Liang Xiao was surprised and delighted, and immediately led the crowd to the north of the city to welcome the Yuzhou Ding.
In Liaodong, after the truce between Xianbei and Da Qian, the troops temporarily withdrew and turned east, preparing to advance south to conquer the Taiji Kingdom.
However, the Xianbei ruler accepted Valen tin's proposal and dispatched scouts to the area north of the desert in advance.
Valen tin of the Tianri Tribe had been staying at the Xianbei royal court, seemingly awaiting something.
On that day, outside the treasure cave discovered north of Yinshan, a hundred thousand border troops patrolled the area.
Five thousand Shadow Guards were divided into ten groups, carefully escorting large quantities of jade artifacts and "spirit stones," which included agate, jade, crystal, and other gemstones.
The pearls in the cave had long since dried up and turned to dust after centuries.
The movement of the hundred thousand troops finally alerted the Xianbei scouts on the distant high mountains.
"Why is the Da Qian Kingdom sending so many troops into the depths of the desert? Are they planning to advance east from here and launch a surprise attack on us Xianbei?"
The Xianbei scout captain, not daring to be careless, immediately sent someone back to inform the Xianbei ruler.
North of Hengjiang, Da Qian merchant ships traveled between the two countries. The workers on board discovered hundreds of ships approaching from afar, an unprecedented scale. They were shocked and took a closer look.
On the bow of each ship stood several ordinary-clothed chivalrous men, swords in their arms, their expressions solemn.
For a time, the northern bank of Hengjiang was bustling with activity.
The northern border of Yanzhou was crowded with people.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians came to accompany Liang Xiao in welcoming the Yuzhou Ding, the largest among the Nine Dings.
Liang Xiao and his wives stood on a high platform waiting. Nie Yuan had already been ordered to lead troops to welcome it and was on his way.
Luo Qingxue and the others, seeing Liang Xiao's face filled with ecstasy, were also overjoyed.
They knew that Liang Xiao must have used his extraordinary eyesight to see something remarkable in advance.
As expected, a quarter of an hour later, a distant troop escorted a gigantic "cylinder" towards them.
The cylinder was somewhat like a specially made wooden barrel, tightly bound with metal strips on the outside. Through the gaps, cotton could be vaguely seen inside. Its diameter was likely over three zhang, and its height was nearly five zhang.
Over a thousand strong oxen, horses, and mules were connected to five metal rods at each end of the cylinder via ropes.
It was as if thousands of adult livestock were pulling a large wheel.
"It's that big?"
A portion of the citizens on the city wall exclaimed in surprise.
They instantly understood why a giant cylinder had appeared before them.
Liang Xiao's hearty laughter echoed from the high platform.
Yuzhou Ding!
Legend has it that in the early years of the Xia Dynasty, King Yu of Xia divided the world into nine provinces and ordered each province to contribute bronze to cast the Nine Dings, symbolizing the nine provinces. He had famous mountains and rivers, as well as strange creatures from across the land, engraved on the Nine Dings and gathered them in the capital of the Xia Dynasty.
The history of his hometown and this place was the same.
However, in his hometown, the Nine Dings had long since disappeared, leaving only the diagrams of the forms and locations of the Nine Dings cast by King Yu.
As for their size and weight, there was no clear explanation.
The Houmuwu Ding of the Shang Dynasty, also known as the Simuwu Ding or Simuwu Dafang Ding, is 133 cm high, 110 cm long at the mouth, 79 cm wide at the mouth, and weighs 832.84 kg. It is already the heaviest bronze artifact unearthed in his hometown.
Based on the intelligence provided by the Shadow Guards, he had roughly estimated the weight of the Nine Dings.
Because the Nine Dings were too heavy and located deep in the desert, making transportation difficult, the Shadow Guards had to change their approach. They first ensured the stability of the Nine Dings, then pushed them over in the desert, wrapped them in cotton, leather, and other materials, reinforced them with wooden boards and fine steel strips, and then, starting from the wooden board at the bottom of the Ding, they temporarily constructed such a large cylindrical casing.
The dense steel strips on the outermost layer of the cylinder made it look more like a steel barrel.
On both sides of the cylinder, five metal support columns were arranged in a circular pattern, each two zhang long, facilitating the connection of livestock.
The metal rods on both sides corresponded to each other, and the thousands of livestock were thus divided into five groups, driven by specialized drivers who simultaneously whipped them to maintain the rhythm of movement.
Cotton and leather, being soft and tough materials, were used to provide cushioning and prevent damage to the Nine Dings during bumps.
Even with the cushioning, the Shadow Guards checked them carefully at regular intervals.
Through such arduous efforts, they finally managed to move the Nine Dings!
However, each Ding required at least ten thousand people for escort, with more than half of them being logistics personnel, to prevent any accidents midway.
Under Liang Xiao's arrangements, the Yuzhou Ding was sent into Yanzhou City.
"By order of His Majesty, we shall inspect the Nine Dings!"
As Liang Xiao gave the order, the troops responsible for transportation finally began to carefully dismantle the cylindrical casing, remove the filling, and then three thousand Qingtian Guards jointly pulled the ropes.
Two hours later, the giant Ding, which had been lying on the ground, finally stood upright, drawing ecstatic cheers from the surrounding citizens!
"Heaven blesses Da Qian!"
It was a circular tripod Ding, nearly two zhang high. The bronze was mottled with rust, but the mountains, rivers, and exotic beasts engraved on it were faintly visible.
On the surface of the Ding, there was also a string of ancient characters, which seemed to be the legendary Xia Dynasty script.
On the other side of the Ding, a prominent Da Qian inscription read "Yuzhou."
Liang Xiao estimated the scale based on the Simuwu Ding. This Yuzhou Ding was over a zhang high and seven chi in diameter, with a volume possibly more than six times that of the Simuwu Ding. Therefore, its weight should be over ten thousand jin.
"It looks very old, but why is there our Da Qian script on the Ding?" the citizens noticed the anomaly and were surprised.
Liang Xiao explained, "The whereabouts of the Nine Dings were unknown back then. They were likely acquired by spies from the Wu Dynasty or the Zhou Dynasty, so characters were inscribed on them for identification. Later, these Dings were presented to the ancient Xiongnu King Heluofu."
The citizens suddenly understood, and their emotions surged with indignation.
So, the powerful families and clans of Da Qian were not the worst?
"Fortunately, heaven blesses Da Qian, and the Nine Dings have been recovered. The remaining eight Dings are all on their way!"
Liang Xiao's words finally turned the indignation of the agitated citizens into joy.
"His Majesty is wise! Heaven blesses Da Qian!"
Watching the jubilant citizens, Liang Xiao felt deeply gratified.
The recovery of the Nine Dings would completely establish Da Qian's legitimacy in this land.
This land was different from his hometown after all. He truly wished that the Nine Dings of his hometown could also be recovered, and he wondered what they looked like.
Liang Xiao suddenly awoke and smiled bitterly to himself, casting aside his distracting thoughts. He began to read a decree of five thousand words, announcing the Da Qian royal family's everlasting importance and protection of the Nine Dings, while also comforting the ancient people of Yanzhou.
Yanzhou was still some distance from the capital, but it was an area of absolute safety. Therefore, Xiao Qing was eager for Liang Xiao to inspect and read the decree.
Of course, the most important thing was to let her "Xiao Gege" steal the show.
"To all those who transported the Nine Dings, you have worked hard! Rest in Yanzhou, and after the Nine Dings are all gathered in Yanzhou, rest for another seven days, and then they will be sent to the capital to be personally inspected by His Majesty and all civil and military officials!"
On this day, the Yuzhou Ding arrived in Yanzhou, and the entire prefecture rejoiced, with everyone singing its praises.
Liang Xiao stood on a tall building, gazing at the Nine Dings, which were now protected from the inside out, in a daze.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
Even a single Yuzhou Ding had ignited an unprecedented sense of national pride among the people of Yanzhou.
What if all nine Dings were gathered?
He could already envision that when the Nine Dings returned to the capital, the world would be shaken, and the imperial power of Da Qian would be further strengthened and deified.
Just like "He who has not reached the Great Wall is not a true man," from now on, countless people from both countries would flock to see them, especially scholars and warriors. Without seeing the Nine Dings in their lifetime, they would inevitably feel a sense of regret.
And the military and people of the Liang Kingdom would have to acknowledge Da Qian's legitimacy.