"Don't talk too much later, and follow my instructions. Do you understand?" Xiao Zongshui said in a deep voice when they were in a carriage.
Sitting across from him, Zhou Shu nodded. "Understood."
The carriage moved forward. Although Zhou Shu was sitting in the carriage, his heart was already outside.
He would have popped his head out long ago if it wasn't for Xiao Zongshui.
Zhou Shu had been in this world for some time, yet he had never left the Forging Division's workshop. The spectacular scenery of the Great Xia piqued his curiosity.
While Zhou Shu was imagining Great Xia's beauty, the carriage proceeded for over two hours before coming to a halt.
Xiao Zongshui got out of the carriage first, followed by Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu saw the wilderness instead of the bustling capital he had anticipated.
The valley was surrounded by lush green mountains, and there was a military camp not far away.
Barracks? Zhou Shu's heart stirred.
The Forging Division's relationship with the military should be that the Forging Division supplied all the weapons it forged to the three armies of Great Xia. Why was he brought here?
Despite his confusion, Zhou Shu didn't ask any questions since Xiao Zongshui had already told him to mind his words.
He silently trailed after Xiao Zongshui while observing his surroundings.
When Xiao Zongshui arrived at the camp's entrance, he presented his token, and they were admitted.
Groups of soldiers were training in a frenzy within the military camp. Zhou Shu didn't think there was anything exceptional about the way they trained. They did nothing but chop and chop.
Xiao Zongshui seemed to know the camp quite well. He brought Zhou Shu through the training grounds and into a large tent.
Xiao Zongshui yelled, "General Cheng, Xiao Zongshui requests an audience!"
"Come in." A gruff voice sounded.
Before entering the large tent, Xiao Zongshui cast a glance at Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu followed closely behind. As soon as he walked into the tent, he spotted Xiao Zongshui bowing to a towering and imposing general.
"General Cheng." Xiao Zongshui was bending over, and his body was practically at a 90-degree angle.
His superior was already acting this way, so Zhou Shu couldn't be too different. He cupped his hands and greeted, just as Xiao Zhongshui was doing.
"At ease." General Cheng waved and turned his focus from the sand table to Xiao Zongshui. "Why did you return?" he asked in puzzlement.
"General Cheng, this time I'm still here for the weapon issue," Xiao Zongshui said.
"Of course I know it's for armaments," General Cheng replied. "How else am I related to your Forging Division?"
"My requirements were not met by the weapons you provided. Your 97th Workshop will not be supplying weapons to my army," General Cheng continued with a shake of his head.
Zhou Shu was perplexed. Why does it sound like Xiao Zongshui is here to promote weapons? Surely the Forging Division doesn't have to forge the weapons and sell them themselves?
Although Zhou Shu was a Forging Apprentice of the Forging Division, Forging Apprentices were the division's lowest existences and had no idea how it operated.
In the Forging Division, all he needed to know was how many weapons he needed to forge each month. Apprentices had no idea where the weapons they forged ended up.
"Have you decided on a weapon, General?" Xiao Zongshui was undeterred.
"Not yet." With a shake of his head, General Cheng expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation. "A few weapons have been delivered from 73rd, 86th, and 89th workshops, but they're all barely satisfactory. I've been given orders to establish the Imperial Guards to ensure the Blessed Palace's safety. Naturally, I must use extraordinary caution when selecting weapons."
Zhou Shu listened in a daze, but he had no right to open his mouth and ask questions. He could only conjecture in his heart.
Zhou Shu had some understanding of the workshops that General Cheng mentioned. Great Xia's Forging Division had a total of 108 workshops, and among them, official Forging Masters populated the first 36 workshops. There were also more than enough Grand Craftsmen among them, and they were in charge of making ranked weapons.
The remaining 72 workshops, including the 97th Workshop where Zhou Shu worked, were in charge of forging standard weapons.
Different workshops were skilled at forging different types of armaments. Some were skilled at forging swords, while others at creating firearms. There were others proficient at forging spears, and still more were good at forging bows and arrows.
Zhou Shu served at the 97th Workshop, which specialized in saber forging.
Zhou Shu sensed something from General Cheng's statements.
General Cheng was putting together a troop, and the Forging Division's workshops were battling it out to be the weapon supplier.
Based on his work experience in his past life, it was easy to figure out that being the weapon supplier was a lucrative job.
Xiao Zongshui and the others wouldn't have come to seize this job if this wasn't the case.
"General, the saber is the monarch of all weapons. In my opinion, it is the most appropriate weapon for the Imperial Guards—" Xiao Zongshui expressed his thoughts.
Before he could finish, General Cheng interjected. "I've made my point. The 97th Workshop's sabers do not match my criteria, Superintendent Xiao. You can equip an ordinary army with the standard long sabers you've forged, but my Imperial Guards are elites among elites!"
"You have misunderstood, General Cheng." Xiao Zongshui shook his head. "I know the standard long sabers I brought before weren't worthy of your elites, so I brought the new saber that the 97th Workshop has been working on for years!"
"Oh?" General Cheng remained uninterested. What kind of weapon could a group of Forging Apprentices be capable of forging?
"General, please have a look!" With both hands, Xiao Zongshui held a saber in front of General Cheng.
Zhou Shu could see that the saber was the sharp standard long saber that Xiao Zongshui had taken away from him. He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes internally. How did the saber I forge become the new weapon that the 97th Workshop has been developing for years?
"What makes this saber unique?" General Cheng took the long saber and gave it a cursory glance.
The sharp standard long saber appeared to be no different from an ordinary standard long saber. It was a straight saber with a single edge, akin to a Tang saber.
"Superintendent Xiao, I'm very busy. If it's merely an old weapon, you should leave." General Cheng looked impatient.
He had tried all of the standard long sabers that Xiao Zongshui had brought over before, but they couldn't meet his demands.
If not for the fact that he couldn't avoid contact with the Forging Division in the future, and he didn't want to make things too unpleasant with the Forging Division, he would have chased Xiao Zongshui out already.
"General, this isn't the same long saber I brought over before!" Xiao Zongshui explained quickly. "This blade has an extremely sharp edge!"
"Haha…" General Cheng burst out laughing. "Superintendent Xiao, are you laughing at my expense? How can a saber be called a saber if it isn't sharp?"
General Cheng wanted to see them off.
"Words alone are no proof. Please try the saber, General!" Xiao Zongshui rushed to speak.
General Cheng frowned and looked at Xiao Zongshui.
"Fine, I'll give you another chance," he finally said. "Bring in the armor, men!"
A few soldiers promptly dragged in a wooden stake that had two layers of leather armor on it.
"Superintendent Xiao, if your saber can penetrate two layers of armor, what harm is there in me using it," General Cheng said.
Standard weapons that could break through the first layer of armor were already considered exemplary.
Even with General Cheng's expansive horizons, he had yet to encounter many standard weapons capable of breaking two layers of armor.
Standard long sabers that broke two layers of armor were definitely qualified to equip the Imperial Guards.
"General, let's add another layer of armor," Xiao Zongshui said, his voice deep.
"Three layers of armor?" For a brief moment, General Cheng was astonished. Then he exclaimed angrily, "Superintendent Xiao, enough is enough!"
Standard weapons were forged using the most ordinary metals. Breaking through two layers of armor was extremely difficult. How was it possible to break through three layers?
"General, what's the harm in giving it a shot?" Xiao Zongshui said seriously.
"Very good!" For a long time, General Cheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Xiao Zongshui. Then he waved his hand, and a soldier put another layer of leather armor on the wooden stake.
"You do it." General Cheng handed the saber to a soldier.
He was a strong man, and he wouldn't be able to test the weapon's sharpness if he tested it himself.
After gauging its weight, the soldier slashed out with the long saber.
He didn't use all of his power. Instead, he kept his strength under control to the level of a normal adult.
This was also a rule for determining a weapon's sharpness. Only in this manner would the weapon's strength, not the user's, be assessed.
Pfft! The long saber traced a dazzling line in the air before striking the leather armor with its blade.
The saber cut the thick leather armor like tofu. The blade slid into the leather armor almost instantaneously, then into the wooden stake.
Bang! Something dropped to the ground with a muted sound.
General Cheng's expression changed. He took a step forward, crossing a few meters, shoved the soldier aside, and reached for the sharp standard long saber. He yanked the long saber embedded in the wooden stake with some force on his wrist.
Crack! The three layers of leather armor split open at the chest and dropped to the ground, and the wooden stake had a deep cut in it.
The sharp standard long saber cleaved through the wooden stake with a swoosh as General Cheng flipped his wrist. The heavy wooden stake slid down diagonally, appearing to move in slow motion, to reveal a smooth, almost mirror-like surface.
"Wonderful saber!" General Cheng couldn't help exclaiming. "What a sharp saber!"
"Superintendent Xiao, is this the new saber your workshop developed? What is it called?"
"It…" Xiao Zongshui hesitated for a moment. This saber didn't have a name.
"General, the name of this saber is Huben!"
Xiao Zongshui was racking his wits when he heard a voice.
"'Huben' means 'fighter'. General's Imperial Guards guard the palace, so they are Huben warriors," the voice added. "Huben Sabers and Huben Troops go together like a dream! General, who else besides your Huben Troops is deserving of the Huben Saber?"