New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

To facilitate communication between the two sides, Xiao Li asked the quartermaster to summon a blacksmith who could speak the Song language. The quartermaster, with a full beard, took the order and left, returning soon after. Behind him was a robust middle-aged man with a slightly apprehensive expression.

Hearing that he was to meet a nobleman from the Jin Dynasty, the blacksmith was already somewhat uneasy. After listening to Tang Qian's detailed account, which included both words and gestures, the blacksmith trembled involuntarily, whether from the biting cold wind or the terrifying nature of Tang's words. He turned to his superior and said, "The materials this young master requests seem rather..."

To forge what Tang Qian described, at least ten catties of pig iron would be needed, enough material for three forged steel knives. It must be known that we are currently in the midst of the Jin-Liao War, and such military supplies are strictly inspected. Even if one or two ounces of iron ore are missing, if the higher-ups investigate, I could be beheaded.

"Just do what I tell you to do, why all this nonsense?"

Despite being scolded, the blacksmith's face was full of smiles; he had been waiting for Shangguan to say those words.

While the blacksmith was on orders to fetch materials from the warehouse, Tang Qian used his charcoal pencil to draw a simple sketch of a charcoal stove and showed it to Xiao Li. Xiao Li took it and glanced at it, but found that she couldn't understand it at all, so she casually handed the drawing to the blacksmith who was carrying pig iron back.

"Is it really true that only smelting is needed, and not hammering?"

After reviewing the blueprints drawn by Tang Qian, the blacksmith looked doubtful. He had been forging iron for half his life and this was the first time he had encountered an ironware that could be shaped without hammering. Seeing Tang Qian nod confidently, the blacksmith looked up at the sun and said, "That makes things simple. It can be finished by evening."

All Tang Qian needed was a rollable sheet of iron. He melted pig iron in a blast furnace, poured it into a crucible, poured it onto a stone slab to cool, heated it again, pressed it into shape with a stone roller, and finally fixed it with rivets. It didn't require the forging process of thousands of hammer blows, making the production process quite convenient.

Xiao Li didn't know anything about blacksmithing. She stood aside and watched for a while, but found it really boring. So she simply gave a few instructions and turned to leave, leaving Tang Qian and his servant to take full responsibility for the matter.

"What if there aren't enough materials..."

"You can just go to the storeroom and get it, but if my young lady doesn't need the charcoal stove you mentioned tonight..." Before Xiao Li could finish speaking, Tang Qian could still sense a lingering sense of crisis from her ambiguous smile.

Watching the little girl's departing figure, Xiao Qi couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Blacksmith shops are everywhere in our Great Song Dynasty, and the government doesn't check them. The northern barbarians are indeed small places; even iron mines need such control."

"Shut up."

Seeing that Xiao Qi was about to say something disastrous, Tang Qian immediately stopped him in a deep voice. Then he turned to the blacksmith on the other side, his face showing a hint of fear, "My younger brother is talking nonsense. Please don't take it to heart, sir."

Xiaoqi realized that she had probably caused trouble because of her careless words, and her face turned pale.

Seeing the two men's embarrassed expressions, the blacksmith smiled faintly, put all the pig iron blocks he had taken from the warehouse into the blast furnace, and then pulled the bellows next to him. With the help of combustion, the flames in the furnace immediately began to leap, and the surrounding temperature also rose considerably.

"Young master, rest assured, I have always been an honest man since I was a child, and I have no habit of gossiping. Since you two are from the Song Dynasty, you have some connection with our ancestors. I would never put you in an unjust position."

With the blacksmith's statement, Tang Qian breathed a sigh of relief: "Judging from what you said, old man, could it be that you are also a Song person?"

Upon hearing this, the blacksmith gave a self-deprecating laugh, but his hands did not slow down for a moment: "Whether it is the Great Jin or the Great Song, we are living in a chaotic world. For us common people, being able to survive is a blessing from our ancestors. Why should we needlessly invite trouble upon ourselves?"

Having said all that, Tang Qian could easily understand what the other party meant. The world was tough, and it was already difficult to survive. Naturally, the blacksmith in front of him wouldn't cause any trouble, lest he lose his life for nothing.

Both sides tacitly agreed to keep the taboo subject to a minimum, focusing instead on the making of the charcoal stove.

With Tang Qian's simple blueprints and processing instructions, coupled with the blacksmith's superb skills, after most of the day of hammering and tinkering, a not-so-refined iron charcoal stove was finally made.

Upon receiving the report, the quartermaster immediately dispatched a horse-drawn cart to transport the charcoal stove and Tang Qian and his servant back to the Youzhou command post.

Then came another round of jumping and leaping. Under Tang Qian's direction, Xiao Qi opened a skylight in one of the walls of the noblewoman's boudoir in the Jin Kingdom and then connected a chimney.

As the charcoal was lit, the temperature inside the room began to rise slowly. As the supervisor, Xiao Fu was quite satisfied with the remarkable results.

"Is this thing really as you say, without any danger? If something happens to my master, even if you had nine lives, I'm afraid you couldn't afford to pay for it."

Glancing at the charcoal stove, which wasn't sealed tightly and had flames shining through from all sides, Tang Qian nodded confidently: "Most of the toxic gases have been expelled through the flue. The rest is nothing to worry about. I'm willing to guarantee with my life that if Miss feels unwell tonight, I'll offer my head to you."

As dusk fell, a carriage stopped in front of the post station outside the city. The curtain was lifted, and Tang Qian and Xiao Qi emerged from the carriage.

Standing to the side, watching the coachman drive away, the two of them stood in the slightly biting cold wind, maintaining a respectful posture until the carriage entered the city through the snow. Only then did Tang Qian straighten up and jog into the post station.

"It's really frustrating to think about it. We worked hard all day, and in the end, we didn't get anything."

Listening to Xiao Qi's soft mutterings, Tang Qian didn't take it to heart: "When you're in danger, you have to rely on others. A true man can bend and stretch, why bother about these small gains and losses?"

As they were talking, the two passed through the inn's main hall and were about to walk back to their room to warm themselves by the fire when a sudden greeting made Tang Qian stop in his tracks.

"My dear nephew, you're back? May I have a word with you in private?"

Tang Qian cupped his hands in greeting to Vice Minister Li and gestured for them to lead the way. Under the watchful eyes of the delegation members in the hall, the three of them turned into the inner hall.

Upon arriving at the room where Vice Minister Li was staying, the two sat facing each other. After Xiao Qi lit the brazier, he turned around and stood beside Tang Qian.

"What advice does Vice Minister Li have for me?"

Faced with Tang Qian's question, Vice Minister Li hesitated for a moment before finally letting out a soft sigh: "Today I went to the command post to deliver my visiting card, but I sat alone for half a day without seeing a single person. Perhaps my nephew's warnings were not just alarmist remarks."

Upon hearing this, Tang Qian was taken aback for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. On the way to Youzhou, he had repeatedly advised Minister Li that Youzhou, under the control of the Jin people, was a den of dragons and tigers. Unfortunately, all his advice was rejected. If it weren't for his father's sake, Minister Li would have almost executed him on the spot for breaking the alliance.

Being turned away today raised a suspicion in Minister Li's mind. Could it be that Jin Fang was avoiding him, just as Tang Qian said, and had no intention of fulfilling the alliance?

The pig knows to turn after hitting a tree, but the current situation cannot be solved with a simple "better late than never" approach. They are like lambs to the slaughter, having walked into a wolf's den.

Tang Qian gave a wry smile: "Does Vice Minister Li mean that I still have a good way to escape?"

"That's not what I meant." Sensing the sarcasm in the other's words, Vice Minister Li was taken aback for a moment, then waved his hand. "Our current situation is not good, so we should restrain ourselves and not be too ostentatious, lest we damage the diplomatic relations between our two countries. Such ostentatious behavior as my nephew today must not be repeated."

Li Shilang's words were not harsh, but he was still scolding Tang Qian. On the surface, he was telling him to pay attention to his own safety, but in reality, he was worried that his actions would implicate the delegation.

Tang Qian sighed softly: "Let's not beat around the bush. I'm sure Vice Minister Li can see that we can't possibly make a clean getaway from this trip to Youzhou. Look at all those servants in the post station. I'm afraid even one of them could wipe out the entire delegation. My actions are just a way out for myself."