Chapter 144: The First Craftsman of the Yuan Dynasty
After entering the house, I saw a shirtless man next to an iron forging furnace, beating an iron tool, sprinkling some powder while beating it.
Cai Heng stood next to him silently and watched.
Qin Lingjun looked at the blacksmith man carefully and saw that he was nearly fifty years old, with a half black and half white beard, a short stature, and strong limbs, like a thick stone pillar.
At this time, Cai Heng had noticed that his sister came in with the Qin sisters and Guo Huan. He hurried over to see the ceremony and said to Jia Ban: "Jia Gong, please stop for a moment!"
Without raising his head, Jia Ban said: "Wait a moment, this thing is already ready, it just needs to be quenched and ground!"
Clamp the iron object with tongs and put it on the stove to bake.
Just as Cai Heng was about to speak again, Lord Qin Ling said: "It doesn't matter, just let Mr. Jia hit it slowly." After carefully observing the iron tool, he finally recognized that it was an arrowhead.
It didn't take long for the arrowhead to burn bright red. Jaban quickly pulled it out and put it into a wooden tank filled with quenching solution. These solutions were mixed with various oils and waxes.
After cooling in the solution for a while, he quickly passed the arrowhead over the charcoal fire in the stove to remove the remaining grease on the arrowhead.
At this point, the quenching work is completed, and the last step is grinding and polishing.
Jaban dipped a piece of wood in oil and hematite powder and ground it carefully, then applied a light green solution to the arrowhead, waited for a while, and then wiped it clean.
At this step, the arrowhead is completely finished.
Jia Ban wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked up, and then noticed a few strangers in the room, looking back and forth at Qin Lingjun and the other three.
Cai Heng quickly introduced the identities of the three people to him.
Jia Ban showed a look of surprise, came to Qin Lingjun's side, cupped his hands and said: "I, Jia Ban, have met the steward's wife!" He also bowed to Qin Lingsi and Guo Huan respectively.
Qin Lingjun looked at the arrowhead in his hand and said, "Mr. Jia, can you let me see the arrowhead you made?"
Jiaban quickly offered it with both hands.
Qin Lingjun took it and looked at it carefully, nodding her head repeatedly.
This is a double-edged arrowhead. The arrowhead is extremely sharp, clear, and almost completely symmetrical. The arrow spine is straight. It is the favorite arrowhead for archers.
If she uses this kind of arrowhead to assemble an arrow, she is sure to hit the bullseye a hundred and fifty paces away.
Qin Lingsi suddenly said: "Mr. Jiaban, can you make artillery?"
Jia Ban was stunned for a moment and said: "Are you talking about a fire gun?"
"Yes, can you make it?" Qin Lingsi looked forward to it.
Jia Ban said proudly: "How can it not be the case? I am different from Hu Guangcao. I served as the Chief of the Sifang Department and the Order of the Huofang Department in the Ordnance Supervision, and was later transferred to the Ministry of Industry. Hu Guangcao's ability to make weapons,
Compared with us weapons supervisors and craftsmen, they are not worth mentioning at all!"
The Qin sisters were all surprised. In their hearts, they always felt that Hu Guangcao was already very capable!
A look of hatred appeared on Jia Ban's face, and he added: "I heard that he was doing well in Jiangdu, so I came to join him. Who would have thought that this old man would turn his back on me and try his best to drive me away!"
Qin Ling thought curiously: "Why did he drive you away?"
Jia Ban snorted: "Of course he is afraid that I will enter the Ordnance Bureau and steal his position!"
Qin Lingjun was silent for a long time and said: "Mr. Jia, I have to listen to Mr. Hu's words before I can tell what is going on."
Jia Ban said loudly: "Everything I said is true. If Madam doesn't believe it, you can call Hu Guangcao over. After we confront each other, we will all know!"
Qin Lingjun nodded her chin and said, "Little sister, go and invite Mr. Hu over."
Qin Lingsi agreed and turned around.
The Cai family brothers and sisters invited Qin Lingjun, Guo Huan and Jia Ban to a private room to wait. After more than half an hour, Qin Lingsi came back with Hu Guangcao.
As soon as Hu Guangcao entered the elegant room, he glared at Jia Ban and said loudly: "Jia Ban, I thought of my past friendship and persuaded you to leave with good words, but you didn't know what to do, and you dared to accuse me behind my back."
Status!"
Seeing Hu Guangcao's reaction, Qin Ling frowned slightly and looked at her sister.
Qin Lingsi came closer, with a somewhat indignant expression on her face, and whispered: "Sister, this matter is not that simple, that Jia Ban is not a good person!"
At this time, Jia Ban also stood up and said angrily: "Old man, aren't you just afraid that I will take away your position as the supervisor of the Ordnance Bureau? You still talk about our past friendship, bah!"
Hu Guangcao was so angry that his face wrinkled up, and he said to Lord Qin Ling: "Master of Dazhai, this man is Jia Lu's brother, you must not trust him!"
Qin Lingjun was shocked, her face instantly turned pale, and she stared at Jia Ban.
"Are you really...Brother Jalu?"
Jia Ban's face was a little gloomy, and he lowered his head and said: "Madam, please be aware that although Jia Lu is my brother, we had severed ties with each other a year ago! He is him, and I am me!"
Hu Guangcao said angrily: "Who would believe what you say? It wasn't Jia Lu who recommended you to the Ministry of Industry in the first place? You brothers rely on Tuotuo as their backer, only deal with the Mongols, and look down on us Han people. Is this the case?"
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After hearing this, Cai Han quickly lowered his head.
Jia Ban's face turned red and he said anxiously: "I, I was drunk by Jia Lu at first, but later I recognized the true face of the Mongols, and I drew a clear line with them!"
Qin Lingjun stared at Jia Ban for a moment and said slowly: "Why did you break off your relationship with Jia Lu?"
Jia Ban's shoulders slumped and he said dejectedly: "When Tuo Tuo attacked Xuzhou, Jia Lu and I also marched with the army. After Xuzhou was captured, we all saw with our own eyes the Yuan soldiers slaughtering the people..."
He covered his face with his hands as if recalling something frightening.
"He, they were so cruel that they would not even spare a one-year-old child. Since then, I have had nightmares every night. Then the plague happened, and I thought, this must be a punishment from God!"
After everyone recalled the Xuzhou tragedy, they couldn't help but fall into silence.
After a long while, Jia Ban choked up and said: "I recognized the true face of the Mongols at that time and wanted to persuade my brother to leave with me. But he said that Tuotuo had been kind to him and that he would rather die than betray Tuotuo.
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Qin Lingsi sneered and said: "It sounds nice, but it's just greed for wealth!"
Jia Ban was silent for a long time and said in a low voice: "In short, I have now drawn a clear line with Jia Lu. I only want to help the rebels deal with Bao Yuan! If you don't believe me, I will have to leave and join someone else."
Qin Lingjun suddenly said: "Everyone in the world says that Jia Lu is the number one craftsman in the Yuan Dynasty. Since you are his younger brother, how do you compare to him in craftsmanship?"
Jia Ban said proudly: "That's just other people praising him! He is obsessed with reading and is not interested in the ancestral craftsmanship. His skills are not as good as mine!"
There is a big difference between the Yuan Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, officials were all selected through the imperial examination. There was an insurmountable gap between officials and staff, so a group of subordinate officials was formed.
Since they have been cut off from promotion, they can only focus on making money, and because they are the ones who really deal with the people, they are more familiar with government affairs than the officials above them.
Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, it was often the case that officials were controlled by their staff.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial examinations were often discontinued, so many officials were promoted from among the civil servants, especially in the Ministry of Works, where many officials were craftsmen.
Jia Lu was also a craftsman and was eager to learn since childhood. Although he had no fame, he relied on his talents to enter the Prime Minister's Mansion and served as Dongcao.
The prime minister at that time was Boyan, and Tuotuo was Boyan's nephew. It was at that time that Jia Lu fell in love with Tuotuo.
Later, when Tuotuo became the prime minister, Jia Lu was promoted all the way to the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry, and even got his brother to join the Ministry of Industry. With his own skills, Jia Ban quickly became a member of the Ministry of Industry.
In contrast, Hu Guangcao had been working in the Ministry of Industry for more than 30 years and was still a small chief executive. Although he showed respect to Jia Ban on the surface, he was actually very jealous of him.
Jia Ban didn't realize it, thinking that Hu Guangcao really respected him. So after leaving Tuotuo, he heard that Hu Guangcao was doing well, so he came to seek refuge with him.
In fact, Jia Ban was right. In addition to hating him, Hu Guangcao was also really afraid that he would steal his position, because Jia Ban was indeed better at craftsmanship than Jia Lu and could be called the number one craftsman in the Yuan Dynasty.
He hurriedly said to Lord Qin Ling: "Master of Dazhai, this person cannot be trusted!"
Qin Lingjun glanced at him and said, "Mr. Hu, do you know who the enemy of my sisters is?"
Hu Guangcao was stunned for a moment and shook his head.
Qin Lingjun said: "My father was killed by Tuotuo and Jialu because he opposed Jialu's river management!"
Jia Ban felt cold all over. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy, but finally closed it again. He was silent for a while and whispered: "Madam wants to kill me. I have nothing to say. I only hope that I can do one thing before I die."
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Qin Lingjun stared at him and said, "What do you want to do?"
Jia Ban sighed: "I hope to pass on my skills to Hu Guangcao. He is not very qualified and may learn slowly. I hope my wife can give me some time!"
"Whose qualifications are dull!" Hu Guangcao said angrily, paused, and couldn't help but said: "Why did you pass it on to me?"
Jia Ban's face turned pale, and he lowered his head and said, "I just hope that I can atone for some of my sins. After I die, the ghosts of Xuzhou will be able to let me go."
Qin Lingjun is both angry and funny. She is the best at discerning appearance. When she heard Jia Ban speak before, she knew that it was all the truth and there was nothing false.
Proposing a relationship with Jia Lu is just a means to subdue Jia Ban. Seeing his words like this at this time, you know that although this person is timid, he is a straight man, so there is no need to waste more time.
"Jia Ban, what you just said is right. You are you, and Jia Rule is Jia Rule. Our hatred with Jia Rule has nothing to do with you. When we deal with Jia Rule in the future, we also hope that you will not interfere!"
Jia Ban was surprised and happy, and said: "He has forgotten his ancestors. I have long since disowned him as a brother. Even if you kill him in the future, I will at most help him collect his body!"
Seeing that something was wrong, Hu Guangcao hurriedly said: "Master of Dazhai, he..."
"Mr. Hu, the general manager has been depressed recently due to the lack of progress in artillery. Do you know?" Qin Lingjun interrupted.
Hu Guangcao looked ashamed and said nothing.
Qin Lingjun said to Jia Ban: "Mr. Jia, are you willing to serve in the Ordnance Bureau together with Hu Gong?"
Jia Ban glanced at Hu Guangcao, cupped his hands and said, "I can't ask for more!"
Qin Lingjun nodded and said warmly: "Okay, tomorrow morning, you go to the Ordnance Bureau, and the manager and I will also go there."
Jia Ban bowed and agreed.
Qin Lingjun said hello to the Cai brothers and sisters again, and left with her sister and Guo Huan.