The generals, their hearts filled with excitement, rose and stepped forward to take their oaths.
"This humble general is willing to follow the Marshal on campaigns north and south, to expand the territory of our Great Qian and to propagate its heavenly might!!"
Liang Xiao gazed at the determined expressions of his generals and smiled with satisfaction.
He was not certain if, within his lifetime, the Great Qian could conquer the native lands of the Tianri tribe.
But if it were possible, he would consider exterminating the Tianri tribe, even if it meant bearing a bad name.
The historical records of the Great Zhou were remarkably precise, rarely contradictory, and highly credible.
This race had annihilated countless other peoples, leaving behind scenes of unimaginable human suffering wherever they passed, and they constantly plotted the downfall and annihilation of the Great Qian, posing a threat that must be permanently eliminated.
Liang Xiao did not immediately dispatch troops to Xichuan. Instead, he focused on training and familiarizing himself with the new forces.
These new recruits, after months of rigorous training, had become regular soldiers, yet to him, they were still greenhorns.
Currently, a martial spirit was sweeping across the Great Qian. Coupled with improved military benefits and the opportunity to bring glory to one's ancestors, the enthusiasm of young men joining the army and undergoing training had reached unprecedented levels, leading to a significant increase in efficiency.
Several days later, the Great General Lü Yi, who was guarding the western frontier, also received a pigeon message from Yanzhou, and was greatly surprised.
"Tianri tribe? I was wondering earlier why the merchants from the Guishuang Dynasty had turned into people with blonde hair and blue eyes. So that's why! Continue to restrict their trade, do not allow them to leave the western regions, and by all means, prevent them from infiltrating the Great Qian!"
In Yanzhou, Liang Xiao, without the company of his beloved wives, spent almost every day in the military camp, only occasionally returning to the Liang residence to check on his businesses.
Over the past two years, he had meticulously arranged everything, leaving the harvest to his subordinates.
Liang Xiao was enfeoffed with a marquisate of thirty thousand households. Anxi County was no longer sufficient, so Liang Xiao established his seat in a five-thousand-household territory north of Yanzhou City.
In reality, this was the true northern frontier, but due to past barbarian invasions and the brutal slaughter of its people, the northern frontier's boundary had been reduced to within Yanzhou City.
Although the imperial court had abolished the poll tax, theoretically, feudal lords still retained the right to levy taxes on their fiefs.
Liang Xiao had never collected any feudal taxes. The residents of his fief were immensely grateful. Even though the poll tax was abolished, they seemed to have no particular advantage over other citizens within the country, yet they still took pride in being residents of the fiefdom of Marquis Anguo.
The abolition of the poll tax had, to a certain extent, impacted the marquises who held fiefs. However, the court had introduced various compensatory measures, which were sufficient to appease the meritorious generals who had been enfeoffed as marquises.
According to Xiao Qing's vision, the court would not need to spend money to reclaim these fiefs in the future. Instead, new marquises would no longer be granted fiefs. They would be given "analogous fiefs" of a few households, with annual monetary rewards replacing the income from fiefs. These early marquises who possessed fiefs would become "limited editions," while enjoying honor, they would forgo tax collection and instead accept a certain amount of reward money.
In the depths of winter, Liang Xiao, accompanied by Liu Fan, visited the steel mill.
"My Lord, the coke has been successfully refined. The temperature is very high, and the furnace has been fitted with the refractory materials you specified!"
Liu Fan, his face beaming with excitement, explained to Liang Xiao.
Liang Xiao listened to Liu Fan's explanation and looked into the distance.
Workers continuously shoveled coal into a high-temperature furnace isolated from air. Through drying, pyrolysis, melting, bonding, solidification, and shrinkage, coke was produced by dry distillation.
The produced coke was then fed into a heat-resistant furnace for iron smelting, with the temperature carefully controlled.
"The furnace fire is more intense, and the steel refining efficiency has improved significantly. However, as per your instructions, My Lord, we must control the temperature to prevent erosion of the furnace walls."
Hearing Liu Fan's explanation, Liang Xiao couldn't help but smile.
Increased efficiency meant faster production of weapons, which would facilitate their widespread adoption throughout the country.
However, he had already tested this at the Armaments Bureau in the capital. When the temperature of the coke increased, it still couldn't melt the Silver Dragon Gold, but instead destroyed the furnace first.
Even White Dragon Gold, when subjected to temperatures that could damage a furnace, only showed an inexplicable temporary softening, not melting. It could be hammered, but due to severe furnace erosion, impurities easily infiltrated the White Dragon Gold, forcing Liang Xiao to temporarily abandon casting.
"How did the ancients forge weapons and armor using these two special materials?"
Despite his current wisdom, Liang Xiao remained utterly baffled.
There must exist a material in this world with a melting point higher than Silver Dragon Gold, but he simply hadn't found it yet!
Regardless, the coal and iron mines south of Yanzhou, as recorded in the topographical maps of the Dongye clan, were being rapidly exploited and continuously sent to Yanzhou and the capital for iron smelting and the urgent production of weapons.
"Continue to accelerate the production of the Mo Dao and Bu Ren Jia. Also, before I depart on campaign, it would be best if those two hundred sets of plate armor could be completed," Liang Xiao urged.
The current master craftsman of the workshop was also one of the three Shadow Guard captains, who readily agreed.
"Plate armor..." Liu Fan's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He had heard Liang Xiao mention this item before. High-quality plate armor could withstand arrows shot at close range from a longbow.
Even the Bu Ren Jia could not achieve this!
Liang Xiao made detailed arrangements before returning to the military camp with peace of mind.
"All soldiers, train rigorously. This Marshal intends to personally lead the troops to Liaodong to punish the Taiji Kingdom!"
The training in Yanzhou was in full swing, and the news quickly spread to various regions.
"Marquis Anguo is going to Liaodong to attack the Taiji Kingdom??"
Scholars across the land expressed their concern.
Although Liang Xiao was now the God of War of the Great Qian, marching to a distant and unprofitable Taiji Kingdom seemed like a losing proposition. Even if he won, what then?
Unlike the worries of the scholars, the Helian family in Xichuan, the Southern King of Jiaozhou, and Gongyang He rejoiced.
The envoy of the Taiji Kingdom, Li Shunping, had offended Liang Xiao in the imperial palace. This incident had already become widely known, and the warlords who were constantly monitoring Liang Xiao and the imperial court received the news immediately and heaved a sigh of relief.
If Liang Xiao attacked the Taiji Kingdom, he would be unable to spare any effort to pacify Xichuan.
They could rest easy!
However, the Southern King of Jiaozhou remained somewhat uneasy and asked Gongyang He, "Grand Tutor, do you think there's a possibility Liang Xiao might detour south..."
Gongyang He's brows twitched. "This child is cunning, but Xichuan is strategically defensible and he cannot break through. Unlike Liaodong, which is relatively flat. At that time, we need only observe his troop movements to confirm his intentions, whether he is merely seeking glory.
The natural defenses of Sichuan made Helian Heng even more audacious. He even executed over a dozen Xichuan officials who refused to obey him, and amassed troops at Jiange Pass, preventing Nan Jiyun's army from crossing.
Nan Jiyun, well aware of the difficulty of the Shu roads, maintained his defense in Hanzhong while dispatching scouts to various locations to survey the terrain.
However, his true objective was to await Liang Xiao.
Xichuan was territory of the Great Qian. Even with the insurmountable natural barriers, Liang Xiao would definitely capture it!
Compared to Xichuan, the insignificant Taiji Kingdom was nothing to be concerned about...
Having fought alongside Liang Xiao for more than half a year, Nan Jiyun naturally understood Liang Xiao's methods.
Whether the enemy believed Liang Xiao's false intelligence or not did not affect Liang Xiao's normal deployment.
But if the enemy impulsively believed it and became careless...
The Left and Right Worthy Kings of the Northern Tribes were stark and bloody lessons. Outsiders could not comprehend it!
A month later, Liang Xiao, who had been constantly integrated with his soldiers, finally became familiar with the deployment of the new recruits, ensuring he could command them as if they were an extension of his own arm.
Concurrently, the plate armor from the Yanzhou steel mill was finally completed. The master craftsman immediately dispatched someone to notify Liang Xiao for inspection.
Liang Xiao, accompanied by Lü Changhe, Yue Qingtian, and Liu Fan, rushed to the steel mill.
Two hundred sets of plate armor lay quietly in the display cabinets.