The next step is polishing. The grinding of high-end knives can be called an art. There are countless types of smooth grinding stones. A piece of high-quality bluestone is worth several kilograms, and it lasts as long as three months. It is really slow work and careful work.

.

The Erlin Department only has grinders and belt sanders shipped from Meishan, so it can only produce practical tools.

However, today is a test of steel quality, so there is no need to be too particular about it.

Soon, an unpretentious long knife with a hemp oak handle was ready.

This sword is far from being comparable to the three or four-foot thin knives in various countries today. It is actually five feet long. The sword is three feet and eight inches long, and the handle is one foot and two inches. It combines the characteristics of two weapons, the sword and the gun. It can be used as a gun.

It can be used as a knife.

Atun Chizun felt itchy when he saw it: "This is a two-handed sword! I'll do it!"

Shi Tong erected six wet straw mats. Adun Chizun made two gestures with his long knife, suddenly raised it, shouted "Hey!", smashed the knife with his body, and turned with the person, using the strength of his waist and back to cut it.

The long knife was swung out.

A sword-like light flashed like snow, and six rows of straw mats were cut diagonally into six sections from the upper right to the lower left, as if they were torn apart.

"Good skills! Good equipment!"

Chen Zhen and Chao Gu were both experts, and they immediately cheered loudly.

Next, they tried to wet the thick straw rope and poked the multiple layers of cowhide. Everyone got excited and started to play. Atun Chizun directly hung half a cow with a rope on the branch of a big tree, and everyone took turns to chop it up.

The cook will have trouble tonight.

After half the cow was cut into eight pieces, Adun Trizun wiped the blade clean with a silk handkerchief and inspected the edge.

Under the beautiful cloud-like burning blade pattern, the side of the blade shimmered with cold light, and there was not a single bright line visible on the front, indicating that after everyone slashed wildly, the blade was not damaged at all.

Su You was also very convinced, this was a great way to keep things going.

High manganese steel has a hardness of 55 to 60, but whether it is hard or hard depends on the level of heat treatment performed by the knifemaker.

The Shi family's sword-making skills were undoubtedly the best in the Song Dynasty.

With first-class materials and first-class craftsmanship, Su You estimated that the hardness of the blade's edge must be over sixty.

Atunmi asked: "What kind of knife is this? Have any of you seen it before?"

Su You said: "This is a temporary design based on steel, focusing on both hands. The blade is slender and straight, just like a He Miao. It has no name, so let's just call it Miao Dao."

Chen Zhen's eyes were so hot: "Mingrun, just pay for this..."

Seeing that the baby protected him all the way, and that the pretentious sword on the West Temple Tower saved everyone by accident, Su You gritted his teeth and stamped his feet: "The cost price is one thousand guan!"

Chen Zhen is always a man who is not short of money, and this trip to Dali has made him even more rich. Why does he care about this: "I will give you three thousand coins! Give me two! I will give one to Yuan Xiu!"

"Ah? Oops, I can't do it!" Chaogu was born into a farmer's family. After his trip to Dali, he could be said to have become well-off, but he still didn't have the arrogance of spending a fortune like Chen's prodigal son.

"Deal!" Chen Dayanggu was so generous, but Su You was embarrassed to trick him too much: "Let's get a simple suit for fun first. When we get back to Meishan, we will let you polish it with big stones. Two sets of sword suits are included.

On my body."

The high cost is not nonsense, the main reason is the materials. This thing uses Dali iron and Erlin manganese. In addition to the price itself, the process is much more complicated than ordinary smelting. The labor required for a pot of molten steel is several times that of ordinary methods.

Just relying on the craftsmanship of the Erlin Department, this thing wouldn't fetch a good price even if it were brought to the Song Dynasty.

So it’s time to talk business. If we only import manganese materials and use Meishan iron to make manganese steel, the quality will definitely be lower than Dali iron.

Therefore, the two families agreed that the Shi family would also open an ironworks here, the Erlin Department would be responsible for purchasing iron materials, and the Shi family would be responsible for smelting manganese and making knives.

The best part of the finished product went to the Shi family and was sent to Meishan as ordinary goods. Then it was refined and made into high-end luxury goods such as the Dali sword for sale in the Song Dynasty.

This is a huge profit. In return, most of the remaining common products belong to the Erlin Department. In addition to selling them, they are mainly used to enrich their own military force.

Next, Su You went to Xianggao Xiaogao to show his face. As an investor, he explored coal and iron mines in the Anning River mouth area, striving for joint production and reducing costs.

The Jianchang Prefecture will be handled by Xiao Gao Xianggong, and the surrounding tribes will be handled by the Erlin Department. This move can increase Dali's steel production, and I believe Xiao Gao Xianggong has no reason not to agree.

In the evening, Mr. Fan and Su You sat in the study room, deducing the consequences of the development of the matter.

First of all, there must be coal and iron. Su You was very confident about this. In later generations, Panzhihua mostly had open-pit mines, and the reserves were extremely rich. It was only a matter of time before they were found.

After finding it, will Dali fall out?

Given the friendship between Su You and Mr. Xiao Gao, the deterrence of the Erlin Department in the north, and more importantly, the significant common interests, it should not be possible.

Article 3: Will the Erlin Department collude with Dali?

First of all, the Erlin Department is the Jixi Prefecture of the Song Dynasty. If it colludes with Dali, it will be treason. Nong Zhigao’s end is not far away. Secondly, Mr. Fan has guided Atun Chizun for decades, and Su You has guided Atun Mi.

The influence, and equally more important, the economic relationship has made the Erlin Department and Meishan become grasshoppers on a rope. The Yi people are not fools, and they will let such a huge profit go.

After analyzing it all night, Mr. Fan said to Su You: "This matter is very promising, and it will also benefit all parties. It is the best plan to go with the flow and achieve great results without any effort."

Su You nodded: "After the production increases in the future, we will ask the Erlin Department to sell more swords to the Song Dynasty. Even if they are common products, they will be much better than those in the army, right?"

Mr. Fan smiled and said: "You are overthinking. How much can the sword be sold to Dali? How much can it be sold to the surrounding tribes? How much can it be sold to the Song Dynasty?"

Su You slapped his forehead: "Hey! I'm really confused. I forgot that the Song Dynasty is the biggest demander! It seems it's time to go to bed."

In the next few days, the craftsmen of the Erlin Department learned how to windmill and began to search for terrain to build.

Shi Tong led the tying and casting belts to forge, and produced a batch of swords. The nobles of the Erlin tribe, military leaders, and Chen Zuchaogu all got one.

Even Adun Yuanzhen and Su You each made a shorter one. Adun Yuanzhen was so excited that he took Su You to show off his power to the mushrooms in the mountains and valleys every day.

There are so many mushrooms in the mountains and valleys. The locals currently only dare to eat chicken fir, and stay away from other varieties such as beef liver and sheep tripe.

Because those mushrooms can be poisonous if not handled properly, and at the same time, you can’t finish eating chicken and pineapples alone, so there is no need to eat those mushrooms.

Su You is not afraid, but the people in the Erlin tribe think it is not delicious because there is less oil in the dish. If you change the method, it will be the most delicious dish in the world in Su You's mind.

Stewed in oil, braised in braise, soup pot... Su You was so beautiful, I felt that Erlin was really God's most favored child.

After seeing the copper mines and smelting pits, Su You and his party should have embarked on the road back to Meishan.

However, Azun Chizun refused to let them go. There was a big festival coming soon in the valley and grassland. In any case, Su You and his party had to stay behind until the festival was over before leaving.

The name of the festival is "Kus", which means New Year. It is celebrated on the day after the crops are harvested and celebrated for three days.

Luolan, Wudeng, Fengma, Fengpa, Bacui... The surrounding tribes, large and small, all drove their cattle, sheep, mules and horses to the grassland at the foot of Erlinbu Mountain. The farthest Huazhubu even came from Shanchan Prefecture.

Not far to the west.

Sometimes Su You wonders what kind of existence the Erlin Department is.

The boundary between Dali and the Song Dynasty is somewhat blurred, and there are a large number of southwestern Yi tribes between the two.

Sometimes these tribes turned to the Song Dynasty, sometimes to the Dali, and more often than not, neither side was too lazy to manage them and allowed them to fend for themselves.

It seems that the officials in power have never set their sights on this and do not know how to take precautions. They do not seem to know what the wolf king who has struggled in such an environment will be like once he rules the group.

Or maybe they each have a bad debt and are too worried to deal with it.

There are more and more tribal representatives on the grassland. At night, you can see the lights and hear the joyful singing all night long.

Atun Chizun led Atunlie and Atunmi, and sometimes called Shang Yuanzhen, to shuttle among the tents of various tribes. It was really like the situation when later generations of big men participated in group discussions at a congress.

Atun Chizun has long been adept at winning the support of the overwhelming majority and reaching consensus on conference issues in advance.
Chapter completed!