Chapter 66: A Hongmen Banquet?

Long before hearing any commotion from Li You's side, Song Baishun had already lain down and started snoring; he was not foolish and knew that going over there would surely result in a beating. As for Hei Liuzi, Yu Zhengchun, and the others, they too began snoring along.

Seeing Song Baishun and the others pretending to sleep, Li You also felt too lazy to argue with them. He raised his voice to comfort the little girl: "Little Mother, do not listen to his nonsense. I believe that when you grow up, you will surely be a great beauty. However, what we must do now is naturally... go to sleep immediately!"

"Yes, Mr.!"

The little girl's previous distress was, in an instant, flung straight to the Kingdom of Java by Li You's words of comfort. She turned over, hugged the tender little Xiao Juzi, and fell asleep.

Interrupted in this manner, Li You lost all desire to read. Looking out the window, his thoughts suddenly returned to the problem of the penicillin skin test.

Looking out the window at the scene of early October, the temperature was already extremely cold, with every sign of snowfall imminent.

"Tomorrow the Beizhai will hold a meeting to discuss affairs. What will they discuss? Could it be a Hongmen Banquet? Will they settle the score for my killing of Peng Yun?"

Beizhai, Hall of Righteous Assembly.

Li You, bringing Wu Dading, Li Qinxiang, and Wa Qingyun along, hurriedly rushed in. At a glance, the hall was packed with a sea of heads; this time there were clearly far more people than when Li You had previously arrived.

In the front center on the north side stood four large chairs; only Cao Er's seat was empty, while the other three were already occupied.

The mountain bandits below sat in clusters under the leadership of their respective captains. Zhang Cang's table, however, had only him sitting there, appearing somewhat conspicuous.

The moment Li You entered the room, it was as if he had stepped into the Grand View Garden, stared at by over a hundred pairs of eyes. These gazes were hard to describe, filled with indignation, scrutiny, fear, and so on.

Li You understood in his heart that this was surely due to the storm of news spreading about him killing Peng Yun and others. However, he felt no fear; on the day of the killing, Wu Zhuge had not come to trouble him, and moreover, several days had already passed, so the problem should not be too great.

He rubbed his hands together and gave a dry laugh: "Have I arrived too late?"

"Late? Not at all. Haha... everyone has strained their eyes waiting for you, this new leader."

The Third Captain, Zhang Zhuanggen, pointed a finger at Cao Er's seat and said: "Come, Master Li, take the seat above!"

Li You glanced at Wu Zhuge in the center, finding Wu Zhuge's expression equally awkward. Catching Li You's sidelong glance, Wu Zhuge glared fiercely at him.

"Oh my, Third Master is truly killing me with kindness! What virtue or ability do I, a humble scholar, possess to dare sit above?" Li You replied with a smile.

Behind him, Wu Dading and Li Qinxiang, feeling Li You's current predicament as if it were their own, felt their faces grow hot. A gloomy air coiled in their chests, and facing those unfriendly gazes from around them, they glared back fiercely.

Especially Wu Dading, glaring fiercely at Zhang Zhuanggen; if he had the chance, he truly wanted to chop this damned man to death with an axe.

"You killed our brothers as if slaughtering chickens and dogs. That Brother Peng had indeed established Great achievement for the stronghold, and moreover, he was a comrade-in-arms of Fourth Master. I heard you killed him just to show off and establish your authority! Who knows, one day you might chop me down too. Better come sit up there quickly!"

Zhang Zhuanggen would not let it go and deliberately diverted the blame toward Shi Dayong, but Shi Dayong merely closed his eyes, appearing truly asleep, without raising his head.

"Since ancient times, training soldiers has prioritized obedience to orders. I have tolerated Peng Yun three times and five times, but he has become increasingly arrogant. If I do not kill him, how can I complete the task entrusted by the Great Captain?"

"If this continues, Longmen Stronghold will be destroyed by these parasites. Setting aside the great matter of dividing land and becoming a king, how can we even have the power to defend ourselves against Mao'er Dam and Flagpole Mountain?"

Li You's voice carried a tragic heroism: "If each Captain is dissatisfied, you may simply cut off this head of mine and offer it to them as retribution!"

His words were grand, projecting an image of single-minded dedication to the public good and the foundation of Longmen Stronghold. Moreover, his words were also the truth; everyone present was a seasoned veteran of worldly affairs, and who did not know that Li You was indeed speaking the truth?

"Enough, enough, let this matter rest. When training soldiers, is it not normal for people to die? Moreover, having the Mr. temporarily manage Nanshan, the mineral output there actually reached nearly two thousand Jin-weight in just seven days. Bear in mind, this was previously the output of half a month!"

Wu Zhuge stepped forward to smooth things over, and by the end, his face was filled with excitement!

"Hey, these are merely duties within my scope... Distinguished Masters, I have forged three of my own handmade blades here, to be given to each Captain!" As Li You spoke, he picked up the three "Nepalese curved blades" held by Dading and strode forward with long, confident steps to respectfully present them to the three.

These blades had wide bellies, with the blade body curving forward, resembling a dog's leg. Most importantly, their material was smooth as a mirror, capable of reflecting a person's image, and the blades were broad, long, and sharp, flashing with cold light.

Shi Dayong, not knowing when he had woken up, was the first to take the curved blade. He weighed it in his hand, then drew it from the scabbard and merely swung it lightly twice before exclaiming in shock: "This is a steel blade... somewhat like the dog-leg blade of ***, but the center of gravity of this blade is done well, making it even more handy and sharp... Good blade, good blade!"

Niu Jinku, watching the curved blade on the edge from the side, upon closer inspection saw patterns on it, and could not help but say: "This blade has mountain and water patterns; was it made by folding and forging Bin Iron?"

"Bin Iron?"

Zhang Zhuanggen and Wu Zhuge immediately became interested. Due to the popularity of "Water Margin," many people knew that the weapon finally used by the Pilgrim Wu Song was a pair of "Snowflake Bin Iron Monk Blades" that would howl on their own at midnight, truly spiritual treasure blades.

There was also the Flower Monk Lu Zhishen's sixty-two Jin-weight water-polished Zen staff, and the Pointed Steel Spears of Little Li Guang Hua Rong and the Sky-Diving Eagle Li Ying, all of which were forged from Bin Iron. Furthermore, some key figures possessed items such as Qing Shuang Bin Iron helmets and linked Bin Iron armor. 【Author's Note】

Li You smiled and said: "This is a formula I recently researched with various blacksmiths. It requires neither the stir-frying steel method nor constant repeated forging. By putting some pig iron and inferior steel into the furnace and smelting for about three hours, one can refine this Bin Iron! It is far superior in material quality to Su Steel!"

When Li You told lies, he did not even blink, wearing an expression of utter sincerity.

Zhang Zhuanggen stood up with a "Ceng" sound and said: "No hammering? Three hours?"

Zhang Zhuanggen's reaction was not unexpectedly so intense, mainly because Bin Iron was basically a legendary treasure in the Ming Dynasty. Even though the price of Su Steel had now multiplied many times over, it was still in short supply.

"Ah, this method is not yet fully understood. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. These are the three blades I managed to make after messing around for several days!"

Li You looked at Zhang Zhuanggen and spoke with a guilty conscience, though in reality, he was just bluffing.

"You..."

Zhang Zhuanggen was momentarily furious, but seeing Li You's appearance, which did not seem like a pretense, he found it difficult to explode at that moment.

Wu Zhuge, standing nearby, was also startled. Fearing Li You might reveal the formula right there on the spot, he sighed with relief and said: "Mr., please go sit down first. We still have important matters to discuss today!"

"Come, Scholar Li, sit here."

Zhang Cang stood up and shouted to Li You. Li You clasped his hands to Wu Zhuge and the others, then went to sit down at Zhang Cang's place.

He truly did not mind at all that Li You had taken his men. He was extremely enthusiastic toward Li You; without even exchanging two sentences, he asked Li You to appreciate the poems he had recently written and even requested Li You to complete a fragment of a poem for him...

This truly left Li You stunned, his outside crispy and his inside tender. Where was this a captain leading troops in a bandit den?

This was completely like an artist wielding a brush in a government office!

There was no choice; who else could Li You be, now wearing the title of Xiucai? He picked up the brush and pretended to examine it seriously...

"Ninety-year-old jade dew extinguishes the yellow dust ___________, In these hurried times, where are they now ___________."

After reading it, Li You found two characters he did not quite recognize. How could he possibly critique such nonsense?

Just as Li You was worrying, the hall fell silent, and Wu Zhuge began to speak.

"Damn it, we have been back from Lueyang for almost a month, resting so long that our fur has almost fallen out from boredom." Wu Zhuge's voice sounded like a broken gong as he continued: "Today, our Gu Laosan has finally touched upon some business. Let Gu Laosan speak about it."

"Good! We have long wanted to make a big move!"

"If we do not work soon, the women in the stronghold will die out. This time, we must snatch back several women no matter what!"

"Haha... Exactly, the brothers are all rotten with lust!"

A wave of noise erupted in the hall, but Zhang Zhuanggen, sitting above, kept a gloomy face and remained silent for a moment. Soon, everyone noticed something was wrong.

Could this be a tough nut to crack?

【Note】: The term "bintie" appears frequently in late Ming dynasty novels, primarily because it was expensive.

"Bintie" is steel, though mostly an imported product.

The earliest possible introduction of the Indian crucible smelting method occurred during China's Northern Wei period, via the Persian Sassanian Empire; in that region, the steel was pronounced "Banne," and China rendered its sound as "bintie" (this claim is open to debate {qu}).

The full adoption of this technology and its industrial production should be marked by the record in the "Yuan Shi: Selections and Appointments" stating: "The Bintie Bureau, ranked from eighth rank junior, had one director in charge of bintie craftsmanship, first established in the twelfth year of Zhiyuan."