Chapter 66: Knowing You Is the Greatest Fortune of My Life

The night is vast and boundless.

Xiao Moting stands on the city wall, lifting his gaze toward the pitch-black firmament in the distance.

The night wind brushes against his cloak.

For a long time, Xiao Moting has had a wish.

He wants to forge a world without war and usher in a brand-new era of prosperity.

In the past, he could not do it.

But now, he has Bai Wei.

A speck of starlight reflects in Xiao Moting's cold, black eyes.

He speaks in a soft voice.

"Bai Wei, thank you for giving me the chance to realize my wish."

"Knowing you is the greatest fortune of my life."

Xiao Moting opens his hand.

In his palm lies a small clay doll.

The clay doll has a ponytail, wears clothes that do not belong to this era, and its eyes are curved like crescent moons, smiling very sweetly.

Relying on his imagination, he molded a "Bai Wei."

Since Bai Wei does not belong to this era, he molded a doll to serve as a substitute, keeping it by his side.

Yangjiatun.

Bai Wei hands several drawings to Village Chief Yang.

"These are the designs I need to have crafted."

Village Chief Yang frowns, examining them for a long time.

"These are all ancient swords, spears, and such; why are you making these?"

"The Trade Company received a batch of overseas orders," Bai Wei says with a smile. "A boss abroad needs them, so I am selling them overseas."

Village Chief Yang suddenly realizes, letting out a long "Oh."

"I knew it, foreigners are just interested in our culture. You are truly amazing, doing business all the way abroad; you've really brought honor to our township!"

Bai Wei smiles without a word.

In truth, she made it all up.

Yangjiatun has iron ore and a village-run Iron Factory.

Since Xiao Moting needs weapons, she came to find Village Chief Yang to have the Iron Factory forge them.

The order for tens of thousands of weapons makes Village Chief Yang beam with joy.

Business at the village-run Iron Factory is slow, and the pots, bowls, and ladles they usually produce don't sell well; now that Bai Wei has suddenly brought a large order, it will allow the factory to earn a huge sum of money.

However, the Iron Factory has never forged weapons, so Village Chief Yang immediately makes a phone call, summoning several veteran masters from the factory to discuss it together.

Bai Wei thinks for a moment, "Village Chief Yang, the time requested by the other party is very tight, so please hurry."

Village Chief Yang nods repeatedly.

"I will give you an answer by the afternoon."

Leaving Yangjiatun, Bai Wei drives to the outskirts of the village.

The weapons are settled, but the Explosives that Xiao Moting needs most are still nowhere to be found on her end.

Last time, she pestered Professor Ye for a long time before finally managing to get a batch of Explosives.

If she goes to ask for Explosives again, she doesn't know if he will give them to her.

Bai Wei feels uneasy as she arrives at the archaeological office in Daqingshan to find Professor Ye.

As soon as she explains her purpose, Professor Ye shakes his head like a rattle-drum.

"Xiao Wei, the last time I gave you Explosives, it was already against the rules. I cannot give you any more this time."

Bai Wei's heart sinks.

As expected...

Professor Ye refuses to give her Explosives.

But Explosives are restricted items, and purchasing them privately is an illegal act; how on earth can she get her hands on Explosives?

Before noon, Village Chief Yang calls.

"Miss Bai Wei, the factory can make those weapons you wanted!"

"The masters are rushing to make the molds; once the molds are ready, we can begin mass production."

Hearing this news, Bai Wei finally feels a little more at ease.

"Good, send me the price list, and I will pay the deposit first."

Soon, Bai Wei receives the price quote from the Iron Factory.

Giant arrows are eighty yuan each, armor-piercing awls are one hundred and twenty yuan each, and the molds and processes for the sickle-hook spears are more complex, costing two hundred yuan each.

Bai Wei orders one hundred thousand of each in one go.

After the order is sent, Village Chief Yang's phone call comes immediately, his voice trembling with excitement.

"B-Bai, Miss Bai Wei, are you sure this quantity is correct?"

"Yes, it is three hundred thousand in total."

"You... does your foreign boss really want this many? The production cost will be tens of millions!"

"No problem. If the Iron Factory works overtime, can you finish in seven days?"

"This..." Village Chief Yang is in a bind. "The production capacity of the village Iron Factory is limited; even if we run it twenty-four hours a day, we can only produce one hundred thousand in seven days at most..."

Bai Wei knitted her brows.

She couldn't get Explosives, and the quantity of weapons was insufficient; it was truly a difficult problem.

But just at this moment, Village Chief Yang's voice came through the receiver.

"But I can outsource the order. There are a few more Iron Factories in the neighboring township. Their quality is a bit worse than our village's Iron Factory, but they are definitely still usable. If you agree to outsource, I'll go contact them."

Such a lucrative large order—just taking this one order could support the whole village for a year—he didn't want to let it go no matter what.

"I agree!" Bai Wei said without hesitation.

Even if it were an outsourced Iron Factory, the casting and stamping technology would definitely surpass the ancient blacksmiths from a thousand years ago!

Her eyes darted, "Village Chief Yang, since the order is being outsourced, please help me make another batch of Heart Protector Armor; a quantity of about forty or fifty thousand pieces will do."

Since she couldn't get Explosives now, she would provide enough weapons and defensive gear!

This way, when Xiao Moting and the Beijiang Army engaged in hand-to-hand combat, they could greatly reduce casualties.

Village Chief Yang was overjoyed and agreed immediately.

He and Bai Wei were already acquaintances, so he only collected a deposit of two million.

The rest would be paid upon delivery.

……

Three days later.

The morning sunlight pierced through the gaps in the thick clouds, casting beams of light onto the ice field.

Xiao Moting, in silver armor, sat on his horse and looked up to survey the endless troops before him.

Over sixty thousand Beijiang Army soldiers were arranged in square formations on the battlefield, neat and uniform!

Four hundred Bed Crossbows were lined up at the front of the battlefield.

Xiao Moting raised his horse-chopping saber and shouted aloud.

"The Daye enemy invaders have repeatedly encroached upon our borders, slaughtering the common people, plundering property, and enslaving civilians!"

"Now, Daye has sent troops to invade Heyuan, wanting to wipe out Daliang in one fell swoop!"

"We are all sons of Daliang and will never allow the enemy invaders to encroach upon us."

"All Beijiang Army soldiers, hear my order! Set out immediately to crusade against Daye and defend our homeland!"

The clear and powerful voice echoed over the battlefield.

Immediately following, one roar after another rang out.

"Vanguard General Xiao Dabao acknowledges the order!"

"Deputy General Han Guiying acknowledges the order!"

"Assistant General Zhang Zhao acknowledges the order!"

……

The mighty Beijiang Army, led by Xiao Moting, stepped onto the ice field and set off for Heyuan County!

Behind the troops were over three hundred Bed Crossbows, pulled by warhorses.

The most important wardrobe was placed on a sturdy carriage, with the doors and windows covered tightly, guarded personally by Xiao Moting and Xiao Dabao.

The sun shone down, and the snow on the grass had already melted.

The frozen river water also began to thaw, and the bone-chilling water, mixed with broken ice, flowed with a rushing sound.

Outside Heyuan County.

The burly Wanyan Yi stood by the river, scanning the Daye soldiers building a bridge by the riverside.

His full set of heavy silver armor shone brightly in the sunlight.

Facing the morning sun, he squinted toward the direction of the Heyuan County city walls and gave a contemptuous smile.

"Yang Wei, that coward, has been hiding in the city for these past few days and doesn't dare to come out; he is hardly worthy of calling himself a famous general of Daliang."

Chishu, draped in leopard skin and gripping a Ghost Head Blade, grinned upon hearing this.

"The three thousand troops Yang Wei sent out to probe us were killed by us without a single one left; how could he dare to show his face?"

Wanyan Yi turned around.

"You barbarians fought Xiao Moting last time; how was he?"

As soon as the words fell, Chishu gritted his teeth hard, his eyes bloodshot.

"What is Xiao Moting? He only knows how to be treacherous and deceitful!"

"If it weren't for a demoness in his army who used a provocation tactic to enrage my Chief Commander Wudabu, how could my barbarian army of one hundred thousand have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

"A demoness?" Wanyan Yi frowned. "Xiao Moting even found a demon person?"

"It's true." Chishu nodded hurriedly. "This demoness knows sorcery; she makes the ground explode like thunder, makes the Beijiang Army impervious to blades and spears, and can even conjure a pile of food out of thin air to replenish the Beijiang Army's strength."