Chapter 1419: Self-Sacrifice for Charity, the True Master Blacksmith!

"Namo Amitabha! The grace of the Tiantai Sect for saving our lives, the compassion of the Buddha... We can only sacrifice our lives to repay them, without complaint or regret!"

Faced with Morino Kiyoshi's salute, an old craftsman with one arm walked out from the group of craftsmen. Although he also looked nervous, he still forced himself to return the salute to Morino Kiyoshi and the monks.

"Senno Kiyotsugu, we will never return from now on, and will never be able to return to our hometown or our ancestral graves... I only hope that you will take care of the rest of us, the tribesmen and the villagers with the Buddha's mercy... And if the Buddha's golden body is made, we can leave a name on the stone carvings of the temple and get a reward in the next life... Then even if I die in the land of Shanta, I will have no regrets!... Namo Amitabha!"

"Namo Amitabha!... We will sacrifice our lives without regrets!..."

As the one-armed old craftsman stood up to return the greeting, several young apprentices followed the old craftsman and bowed to Morino Kiyotsu in return.

The self-assertion of people has always been weak, and they are easily dominated by the upper class and the group. In this strong atmosphere. One after another, all the craftsmen, whether they were really willing or not, bowed to Morino Kiyotsu with tears. Morino Kiyotsu even showed compassion on his face, tears in his eyes, and prayed devoutly.

"Namo Amitabha! May all sentient beings be free from suffering and attain happiness, and all attain Buddhahood!..."

"Lord God! This situation? This?!..."

On the other side, Zuvaro led the Kingdom warriors. Although he could not understand what was said on the other side, he could also tell something from their expressions and actions. He was shocked!

This time, the trade with the craftsmen was completely different from the last time, when the Kakizaki warriors put knives on the craftsmen's necks and the craftsmen cried and screamed! These craftsmen seemed to be willing to be exchanged to the north of Ezo? ...

".Damn! This guy who can't hold a knife or a gun, could it be that he is not a big businessman, but a senior priest of some "Buddha God"? This method of confusing people is just like those long-headed Mayan priests?..."

Zuvaro looked up and down at Morino Kiyoshi again. He was a little afraid and couldn't help but look at him with a high opinion. Morino Kiyoshi had finished reciting the last sutra, and brought the one-armed old craftsman to Zuvaro, respectfully introducing him.

"Respected Golden Chief! This is the Yamashiro-ryu swordsmith, Tetsuta Souyoshi! He is a famous swordsmith who once forged the famous sword 'Chiyo-kiri' for the Rokkaku clan of Omi! His best skill is the 'Thousand Forging Technique', which comes from the secret tradition of the Yamashiro-ryu for hundreds of years!..."

"Although, during the two attacks of the shogunate on the Rokkaku clan, the swordsmith Tetsuta Souyoshi had his right arm cut off by the looting soldiers and could no longer forge famous blades...but his blacksmithing skills and abilities are extremely outstanding even in Kyoto, where there are many master craftsmen!...His vision, his experience, and the way he teaches his disciples, that is truly a master craftsman!..."

"What? Grandmaster of iron forging, a true senior master craftsman? Just this one-armed old man?..."

After listening to Morino Kiyoshi's flattery, Zuwaro looked at the old craftsman in front of him with a look of doubt. The other person was dressed in ordinary clothes, not tall, with an empty right arm and half of his hair white. I don’t know how many years he has left to live. The old face was full of wrinkles, and he did have a kind of confidence that was rare among ordinary craftsmen, but after seeing the "barbaric and vicious" Shanta chieftain, he couldn't help trembling all over and his knees became weak.

"Namo Amitabha! I am Tetsuda Muneyoshi! Although I broke one arm... But even with this left arm alone, I can forge a jade steel sword! And if we talk about forging experience, I was twelve years old and learned from the master craftsman Imaizumi Munehiro of the Yamashiro school. At the age of twenty-four, I became a master and made a seal. Until now, I am fifty-two years old... If compared with these forty years of experience, there are not many people in Kyoto who can match me!"

The old craftsman Tetsuda Muneyoshi took a deep breath, tried to maintain his posture, and bowed to Zuwaro. Then, he looked at the smiling Morino Kiyoshi, and then at the frowning Zuwaro, and put his only left hand together, and then spoke loudly.

"Buddha is merciful and gives his body as alms! Today, I will hand over my life to the hands of the Northern Barbarians... um... the great chief! However, the alms I have exchanged for my life experience and skills in front of the Buddha... need to be ten kilograms of gold!..."

"What?! You want ten kilograms of gold? Not for yourself, but for this big businessman?!..."

Zuwaro was shocked again! It's not that ten kilograms of gold is a big amount, after all, it's just ten gold talismans... He was shocked because it was the first time he saw a rabbit sold by a fox, still asking for money for the fox! Could this be, finding an old "death warrior" to deceive him together?

At this moment, his evaluation of Morino Kiyoshi has been improved again, and he has given him an honorary title from the snowfield and the plateau, and the cunning "white fox" among people!

"Hmm"

Zuwaro was silent. The old craftsman Tetsuda Soyoshi was a little panicked, but he still held his breath and waited for the response of the "Shanta Chieftain". He had lived to this age and had seen so many ups and downs in the capital, so he was definitely not a stupid "rabbit". Other craftsmen might not be able to see clearly, but he saw everything that happened along the way!

The Tiantai Sect put them on the ship in the name of relief, and actually transported them from the capital directly north to Ezo! The ship that transported them was full of monk soldiers, and there were also hundreds of Ezo local warriors behind them. The final transaction was with the Shantars, and the transaction was gold!

"Buddha! Transporting and selling people in the name of relief, colluding between rooftop monks and local warriors, having illicit affairs with Shanta tribes in Ezo, and trading large amounts of gold!... Which of these is not a hidden secret that can kill someone?!..."

Faced with such a situation, does Tietian Muneyoshi have any choice? If he knows these hidden secrets, can he still escape? Impossible! Even for the sake of Tiantai Sect's reputation and face, he will not be allowed to return to Gyeonggi alive! He had no choice, and all the craftsmen here had no choice!

Therefore, he can only be sold to the Shantar people like goods. To accompany Morino Kiyoshi to perform this "sacrifice of alms", to make the Tiantai Sect look good, and to raise his own price... This is not only his only choice, but also good for all the craftsmen, and for everyone's relatives and fellow villagers. good!

As for now, he is also not asking for a price for Morino Kiyoshi, but for himself! These ten pounds of gold for selling oneself are his worth and his card, the higher the better!

In fact, he has lost his right arm for blacksmithing, and he is old. How can he make any good swords with only one old arm? But it was impossible for Shan Taer to let him draw a knife on the spot. And if he is just talking about his experience and methods, then he is indeed a true "good swordsman"! There are few in Kyoto who can compare with him!

As for when he arrived at the Shantao tribe, he found that he couldn't forge iron... After all, he spent ten kilograms of gold, so he wouldn't just kill him with a knife, right? And if he has an apprentice, with his profound experience, as long as the apprentice is not too stupid, it will definitely not be a problem to teach a few masters who can fight with jade steel swords!

"Well... the Lord God has witnessed it! If you are really a skilled master craftsman... not to mention ten pounds of gold, it is the title of a noble, and it is a matter of course in the kingdom and tribes... Tesuke! Go and ask, look at this old craftsman Are you a master craftsman at your level?..."

"Yes! Great Chief!"

The kingdom's blacksmith, Matsushita Tesuke, took a deep breath and bowed in salute. Facing this one-armed old man who claimed to be the "good swordsman", he felt a strong sense of crisis at this moment. He must show off his special skills and ask the most difficult questions to knock this old guy down! Otherwise, when the other party comes to the tribe, his status as master blacksmith may not be preserved! …

"God bless you! Master Zongyi, may I ask what is the most difficult point in the Jade Steel method?..."

"Ha! How difficult is the Jade Steel method? It's just two key points! The first key point is to choose iron! ... Akame sand iron is the bottom iron, and real sand sand iron is the upper iron! And the best real sand sand is The iron comes from Izumo Country. The color of the iron sand is black or dark gray. The texture of the iron is fine and uniform."

"If there is no best real sand iron, only top-grade Akame sand iron. Then the iron smelting will take an extra day, and the output of jade steel will be reduced. If the iron material is worse, the quality will not be as good as jade steel. , you can only get fine iron that is close to jade steel!…”

When the old craftsman Tietian Zongyi began to see Chief Shantao, he was still a little trembling and frightened. But when he saw the "Kazuto Blacksmith" popping up, he straightened up his back instantly. After three or two sentences of conversation, he figured out the opponent's level, and even directly used the master of good business to point out the momentum of the younger generation!

"The second is ironmaking! Build a 'Tatara Furnace' (Tatara). The furnace is five feet high, five feet wide and eight feet long. It is equipped with a large blowing box that can step on the wind! Then the iron sand and charcoal are placed overlapping to 'blow the Tatara' 'The furnace-blowing iron smelting method can directly produce jade steel! ..."

"As for the specific process...the iron sand is put into the furnace, and the furnace must be blown first to raise the fire temperature for a full day, until it reaches the bright yellow and bluish 'mountain blowing color', it is considered qualified! Then, the mountain blowing fire is calcined for two days and one night, thirty-six Hours! The three apprentices take turns to blow, and the fire color and temperature cannot be reduced! The molten iron must be stirred every quarter of an hour to let the molten iron burn out the charcoal powder, and add charcoal powder according to experience. Discharge the iron slag once at the bottom..."

"Until two days and one night later, the fire gradually goes out, and the lump of jade steel is taken out! If the color is silver grey, black and blue, with a shining color, then it is done! ... With my ability as an old man, every hundred A pound of real sand and iron sand can yield thirty-five pounds of jade steel!…”

"And after having this jade steel, it is made layer by layer with the thousand forging methods of my Yamashiro style, coupled with the secret technique of annealing and quenching... let alone ordinary jade steel swords, even the famous blades of karma can easily be used. Get it! ...With this knife, even a healthy ox can be split in half..."