"I plan to establish a blacksmith shop within our military camp!"
"General Cao needs to select fifty trustworthy and strong armored soldiers from among the brothers to join this blacksmith shop!"
As he spoke, Lu Yu laid out the 'Tool Designs' he had already drawn on the table.
Cao Xiu frowned, carefully examining these drawings.
Among them were designs resembling fishing nets, others like hoes, and also shovels commonly used by farmers...
But, upon closer inspection, these designs had subtle differences and variations from fishing nets, hoes, and shovels.
What is this?
Instantly, a trace of doubt arose in Cao Xiu's heart.
"These are tools needed to improve the efficiency of tomb raiding," Lu Yu's words followed, and he pointed to these drawings one by one. "This is called an iron crowbar. General Cao has often mentioned a problem recently: when raiding tombs, some heavy stone doors in the tombs are exceptionally sturdy and difficult to pry open. This is why many treasures hidden in burial chambers remain inaccessible."
"However, with this iron crowbar, it will be different. This iron crowbar is made of the finest Damascus steel. As long as you can find a gap in the tomb door, insert the iron crowbar, and it will be enough to pry open the heavy stone door."
"In addition, by inserting the iron crowbar into the soil, one can simply determine whether the earth beneath is brick or soil, which facilitates a basic survey of the tomb's location and extent."
Although Lu Yu spoke a lot...
It was actually quite concise.
If one were to explain it in detail, prying open a stone door involves the principle of leverage.
With the knowledge that a single fulcrum can move the Earth, Lu Yu, given a blackboard, could lecture Cao Xiu all day.
...Cao Xiu listened, utterly bewildered. This theoretical knowledge was not the forte of this "swift steed."
Regardless of whether Lu Yu's explanations were understandable, in short... the only word to describe it was "awesome"!
After explaining the iron crowbar, Lu Yu then introduced other tools such as the "Luoyang shovel," "flying tiger claw," and "centipede climbing ladder" one by one.
Of course, with Cao Xiu's intellect, it was impossible to fully grasp... true understanding would come from practice!
However, Cao Xiu did raise a new question.
"Young Master Lu, for ordinary forging, hiring famous artisans from Yan Province would suffice. Why must we build our own 'blacksmith shop' and even assign fifty brothers?"
It was not surprising that Cao Xiu asked this...
After all, his subordinates were the most elite cavalry in Cao's army.
They were now even honored with the title "Dragon Cavalry." If it were for tomb raiding and extraction, needing to assign a hundred or so men to increase military resources, it could be considered justifiable...
But... forging some iron tools? Why bother?
The brothers ate their fill every day... they were waiting to fight and bleed for Young Master Lu on the battlefield, not to be mere artisans in logistics. The young men of Qiao Pei feared no death.
However, how could Cao Xiu understand Lu Yu's intentions?
To give a simple example, when Lu Yu was in college before his transmigration, he collaborated with a friend to create an App.
After testing, the response was very good. He thought they were about to make a fortune, but to his surprise, in just half a month, a "certain Antarctic animal company" released a very similar App and then crushed Lu Yu's venture into nothingness with overwhelming traffic.
It was precisely for this reason that the fear of being "copied" accompanied Lu Yu throughout his college career. The saying "follow the trend and kill the original" roughly captures this principle.
Arriving in ancient times, although the intense competition was not as severe, one had to be wary of being copied and imitated!
The "Luoyang shovel," "flying tiger claw," and "centipede climbing ladder," these tomb-raiding tools, must be produced from their own blacksmith shop, used by brothers they trusted, with each person equipped with sufficient tools. Every tool had to be bound to its user, so that the designs and tools would not be leaked, naturally preventing other warlords from having the opportunity to "copy the homework."
Of course, Cao Xiu would find this even harder to understand than...
So, Lu Yu patted him on the shoulder. "General Cao, just listen to me. This has a hundred benefits and no harm! In the future, these brothers from the blacksmith shop will likely have more opportunities for promotion and wealth..."
This...
Cao Xiu hesitated, then murmured, "I'm afraid... it will be difficult to choose people! After all, who wouldn't want to achieve merit on the battlefield and bring glory to their family name..."
Oh... is that so!
Lu Yu's eyes rolled. After a moment of thought, his gaze quickly settled.
"This is simple. Whoever is willing to join the blacksmith shop will receive double the salary! If we still can't get enough people, then the salary will be tripled. If that's still not enough, then quadrupled, quintupled, sextupled, septupled... we're not short of this much anyway!"
The daily wages for soldiers in the Han Dynasty were extremely low... even several times that amount wouldn't cost much. For Lu Yu now, it was just pocket change...
Uh... Cao Xiu listened, completely dumbfounded.
Indeed, he was inhumanly wealthy. He could suddenly understand a little bit of the joy of rich people.
"Alright... alright!" Cao Xiu agreed.
In this chaotic era, as long as you have money, no, as long as you have grain, let alone one blacksmith shop, you could open ten or a hundred blacksmith shops without any problem!
"General Cao," Lu Yu patted his shoulder again, speaking earnestly. "Now, we don't lack money. Don't be stingy wherever money is needed! For the brothers' salaries, if you can pay more, don't hide it... As the saying goes, if you want the horse to run, you must let it eat tender grass."
"By the way..." Lu Yu suddenly remembered something. "General Cao Xiu seems to have an elderly mother still in Wu territory. Now that Yan Province is stable, why not bring her here? Our Great Han governs with filial piety. Confucius said something about... 'A son wishes to support his parents, but they are not there.' General Cao might as well go to the granary and get some grain... and also buy a large house for Auntie in Chenliu Commandery to enjoy her twilight years!"
This...
Lu Yu's mention of acquiring a house for his mother immediately brought tears to Cao Xiu's eyes. At this moment, Cao Xiu almost wanted to cry.
One must know that this "swift steed" was a great filial son!
In the first year of Chuping, the Cao clan scattered and left their villages.
At that time, Cao Xiu was over ten years old and had just lost his father. He carried his father's coffin alone... rented a burial ground, and buried his father.
Then... he took his elderly mother across the river to take refuge in Wu territory and was sheltered by the Prefect of Wu Commandery.
During his stay at the Prefect's residence, Cao Xiu saw a portrait of his grandfather, "Cao Ding," hanging on the wall. He wept uncontrollably, and in an instant... Cao Xiu's reputation for filial piety spread throughout every corner of Wu territory!
When Cao Cao raised his army in Chenliu, Cao Xiu rushed to join him from afar. His only worry and concern was his mother, who was still in Wu territory.
This time, hearing Lu Yu say... that he wanted him to bring his mother back, and also to fetch grain to buy a house for his mother, how could Cao Xiu's heart not be moved by this kindness?
"Young Master Lu... please... please accept this bow from Xiu!" Cao Xiu immediately knelt down...
This action truly startled Lu Yu. Lu Yu hadn't thought that much about it. It was mainly because he was too rich, and the casual words he spoke were truly "pocket change"... he hadn't even considered offering a favor.
He quickly helped Cao Xiu up.
"It's a small matter, a small matter... Since Auntie is also my mother, General Cao, please don't take it to heart."
"I will repay Young Master Lu's kindness with my life, and I can never thank you enough!" Cao Xiu still kowtowed, then stood up.
Uh... Lu Yu felt a bit awkward.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, he simply said, "Alas... I envy General Cao so much. If it weren't for my accursed father, I imagine... my mother would still be alive today! Alas... I won't say any more, I won't say any more..."
"Young Master Lu..." Hearing this... Cao Xiu's expression suddenly became extremely solemn. He clasped his hands and said, "If, one day, Young Master Lu finds his father, no matter who he is, as long as Young Master Lu gives the order, Xiu will definitely strike hard and give him a good beating on behalf of Young Master Lu! Let Young Master Lu vent his anger!"
As soon as these words were spoken.
"Achoo..." Cao Cao, far away in the yamen, suddenly sneezed. He had an inexplicable feeling that... someone wanted to beat him!
Cao Cao's brow furrowed...
Who the hell has such audacity? Doesn't he want to live?
...
...