Shenxi examined the ring for a while, then showed it to Qi Xiuwen.

After seeing it, Qi Xiuwen said, "Mysterious Iron is not easy to obtain and is extremely rare. If it is forged into a weapon, it can cut through iron like mud and is extremely tough."

"But it has only been seen in legends, and no real black iron weapon has ever been seen. However, since this ring is made of black iron, it seems that black iron really exists in the world. If we are lucky enough to obtain it in the future, the chief should make a handy weapon for it."

Shen Xi nodded, acknowledging her subordinate's good intentions.

Feng Tao said very sincerely, "My master gave me a short blade, which is also made of this material. I will give the short blade to the commander for self-defense."

Aside from the chief's bodyguards, ordinary people are not allowed to carry any weapons when meeting a chief, and naturally, he cannot bring his short blade.

Shenxi shook her head and refused: "Since it was left to you by your master, you can keep it. I will have people keep an eye on the Xuan Iron. Besides, I have also had people improve the smelting technology. I believe that in the near future, we will be able to smelt a material comparable to Xuan Iron."

This wasn't Shen Xi boasting; he was truly doing it. After Zhou Ren and his team built the equipment for drilling deep wells, the rest was handed over to other craftsmen, so Zhou Ren didn't need to do it himself.

Zhou Ren's next task was to work day and night with his master smelter to improve the smelting techniques, following the advanced techniques taught to him by Chen Xi.

Although they haven't achieved any results yet, Chenxi believes that with their momentum, they will succeed sooner or later.

Shenxi asked Qi Xiuwen to focus on talent, not just management talent, but all kinds of technical talent; she needed them all.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces, and this is no exaggeration. The development of science and technology can drive the development of other industries.

Seeing that Shen Xi truly didn't want his Xuan Tie short blade, Feng Tao let the matter drop. The commander had said that there would be materials comparable to Xuan Tie in the future.

Feng Tao's answers all corroborated the findings of the spy's investigation, proving that Feng Tao was not lying and that this person's background was simple and clean.

This person possesses martial arts skills that even Qi Xiuwu admires, and Shen Xi wants to give him an important position.

Before giving someone a promotion, a thorough investigation is necessary; otherwise, who knows what problems might arise later?

Although Shen Xi intended to give Feng Tao an important position, he did not show it. Instead, after asking the question, he said to Feng Tao, "You should follow Xiu Wu first. Xiu Wu is very good at studying military strategy. You can study with him when you have time."

"yes."

Feng Tao was very happy. The commander personally met with him and asked him to study military strategy under Qi Xiuwu. This showed that he was highly regarded.

After Feng Tao returned, he mentioned the matter to Qi Xiuwu, who was also very happy. Compared to Zhao Rong, he felt that Feng Tao was more to his liking.

Feng Tao was very steady and literate. Although he grew up in the mountains, his master taught him very well.

Qi Xiuwu immediately pulled out a book, "The Art of War," and said to Feng Tao, "This is the general outline of military strategy. It records the necessity of war, the analysis of both sides, the prediction of victory or defeat, war mobilization, the relationship between war and the economy, material preparation, and various strategies for war. Take a look at it first, and ask me if you don't understand anything."

Qi Xiuwu didn't fight many battles; at most, he participated in a few bandit suppression campaigns, but he wasn't a commander. However, he had spent some time in the army and was very familiar with military texts.

Another instance was that Lin Zhong had several group training sessions with Zhao Rong, Zhang Feng, and others, which greatly improved his understanding and application of military strategy and tactics.

Shenxi values ​​Zhao Rong more, partly because Zhao Rong has the highest loyalty and strictly follows Shenxi's orders and rules. His previous mistake in judging people was due to his insufficient ability to judge people. On the other hand, Zhao Rong has been fighting wild animals for a long time and has not studied military strategy, but he is very skilled in the application of tactics.

This is also a matter of personal ability. Some people may not know military strategy, but they are first-rate at leading troops in battle. However, Shenxi still required Zhao Rong to systematically study military strategy, which was to help him reach a higher level.

Qi Xiuwu still needs more training. In the next two days, Shenxi plans to have Qi Xiuwu lead troops to Xiahe County to quell the rebellion.

Yesterday, we received news that in the two areas of the rebellion in Yuzhang Prefecture, in the area of ​​Xiahe County which borders Bian'ai County, a small number of rebels have begun to harass the area on the edge of Bian'ai County.

Fortunately, the militia discovered them in time and were on high alert. This small group of rebels did not gain anything, and seeing how formidable the situation was, they dared not confront them again.

It is possible to temporarily refrain from contact, but this does not mean that they will not harass us again in the future, and they may even directly attack Bian'ai County.

We can't wait for the enemy to attack before we start defending. Shenxi plans to go directly to Xiahe County to quell the rebellion and take over Xiahe County. If possible, he also plans to take over Shanghe County, which is adjacent to Xiahe County and has also experienced a rebellion, at the same time.

Although Xiahe County and Shanghe County were under the jurisdiction of Yuzhang Prefecture, according to information reported by scouts, Yuzhang Prefecture was already preoccupied with its own problems.

The scouts reported that the Emperor was critically ill, and the Third Prince withdrew his troops from Nanning and returned to the capital, where he clashed with the Eighth Prince and his men.

Yu Dakai, the prefect of Yuzhang Prefecture, has already mobilized troops and plans to return to the capital to provide reinforcements.

Everyone knows that Yu Dakai is the Eighth Prince's man. He's going back to the capital under the guise of protecting the Emperor, but everyone knows he's actually going to help the Eighth Prince.

Xiahe County borders Bian'ai County and also Dun County of Xianghe Prefecture. According to reports from scouts, gold mining in Dun County has already reached Xiahe County.

This proves that Xiahe County has gold mines.

If she takes over Xiahe County, Ge Congshan will have to discuss with her if he wants to mine gold there again.

After all, Ge Congshan was being mined secretly, so it wasn't advisable to make it public for the time being. We'd have to come up with a strategy if we couldn't reach an agreement.

She was determined not to let Ge Congshan get the gold mine for nothing.

Furthermore, Shenxi guessed that if Yuzhang Prefecture made any moves, Xianghe Prefecture and Jianming Prefecture would not sit idly by. They were the Third Prince's men, and they would not allow Yuzhang Prefecture to go back to the capital to provide assistance.

They took advantage of the chaos to seize two counties, and once everything calmed down, they could forget about getting those two counties back from her.

Shenxi speculated that after this turmoil, the imperial court might become a mere shell of its former self, and regional separatism would intensify.

Like Bian'ai County, it could be managed by its own people, but on the surface, it would still belong to Yuzhang Prefecture.

This matter still needs to be discussed properly with Qi Xiuwen. I received the information last night, and Qi Xiuwu arrived today, but I haven't had a chance to negotiate with Qi Xiuwen yet.

Once the plan was finalized, Qi Xiuwu was dispatched to attack Xiahe County.

While things are still relatively calm, we should let Qi Xiuwu train on the battlefield in real combat so that he can gradually grow into a qualified general.

Shenxi kept Qi Xiuwen behind and told him the message she had received the previous night, as well as her speculations and plans.

Qi Xiuwen nodded repeatedly: "The leader's arrangement is exactly what I wanted. I also suggested that the leader take advantage of the chaos to seize the two counties."