Yin Shuhuai prepared two small gifts for his fierce dragon.

One was a treasured saber that could cut through iron like clay and slice a hair just by blowing it across the blade, and the other was a uniquely shaped single handed composite crossbow.

The saber was a Tang Modao, modified by Yin Shuhuai based on historical records of later generations and the popular horse chopping sabers used in the military at the time. This Modao had a three foot long blade and a four foot long handle, sharpened on both sides. Two eunuchs carried the treasured weapon together and placed it before the Emperor and the Duke of Yan. Shentu Yang’s eyes instantly lit up. It was the metallic luster reflected off the sharp blade under the brilliant sunshine.

Cold, dazzling, and matchlessly sharp.

Shentu Yang’s gaze went completely rigid. He stared directly at the Modao, his field of vision no longer able to hold any other person or thing.

That was until a fair, slender, and distinctly jointed large hand firmly gripped the handle of the long saber, lifting it effortlessly across his front.

Accompanying the whistling ring of the long saber cutting through the air, a scene that made Shentu Yang’s mouth go dry and his heart race finally appeared before his eyes. The Yin Emperor, dressed in his ceremonial robes, held the Modao, which was even taller and sharper than his own figure, pointing the sword-like tip directly at Shentu Yang’s throat. The sharp, subtle gleam of the blade seemed to sting his skin slightly, yet with every breath, it made Shentu Yang feel a crisp, sweet clarity that was even sharper than the wind and snow.

“It really is beautiful.” Shentu Yang’s eyes lingered infatuatedly between the Emperor and the long saber.

The body of the saber was like forged snow, throwing off a dazzling radiance under the refraction of the sunlight. It was crafted from the Hundred Refined Steel that Mo Yu, the Director of the Imperial Workshops, had spent many years developing alongside numerous skilled craftsmen. Because the production process was too intricate and meticulous, the manufacturing cost of a Modao was extremely high, and it demanded an exceptionally high level of skill from the blacksmith masters. The Director of the Imperial Workshops had gathered master artisans to study it until now, and they had only just managed to forge this single treasured weapon that met Yin Shuhuai’s requirements.

“They say a treasured saber should be gifted to a hero. How about I give this saber to the Duke of Yan?” Yin Shuhuai held the weapon in one hand, casually swung it into a flourish under Shentu Yang’s completely awe-struck gaze, and chopped it hard against a piece of rockery in the imperial garden.

With a thunderous crash, the hard, giant rock was actually sliced in two like a block of tofu. Meanwhile, the sharp Modao still emitted a dazzling luster under the sunshine, and its snow-bright blade did not even carry a single scratch. It truly cut iron like clay and split stone like a melon.

Shentu Yang subconsciously held his breath, his mesmerized gaze glued tightly to the Emperor standing with the saber.

Yin Shuhuai smiled slightly and handed the treasured weapon to Shentu Yang.

The Tang Modao possessed a legendary reputation in the history of later generations. The description of the Tang Modao in the Old Book of Han was that “both men and horses were shattered to pieces,” which showed the sheer power of the weapon. Some people also called the Modao a vital weapon against cavalry, and it was quite popular before the Tang dynasty.

Yin Shuhuai deduced that the primary reason it enjoyed such a matchlessly sharp and legendary reputation was that during the Han and Tang periods, the iron smelting technology of northern nomadic tribes like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Qianghu was still quite subpar. Many nomadic warriors could not even afford iron armor on the battlefield and only wore leather armor into combat, which gave the Modao plenty of room to display its power.

By the time of the Song dynasty and later, northern nomadic tribes such as the Liao, Jin, and Western Xia had likewise mastered relatively advanced iron smelting technology, and they even equipped their cavalry with heavy armor. Under these circumstances, the Modao’s power to shatter both men and horses was greatly reduced. Coupled with the fact that the production cost of a Modao was too high, it was less cost-effective than weapons like iron maces and battle axes, so it was gradually phased out of the battlefield. Yin Shuhuai had the Imperial Workshops manufacture the Modao because he wanted to form a Modao Battalion specifically to deal with the cavalry of the northern nomadic tribes.

Shentu Yang was also a battle-hardened general, so he naturally understood exactly how high the lethality of such a long saber would be against cavalry. The cavalry of the state of Yan were already the elite among elites. If they were equipped with such weapons, they would ride across the world from now on, completely unmatched.

As for the composite crossbow produced by the Imperial Workshops, it was likewise crafted from Hundred Refined Steel and could fire seventy-two arrows consecutively. Although its range was only a hundred paces and its accuracy was not particularly high, its lethality against cavalry on the battlefield might be even greater than that of the Modao.

Shentu Yang could even picture a scene where the Yan cavalry held a saber in one hand and a crossbow in the other, charging furiously into the enemy ranks and slaughtering them like chopping melons and slicing vegetables.

When he heard Yin Shuhuai say that these two treasures were actually gifts for him, Shentu Yang instantly danced with joy, laughing so hard that his eyes almost closed. He reached out to grip the Modao and walked with large strides to a spacious area. Right in front of the Emperor, he thoroughly enjoyed performing a set of the Shentu family’s hereditary saber techniques. He wielded the long saber so swiftly that it became completely watertight and impenetrable.

Afterward, Shentu Yang set down the treasured saber with great care and had the eunuchs set up an archery target a hundred paces away. He personally tested the power of the composite crossbow firing seventy-two arrows consecutively.

“Excellent saber, excellent crossbow.” With a face full of awe, Shentu Yang held the saber in his left hand and the crossbow in his right, playing with the weapon and the crossbow as if he couldn’t bear to put them down, praising them endlessly, “They are truly weapons that cut iron like clay and mow down enemies like grass. I wonder exactly who crafted this treasured saber and composite crossbow?”

Shentu Yang was a battle-hardened general after all. The moment the saber and crossbow entered his hands, he noticed that the materials and craftsmanship used to make them were extraordinary.

“I wonder what the cost of such a treasured saber and composite crossbow is? If even one-tenth of my Yan army could be equipped with them, we would ride across the world from now on without a single rival.”

If the Modao still required the user’s martial skills and physical stamina, then the existence of the composite crossbow could be called a defiance of nature. It did not require the holder to have any superb mounted archery skills at all; as long as they had hands, they could use it. This greatly reduced the difficulty of training crossbowmen.

Yin Shuhuai smiled slightly. The Hundred Refined Steel used to make the treasured saber and the composite crossbow was a new material that Mo Yu, the Director of the Imperial Workshops, had spent many years developing alongside skilled craftsmen. Needless to say, the cost was high; at any rate, it was not something the current, impoverished Yan court could afford.

However, in two or three years, it might be a different story.

After all, the land of Yan was extremely rich in mineral resources, and having just annexed Goguryeo, it possessed massive iron ore and coal resources that could continuously provide the raw materials for making the Modao and composite crossbows to the Ministry of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Workshops. The appearance of refined salt provided Yan with the foundation to rapidly seize the wealth of the Central Plains to enrich itself within a short period.

Hearing this, Shentu Yang felt his spirits lift, wishing he could immediately build this elite Yan force that held a Modao in one hand and a composite crossbow in the other. When that time came, he would definitely lead this elite troop himself to fight on the battlefield for the Emperor and reclaim the world. He wanted to make all the various lords submit at the Emperor’s feet, and he wanted the entire world to hear only the Emperor’s voice.

He wanted tens of thousands of states to pay homage to the court and the four wildernesses to submit, so that the northern nomads would never dare to ride south to graze their horses again, and their warriors would not dare to bend their bows to express their grievances!

Looking at the high-spirited Shentu Yang, Yin Shuhuai could not help but smile warmly, “If that is the case, I shall wait for the Duke of Yan to conquer a picturesque empire for me.”

Shentu Yang looked at the gently smiling Yin Emperor. On a spring afternoon, the sunshine was bright and splendid. Yet, the Emperor’s smile was even more dazzling and eye-catching than the spring day.

Shentu Yang looked on in a bit of a daze as the bright sunshine poured across the Emperor’s face and body. The dancing halo of light slid down the Emperor’s slender neck into his collar, reflecting a moist luster like a pearl. The solemn imperial ceremonial robes made this small patch of skin appear increasingly like smooth snow, white enough to bewitch the masses and white enough to startle the eyes.

Shentu Yang subconsciously swallowed his saliva, stepping up to the Emperor completely of his own accord. Like a devout beast lowering its head, he gently kissed the Emperor’s Adam’s apple.

The moist, warm sensation felt like an electric current, spreading from his Adam’s apple all the way to every part of his body. Yin Shuhuai only felt his whole body go slightly numb, unexpectedly finding himself a bit unsteady on his feet. He subconsciously grabbed Shentu Yang’s lapels, reprimanding him with a look that was half angry and half amused, “Is my dear official trying to return kindness with enmity?”

“This subject would not dare.” Shentu Yang’s voice was hoarse, and his mouth was dry. He straightened his body slightly, letting Yin Shuhuai feel his fiery excitement, “This subject is acting beyond his own control.”

“You call this beyond your control?” Yin Shuhuai was practically driven to laughter by Shentu Yang’s rogue behavior, planting a kick on Shentu Yang’s thigh and sending him stumbling a foot away, “Get out. I do not wish to see you today.”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Shentu Yang rubbed his nose. Like a large dog that had made its master angry, he tucked his tail and left the palace in a dejected manner. Before leaving, he did not forget to take along the treasured saber and composite crossbow the Emperor had gifted him.

Having received these gifts from the Emperor, Shentu Yang could hardly sit still after leaving the palace, immediately rushing off with the saber and crossbow to show off to his brothers in a whirlwind of excitement.

Zhou Tai and the others, who were currently resting at home on their day off, were politely invited to the Duke’s estate by the servants of the Duke of Yan’s mansion. Before they even had a chance to ask what their eldest brother wanted with them, their eyes immediately caught sight of the uniquely shaped Modao and composite crossbow. A group of generals who were thoroughly accustomed to fighting on the battlefield were instantly blown away, “What is this?”

“This is a gift from the Emperor to me.” Shentu Yang was immensely proud, yet he showed off with a very reserved air, “This is the Modao and mechanical crossbow that the Director of the Imperial Workshops led many master artisans to develop over many years. The Emperor cherishes me, so he bestowed these two treasures upon me. He even said a treasured saber should be gifted to a hero.”

A group of brave men who only understood how to kill enemies on horseback could not catch the display of affection hidden in Shentu Yang’s words at all. Their eyes shone with golden light as they crowded forward, surrounding the Modao and composite crossbow in a tight circle, scrambling to test the weapon and the crossbow. Afterward, their praise was continuous.

“It really is a rare, treasured saber that cuts iron like clay.”

“This composite crossbow is simply incredible, firing seventy-two arrows consecutively. Even a new recruit who doesn’t know mounted archery could use it right away. If our Yan boys could all be equipped with this crossbow, I ask you, who in this vast world would dare to stand in our way?”

Sure enough, great minds thought alike. Shentu Yang and the Emperor thought so too. It was just a pity that the Hundred Refined Steel used to make the Modao and composite crossbow was truly hard to come by, and the production process was even more intricate. In the short term, the court did not have the spare capacity to assemble such an elite force. But the Emperor had also said that within two or three years, it would definitely be accomplished.

The various generals’ eyes lit up upon hearing this, and they eagerly requested one after another, “I beg my lord to hand this elite force over to me. I will surely train a cavalry for my lord that will ride unchecked across the world.”

“Does it even need you to train them? The soldiers equipped with this saber and crossbow must be the elite of the army. The soldiers of my Trapped Camp are all brave lads who can take on a hundred enemies alone. Such an excellent long saber and mechanical crossbow should naturally be given to our Trapped Camp!”

“Is our Bingzhou Iron Cavalry not elite enough? If our Bingzhou Iron Cavalry could be equipped with such long sabers and mechanical crossbows, who in this vast world would dare to contend with us?”

“Our Youzhou Iron Cavalry is the absolute best!”

Watching his brothers argue until their faces were red and their necks thick, Shentu Yang laughed out loud, “No need to fight over it. This is a gift from the Emperor to me, so of course I will lead them personally.”

Under Shentu Yang’s grand and boastful display, the news that the Imperial Workshops had developed Hundred Refined Steel and new weapons spread like wildfire.

Huo Quan, who was in charge of the Northern Army, instantly could not sit still. He immediately entered the palace for an audience, dropping subtle hints to remind the Emperor not to favor one over the other; after all, their Northern Army was the Emperor’s direct lineage!

If the Emperor wanted to assemble an elite force equipped with the Modao and composite crossbow, how could he leave out the Northern Army?

Yin Shuhuai could not help but laugh, yet he also felt that Huo Quan’s words were not without merit. No matter which aspect was considered, the Northern Army was the Emperor’s direct force and the greatest source of confidence for Yin Shuhuai to gradually consolidate his imperial power. With tens of thousands of Northern Army soldiers guarding the capital, Yin Shuhuai could sleep a bit more soundly at night.

Precisely because of this, no matter how much Yin Shuhuai favored Shentu Yang, he would not neglect the Northern Army.

Moreover, during this campaign against Goguryeo, ten thousand soldiers of the Northern Army had followed Shentu Yang and had also achieved monumental military merits. If the court intended to form a Modao squad, it naturally would not forget the contributions of the Northern Army.

It was only due to the inefficient production capacity of the Imperial Workshops that the court would have no spare capacity to assemble such an elite force for at least a year or two.

“You only need to wait patiently,” Yin Shuhuai said up to this point, unintentionally tossing out a running joke from his past life, “The bread will be there, and the milk will be there too.”

“Bread? Milk?” Huo Quan looked at the Yin Emperor with a mind full of fog, completely failing to understand what a Modao Battalion had to do with bread and milk.

Could it be that the Emperor was implying the physical stamina of the Northern Army was not yet robust and muscular enough, telling him to select elites from the Northern Army and feed them more bread and milk every day to build up their bodies?

Yin Shuhuai had no idea that just because of a joke he had casually dropped, Huo Quan’s thoughts had already drifted to the high heavens. After leaving the palace, Huo Quan even summoned his trusted aides, such as Dong Wan and Jiang Yang, to his mansion, instructing them to screen out elites within the Northern Army and supply them with meat, eggs, and milk every day, making absolutely sure to raise a force that was the elite among elites.

“The Emperor wants to form a Modao Battalion, and the selected soldiers must all be battle-hardened elites. You must take this matter to heart,” Huo Quan instructed seriously.

Jiang Yang and the others looked at each other, and after a long silence, someone could not help but say, “But the most elite soldiers in the army have already been recommended by the colonels of each battalion to pursue advanced studies at the military academy.”

Huo Quan said, “…Then select more. This is the Emperor’s command.”

Hearing this, the various colonels immediately adopted solemn expressions and replied, “Understood.”

At this very moment, no one realized that their compliance with the Emperor’s instructions had already reached the point of absolute obedience. And such a conditioned reflex was not just because they were followers of the Huo faction and needed to obey the instructions of Huo Quan, the head of the Huo family. It was even more so because Huo Quan said this was the Emperor’s meaning.

As Yin Shuhuai continuously introduced excellent policies that benefited the country and the people, the officials across the court had also, through a subtle and imperceptible process, grown accustomed to complying with the Emperor’s edicts.

In particular, the aristocratic families and powerful clans who had accumulated massive wealth through the sale of refined salt increasingly realized the benefits of loyalty to the sovereign, protecting the master, and absolute obedience. Since the profits they made from selling refined salt were already so abundant, the state of Yan, which manufactured the refined salt, would only profit ten or a hundred times more than them. More importantly, Yan only needed to open salt fields in Youzhou to sit back and enjoy the fruits of success, while their merchant caravans had to consume resources, horses, and men, laboriously traveling between various provinces, commanderies, and counties, where the slightest carelessness could result in total annihilation, losing both lives and wealth.

If they had known it would turn out like this, they should never have violated the court’s edicts in the beginning, practicing compliance in public while opposing it in private, and converting wheat fields to mulberry fields. This had not only thoroughly enraged the Emperor but had also forced the common people of Qing, Xu, Yan, and Ji provinces to rise up in rebellion, giving Shentu Yang and the state of Yan an opportunity to exploit.

It was just a pity that there was no medicine for regret in the world. Now that things had reached this point, they could only bite the bullet and accept their bad luck. But while they accepted it, the aristocratic families and powerful clans who had already tasted the sweetness were constantly keeping themselves ready. They were merely waiting for the day when they could plant the children of their respective families as chief officials in all the commanderies of Yan. When that time came, they would take over the nest like a dove occupying a magpie’s nest, changing the regime, and this world would still belong to their aristocratic families.

Prior to this, the aristocratic families and powerful clans who had suffered a massive setback at the hands of Shentu Yang had also learned the hard truth that “in a chaotic world, military strength is everything.” If Shentu Yang had not led the Yan Iron Cavalry to press them aggressively, the aristocratic families and powerful clans would not have left their hometowns, and the court would certainly not have relocated the capital to Youzhou so hastily.

Therefore, when the aristocratic families and powerful clans learned through various channels that the Emperor had actually invented Hundred Refined Steel and new weapons, and even wanted to use them to equip the Yan army and the Northern Army, they could not sit still either. It was just that they were well aware that their relationship with the Emperor was not particularly close, and it was impossible for the Emperor to allow the aristocratic families and powerful clans to arm their own private soldiers and retinues the way he relied heavily on the Northern Army and the Yan army.

After thinking back and forth, the approach of persuading the Emperor to allow the aristocratic families and powerful clans to be equipped with the new weapons was clearly unfeasible. The only option left was to find ways to bribe the master artisans of the Imperial Workshops and steal the smelting method for Hundred Refined Steel and the production method for the new weapons from their hands.

Setting aside everything else for the moment, as long as they mastered the manufacturing methods for Hundred Refined Steel and the new weapons and equipped their merchant caravans with such sharp tools, would they still need to worry about blind bandits along their trade routes, or even warlords and powerful clans disguised as bandits blocking the road to rob them?

As for whether they should privately sell the manufacturing methods for Hundred Refined Steel and the new weapons to various local lords and powerful clans to reap enormous profits, that would depend on whether those lords and clans could afford the price. If the lords could afford the price, they would not be stingy about sharing what they had. If they could use this matter to work hand in glove with the various lords from the inside out, staging another campaign to rescue the Emperor and move the capital back to Luoyang, that would be even better.

The aristocratic families and powerful clans did not feel that their behavior was betraying their own side; instead, they felt that doing this was restoring order from chaos.

The Yin dynasty had enjoyed over six hundred years of statehood, and the royal capital had always been in the heartland of the Central Plains; how could it content itself with a remote corner? What was more, the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, possessed wild ambitions, using military force to compel the court to relocate the capital and holding the Emperor hostage to command the world. This act of usurpation and rebellion incited the anger of both gods and men, and it was something everyone had a right to punish. They were simply being loyal to the sovereign and caring for the state, which was why they were privately connecting with the lords to rescue the Emperor from deep distress.

Even if they could not achieve a campaign to rescue the Emperor, they could at least give Shentu Yang a lesson and curb the development of Yan’s military strength. Whether for personal or public interest, it seemed like a very worthwhile deal no matter how they thought about it.

The aristocratic families and powerful clans had calculated their moves beautifully, but unfortunately, their attempts at bribery were very quickly reported by the master artisans of the Imperial Workshops to Mo Yu, the Director of the Imperial Workshops. And Mo Yu entered the palace to meet with the Emperor at the very first instance of receiving the report.

Having followed the Emperor all the way from Luoyang, the Director of the Imperial Workshops had personally witnessed the power of the aristocratic families and powerful clans to be “unfit to achieve anything but more than capable of ruining things.” Now that the court had relocated its capital to Youzhou and the Emperor had painstakingly managed the region with single-minded devotion, finally achieving the results seen today, he did not want this bunch of rat droppings from the aristocratic families to ruin a good pot of soup.

Perhaps the aristocratic families who were pulling strings in private simply had bad luck, for when Mo Yu, the Director of the Imperial Workshops, reported this matter to the Emperor, Shentu Yang happened to be in the palace as well.

Hearing this matter, Shentu Yang was absolutely furious. On the spot, under the pretext of spying on state secrets, he dispatched troops to surround those few aristocratic families completely. Furthermore, during the process of searching and seizing the aristocratic families’ properties, they unearthed secret letters between the families and various lords. It was written there in black and white that the major aristocratic families and powerful clans intended to bribe the artisans of the Imperial Workshops, spy on state secrets, sell the manufacturing methods for Hundred Refined Steel and the new weapons to various lords at high prices, and even privately invite the lords to take advantage of the chaos to attack Youzhou, stating they were willing to work hand in glove from the inside, and so forth.

Colluding with external enemies, the ironclad evidence was as solid as a mountain.

What else was there to say at this point?

Shentu Yang naturally had to execute the entire clans of these death-seeking aristocratic families and powerful clans according to the laws of the court!

This was an act of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, and it indeed terrified the remaining aristocratic families who were eager to move. For a long period afterward, the aristocratic families were as quiet as mice, never daring to carry out any spying or bribery attempts again.

Yin Shuhuai shook his head and sighed. It was probably the generation gap of several thousand years before and after his time travel, but most of the time, he could not quite understand the thoughts of the aristocratic families and powerful clans. They had a perfectly good life to live, yet they insisted on colluding with external enemies. Even if their understanding of loyalty to the sovereign and protecting the state was distorted, the rule that court ministers were forbidden from privately colluding with external lords was an ironclad law across all dynasties, wasn’t it?

Did those aristocratic families and powerful clans who wanted to steal the secrets of the Imperial Workshops to sell to the lords, and who even attempted to connect with the lords to rescue the Emperor, actually have any brains? Did they truly think that Youzhou, which occupied a perilous geographical location and was guarded by heavy troops, was like Luoyang, where anyone who came along could try their luck at passing the gates?

Back then, eighteen regional lords had marched straight toward Luoyang under the banner of rescuing the Emperor, only to be thoroughly thrashed along the way by the Yan cavalry led by Shentu Yang. Today, compared to back then, the troops and horses of Yan had more than tripled, along with their horse tack and equipment being completely upgraded. Even if all the various lords went into battle together, would they have the confidence to defeat the Yan army, where the entire population was integrated into the military?

What was more, the various lords might not necessarily be able to eagerly rush over to rescue the Emperor the way the aristocratic families imagined.

Sometimes, Yin Shuhuai really wanted to pry open the skulls of those aristocratic families and powerful clans to see if they actually had any brains inside. Was it truly the case that for the sake of profit, they could cast aside the lives of their entire clans without a single care?

Yin Shuhuai did not understand; Yin Shuhuai was greatly shocked, yet he still pressed the imperial jade seal down onto the decree to execute the entire clans of those aristocratic families without the slightest hesitation.

Although he did not understand, he respected the choices of those aristocratic families. Since they were single-mindedly seeking death, Yin Shuhuai naturally had to grant their wish.

Letting their entire families go on their final journey in a neat and orderly fashion could, after all, be considered a form of accumulation of merit.