Five hundred pairs... plus the more than a hundred pairs on the old soldier, if you calculate it, is it enough for all three hundred Li clan soldiers to wear full armor?
Li Song didn't seem to have recovered from the shock, and said as if he was dreaming: "As long as Mr. Lang can forge armor, not to mention five hundred sets, even five thousand sets of armor linings, even a servant can weave it."
..."
Five thousand sets, that’s quite a statement?
Isn’t there enough hair to pluck you?
Li Chengzhi did not respond, but curled his lips.
But Li Song became more and more excited as he talked: "My servant has calculated that we can forge sixty or seventy pairs of armor in one day. Five days is enough for everyone in my Li family to wear armor...
When the time comes, Lang Jun can forge some more spear heads, arrowheads, and horizontal knives, which will be better than the poor mixed raw and cooked things now..."
Li Chengzhi sneered and glanced at him sideways: "I want to forge it too, but where does the iron come from?"
At present, the iron material is only tens of thousands of kilograms. Li Chengzhi estimates that if he only forges armor and adds a helmet, it will be enough to arm four hundred soldiers. How can there be extra iron forged weapons?
Li Song's expression suddenly froze.
Once a person's ambition is released, it is like opening a Pandora's box that cannot be closed.
When he knew that Li Chengzhi could forge hundred-refined steel so easily, Li Song became even more determined...
He just thought that he wouldn't dare to think of thousands of armored cavalry, after all, there are not that many horses. But at the worst, he must have a thousand soldiers, each wearing full armor, each holding a fine steel spear, and a hundred-refined crossbow on his waist.
Sword, this is the true quality of military armor...
But I actually forgot that there is not that much iron material.
If the war hadn't started, we could naturally exchange some food for some, but now we don't have enough food, so how can we exchange it for iron?
As for silk?
The dozen or so horses at home can be exchanged for at most five to six hundred kilograms of iron.
These burdens...
Li Song's teeth suddenly grew long and he wished he could kill all the six thousand monks and people...
He sighed sadly: "It's a pity, I don't have enough money, otherwise I could go to Liangzhou or Qinzhou to buy some..."
Not enough?
Why don’t I think so?
Li Chengzhi rolled his eyes: "Isn't it enough to melt a few of the bronze Buddhas?"
Li Song was shocked.
He hadn't seen Li Chengzhi mention it again for many days. He thought that Lang Jun had forgotten it, but he didn't expect that he was still thinking about some Buddha statues?
"Mr. Lang, you absolutely cannot do this..."
Li Chengzhi urged in a hurry, "When the monks and the people were in chaos, all the Buddha statues were well placed in the temple, but when we pacified Zhaoxuan Temple, the bronze statues disappeared? No matter how stupid those monks are, they can guess that they are from my Li family.
Stolen... When the court asks, how should we explain it?"
"Who said you can't replace it if you just steal it?" Li Chengzhi rubbed his chin, "If I said, I have a way to replace the bronze statue so that the monk can't recognize it, why don't you replace it?
?"
"Change?" Li Song looked at him suspiciously, "Could it be that Lang Jun wants to change to a clay sculpture? Then the secret will be revealed with just a tap of his finger..."
"Idiot!" Li Chengzhi glared and scolded, "We all know that I, my husband, can forge iron, but I have never thought of changing it to iron for him? When the time comes, I will use gold powder to cross it. Who can tell?"
Li Song was stunned.
Change the copper ones to iron ones?
It’s not impossible...
But the question is, how can we make it exactly the same?
This is not forged armor. You can make it look whatever you want?
The incense in Zhaoxuan Temple is very prosperous. Not to mention the monks, officials, monks and people, there are also famous families in Jingzhou, and there are also many Buddhists. For example, the Song family, which has been wiped out, used to be separated by three and five places.
Will come to offer incense.
Aren’t you afraid of being recognized by others?
"Elm head?"
Li Chengzhi scolded: "You can't see the ready-made models here? Which one you want to melt? Just lift the Buddha statue down, use clay to make a mold, and then pour the iron liquid into it, right?"
Exactly the same?"
Li Song was shocked and looked at Li Chengzhi blankly.
Why didn’t you think of it?
If you think about it carefully, it is so simple and very feasible...
Thinking of this, Li Song's eyelids jumped sharply.
How come you are so brave, and you were encouraged by Lang Jun with just a few words?
But think about it on the other hand, when the gold powder is transferred, who can tell whether it is iron or copper?
When he thought of this, Li Song's heart couldn't stop trembling, and even his breathing became a little heavier.
That's tens of thousands of kilograms of copper...
The Li family has accumulated it for generations. If you add up all the copper ingots in the big house, two bedrooms and two cellars, is there so much?
Seeing Li Song's eyes shining, Li Chengzhi knew that it was done.
He held back his laughter and urged urgently: "You just say you want to do it or not?"
Li Chengzhi knew very well that no matter how Li Song obeyed his advice, he would be cautious and cautious again and again in matters where one bad move would lead to the catastrophe of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan.
Not only must there be enough benefits to impress Li Song, but he must also be convinced that he will never cause any trouble afterwards...
So in order to persuade Li Song and avoid future troubles, Li Chengzhi thought for several days before coming up with this method.
Li Song must also agree, otherwise how can Li Chengzhi still do it alone?
Not to mention other things, he couldn't even take down the bronze Buddha...
Li Song hesitated for a long time, then gritted his teeth: "Mr. Lang, please cast one first. I want to take a look..."
Li Chengzhi was ecstatic: It’s done!
"Let's start the furnace now. When the blast furnace is dried up, it won't be until tomorrow night at the earliest!" He mused, "You go and gather the manpower first. You don't need more. Just seven or eight more of you and me will be enough..."
"No!" Li Song responded solemnly.
How dare more people know about such a thing?
……
The next night, iron was still being smelted in an orderly manner in the backyard, but there was silence in the front yard.
A two-foot-tall blast furnace rises from the ground, complete with kiln doors and kiln mouths.
That is to say, there is no room for it in the main hall, otherwise Li Chengzhi would have to build it inside.
It’s so hard...
Li Song, Li Bai, and their two sons: Li Zhang, Li Zhao, Li Ming, as well as Li Feng, their younger brother (cousin), and Li Liang, their nephew.
Adding Li Chengzhi, there are exactly eight people.
Afraid of being exposed, Li Song didn't even dare to use Li Xian.
Eight people, four on top, and four on the bottom, slid the bronze statue into a wheelbarrow along the two iron bars, and then pulled it into the blast furnace.
"This must not weigh seven or eight hundred kilograms?"
After placing the bronze statue in the car, Li Chengzhi wiped the sweat from his head and asked while breathing heavily.
Not just him, but every one of them was so tired that they almost collapsed.
Li Chengzhi originally wanted to pick the lightest one, so he picked the maid statue next to the Buddha. After he put it down, he realized that it was actually solid?
Fortunately, all eight of them were strong men as strong as oxen, otherwise they might not have been able to lift it down.
Li Song waited for a while before replying: "Just a little more..."
Eight hundred kilograms, just eight hundred kilograms. We have already lifted it down. How can we go back right away?
Li Chengzhi pointed at the blast furnace: "Pull it in..."
If you want to do it quickly and keep it as secret as possible, you have to rack your brains and think of a way.
Li Chengzhi took the forged steel plates and poured iron into the seams, and welded an iron box that was two meters high, one meter square, with a wall thickness of 1.5 millimeters, and weighed nearly three hundred kilograms.
Use iron bars and chains to suspend the iron box in the blast furnace. First put the bronze statue in, then fill the surroundings and top of the Buddha statue with clay added with graphite, and finally seal the box.
Start using low temperature, wait until the clay is dry and hard, then close the furnace, increase the furnace temperature, and continue to blow.
There is a hole in the bottom of the iron box. When the bronze statue melts, the copper liquid will flow out from the bottom of the furnace.
At this point, it is time to control the temperature of the furnace. Not only must it be able to refining copper, but we must also be careful not to refining the iron box as well.
When the copper juice runs out, extinguish the fire. After the temperature drops, turn the iron box over and you will have a ready-made model.
Insert the burned inner mold into it, then pour the iron juice, and an identical iron Buddha will be out of the oven...
The method is very simple and has the advantage of being fast. Li Chengzhi estimates that at least two bronze statues can be melted in one night.
The disadvantage is that it takes a lot of effort.
In two lifetimes combined, it was the first time for Li Chengzhi to do such heavy work...