Chapter Ninety-Three: Dumbfounded

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Chen Ying was also utterly bewildered, gazing at Li Xiuning with confusion, unable to fathom why she had reacted so strongly.

What Chen Ying did not know was that ever since the thirteenth year of Daye, when Chai Shao had abandoned his newlywed bride Li Xiuning and fled alone to save his own life, a shadow had been cast over her heart. She harbored a deep hatred for men who lacked courage and responsibility. Every soldier who had ever served under Princess Pingyang knew well that if any warrior on the battlefield showed signs of fear or attempted to flee, the princess would not even bother with the disciplinary squad—she would simply draw her blade and cut the man down on the spot.

Thus, toward those who lacked backbone, Li Xiuning never showed the slightest hint of kindness. When she saw the gift list from Chen Ying, which amounted to six or seven hundred strings of cash, her fury blazed instantly. Only one possibility flashed through her mind: Chen Ying had sent her such an extravagant gift for the sole purpose of wriggling out of the mission to reinforce Lingzhou.

Going to reinforce Lingzhou was not only fraught with risk, but the journey itself would be grueling. Looking at Chen Ying's fair, delicate complexion, he clearly would not be willing to endure such hardship.

With Chai Shao, she had had no choice. Her marriage to Chai Shao was never something she could decide for herself. When she encountered Chen Ying, she had thought she might have found her true match. Yet in truth, Chen Ying was not a worthless man with a handsome exterior and rotten insides. At this thought, Li Xiuning felt a pang of pain in her heart.

Suddenly, Li Xiuning's pretty face twisted into a vicious scowl, and she shrieked hysterically: "Get out! Don't let me set eyes on you again!"

Chen Ying had no idea what had triggered the princess's fit of temper this time. A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he was about to flare up, but then he saw the cold, steely gaze Li Xiuning fixed upon him in the lamplight—utterly different from before. He froze, then finally understood in his heart: she was his sovereign, and he was her subject.

"He who serves in office is a subject." — *The Book of Rites, Chapter on Ceremonies*. A pictograph. In oracle bone script, the character resembles a vertical eye. When a person bows his head, his eyes take on a vertical position—the form of the character precisely conveys the meaning of lowering one's head in submission. The original meaning referred to a male slave. Chen Ying was, after all, still a subject, still a servant of his liege. He said flatly: "Since Her Highness the Princess has no use for these vulgar trinkets, Chen Ying shall not linger here to offend her eyes!"

With that, Chen Ying scooped up the snow-white, exquisitely pretty little Pekingese and strode toward the door.

Chen Ying left with absolute resolve. Even when Ma Sanbao tried to drag him off for a drink, he declined outright.

After this incident, Chen Ying's determination burned all the stronger: he must make something of himself. Let alone a princess—even the Emperor himself would not be able to give him the cold shoulder.

Back at his residence, Chen Ying buried his head under the covers and slept soundly. It was not until the sun was high in the sky the next day that he finally stirred awake. This was one saving grace of Chen Ying's: no matter what setback or frustration he encountered, a good night's sleep with his head under the covers would always bring him back to full vigor by the next day.

After a quick wash, Chen Ying saw Lan'er cradling the little Pekingese, and she said timidly: "Young master, could you please not kill Little White and eat her?"

"Eat her? Eat what?"

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Chen Ying was a bit baffled.

Seeing the cart full of valuables return after going full circle, Lan'er was overjoyed. Lan'er said: "I heard people say that if you boil the meat of this kind of small dog for three turns, even the gods can't stay standing!"

"Don't listen to such nonsense. One of these Pekingese dogs is worth three to five hundred sheep—who could afford to eat it! If you like it, it's yours."

"Thank you, young master!"

This Pekingese was truly too beautiful. Not just Lan'er—even Chen Ying himself adored it.

Before Chen Ying could even finish his breakfast, a eunuch from the Eastern Palace named Qian Xiaowu arrived with the Crown Prince's oral decree, summoning Chen Ying to the palace for deliberations. Chen Ying dared not tarry. He grabbed two steamed buns and followed Qian Xiaowu toward the Eastern Palace. The steamed buns of this era were not the same as those of later generations; more precisely, they were stuffed buns filled with minced meat. However, Chen Ying could not stomach the gamey smell of mutton, so the buns at the Chen residence were all filled with pork.

The journey to the Eastern Palace was smooth. Li Jiancheng showed no particular formality toward Chen Ying, receiving him in the warm pavilion where he took his meals. Li Jiancheng said: "Come, come, come—if you haven't had breakfast, sit down and have a bowl of porridge."

Chen Ying did not stand on ceremony. He sat down and let one of the attending palace maids serve him a bowl of millet porridge, which he ate.

Li Jiancheng said: "These are truly troubled times. Liu Wuzhou's forces are encroaching on Fenzhou and Jinzhou. Your imperial decree will be issued by the Chancellery within at most three days. What supplies do you need? I'll make preparations for you in advance."

Chen Ying had actually already guessed that Li Jiancheng had summoned him early in the morning mostly for this matter. He thought to himself that even if Li Jiancheng hadn't brought it up, Chen Ying would have raised it himself.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, the entire force of the Second Meritorious Guard is primarily equipped with hooked sickle spears, and there is a major shortfall in crossbows and armor," Chen Ying said. "Though the hooked sickle spear has considerable power, it was only effective against Pang Qidi's rebels—his entire rebel force had barely a handful of bows between them, so going without armor made little difference. But the Turks and Liang Shidu's army both field a great many crossbows. If our men go into battle without armor, the casualties will surely be devastating."

Li Jiancheng nodded, his eyes resting on the tip of his silver-inlaid chopsticks. He thought to himself that apart from Chen Ying's humble origins, there was not a single aspect of him that failed to impress. Whether defeating Zong Luohou or Pang Qidi, Chen Ying had relied on a measure of luck. Zong Luohou had lost his province through arrogance—he had underestimated Chen Ying, and his carelessness had cost him dearly.

As for Pang Qidi, it was because Lady Chongyi had intervened unexpectedly and killed him. It was as if Chen Ying had stumbled upon the credit for nothing. Though luck was also a kind of strength, no one could enjoy good fortune forever.

What was rare was that Chen Ying had a completely clear grasp of the situation, and his shrewdness and courage were in no way inferior to anyone else's.

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Li Jiancheng did not mind in the least that a young man might surpass him in ability and cunning. If he wanted to secure the future of the Great Tang dynasty, relying on sycophants and mediocrities would never do—nor would relying on himself alone.

Li Jiancheng said: "There is indeed some armor stored in the Chang'an city armory. How much do you need? Give me a number."

Hearing this, Chen Ying naturally did not hold back. He promptly drew up a list.

The Great Tang's primary standard armors were divided into thirteen types: Bright Light, Guangyao, Fine Scale, Mountain Pattern, Bird Hammer, White Cloth, Black Silk, Cloth Back, Infantry, Leather, Wooden, Mail, and Horse Armor. Among these, Bright Light, Guangyao, Mail, Mountain Pattern, Bird Hammer, and Fine Scale were iron armors—the latter three named after the style of their armor plates. Leather, Wooden, White Cloth, Black Silk, and Cloth Back were named after their manufacturing materials. Among all armors, the Bright Light armor was the most widely used.

Of course, each type of armor had its own distinct characteristics and functions. Mail armor was typically made of iron wire or interlocking iron rings stitched together into a garment-like form, with each ring linked to four others, creating a net-like chain. It had been introduced to China from the Western Regions, with the earliest record found in the *Memorial of the Late Emperor's Gift of Armor*. The *Book of Jin, Biography of Lü Guang* described this kind of armor as "rings linked like a chain, impenetrable to arrows." Mail armor offered excellent defense against crossbow bolts, though its resistance to slashing blows from blades and axes was somewhat weaker.

Mail armor was not as formidable in defense as Bright Light armor, but it was lighter in weight, allowing soldiers to perform agile and complex bodily movements such as running and leaping.

Chen Ying promptly wrote: eight hundred suits of Bright Light armor, and six hundred each of Mail armor and Mountain Pattern armor.

Li Jiancheng glanced at it and shook his head.

Chen Ying thought Li Jiancheng was displeased with the inflated numbers, and hastily explained: "Your Highness, the rate of attrition for armor in a single battle is staggering. I only reported a surplus to serve as reserves..."

"Would I be unaware of such a matter?"

Li Jiancheng picked up his brush and added a few strokes to the paper. The numbers became: one thousand eight hundred suits of Bright Light armor, one thousand six hundred each of Mail, Mountain Pattern, and Fine Scale armor, along with a generous quantity of horizontal sabers, long glaives, dagger-axes, spears, and shields.

Chen Ying stared at the figures Li Jiancheng had written, utterly dumbfounded. The list Li Jiancheng had drawn up for him was enough to equip an army of ten thousand men.

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