"Forget it. I'll just leave it with me."
Qin Feng shook his head and rejected Qing Huai's suggestion.
Was it that easy to get money from the imperial court?
If he took less, he would suffer a loss. He might as well exchange it for the jade pendant. If he really dared to ask for an exorbitant price, he would probably lose his life.
As for working in Craftsman Manor, Qin Feng didn't even bother to think about it.
In her previous life, she had been working for others until she died. In this life, she finally had the chance to be her own boss. Only a fool would go to work again.
"Sir, what do you want? Just tell me."
Qing Huai was not willing to give up." Even if I can't pay the price, I can report to the court. I will definitely satisfy you."
"This…"
Qin Feng thought for a moment and asked tentatively,"If I hand over this method, can I change my title?" The lowest one will do."
Growing up under the red flag and receiving modern education for many years, Qin Feng had never knelt to anyone except for New Year's Eve and Qingming. He was naturally very disgusted with the kneeling ceremony during the feudal period.
Feudal society was too strict. As civilians, they had no rights. They had to kneel down and call themselves commoners when they saw a small official.
Qin Feng could barely be considered a scholar, and Qing Huai did not care much about these rules. When the two of them usually met and interacted, Qin Feng would bow to a scholar and call himself a young student, but Qing Huai did not mind.
If Qing Huai was serious, then in the Great Kang's etiquette, Qin Feng's performance could already be considered disregarding the hierarchy and offending his superiors.
This feeling made Qin Feng very unhappy, which was why he made such a request.
Once a person became a noble, even the lowest ranked Baron would be considered a noble. Unless they met the emperor and empress, they had to kneel down. If they met anyone else, even if the other party was a first-class official of the imperial court, as long as they were not a noble, they did not have to bow.
Of course, the first-grade officials in the imperial court were basically all high-ranking officials. Moreover, they were top-ranking high-ranking officials such as dukes. They still had to bow when they saw them.
However, he only needed to bend his waist and bow his hand. There was no need to kneel.
As for the Emperor, Qin Feng felt that he would not have the chance to meet him.
Although the iron-smelting method was important, Qin Feng was willing to hand it over if he could exchange it for a noble title.
Unfortunately, Qing Huai shook his head and said," The Great Kang has been peaceful for more than 300 years. It has accumulated too many merits. Therefore, the previous emperor set an iron law 30 years ago. Those who do not have military merits cannot be conferred titles.
I can't agree to this condition. Sir, please change it."
"Those who don't have military merits can't be conferred titles?"
"Does that mean that as long as I have military merits, I can exchange for a title?" Qin Feng repeated Qing Huai's words and asked.
" That's right, but you're not a soldier. How can you make a military contribution?" Qing Huai asked curiously.
"I'm not a soldier, but you are." "I heard from Zhang Liang that the Tangut cavalry has always troubled the Marquis. If I help the Marquis defeat the Tangut cavalry, will that count as military merit?" Qin Feng asked.
When Qing Huai heard this, he stood up with a bang.
In the era of cold weapons, cavalry was the king of the land, an invincible army.
Dakang was located in the Central Plains and did not produce good horses, so it was difficult to form cavalry. The land battles were basically all infantry.
The weapons and fighting methods were also very primitive. The only thing they could do against the cavalry was to use simple barricades, shields, and spear formations. Once the heavily armored cavalry broke through the spear formations, they would become meat grinders.
Unfortunately, the Dangxiang people in the west and the Khitans in the north of Great Kang were herders. There were horses everywhere, and forming a cavalry team was as simple as drinking water.
Therefore, the soldiers of the Great Kang Empire had been tortured by the cavalry of the Dangxiang and the Khitans.
It was almost as if he had to rely on the pile of lives to stop the other party.
Qing Huai had been fighting with the Dangxiang since he was a teenager and had suffered too many losses from the cavalry. How could he not be excited when he heard Qin Feng say that he could fight against the cavalry?
"Sir, do you have a way to fight against the cavalry?"
Qing Huai was so excited that his eyes turned red.
"I do have some ideas." Qin Feng nodded.
"I'm willing to hear the details."
"Cavalry have high defense and strong impact. The best way to deal with cavalry is to kill them before they get close."
"Of course I know that, but who can stop a warhorse in heavy armor?"
"Crossbow!"
"Lord Marquis, the crossbow you saw is the simplest. I can make something even more powerful. I guarantee that it can kill the enemy's warhorse from two hundred steps away, or even further!"
Hearing Qin Feng's words, Qing Huai couldn't help but smile bitterly." Sir, you might not know this, but the army already has such heavy crossbows. Unfortunately, there are too few of them. Moreover, every arrow fired requires three strong men to restring it. By the time the bowstring is restrung, the enemy cavalry will have already charged in front of us."
"Lord Marquis, have you forgotten the capstan on my crossbow?"
Qin Feng asked.
Qing Huai suddenly thought of the capstan and arrow box that Qin Feng had installed on the crossbow. He slapped his forehead in shame.
As long as the capstan and quiver were enlarged, wouldn't it work?
"Sir's idea is indeed not bad, but the process of making heavy crossbows is too complicated. In the entire Great Kang, the number of craftsmen who can make them can be counted on one's fingers…"
"What if I can mass produce it?"
"Sir, you can't say such things. Are you confident?"
Qing Huai had unknowingly used honorifics.
"If Lord Marquis gives his full support, we have a seventy to eighty percent chance of success."
There were many parts of the heavy crossbow designed by Qin Feng that required the use of steel.
Before the steel smelting problem was solved, Qin Feng didn't dare to be too confident.
" Seventy to eighty percent is already very high. What do you need me to do, sir?"
Qing Huai asked.
"I need something. Lord Marquis, please help me find it first."
Qin Feng picked up a piece of charcoal and wrote down what he needed on the wooden board.
There were many things here that he couldn't buy in the county government, so he hoped that Qinghuai could get them.
Qing Huai did not say anything else and took the wooden board out to the butler.
The butler immediately left with two guards on a fast horse.
"Other than the crossbow, there is another thing that can restrain cavalry if used properly."
Qin Feng took out a bundle of iron wire from the corner and took out a half meter long section, handing it to Qing Huai.
This was something he had obtained by accident last night when he was smelting iron.
"Can this thing deal with cavalry?"
Qing Huai took the iron wire, his face full of suspicion.
This was the first time he had seen such a thing.
How could he deal with the cavalrymen?
" Although the iron wire is soft, it is very tough. If we have a long enough iron wire and add iron thorns on it, once the warhorse is entangled, even if its four legs are not bound, it will still be pierced by the thorns. At that time, we don't have to do anything, the warhorse will throw the cavalry to the ground."
Qin Feng couldn't help but think of the barbed wire fence on the wall in the future.
In his previous life, he had a classmate who lived in the military family compound. At night, he climbed over the wall to play and got caught by the barbed wire. The more he struggled, the tighter the entanglement became. When he was finally rescued, his body was pierced so badly that he couldn't see.
"Really?" Qing Huai still didn't quite believe it.
"Why don't we try?" Qin Feng asked with a smile.