"My foolish brother Achilles has sent word from the Kushan Dynasty. Our Holy Sect's branch in the Great Qian empire has been completely purged, and we have lost the treasure land of Xichuan?" The man's eyes blazed with endless hatred.
"Marshal, the barbarians have withdrawn from Mobei. Our logistics cannot keep up. We cannot rely on the barbarians to sustain the war and fight our way from the desert to Great Qian!"
A cavalry general of the Tianri clan reminded him.
The marshal on horseback gazed sharply at the dust rising in the east.
"Are there not the Xianbei? Let them weaken each other with Great Qian first!"
A moment later, a thousand-strong cavalry team arrived from the east.
The leading Xianbei general met the marshal's sinister gaze and shivered inexplicably. He called out loudly, "Are you the Marshal of the Tianri clan?"
His intuition told him that the man before him was a ravenous beast, and it was not to be defied.
The marshal nodded slightly, his voice like a thunderclap, "Tianri clan, Mars."
The Xianbei general's heart pounded. Suppressing his inexplicable tremor, he requested, "We have agreed with your country to purchase armaments, and we have brought the deposit!"
Mars looked at the horse-drawn carriages transporting gold and silver in the distance and finally smiled with satisfaction, "Within a year, we guarantee to deliver all armaments. The Kushan Dynasty and the Tianri clan will surely be united with your Xianbei to retaliate against that land!"
With that, Mars looked towards the southeast, his eyes burning, "And for our fallen ancestors and our shamed honor, the name of Achilles."
The Xianbei general was overjoyed, "With your help, Liang Xiao of Great Qian will be nothing to fear!"
Upon hearing this, Mars's expression turned solemn. "Does the reappearance of a forbidden name after hundreds of years herald our clan's impending revenge and the washing away of shame?"
This contingent of Tianri clan cavalry then disappeared into the west of Mobei, ready to support the Kushan Dynasty, or to march south from Mobei!
Outside the Xianbei royal tent, a thousand Xianbei warriors were engaged in fierce competition within the arena. Each wielded a long staff in a free-for-all. If one was knocked off their horse, they were eliminated.
An hour later, only one burly figure remained standing motionless within the three-mile arena. The Xianbei warriors who had fallen from their horses lay around, groaning in pain.
The Xianbei King was both surprised and delighted. He personally led his men to the young man and praised him, "A thousand men in one charge! Tell this king, your name!"
"Duoshe," the young man replied with a firm gaze.
The Xianbei King ordered a general's seal to be bestowed, "The Xianbei do not expect you to be on par with the Heavenly General of Great Qian. We hear that Great Qian also has a Flying General and a Victorious General. We hope your bravery can match theirs."
In the distant Peacock Dynasty in the southwest of Great Qian, a hulking brute, similar in build to Yue Qingtian and clad in armor, was crouching on the ground, glaring fiercely and gnawing on human bones with relish.
King Peacock said nervously, "Jian Beihai, can you truly control this savage, like a god descending to earth?"
Jian Beihai whispered, "Your subject has discovered his weakness and can control him, provided his daily requirement for human flesh is met."
King Peacock said without hesitation, "Low-caste commoners, give him as much as he wants! The Tianri clan has only one request of him: to kill the King of Northern Liang and the Heavenly General of Great Qian, who may appear at any time, to kill Liang Xiao and Qin Feng, and to completely break the spine of this land!"
Nations on the border were secretly sharpening their blades, searching for local warriors and unusual individuals in their quest to counter the formidable generals of Great Qian.
In the Western Palace Villa, Liang Xiao held his second son, Jian Canglang, and spent time with his wife and children.
His colleagues handled political and trivial matters, finally affording him leisure. He felt a pang of guilt.
He had not been able to witness his children's growth continuously, but fortunately, they were all well-behaved and rarely cried.
His wives were infinitely patient with the children, gentle and proper, and had not spoiled them.
"More children mean more blessings. We should have more in the future..." Luo Qingxue said, her face flushed.
Hearing this, Liang Xiao merely smiled, though his heart disagreed.
Having witnessed Xiao Qing's suffering, he was exceedingly careful during intimacy with his wives.
He cherished Shuang'er, but that did not mean he did not cherish his other wives.
Women of this era still believed in having many children for blessings.
But they were all his wives, not mere machines for procreation. Since they already had children, there was no need to take further risks.
Only Xiao Qing, in confinement, looked at Liang Xiao with gentle eyes, touched.
She understood Liang Xiao's smile: cherishing and reluctance.
Of the nine children, from the second to the ninth, only the eighth, Xiao Xun, was called "Little Eight" and not "Old Eight."
Just then, Liang Xiao's expression changed, "Oh no, Little Six, why are you biting your Fifth Brother's butt?!"
Fifth Brother, Qiu Hanhai, clutched his little backside and wailed, while Sixth Brother, Liang Cangsheng, was carried away by Yue Lian, still giggling.
"Grandpa says that when you were young, husband, you also liked to bite your third brother..."
Hearing this, Liang Xiao's old face turned red.
Old Master Liang was still alive, and he and Liang Feng had not yet established their own households. The three brothers still lived in the Liang residence.
Liang Feng had passed his assessment and, through his training and discipline of the Feathered Forest Guard, had been promoted to General of Pingbei.
Liang Yun had settled in Luzhou in Jiangnan. It was said that his business was booming, and he was tactful and adaptable. The common people, hearing that he was the third brother of Marquis Anguo, were charitable and honest in business. They flocked to patronize Liang Yun's restaurants, candy shops, and grain stores.
"One Drunk Century" had not lowered its price, remaining at a high of five hundred taels. This year, it sold over four thousand jars, generating two million taels.
The original workers still lived in the Liang residence. Every household had enough to eat and wear, and the children had schooling. Everyone was grateful and did not casually leave the Liang residence.
The Anguo Bookstore and the newspaper office were both profitable. Especially the stories like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" brought by Liang Xiao, as well as Zhen Mi's "Heroes of Great Qian" and "Knights-errant of Great Qian," and Christe's "Heavenly General of Great Qian," were bestsellers in both countries. Each volume, from top to bottom, was priced about ten wen higher than the Four Books and Five Classics and literacy primers, making a fortune.
Luo Qingxue had tallied Liang Xiao's various properties. Including land, Liang Xiao's net worth now approached one hundred million taels of silver.
According to Jian Qinwan, the total assets of the Dingguo Marquis Mansion should currently be only ninety million taels.
The Duanmu family had been defeated and had moved their entire family away from the capital. Liang Xiao was likely the actual richest person in Great Qian.
But this wealth was truly just numbers to Liang Xiao. What Liang Xiao truly cared about was how to use existing conditions to improve the living and sanitary conditions of his family, so that his wife and children could live long and healthy lives. Then, extending this concern to others, he aimed to improve the living and sanitary conditions of the common people.
This meant he needed to break some traditions and superstitions. First and foremost, he could not let the common people drink charmed water!
On this day, Huang Xing and Zhang Yang ran to the imperial palace to find Liang Xiao. The two men, one old and one young, wore excited expressions.
"The cement that Marquis Anguo envisioned has been successfully researched by the Ministry of Works! It's very strong!"
Liang Xiao was overjoyed and immediately followed the two to the Ministry of Works.
At this moment, Wang Canghai, Zhuo Zifang, and other senior officials were pointing and praising outside a newly built cement wall and house.
"This cement is even better than rammed earth, and its cost is far lower than glutinous rice and other materials. In the future, we can build another cement wall inside the border fortifications!"
Gu Hong, the Minister of Revenue, calculated and was overjoyed.
"Can reinforced concrete be produced?" Liang Xiao asked Huang Xing eagerly.
Huang Xing replied, "The related technology is quite complex and is currently under development. It should be successful in at most a year, and at the latest, three years!"
Only then was Liang Xiao satisfied.
Old Master Huang never spoke with absolute certainty, but when he said "should," it meant he had considerable confidence.
Zhuo Wulü'e said with regret, "The stock of purple sandalwood has run out. It seems we cannot produce longbows on a large scale for a while. Our country's longbows are still too few. We need to find other bows to replace them."
"How many do we have in total currently?" Liang Xiao asked.
"Sixty thousand."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed. They looked speechless.
Sixty thousand longbows and still complaining it's too few? Shameless...