in other parts was almost exactly the same.

It is obvious that the protection of the wide helmet is not worse than that of the Panlong helmet. The function of the Panlong is mainly to decorate and does not increase much protection. As for the iron plate in front of the leather armor, it is probably the same. Although it is extremely ugly and may not be comfortable to wear on the body, the frontal defense is probably not much different than that of the Panlong armor on his body.

"You are so old and confused, almost delayed my major affairs!" He quickly turned his head and whispered to Gao Yanfu, but there was no slight anger on his face. "In the future, any military weapon surveillance presents it to me, no matter how beautiful or ugly it is, it will be presented directly to me. Since you don't understand, don't be picky!"

"Abide by the order!" Gao Yanfu was scolded so much that the monk was unable to touch his head, so he had to bow and agree. "I know I am wrong, please punish the emperor."

"What are you punishing? You are a rare person who is serious about doing things!" Li Xian suddenly sighed and sighed in a low voice.

This sentence, like a reward of 10,000 yuan, moved Gao Yanfu. The latter immediately turned red and bowed again, "Thank you, Master, the old slave can serve the emperor, which is the blessing that I have cultivated for several lifetimes. I am willing to be a master of the emperor."

"Okay, I understand!" Li Xian smiled and waved his hand, quickly turning his eyes back to the ugly wide-edged helmet and iron plate, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt pleasing to him.

‘The function of a wide edge should be to block the rain, but it is to block the feather arrow!’ He gently knocked the helmet with his fingers to create a brisk rhythm. He smiled and inferred, ‘The two armies fought each other, and the feather arrows were mostly shot. When they came down from mid-air, the helmet edge was wider, which could protect the soldiers’ faces and directly save the face armor. The breastplate could block the crossbow arrows from shooting on the front, and the thighs were riding on the horse’s back. The possibility of being injured by the arrow was extremely small. Once they rushed to the opponent, they raised the horizontal knife and basically locked in the victory! Fighting face to face and attacking the chest is ten times easier than arm and thighs. The damage caused is ten times more serious!’

"Supervisor Gao, you just said that the cost of this armor is less than ten cents, how much can it be? "Suddenly stopping tapping, Li Xian looked at Gao Yanfu again, and his fat face was full of expectations.

This problem stumped Gao Yanfu. After hesitating for a while, hesitated and reported: "Your Majesty, Ren Shucheng of the Military Arts Supervision did not say too carefully at the time. He just said that the reason why the armor was strong was that according to the method taught by Zhang Shaojian, the iron was refined. However, the iron was just starting to be refined, and the price could not be reduced for a while. When the more refined it becomes more and more mature, a larger furnace would be built, and the price would be reduced."

"Didn't this iron be bought from a big food vendor?" Li Xian was stunned and tapped his fingers on the iron helmet, "sharp" sound.

Because he had been working in Luling for a long time, he was quite familiar with many things among the people. He knew that erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile erectile

There was once a skilled craftsman in the Central Plains who had been thinking hard for more than ten years but failed to successfully reveal the secret of refining iron. Unexpectedly, Zhang Qian had just been appointed as the Military Weapon Supervisor and refined this thing directly after only a few months.

Gao Yanfu observed his expression and thought that Li Xian still valued the armor, and decided to tell the truth, "Your Majesty did not buy it, but was refined by the military weapon supervisor himself. Ren Shucheng also said that the set of cavalry armor in the hands of the Panlong Armor and the Supreme Master were all created by Zhang Shaojian. It was just that because he wanted to present it to the Emperor, he spent more time, so he could not build it before Zhang Shaojian left Beijing."

"I know that this armor was written by Zhang Shaojian." Li Xian nodded and suddenly smiled, "Since the more refined it is, the faster the price is reduced, then refine it. You send me the oral order to Ren Shucheng, asking him to customize three thousand sets of straw hat helmets and this kind of iron-plated breastplate for me. I use it to equip the Imperial Guard. He will calculate the specific amount himself, and I will assign it to him from the inner master!"

The gap between 180,000 and 30,000 was still very obvious. The Imperial Guard suddenly increased the expenses of 180,000. The two provinces of Zhongshu and the subordinate provinces would definitely try their best to stop it. But he took 30,000 from his internal rank to fund the Imperial Guard, but no minister dared to talk too much in front of him. However, it was just that when he thought about it, it would be painful occasionally.

"I obey the order!" Gao Yuanfu felt secretly happy for Zhang Qian, and hurriedly bowed to accept the order.

"Let's go, this straw hat helmet and iron plate armor should not have a name yet, right?" Li Xian cared about the naming power and whispered to Gao Yuanfu, adding with a smile, "I see that the edge of this helmet is flat and smooth, and can reflect people's shadows, so I'll call it the shadow helmet. As for this armor, it's also like a mirror, called the mirror light, which is not appropriate, not majestic enough. Call it..."

Just as he was scraping his stomach, a harsh noise suddenly came from outside the door of the Yu Study, "This brother, the emperor is in the study. There is something urgent about the Baiqisi..."

"Go and see what?" Li Xian's thoughts were interrupted and he ordered impatiently.

"As for order!" Gao Yanfu agreed and walked quickly to the door. Then, he hurried in with Zheng Kejun, deputy commander of the Baiqisi, and another flying cavalry with a strange face. "Sage, Baiqisi sent back an urgent report from Hedong, saying that Zhang Shaojian..."

"What's wrong with Young Master Zhang? Zheng Kejun, tell me!" Li Xian was shocked and decisively turned his face to Zheng Kejun, deputy general manager of the Hundred Cycling Division.

"Yes, Master!" Zheng Kejun knew Li Xian's temper, took two steps forward, bowed down, and reported in the simplest language, "Zhang Shaojian was attacked by a large number of bandits on his way to Yangcheng to determine the Sunri..."

"Bandit? Big corps? Where did the bandits come from? Has Zhang Shaojian been injured?" A few breaths were still talking about Zhang Qian's benefits. At this moment, he suddenly heard that he was attacked by bandits. Even as the king of a country, Li Xian couldn't accept the bad news. In an instant, his face turned ashen and his right hand instinctively held the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Zheng Kejun's words were interrupted by the murderous aura that came to his face. He staggered back two steps before he stood up again and quickly added, "Sir, Young Master Zhang is in danger. At that time, a team of Shuofang Army escorted "gunpowder" passed by. Seeing wolf smoke, he rushed over to wipe out the bandits!"

"Is there any danger? Really?" Li Xian was surprised and happy, and the murderous aura on his face disappeared in an instant. "You are not wrong? Zhang Shaojian is really okay? Where did he meet bandits? Who is the governor and which county magistrate? If he lacks a hair? I can't spare all the local officials!"

"Your Majesty, Zhang Shaojian was not injured. This news is true. The Shuofang cavalry is only twenty miles away from him, and it took less than half an hour to rush over." Zheng Kejun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly slowed down his voice and added specific details, "It was on the official road between Liuhe County and Yangcheng. There were three bandits in total, two from Taihang Mountain and one from Wangwu Mountain. Neither of them were local. The county magistrate of Liuhe County was named Ding, and the specific name was Baiqisi, and he did not find out. It belonged to the rule of Jiangzhou Prefecture and was far from the Fucheng. The flying cavalry in Baiqisi rushed over immediately after hearing the alarm. When he arrived at the place, the battle was over. Then the troops were divided into two groups, one by one, one by one, and one by one, and one by one, escorting Zhang Shaojian to Yangcheng all the way!"

With a few words, he not only gave the Baiqisi a meritorious service, but also did not offend local officials. He also gave the news that Li Xian wanted to know clearly, which was really difficult for him.

After hearing this, Li Xian, the Emperor of the Dragon of Yingtian, finally put his heart back in his stomach. He had a gloomy face and continued to ask, "Since the bandits are not local, why did they go to Liuhe to intercept my secretary and Shaojian? Which government is under the jurisdiction of Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain? Why did such a large number of bandits appear? The government actually let it go?"

"Your Majesty, Wangwu Mountain is under the jurisdiction of Zezhou Prefecture. Taihang Mountain is more than 800 miles from south to north, which is the boundary between Hedong and Hebei. Many prefectures can be under the jurisdiction!" Zheng Kejun did not dare to neglect and continued to report truthfully. "As for the bandits from the three families, why did they go to Liucheng at the same time? According to the prisoners' accounts, a monk named Wu Ku gave each family a large sum of money to kill an enemy. However, they didn't know that the person they were going to kill was the secretary of the court."

"Damn it!" Li Xian frowned, and his anger rolled in his eyes, "Have you caught it? Zhang Shaojian has only been in the Tang Dynasty for a few days. What kind of grudge can he have with him?"

"After the bandits were defeated, they committed suicide because of their crimes. However, there were more than a dozen monks among the prisoners confessing, and they came from several different White Horse Temples in Hedong Road!" Zheng Kejun lowered his head and his answer became hesitant.

"Bang!" Li Xian raised his foot and kicked the pillar, shaking the beams, rustling, "It's these bald donkeys again, they're not finished yet?! Gao Yanfu immediately led the flying cavalry of the Baiqisi to capture Huifan. I'll see how he got away with it this time!"

"I obey the order!" Gao Yanfu agreed and turned around and walked out quickly. Li Xian's eyes turned to Zheng Kejun again, his voice was cold and hard, "What did the Baiqisi find out, and explain it to me clearly. Don't go around the corner!"

"The last general, the last general follows the order!" Zheng Kejun's forehead slowly appeared sweating. After hesitating, hesitating and stressing, "The other news has not been confirmed, and the last general does not know whether it is accurate!"

"Let's just say it!" Li Xian glared at him fiercely, as if two knives were hidden in his eyes.

"Abide by the order!" Zheng Kejun refused, gritted his teeth and executed the order, "The emperor found that among the prisoners, there was a prison guard from the Luzhou Prefecture. A leader of the Youyi Guard Brigade, who was responsible for escorting Zhang Shaojian to Yangcheng, tried to assassinate him when the bandits attacked, and was also captured alive!"

"What?" Li Xian refused to believe his ears and blurted out his words. "The news is sure? Isn't it a fake thief?"

He could accept the bandits who appeared under his rule. After all, he had less than a year since he truly held power. The "debts" of the Tang Dynasty had to be paid slowly. However, the soldiers of Luzhou Prefecture and the Right Guard joined forces with the bandits to attack the fourth-rank high-ranking officials of the court, but there was no scandal since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, which made him unwilling to accept it no matter what!

"No, I have not confirmed my identity. Maybe it was because the bandits pretended to be the commander of the palace soldiers and the commander of the Right Guards in order to survive!" The water behind the case was too deep, and Zheng Kejun didn't want to go around and responded decisively according to Li Xian's words.

However, Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian sneered and shook his head, "Haha, hehe, I know what's going on! Don't be afraid, continue to say that. Who ordered the soldiers of Luzhou Prefecture? Who gave the courage to the Youyi Guard? I can bear it! I have never seen any strange things in my life? Are you afraid of having such an ugly thing?"

"Stop the anger. The news may not be true before it has been confirmed!" Zheng Kejun raised his hand and wiped his sweat, and the expression on his face became more and more uneasy.

It is said that I am not apart from relatives. I am favored by Zhang Qian again, but I am outsiders after all. But the one who instructed the murderer to assassinate Zhang Qian was the emperor's closest relatives. To be honest today, I may not get any benefits. In the future, what if...

"You say!" Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian was impatient and pushed Zheng Kejun away and ordered the flying cavalry who came in at the same time as him.

The flying cavalry was only twenty-five or six years old and lacked experience in the officialdom. He rode a horse for hundreds of miles and was exhausted. He suddenly got the opportunity to reply directly to the emperor, but he could not think of looking back. He immediately bowed to the ground and responded stammeringly, "Qi, Qi Zuo. The captain of the Luzhou Prefecture Army was said to have owed the high interest of the monk, and could not pay it back, so he was taken to help the bandits. The leader of the Right Guard Brigade was said to have been instructed by a female official from the Princess' Mansion!"

"What, which princess?" Li Xian's body shook again, and Venus appeared in front of him. But he tried hard to stand firm and supported his hands on the pillar.

"Prince, be careful!" Zheng Kejun rushed forward immediately and pretended to hold Li Xian's arm. At the same time, he glared at the subordinate.

"Report, Master, Princess Jincheng requested to see him!" Before the flying cavalry of his subordinates understood his hint, Liu Jinggui, who was on duty, hurried in and bowed to report in a hoarse voice.

"Let her get out, I don't have such a daughter!" Li Xian immediately knew which princess instructed the Youyi Guard to lead the murderer. She resisted the urge to kill and scolded him sternly.

"Abide by the order!" Qianniu was well-off Liu Jinggui, but he did not dare to disobey. He saluted and turned around and left. After walking three or five steps, outside the study, a sad cry sounded, "Father, my daughter is incompetent, and she came to apologize for the axe! Qian Cuixi, the female official under her daughter, instructed the murderer to assassinate the imperial court. When her daughter learned the news today, she had already committed suicide by taking poison when she went to question her. Her daughter knew that even if she jumped into the Yellow River this time, she could not wash it clearly. Daughter, daughter, would rather die to maintain the prestige of the court!"
Chapter completed!
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