Chapter 46: Gan Jiang and Mo Ye
How could Qingji not know about the Longyuan Sword?
The Longyuan Sword, also known as the Longquan Sword and the Seven-Star Longquan Sword, is one of the ten famous swords in ancient times and a sword of integrity and nobility.
Legend has it that it was forged by two great swordsmen, Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang!
Qingji never thought that he would see this legendary sword here!
"Bring forth the sword, so that I may have a look."
Qingji immediately calmed himself down and said in a calm manner.
Gan Jiang did not dare to delay and stood up to present the Longyuan Sword to Qingji. However, he was stopped by the guard general Xiong Zidan, so the Longyuan Sword had to be presented to Qingji by the latter.
Qingji didn't trust Gan Jiang, after all, Helu was extremely insidious and cunning!
What if Gan Jiang and Mo Ye were really assassins sent by He Lu? With Qing Ji's own powerful martial arts, he would not be afraid. But how would Qing Ji treat Gan Jiang and Mo Ye at that time?
It is worth mentioning that Qingji had promoted Xiong Zidan to the position of General of the Guards, the commander-in-chief of the guard camp, an official position similar to that of Langzhongling.
Now, the Wu State has reformed its official system and military system, but it has not been fully popularized and implemented, simply because there are too few wise and capable people in the Wu State, and many talents are not qualified for their positions!
In this case, how could Qingji be confident in entrusting important tasks to the ministers and officials?
As for Xiong Zidan, Qingji trusted him very much.
Because Xiong Zidan was brave, strategic, both civil and military, and alone, he would naturally hang himself on Qingji's chariot and share weal and woe with him no matter what.
After taking the Longyuan Sword handed over by Xiong Zidan, Qingji drew the sword from its sheath and examined it carefully.
The Longyuan Sword is worthy of being one of the ten famous swords in ancient times. Its sword body is dark and deep. Through the sword light, Qingji can vaguely see the coldness flashing from the blade of the Longyuan Sword, a bone-chilling coldness!
Qingji was convinced that this was indeed a sword that could cut through iron like mud.
"Your Majesty, you can give it a try."
Gan Jiang whispered at the right time.
Qingji nodded slightly, then pulled out a sharp bronze sword from the waist of a guard on the side, held the Longyuan sword across his body, and then swung the sword down suddenly!
"clang!"
The ordinary bronze sword hit the Longyuan Sword and broke with a sound.
Look at the Longyuan Sword again, it is intact, not to mention any cracks or grooves, there is not even a trace of damage!
Qingji couldn't help but sigh: "It's really a magical weapon!"
"Gan Jiang, you were able to forge this sword with Ou Yezi and present it to me. Your contribution is invaluable. What reward do you want?"
After saying this, Qingji looked at Gan Jiang, who was bowing to him, with a meaningful look.
His eyes seemed to be able to look straight into people's hearts, as if he could see through Gan Jiang's entire person!
In fact, it is true.
From Gan Jiang's words and deeds, it was not difficult for Qingji to see that Gan Jiang was a person who pursued fame and fortune.
When the talented general introduced himself just now, he also mentioned his father-in-law Ou Yezi, which shows what kind of person he is!
This was because Gan Jiang and Moye were still too young and not well-known at that time, while Ou Yezi had been famous for a long time and was a well-known sword-making master in the Jiangnan area.
Even many noble kings in the Central Plains knew the name of Ou Yezi and wanted to ask him to forge swords for them!
Gan Jiang announced Ou Yezi's name, no doubt in an attempt to raise his own status and make King Qingji of Wu look at him with a higher regard.
"Reporting to the king, I offer my sword and dare not ask for any reward. I hope that I can stay in Wudu in the future and serve the king and the Wu Kingdom!"
Gan Jiang does not want any reward, but what he wants is an official position!
He presented the sword to King Qingji of Wu in order to get an official position!
At this moment, Gan Jiang's wife Moye, seeing her husband so shamelessly begging for fame and fortune, could not help but turn her head away, a look of sadness appearing on her face.
How could her husband be such a profit-seeking person?
Qingji didn't care much, and said with a smile: "Gan Jiang, your concern for me and the Wu Kingdom is obvious enough. I wonder if you have any other talents besides sword-making?"
Since Gan Jiang wanted an official position, Qingji might as well satisfy his request.
Now he is lacking a supporting role worth a fortune, and Gan Jiang is undoubtedly the best candidate!
Swordsmith is a relatively "lowly" profession, a kind of craftsman, not worthy of being in a high-class place.
In the feudal era, there was a strict social class division, with different statuses for scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.
In this era, class divisions are even more strict, and people like craftsmen are basically unknown and rarely valued by the world!
Gan Jiang's sword-making skills were inherited from Ou Yezi, who was famous and well-known among the princes, and was highly respected. His ability was naturally beyond doubt.
However, Gan Jiang, who only knew how to forge swords, could only be rewarded with a hundred gold coins at most, or be appointed as an insignificant low-ranking official, even if he presented the Longyuan sword to King Qingji of Wu!
Gan Jiang was obviously aware of this, so he suppressed his inner ecstasy and said hurriedly: "Reporting to the king, in addition to being good at sword-making, I am also proficient in plate-building and arithmetic."
Banzhu is a technique for building walls.
Fu Yue, a wise minister in the Shang Dynasty, started out as a builder!
Hearing that Gan Jiang was also proficient in plate building and arithmetic, Qingji couldn't help but nod slightly.
He was about to reply to Gan Jiang, but Moye beside him couldn't help but ask, "My dear, what kind of block-building arithmetic are you proficient in?"
"My husband's bricklaying is nothing more than a few months of work as a bricklayer in Kuaiji Mountain. My arithmetic is nothing more than a few years of study with my father !"
"What is mastery?"
No one knows a husband better than his wife!
Moye's angry response to Gan Jiang was enough to prove that Gan Jiang had no real talent in the art of planchette construction and arithmetic.
Moye could only shed tears in secret for such a quick success-seeking general!
Gan Jiang has already committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!
If Qingji entrusted Gan Jiang with an important task someday and the latter was unable to deliver on the task, wouldn't that be courting disaster?
For this reason, Moye must take precautions before it happens and completely interrupt Gan Jiang's idea of seeking an official position!
"you!"
Gan Jiang was so angry that he pointed at the righteous Moye and was speechless for a moment.
Terrible husband!
It’s a pitfall for the husband!
Is there anyone in the world who would harm her husband like Moye?
However, Qingji just smiled and said nothing.
"Your Majesty, these are my careless words. Please don't take them to heart!"
Gan Jiang was afraid of being punished by Qingji, so he quickly lowered his head to explain.
"Haha, Gan Jiang, do you know what crime you just committed? The crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Qingji suddenly put on a cold and slightly stern face and said, "In Wu, the crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by fifty strokes of the cane or demotion to slavery. In serious cases, the punishment is death or the whole family will be executed!"
"Your Majesty, I know my crime!"
With a "thump", the frightened Gan Jiang knelt down quickly with a look of regret on his face.
Moye, who was standing aside, also knelt on the ground, begging Qingji to let her husband go and not to punish him more severely !
Qingji said indifferently: "Gan Jiang, how do you think I should deal with you?"
