That night, Dian Wei would never forget...
That obsession, Dian Wei buried in his heart.
Not long ago, on that dark and windy night, at the southern gate of Chenliu Commandery, he, Dian Wei, had a fierce battle with Lu Bu, their sharp points against each other.
The two fought to a draw.
But Dian Wei was a martial man, and before confronting Lu Bu, he had always believed in "absolute force conquering all," thinking that with sheer strength, no one would be his match with his twin halberds.
Yet, his encounter with Lu Bu revealed his weaknesses and shortcomings!
Whether it was horsemanship or the unity of man and halberd, Lu Bu's mastery of his troops and his peerless martial skills were something that even if Dian Wei practiced for another five or ten years, he might not be able to catch up to.
To defeat Lu Bu, to shatter this obsession, he could only find another way.
The young master Lu Yu had mentioned this steel forging before. Young master Lu Yu had said that if steel forging were successful, then with steel as the foundation, weapons forged would surely be able to cut through stone and break metal, and slice through iron like mud.
Indeed, Dian Wei's unity of man and halberd was inferior to Lu Bu's, but if the sharpness of the weapon far surpassed Lu Bu's, even, as young master Lu Yu said, if the fine steel halberd could split Lu Bu's Fangtian Huaji, then... future encounters between them would be a different story.
It was for this very reason, driven by the obsession to defeat Lu Bu, that Dian Wei was now intently staring at the furnace, at the changes in the iron within...
This was his countless attempt to pour liquid wrought iron into pig iron in the last two days... He remembered very clearly that all thirteen previous attempts had failed, and this fourteenth attempt, he had made new adjustments. Would it succeed?
Meanwhile, Dian Wei still hadn't noticed Lu Yu.
The craftsman was still explaining in detail to Lu Yu. "Commander Dian has barely slept these past two days, resting on the floor by the furnace when tired, and just grabbing whatever to eat when hungry. He... he's like he's possessed."
As he said this, the craftsman's eyes turned to Dian Wei. "Alas... we've been forging steel for so long, and we all know that even with young master Lu's methods being good, the steel forging process is complex and requires repeated attempts. It's not something that can be accomplished overnight. Commander Dian seems a bit too eager for success."
Upon saying this, the craftsman seemed to realize he had rested enough and immediately bowed to Lu Yu again. "Young master Lu, allow me to go assist Commander Dian..."
"Go ahead..." Lu Yu signaled him not to mind him. Once the craftsman walked to Dian Wei's side, both pairs of eyes gazed at the furnace, taking in every subtle change, unblinking...
It was very hot near the furnace, and in just a moment, the craftsman was already sweating profusely. Dian Wei was even more so; his sweat-soaked clothes were almost clinging to his skin, outlining his firm eight-pack abs.
His entire physique could be described by four words: mighty and strong, and in his resolute eyes, two words seemed to flicker constantly: perseverance.
*Hoo...*
Lu Yu let out a long breath, and for a moment, he greatly admired Dian Wei...
Come to think of it, while he was happily playing with Sister Zhao Ji, Dian Wei was forging steel;
At night, while he was learning new poses with the new concubine maid, Dian Wei was still forging steel. Although learning new poses was also tiring, thinking of Dian Wei... Lu Yu felt his waist instantly become much stronger. The sky was clear, the rain had stopped, and he felt he was capable again.
Turning his head, he saw Cao Mu's shocked gaze...
Even though there was still a considerable distance from the furnace, sweat was constantly flowing from her body, and her upper body had a slightly damp scent.
Of course, Cao Mu didn't have the time to concern herself with these matters. What astonished her repeatedly was why... with such scorching temperatures around the furnace, these burly men could endure it?
Even if they were made of iron, they would melt, wouldn't they?
And also...
Why could they all do it, staying here for days to forge a material, even abandoning the most basic needs of eating and sleeping? What kind of feeling was this?
"See?" Lu Yu said at the opportune moment... He glanced sideways at Cao Mu. It was also very hot here, and as Cao Mu's upper body became damp, her silhouette appeared exceptionally clear, which inevitably caused a moment of daze in Lu Yu's eyes...
"You just heard it, this is forging!"
"I'm not exaggerating when I tell you, even if Dian Wei continues like this, staying here for so long, hardly sleeping every day, he still fails again and again, and success is still far away."
"But what's precious about him is that he doesn't get discouraged by every failure, but repeats it again and again. This is all for the slim hope of success. Now, do you think forging... or rather, do you still think 'craftsmanship' is a simple matter? Something that servants should do?"
Lu Yu felt it was necessary to educate Cao Mu about the "craftsman spirit" of the new era. Craftsmen, in any era, are the most valuable people!
Of course, his preachy words were like needles pricking Cao Mu's body...
Did it hurt? Not really, but it made her feel incredibly ashamed.
She suddenly understood why Lu Yu valued "craftsmanship" so much? Why he respected craftsmen so much? She could also understand why the knives of Zheng, the scales of Song, the daggers of Lu, and the swords of Wu and Yue were famous, and why people called them heaven-made and earth-matched.
And also... the twelve words Lu Yu mentioned—"Heaven has its time, Earth has its spirit, materials have their beauty, and craftsmanship has its skill"—these also contained profound truths?
No wonder... Mother and Father liked Lu Yu so much?
He truly possessed a kind of magic that could make craftsmen work desperately for him, and this stemmed from his understanding of craftsmanship and his respect for craftsmen.
It was precisely this magic that made people involuntarily intoxicated.
After a moment of reflection, Cao Mu was about to say something...
But at this moment...
"It's done, it's done..."
Suddenly, Dian Wei exclaimed, and then leaped up. At this point... all the craftsmen quickly gathered around.
Indeed, this time, under Dian Wei's temperature control, the reaction between the liquid wrought iron and the pig iron was excellent. Every part of the black pig iron was almost completely eroded and covered by the red liquid wrought iron...
Having forged steel for many days, the craftsmen could almost judge the results and hardness at a glance. And this time, the reaction of the Wubi iron was the most anticipated one in recent months.
A large amount of gas emerged from the furnace, much like boiling water... Soon, all the craftsmen cooperated, some responsible for temperature control, some for observation, and Dian Wei, relying on his experience, began to direct...
Gradually, the temperature was deliberately lowered. This was Dian Wei's experience; after the pig iron and wrought iron fused, they needed a certain time to solidify...
After the iron solidified, Dian Wei used tongs to take out a red, unidentifiable material from the furnace.
Seeing this scene... Lu Yu and Cao Mu were somewhat excited. Witnessing such a miraculous moment filled them with anticipation and imagination.
"This... this is already..." Cao Mu unconsciously spoke. She had too many questions, but with all the words in her heart, she didn't know where to start asking.
It was still the disadvantage of not understanding forging...
"Shh... don't disturb them." Lu Yu reminded her. At such critical moments, it was most important to keep Dian Wei and these craftsmen fully focused.
Stories of a thousand-li embankment being destroyed by an ant hole were not uncommon in history...
At this moment, after repeatedly observing the glowing, unidentifiable material, Dian Wei immediately commanded, "Quench..."
This was the final step, allowing the steel that had completed its oxidation reaction to cool down completely.
*Splash... splash, splash...*
Great buckets of water were poured onto the red, unidentifiable material. Lu Yu felt extremely nervous even from afar, but now... Dian Wei was ten times, a hundred times more nervous than him...
Only the final verification remained.
"Where's the hammer?" Dian Wei immediately asked.
"Here..." A craftsman picked up a hammer and handed it to Dian Wei.
"Another one!" Dian Wei tested the weight of the hammer and found it a bit light. With his strength, wielding them with both hands would be no problem.
Oh... indeed, the craftsmen were a little surprised, but... they still followed Dian Wei's instructions and handed over the other hammer, and then... came the continuous "clang, clang" sounds of forging...
An expert's touch reveals their skill. Lu Yu watched clearly as Dian Wei, wielding hammers in both hands, continuously forged this new material.
The formidable strength and intense impact were like a legendary forging divine skill—the Chaotic Wind Hammer technique!
Logically speaking, it was not easy for a normal person to lift even one hammer, yet Dian Wei simultaneously controlled two large hammers as if he were casually holding two little chicks, moving with incredible speed.
This made Lu Yu, who couldn't even carry a bag of rice to the fifth floor, extremely impressed.
Dian Wei seemed to be crafting a dagger, which was easier to make. For steel forging, the final result still needed verification, and using a dagger for verification was sufficient.
If a dagger forged from fine steel could not even shatter ordinary Wubi iron, then, looking at it, it would be a complete failure... The results of his painstaking efforts would be worthless.
"Dong dong!"
"Clang clang!"
Under the sky, the continuous sound of hammering echoed. Dian Wei was sweating profusely, and the sweat dripping from his body further accentuated his unique masculine charm.
Lu Yu watched silently, and Cao Mu was like an obedient little rabbit, not daring to breathe loudly.
However, at this moment, Cao Mu felt that all the education she had received over the years was useless. The knowledge she had learned from various great scholars had no value compared to what she was seeing before her eyes...
She suddenly understood why Lu Yu had said she was "half a bottle that rattles," hehe. Thinking about it now, it wasn't a mockery at all, perhaps even a compliment?
Half a bottle that rattles? Cao Mu felt she didn't even have half a bottle... So where could it rattle from?
She was convinced, completely convinced...
She admitted that Lu Yu was much more knowledgeable and learned than her, and his talent surpassed hers by a hundredfold, a thousandfold!
One hour;
Two hours;
Three hours... Not to mention breakfast, even lunchtime had passed. Lu Yu and Cao Mu were not only not hungry but were full of energy. They were too eager for the final result.
Finally, after a full four hours, Dian Wei finished forging. It was fortunate that he used both hammers simultaneously; otherwise... it would have taken at least another two or three hours.
"Here..."
Having just completed his "new creation," Dian Wei eagerly picked up the "fine steel dagger." The craftsmen beside him, understanding his intention, immediately fetched an iron sword to test the dagger's power.
Dian Wei, however, waved his hand. "Use a hammer! The hardest hammer used for forging!"
Ah... the craftsmen were stunned. The material of the hammer was stronger than ordinary spears and halberds. If the hammer collided with the iron dagger, the iron dagger would be instantly crushed into powder.
Did they really have to test it like this...
"It's fine, just use this... Come..." Dian Wei didn't dawdle and yelled again.
Seeing his determination, one of the craftsmen picked up a hammer. Both of them gathered all their strength and swung their arms...
Logically speaking, a dagger was not enough to unleash a person's full strength, but the hammer, coming from above, carried a force of thousands of pounds.
However, Dian Wei had a feeling that this steel dagger would surely succeed this time!
"Come..."
With another shout, as quick as lightning, the dagger and the heavy hammer collided. Because both had exerted their full force, sparks immediately flew from the collision of the dagger and the heavy hammer... Everyone's heart was hanging in their throats.
"What's the result?" Lu Yu muttered softly and instinctively took a step forward...
And at the same time, a shocking scene occurred. The heavy iron hammer was actually cracked with tiny fissures by the impact of the small dagger, "crack, crack..." This was the sound of Wubi iron cracking...
Then, with a "clanging" sound, the front corner of the entire iron hammer completely shattered from the blow of the dagger.
Although it was only a corner, ... the fact proved it. Success! Steel forging was successful!
"It's done..." Lu Yu leaped up three feet. All the money spent, all the Wubi iron consumed, all the effort expended, the steel was finally refined.
At this moment, Lu Yu was extremely excited. He really wanted to write a book called "How the Steel Was Tempered"!
In his excitement, he ran towards Dian Wei, while Cao Mu behind him seemed... not to have reacted yet, or rather, in her understanding, a dagger shattering a heavy hammer didn't seem like much. Was there a need to be so happy?
How could she know that this small steel dagger, in terms of sharpness, was already not inferior to her father's Yi Tian and Qing Gang swords...
She would know even less about what the completion of steel forging technology meant for the entire Long Xiao Cavalry, let alone the entire Cao Army.
As for what her father, Cao Cao, had claimed when he forged the Yi Tian and Qing Gang swords – that they were heavenly falling meteorites – that was all to fool people.
In reality, it was nothing more than a fortuitous coincidence...
The emergence of the Yi Tian Sword and the Qing Gang Sword was due to a fire in a forging workshop, and in the raging flames, two exceptionally hard pieces of Wubi iron were discovered. This also happened to be a coincidence that led to the fusion of pig iron and wrought iron.
If one were to truly compare their sharpness, even Yi Tian and Qing Gang would inevitably be inferior to this dagger made by Dian Wei.
At this moment, amidst his excitement, Dian Wei saw Lu Yu running towards him. He was slightly surprised at first, then lifted him up, appearing quite exhilarated.
"Young master Lu, it's done, I succeeded..."
"If I forge a pair of halberds with this fine steel, I will no longer fear that Lu Bu brat, hahaha... Even if Lu Bu has the advantage in horsemanship, with the power of divine weapons, I will surely be able to take his head!"
"Hahaha... Hahaha..."
Dian Wei was extremely excited and couldn't help but throw Lu Yu into the air...
After all, if it weren't for the idea provided by young master Lu Yu, where would he have found such an easy way to defeat Lu Bu?
Conversely, Lu Yu...
He finally understood why Dian Wei had forged with such desperation – it was to defeat Lu Bu! He was truly a stubborn obsession of an honest man!
Wait... what did Dian Wei just mention – "Even if Lu Bu has the advantage in horsemanship!"
Horsemanship?
Lu Yu pondered... Why should Dian Wei be slightly inferior to Lu Bu in horsemanship? Isn't this a very simple question?
If steel can be forged, then forging iron stirrups is surely a piece of cake? Effortless?
One must know that iron stirrups' contribution to horsemanship is no less than that of fine steel halberds to combat power...
*Hiss...* Thinking of this.
Suddenly, the scene materialized: Dian Wei, with his feet on the Wind Fire Wheels... ah, no, that's wrong, it's Dian Wei, standing on iron stirrups, holding fine steel twin halberds. This is incredible... The ancient evil spirit is no longer invincible in infantry combat, but is also about to become invincible in cavalry combat!
At this moment, Lu Yu wanted to shout across to Lu Bu –
– Student Lu Bu, please tell me, what the hell is called a surprise?
...
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