Ancient weapons are varied, but no weapon of any kind can have the special status of a sword. From the emperor and general at the height of the temple to the mighty warriors who are far away from the rivers and lakes, the sword has almost become the standard for everyone, and many famous historical allusions are also closely related to the sword. Because the status of the sword in the minds of the ancients was very high, it became a dream of the ancients to have a sword that cut iron like mud. However, all the good things in the world are rare and precious, and the sword is naturally no exception. Ancient technical conditions are backward, in order to forge a sword, in addition to the sword caster must be a top master, the forging process is also extraordinary. Among the many ancient sword casting stories, the casting process of the sword gan will be the most incredible.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Wu once threatened Huaxia. The triumphant Wu King Lu wanted to have a sword that matched his identity, so he gave this task to Wu Guo's sword casting master Gan General.
For a sword casting master, it is impossible to have the opportunity to build a world-class sword in his lifetime. Therefore, at the beginning of accepting the task, the cadres were also full of ambition and wanted to successfully complete the task. In order to be able to forge a unique sword, Gan will "collect the iron essence of the five mountains, the golden ying of the liuhe", and collect all the best sword casting materials that can be imagined. Then choose the auspicious day of the good day, and worship the heavens and the earth before officially opening the furnace and forging.
According to the general's vision, using the most sophisticated materials, coupled with his superb sword casting technology, it should be natural to cast a king's sword. However, he never expected that these rare gold and iron collected with painstaking efforts could not be refined in the sword furnace. When he first accepted the task of Wu Wanglu, the general had laid down a package ticket. Moreover, during this period, Wu Wanglu gave various material support at any cost. But the money was spent, but the sword was not forged. If this matter was let King Wu know, it would not only damage his reputation, but also risk losing his head.
In the face of the gold and iron that could not be melted, the cadres would be helpless, and his wife Mo Xie would also have difficulty sleeping. Seeing that the deadline given by King Wu was approaching, Mo Xie suddenly remembered that her father Ou Yezi had said that "the transformation of the gods and gods must be made of people." That is to say, the rare material of refining gold and iron is not enough to rely on firepower alone, and it also needs to be sacrificed by human sacrifice.
After listening to his wife's words, General Gan ordered people to desperately blow up the charcoal and heat the blast furnace, and when the fire was at its peak, Mo Xie cut off his hair and threw it into the furnace to represent the sacrifice. However, the stove burned for a moment and then immediately returned to its old form. Mo Xie knew that there was no other way, so he resolutely jumped into the furnace and set himself on fire to sacrifice. Then the fire burned, and the gold and iron in the furnace soon melted into molten iron. As a result, Gan will create two world-class swords, named "Gan General" and "Mo Evil" respectively, in honor of his wife.
In the eyes of modern people, it is purely superstitious to forge swords by casting swords by sacrificing them to the living. But in fact, there is also a certain scientific basis for this.
The mainstream weapon of the Spring and Autumn Period was bronze weapons. The melting point of copper is 1083.4 degrees, bronze is a copper-tin alloy, and the melting point is not even 1000 degrees, while the melting point of iron reaches 1535 degrees. The smelting technology from less than 1000 degrees was suddenly improved to more than 1535 degrees, which was a great challenge for the craftsmen at that time. So what does this have to do with the sacrifice of the living? In fact, sacrifice is only the superstitious concept of the ancients, but a large living person jumping into the furnace can indeed greatly increase the temperature of the furnace. Because human body hair contains phosphorus, this is an excellent metal co-solvent; the body's oil can also be used as fuel; and the carbon element on the human body can also enhance the hardness of the metal.
Mo Xie sacrificed himself to the furnace, in the eyes of the people at that time, it was a sacrifice to the fire god, which can be interpreted from a scientific point of view: using his body as fuel to heat the fire. In fact, instead of choosing to sacrifice living people, but throwing large animals into the furnace, the effect is the same. It was only the ancients who believed in the idea of the unity of spirit and blood, so they mistakenly thought that sacrificing living people could be cast into divine soldiers.
References: "Search for God", "Wu Yue Chunqiu"