Thus, Xu Yun tempered the horseshoe once again, finally completing its forging.

A quarter of an hour later.

Xu Yun held the cooled horseshoe with his bare hands, walked over to Wang Bing and the others, and handed it to the elder:

"Chengxuan Envoy Zhong, this is the horseshoe, please have a look."

That's right.

Upon hearing this surname, readers might have already guessed:

This person is the renowned Old General Zhong, the current leader of the Zhong Family Army, and the military soul of Great Song after Liu Fa's passing...

Zhong Shidao!

Earlier, when connecting with Wang Hou, Xu Yun specifically asked Wang Bing to investigate Old Zhong's whereabouts.

Eventually, he learned that Old Zhong indeed returned to Bianjing with the Western Army.

After all, the core of the western front operation this time was Weizhou, and Old Zhong, as the prefect of Weizhou and deputy envoy of the Yingdao Army, had to handle the logistics of soldiers, provisions, and clothing.

With the return of a phase victory, the probability of his return to the capital was no less than seventy percent.

Although Old Zhong was not greedy for money and had a high sense of integrity, aside from a few defeats, he had no blemishes in his life.

But this doesn't mean he was without desires.

Quite the contrary.

As the leading figure of the Zhong Family Army, Zhong Shidao always vied for every merit:

After all, it was the results of his own blood and sweat, nothing to be embarrassed about.

If you don't fight for benefits for your subordinates, how will others respect you?

Later, Xu Yun, using the horseshoe as a lure and Old Su's introduction, invited Old Zhong to his residence.

However, upon arriving, Old Zhong's attitude towards Xu Yun was rather indifferent, even grimmer than Old Jia's.

For instance, at this moment.

Seeing Xu Yun, such a young man, confidently claiming that the hardness of the horseshoe was ten times that of ordinary steel.

Old Zhong's eyes were filled with doubt.

After all, he was not the same as Old Su, a civil servant.

The nature of soldiers is mostly straightforward; say what they think, but out of respect for Old Su, he refrained from any outburst.

He glanced at Xu Yun a few times, then accepted the horse iron hoof.

He felt it all over with his hand and gently flicked it with his index finger,

Moments later.

Old Zhong's expression slightly tensed, with a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

As a commander stationed outside for many years, his familiarity with steel was astonishingly high.

Merely by touching it.

He could judge by quality, smoothness, and resonance whether it was lower grade steel, middle grade steel, or upper-grade steel.

Based on the tactile feedback just received.

This few-pound horseshoe in front of him seemed indistinguishable in material from upper-grade steel.

Which means...

This young man appears to have some real skills?

After all, he had watched the Military Equipment Bureau's forging process, which was much slower than Xu Yun's in both procedure and efficiency.

However, what Old Zhong hadn't expected was.

Some steel is called upper-grade because it is merely upper-grade.

While some steel is judged upper-grade only because in the current knowledge system...

There is only upper-grade steel.

Then Old Zhong pondered for a moment, took a saber from his belt.

This saber was a refined blade gifted by the late Emperor Zhezong of Song, made from the finest batch of fine steel from the fifth year of Shao Sheng.

Not to say it could cut through iron like mud.

At least, with one strike, it would leave a notch on a chariot's steel axle.

In several life-and-death combats, Old Zhong even used it to pierce through an enemy's chest armor heart guard, which is much thicker than a horseshoe.

After preparing his weapon.

Old Zhong placed the horseshoe on the table, measured it with the knife, and asked Xu Yun:

"Young brother, may I test it with a strike?"

Xu Yun quickly made an inviting gesture:

"Such is my wish, I would not dare ask."

Old Zhong thoughtfully looked at him once more.

Unless something unexpected happened, this young man's skills should be genuine.

Yet he seemed slightly arrogant or had a mysterious confidence.

But if he really could mass-produce superior steel.

For the court... especially the Western Army, that would be a good thing.

Therefore, he hesitated for a few seconds.

He didn't apply full force, planning to make a small break to save Xu Yun some face.

Hand raised.

The knife fell.

Clang—

With the sound of a brilliant light of sparks accompanying the contact, the short knife in Old Zhong's hand...

Suddenly cracked from the edge, eventually breaking into two.....

...

Note:

Some classmates say they are short a few points of fan value. If it's close, you can long-press a paragraph, and the minimum reward is 2 points.

If it's much more, you don't need to forcefully make up for it, fan value should be constant, and in a few days, it should suffice. I set it based on full subscription + 2 monthly passes.