Chapter 10 of 10

Chapter 10

18 min read4,454 words

Li Yuanxing took out a few items that were not particularly special by modern standards: two bottles of liquor, each costing over a hundred yuan. Two bamboo tubes were filled with donkey-hide gelatin, all of which had been repackaged after being removed from their original packaging, and came with two small bamboo spoons. There were also two roasted chickens and a bag of loose fried peanuts.

"These bamboo tubes contain medicine, high-quality medicine. Brother Qin has lost too much blood!" There was no need to say more; Old Wolf knew the value of the medicine. Since he believed it came from the heavens, it must be good.

"If you lose this medicine, you will pay with your lives!" Old Wolf was a ruthless man, but the soldiers did not hesitate to agree.

The two soldiers left with the saddle to return to Chang'an and deliver the items to Qin Qiong.

Only then did Li Yuanxing take out the 3D-printed sand table, which was small and required a magnifying glass to read the text on it. "Old Wolf, this is what I need you to help me with. It's a map, a map of the terrain in the Tujue region. This must not be seen by others. I need to make a larger one using mud and sand."

"Tujue?" Old Wolf repeated, questioning.

Li Yuanxing nodded heavily. "Since you believe I come from the heavens, let me tell you that in three or four months, the Tujue will think our Great Tang is unstable due to the incident at Xuanwu Gate and will launch a surprise attack. Do you believe me or not?" As he spoke of the surprise attack on Great Tang, Li Yuanxing's expression turned fierce.

A shocking scene unfolded before Li Yuanxing.

Old Wolf fell to his knees with a thud, using the knife Li Yuanxing had given him to cut his forehead, allowing the blood to flow freely over his face. He said, word by word, "You are the fifth brother of Prince Qin!"

What a ruthless statement!

Old Wolf was determined, fearless, and used righteousness to tell Li Yuanxing that he must help Great Tang, even if it cost him his life a thousand times over!

"Old Wolf, help me."

"I will not hesitate to die a thousand deaths!" Old Wolf smeared the blood from his forehead onto the knife, finally accepting it.

Twenty craftsmen knelt trembling in a large military tent, with twenty soldiers standing behind them, swords drawn. Li Yuanxing sat on a horse saddle at the head of the tent, while Old Wolf stood in front, his face stern, and with a murderous aura, he said to the twenty craftsmen, "The task you are about to undertake will be heavily rewarded if done well, but if done poorly, you will face whips and sticks. If anyone dares to speak a word of this, their entire family will be killed. If anyone hears of it, their entire family will be killed. If anyone peeks, their entire family will be killed!"

With three threats of family extermination, the craftsmen all knelt to the ground.

To Li Yuanxing's surprise, the craftsmen did not show fear but rather excitement. Could they not be afraid of their families being killed?

As the craftsmen began to lay out the wooden frames, Li Yuanxing asked the question.

Old Wolf explained, "To undertake a task that could result in the extermination of one's family, as long as you follow the rules, the reward will be substantial, and there is a chance to become a household craftsman, not a wandering craftsman who can't find work for days and starves."

For the first time, Li Yuanxing realized he had underestimated the Great Tang. The craftsmen's skills, by modern standards, were master-level.

Without rulers, just by eye, over a hundred wooden sticks were almost identical in length and thickness.

Making the sand table was not difficult, especially with the hard work of the twenty craftsmen. To create the green grass, they had the servants outside crush hundreds of baskets of grass into juice, which was mixed with mud to create green mud. For the forests, they dug up thousands of various tree saplings from the mountains. For the rivers, they pressed blue cloth into the soil.

The cities and camps were even easier to make, using wood.

As Li Yuanxing watched the sand table being constructed, the massive ten-meter-long, six-meter-wide sand table began to resemble the small one he had. Joy spread across his face.

Seeing Li Yuanxing smile, the craftsmen felt more at ease.

Being able to work on such a secret project, they knew they would not be released once it was completed. Apart from the two leaders who were already household craftsmen of Qin Qiong, the others knew they would have a steady job from then on.

By noon, Li Yuanxing took out the ready-made food and wine he had bought from the supermarket to thank Old Wolf and the soldiers. Just then, the two soldiers who had delivered the items to Qin Qiong's residence returned, their armor disheveled, their faces bruised and swollen, looking pitiful.

"Who?" Old Wolf asked only one word.

Daring to attack Qin Qiong's soldiers, especially so soon after the Xuanwu Gate incident and Qin Qiong's bloodbath at the Crown Prince's residence, even the Li family in Chang'an did not have the nerve, let alone ordinary aristocrats.

"Right Guard General!" The two soldiers did not dare to raise their heads.

Hearing the words "Right Guard General," Old Wolf was also helpless. He could not afford to offend him. If it had been him, he would have been beaten by that demon and had the items taken away.

But the rules could not be broken: "Go and receive twenty strokes, then return to receive orders!"

The two soldiers withdrew, showing no resentment at being punished. Li Yuanxing did not know who the Right Guard General was, but upon hearing he was a duke, he wanted to speak up for the soldiers. Old Wolf only said, "Military law cannot be abandoned!" and Li Yuanxing fell silent.

In the afternoon, they continued to work on the sand table with full effort. Li Yuanxing compared the details of the small sand table and continuously provided suggestions.

Old Wolf, however, was hesitant. There were two more saddles, one likely for Prince Qin, and the other possibly for Li Yuanxing to keep. Could he get another saddle for Qin Qiong? And the medicine, it seemed Li Yuanxing had no more in his wooden chest. How could he get the medicine back?

Li Yuanxing was also thinking, who was this Right Guard General? Could he be an enemy? Should he find a chance to take revenge in the future?

Neither of them knew that the Right Guard General was now riding towards them with Qin Qiong. The Right Guard General, of course, was the notorious Cheng Yaojin. The items were good, but the two soldiers had not properly packaged them, allowing Cheng Yaojin to see them. The liquor was of the highest quality, and the bottles alone were worth several strings of coins.

The chickens were even better, with bones that could be crushed.

When Cheng Yaojin saw the bamboo tubes and the attached note, he knew it was medicine, medicine for Qin Qiong.

What is brotherhood? Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong were brothers who shared life and death. He could take the liquor and eat the meat, but taking the medicine would be a betrayal of his brother.

After slapping himself several times in front of Qin Qiong, Qin Qiong finally understood what had happened.

Qin Qiong said only one sentence, "He has no possessions. How did he get these?"

Cheng Yaojin, regaining his senses, realized that Li Yuanxing had only two items: the leather case and the knife he had given to Qin Qiong. There was no way he could have hidden these items in his clothes. So, where did they come from?

He sent a report to Li Er, and Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin set out with five hundred soldiers. Qin Qiong still could not trust Li Yuanxing, even after he had given him the knife and the medicine.

---