Huo Zhizhang thought he must be still asleep, or perhaps he was so exhausted from the long journey that he was having hallucinations. Otherwise, why would he see his father, still in his armor and cloak, openly embracing his mother in the courtyard and lifting her off the ground?
It couldn't really be said that his father didn't pay attention to rules.
After all, the Huo family was a prominent family in the northern border. Although they didn't adhere to the rule of not talking during meals or in bed, the daily greetings to elders and other etiquettes were never to be neglected.
Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and pacify the world. The Huo family members had high self - requirements. One should know what to do in what situation and not act recklessly.
The teachings still rang in his ears, and he didn't dare to forget them for a moment.
But now...
Well, it must be that he was too tired, so tired that his eyes were having hallucinations.
Huo Zhizhang rubbed his eyes.
Taking this opportunity, Pei Ying quickly patted Huo Tingshan's shoulder and pointed inside, indicating that he should go into the house quickly.
This man was tall with long legs and could enter the house in just a few steps. With Zhizhang's blind trust in his father, maybe he could brainwash himself later.
But the bit of domineering in Huo Tingshan's bones resurfaced. If he hadn't seen it, it would be fine. Since he was seen now, there was no need to avoid it.
It was only reasonable for the younger generation to give way to the elders. There was no reason for a father to specifically hide from his son. Moreover, he and his wife were a legitimate couple, having paid respects to heaven and earth and ancestors. There was nothing to be ashamed of.
He wouldn't hide.
Huo Tingshan just put the person in his arms down.
Seeing that he was fearless and seemed determined to do as he pleased, Pei Ying's delicate face blushed completely: "I won't care about you anymore, but don't forget what you said before."
Huo Tingshan: "..."
Pei Ying went into the house, leaving the father and son in the courtyard staring at each other.
Just as Huo Tingshan was about to take "drastic measures" against his son, his son finally came to his senses from the shock and stammered a greeting to his father, which awakened Huo Tingshan's meager fatherly love, and he didn't take action after all.
Huo Tingshan responded with a grunt, and his expression had returned to normal. "You're back so soon. Have you settled everything in Luoyang?"
Huo Zhizhang pretended not to notice the hint of disdain in the words: "...Yes, father."
"After dinner, go and report the situation of the Pei family's commercial firm to your mother." Huo Tingshan knew she was shy and didn't let his son go to her immediately.
Huo Zhizhang nodded obediently.
After that, the father and son were silent, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Huo Tingshan was about to send this annoying person away when Huo Zhizhang was attracted by the iron - ridged snake spear on the stone table.
The iron - ridged snake spear reflected a cold glint in the sun, like a layer of ice covering it, which was a world apart from the short knife beside it.
The young man instantly forgot all his uneasiness. He stepped forward quickly, picked up the iron - ridged snake spear with one hand, weighed it in his hand, and then flicked the blade with his finger, listening carefully to the slight buzzing sound of the blade. "Father, where did this iron - ridged snake spear come from?"
Huo Tingshan: "Li Qiongqi from Jingzhou came to challenge me and was beaten back. This snake spear is his weapon."
Huo Zhizhang was still examining the snake spear up and down. The keen sense of a military officer made him intuit that this snake spear was extraordinary. "I think this snake spear is quite special."
"Indeed. Your mother said it's made of hundred - fold refined steel, which is much harder than our ordinary weapons. At that time, Li Qiongqi was holding this spear and broke the weapons of Sha Ying, Xiong Mao, and mine in a row." Huo Tingshan had nothing to hide.
Huo Zhizhang was shocked. He immediately looked at his father and was relieved to see that he was uninjured. Then he asked about the situation of Sha Ying and Xiong Mao. After learning that they were out of danger, the young man's thirst for knowledge was extremely strong. "What is hundred - fold refined steel? Why does Li Qiongqi have it while we in Youzhou don't? Father, can we cast this hundred - fold refined steel?"
Huo Tingshan glanced at him and said indifferently, "This matter is very complicated. You won't understand even if I tell you."
Huo Zhizhang: "..."
"How was the situation in Luoyang? Was everything going smoothly?" Huo Tingshan changed the topic.
Huo Zhizhang was quite disappointed that they stopped talking about the snake spear, but he still had to make the report. "It was quite smooth. At the beginning, white sugar was out of stock in Luoyang for a while. There were people waiting at the door of the commercial firm before dawn every day. Even after the stock ran out, the shop was still surrounded by servants of the powerful. I had no choice but to make a batch of wooden tags and distribute them to the noble people in the queue first. They will be given priority when the new batch of white sugar arrives."
Huo Tingshan didn't ask about the profit of the Pei family's commercial firm. He had stopped asking about how much money the "Pei family" made a long time ago.
Because Huo Zhizhang was back, the evening meal was particularly sumptuous. Meng Ling'er hadn't seen her second brother for a long time, and the younger generation started chatting at the dinner table.
Huo Zhizhang talked about the local customs in Luoyang, and Meng Ling'er listened with great interest.
Pei Ying was sitting next to Huo Tingshan. She glanced at the man beside her and then at her second son across the table. Both of them looked normal, as if they had an understanding not to mention what had happened at noon, as if that scene had never occurred.
Pei Ying was amazed.
After the meal, Huo Zhizhang reported the situation of the Pei family's commercial firm to Pei Ying and finally handed over the recent accounts from Luoyang.
After talking about the Pei family's commercial firm, Huo Zhizhang didn't want to leave. He was eager and asked, "Mother, I heard from father that you said the iron - ridged snake spear is made of hundred - fold refined steel. What is hundred - fold refined steel, and how do you know about it?"
The young man was eager to learn. Pei Ying smiled and explained it to him.
Huo Zhizhang listened, feeling a bit confused and only half - understanding. But from Pei Ying's words, he keenly caught an information point.
Since his mother was so familiar with hundred - fold refined steel, did it mean that there was a high probability that she knew how to refine it? Just like soap, telescopes, and white sugar, which were all things that hadn't existed before and were created by his mother.
This father and son had amazing tacit understanding at certain moments. He looked at her eagerly and said, "Mother, can you cast this hundred - fold refined steel?"
Pei Ying also didn't give a definite answer: "It's not certain yet. Let's try first."
Huo Zhizhang was overjoyed. Maybe he didn't even realize that he had an inexplicable trust in Pei Ying. Although it was just "not certain", he somehow felt that the success rate was quite high.
He immediately felt extremely happy. "If mother needs me, just tell me. I'm willing to do my best!"
Pei Ying smiled and said okay.
As the sky gradually darkened, it was time for Pei Ying to go to bed. She would sleep alone tonight, and Huo Tingshan went out at the Xu hour.
In his words, he was going to train beasts.
Pei Ying didn't know what kind of beasts he was going to train in the middle of the night. Since he had something to do, she went to sleep first. She needed to rest well to be energetic for the steel - making business tomorrow.
On the other side.
Huo Tingshan led a group of people out of Chenyuan Road and headed in the direction of Lingwen County.
During the day, the Jingzhou army had arrived at the city gates, but they were later repelled by Huo Tingshan. Consequently, the Jingzhou army retreated seventy miles outside Lingwen County and set up camp in a place called Shuixiang Town.
Huo Tingshan led his troops on a night march beneath the moon and stars, arriving at the outskirts of Shuixiang Town around midnight.
Although they had arrived, Huo Tingshan did not immediately order an attack. He brought out a map of Shuixiang Town. This region of Jingzhou was mountainous, generally forming an incomplete basin that was low and flat in the middle and open to the south.
Shuixiang Town was situated on the northern frontier. Traveling west from Lingwen County to Shuixiang Town required climbing a gentle slope. Leaving Shuixiang Town and heading west toward Huaigu Pass, there were two official roads that also sloped downwards. This meant that Shuixiang Town happened to sit on a slight elevation.
Huo Tingshan looked at his son and Qin Yang, and began assigning tasks. "Huo Er, Qin Yang, each of you will lead a detachment of troops. Bypass Shuixiang Town from the northwest and southwest respectively, and guard the two exits. Set up a double layer of tripwires for the horses, then remain still and wait for the Jingzhou army to walk right into our trap."
The two accepted their orders.
The two detachments of troops departed into the night. To muffle their movements, they had specifically wrapped the horses' hooves in thick layers of cloth.
Huo Tingshan stayed behind with Lan Zimu and the others, waiting quietly in place.
Time quietly slipped by. The full moon in the sky gradually shifted from the east to the west, and the night deepened.
The hour of the Rat passed, and the hour of the Ox arrived.
Lan Zimu glanced at the sky, then looked at Huo Tingshan. "Great General, they should have arrived by now. When do we make our move?"
The scale of the small town was not large. Even though they had to take a detour, with horses at their disposal, the Second Young Master and his men were likely already in position.
Huo Tingshan was concise: "We wait until the beginning of the hour of the Tiger."
The beginning of the hour of the Tiger was exactly when people's drowsiness was at its heaviest. Furthermore, there was a full moon in the sky tonight without a single dark cloud around it, presenting a scene of bright moonlight shining over a thousand miles. It was still too early to act.
They continued to wait.
Another two hours passed. A breeze swept by, leisurely blowing a patch of dark clouds along. The dark clouds drifted in front of the bright moon, blocking a small half of its light.
Huo Tingshan confirmed the time based on the moon's position.
It was the beginning of the hour of the Tiger.
Huo Tingshan ordered in a deep voice, "Mount up. Move out."
The Youzhou soldiers, who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the official road, rose in unison and swiftly mounted their horses.
Their horses' hooves were similarly wrapped in thick cloth. As a result, this army, which had almost completely blended into the night, had already reached the city walls and even set up their grappling hooks for scaling the walls before the defending Jingzhou army finally realized what was happening.
"Oh no, a night raid!"
"Quick, go inform General Li."
"Clang—!" The gongs and drums were struck.
On the city walls, the firelight rapidly surged and slithered like an awakening serpent. The Jingzhou soldiers hurriedly grabbed their longbows and fired arrows downward in an attempt to slow the climbers' ascent.
But before they could loose many arrows, the Jingzhou soldiers on the walls saw a massive behemoth emerge from the boundary between light and shadow not far away.
Someone's pupils contracted. "Oh no, they have a Linchong siege tower."
The so-called Linchong was an eight-wheeled siege tower that resembled a tall building. Often, it would be equipped with a giant battering ram. Soldiers would push it forward from behind, using the ram to destroy the enemy's battlements.
Shuixiang Town was merely a small township; its city gates could hardly compare to those of major counties. After taking just one hit from the Linchong siege tower, dirt and dust rained down from the walls, and the massive city gates teetered on the verge of collapse.
The Youzhou soldiers standing atop the Linchong estimated that the distance to the battlements was now close enough. They immediately swung their long sabers several times, cleanly severing the ropes securing the long ladder that had been forced upright at the top of the tower.
With the ropes cut, the long ladder at the top leaned forward with a creaking sound, finally landing atop the battlements with a heavy thud.
"Covering fire!" called out the bow-wielding Youzhou soldiers in the rear.
Huo Tingshan also wielded a longbow. Standing beside the Linchong tower, he fired arrows at the attacking Jingzhou soldiers on the wall.
The long arrows rode the wind, each one seeming to tear through the air with a sharp whistle, accurately sinking into the chests of the Jingzhou soldiers on the wall. The Jingzhou soldiers collapsed in response.
The first batch of Youzhou soldiers to cross the scaling ladder successfully boarded the city wall.
The city gates of the small town could not withstand the battering. Coupled with the coordinated attack from both inside and outside, the gates were smashed open in less than fifteen minutes.
And so, by the time Li Qiongqi rushed over in a panic, this was the scene he witnessed—
Black-armored Youzhou soldiers were swarming rapidly from the top of the wall down to the city below like ants. Their saber strikes were exceptionally ruthless, marking them unmistakably as elite troops. The firelight reflected off their blades in gleaming, cold flashes, which were quickly smeared with fresh blood.
There were also Youzhou soldiers beneath the city gates. The gates were already tottering, and after one Youzhou soldier yanked away a thick section of the crossbar, the remaining piece could no longer hold. With a loud crash, it snapped.
The string of sanity in Li Qiongqi's mind snapped as well.
