gnovel Chapter 40: I have no need to explain my actions to anyone!
Chapter 40: I have no need to explain my actions to anyone!
The Imperial Armory was located between Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace, bordered by Beigong Palace to the north and Dongdi Palace to the south.
Crown Prince Liu Ju rode his horse through Zhangtai Street, followed by four hundred Crown Prince Guards. Apart from Zhao Anguo, Shi Gao, and others who carried swords, none of them carried weapons or armor. Accompanying them were all the pack animals (horses, donkeys, and mules) and carts that had been gathered from the Crown Prince's Palace.
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
"Get out of the way!"
At the northernmost end of Zhangtai Street is Jianzhangtai, a building constructed during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. The area was once bustling and lined with brothels.
The middle section is adjacent to the North Palace, the Armory, and the Changle Palace, while the southern section is adjacent to the East Residence and the Gao Temple. There is a constant stream of people coming and going, including many officials and nobles.
Under the blazing autumn sun, the prince and his entourage rode their horses with gusto, while passersby hurriedly stepped aside, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire.
This scene attracted the attention of countless people, with Liu Ju at the very front coming into everyone's view.
"Shangguan."
"Why not stop them?"
"They're heading towards the armory."
The Han army garrison commander guarding Anmen looked worried.
"bar?"
The city gatekeeper glanced at him and said coldly, "How are you going to stop me?"
"That's His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Besides, did they bring armor, bows, or crossbows?"
"this..."
The village head was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
"Chang'an is the capital. From His Majesty to ordinary people, there are hundreds of thousands of people. Each of them could drown us with a single spit."
"There are so many high-ranking officials and nobles here. The capital has twelve city gates, and there are twelve gatekeepers like me."
"A mere minor official with a salary of six hundred bushels of grain, someone could kill you with a single breath."
"Ask the Sima above me, and above him is the Lieutenant Commandant. Would they dare to lay a hand on the Crown Prince?"
"The most important thing in life is to be pragmatic and know when to yield."
"Our duty is to manage the opening and closing, guarding and inspecting of the city gates under our jurisdiction."
"As for other matters, those are not things we can interfere with."
"The city gatekeeper said meaningfully."
"promise."
The village headman responded with a half-understanding.
Before long, the Crown Prince and his entourage appeared outside the armory gate, instantly attracting the attention of the Northern Army stationed there.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"What are you doing?"
The armory commander rushed out and looked at Crown Prince Liu Ju's actions with a look of panic.
"Open the door, I want to lead my troops."
Liu Ju sat on horseback, looking down at the Armory Commander from his elevated position.
"Your Highness."
"The armory is a vital location in the capital; without the lieutenant's tiger tally, no one can open it!"
"If you have His Majesty's edict, I can act as I see fit."
The armory commander did not want to offend the crown prince, so he could only try to persuade him with a tactful reason.
The lieutenant was in charge of the Northern Army and was responsible for protecting the capital and the palace, as well as the emperor's procession and guards. The armory in the capital was also under the protection of the Northern Army. Even without the lieutenant's tiger tally, the emperor's edict would not change anything. Could the emperor not order the armory to be opened?
"Splash!"
Liu Ju suddenly drew his gold and silver inlaid dragon and phoenix ring horizontal sword from his waist, the bright light of the blade reflecting on the face of the armory commander.
"call!!!"
The armory commander felt a throbbing pain in the skin of his neck, his whole body trembling, and he forced himself to ask, "Your Highness."
"This is a heavily guarded armory; anyone who opens it without authorization will be executed!"
"Your Highness, I humbly request that you reconsider."
"hehe!"
Liu Ju smiled and said confidently, "Why should I explain my actions to anyone?"
"Someone, open the gate."
Seeing his unquestionable expression, the armory commander felt helpless and had no choice but to raise his right hand and order the door to be opened.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The Northern Army soldiers on guard left and right stepped forward and opened the tightly closed armory doors.
"Da da da! Da da da!"
Liu Ju pulled on the reins, and his steed strode straight into the armory.
The Crown Prince's left and right guards, Zhao Anguo and Shi Gao, each led two hundred guards in single file, while the Crown Prince's steward, Zhang He, arranged for carriages and horses to wait outside.
Seeing this, the armory commander finally breathed a sigh of relief. Crown Prince Liu Ju hadn't gone too far. He was glad he had made a wise choice; otherwise, he would have been killed on the spot by the Crown Prince and become a victim in the power struggle of many people.
"My God!"
When Zhao Anguo and the others stepped into the armory, they were all dumbfounded.
The entire armory resembles a small city, with a rectangular shape and high rammed earth walls on all four sides to prevent outsiders from spying on it. It covers an area of at least 400 acres, with the main gate as the central axis. A thick partition wall was built, dividing the armory into two courtyards, east and west.
The east courtyard has four rectangular detached buildings, and the west courtyard has three. The seven warehouse buildings vary in size and shape and are built of rammed earth. Each warehouse is divided into several rooms by rammed earth walls, with wooden pillars around the perimeter, tiled roofs, and adobe brick walls. They have doors on one or two sides, and some have guardhouses next to the doors. There are corridors and drainage ditches outside the walls.
"Zhao Anguo".
"Take men and retrieve eight hundred sets of fish-scale armor."
Looking around, Liu Ju gave the order directly.
"promise."
Zhao Anguo's face lit up with joy, and he quickly beckoned his two hundred guards to head towards the armory.
The empire's armor was divided into leather armor and iron armor. Fish scale armor was the finest type of iron armor, consisting of 2859 iron plates and weighing no more than 70 jin (equivalent to 35 jin in modern times). It was generally only issued to officers and elite troops (the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard).
"Historic."
"Take men and fetch two hundred crossbows and two hundred large crossbows."
Then, Liu Ju gave another instruction.
"promise."
Shi Gao, with a calm expression, led his men down to make the arrangements.
Seeing that everyone had left, Liu Ju, accompanied by Shi Zeng, the Crown Prince's attendant, entered the northernmost storeroom in the west courtyard.
This warehouse is the largest, covering at least twenty acres. Inside, there are three north-south partition walls that divide it into four large rooms. The rooms have regularly arranged foundation stones, 21 rows east-west and 17 rows north-south, with a clear column grid structure. The floors and walls inside the rooms are plastered with straw and mud.
Liu Ju walked directly into the first room, which displayed sheathed ring-pommel swords; there were at least tens of thousands of them.
"this...."
Shi Zeng, who was standing next to him, stared wide-eyed in shock.
Liu Ju was not surprised at all. This was the armory of the Han Empire, built under the supervision of Xiao He. It stored at least enough armor, bows and crossbows to equip 300,000 men. There was no similar building in the world.
Some large prefectures (such as Nanyang and Hedong) had armories, but they only stored enough armor and weapons to equip a few thousand men.
"Sizzle!!!"
He stepped forward and drew a ring-pommel sword. The gleaming blade was covered with a layer of grease. The Han Empire had reached the pinnacle in the manufacture, smelting, and maintenance of weapons, far surpassing the Parthian, Roman, and Ptolemaic countries of the same period.
PS: The twelve city gates of Chang'an are as follows: Xuanping Gate, Qingming Gate, and Bacheng Gate on the east side from north to south; Fu'ang Gate, Anmen Gate, and Xi'an Gate on the south side from east to west; Hengmen Gate, Chucheng Gate, and Luocheng Gate on the north side from west to east; and Yongmen Gate, Zhicheng Gate, and Zhangcheng Gate on the west side from north to south.
Anmen Gate, as the central gate of the southern city wall, has an inner street that connects to the armory in the north and runs through the entire city from north to south. Anmen Street (Zhangtai Street) is the central axis of Chang'an City, which separates Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace from east to west.