Chapter 1390
Wu's Ruyi, the Heaven-Suppressing Mysterious Armor!
Chapter 1390 Wu's Ruyi, the Heaven-Suppressing Mysterious Armor!
Wang Mang's gaze fell on the female official named "Ruyi," and he felt inexplicably uneasy.
This female official had a very unique temperament. Her light purple palace dress made her figure stand tall and straight like a pine tree. Although she was acting like a junior to an elder, she had an air of composure that said "everything is under control." The unintentional majesty in her eyes and brows was even more striking than that of Empress Liu herself.
"Such a powerful aura, and the name is Ruyi? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Wang Mang couldn't help but mutter to himself.
The two people next to her were no ordinary people either. The one on the left was dressed in a lake-blue palace dress, with a touch of nobility and arrogance in her eyes. She had a mutton-fat jade pendant hanging at her waist with the character "Ping" engraved on it. She looked young, but she had an aura that said "keep away."
The woman on the right wore a light green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and held a scroll of bamboo slips in her hands. She had a beautiful face and slender, steady fingers. Even though the atmosphere in the hall was tense, she remained calm as she organized the documents.
"This is Taiping, and this is Wan'er. They are both capable people in my palace. Today, I will hand them over to Grand Secretary Wang for his use."
"The Zhentian Xuanjia's headquarters is located in the Zhentian Pavilion in the northwest of the imperial city. You need both the imperial seal and a secret order to enter. Ruyi and the others know the way well, so just follow them."
Empress Liu introduced it calmly, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
That's right, this female official named Ruyi was none other than Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in history!
However, now that she has been implanted on the Tianwu Continent, she still shares the surname Wu, but her name is Ruyi!
The other two female officials were Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er!
Although Wang Mang sensed something was amiss, Empress Liu was only calling her Ruyi, so as a time traveler, Wang Mang couldn't determine her true identity.
Moreover, Wang Mang no longer cared about their true identities. Instead, he was extremely excited. The Great Ling Dynasty's direct-command Daoist soldiers—the Zhen Tian Xuan Jia!
This is one of his main objectives tonight, and also one of the reasons why he has the confidence to confront Liu Bang and his two brothers!
This is an elite army that is never shown to outsiders. It is stationed in the forbidden area of the imperial city year-round and is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Only the emperor or empress can mobilize it.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will live up to your trust and protect the Great Ling Kingdom."
Wang Mang was extremely excited and quickly cupped his hands in a salute and smiled.
As he spoke, he took the Imperial Seal and a scroll of bright yellow secret orders from the female official. The seal was a standard dragon-tiger knob with eight seal characters engraved on it: “By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous.” It was cool to the touch and had a smooth texture, clearly made of high-quality Hetian jade. The secret orders were stamped with the “Imperial Seal of the Son of Heaven” of the Da Ling royal family. The wax seal was intact, indicating that it was a special order that had never been used before.
Carrying these two "hard currencies," Wang Mang, along with Wu Ruyi, Taiping, Shangguan Wan'er, Surter, and a group of assassins, set off towards Zhentian Pavilion.
"Does Grand Secretary Wang know why the Zhen Tian Xuan Jia (Heaven-Suppressing Armor) has become the royal family's trump card?"
On the way, Ruyi suddenly spoke, her voice clear yet steady, breaking the silence.
"I would like to hear more details. I have only heard that this army is exceptionally powerful, but I do not know the specifics."
Wang Mang's heart stirred, and he asked the question as he saw fit.
"The Zhen Tian Xuan Jia was first established at the beginning of the Great Ling Dynasty and has a history of two hundred years. At its peak, it had a strength of 30,000, with 8,000 as the main force. Although it has now been reduced to 18,000, with 4,000 as the main force, each of them is an elite force capable of taking on ten men." "Their soldiers are all young men selected from military households across the country. They enter the camp at the age of ten and are trained by the royal family. They practice the unique 'Xuan Jia Tempering Technique'. They can only officially enlist at the age of twenty. Before enlisting, they must swear a blood oath to be loyal to the royal family for life. If they betray the royal family, their entire clan will be exterminated."
Ruyi spoke as she walked, her words clear and logical.
"The equipment of the Xuanjia Army is unique—the armor is made of cold iron mixed with black gold, which is light and tough, can protect against qi and arrows, and cannot even be cut through by ordinary horse-slaying swords; the weapons are divided into three categories: infantry use black iron spears, cavalry use horse lances, and archers use specially made 'cloud-piercing crossbows', which have a range three times longer than ordinary crossbow bolts and have extremely strong penetrating power."
"More importantly, their military pay and provisions are directly allocated from the imperial treasury, bypassing the Ministry of Revenue. The annual expenditure is as high as ten million taels of silver, which is more than the expenditure of the 100,000-strong Zhenbei Army in the northern frontier."
Shangguan Wan'er added at the appropriate time.
Wang Mang's eyelids twitched upon hearing this—ten million taels of silver? That's practically a "whale gamer's" setup!
The Da Ling Kingdom has been facing financial difficulties in recent years, and even the border troops' pay is often delayed. Unexpectedly, the royal family has hidden such a well-funded elite force. If they had used it to fight against the rebel army earlier, Liu Bang and his men would not have been so arrogant!
"Money is secondary. The power of the Zhen Tian Xuan Jia lies in its three exclusive military formations and unique military magic forms."
Taiping, standing next to him, curled his lip in disapproval.
"At the beginning of the founding of the dynasty, Emperor Taizu invited three military strategists to tailor-make the 'Nine Luminaries Suppressing Mountain Formation,' 'Xuanjia Strangling Formation,' and 'Blood Fiend Returning to Origin Formation' for the Xuanjia Army. These three formations can be used for both offense and defense and can be flexibly switched according to the battlefield situation. When the Xiongnu army of 200,000 invaded from the northern border, the Zhentian Xuanjia Army dispatched 10,000 troops to guard the North Gate Pass. They used the 'Nine Luminaries Suppressing Mountain Formation' to hold out for three months, which dragged down the Xiongnu's food supply. Finally, they used the 'Xuanjia Strangling Formation' to counterattack, annihilating 100,000 enemies while suffering less than 3,000 casualties themselves, creating a record of 'one against ten.'"
She seemed very familiar with the army, speaking as if she knew it intimately.
Wang Mang was equally thrilled, thinking to himself, "I've struck gold!"
This Zhen Tian Xuan Jia is simply a combination of "mobile fortress + super weapon". With this army, plus Surtur, Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng, Lü Yue and others under his command, let alone fighting against the rebel armies of Liu Bang and Liu Xiu, he would have the confidence to even go toe-to-toe with Ying Zheng's Qin army and Su Ye's Four Heavenly Spirits!
As they spoke, the group arrived in front of the Zhen Tian Pavilion.
This place truly lived up to its name; it was a fortress built against the mountain, surrounded by three moats filled with hidden stakes and iron nets, accessible only by a single drawbridge. Inside, there were twelve beacon towers, with flags fluttering on them, and the words "Zhen Tian" could be faintly seen in the night.
Across the suspension bridge stood a squad of soldiers clad in black armor. Leading them was a tall general with a resolute face, sharp eyes, and a long sword at his waist. He was none other than Lie Changping, one of the commanders of the Zhentian Xuanjia Army!
"This humble general, Lie Changping, greets Grand Secretary Wang. What brings you here so late at night?"
Upon seeing Wang Mang and his entourage, he frowned slightly, stepped forward, and clasped his hands in greeting.
Wang Mang probably knew that the Zhen Tian Xuan Jia army, which was directly under the imperial family, only recognized the imperial seal and secret orders. Therefore, he didn't waste any words and immediately took out the imperial seal and the imperial secret orders and handed them over.
"Commander Zhao, by order of Her Majesty the Empress, from today onwards, I will take over the Zhentian Xuanjia Army. This is the Imperial Seal and the secret order; you may verify them."
Lie Changping took the imperial seal and the secret order and examined them carefully—the material and inscription of the imperial seal, the sealing wax and seal of the secret order were all exclusive to the royal family and could not be faked.
"Grand Secretary Wang, the Zhentian Xuanjia is directly under the control of the royal family. It cannot be handed over lightly without the personal order of His Majesty or the Empress. Please show us the Empress's decree."
He glanced at Wu Ruyi and the other two beside him, clearly recognizing them, and his expression softened somewhat, but he remained cautious.
(End of this chapter)