Chapter 822: Zhao Family's Three Thousand Armor

The White Horse from Liangzhou

The Li family's 1,400 armored soldiers surged like a flood to the entrance of the Imperial Observatory, forming a formidable formation as impenetrable as a chevaux de frise.

In fact, before the armored soldiers, there was only one person.

The 1,400 elite armored soldiers, specially outfitted with heavy infantry armor, were all positioned inside the gate of the Imperial Observatory, with no one stepping out, except for the two generals, Li Shouguo and Li Chang'an.

Donning this heavy, fifty-catty lamellar armor meant that the infantry abandoned all flexibility and mobility. Such armor was originally intended for specific battlefields where infantry would obstruct cavalry, relying on the inherent weight of each individual armor piece, reinforced by dense formations, to withstand the impact of cavalry charges. However, if an army unit was composed solely of infantry phalanxes equipped with heavy armor, large shields, long spears, and powerful crossbows, no matter how stable they were—like mountains—their excessive weight often prevented them from pursuing a routed cavalry, even if they successfully repelled the initial charge. They could only hold their ground, absolutely unable to expand their gains.

Yet, on today's peculiar battlefield, despite the 1,400 soldiers being equipped in an unconventional manner, no one found it absurd. In fact, most of the soldiers in the formation even wished they could don another set of lamellar armor, even if wearing it for an extended period would be suffocating.

One hundred elite "Copper Fish Bag" masters, meticulously selected and recruited over the years by the Ministry of Justice from the jianghu of Liyang, were divided into two groups. They positioned themselves on both flanks of the infantry formation, their placement highly strategic: slightly dispersed to maximize coverage of the Imperial Observatory grounds, while also able to support each other to prevent enemies from circumventing the formation and entering.

At both ends of the wide street outside the Imperial Observatory, infantry and cavalry had arrived.

Three hundred Imperial Guards, whose scabbards were embroidered with golden patterns, were the first to leave the cavalry. They swiftly moved, hugging the walls, directly towards the Imperial Observatory, positioning themselves in front of the 1,400 infantry soldiers.

The 1,200 cavalry troops, urgently transferred from the Northern Army of the capital region, possessed a magnificent aura. They were far more deserving of the title "Tiger-Wolf Division" than the Western Rampart Camp of Yu Chi Chang Gong, the cavalry commander of the Western Army in the capital region. Both men and horses were fully armored!

They did not rush to charge, instead quietly halting their horses at both ends of the street, watching with fierce vigilance.

Before they revealed themselves, the synchronized thud of their warhorses' iron hooves on the street pavement had sounded like thunder, already showcasing a glimpse of this cavalry's terrifying combat prowess in tearing through enemy formations.

This mysterious cavalry, which had never appeared in the capital's public view, was an elite iron cavalry personally forged by General Ma Lu Lang, the Grand General who Conquered the North, through a lifetime of dedication and enormous expense. Their stationed location and troop numbers were never recorded in the Ministry of War's archives, nor did the Liyang Ministry of Revenue bear any responsibility for their military pay. For twenty years, their astonishing operational costs were consistently covered by direct allocations from the imperial treasury of the Zhao clan.

Historically, only the former Minister of War, Gu Jiantang, had access to the inside story. By the time Chen Zhibao and Lu Baijie briefly took over the Ministry of War, they were unable to ascertain many details. They could only broadly understand the cavalry's growth trajectory: from an initial three hundred riders, it gradually increased to five hundred, then eight hundred, remaining at a scale of a thousand riders before Chen Zhibao resigned as minister and was enfeoffed as a prince. When Lu Baijie was demoted and dispatched to Guangling Dao as a military commissioner, he could only speculate, through other channels, about signs of a sudden surge in the cavalry's numbers. This was because, after the current emperor ascended the throne, and especially as the detailed strategy for Beiliang's crushing defeat of Beimang gradually became complete, both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue engaged in illicit secret allocations. The Ministry of War selected men, horses, and armor, while the Ministry of Revenue, even if it had to tighten its belt, had to provide a huge sum of silver. They dared not even feign poverty, and the transactions had to be so clean on the books that even the Ministry of Revenue officials not involved in specific affairs couldn't spot any anomalies.

However, even Lu Baijie, who had served as Minister of War, was unaware that, beyond its unstoppable and astounding combat power, this cavalry held profoundly special significance for three successive emperors of the Liyang Zhao dynasty. Over twenty-five years, the cavalry had secretly entered the capital only three times. The first instance was when Emperor Gaozu, who established Liyang's legitimate rule, personally issued a secret decree, and Yang Taisui and Liu Haoshi personally led the troops into the city. The second time was when Emperor Gaozu conquered the realm and enfeoffed his meritorious subjects. The last occasion was on the night former Emperor Zhao Dun successfully donned the dragon robe! On that night, Yuan Benxi, known as "Half-Inch Tongue," led the army directly into Tai'an City and surrounded the residence of Zhao Heng, who was then still a prince!

Therefore, this was essentially a "Dragon-Supporting Army" of the Liyang Dynasty.

The proprietress of the Jiujiu Pavilion looked around, her smile somehow desolate, and murmured, "Xun Ping, is this the military might of Liyang you wished to forge back then?"

She shook her head, composed herself, and turned to Zhao Zhi, scoffing, "What, you're still not leaving? Staying here to use your identity as empress dowager to implicate Xu Fengnian, making him afraid to unleash his full might and slaughter?"

Zhao Zhi's expression was complex—bitter, hateful, fearful. Finally, with a sigh, she self-deprecatingly said, "A long time ago, you were merely Wu Su's friend, even though we met earlier. Now, you only treat Wu Su's son as a junior, and my two sons, whether Zhao Zhuan or Zhao Wu, you won't even spare a glance."

The proprietress looked as if she had heard a preposterous joke, and she sharply retorted, "Contend! You, Zhao Zhi, have contended your entire life! Even today, you're still like this, wanting to contend for everything! Xu Xiao's prominence overshadowed Zhao Dun, and you resented it! Wu Su's fame shook the capital, and you were displeased! Now, Xu Fengnian and Zhao Zhuan, two young men, are fairly competing, relying on their respective backgrounds and abilities. What are you meddling in?! And what *can* you meddle in?"

Zhao Zhi's face was devoid of expression, showing a rare sorrow and despondency. She glanced at the Imperial Observatory and softly said, "Wu Su and Xu Xiao are dead, my husband is also dead, and my son has become emperor. What do I have left to contend for? But you don't understand what the Imperial Observatory means to the Zhao family. Daojia Qi Lianhua's massacre of the Imperial Observatory's qi practitioners has already affected some of the Liyang Zhao dynasty's fortune. If Xu Fengnian insists on killing today, breaking the grand formation built by successive Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain, and thus destroying the items personally escorted into the capital by the previous Zhang family saint, Yan Sheng Gong, do you know what an immense catastrophe that would be? You certainly don't know why the Beimang Empress, despite her million-strong army failing to breach even the pass outside Beiliang Dao and suffering over 300,000 casualties, still didn't immediately strip Dong Zhuo, the Southern Court King, of his commander-in-chief title. She was waiting for Beiliang, after its great victory, to see hope for another triumphant battle, to force Xu Fengnian to come to the capital to demand grain and supplies for river transport, and during this period, to visit the Imperial Observatory to settle old scores, thereby undermining Liyang's foundations. So now, those eyeing the Imperial Observatory include that old woman and Beimang's Taiping Ling, Cao Changqing of Western Chu, King Yan Chi Zhao Bing of the Southern Border, and Gu Jiantang of Liangliao—not to mention Mr. Xie and the King of Shu, who are standing inside the Imperial Observatory at this very moment."

Zhao Zhi lamented, "Is the fate of one Imperial Observatory truly just about Xu Fengnian and three thousand armored soldiers? The Beiliang Iron Cavalry, the Western Chu rebels, the Southern Border army, and the Liangliao border army are all already embroiled. One misstep, and Beimang's million-strong army will trample our Central Plains territories with their hooves. Even if they are eventually repelled and driven back to the desert and grasslands, how many of us in Liyang will die?"

The proprietress deliberately feigned a look of fright and panic, clutching her chest, "You scared me to death."

Chen Yu's lips curled slightly, captivating everyone with her stunning beauty.

The proprietress suddenly strode towards Zhao Zhi, raising her hand as if to deliver a resounding slap.

Zhao Zhi remained motionless, her gaze icy.

The proprietress smiled and withdrew her hand. "Never mind, I'm afraid it'll dirty my hands. Although my Jiujiu Pavilion is a small business, at least what I produce is clean. As for the military and state affairs that you important people meddle in, how murky and how 'concerned for the nation and its people' they are—I don't give a damn! All I know is one thing: with Wu Su's son around, as long as Xu Fengnian lives for one day, whether he's in Tai'an City or Beiliang, whether he dies today in the Imperial Observatory or later on a battlefield beyond the pass, it will ultimately make me feel immensely satisfied. Because it makes me realize that in this world, my man isn't the only fool brave enough to defy universal condemnation—there are also the Xu family father and son, Xu Xiao and Xu Fengnian!"

The proprietress walked towards the carriage, with Chen Yu closely following.

After the proprietress sat down inside the carriage, she looked at Chen Yu as she bent down to enter, and quipped, "Regretting it now?"

Chen Yu's bright, intelligent eyes sparkled with a smile as she looked at the proprietress, remaining silent.

The proprietress wondered aloud, "If he was just a scoundrel who made a mess of things back then, and you didn't think much of him, that would be one thing. But why are you still unmoved now?"

Chen Yu hesitated, her expression odd, and finally said, "Back then, he merely wanted to snatch me back to Beiliang to be a wife for his younger brother, Xu Longxiang. Aunt Hong, do you think I could possibly agree to that? My revered teacher, Huang Longshi himself, was depressed for several days after hearing that news."

The proprietress held it in for a while, then burst into roaring laughter, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "That brat! He's even more of a bastard than Xu Xiao was in his youth!"

Zhao Zhi also returned to her carriage, where she saw her daughter, Princess Sui Zhu Zhao Fengya, looking desolate.

Zhao Fengya lowered her head and said, "Fourth Brother has already promised me that I won't have to marry Chen Zhibao."

Zhao Zhi retorted angrily, "I won't agree!"

A single rider galloped desperately forward, bursting past the edge of the iron cavalry at the end of the street, heading directly for Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian was only twenty paces from the Imperial Observatory's gate. After seeing the young man dismount, he sighed.

Yan Chiji, a Huangmen official from the Hanlin Academy and the current Empress's younger brother, stood before Xu Fengnian, his face streaked with sweat and tears. He choked out, "Brother Nian, please don't go any further. His Majesty said Beiliang's river transport can be unblocked for three million piculs, but for every one of the three thousand armored soldiers who dies today, one thousand piculs will be deducted."

Xu Fengnian said softly, "Go back and tell Kong Wuchi that we are still brothers."

Yan Chiji suddenly grabbed Xu Fengnian's sleeve tightly, tears streaming down his face, and pleaded, "Brother Nian, don't go! I beg you!"

Xu Fengnian said in a low voice, "Don't worry, I won't die. And no matter how many people I kill, Liyang won't dare to deduct even a single picul from the three million piculs of river transport grain."

Then Xu Fengnian lightly shook his sleeve, breaking free from Yan Chiji's grasp, and playfully scolded him, "Hurry up and get out of here. If you stay, you'll distract me."

Yan Chiji struggled with an internal conflict. Gritting his teeth, he stopped speaking nonsense.

He abruptly turned and remounted his horse.

Without turning his head, the young man simply raised his hand high and extended a thumb.

Xu Fengnian looked towards the Imperial Observatory.

The old Liang saber hung at his left hip.

His left hand gently pressed on the hilt.

A pale-faced "Copper Fish Bag" leader stepped five or six paces out of the formation and loudly declared, "Halt, intruder! Retreat immediately fifty paces beyond the Imperial Observatory gate!"

The next moment, the Ministry of Justice devotee was sent flying high, like a kite with a broken string, plummeting heavily into the infantry formation inside the gate.

Xu Fengnian was now standing where the man had been moments before.

For Beiliang: fight or die, but never retreat!

If this is true even against Beimang's million-strong army, how much more so against your Zhao family's three thousand armored soldiers?!

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