Insert into the barrel of the gun.

After two verifications, you can confirm that the barrel is not only straight, but also that the change in inner diameter is within the allowable range.

After seeing the second inspection, Winters nodded, never looked at the muskets on the shelf again, and asked without hesitation: "Can you take me to see the sword?"

When the group of people walked towards the sword workshop, Kaman asked Winters in a low voice: "[Old Slang] When did you become an 'expert'?"

Winters blinked and replied easily: "[Old saying] I learned it from Balian. In Steel Castle, if you are not an expert, you will be bullied."

"[Old Slang] And...why were you laughing just now?"

"[Old slang] Huh?"

"[Old slang] The thing about the forge."

Winters looked at Kaman, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and shook his head slightly: "[Old saying] is complicated to say, I will explain it to you when I get back."

The sword-forging workshop is right next to the musket workshop. Both workshops are owned by Schmid, but they are separated by a low wall.

Passing through a wooden door that was ajar, you arrived at the Schmid Sword Workshop.

The layout of the sword workshop is similar to that of the musket workshop: furnace, forging hammer, and anvil. It is just smaller in area because there is no drilling machine with a huge flywheel like that in the musket workshop.

The method of testing swords is simpler. Winters may be a fake expert when it comes to testing guns, but Winters is a real expert when it comes to swords.

He first visually checked whether the sword strip was straight, and then pressed down on the sword strip to test whether the sword strip had sufficient toughness and whether it could rebound normally after being bent under force.

The final step is the most critical and roughest, which is to directly chop the spherical anvil with an unedged sword blade. If the sword blade has hidden cracks, this step will deform or even break it.

Winters still asked Kaman to randomly pick out ten sword strips with his eyes, but he did the inspection himself.

He held the steel bar without the hilt firmly through his gloves, and suddenly felt a certain sense of familiarity and security.

The slender sword blade is both strong and tough, and even the slightest movement of the sword tip can be accurately transmitted to the hand holding the sword.

Winters swung the sword in a small movement, and the blade of the sword cut through the air, making a "whoosh" sound as it broke through the air.

After becoming familiar with the weight of the sword blade, he swung his sword and struck the anvil.

There was a crisp sound of "dang", and a shallow scar was left on the surface of the spherical anvil, but the sword body was intact.

Old Schmid didn't need to say anything more. Young Schmid could see that the so-called "Baron" was an expert with swords.

Splitting an anvil is difficult, but the difficulty lies not with the blacksmith who forges the sword, but with the one who wields the sword.

No matter how good the sword is, it cannot withstand the momentum from the side. As long as the strength is used in the right place, the best saber can be broken by the knee.

The key to splitting an anvil is to let the sword blade fall vertically on the arc-shaped anvil surface. If the sword blade is slapped flat on the anvil, no matter what kind of sword it is, it will be deformed.

Little Schmid silently put away his contempt for his peers - "Your Excellency Baron"'s movements were clean and neat, the sword tendons were straight, and the sword body was almost not deformed during the chopping process.

Winters was also very satisfied. Because there were no weights or handles, the center of gravity of the sword was further forward than that of a real sword. He used half of his strength to chop, but the sword was unharmed, which showed that the craftsmanship of Schmid's workshop was worth it.

trust.

Winters picked up the other sword blades and asked, "None of them are sharpened?"

"If you need sharpening, I can contact the sharpening workshop tonight." Little Schmid rushed to answer: "It's not difficult to install a handle or a sheath."

Winters neither agreed nor denied, but smiled and said to the Schmids: "Look at the blade again... I may need more sabers."

Schmid's workshop also keeps a lot of sword blades in stock, all of which are made according to the shape commonly used by the Palatine cavalry. The blade is about one meter long and has a small arc.

Young Schmid patted his chest and promised that if "His Excellency the Baron" wanted the heavy Saracen-style broad-bladed saber favored by the imperial cavalry, he could also get it, and as many as he wanted.

Later, Schmid and his son and others found an excuse to leave temporarily, leaving the "Baron" and his "personal priest" to rest. In fact, it was a good intention to give the two people time to discuss alone.

"Is [Old Speech] finished?" Kaman asked in disbelief: "[Old Speech] is that simple?"

"[Old idiom] How is that possible?" Winters sipped the water and replied with a smile: "[Old idiom] His small workshop only has enough goods for us to buy? Just look at it, it's just the beginning. White Eagle

Think of us as chess pieces, but chess pieces also have advantages, especially when we know what the player is thinking."

Kaman corrected sternly: "[Old saying] It's you, not us."

"[Old slang] You were there that day."

"[Old Slang] I was just a witness, not involved."

The two were chatting, and the Schmids returned to the room. The old blacksmith was walking in front, and the young blacksmith was holding a delicate wooden box in his hand.

"Your Excellency Baron." The old blacksmith Schmid bowed slightly and saluted: "My youngest son was so offended just now. To express my apology, please accept this gift."

Little Schmid carefully placed the wooden box on the table and opened the lid.

Inside the box, a short knife lies quietly in brocade.

The scabbard of the short sword is made of black sheepskin and is not inlaid with any gold or silver jewelry. The handle is made of fish skin, which has a good texture, but the style is equally simple.

"A truly good knife does not need a luxurious scabbard. Those knives are just decorations." Old blacksmith Schmid pulled out his short knife, and the blade was covered with patterns like flowing clouds: "But this knife is not."

"This is..." Winters's eyes were immediately attracted.

"That's right, Damascus steel sword, the magic weapon of the Saracens." Schmid said quite proudly: "The blade is real Utz steel. I forged and ground it myself, but unfortunately there is only a small piece. The handle is steel.

Bao’s craftsmanship uses stingray leather and silver-wrapped thread.”

Winters picked up the dagger and played with it for a moment, then put it back into the wooden box: "Mr. Schmid, our business is not done yet."

"It has nothing to do with business." Schmid laughed heartily: "When I die one day, this knife will belong to my youngest son. He just offended you, so it makes sense to use his future property to apologize to you.

"

Winters still didn't touch the dagger in the wooden box. He thought for a moment and said to old Schmid: "Mr. Schmid, I can buy all the saber blades currently in your workshop."

Old Schmid remained calm and sat down at the table with his back propped up, waiting for the "Baron" to continue.

To be honest, the old blacksmith thought that the buyer introduced by Mayor Wooper was just a kitten, but the kitten now vaguely smelled like a whale.

The old one can still keep his composure, but the younger one can no longer bear it.

"Buy them all?" Little Schmid's eyes widened and he asked eagerly: "What's the unit price?"

"Market price last September."

Little Schmid quickly calculated in his mind: September last year was not the highest price, but it was still much better than the current market price.

"How... do you want to pay the bill?" Little Schmid asked anxiously. Don't ask for an IOU, he thought.

Winters took out a thin piece of paper from his arms and laid it flat on the table. The paper was not only painted with exquisite patterns, but also had anti-counterfeiting watermarks and the gorgeous signature and lacquer seal of Borso da Este.

"This is the deed of Flora Trading Company." Winters explained leisurely: "I pledged a sum of gold worth thirty-five thousand ducats to Flora Trading Company. Anyone who holds this contract can

You can redeem thirty thousand ducats at Flora Trading Company at any time, or redeem gold."

Little Schmid asked dryly: "Can I... take a look?"

"Yes, please take it and take a look. You can also ask Flora Trading Company to verify whether the pledge is true." Winters replied with a smile. In fact, he still had three contracts and pledge notes of the same value in his arms.

Little Schmid couldn't wait to pick up the deed, read it three times front and back, and finally reluctantly put the deed back on the table.

"That's enough." Little Schmid said with some worries: "Not to mention buying the inventory, buying the forge is more than enough."

Winters looked at Old Schmid: "Do you need to check it? Mr. Schmid."

"No need."

"Then why didn't you say a word?"

"I'm waiting for you to say 'but'." Old Schmid sighed: "Your Excellency."

Winters showed a smile: "But in addition to the knife blades, I also want to buy a batch of gun barrels. I don't plan to buy them separately. If you want to buy them, I will buy them together."

"Barrel?" Little Schmid was stunned on the spot and asked hurriedly: "Isn't the finished musket good? As you just saw, the quality of the muskets made in my workshop is extremely good."

The manufacturing cycle of a gun barrel is much longer than that of a gun stock, so a gun has always been built with a barrel - only the butt and other barrels, and no barrel and butt. If the order is not placed in advance, the gunsmith workshop

Generally, barrels are not kept in stock.

"Due to shipping, price and legal reasons, purchasing a barrel is the best deal for me."

Old blacksmith Schmid frowned and remained silent.

Little Schmid gritted his teeth: "How about this? You pay a little more, and we will sell you the musket as a barrel! Just pay a little more!"

Winters glanced at little Schmid and then at old Schmid.

"Old man, I respect you very much and I like you very much." Winters thought silently: "But, I'm sorry, I still have to beat you to the bottom."

Winters replied calmly: "Your calculation is wrong, Mr. Schmid. If you want to sell me the musket as a barrel, not only can you not increase the price, but you should reduce the price."

"Why...why?" Little Schmid opened his eyes and stood up suddenly. Even Kaman looked at Winters with complex eyes of shock, confusion, and unreasonableness.
Chapter completed!