Chapter 2 Chapter two

Fan Li told Wen Zhong about the situation of the sword competition just now.Wen Zhong frowned and said: "Brother Fan Xian, the swordsmen of the Wu Kingdom are skilled in swordsmanship, which is a serious problem, but when they fight in groups, they make good use of Sun Wuzi's legacy, which is even more difficult to break." Zi assisted the King of Wu, led the troops to defeat Chu, and attacked the capital of Ying. He used his troops like a god and was invincible in the world. Although Qi and Jin are big countries, they are also afraid of their front. If we attack one with ten, we will be many and the enemy will be few. If we can attack the few with many, we will have an agreement with the fighters.' The four Wu warriors fought with the four Yue warriors, and the Wu warriors used two If one person focuses on one person, and the crowd strikes the few, the battle will be invincible."

During the conversation, the two came to the King of Yue, and saw Gou Jian holding the sharp sword as thin as paper in his hand, fascinated by himself. After a long time, Goujian raised his head and said, "Mr. Wen, back then there were generals Mo Xie and his wife in the State of Wu, who were good at forging swords. In Yue State, there was a good craftsman, Ou Yezi, who was no less skilled in making swords. At this time, the generals, Mo Xie, and Ou Yezi They are all dead now. There are such master swordsmiths in Wu State, is it true that since Ou Yezi died in our State of Yue, there will be no successors?" Wen Zhong said: "I heard that Ou Yezi has two disciples, one is Fengbeard and the other is Xue. Zhu. Fengbeard is in Chu, and Xue Zhu is still in Yue." Goujian was overjoyed, and said: "The doctor quickly summoned Xue Zhu, and then sent people to Chu, and hired Fengbeard to come to Yue with a lot of money." Wen Zhong obeyed and retreated.

In the early morning of the next day, Wen Zhong reported that people had been sent to Chu, and Xue Zhu had announced his arrival. Goujian summoned Xue Zhu and said, "Your master, Ou Yezi, was ordered by the late king to forge five swords. You can tell me about the advantages and disadvantages of these five swords." Xue Zhu kowtowed and said, "The villain once listened to the teacher It is said that the master forged five swords for the king, three big swords and two small swords. , Shengxie and Yuchang are in Wu, and the two swords of Chunjun and Juque are in the Grand Palace." Goujian said: "Exactly."

It turned out that after Goujian's father, King Yunchang of Yue, forged the five swords, the king of Wu heard the news and came to ask for them.Yun Chang was afraid of Wu Zhiqiang, so he offered three swords: Zhanlu, Shengxie and Yuchang.Later, Helu, king of Wu, sent Zhuanzhu to assassinate Wang Liao with a fish intestine sword.The Zhanlu sword fell into the water and was later obtained by the king of Chu. The king of Qin heard about it and asked for it but couldn't get it. He sent troops to attack Chu, but the king of Chu never gave it. Xue Zhu reported: "The former master once said that among the five swords, the best is to defeat evil, followed by Chunjun and Zhanlu swords, followed by fish intestines, and Juque is the last. When casting Juque, gold, tin and copper And Li, so this sword is only a sharp sword, not a precious sword." Gou Jian said: "But my two swords of Chunjun and Juque are no match for King Wu's two swords of Shengxie and Yuchang?" Xue Zhu said: "The villain is guilty of death, forgive the villain Be blunt." Gou Jian raised his head and remained silent, from Xue Zhu's words, he knew that the Second Sword of Yue State was not the enemy of the Second Sword of Wu State.

Fan Li said: "Since you have passed on the art of respecting your master, you can open the furnace to forge swords. If you forge a few swords, it may not be as good as Wu's swords." Xue Zhu said: "Reporting to the doctor: a villain can no longer forge swords. " Fan Li said: "But why?" Xue Zhu stretched out his hands, only to see that his thumbs and index fingers were gone, only six fingers remained.Xue Zhu said sadly: "The power to forge a sword depends entirely on the thumb and index finger. The villain has already become a useless person if he is still alive."

Gou Jian wondered: "Are these four fingers of yours cut off by the enemy?" Xue Zhu said: "It's not the enemy, they were cut off by the villain's brother." Gou Jian was even more surprised, and said: "Your brother, isn't that Wind beard? Why did he cut off your finger? Ah, it must be that you are better at forging swords than your senior brother. He was jealous and cut off your fingers to teach you that you can no longer forge swords." Gou Jian speculated on his own, Xue Zhu was inconvenient Said that he guessed wrong, only silent. Gou Jian said: "The widow was going to send someone to Chu to summon Feng Huzi. He was afraid of your revenge, so he might not dare to come back." Xue Zhu said: "Your Majesty, Brother Feng is currently in Wu, not Chu." Gou Jian slightly Surprised, he said, "He... he is in Wu country, what is he doing in Wu country?"

Xue Zhu said: "Three years ago, Brother Feng came to the villain's house, took out a sword, and showed it to the villain. When the villain saw it, he was shocked. It turned out that this sword was forged by the master Ou Yezi for the state of Chu. It is called Gongbu, and the tattoo on the body of the sword is like flowing water, continuous from the handle to the tip. The villain once heard what his master said, and he knew it at the first sight. Back then, the master cast three swords for the king of Chu, one was Long Yuan, the other was Tai'a , The third is Gongbu. The king of Chu is very fond of Bao, but he didn’t know that it was acquired by the elder brother.”

Gou Jian said, "It must have been given to you by the King of Chu." Xue Zhu said: "If it is said to be a gift from the King of Chu, it is not bad, but it has changed hands twice. Brother Feng said that after Master Wu broke Chu, Wu Zixu distributed the coffin of King Ping of Chu and whipped his corpse. I got this precious sword in the tomb. After returning to Wu, I heard the name of Senior Brother Feng, so I asked someone to send the sword to the state of Chu for him, saying that this is the legacy of my predecessor, and Senior Brother Feng should inherit it." Gou Jian was startled again, and muttered: "Wu Zixu is willing to give up this sword. This man is really a hero, really a hero!" Suddenly he laughed and said, "Fortunately, my husband caught my trick and forced this man to commit suicide. ,Ha ha ha ha!"

When Gou Jian laughed, no one dared to make a sound.He laughed for a long time before asking: "Wu Zixu gave you the Gongbu sword, what is he going to do?" Xue Zhu said: "Brother Feng said that at that time, Wu Zixu only said that he admired his predecessor and had nothing else to ask for. Brother Feng got it After this sword, I was grateful and thought that General Wu is the high minister of the state of Wu, and he gave me a rare treasure. How can I not thank you face to face? So I went to the state of Wu to express my gratitude to General Wu. Senior Brother Feng bought a house and received him very politely." Gou Jian said, "Wu Zixu always used this method to get people to work for him. It was just like that when he was called Zhuan Zhu Assassin Wang Liao."

Xue Zhu said: "Your Majesty knows things like a god. But Senior Brother Feng doesn't understand Wu Zixu's conspiracy. He feels sorry for being treated so favorably by him. He asks again and again what is the use of him. Guests from the state of Wu, how dare you work for your dignity?'" Gou Jian scolded: "You are a treacherous and cunning man, and you are advancing by retreating!" Xue Zhu said: "Your Majesty can see thousands of miles away. Brother Feng finally told Wu Zixu that he has no other skills except forging swords. Thanks to such generous treatment, I will forge a few rare swords and present them as gifts."

Gou Jian stretched out his hand and patted his thigh, and said, "You have found the way!" Xue Zhu said, "But Wu Zixu said that there are already many swords in the state of Wu, and there is no need to forge them. Moreover, casting swords is extremely labor-intensive. Back then, Mo Xie couldn't forge swords." , Mo Xie threw himself into the sword furnace, and the sword was formed. This kind of tragedy must never happen again." Gou Jian wondered: "He really didn't want a wind beard to make a sword? That's amazing." Xue Zhu said: "Brother Feng also felt strange at that time One day Wu Zixu came to the hotel again to chat with Brother Feng, talking about the struggle between Wu State and the northern Qi and Jin states. However, the swords and halberds used were not sharp enough. Brother Feng talked with him about the method of casting swords and halberds. It turned out that what Wu Zixu wanted to forge was not a sword with two mouthfuls, but a sword with thousands of mouths." Gou Jian suddenly came to his senses, couldn't help but "Ah yo", and looked at Wen Zhong and Fan Li in a blink of an eye.Wen Zhong was full of anxiety, but Fan Li was in a daze, and asked, "Doctor Fan, what do you think?" Fan Li said, "Although Wu Zixu is full of tricks, don't say that he is dead, even if he is still alive. After all, I can't escape the palm of the king." Gou Jian said with a smile: "Hey, I'm afraid I'm not Wu Zixu's opponent." Fan Li said: "Wu Zixu has been eliminated by your majesty's ingenious plan, so how can he do nothing for me?" Gou Jian laughed loudly, and said: "That's true That's right. Xue Zhu, after listening to Wu Zixu's words, your senior brother helped him forge a sharp sword?" Xue Zhu said, "Exactly. Brother Feng followed Wu Zixu to the sword casting room on Mogan Mountain. There are more than a thousand swordsmiths making swords, but their methods are not perfect, so Brother Feng ordered them one by one, and since then, Wu swords have been sharper than other countries." Goujian nodded and said, "That's how it is." Xue Zhu said: "After one year of casting, Brother Feng was overworked and exhausted, so he mentioned the villain's name to Wu Zixu. Wu Zixu prepared a gift and asked Brother Feng to call the villain to go to the country of Wu to help Brother Feng forge swords." The villain thinks that Wu and Yue have feuds, Wu has forged a sharp sword, which can kill Qi people and Jin people, and I can also kill Yue people, so I persuade Brother Feng to go back to Wu country." Goujian said: "Yes, you Very knowledgeable." Xue Zhu kowtowed and said: "Thank you for your reward. But Master Feng didn't listen to the villain's persuasion. He slept in the villain's house that night. In the middle of the night, he suddenly put a sharp sword around the villain's neck and chopped off The villain has four fingers, so that the villain can become a useless person from now on." Goujian was furious, and said sharply, "Next time we catch Fengbeard, he will be chopped into mincemeat." Wen Zhong said: "Mr. Xue, although you can't make swords by yourself, but if you guide the swordsmith, we can also make thousands of sharp swords." Refined copper is in Yue, and good tin is in Wu." Fan Li said: "Wu Zixu has already sent troops to guard Xishan, and the people are not allowed to pick tin, right?" Xue Zhu's face showed surprise, and said: "Doctor Fan, so you already knew." Fan Li smiled and said: "I'm just guessing, Now that Wu Zixu is dead, the Wu people may not follow his last order. Buying at a high price, it is not difficult to get a good tin." Gou Jian said: "However, distant water cannot save near fire. You have to mine copper, smelt tin, make furnaces, and forge swords. If the casting is not good, you have to start from scratch. At least it will take two or three years. If Fu Chai doesn't live After so long, wouldn't it become a lifelong hatred?" Wen Zhong and Fan Li bowed at the same time and said, "Yes. I will wait and think about a better strategy."
Fan Li withdrew from the palace, thinking: "Your Majesty can't wait for two or three years, even if I wait for a day and a night, it's also..." Thinking of this, there was a dull pain in his chest, and the stunning beauty immediately appeared in his mind. . That is Xi Shi by the Huansha River.It was the unparalleled beauty in the world, Yiguang, whom I personally visited, and the charming baby Yiguang who combined the aura of the mountains and rivers of the Yue Kingdom, but I personally sent her to the Wu Palace. The distance from Kuaiji to Gusu is very short, just a few days of water journey, but in this short few days, the two people's love is deeply rooted, and they are inseparable.On Xishi Haojie's face, there were two pearl-like teardrops, and his voice was like the gentle flowing water in the Ruoye River: "Young uncle, you promise me that you will definitely pick me up, the sooner the better, I will take care of you day and night." Yours is waiting for you. Say it again, you will never, ever forget me." The hatred of the Yue country must be avenged, and that can be waited.But Yiguang was in Fucha's arms, jealousy and distress were gnawing at his heart.It is necessary to cast a large number of sharp swords as soon as possible, sharper than the swords used by Wu Guo swordsmen... He strolled through the streets, followed by eighteen guards at a distance. Suddenly, a chorus of Wu songs came from the west end of the long street: "My sword is sharp and the enemy is frightened, and my sword is victorious and the enemy has no leader..." Eight men in green clothes, arm in arm, sang loudly, striding forward as if no one else was there.Pedestrians avoided.That was the Wu Guo swordsman who had won a great victory in the Yue Palace yesterday, obviously drunk and rampaging on the long street. Fan Li frowned, and anger quickly rose in his chest. Eight Wu Kingdom swordsmen walked up to Fan Li.The leader was drunk and squinted at him, and said, "You...you are Doctor Fan...haha, haha, haha!" Two of Fan Li's guards rushed forward, stood in front of Fan Li, and shouted: "Don't be rude! Get out of the way!" The eight swordsmen laughed loudly, imitating their tone, and said with a smile: "Don't be rude, get out of the way!" The two guards drew out their long swords and shouted: "Your Majesty has an order, charge the doctor beheaded!" The leading swordsman of Wu State staggered and said, "Slay you, or me?" Fan Li thought to himself: "This is the envoy of the Wu Kingdom. Although he is rude, he cannot fight with them." Just as he was about to say: "Let him pass!" , the palms of their right hands fell to the ground along with the long swords they were holding.The leading Wu Guo swordsman slowly returned his sword into the sheath, his face full of arrogance. The sixteen guards under Fan Li drew their swords out of their sheaths at once, and surrounded the eight Wu Kingdom swordsmen. The leader Wu Shi looked up to the sky and laughed, and said: "We came to Kuaiji from Gusu. We didn't want to go back alive. Let's see how many troops and horses you will use to kill our eight swordsmen from Wu." When the word "士" came out, there was a long howl, and the eight people held swords in their hands at the same time, standing back to back. Fan Li thought to himself: "Small intolerance will lead to great chaos. Our country is not fully prepared right now, so we cannot kill these eight Wu scholars and cause a quarrel with Fu Chai." He shouted: "These eight are envoys from the upper kingdom, everyone must not be rude. Get out!" Said, let him stand beside the road.The guards under him were all full of anger, if their eyes were about to burst into flames, but the doctor ordered them not to disobey, so they immediately let them back to the side of the street. The eight Wu warriors laughed loudly and sang in unison: "My sword is sharp and the enemy is frightened, and my sword is victorious and the enemy has no leader!"