Three days later, each division followed orders and set out to be stationed in various counties.
Those sent to Yingtao County were Qu Yi and Gao Shun. The expanded three thousand Trap Camp Soldiers, three thousand crossbowmen, and First to Ascend Soldiers all accompanied them. In addition, the remaining Soldiers were also carefully selected elite troops.
It can be said that Zhang Chen's most elite troops were all here.
Before leaving, Zhang Chen specifically instructed the two of them that upon entering the city, they should immediately search for the Yellow Heaven Holy Sect party and ensure that the rebels did not have an opportunity to act.
After arranging everything, Zhang Chen went to the Heavenly Crafting Hall again.
He wanted to check the progress of the Yuan Crossbow production and whether Mr. Li and his son had forged the Mo Dao and Willow Leaf Armor.
If Zhang Ning and her party were indeed planning to act on the second day of the second lunar month, then these items must be ready before then.
There was only one month left, which was already very tight.
Zhang Chen first went to the Luban Hall, found Xu Yuan, and asked about the progress of the Yuan Crossbow production.
Upon entering, Zhang Chen saw everyone bustling with activity, some were making the crossbow bodies, some were installing the strings, some were carving the arrow grooves, truly like an assembly line in later generations.
"Lord," Xu Yuan saw Zhang Chen and quickly stepped forward to pay his respects, saying, "This old man pays his respects to Lord."
"Mr. Xu, there is no need for such courtesy," Zhang Chen said. "How has the production of the Yuan Crossbow progressed in the past few days?"
Xu Yuan smiled and said, "Lord is truly a divine person. Following the mass production method you described, in just a few days, we have already made over three thousand Yuan Crossbows. At this rate, it will not take half a month to meet the quantity Lord requires."
Zhang Chen was very pleased to hear this and immediately said, "Yes, we must not only ensure the quantity but also the quality. These are for the Soldiers to use in battle, and they are matters of life and death. We must not cut corners or produce defective products, do you understand?"
"Lord, please rest assured. This old man and these craftsmen understand the seriousness of this matter and will certainly not produce defective products to supply the Soldiers."
"That is good," Zhang Chen said. "Once the ten thousand Yuan Crossbows are made, immediately send them to the State Advisor's Office without delay."
"Lord, please rest assured, this old man has noted it," Xu Yuan said, then signaled the craftsmen to continue working.
Zhang Chen nodded and then went to the Forging Hall.
As soon as he entered, he felt a wave of heat wash over him, followed by a clanging sound from the inner room.
Men with bare arms kept coming in and out. Zhang Chen was about to go inside when he was stopped by someone who said, "Hey, hey, hey, who are you? Do you know where this is? The Forging Hall is an important place, outsiders are not allowed to trespass!"
"Young man, I'm looking for your supervisor. Please inform him."
Unexpectedly, the man raised his eyebrows, sized up Zhang Chen, and said, "Who are you? Our supervisor is in seclusion, researching new equipment, and does not see outsiders. Hurry up and leave!"
"How dare you! You, you... you are presumptuous!" Just as he was speaking, Li Ye happened to walk out of the inner room. Seeing this scene, he was startled and quickly shouted at the man to retreat, "You blind dog! This is the Prefect! Who gave you the guts to speak to Lord like that!"
The man was also startled to hear this and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
"Lord, please forgive me! Lord, please forgive me!"
Li Ye also bowed to Zhang Chen, saying, "I did not know Lord was coming, and I failed to welcome you. My subordinates have not seen Lord before and have offended you greatly. I hope Lord will forgive them."
"Ah, ignorance is no fault. You may withdraw."
The man felt as if he had been granted a great pardon, quickly kowtowed in thanks, and withdrew.
Zhang Chen then asked, "Mr. Li, how is the matter progressing?"
"Lord, please follow me," Li Ye said respectfully, and then led Zhang Chen into the inner room.
Upon entering the inner room, Zhang Chen saw everyone busy. Li Ye immediately ordered everyone to stop what they were doing and then introduced Zhang Chen to everyone.
When everyone heard that the young man before them was actually the Prefect, they were all greatly surprised and quickly knelt down and kowtowed one after another.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen immediately told everyone to dispense with the formalities, saying, "Everyone, there is no need for such courtesy. You are all excellent craftsmen of my Ji Province. Perhaps in the eyes of others, craftsmen are skilled in trivial and vulgar crafts and cannot be presented in public. But here, you are all rare treasures. Whether it is farming tools, weapons, or armor, none of them can be made without your exquisite skills. The future development of my Ji Province still requires your strong support. Zifan is here, and I thank you in advance!"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he bowed to everyone.
"Lord, you are too kind, you are humbling us," everyone kowtowed one after another.
"Everyone, dispense with the formalities and go back to your work."
After saying that, everyone bowed again, got up, and went back to their work.
Li Ye then said to Zhang Chen, "Lord, please come this way."
Saying this, Zhang Chen followed Li Ye to a door nearby, which led to another inner room.
Upon entering, he saw Li Ju and a woman in the room. In front of them, there was a large part of an armor that was almost completed, which was indeed the appearance of the Willow Leaf Armor.
The woman was holding armor plates and carefully weaving them together.
"Ju'er, Wanniang, why haven't you paid your respects to Lord?"
After Li Ye said this, the two looked up and saw Zhang Chen walk in. Li Ju quickly pulled the woman forward to bow, saying, "This humble one, Li Ju, pays his respects to Lord."
"This humble woman, Mrs. Li, pays her respects to Lord."
"There is no need for such courtesy," Zhang Chen said. "I came here to see how the 'Mo Dao' and 'Willow Leaf Armor' are progressing."
As Zhang Chen spoke, he strolled to the table, looked at the almost completed armor and the dozens of scattered armor plates beside it, and said, "It seems you have made considerable progress?"
Li Ju walked to the side, picked up a long saber about ten feet wide, and said, "Lord, this is the 'Mo Dao' forged according to your design."
Zhang Chen took the Mo Dao and weighed it slightly, feeling that it weighed about twenty catties.
He had Heavenly Strength, so this weight was as light as nothing in his hands.
Zhang Chen examined it carefully and saw that the entire blade was about ten feet long, the handle was about seven feet long and made of hard jujube wood, the blade was three feet long, made of damascus steel, double-edged, and emitted a chilling light.
It was indeed exactly the same as the "Mo Dao" recorded in historical materials.
However, he wondered about its power?
"Hmm, not bad, the appearance is correct, but I wonder about its power. Have you tested it?"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Someone, bring up the 'Blade Testing Stone'!"
Soon, four strong men carried in a stone that looked like a miniature mountain, about half a person's height.
The four men put the stone on the ground, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, and then withdrew.
"Lord, please," Li Ye stroked his beard and smiled slightly.
Zhang Chen stepped forward, held the saber in his right hand, exerted all his martial strength, and slashed down with one stroke.
Dust billowed, and in the next second, the enormous "Blade Testing Stone" was actually split in half!
Everyone present was shocked.
Zhang Chen looked at the Blade Testing Stone that had been split in half, and then at the blade. This time, the blade was neither chipped nor rolled, and was as good as new.
"Good saber!" Zhang Chen was in a good mood and immediately praised, "If every Halberdier in my Trap Camp is equipped with this saber, then they will be invincible and unmatched in the world!"
Li Ye bowed and said, "Lord's divine strength is unparalleled. To be able to split a stone in half with one hand is truly an eye-opener for this old man, an eye-opener!"
"You have done very well in this matter, and this official will certainly reward you handsomely," Zhang Chen said happily. "As for the 'Willow Leaf Armor', I see it is also nearing completion?"
Li Ju said, "Lord, these armor plates were forged by this humble one, and as for weaving them into armor, that was done by my wife."
After saying this, Mrs. Li, who was standing nearby, also said, "Lord, please wait a moment. This humble woman can complete this armor in just half an hour."