Chapter 5: Second-Class Carriage

"Jingni, do you know who the current king and chief general of Qin are?" Lin Shu had heard of the last few rulers of Qin in its later years.

Noticing Lin Jun's short hair and attire, Jingni wasn't suspicious. "Lin Jun, the King of Qin now is Ying Zheng, who has been on the throne for several years but has yet to take control of the government. General Meng Ao and General Wang He are the most renowned commanders in the Qin army."

Hearing these three names, Lin Shu understood. It must be the early years of the First Emperor; Qin had not yet begun its unification of the six kingdoms.

"I see," he replied. Though Qin was formidable, it was merely at the height of the Bronze Age. Lin Shu was not particularly concerned.

Jingni, though she had not received the answer she was seeking, saw the ambition in Lin Jun. She was happy enough to unify the snowy lands, for once that was achieved, even the web of spies would not be able to stand against thousands upon thousands of snowland warriors.

...

In the following half month, Lin Shu subdued all the tribes in the eastern part of the Belga Mountains, one by one.

"Lin Jun, the entire eastern region has twenty thousand tribesmen, with eight thousand able-bodied warriors," Jingni reported. By now, she had become the chief leader of the snowland tribes, with Zhu Ba, Huggu, and Tuck serving as her deputy commanders.

Lin Shu nodded slightly—he had known this already. Having Jingni announce it was merely to inform the other commanders.

Realizing Lin Jun intended to wage war, Jingni had no choice but to speak up. "Lin Jun, if we march westward into the mountains, not only will food be scarce, but the warriors may also not withstand the cold!"

"Great King, the weather is growing ever colder. Should we not wait until spring to send out the troops?" Huggu asked cautiously, glancing at Lin Shu. He would not have dared to speak if the chief leader hadn't spoken first.

Lin Shu smiled faintly and shook his head. "Food can wait a while longer. In three days, prepare three thousand men to march from the northern and southern ends and conquer the west."

"As you command, Lin Jun."

"As you command, Great King." With the king's orders given, none of the commanders dared protest further.

Jingni frowned at her man; she feared that this campaign would leave half their warriors frostbitten.

"There's no need to worry. Come with me, and you'll see."

Puzzled, everyone followed him and the carriage to the open ground outside.

Jingni's greatest confusion now was that the old ox cart had become a horse-drawn carriage. The divine oxen had disappeared, replaced by two massive, dual-horned horse-beasts.

The two dragon steeds were four meters long, their horned heads reaching three meters high. The carriage itself was two and a half meters wide and four meters long—a small house on wheels. Now Jingni, her daughter, and Lin Shu all lived in the carriage together. In their close companionship, love had blossomed naturally.

Having decided to follow Lin Jun, Jingni had begun to take charge of tribal management, sometimes more diligently than Lin Shu himself.

Standing less than one meter sixty-five, the Great King never disembarked before the snowland warriors, lest he have to crane his neck to look up at them.

"Shadow of the Heart, unload the equipment and tools." In recent days, Jingni had led the warriors to battle, while Lin Shu had climbed the mountains to mine ores.

Suddenly, there was a metallic clanging, and the commanders following the carriage hastily stepped back.

From the driver's seat, Jingni turned and was startled; she hadn't realized there was another door on the left. Out of it tumbled heaps of black, gleaming blades, spears, and armor.

"Husband! Are these iron weapons? No, they don't look like it!" At this time, iron was in its infancy—cast iron was brittle and easily broken, used only by the poorest farmers.

Lin Shu nodded. "You're right, my dear. These are not only iron—they are steel, refined steel."

"Refined steel!" Jingni leapt from the carriage at once. Her own Jingni Sword had only been returned to her ten days earlier, after her wounds healed; before that, she had thought it stolen by the spies.

With Jingni leading them, the snowland warriors were almost unstoppable; even the mightiest tribal leaders fell with a single stroke.

The sword was icy to the touch, yet it bent without breaking.

With a resonant clang, sparks flew as Jingni swung her sword several times at the steel blades on the ground.

None of the steel sabers broke, though she had used only a third of her strength.

"Only a faint scratch! What fine blades—this steel is far superior to ordinary bronze!" Beyond the broadswords and spears, there were also heaps of chainmail and armor. Gazing at the mountain of equipment, Jingni realized Lin Shu was not boasting.

"With this steel, we need not fear the Xiongnu or the Eastern Hu! Does he intend to march on the Central Plains?" At this, Jingni shook her head. The strength of the Seven Kingdoms was not something barbarians could match.

The black, cold gleam of the blades and spearheads needed no explanation. Zhu Ba and the other commanders knew immediately these were meant for their warriors.

"Great King—are these divine weapons truly for the warriors?" Zhu Ba asked nervously.

Lin Shu nodded. "Major Zhu Ba, see to it that the equipment is distributed to all the warriors."

"As you command, Great King." With that, Major Zhu Ba went to summon the men. With two thousand warriors at headquarters, there was no shortage of manpower.

Besides the three piles of equipment, there were also knives, cleavers, pots, pans, axes, and other tools. Huggu the priest and Chief Tuck stood dumbfounded for a moment before regaining their senses.

"Chief Tuck, distribute these tools to every tribe. Don't be stingy; there's plenty more where these came from." Lin Shu had discovered vast mineral deposits in the mountains—he could extract as much as he wished, though it required tremendous energy to mine and refine.

Overjoyed, Chief Tuck knelt to accept the order. "As you command, Great King!"

Excellent! Huggu the priest grinned foolishly with excitement; the Great King had not deceived them—soon, the snowland warriors would be well fed and clothed.

"Huggu? High Priest Huggu, bring the furs from headquarters and have the cooks start a fire to burn the carriage." Lin Shu called twice before the old priest returned to his senses.

"As you command, Great King." Bowing, the old priest turned and left.

Jingni glanced at the carriage, built of bronze and wood, utterly baffled—how could such a great carriage withstand fire? Even after burning for a full day and night, it was unharmed! It could devour people and stones, and even spit out equipment!

Once the three chief commanders had left, Lin Shu and Jingni returned to the carriage.

Jingni had long grown used to this man's embrace—mainly because she had been unable, and unwilling, to resist. In the throes of passion, the two would cling to each other the moment they entered the carriage.

"Husband, why did you ask the High Priest to bring the furs?" Jingni asked, puzzled.

Breathing in her delicate scent, Lin Shu thought that a lifetime would not be enough to savor it.

The treatment of furs was still crude, especially in the hands of the tribal savages—it was almost unbearable.

"Their fur garments are foul and stiff; it's a wonder they keep out the cold in winter! Soon, I'll make new clothes for them—and design a few sets for us as well."

Jingni nodded happily. Whenever she left the carriage, she had to don a stiff, hard fur robe, one she had cleaned and dried three times but dared not bring inside. The garments she wore now all belonged to Lin Shu.

After an upgrade, Lin Shu had ordered the High Priest to collect surplus furs. The tribes had promptly sent over half their fur blankets. Fortunately, it was not yet the depth of winter, or many would have frozen to death.

Seeing the carriage devour vast quantities of fur, the High Priest grew both amazed and anxious! He thought the furs had been sacrificed to the divine carriage. He understood that without these furs, many would die this winter, but he dared not object.

The tall old man was a head and a half taller than Lin Shu, but in the falling snow, he seemed utterly alone. Jingni couldn't help but speak: "Don't worry, High Priest. The Great King will soon give you new clothing."

"Yes, Chief!" New clothing? The old priest dared not hope, lest he be disappointed again.

After making the equipment and tools, the carriage's energy was running low, so the production of fur coats slowed considerably.

After several minutes, fur coats began to pile up at the entrance of the cave.

"Ah! Is this real?" The pile of coats grew ever higher, identical in style to the Great King's own attire.

Over the following days, all twenty thousand snowland tribesmen received a set of pajamas and a pair of fur-lined greatcoats. In addition to thick blankets, each received two pairs of thick fur socks.

The eight thousand warriors received the thickest fur coats; besides sleeping bags, each was given a heavy hood, perfectly fitted to wear beneath their chainmail helmets.