Following the eunuch's shout, Li Kun, the envoy of the Sui Dynasty and the fourth prince of the Sui Dynasty, entered the Jade Palace with his five attendants.
In Feng Yuheng's opinion, Li Kun was only about 1.7 meters tall, but he was very strong, and he should be a martial artist rather than a scholar. The clothing of the Sui people was similar to that of the Dashun people, and even looked a bit like the prosperous Tang Dynasty in the official history, which made Feng Yuheng feel a little nostalgic.
As she was looking at him, Li Kun had walked to the front of the center of the hall, lifted his robe, knelt on one knee, and performed the ceremonial ceremony of an envoy: "I, the son of your country, Li Kuner, greet the Emperor and the Empress. May your Majesty live long and the Empress live a thousand years. May our country prosper and the weather be favorable for the harvest."
Tianwu laughed loudly, "The fourth prince of Zong Sui is getting better and better at talking! Please stand up quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Kun stood up and bowed again, saying, "Over the past year, under the protection of Dashun, our Sui Dynasty has enjoyed peace and prosperity. Today, I have brought gifts from the Sui Dynasty to present to the King of Dashun to show that our Sui Dynasty is still loyal to Dashun."
As he spoke, the attendant beside him handed a gift list to the eunuch of Dashun, who handed it to Zhang Yuan, who finally handed it to Emperor Tianwu.
Li Kun continued, "This year, the tribute from the Sui Dynasty totaled 138 pieces, most of which have been handed over to the palace officials in charge of Dashun for inspection. There are also two national treasures that I brought to the palace today for your personal inspection." As he spoke, he turned sideways, and three attendants came forward, each holding something in their hands. "This is one of the national treasures, the Good Man Brocade. The Sui Dynasty wove a total of four pieces last year, and I brought all of them to Dashun."
When they heard the three words "Liang Ren Jin", the men in the hall behaved normally, with just a little bit of expectation, but all the women's eyes were wide open.
My beloved brocade! Zong Sui was not able to present it during the Chinese New Year last year. This year, he got four pieces in total and brought them to the palace. Could it be that I am lucky enough to see this national treasure fabric with my own eyes today?
People stretched their necks and stared eagerly at Prince Zong Sui. Li Kun was very satisfied with this reaction, so he deliberately delayed for some time and really enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.
Emperor Tianwu was a little unhappy and wanted to urge him to do something, but when he looked at the things waiting to be revealed behind the Lover Brocade, he took back the words that were on his lips.
Xuan Tiange was annoyed when he saw it, and shouted, "Hurry up! Since you have brought it to the palace, just show it to people openly. If you don't want people to see it, let the palace servants take it down and throw it in the storeroom. Why are you hesitating?"
This was Li Kun's first time in Dashun. Although some people who had been there before had told him about Dashun's situation, including who the royal family was like and what kind of personalities they had, he still couldn't figure out how a little girl could dare to speak like that in front of the emperor, empress, and court officials. Was she a princess? In Zong Sui, even a princess didn't have the qualifications? He couldn't help but look at Xuan Tiange in surprise.
Xuan Tiange frowned, "I asked you to show the fabric to everyone, why are you looking at me?"
Li Kun was completely shocked by Xuan Tiange. He didn't want to ask who this girl was. He turned around quickly and personally lifted the cloth covering the Liangrenjin.
Liangren Brocade is even rarer than Dashun Shu Brocade. Just looking at the color and luster of the material, it feels like it is naturally generated, and there is no trace of dyeing at all. It is said that Liangren Brocade is most suitable for making wedding dresses for women when they get married, because the best Liangren Brocade is bright red, and when made into a wedding dress, it can reflect a phoenix reborn from the ashes in the sun.
Such a good thing can only be obtained three or four times a year, and even worse in bad years, how can it not be precious? It is extremely rare for everyone to be able to take a look at it today, and at the moment, apart from praising it repeatedly, they can only sigh in despair. What else can the ministers and their families expect when the empress in the palace can't get it even if she breaks her head?
However, some people thought of Feng Yuheng at this time. They heard that when His Royal Highness Prince Yu gave the betrothal gift to the Feng family, boxes of five-treasure cloth were carried to the Feng Mansion, almost emptying the entire palace's ten-year inventory. They couldn't help but envy Feng Yuheng again. When they looked at the clothes they were wearing, which they thought were made of the best cloth, they sighed again, this is really a case of comparing people to death, comparing goods to throw away!
After viewing the Beloved Brocade and having endured enough of the admiration and gasps from the crowd, Li Kun waved his hand and had his attendant immediately hand the item in his hand over to the palace servant of Dashun.
While the palace maids were changing the Liang Ren Jin, Feng Yu Heng saw Xuan Tian Ming moving his mouth towards her and asking silently, "Do you want it?"
She could read lips and was embarrassed. He had already been thinking about this thing before it was sent to Dashun's warehouse. She had a little idea of where all the fabrics in her house came from.
She shook her head helplessly and replied to him with her lips: "No, that's enough."
The other party then said something complicated: "All good things must belong to our Hengheng."
She burst out laughing and said, "That's a great idea!"
The two looked at each other and smiled, and no one said anything else.
At this time, the several pieces of brocade were taken away by the palace servants. As the women's eyes returned, the men in the hall sat up straight all of a sudden. They knew that the main event was about to begin.
As expected, Li Kun took another step forward and said in a loud voice: "In addition to the Liangren Brocade, my Dashun also has a second national treasure - Iron Essence!"
As soon as the word "Iron Essence" came out, Feng Yuheng felt that the man in the hall looked more solemn. Everyone looked at the other two attendants behind Li Kun. They were also holding something in their hands, which was larger than Liangrenjin's cloth and looked quite heavy. However, it was still covered with a cloth, so it was impossible to see what it was.
She thought about it for a long time, but still didn't understand what iron essence was.
Then Li Kun continued, "A hundred years ago, the news that our Sui clan had refined iron essence spread throughout the five kingdoms. Everyone knew that weapons made of iron essence could cut through iron like mud. This iron essence helped our Sui clan win many battles. The second treasure I brought today is a set of swords made of iron essence."
This time he didn't keep the audience in suspense. After he finished speaking, he turned around and lifted the veil on his own initiative.
At this moment, the grand scene that people had stretched their necks to watch before was reappearing in the hall, except that this time it was men. The women did not understand any of it and did not think anything of it.
But it was different for men, especially the military commanders, who understood the value of this thing too well. Just imagine, in this era of cold weapons, when two armies faced each other, and one side had a stronger and sharper weapon than the other, what would happen? A complete one-sided massacre!
Feng Yuheng saw that Ren Xifeng's father, General Pingnan, simply stood up, walked around the table and took a few steps forward, then stood still and stared at the swords.
At this moment, the old general's eyes were shining, and that look clearly stated two words: Want!
Not only General Pingnan, but even Xuan Tianming, Xuan Tianhua and Xuan Tianye, all looked straight over there, unwilling to look away.
Feng Yuheng also subconsciously stood up and squinted at the weapons.
She finally understood that this was Princess Zong Sui's reason for marrying Xuan Tianhua!
The princess' dowry is the method of refining this iron essence!
This is equivalent to directly increasing the armed strength of Dashun's troops. No wonder Emperor Tianwu agreed, and no wonder Xuan Tianhua was so worried and said such words to her.
She turned her eyes away from the weapons and looked at Xuan Tianming. As if he had telepathy with her, he also turned his eyes to her at the same time. Not only Xuan Tianming, but even Xuan Tianhua looked at her.
When the three people's eyes met, Feng Yuheng knew that she had guessed right.
Zong Sui's treasure made the entire Jade Palace silent for a long time.
Emperor Tianwu was observing the reactions of the people below, but he sighed helplessly in his heart. Dashun could not make such a good weapon. They had tried countless times in the past few decades, but still could not find a way to refine this iron essence.
In fact, it was not just Dashun. Several other countries had also tried to refine iron on their own, but after so many years, there has never been any success.
Iron essence became Zong Sui's biggest secret.
Some people tried to steal it, but the thieves found out that the method of making the iron essence was passed down orally from generation to generation by the emperor of Sui Dynasty. Every time the craftsmen were made, they would be gathered together and taught by the emperor himself. After these craftsmen entered the secret place, they would never come out again until all the weapons they needed were made, and then they would be secretly executed.
However, Zong Sui was a small country after all, and it was already the limit for a small country to keep such a huge secret for so many years. Emperor Tianwu understood that since Zong Sui offered such a condition for marriage, it meant that it was too difficult for them to keep the secret any longer, and they had to rely on the power of Dashun to help complete it. In other words, sharing the secret with Dashun was equivalent to letting Dashun share the danger.
Of course, the danger to Zong Sui was nothing in the eyes of Emperor Tianwu. It was just that the other party specifically wanted his seventh son for the marriage, which really made him extremely embarrassed.
Xuan Tianhua was the child he was most reluctant to embarrass, and the child who understood the most about the big picture and universal love. He had already made up his mind that he would not force this child to do anything, and would just follow Xuan Tianhua's own wishes. Whether it was marrying a wife and having children or the path he chose in this life, apart from the throne, he would give Xuan Tianhua whatever he wanted, but now...
He looked at Xuan Tianhua and saw that the boy who always had a warm face was now filled with endless sorrow. He knew that Xuan Tianhua was not willing to marry the Princess Zong Sui at all. Xuan Tianhua had already made his attitude clear when Dashun got the news. But when he told her the terms of exchange, Xuan Tianhua thought about it overnight and nodded the next day.
Emperor Tianwu had never felt distressed for any of his children over the years. Even when Xuan Tianming's leg was injured like that, he didn't feel distressed at all. He just spoiled him blindly. But Xuan Tianhua's nod that day made him really distressed.
A group of swords and knives shocked everyone.
Li Kun said: "Please ask the generals of Dashun to test the weapon!"
But no one tried it. Iron essence has existed for a hundred years, how could they not know how good it is? In the past, such weapons were also presented to Dashun as national treasures by Zong Sui, but there were only a dozen or so. The people of Dashun were reluctant to use those things on the battlefield, and they just tried their best to study the refining method, but they have not succeeded so far.
This time, the thing I have been longing for for a hundred years has finally arrived at my doorstep.
Feng Yuheng remained standing, staring at the weapon made of iron essence and frowned slightly.
People in this era call this kind of thing iron essence? ...
...
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