WuZi Steel was different from other kinds of steel. It could not be quenched with water. That way, this precious steel would be completely destroyed.
The Hyderabad ore project was of great importance. Wang Chong would not let anyone else handle it.
Time passed slowly, and the discussions outside the cave gradually quieted down. Wang Chong sat alone in the cave. He was extremely calm.
It was unthinkable for him to not return at night in the past. However, ever since the incident at the border, the entire Wang Clan looked at Wang Chong in a different light.
Even Wang Chong's mother was not as strict with him as before.
"It's about time!"
Suddenly, Wang Chong felt something. He opened his eyes and a dazzling light shot out. He could feel that it was almost sunrise.
Standing up, Wang Chong quickly walked over and gathered the pine branches that Wei Hao had gathered into a circle. Chi! With the sound of flint, the cave was quickly lit up with a raging fire.
When the pine branches were burnt to a bright red charcoal and piled up on the ground, Wang Chong took out the black semi-finished WuZi Steel Sword. He took a pair of pliers from the stove and used them to clamp the sword hilt. Then, he buried it in the bright red charcoal.
After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the WuZi Steel Sword that was buried in the charcoal gradually turned red and started to emit flames.
Wang Chong stared at the emitted flames. His expression was tense and his eyes were extremely focused.
During the quenching process of WuZi Steel, the flames emitted by the sword were an important part of it.
The reason why Wang Chong chose to do it at sunrise was that the color of the flames emitted by the WuZi Steel Sword was the basis for judging the quality of the quenching.
Different colors actually represented different temperatures of the weapon.
If it was too bright or too dark, it would affect the color of the flames emitted by the WuZi Steel Sword, which would affect the effect of the quenching. The effect of quenching at different temperatures would be completely different.
Just a difference of one degree Celsius could forge a weapon with completely different properties!
However, the temperature of the flame could not be measured, so the color of the flame became an important basis for judgment.
"Almost there!"
In the charcoal, the WuZi Steel Sword began to emit a bright red color like a strawberry. Wang Chong's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he picked up the WuZi Steel Sword, turned around quickly and dipped it into the iron trough filled with yellowish-brown oil.
This was something that Wang Chong had already prepared.
When the red WuZi Steel was immersed in the ice-cold oil, from extreme heat to extreme cold, the huge change in temperature caused the surface of the sword to sizzle with thick black smoke.
"Whether we can get the real WuZi Steel depends on this step!"
Wang Chong was extremely nervous as he nailed the iron trough.
The Hyderabad ore plan, from negotiations to casting, to inscription, to quenching, had now reached the final step. Even though he spoke confidently, Wang Chong was actually feeling uneasy and uncertain.
The oil in the iron trough wasn't ordinary water used for quenching. Instead, it was a mixture of sesame oil, sheep fat, butter, asphalt brought over by the merchants of the Western Regions, and other liquids.
This was the crux of a WuZi Steel weapon!
In his previous life, the Central Plains did obtain some Wootz Steel, but the reason why the weapons forged from them were so inferior to those forged from Damascus and the Abbasid Caliphate was not just in terms of sharpness, but also in terms of appearance. It was because they had not grasped the quenching method.
In fact, there were even some who suspected that the Wootz steel weapons of the Central Plains weren't forged from Hyderabad ores at all. Instead, they were just imitations under the guise of Wootz steel!
In truth, it wasn't that Sindhu didn't provide the Central Plains with the real WuZi Steel, but that the Central Plains didn't have a grasp of the 'Hyderabad Quenching Method'.
Unable to wash out the natural patterns on the surface of the WuZi Steel, the legend of the sawtooth on the edge of the blade was inconceivable. This kind of WuZi Steel was only slightly sharper than a top-notch saber or sword. It couldn't be considered as one of the Three Great Weapons!
In his previous life, the reason why the Abbasid Caliphate controlled the entire supply of WuZi Steel in Sindhu was because of the 'Hyderabad Quenching Method'. However, in this life, Wang Chong wouldn't allow them to succeed.
Hiss!
When the black smoke dissipated, the WuZi Steel sword in the iron trough had cooled down completely. Wang Chong used a pair of pliers to grab the WuZi Steel and pulled it out.
Huala, water splashed everywhere!
The instant the WuZi Steel was pulled out of the water, a dazzling silver radiance burst forth from the oil trough, reminiscent of a soaring serpent or the illumination of a silver moon.
The cold radiance seemed to have coated the entire cavern in a layer of silver.
"Success!"
Looking at the resplendent silver sword before him, Wang Chong felt exceptionally agitated. The flowing patterns on the blade were exceptionally beautiful. At a glance, even the tip of the blade had a deep sawtooth pattern. It felt as though it was a gigantic shark in the deep sea, cold and murderous, yet elegant at the same time.
The world's first true WuZi Steel weapon had finally been born in the Central Plains!
Wang Chong had personally forged the first king of cold weapons!
In that instant, Wang Chong felt incomparably agitated.
Huala!
The sound of curtains being lifted echoed from behind. Hearing the commotion in the cavern, Wei Hao rushed in with the Wang Family's little sister.
"Ssss! What kind of weapon is this? "
Wei Hao took a few steps forward. Looking at the resplendent weapon in Wang Chong's hands, he took in a deep breath.
Wei Hao had never seen such a weapon before. The body of the sword was as shiny as mercury, and there were mysterious natural patterns on it. However, these patterns didn't affect the brilliance of the sword at all.
What was most attractive about it was its blade. It was so sharp that it seemed as though it could cut through one's gaze. Wei Hao only took a single glance before he found himself unable to shift his gaze away.
"What a beautiful and fearsome weapon!"
Wei Hao muttered to himself.
Coming from a noble clan, he had seen many things since young. Even so, he had never seen such a cold and elegant weapon before. It seemed as though it was born for slaughter. It was frightening to the extreme, yet luxurious and beautiful at the same time.
With just a single glance, Wei Hao felt as though he had fallen into a nightmare!
"It's really beautiful!"
A tender voice sounded from the side. Wei Hao wasn't the only one whose attention was captivated. The Wang Family's little sister stood by the side with her head tilted upward, as though she had lost her soul.
Suddenly, the light dimmed. Wang Chong had sheathed the freshly forged WuZi Steel sword into its wooden sheath. Then, he tore a piece of black cloth and wrapped the WuZi Steel sword in layers.
"Wei Hao, catch!"
Wang Chong casually tossed the WuZi Steel sword over. Wei Hao subconsciously caught it and hugged it in his arms. Looking at the body of the sword covered by the black cloth and sheath, he felt a sense of loss.
"Wang Chong, what kind of weapon is this?"
Wei Hao asked once more.
"This is the WuZi Steel sword that I told you about!"
Wang Chong replied calmly. He wasn't surprised by Wei Hao's reaction. In fact, he had only seen the body of the sword. He hadn't seen the fearsome might of the WuZi Steel sword yet.
When he saw the fearsome might of the WuZi Steel sword on the battlefield, his reaction would be different.
Back then, when the WuZi Steel weapon was made into the army's equipment, the first time it appeared on the battlefield, it wasn't just one or two groups of people who were shocked!
Back then, when he mentioned the Hyderabad ores project to Wei Hao, Wei Hao's reaction was astonished and he thought that Wang Chong had gone mad. These ores weren't worth that much money.
But now, Wei Hao's thoughts should have loosened.
"Wei Hao, this is the first sword that I have forged. Just take a look at it. Don't let anyone else see it. The first step of the plan has been completed. Based on what I told you before, I will leave the rest to you! "
Wang Chong said.
"Un."
Wei Hao regained his senses and nodded his head.
Parting the curtain, Wang Chong walked out with widened strides. The first WuZi Steel weapon had been forged, but this was just the beginning.
More than half a month had passed. If he couldn't gather 90000 gold taels by the end of the month, Wang Chong's efforts would have been in vain.
It was written in black and white on the records of the Court of Judicial Review. Even though it was used by Wang Chong to restrict the two Sindhi Buddhist monks, it was still not enough. But now, it had become Wang Chong's' Achilles' heel '.
"Those two Sindhi Buddhist monks … should be anxious by now!"
Wang Chong smiled and walked out.
…
What Wang Chong didn't know was that in the White Agate Jewelry Shop, the two Sindhi Buddhist monks were far more anxious than he had imagined.
"Amitabha!"
In the room, Ablonodan clasped his palms together and chanted the name of Buddha. He appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, his eyebrows were twitching, and he was on edge.
"Arloja, do you think that the young master of the Central Plains will go back on his words?"
Ablonodan persisted for a long time before he finally couldn't help but ask.
"It has already been so long, why hasn't there been any movement from his side?"
Twenty-some days had passed, and the two of them had waited for so long. Logically speaking, they shouldn't care about the last few days. But for some reason, the two of them felt exceptionally uneasy.
Time waited for no man. The famine in Sindhu was only worsening, and many people had already starved to death. Just a few days ago, the two of them had received a letter from the High Priest, urging them to return to Sindhu.
And this was already the seventh letter they had received this month!
"Give him another three days. If there is still no movement, we can only return to Sindhu and do as the High Priest said and sell all of the Hyderabad ores to the Arabs. "
Arloja sighed.
Ever since the contract was formed, the two of them had been paying close attention to Wang Chong's movements every day. However, Wang Chong's side seemed to have sunk into the ocean, not a single movement coming from him.
The two of them had gone to the streets to investigate, but there was no news of Hyderabad ores or weapons.
At the start, the two of them had been brimming with confidence in Wang Chong, but now, the two of them were growing more and more uneasy. Although Arloja had said that he would give Wang Chong a few more days, in truth, even he had lost all hope.
"I didn't think that we would still fail!"
Arloja sighed, returning to his dejected state. Selling the Hyderabad ores in the Central Plains was far more difficult than they had imagined.
"In addition … isn't there a great clan from the Central Plains? Why don't we try them? "
Ablonodan mentioned the Zhang Clan. He had a deep impression of the people who had paid a visit that day.
"No!"
Arloja shook his head. "That noble might be decent, but they can't afford the price we are asking for. The swords of the Central Plains are too cheap. They aren't suitable partners. The kind of long-term customer that the High Priest wants us to find doesn't exist in the Central Plains. "
Ablonodan fell silent. The two of them had clearly come to the same conclusion. Their initial goal in leaving Sindhu was to find a large number of large buyers and gather rations.
In addition, they could avoid monopolizing the market.
If they were to only sell to the Abbasid Caliphate, their Hyderabad ores wouldn't be able to fetch a high price. It wouldn't do to only sell to a single person.
It was precisely because the High Priest was unwilling to see such a situation that he sent them and others to various parts of the world.
But from the looks of it now, the Abbasid Caliphate was the most suitable partner. Even though they couldn't fetch a high price, they were loyal and reliable.
And the Central Plains was simply too far away!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
