Chapter 97

The war between the imperial army and the Chongzhou rebels had been raging for nearly a year.

All the armor, weapons, and military equipment required by the army were distributed by the Imperial Armaments Bureau. However, when weapons and armor were damaged during wartime, it was impossible to send them all the way back to the capital for repairs. As a result, stationed armies generally requisitioned weapon-forging workshops near the local prefectures.

Besides repairing damaged weapons, the blacksmiths in those workshops could also forge new arms to supply the army.

Although He Jingyuan commanded the military forces of Jizhou, Xie Zheng could mobilize the entire northwestern army. The Jizhou forces under He Jingyuan’s command were naturally included within that authority.

At first, only the Huizhou Xie Family Army had fought the Chongzhou rebels. Later, when the Northern Jue attacked Jinzhou, the Xie Family Army moved north to provide support. Prince Changxin attempted to seize Jizhou by taking advantage of the situation, which was how the Jizhou Army became involved in the conflict.

Before He Jingyuan led the remaining Jizhou troops to Chongzhou to join Tang Zhaoyi, the only Jizhou soldiers who had entered Chongzhou territory were the ten thousand or so new recruits under Tang Zhaoyi’s command.

Tang Zhaoyi was a cautious man. During the siege of Chongzhou, he was uncertain whether Xie Zheng would come to Chongzhou to annihilate the rebels after dealing with the enemy forces beneath First-Line Gorge Mountain. As such, he did not dare rashly take control of the weapon workshops around Chongzhou.

Even now, those workshops were still managed by the remaining Huizhou troops under Xie Zheng’s command. Since he was here to retrieve the weapon forged for Fan Changyu, there was no need to conceal his identity.

As soon as the young officer stationed there heard the announcement, he hurried out to greet him.

“Greetings, Marquis.”

Xie Zheng handed his horse’s reins to a nearby soldier and strode into the camp.

“How is the Mo Dao coming along?”

The young officer had to quicken his pace to keep up.

“My lord, it only needs one final tempering before it can leave the furnace.”

The moment they entered the forge, a wave of scorching heat hit them head-on, making it feel like they had stepped into a giant steamer.

Rows of smelting furnaces stretched deep into the workshop, disappearing out of sight.

Bare-chested blacksmiths stood at their stations, swinging heavy hammers one after another against glowing iron on their anvils. The muscles in their arms bulged with strength. The constant ringing of metal striking metal blended with deep, rhythmic work chants, creating a sound that stirred the heart.

The furnaces blazed with fierce flames. Beside every blacksmith stood an assistant working the bellows, equally bare-chested and drenched in sweat.

The young officer led Xie Zheng to the furnace used for forging long-handled weapons.

Nearby stood a temporary weapon rack.

Resting across it was a Mo Dao with a three-foot blade and a five-foot handle.

Its blade gleamed like snow, while the shaft was forged from black iron. The countless folded layers of steel created through repeated hammering formed faint circular patterns that reflected subtly in the firelight.

“The blade was forged from hundred-fold refined steel,” the young officer explained.

Xie Zheng’s gaze swept over it indifferently. He lifted the weapon by its handle, weighed it in his hand, and casually executed a flourish.

The blade let out a resonant cry like a tiger’s roar.

Startled by the gust of force generated by the swing, the young officer instinctively stepped backward.

Examining the cold gleam of the edge, Xie Zheng asked,

“The blade has already been sharpened. Why does it still need tempering?”

The young officer could not answer.

The old blacksmith responsible for forging the Mo Dao was hammering a new weapon nearby. Without even raising his head, he replied:

“It is an old rule handed down by our ancestors. A weapon destined for the battlefield, once sharpened and stained with blood, must be returned to the fire one more time before it can truly leave the furnace.”

Perhaps because he had spent his entire life beside furnaces, the old man’s voice was as hoarse as a battered bronze gong, harsh and grating to the ear.

It was merely folk superstition.

Weapons that drank blood on the battlefield were believed to accumulate fierce and baleful energy. Since military generals rarely met peaceful ends, people gradually came to believe that blood-soaked weapons would eventually bring misfortune to their owners.

Thus, after a blade was sharpened and stained with blood, it was traditionally returned to the furnace once more. Supposedly, this was done to subdue the weapon’s spirit.

Afraid that Xie Zheng might take offense, the young officer quickly added,

“My lord, this old master comes from the same lineage as Yun Yazi, who forged your halberd years ago. If not for the fact that this Mo Dao was also forged from black iron, I’m afraid I couldn’t have persuaded him to come out of retirement.”

Black iron was extremely valuable. Ordinary blacksmiths rarely dared use such precious material.

Even renowned master smiths seldom obtained iron of this quality. Most were only invited to work with such materials by royalty and nobility who paid enormous sums.

Ever since stepping onto the battlefield, Xie Zheng had ceased believing in gods and spirits.

But this Mo Dao had been forged for Fan Changyu.

Even knowing the superstition was nonsense, he was still willing to seek a measure of peace of mind.

“What blood is used?” he asked.

The old blacksmith finally raised his eyes.

Under the glow of the furnace, it was obvious that one of them was dead and sightless. Yet the remaining eye was as sharp as an eagle’s.

Looking directly at Xie Zheng without the slightest fear, he replied,

“A weapon of slaughter is meant to kill people. Human blood is naturally the best. Around here, though, we usually use black dog blood.”

The young officer hurriedly said,

“My lord, I’ve already sent someone to fetch black dog blood.”

“No need.”

Xie Zheng’s expression remained indifferent.

His gaze settled on the coldly gleaming Mo Dao.

He raised a hand, grabbed the collar of his robe, and tore it open with force.

The exquisitely embroidered garment flew aside, revealing his lean, powerful upper body.

The young officer caught the robe with both hands. Realizing what Xie Zheng intended to do, his face paled.

“My lord, you mustn’t! Your body is worth more than gold—”

Xie Zheng ignored him completely.

Holding the Mo Dao, he spun it through a flourish before reversing the blade and drawing it across his own back.

The razor-sharp edge instantly opened a deep wound across the muscular contours of his back.

As the blade completed its arc, blood dripped from the edge, scattering crimson droplets across the ground.

The old blacksmith looked at Xie Zheng with visible surprise.

Then he let out a thunderous shout in his broken-gong voice.

“More fire!”

The man working the bellows immediately pulled with all his strength.

The flames within the furnace surged higher at once.

The intense heat became so fierce it felt as though it would scorch flesh from bone.

The blood-drinking Mo Dao was placed back into the furnace to be reheated.

Meanwhile, the young officer hurriedly summoned someone to treat the wound on Xie Zheng’s back.

Once the blade glowed red-hot, the old blacksmith seized his hammer and carefully forged it again with a rapid series of ringing blows.

Afterward, he plunged it into water.

With a sharp hiss, a cloud of white steam exploded upward.

When the weapon had completely cooled, the old blacksmith picked up the Mo Dao and examined it closely.

The blade now shared the same dark hue as the black iron shaft. Yet within the folded forging patterns shimmered traces of gold and crimson. Only the sharpened edge remained a snowy silver-gray.

Overcome with joy, tears nearly welled up in his eyes.

“It succeeded… it succeeded…”

The surrounding craftsmen erupted into excited cries and crowded around to witness the second weapon ever forged from black iron.

The old blacksmith carefully polished and refined the blade once more.

Finally, he wiped away the grime left by the process.

The previously gray edge immediately revealed a dazzling brilliance. One only had to look at it to sense its terrifying sharpness.

The golden-red forging patterns that spiraled across the blade now gave off a strangely enchanting aura.

Holding the Mo Dao in both hands, the old blacksmith respectfully presented it to Xie Zheng.

Unable to conceal his excitement, he said,

“My lord, please find this Mo Dao a worthy master. Everything I’ve learned in my life has been poured into this blade. If one day it can become famous throughout the world alongside its owner, then this old man will not lose to Yun Yazi!”

“Naturally,” Xie Zheng replied.

The moment he saw the long-handled Mo Dao, he knew it could not be more suitable for Fan Changyu.

The Mo Dao could chop and slash alike. Whether used from horseback or by infantry, it was a superior battlefield weapon.

Xie Zheng ordered the blade placed into a carrying case.

Just as he exited the camp, a personal guard came galloping from the direction of Kang City.

“My lord! A letter from the Grand Tutor!”

Xie Zheng frowned.

Xie Qi had only recently sent him a message via sea eagle. Now Grand Tutor Tao had sent another letter.

Could something have happened in Chongzhou?

He accepted the letter from the guard, opened it, and read it.

After finishing, he tucked it into his robes and glanced at the guard.

“You will accompany me to Chongzhou.”

“Yes, my lord.”

In the letter, Grand Tutor Tao reported that after Li Huaian arrived in Chongzhou, he had remained in the army camp ever since.

The Grand Tutor suspected that Li Huaian had already uncovered some incriminating evidence against He Jingyuan from the archives of the Jizhou treasury. He had likely also confirmed that the imperial grandson might be in Chongzhou, which was why he continued to stay within the military camp.

The setting sun’s shattered rays reflected in Xie Zheng’s eyes.

His gaze grew colder and colder.

Swinging himself onto his horse, he jerked the reins sharply and shouted,

“Move!”


—

When Grand Tutor Tao went to see He Jingyuan, He Jingyuan was half surprised and half relieved.

“After flooding the rebels attacking Lu City, General Tang still had the courage to besiege Chongzhou with fewer than twenty thousand newly recruited soldiers. I should have realized long ago that it was Grand Tutor Tao advising him from behind the scenes.”

Grand Tutor Tao replied,

“The northwest has been in chaos for far too long. The Li faction and Wei faction in the court have fought enough. It is time to return peace to the people of the realm.”

He Jingyuan sighed.

“The people of Great Yin have suffered greatly.”

Hearing this, Grand Tutor Tao asked,

“If you truly worry about the people, was a single act of appreciation enough for you to serve Wei Yan for all these years?”

He Jingyuan smiled bitterly.

“In the year Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie died defending Jinzhou, there were no generals left to guard the frontier. Great Yin stood on the brink of collapse. It was the Chancellor who supported the backbone of the empire.

“Regardless of the current situation, the Marquis was only able to march north and reclaim Jinzhou because Great Yin accumulated the strength to do so after more than ten years of recovery. During those years, the Chancellor truly did much for the empire.

“Had I never met the Chancellor, Jingyuan would have been nothing more than a frozen corpse by the roadside decades ago.

“I dare not forget the kindness of recognizing and elevating me.”

Grand Tutor Tao said,

“That old man of the Li family prides himself on being part of the righteous faction, yet his ambitions are no smaller than Wei Yan’s.

“At least many of Wei Yan’s followers, after filling their pockets from the national treasury, still did a few things for the common people.

“If Wei Yan falls and the Li faction takes over, a group of starving wolves will replace them. By the time they’ve filled their own bellies and finally let a few scraps fall through their teeth for the people below, the treasury will likely already be empty.”

He looked at He Jingyuan.

“My political views have never aligned with Wei Yan’s. But I despise even more the Li faction, which spent years fighting him by withholding disaster relief grain until refugees starved in droves, only to use those deaths as ammunition to impeach Wei Yan afterward.

“You know as well as I do that the Li family patriarch and Wei Yan are competing over the military merit of Chongzhou.

“Li Huaian has now arrived in Chongzhou. I assume he has already obtained some evidence against you.

“Wei Yan will most likely not protect you.

“But because of the burial kindness you once showed my wife and child, this old man is still willing to save your life.

“Will you tell me what evidence Li Huaian has found?”

At the mention of that old favor, memories surfaced in He Jingyuan’s mind, leaving him feeling somewhat melancholic.

Grand Tutor Tao had come to appreciate him not only because he governed honestly and cared deeply for the people.

In his early years during the chaos of war, Grand Tutor Tao’s wife and child had died amid the conflict. It was He Jingyuan who had helped build their graves.

More than twenty years had passed since their deaths.

Grand Tutor Tao had remained alone ever since.

Compared with scholars of the same generation who had passed the imperial examinations alongside him, he appeared more than a decade older.

After Xie Zheng completed his studies under him, Grand Tutor Tao felt that someone had inherited his life’s learning. Thus he resigned from office and retired into seclusion, only emerging once again now.

With Grand Tutor Tao’s assurance, He Jingyuan recalled the promise he had once made to Xie Zheng.

Suddenly rising to his feet, he gave a solemn bow.

“He has survived until today only because the burdens upon his shoulders have yet to be laid down.

“If that day truly comes, He Jingyuan’s life is not worth cherishing.

“I only ask Grand Tutor to protect the lives of two sisters on my behalf.”

Grand Tutor Tao found the request somewhat strange.

“Who are they?”

He Jingyuan replied,

“They are the daughters of an old friend.”

The aged brows of Grand Tutor Tao furrowed instinctively.

Then he heard He Jingyuan continue:

“I believe Grand Tutor is also familiar with that old friend.”