Beitang Mu glanced at her twice, then suddenly bowed deeply: "General's wife, may I ask if you possess the golden seal of the three armies?"
The Military Equipment Bureau, under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department, was both a first-class arsenal and a workshop specializing in the manufacture of weapons, as well as a subordinate unit of the central garrison. Its importance goes without saying; it required either an imperial edict or the golden seal of the three armies to be allowed to proceed.
Zheng Quchi raised an eyebrow. No wonder he was willing to talk to her about so many things; it turned out he had known her identity all along.
Is this what you mean?
She held up a gold seal in her hand. Beitang Mu looked up and his eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn't expected her to actually have one...
After glancing at her again, Beitang Mu stopped talking and turned to the side, saying, "Madam General, please."
How could the General's wife possess the Golden Seal of the Three Armies? Wasn't it just given to His Highness the Crown Prince by the Prince of Ye? This matter has already been reported to the Ministry of War. It seems that this can only prove that His Highness the Crown Prince and the General's wife have a close relationship... After some consideration, Prefect Beitang became even more polite to Zheng Quchi and dared not neglect him.
Upon entering the Arsenal, Beitang Mu explained to Zheng Quchi, who was not very familiar with its internal affairs, that the Arsenal had Left and Right Shangfang, who were in charge of manufacturing military equipment, as well as East and South Iron Officials, who were in charge of the casting of craftsmen. The Arsenal was divided into two parts: the Workshop and the Military Treasury. The former manufactured various military weapons such as bows, crossbows, arrows, swords, and armor, which were then stored in the latter's military treasury.
After listening to his explanation, Zheng Quchi had an idea: "Could we go check out the military storehouse first?"
"certainly."
Led by an insider, Zheng Quchi's journey was smooth sailing; no one questioned or obstructed them, and they arrived at the military warehouse without any problems.
Zheng Quchi took a deep breath, feeling like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden and broadening her horizons.
As a weapons storage center, the military depot was undoubtedly enormous. After the guard pushed open the heavy copper-studded door, Zheng Quchi looked around and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Is it... this big?"
Beitang Mu nodded and followed closely behind her, explaining, "The armory is divided into east and north courtyards, and both courtyards have weapons storage rooms. There are ten major categories of rooms in the armory, and the weapons are stored in each category..."
Zheng Quchi first went to the east courtyard, where she saw rows of independent large rooms. These were the armory warehouses. The construction method, the size of the rammed pits, and the thickness of the rammed layers of these warehouses all had considerable intricacies.
Unlike the flimsy houses she usually saw outside, the walls of these warehouses were generally thick. In addition to the higher requirements for load-bearing walls, safety was a major consideration. Some parts of the warehouse walls were even twice as thick as the walls of other warehouse sites, which shows that the warehouses were intentionally built to enhance their impact resistance.
Each of these warehouses was guarded by four armored guards with knives. In addition to the protection of high walls and gates, the corridors and small warehouses inside were also patrolled by dedicated personnel, demonstrating the strength of the military warehouses' security.
After walking around the warehouse, Zheng Quchi felt as if she had seen the most important "treasure trove" of the entire Ye Kingdom unfold before her eyes. The military treasury was so important that it could affect the combat strength of an army. Of course, she was not satisfied with just scratching the surface.
She requested, "I want to go into the warehouse and take a look."
Previously, Beitang Mu had always been accommodating to her requests, but now he seemed somewhat hesitant: "This..."
"What's wrong? Is it not okay?"
Beitang Mu explained, "This humble servant would like to lead the General's wife in, but this humble servant does not have sufficient authority. Only the Left or Right Shangfang have the key to open it."
Zheng Quchi understood: "Then go and call someone over."
A strange light flashed in Beitang Mu's eyes, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, I'll go right away."
Zheng Quchi didn't have to wait long before a portly middle-aged man swayed over. He walked with a hurried pace and a fawning smile on his face. As he approached, he clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Nan Gui greets the General's wife."
Zheng Quchi knew from the other party's behavior that a smiling tiger had arrived.
When dealing with this type of person, you can't be polite or tactful with them, otherwise they'll be more slippery and harder to catch than anyone else.
"I'm here to check on the armory for His Highness the Crown Prince, so please open a door, Zuo Shangfang."
"These are all matters under our personal supervision, so there can't be any problems. Why would Your Highness suddenly send the General's wife here?" His smile froze.
Zheng Quchi's expression was indifferent, completely disregarding the usual practice of not hitting a smiling face, and directly pulled out his trump card, saying, "This is the Golden Seal of the Three Armies. I wonder if Zuo Shangfang recognizes it?"
Nan Gui took a closer look and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a smile, saying, "I recognize it, I recognize it. I'll open it right away."
"Let it go ahead," Zuo Shangfang thought to himself, "I figured a woman like her wouldn't be able to tell the difference between good and bad weapons." He hadn't expected any problems, so he hadn't made any prior preparations. But luckily, the person who came wasn't a professional.
Beitang Mu glanced at Nan Gui. Having spent so much time with Nan Gui, he naturally understood his current thoughts. He curled his lips into a barely perceptible smile.
Nan Gui, I'm afraid the final outcome won't be as you wish.
Zheng Quchi entered one of the storerooms. As soon as the door opened, rows of tall wooden shelves, stretching for dozens of meters, were filled with iron arrowheads of various thicknesses and lengths. There were also some bronze arrowheads placed at the back, mostly square-shaped with sharp points, which were relatively ancient and primitive.
She picked them up and weighed them, then tapped them together to hear the crisp sound.
After looking around, she didn't say anything, only saying, "Next warehouse."
Seeing this, Nan Gui happily agreed and continued to lead the way, and they turned into another warehouse.
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