dognovel Chapter 212 Kukri
Chapter 212 Kukri
"No rush, let's test the power of this recurve blade first." Lin Ping casually picked up another weapon lying on the ground, untouched by anyone.
This was a "ugly knife" made according to Lin Ping's requirements, not only with a large belly but also curved downwards.
"Your Highness, why does this knife look like a dog's leg?" Pang Xingji asked with a hint of disdain, which immediately triggered a burst of laughter.
Lin Ping, instead of getting angry, laughed and replied, "That's right, this knife is called the dog-leg knife."
This recurve knife is technically called the Gorkha military knife, but because it resembles a dog's leg, it is commonly known as the dog-leg knife.
The Gurkha knife is not only the national knife of Nepal, but also a symbol of honor for Gurkha soldiers. It is recognized worldwide as the most mechanically sound recurve knife! During the war, the name of the Gurkha soldier was engraved on the back of each Gurkha knife, and it accompanied them until their retirement.
When rifles fail to fire or ammunition runs out, Gurkhas draw their kukri knives and fight the enemy with unparalleled courage and fierce battles, a sight that has given rise to the legendary status of the kukri.
It was the existence of the dog-leg knife that made the Gorkha soldiers brave and invincible, making them mercenaries for many countries until the mercenary system was abolished in the 21st century.
Therefore, the seemingly ugly recurve blade is several times more powerful than Wu Guoyue's sharp Embroidered Spring Blade.
"You, come here." Lin Ping summoned the soldier from yesterday again, handed him the kukri, and said earnestly, "Try chopping at yesterday's wooden stake again."
"Is it really okay?" The soldier's doubt was written all over his face, and he even felt ashamed to hold the ugly hilt of the knife.
However, this was Lin Ping's order, and he had no choice but to grip the hilt of the knife with suspicion and chop downwards with force.
To be honest, the soldier didn't use all his strength because he felt that it would be useless to use any more strength. However, something terrible happened. The tree stump, which was as thick as a thigh, was instantly cut in half by the kukri, and the cross-section was smooth and flat, without any trace of being broken.
"How is this possible? Could it be that the Prince Consort has used some kind of sorcery again?" Pang Xingji took the dog-leg knife, his face losing some of its luster, clearly finding the knife too ugly.
"Brother Pang, you can try using one hand," Lin Ping said with a smile.
Pang Xingji was one of the strongest soldiers in the army. Even with an ordinary curved knife, he could split a wooden stake in two. To highlight the power of the dog-leg knife, Lin Ping deliberately made Pang Xingji use only one hand.
"Old Pang really wants to see the power of this dog-leg knife." Pang Xingji's face was full of disdain, but he still used the maximum strength of one arm.
Pang Xingji's brute strength was truly unmatched. The power that his arm could unleash was more than twice that of the ordinary soldier. The moment the blade made contact with the wooden stake, it broke instantly. Due to the immense force, only half of the small wooden stake was broken off. The remaining force forced the blade straight into the ground, almost chopping off Pang Xingji's foot along with it.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." Pang Xingji stared dumbfounded at the blade less than an inch from his feet, breaking out in a cold sweat. He kept rubbing his chest, not only from fear but also from excitement.
"Brother Pang, you have enough strength to chop off a bull's head," Lin Ping laughed.
Lin Ping had read many reports about kukri knives, including the claim that they were used to chop off bull heads.
"Bring the ox here!" Jiang Yunying immediately followed.
Lin Ping was speechless. He only wanted to give an example to illustrate the power of the dog-leg knife more vividly, but he didn't expect Jiang Yunying to be so serious and completely disregard the cow's feelings.
"This old ox works hard plowing the fields every night, so let's forget about it during the day. If you really want to see the power of the dog-leg knife, you can go and chop off the enemy's horse's head," Lin Ping said with a grin, naturally misinterpreting the old ox's meaning.
Jiang Yunying also felt that this was somewhat cruel, but she was too excited and said these words without thinking.
"At any cost, produce 10,000 kukri knives overnight!" Jiang Yunying said excitedly again, her serious expression as if she had made a solemn pledge.
"Princess, spare me! I simply cannot do it." The blacksmith knelt on the ground with a thud, tears of grievance streaming down his dark face.
The armory in the main city is not large, and the current smelting technology has not yet reached its peak. Just these two weapons alone took a lot of effort. Even if all resources were used, it would be impossible to complete 20,000 weapons in a month.
Lin Ping recalled the scene when he last went to the armory. He was certain that Wu Kingdom's iron smelting technology had entered the era of hundred-refinement steel, but he didn't know how the frying steel method and the molten steel method were.
Strictly speaking, wrought iron is not a technique for smelting steel, but rather a method used to modify the quality of steel. Through continuous heating and forging, impurities in pig iron or wrought iron are gradually oxidized, thereby increasing its hardness and toughness.
Lin Ping is unsure whether we have entered the era of frying or casting steel; it is more likely that we have simply increased the production of pig iron through more advanced kilns and higher temperatures.
This method can indeed produce a large amount of pig iron, but pig iron has extremely poor forging properties and requires repeated hammering to forge a decent weapon.
If that's the case, forging 20,000 weapons in a month is indeed a bit too much to ask.
"Master Meng, how do you smelt steel?" Lin Ping walked up to him and asked curiously.
In this day and age, mastering superior iron smelting technology means being at the forefront of weaponry and equipment, which cannot be leaked. Even if Lin Ping were to come in person, it would be necessary for him to keep quiet.
Jiang Yunying hurriedly nodded to Meng the blacksmith, afraid that he might anger her vengeful husband and be added to his list, where he might be taken away at any time.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the best way to smelt iron these days is to cast it in a blast furnace, where it is forged at high temperatures and then hammered and refined. Unfortunately, the efficiency is extremely low; it often takes several days to make just one steel knife." The blacksmith Meng roughly explained the method of refining steel, but since he thought Lin Ping was an outsider, he didn't go into details.
“That makes sense…” Lin Ping nodded, suddenly recalling the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Cao spent three whole years forging five hundred steel swords.
“However…” Meng the blacksmith’s cunning eyes gleamed, and even his expression became proud. “After generations of blacksmiths in the city lord city, and over a hundred years, we have finally developed a method with higher output.”
"Oh? Tell me about it?" Lin Ping became more interested and finally understood why Meng the blacksmith was wary of him. He must be afraid that his centuries of hard work would be wasted.
Suddenly, Meng the blacksmith stood up straight, pressed his lips close to Lin Ping's ear, and whispered, "I will first heat the pig iron, then mix it with iron stone, stirring constantly, and finally obtain a finer iron, reducing the forging time by five times!"
Meng the blacksmith's mysterious tone and proud demeanor were simply... baffling.