Starting as a centurion, he fought his way through the chaos of the world.

Chapter 20 Visiting Relatives
Let's go check out the blacksmith's shop!

Just after stepping out of the courtyard, Lu Ming thought of something and decided he should go to the blacksmith's shop.

Let's see if the other party can forge the Mo Dao (陌刀).

If that doesn't work, he'll have to find someone else. Anyway, he's going to the prefectural city, where there should be plenty of talented people.

How skilled are the blacksmiths in our town?

As he walked, Lu Ming turned back and said.

Zhang Meng looked up in surprise and asked, "Don't you know, sir?"

Then, seeing Lu Ming's surprised expression, he quickly continued, "Our Fenglei Town is famous for its iron mines, so the blacksmiths in the town are incredibly skilled. They were even conscripted by the army in the past. There's nothing they can't forge!"

Zhang Meng's words made Lu Ming nod.

A moment later, the two arrived outside the blacksmith's shop and saw the furnace glowing red.

The blacksmith and his apprentices were busy at work.

Upon seeing Lu Ming approaching, he quickly hunched over and greeted him, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

"Don't stand on ceremony. I have a blueprint here. See if the weapons on it can be used. If they can, you can work in the Thousand Household Office. I'll build you a large workshop, and you can set your own salary."

As he spoke, he handed a blueprint to the blacksmith.

Actually, regardless of whether the blacksmith is capable or not, once he has seen the blueprints, he will be working at the Thousand Household Office from now on.

He would never allow such a sharp weapon as the Mo Dao to be passed down.

"Exquisite craftsmanship! The blade's edge has been crafted in such a way; truly a fine blade, a fine blade indeed!"

The blacksmith muttered to himself.

After a moment, he raised his head, his cloudy eyes flashing with excitement. "Sir, do you want this knife made? I dare say that in the entire Black Mountain County, no one but me can forge it. If you entrust it to me forging, there will definitely be no problem."

"Alright, since you've agreed, then come with me tomorrow—no, right now—to the Thousand Household Office to choose a place for you to use in the future!"

Lu Ming said with a smile.

Once the Mo Dao soldiers are assembled, they will have a place in this area.

Even if it were the Black Mountain Army, he would dare to provoke them if the enemy didn't send out their entire force.

"Yes, sir."

The blacksmith wiped his hands on his apron and followed Lu Ming toward the Zhang family's manor.

On the way, he turned around and asked, "How much did this Mo Dao (陌刀) cost?"

"Sir, the Mo Dao is made of diamond steel. We don't have this in Fenglei Town. We have to buy it from the Baili family in the prefectural city. They have bought up almost all the iron in Hongdu Prefecture. After taking it back, they process it into diamond steel."

A knife needs to be mixed with a pound of diamond, and a pound of diamond costs a hundred taels of silver.

"I wonder how many you intend to make?"

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow. A single sword costs a hundred taels of silver, so a thousand swords would cost a hundred thousand taels of silver. Sure enough, the swords confiscated from the Zhang family were just enough to forge the Mo swords.

However, the Mo Dao Army must be established regardless.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Make a thousand first. I'll take care of the steel."

I see. This time, besides visiting my wife's parents, I also have to go to Baili's house.

As they spoke, the group arrived outside the Zhang family's manor.

"Wow, how impressive!"

Lu Ming was amazed.

The walls of the Zhang family manor were five meters high and two meters wide, with crenellations on top and an arrow tower at each of the four corners.

This isn't a manor, it's practically a castle.

It's fortunate that the Zhang family didn't expect to turn the tide. If they had been hiding here, although they could have broken through, they would have suffered many casualties.

Lu Ming walked inside.

In front of this manor, there is even a martial arts training ground, which can probably accommodate thousands of people.

The house was surrounded by neat houses on all four sides, which must have been for the servants to live in.

Behind that were a series of interconnected courtyards, more than a dozen of them pieced together.

Further on was the garden, and in the garden was a row of houses, which were probably left to Zhang family head by himself.

After inspecting the yard, Lu Ming looked at Zhang Meng and said, "Let all the brothers move in today."

The houses in front of the training ground are enough for my men to live in.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Meng replied hastily. Then, Lu Ming turned to the blacksmith beside him and asked, "Where do you think would be a suitable place to build the workshop?"

"My lord, I'm planning to build one on the open space outside the manor. What do you think?"

The blacksmith said cautiously.

Lu Ming naturally wouldn't refuse, nodding and saying, "Alright, let's do it outside the manor then. You can decide how to build it yourself, and you can withdraw the money from the accounting office as needed."

"Yes, sir."

After everything was arranged, Lu Ming, led by Zhang Meng, entered the manor's main hall.

Inside, there were boxes everywhere, and an accountant was tallying up the amount of silver.

"Sir, the accountant said that judging from the current situation, there are probably more than 100,000 taels of silver hidden here," Zhang Meng said with a smile.

Lu Ming nodded.

There's a lot of this stuff.

"Let's seal them all away."

Not only do we need to forge the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword), but we also need to quickly prepare the body-tempering soup so that our subordinates can increase their strength.

All of these require a lot of hard-earned money.

None of them can be missing.

After Lu Ming gave the order, Zhang Meng quickly replied, "Yes, sir."

After finishing these tasks, Lu Ming went home.

Today, I finally have nothing else to do, so naturally I should spend time with my wife.

Apart from the two maids, there was no one else in the courtyard.

After his cultivation breakthrough, and even after the Zhang family was wiped out, he faced no real danger.

Therefore, there is no need to send anyone to guard this courtyard now.

After returning from the capital city, he planned to move into the manor with his wife, where the environment would be better.

The next morning, Lu Ming handed over the training manual he had redeemed from the system to Zheng Yong, instructing him to have people practice it over the next few days.

He pulled up a horse-drawn carriage, bought some local specialties in Fenglei Town, and then personally drove the carriage towards the prefectural city.

Along the way, they saw many refugees, and some people even wanted to take advantage of Lu Ming.

However, he easily solved them all.

Several days later, we finally arrived at the prefectural city again. It was still bustling, with towering city walls that were dozens of meters high and covered with marks from swords and axes.

Large numbers of people were coming and going at the city gate.

Neatly arranged shops lined both sides of the street, and the crowds were bustling about.

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares could be heard from time to time.

After Lu Ming drove into the city.

They headed straight for the Li family's house, which was bustling with activity that day.

Guests from all over flocked to the event.

Some of his friends from the shopping mall even came to show their support.

Because the youngest daughter of the Li family is getting engaged today.

Li Xirou has eight siblings: five older brothers and two younger sisters.

When I arrived at the Li family's gate, I saw the red silk hanging on the courtyard wall, the guests coming and going, and the happy smiles of the Li family members.

Lu Ming was a little puzzled, so he pulled a passerby aside and asked, "Brother, is there some happy occasion at the Li family today?"

"You're not from the prefectural city, are you? Don't you know this? The second daughter of the Li family is getting engaged today. I heard that the groom is a centurion in the city guard, and his father is a Blood Feather Captain in Hongdu Prefecture, in charge of nearly five thousand people. He's a very famous figure in our Hongdu Prefecture!"

After the passerby finished speaking, he looked at the Li family with envy.

They're already rich, and now that they've connected with the son of the prefectural commander, they're likely to become even more powerful.

Lu Ming nodded and said nothing more.

After securing the carriage, he helped his wife down.

He pulled the other person along and walked towards the Li residence.

(End of this chapter)