Chapter 282 (2/2)

At this very moment, people once again craned their heads to take a look, but this time, it was the men. Women did not have a very good understanding of these things and did not think much of it.

But the men were different, especially the generals. They understood the value of such things too well. Just thinking about it, in this era of cold steel, when two armies faced off if one side had stronger weapons, what sort of scene would it become? It would become a one-sided slaughter!

Feng Yu Heng saw Ren Xi Feng’s father, General Ping Nan decide to stand up. Circling around his table, he took a few steps forward then stopped and looked straight at the swords.

At this time, the old general’s eyes were glowing, and his gaze was sincere and openly saying: I want this!

It was not just General Ping Nan. Even Xuan Tian Ming, Xuan Tian Hua and Xuan Tian Ye looked straight over. None of them were willing to look away.

As for Feng Yu Heng, she also stood up subconsciously then squinted her eyes to look at those weapons.

She finally understood. This was the reason Zong Sui’s princess was able to request a marriage to Xuan Tian Hua!

That princess’ betrothal gift was the method of producing weapons with iron essence!

This was equivalent to giving the troops of Da Shun a direct boost in strength. It was no wonder that the Emperor would agree. It was no wonder Xuan Tian Hua was so troubled and said such things to her.

She turned her gaze from the weapons to look at Xuan Tian Ming. It was as though he had a telepathic bond with her, as he looked over at the same time she looked at him. It was not just Xuan Tian Ming, as Xuan Tian Hua also looked at her.

With the three looking at each other, Feng Yu Heng knew that her guess was correct.

This treasure from Zong Sui had caused the entire hall to fall silent for a long time.

The Emperor observed everyone’s reactions, but his heart sighed helplessly. Da Shun had not produced such good weapons in a long time. In the past ten years, who knew how times Da Shun had tried, but they were still unable to find a method to refine iron essence.

In truth, it was not just Da Shun. The other countries had also had a taste of iron essence, but not a single one of them was able to announce their success over these years.

Iron essence had become Zong Sui’s greatest secret.

Some people had tried to go and steal it, but the divine thieves only found out after entering the country that the method for refining iron essence was passed down verbally to the ruler. Whenever it was to be made, the craftsmen were gathered by the ruler, and he would personally explain to them how it was made. Once these craftsmen gained knowledge of this secret, they would not go outside. After the weapons were all completed, they would be taken care of by these secrets.

But Zong Sui was still a small country. A small country had kept this exceedingly large secret for many years. The Emperor understood. Since Zong Sui had brought forth this sort of betrothal gift for a political marriage, it was already too difficult for them to keep this secret. They had to rely on Da Shun to help them succeed. It could also be said that, by sharing the secret with Da Shun, it would also share the burden of this danger with Da Shun.

Of course, a danger to Zong Sui was not considered much by the Emperor, but for this political marriage, they had declared that they wanted his seventh son. This was something that troubled him a great deal.

Xuan Tian Hua was the one child that he could not bear to trouble. He was also the one who understood what the greater good meant and what it meant to be universally loved. He originally thought that he would not insist on anything for this child, and he would allow Xuan Tian Hua to do as he pleased. Regardless of whether it was choosing a wife and having children or any path he chose in life, aside from the throne, he would give Xuan Tian Hua anything he wanted. But now…”

He looked towards Xuan Tian Hua and saw that the child who usually had a calm appearance now had a face filled with grief. He knew that Xuan Tian Hua did not want to marry the princess from Zong Sui. Xuan Tian Hua had made his position clear when the news came to Da Shun, but when he mentioned the conditions of this exchange, Xuan Tian Hua pondered for a night then agreed.

In all his years, the Emperor had never felt distressed over any child. Even when Xuan Tian Ming’s legs had become as they were, he did not feel distressed, as he knew that he could continue to favor and dote on him. But Xuan Tian Hua agreeing on that day had truly caused him to feel distressed.

A set of swords caused everyone to feel shocked.

Li Kun said: “I invite Da Shun’s general to test out the weapon!”

But nobody went to try it out. Iron essence had existed for 100 years, so how could they not know the quality of such a thing.

Previously, Zong Sui had treated this as a national treasure and sent it to Da Shun as a tribute, but after sending roughly ten swords, Da Shun was not even willing to bring them onto the battlefield. Instead, they only spent their time researching how it was made, but they never once succeeded.

This time, something that they had begged to receive for 100 years was brought to their doors.

Feng Yu Heng continued to remain standing, as she slightly frowned while staring at the weapons made of iron essence.

This sort of thing was called iron essence by the people of this era?…

1: The idiom is in two parts. The first part is: “People should not be compared with each other. If all you do is compare yourself with others, you’re better off dead.”

The second part is: “There are differences between all things. If you continue comparing them all the time, you may as well just lose it.”