“At that time, all of you followed my father to fight across the land, sharing life and death, never abandoning each other. How could the Qin household now abandon everyone? Rest assured, I already have a way to make money. Everyone is dismissed, return to your posts.”

　　“Thank you, young master, for your grace!”

　　Although everyone didn’t understand where Henry Brooks’s confidence came from, with things said to this extent, to persist further would be to put Henry Brooks in a position of injustice. Soldiers value loyalty, so with lingering doubts, they all left.

　　“Uncle Grant, send someone to the manor and let them know that this year’s rent need not be paid.” Henry Brooks looked at Edward Grant and instructed. Since he was taking responsibility, he would do it thoroughly.

　　“What? Young master, that absolutely won’t do. Without grain, the household…”

　　“Just do as I say.”

　　“Yes, sir!”

　　Seeing Henry Brooks’s resolute tone, Edward Grant didn’t dare insist further and agreed solemnly. His heart felt warm as he watched Henry Brooks leave. He immediately called someone over and instructed, “The young master is benevolent, with the bearing of the Duke himself. Go make the trip.”

　　“But, without the rent, there won’t be enough grain for the household…”

　　“The five hundred food-grant households are all old brothers. This year’s harvest is down by thirty percent, and there’s already not enough to eat. If we pay the rent, half of us will starve. Can you bear to watch the old brothers die? Since the young master says he has a way, let’s trust him this once. Give it a month. If it doesn’t work, we old brothers will leave together. Even if we have to become mountain bandits, we’ll secretly protect the Qin household, the young master, and our descendants.”

　　“Yes, sir!” The other party saluted solemnly and hurried off.

　　Edward Grant looked in the direction where Henry Brooks had disappeared and muttered to himself, “Duke, the young master is much steadier and more mature than before, with benevolence in his heart and decisiveness in his actions. It’s a pity the world is so cold, but rest assured, even if it costs our lives, the old brothers of the personal guard and I will never let the Qin household fall.”

　　Henry Brooks had no idea what Edward Grant was thinking. He strolled to the west courtyard, and from a distance, he could already hear the clanging of metal. Passing through a round gate, he saw an open shed ahead, where a middle-aged man was repairing tools. Henry Brooks called out, “Uncle Marshall, busy at work?”

　　The middle-aged man quickly put down his tools and stood up to salute, explaining, “A batch of damaged farm tools was sent from the manor. I need to fix them in the next couple of days to avoid delaying the farm work. What are your orders, young master?”

　　Henry Brooks glanced around casually. The farm tools were all made of wrought iron, low in carbon content, too soft and prone to chipping, or else too high in carbon and likely to break—no wonder they needed repairs. As a seasoned warrior, Henry Brooks loved making his own cold weapons and was very familiar with ironworking. He looked around; the tools were quite complete.

　　“Young master, are you planning to forge weapons?” Uncle Marshall asked curiously.

　　“Indeed. The tiger-head spear passed down from my father is a bit too light, and the shaft is made of hardwood, which risks breaking. I want to make a pure steel one, preferably cast in one piece. Can you do it?”

　　“Pure steel?” Uncle Marshall was a bit surprised, then gave a wry smile. “Forging ordinary weapons or repairing armor is fine, but as for pure steel, I’ve never even heard of it, let alone know how to make it.”

　　Henry Brooks asked curiously, “Then how did you make weapons before?”

　　“The best is the hundred-fold forging method, but that takes too much time. Is the young master in a hurry?”

　　“How do you ensure the weapon is sharp and doesn’t break or get damaged?” Henry Brooks pressed. As for the so-called hundred-fold forging, it was just folding and hammering the iron over a hundred times. Only red-hot, softened iron could be folded and hammered, which is wrought iron. Hammering only removes impurities; it doesn’t increase the carbon content, so it can’t become steel.

　　Uncle Marshall had previously been in charge of weapon repairs and knew a bit, so he quickly replied, “To answer the young master, we use the carburizing technique to increase the weapon’s hardness. That is, we wrap the weapon in paper and plant ash and hammer it, or so I’ve heard you can cover it with charcoal and burn it, adding some leather, hair, fingernails, and so on. But this method is too profound; I don’t know the exact amounts, heat, or key points. I’ve tried a few times, but never succeeded.”

　　Henry Brooks had heard of this method. Paper and plant ash are both carburizing agents, but this method can’t reach the carbon content required for steel, and the distribution is hard to make even, resulting in some parts being hard and others soft. As for covering with charcoal and burning, if not done properly, it can actually cause decarburization, making things worse.

　　After a few questions, Henry Brooks had a clear idea. As expected, the Tang Dynasty didn’t yet have mature steelmaking techniques. The idea of forging a sword to sell for some startup capital was feasible, and he could also make a handy tiger-head spear as a backup. So he said, “Uncle Marshall, can you make a long, bar-shaped crucible?”

　　“I can, and we still have some clay left. Do you have a drawing or dimensions, young master?”

　　Henry Brooks glanced at the fine sand and clay not far away. Worried that the craftsmanship might not be up to standard and the product wouldn’t meet his requirements, he changed his mind and said, “Never mind, just help me melt a big pot of molten iron.”

　　“That’s easy, I do it often. Just a few days ago, I bought a batch of iron blocks, hammered them ten times to remove impurities, and was planning to use them for tool repairs. I’m not sure if it’s enough?”

　　Henry Brooks looked at the pile of iron blocks nearby. They were pitch black, but low in carbon—wrought iron, much softer than pig iron, but could be heated in a furnace and directly forged into tools, so they were semi-finished products.

　　The tiger-head spear he wanted to make, also called a ma-suo, needed to be cast in one piece, not forged and joined, so it had to be cast. He said, “Melt it all.”

　　“Yes, sir!”

Chapter 3: Forging Weapons

　　In the west courtyard.