Chapter 10

Zhang Xuan undoubtedly had a talent for martial arts; he could understand the principles of martial arts more deeply than the average person. When it came to saber techniques, what he needed to learn was not the moves but the power, which was also the foundation for countless mighty warriors.

Forget the moves, learn the essence of saber techniques—drawing the saber, sheathing it, and defense. No matter how the techniques change, the essence remains the same. Remember, the techniques are dead, but the person is alive. Battles are ever-changing, and as long as you grasp the essence of the techniques, you can adapt to any situation.

But no matter how the moves change, without power, they are like a tree without roots or water without a source. Zhang Xuan had already realized that if he truly wanted to become a mighty warrior like Yuwen Chengdu, ancient martial arts was a hurdle he could not avoid.

Otherwise, he would just be a common soldier or a slightly more skilled martial artist.

He had already completed the foundation-building stage, but he had no idea how to proceed with the next level, the Muscle Changing stage, let alone the even deeper Bone Washing stage.

However, his immediate concern was that the money pouch at his waist was getting emptier day by day. A man can go a day without power, but not a day without money. He had to find something to do.

He could set up a small stall and do some petty trading, just like his late grandmother, who had run a small stall for twenty years to raise him.

But Zhang Xuan really did not want to go into business. In the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, coming to the Sui Dynasty and not joining the army to achieve glory, but instead thinking about becoming the lowest of merchants, such as a street vendor, would be a disgrace.

If his grandmother knew, she would surely beat him with her shoe, calling him a good-for-nothing.

Should he go to Li Yuan and attach himself to Li Shimin?

This was a good decision, but it was said that the generals who followed Li Yuan in his uprising in Taiyuan did not become founding heroes but rather became the first martyrs of the new dynasty. Those who ended up well were mostly Li Shimin's enemies who surrendered to him, like Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong.

In fact, Zhang Xuan did not know what he could do. There was no historical figure named Zhang Xuan, and it seemed that Li Yuan did not have a strategist or general named Zhang Xuan.

He could either be an unknown small general or a wealthy local tyrant. Actually, becoming a tycoon was not bad; vast fields, a harem of wives and concubines—those were dreams he had once had.

Thinking of a harem of wives and concubines, a gentle smile always appeared on Zhang Xuan's lips. He wondered what his future wife would be like, whether she would be as obedient and cute as his former little junior sister.

After much thought over the past few days, Zhang Xuan finally decided to join the Sui army and get a position, and then, after becoming Li Shimin's enemy, find a way to join him. He was originally a soldier, and joining the Sui Dynasty's army was a natural choice.

More importantly, it was already the tenth year of the Daye era, and the great turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty was only three years away. If he wanted to survive the chaos, or even thrive, he did not have much time left.

...

Two more days passed. On this noon, Zhang Xuan returned from practicing his saber in the woods outside the city, as he usually did. Since he had successfully completed the foundation-building stage, his range of activities was no longer limited to the neighborhood but had expanded to the outskirts of the city. He practiced his saber in the woods outside the west city every day, training his speed and reaction.

Today was the third day of the first month. The market outside the city was open, and civilians were coming out of the city to buy vegetables one after another. The official road on both sides was lined with various small stalls selling fish and shrimp. Groups of women haggled over prices at the stalls, and the area around the city gate was bustling. The road was muddy from the melting snow, and everyone walked carefully, afraid of falling into the mud.

As the days passed, Zhang Xuan had gradually gotten used to life in the Sui Dynasty. The initial excitement of being in a new place had slowly faded. He still remembered the excitement of his first visit to the market. Now, thinking back, his curiosity and questions at the time seemed a bit ridiculous.

He bought a red-hearted radish for two coins, munching on it as he walked leisurely toward the city gate. When he reached the city gate, he stopped and examined the reward notice posted on the stone stele.

It was a reward notice for capturing Yang Xuangan. Zhang Xuan had seen it when he first arrived in Luoyang. The reward was 5,000 taels of gold for Yang Xuangan's head or a promotion of three ranks.

However, the previous notice had been damaged by rain, and a new one was posted today with the same content. Although it was the same old wine in a new bottle, it still drew a crowd of people who gathered around the notice, discussing it loudly.

"This Yang Xuangan, why can't they catch him? It's been two months, right?"

"More than two months, three and a half months. I remember clearly, the day Yang Xuangan was defeated, my son was born. Now my son is three and a half months old."

"I heard that Yang Su had a huge treasure vault, and Yang Xuangan failed because he didn't find it. I wonder where the treasure vault is. We should go look for it!"

"Ha, what treasure vault? If there really was one, the emperor would have already dug it up."

"It's really strange, where is Yang Xuangan hiding?"

Zhang Xuan did not find it strange. Yang Xuangan's fate was in the hands of Yuwen Shu, who wanted to use him to gain the greatest benefit. How could he easily get rid of Yang Xuangan? However, three and a half months had passed, and Yuwen Shu still had not made a move, which showed his insatiable greed.

At this moment, the sound of galloping hooves came from a distance. A large group of cavalry was galloping toward the city gate from the official road.

"Please step aside, everyone. The imperial grandson is returning to the capital. Please help!"

The soldiers leading the way were still polite, and the crowd quickly moved to the sides of the road. Zhang Xuan saw that the city guards were no longer letting people enter the city, so he stepped back a few steps and squeezed into the crowd.

Zhang Xuan was a bit curious. He asked an old man next to him, "Excuse me, sir, who is the imperial grandson?"

The old man looked him up and down as if he were a rare animal. "Young man, you're not from the Sui Dynasty, are you! You don't know the imperial grandson? Let me tell you, they are the three sons of the former crown prince: Prince Yan Tan, Prince Yue Tong, and Prince Dai You. The future emperor of our Sui Dynasty will be one of them. Remember that? Prince Dai is still in Chang'an, so it should be Prince Yan and Prince Yue returning from a spring outing."

"Oh! Thank you, sir."

A moment later, a large group of cavalry surrounded two young nobles on horseback. They were only in their teens, wearing purple robes, with jade belts around their waists and golden crowns on their heads. They had rosy lips and white teeth, and were exceptionally handsome, but it was unclear which was Yang Tan and which was Yang Tong.

The two young nobles pulled their horses to a stop at the city gate. One of them pointed at the reward notice on the stone stele with his whip and laughed, "Brother, why don't we go catch Yang Xuangan? Grandfather said he must be hiding in Hongnong County."

The other young noble said angrily, "Three and a half months have passed, and Yuwen Shu still hasn't caught Yang Xuangan. Is he really trying his best, or does he have other plans?"

"Brother, there are too many people here. Don't say such things."

The young noble fell silent, then sighed, "Alas! I really want to catch him myself and relieve Grandfather's worries, but I was born a few years too late."

He shook his head, lightly whipped his horse, and galloped into the city gate.

"Brother, wait for me!"

The other young noble hurried after him, and the cavalry quickly crossed the drawbridge, escorting the two imperial grandsons into Luoyang.

Such entries of the nobility were common, and everyone was used to it. After the cavalry disappeared, the official road returned to its previous bustle, with the cries of vendors and the sounds of hawking rising and falling.

Zhang Xuan stood by the roadside, not moving. He stared at the notice on the stone stele, his eyes thoughtful.

...

Luoyang was laid out in a grid pattern, with high walls dividing the city into numerous neighborhoods. The Luo River divided Luoyang into two parts, with 55 neighborhoods to the north and 57 to the south, generally distinguishing the rich and poor areas by the north being cheaper and the south being more expensive.

Although each neighborhood had small shops selling daily necessities and firewood, rice, and oil, non-daily special items could only be bought at specialized markets.

Luoyang had three major markets, commonly known as the South Market, North Market, and West Market. The South Market, also called Fengdu Market, was the largest market in the Sui Dynasty.

The market was eight li in circumference, with twelve gates. It was divided into 120 sections, with over 3,000 shops. Precious treasures were piled up like mountains, and merchants from all over the country gathered there.

In the market, one could see Sogdian merchants leading caravans of camels loaded with various goods, as well as dark-skinned, short-statured Japanese merchants, and tall-hatted, expressionless Silla and Baekje merchants.

Today was the third day of the first month. Zhang Xuan thought the Fengdu Market would be deserted, with shops closed, but to his surprise, the market was still bustling with people, and the cries of vendors and hawking sounds rose and fell.

Zhang Xuan had visited the Fengdu Market a month ago, but at that time, he had no intention of buying a saber. He just wandered around, but because he was a martial artist, he remembered the location of the weapons shop.

The Sui Dynasty, like previous dynasties, had strict restrictions on civilian weapons. Crossbows, long weapons, and military sabers were not allowed to be sold, only swords, knives, and ordinary bows and arrows.

But like previous dynasties, these regulations were only effective on the surface, especially in the Sui Dynasty, which was already in turmoil.

Perhaps because the chaos was approaching, the weapons shops were particularly busy, with several larger shops crowded with customers.

Zhang Xuan was still wearing his light blue fine silk robe, with a shoulder bag containing all his wealth—100 strings of coins.

This was also an inconvenience of the Sui Dynasty. If one wanted to buy expensive items, one had to either bring a cart of money to the market or use gold. Although gold was not legal tender, most shops would accept it, as it would only become more valuable in times of chaos.

Without a cart or gold, one could only carry dozens of pounds of wuzhu coins, as Zhang Xuan did.

He came to a weapons shop on the eastern side of the market. A large sign hung from the eaves, with the characters "Wude" (Martial Virtue) written in a flowing script.

This was the shop. Zhang Xuan had heard from Wang Bo that the Wude weapons shop in Fengdu Market was run by a shopkeeper named Liu, who was well-informed and not only sold prohibited weapons privately but could also provide important information.

Entering the shop, he saw walls lined with various swords, bows, and arrows. In the middle, a rack was filled with hundreds of cheap swords and knives for customers to choose from. A shop assistant stood next to it, holding a copper rod and coldly watching everyone's movements.

The other shop assistant, who sold the swords and knives on the wall, was much more enthusiastic, clearly because the profit margin on the wall items was higher.

The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man in his forties named Liu, had his hands in his sleeves and smiled at the customers. He was round and plump and often said, "Do you know how to write the character for 'martial'? It means 'to stop violence'!" as if to redeem himself for selling lethal weapons.

A group of scholars were gathered around the rack, selecting long swords. As the saying goes, "Scholars carry swords, warriors carry sabers." Wearing a sword was a tradition in the Sui Dynasty, especially for scholars, who all wore a long sword, whether ornate or simple, which could reveal their family background.

For true martial artists, however, they rarely bought ornate swords and mostly bought sabers that could slash and thrust, especially the military sabers, which were the most popular.

Zhang Xuan went directly to the shopkeeper and bowed, smiling, "Is this Liu Shopkeeper?"

"I am indeed!" the shopkeeper replied with a full smile.

"Is the young master here to buy a saber?" the shopkeeper asked, his eyes sharp, immediately recognizing that Zhang Xuan was not a scholar who would wear a sword.

Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "The sabers over there seem too light. I want to buy a heavier one."

" heavier ones are available. Follow me!"

The shopkeeper led Zhang Xuan to another counter and took out several sabers, smiling, "Swords and sabers have different weights, but sabers have a fixed standard. They are generally 3, 5, 8, or 10 pounds. If you have special requirements, you would need to go to a blacksmith to have one made."

The shopkeeper took out 8-pound and 10-pound sabers. Zhang Xuan examined a few, and although the 10-pound saber felt more comfortable in his hand, the quality of these sabers was clearly not high. He could even see bubbles on the blade, and they were far inferior to the saber given to him by Wang Bo.

He took off the saber from his waist and asked, "Do you have one like this?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the saber in Zhang Xuan's hand and immediately understood. He nodded, "Please follow me!"

They entered the inner room, which was also filled with various swords and sabers. The shopkeeper took out five or six military sabers from a box and whispered, "Your saber is a military saber, which is not allowed to be sold publicly. I have six high-quality heavy sabers for you to choose from."

Zhang Xuan picked up a military saber and gently drew it from the scabbard. He felt a cold, sharp edge, clearly different from the previous sabers.

He then chose a unique military saber, weighing about 10 pounds, which felt very comfortable in his hand. The design was simple and elegant. Zhang Xuan drew the saber, and a cold breeze hit his face. He gently touched the cold blade, feeling its sharpness, and swung it a few times. The room was instantly filled with the cold light of the saber. It was indeed a fine weapon, and he could not put it down.

The shopkeeper gave a thumbs up and smiled, "Young master, you have a good eye! This is one of the 3,000 Qiniu sabers made by the Military Equipment Supervision in the 15th year of the Kaihuang era, made of bin iron, used by palace guards, and not available on the market. I only have this one."

Zhang Xuan said calmly, "So, this saber is quite expensive, right?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The shopkeeper laughed, "You get what you pay for. I only sell this saber to those who appreciate it. It originally costs 80 strings of coins, but if you are sincere, I will sell it to you for 50 strings."

Zhang Xuan put down the saber and smiled, "Actually, I came to inquire about something."

The shopkeeper's face showed disappointment when he realized Zhang Xuan was not there to buy a saber. He asked unhappily, "What do you want to inquire about?"

Zhang Xuan whispered to him, and the shopkeeper glanced at him warily, then thought for a moment, "Since you came to me, you should know I have some rules."

Zhang Xuan took out five strings of coins and placed them on the table. The shopkeeper shook his head, and Zhang Xuan added the last five strings, "This is all I have."

The shopkeeper lowered his voice, "In Anye Neighborhood, there is a...