The overwhelming smell of iron at the Tong Family was too strong. It couldn't have come from just a dozen or so ironing irons being melted; it had to be from a large pile of iron being burned and melted.
"Smell of iron?" Magistrate Shi was no fool. He was a capable and intelligent man, and upon hearing this, he immediately understood. He turned to look at Elder Tong and pointed at him, saying, "Arrest Tong Changxing!"
He then pointed at the Protectors, "No one in the Tong Family is allowed to resist. Otherwise, they will be treated as traitors and executed without mercy!"
Iron was a military resource under control in Great Chu. Anyone buying iron had to show their household registration and register with the government office. There was also a set limit; for non-official families, the amount of iron they could own could not exceed one hundred catties.
