Uncle Marshall was busy tending the fire and smelting iron, occasionally glancing at the busy Henry Brooks, his heart full of shock and deep curiosity. He couldn’t understand when Henry Brooks had learned to smelt iron, but didn’t dare to ask too much.

Henry Brooks didn’t explain either. He used clay to make a long crucible, with a fire chamber underneath and holes on both sides. He then enlisted the help of the household carpenter to make two bellows, each connected to the holes on either side of the crucible. With both ends pumping air, oxygen was forced in, greatly enhancing the combustion.

Next, Henry Brooks mixed fine sand, clay, and water in a certain ratio to make a mold for a cavalry lance, composed of upper and lower parts. He deliberately lengthened the spearhead and left a blood groove in the middle to facilitate slashing and thrusting. He also left patterns at both ends of the shaft to increase friction for a better grip.

Once the mold was almost dry, he joined the two halves together, reinforced them, and set them upright. Just as the molten iron was ready, he poured it in through the end hole. The iron flowed into the mold, and after cooling, a cavalry lance was formed. But this was only a rough blank—wrought iron, far from hard enough and still full of impurities. It needed to be hammered and refined, then processed into steel.

Hammering and refining meant pounding it with all their might. The two of them worked together; when the iron was red-hot and relatively soft, their combined strength made the task easier. After two hours, it was almost done, and then it was time to turn it into steel.

Turning iron into steel is about increasing the carbon content. Too much carbon makes cast iron; too little makes wrought iron. Generally, the carbon content is kept between 0.022% and 12.11%, depending on the need. Blades require higher carbon content, and with quenching and tempering, the brittleness problem can be solved, making the steel tough and sharp.

Henry Brooks asked Uncle Marshall and the others to leave. The next steps involved technology far beyond this era, and if leaked, the consequences would be severe—even leading to war. Although Uncle Marshall was one of his own, people’s hearts are unpredictable. Henry Brooks didn’t mind sharing other techniques, even if they spread, at most he’d lose a source of income. But the steelmaking method was too special and involved too much; it could not be passed on.

He placed the cavalry lance into the long crucible, then covered it with charcoal, fermented soybeans, and earth powder, and heated it from below. With a bellows in each hand, he pumped vigorously, making the fire roar and the charcoal heat up rapidly.

The charcoal and fermented soybeans were for carburizing, and the earth powder acted as a dispersant. The benefit of this method was that the lance would be carburized very evenly and stably, with high carbon potential, and both efficiency and results were excellent. This process had a technical name: “sealed steel method.”

Late at night, Henry Brooks opened the crucible and took out the lance. He flicked it lightly with his finger, and it rang with a crisp, familiar steel sound. But it still wasn’t finished; it needed tempering. Tempering can be done at low, medium, or high temperatures. Henry Brooks chose low-temperature tempering, reheating the lance to about 150–250°C, keeping it at that temperature for a while, then cooling it in a quenching agent.

The quenching agent contained a certain ratio of salt and oil. This quenching process increased the physical hardness, and more importantly, gave it excellent wear resistance and elasticity.

At this point, a steel cavalry lance was finally complete. The rest was just polishing and sharpening, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive—he could leave that to Uncle Marshall to help with later. Using the same method, Henry Brooks also forged a sword and a triangular military dagger, and deliberately engraved an abstract Xuan Bird on the sword blade.

The Xuan Bird was the Wang family’s totem. If he wanted to trick the Wang family, he had to give them some benefits. As for whether the Wang family having this sword would be a threat to him, he wasn’t worried at all. Victory or defeat depended on people, not swords.

By the time everything was finished, it was already the next morning.

Henry Brooks called Uncle Marshall over, instructed him to polish the sword first, then go home and rest. After working for a whole day and night, he was exhausted.

Uncle Marshall had originally thought Henry Brooks was just playing around, since he had never forged weapons before. But when he received the sword, he was astonished, as if it were a divine weapon, and was so excited he wanted to call out to Henry Brooks and become his apprentice on the spot, but didn’t dare say it aloud. He focused on polishing the sword.

After another day and night, Uncle Marshall finally finished polishing the sword. The blade was a dark blue, smooth as a mirror, reflective, and razor-sharp—enough to make one’s heart tremble. Uncle Marshall’s eyes were bloodshot from staying up, but he was exhilarated. He found a scabbard, sheathed the sword, and hurried to the back courtyard gate, calling out excitedly, “Helen, Helen, is the young master awake?”

“It’s Uncle Marshall, the young master has been up for a while and is practicing with the mace,” Helen came out from the back courtyard.

Uncle Marshall couldn’t enter the back courtyard, so he presented the sword with both hands and said excitedly, “Please pass this sword to the young master.”

“Leave it to me.”

Helen took the sword and hurried into the back courtyard, heading to the training area. She saw Henry Brooks had just finished practicing and quickly stepped forward, saying, “Young master, Uncle Marshall asked me to deliver the sword to you.”

“It’s polished? Let me see.” Henry Brooks took the sword and drew it in one motion. A chill swept over him. He flicked it lightly, and it rang like a dragon’s roar or a tiger’s growl. He picked up a nearby broadsword and struck them together.

“Clang—”

Sparks flew. The broadsword was chipped, but the sword was completely unharmed. He was finally reassured. The broadsword represented the highest level of weapon forging in the Tang Dynasty. If it could chip a broadsword, this sword was more than enough to trick the Wang family.

He changed into casual clothes, grabbed a quick breakfast, and hurried out. He went to a weapon shop, where the shopkeeper recognized Henry Brooks, came forward, and greeted him with a cupped-fist salute: “Greetings, young master of the Qin household.”

Strictly speaking, since Henry Brooks had inherited the title of Duke from Qin Qiong, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to call him “Young Duke Qin.” But the shopkeeper was from the Boling Cui clan, albeit a branch and of illegitimate birth, not well regarded in the Cui family. Still, he had the pride and superiority of a noble family and looked down on Henry Brooks for being born into a family of merit. Calling him “young master” was already polite.