Chapter 724 The Counterfeit Sword [Seeking a guaranteed monthly vote mid-month!]
The night wind howled.
Luoyang, the City of Purple Crape Myrtle.
On a high platform beside the square, there was a man dressed in a black python robe, holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.
The robe embroidered with pythons fluttered in the evening breeze, obscuring the number of claws the python had.
The night was dark, and the wind was strong.
Ziwei City was vast. As the ruling center of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was firmly fixed to the central land of Luoyang by a series of majestic city gates, ruling over the ten circuits of the world.
Every night, the night wind seemed to accelerate between the solemn palaces and narrow vermilion walls of the city, as if it wanted to blow away the patrolling guards, the bowing palace maids, and the officials who entered the palace in the middle of the night, making it difficult for anyone to reach the high and mighty imperial palace in the center.
Wei Jisi was already used to entering the palace at night, and also used to the dark, swift winds in the square of Ziwei City.
He wore a warm cloak over his python robe. This cloak seemed to be a gift from a saint, made from the fur of a rare small animal from the harsh lands of Liaodong. This animal only leaves its hidden underground caves and ventures into the wilderness for food for half a month before the first frost of the year. Even the most skilled hunters can only hunt two of them a year.
Wei Jisi's imperial tribute cloak required the pelts of thirteen rare small animals.
Wei Jisi had more than a dozen other precious garments like these... There were many similar cases in the daily lives of the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Liang.
It is taken as easily as a grain of sand, and discarded as easily as mud and sand.
Since Empress Wei Zhao ascended the throne and changed the dynasty name from Gan to Zhou, for more than a decade, the resources of the entire dynasty have been flowing continuously and hotly into the capital, the newly established power center of Wei Zhou, like blood flowing in an artery.
Wei Jisi's gaze slowly fell on the square in front of him.
Ziwei City can be roughly divided into two parts: the Imperial City and the Ziwei Palace. Ziwei City Square is located between the Imperial City and the Ziwei Palace. Every morning during the court session, civil and military officials would bow their heads and walk slowly through this area.
Its name is synonymous with grandeur and magnificence; the more it makes passersby feel insignificant, the better.
During the time Wei Jisi spent building the Great Zhou Ode Heavenly Pivot in the center of the square, he truly experienced the original intention of the original designer of the Ziwei City Square.
The majesty of imperial power is meant to be imposing and majestic, making ordinary people feel insignificant.
Because he would occasionally put himself in the shoes of the actual master of this imperial city and think about these issues... Of course, he couldn't tell others about these thoughts, because the current Ziwei City already had an elderly mistress, who was also his aunt.
In the center of Ziwei City Square, hundreds or even thousands of people are gathered, holding torches that illuminate a tall bronze pillar in the center.
The bronze pillars, like swords, pierce the night sky. Countless birds have crashed into and died on them since their construction.
The words "Great Zhou Praises the Heavenly Pivot" are faintly engraved on the pillar.
This celestial pivot, a symbol of praise, nearly exhausted the "praise bronze" donated by thousands of prefectures and counties across the ten circuits of the empire.
Wei Jisi felt that, in a sense, this act was as grand as the ancient historical record of Yu the Great collecting bronze from the nine provinces to cast nine tripods after controlling the floods.
Moreover, this was a national project of a unified dynasty. In theory, its scale far exceeded that of the resource-scarce ancient wilderness. It's just that the story of Yu the Great casting the Nine Tripods was too early, and it was exaggerated by historians who favored the past over the present.
However, he did not underestimate the legendary Nine Cauldrons, because they were so close to the mythical era described in ancient books, which was even earlier than ancient times. Like a ray of afterglow falling from outside the door into the inside, they were part of the mythology.
Wei Jisi once heard a Qi practitioner from overseas who presented a treasure say that the Nine Tripods cast by Yu the Great later guarded the fortunes of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. At that time, the world was unified and people's hearts were at peace. It was not until the middle of the Zhou Dynasty that the turmoil caused by Prince Chao's flight to Chu led to the loss of the mythical Nine Tripods. At the same time, the legendary Zhou Archives, which was longed for and sought after by Qi practitioners in the pre-Qin period, was also lost. From then on, the Zhou Dynasty began to decline, followed by the era of kings, nobles, ministers, the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the Qi practitioners of the pre-Qin period.
The lost cauldrons reappeared during the era of the First Emperor's conquest of the land and unification of the six kingdoms. Starting with the elixir of immortality, they gradually transformed into deadly cauldrons and swords, initiating the first cauldron-related conflict among pre-Qin cultivators...
Who knows if, many years from now, the Songde Tianzhu (a sacred celestial pivot) built by the Wei clan will be like the Nine Tripods, either standing forever in the square of the Ziwei Palace, or as legendary as the Nine Tripods, existing in the long river of history, bound to the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, lasting for centuries...
In the pitch-black night wind, Wei Jisi turned a string of white jade prayer beads in one hand and gently tapped the railing with the other, inexplicably thinking of these things.
After a moment, he pulled his scattered thoughts back and glanced at the tall building teeming with workers. In the whistling evening wind, some of the "ants" wobbled precariously, almost falling.
Wei Jisi's expression was calm and indifferent as he turned his head away.
His gaze fell on the end of the plaza behind him, where there stood a magnificent hall, named "Wanxiang Divine Palace" by the sage.
This Mingtang Hall in Luoyang is the main hall of the Ziwei City, a place specifically for holding important court affairs.
It was also the political center and symbol of imperial power of the Wei Zhou dynasty.
A few days later, the grand ceremony for the completion of the Tian Shu and the Four Directions Buddha statues will also be held here. It is unknown how many kings and generals will come, and even the sage will be present in person.
Wei Jisi exhaled a long breath and began to twirl the white jade prayer beads in his hands even faster.
During this period, the Wei family kept a low profile and endured hardship, all for the smooth completion of this project.
The day it's completed will be a day of triumph and pride.
Sages love celebrations and auspicious omens; what could please a sage more than the celestial pivot of praise and Buddha statues of the four directions?
Not to mention, the central hall for praising virtues and the four Buddha statues are not simply superficial projects.
Rather, it allows the sage's power of life and death to expand on a large scale.
Wei Jisi nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied.
"Brother Wang."
Behind them, a prince in white robes, also dressed in a python robe, walked in.
Wei Jisi knew it was his younger brother Wei Sixing without even turning around.
Wei Sixing stood beside him, squinted at the central hub in front of him, and then looked at his face.
Suddenly asked:
"Brother Wang, have you still not taken off that white cloth strip on your head? It looks like you've been wearing it for a long time."
Wei Sixing comforted him, saying, "Brother, please take care of yourself. The matter is over, and it will do no good to hurt yourself."
Wei Jisi nodded expressionlessly:
"Wait a while before picking them."
Wei Sixing sighed.
Wei Jisi suddenly chuckled softly:
"Don't worry, I will take it off on the day of the grand ceremony the day after tomorrow, because someone will put it on for me, so I won't need to wear it anymore."
Wei Sixing looked somewhat puzzled.
Wei Jisi turned his head and asked:
"How's it going over there?"
Wei Sixing stood with his hands behind his back and couldn't help but speak happily:
"The Grand Master came to inspect this afternoon. The core of the Heavenly Pivot is complete. With a little more work done on the outside, it will be almost done. The grand ceremony will be held on time the day after tomorrow."
"In addition, the latest news is that all four Buddha statues have been completed. The slowest one is the Donglin Buddha in Jiangzhou, which was secretly completed ten days ago. It was almost slower than our Tian Shu, but fortunately it was completed. The Xunyang Prince's Mansion contributed a lot, as did Ouyang Lianghan, who made many contributions to the Donglin Buddha project. Especially the latter, the people in Xunyang respect him, even though they are just taking credit for our work."
Wei Jisi calmly said, "It's alright, let them continue to freeload."
Wei Sixing noticed that his elder brother seemed unusually easy to talk to lately, so he continued:
"The day after tomorrow morning, a small celebration ceremony will also be held in Jiangzhou. It will be held at the same time as ours at Ziwei City Square. It's quite a coincidence."
Wei Jisi chuckled softly.
He suddenly sighed, "I really wish time would pass faster. How come there are still a day and two nights to wait?"
Wei Sixing shook his head helplessly.
As if remembering something, he turned his head and asked:
"Brother, do you know that the Emperor plans to use this grand ceremony to arrange a marriage for our Wei family? He may select a young man from our royal residence or your residence and arrange the marriage publicly during the ceremony. Do you have a suitable young man in your residence?"
Wei Jisi turned his head, frowning slightly: "Which one?"
Wei Sixing squinted and said, "The Cui family."
Wei Jisi asked instinctively, "Which Cui?"
“Which Cui family could it be?” Wei Sixing shook his head: “Besides the Qinghe Cui family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, who else could make the Sage go to such lengths?”
"Is the Sage preparing to take action against the powerful clans outside the Great Wall?"
"It's still uncertain whether the wind has shifted or not, but in recent years the Emperor has been busy dealing with the powerful clans of Guanzhong and Longxi in Chang'an and has no time to care about them. Now, taking advantage of Li Zhengyan's rebellion, he has thoroughly purged the Guanzhong region, and things have calmed down considerably there. As for the five clans and seven noble families outside, they still need to be given a warning, otherwise they will really think that the aristocratic families are indestructible."
Wei Sixing, with his hands behind his back and head held high, said, "The Great Zhou Dynasty is first and foremost surnamed Wei."
Wei Jisi quieted down, pondered for a moment, and said:
"Among all the prominent families in the world, the Cui family of Qinghe is the most aloof. Among the five surnames and seven noble families, they are the leader. They are a thorn in the side. If they do not cooperate, it is actually opposition. They even bring up some ancestral precepts, saying that the daughters of the Cui family of Qinghe will never marry anyone outside the five surnames. They even try not to marry into the Wang and Xie families in the south, who are also among the five surnames and seven noble families. They value the north and belittle the south."
Wei Sixing sneered:
"So arrogant, do they look down on our Wei clan? Then the Emperor should teach them a lesson this time. We'll cooperate and annoy them too. If they dare to refuse in public at the ceremony, they're disrespecting the Emperor."
"There are actually quite a few families in the court that appear to be compliant but are actually rebellious, especially the Cui family of Qinghe and several other prominent families. They just need to be dealt with."
Wei Jisi nodded:
"We'll leave this matter to the Emperor. This time, we'll have them offer up a noblewoman from the Cui family, and she has to be from the most direct line. Hmm, isn't there a Cui woman who's quite famous? Let's see how noble this surname really is."
He stopped turning his prayer beads, turned his head and said calmly, "Let Anhui stay in Jiangzhou a little longer."
Wei Sixing shook his head:
"No, she's still too young."
...
night.
Chengtian Temple.
Back then, Tao Yuanming, who was the master of the Poor Scholar Sword, hid the Poor Scholar in a place called Peach Blossom Spring.
"Tao Yuanming was very skilled. He learned a special Qi-cultivation technique from somewhere and constructed an interesting sword formation, which we will call the Peach Blossom Spring Sword Formation."
"The core of the Peach Blossom Sword Formation is the [Han Shi], who used something called Blood Bronze to forge the Fake Ding Sword, which is closely connected to the entire sword formation."
Wu Daozi sighed:
"If that were all, it wouldn't be a very important thing. The key point is that Tao Yuanming created an alternative way of using the Ding Sword, which is to set up the Peach Blossom Spring Sword Formation and create a fake Ding Sword to replace the real Ding Sword. This method allows one to roam freely in the mountains."
"A counterfeit Ding Sword?"
"Yes, this is the name given by the scholar surnamed Cui later. You can think of it as a perfect substitute for the Dingjian, which can exert the approximate power and supernatural abilities of the Dingjian. The original copy of the Peach Blossom Spring was a fake Dingjian, and it was also the first fake Dingjian on the mountain."
Wu Daozi sighed with some emotion:
"Little Huaimin, it can be used not only on the [Humble Scholar], but its success on the [Humble Scholar] shows that other Ding swords can also set up the 'Peach Blossom Sword Formation', and a fake Ding sword can be used to replace a real Ding sword to achieve the purpose of protecting the real sword. Moreover, most importantly, the requirements for the sword wielder are reduced when using a fake Ding sword."
"This is a new path beyond the traditional swordsman."
"It simultaneously solved two problems that had been troubling the Swordholder's lineage:"
"First, true Swordholders are too rare. There are too few people who can walk this path of no return. They are difficult to cultivate, and the death of one is a major loss. However, the Swordholder's Dao lineage has the strongest killing power, and many forces need it. If the threshold can be lowered, the possibilities will be much greater."
"Secondly, the struggle for the Dingjian is too brutal. Once you lose, the Dingjian is gone. Although the counterfeit Dingjian also consumes a lot of resources, it is not like the Dingjian, where each one is unique and can be used as a consumable. For those major powers, it is something they can afford to consume, even though it is a bit more troublesome."
"The Peach Blossom Sword Formation, combined with the Counterfeit Ding Sword, represents an innovation in the traditional sword-wielding system. Traditional systems, such as the sword-wielding system of the Hidden Lord of Yunmeng Sword Marsh, are strong, but how many years has it been since Yunmeng Sword Marsh has been able to gather a Hidden Lord? This is its weakness. Even Yunmeng Sword Marsh is like this, let alone other forces."
"So tell me, wasn't Tao Yuanming amazing?"
Yuan Huaimin swallowed hard and nodded.
Wu Daozi sighed:
"But there are even more powerful ones. Although Tao Yuanming was a legendary swordsman, he was probably used to fighting alone and was still limited to one sword and the power of one person. Therefore, the power of the fake sword and the Peach Blossom Sword Formation was not fully realized, especially for some powerful forces with deep pockets."
"How many fake swords can be made?"
"Yes, but it's not the only way, and it will dilute the power. So it's better to go further and lower the requirements for the sword wielder again, and win by sheer quantity."
Yuan Huaimin looked puzzled and couldn't help but glance at the bronze scroll in his arms.
"So this is the fake Ding Sword?"
"It is the restored fake Ding Sword, and it is also the only fake Ding Sword of the [Humble Scholar]."
"What do you mean? Are there no other counterfeit Ding Swords?"
Wu Daozi smiled slightly, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he said leisurely.
"However, Tao Yuanming made a small mistake, or rather, it wasn't really a mistake. If it weren't for this small mistake, the 'poor scholar' might have already been forced to wander down the mountain, causing disputes."
"What minor mistake?"
The lean old man smiled and said:
"Tao Yuanming hid the 'Humble Scholar' so well that not only could the Southern Liu Song imperial family, who lost the fake Ding sword, not find it, but the Northern Wei imperial family, even if they had obtained the fake Ding sword, could not find it either."
Yuan Huaimin asked in surprise:
"Isn't this a good thing? This kind of weapon shouldn't be in the world; it would easily lead to bloodshed."
Wu Daozi smiled and said:
"Yes and no, because a scholar surnamed Cui took advantage of this and made some special improvements to the Peach Blossom Sword Formation and the Counterfeit Ding Sword system."
"He knew perfectly well that the [Humble Scholar] would forever be trapped somewhere in Peach Blossom Spring, unreachable by the world. So he recklessly used the initial counterfeit Ding Sword to construct a more sophisticated sword-wielding system for the Northern Wei Dynasty, which, as I just mentioned, brought the idea of the Peach Blossom Spring Sword Formation to a more thorough level..."
(End of this chapter)
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