At the very top of the box was a set of glass teacups paired with a glass pot, transparent yet tinged with blue-purple hues, as lustrous and clear as white jade streaked with blue-purple.

The cups and pot were packed in straw. The generals stared blankly as they removed the items, discovering that beneath the straw was a wooden frame. Lifting it up, they found yellow straw spread underneath.

Beigong Chun pushed aside the straw and saw a spear head and two curved sabers neatly arranged below.

Beigong Chun’s heart leapt violently. His subordinate beside him couldn’t help but cry out in surprise, “This spear head…”

Someone immediately turned to close the door, then ran back over to look.

Beigong Chun picked up the spear head to examine it. The blade was silver-white, identical to the one Zhao Hanzhang used. He gripped the base of the spear head and lightly thrust it at the box, instantly piercing through.

Seeing this, everyone grew even more excited. “General, this is the steel that General Zhao mentioned.”

Beigong Chun also used a spear. Of Zhao Hanzhang’s qualities, he only envied two things: first, Fu Tinghan, and second, the spear in her hands.

Which cavalryman wouldn’t want to possess a divine spear?

Beigong Chun gripped the spear head and couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter, saying joyfully, “This is the most satisfying day I’ve had since the battle against the Xiongnu!”

Huang An’s eyes greedily fixed on the remaining two curved sabers. The sabers had no sheaths, not even handles, but just looking at the blades, one could tell they were forged from the same material as the spear head.

Sure enough, when his fingertip merely grazed the blade’s edge, it drew blood. He immediately pressed down on it, but his eyes only grew more excited as he looked eagerly at Beigong Chun.

Huang An was his deputy general, so naturally he had a share of the sabers. Beigong Chun didn’t hesitate much and directly said, “I’ll give you one.”

Huang An was overjoyed and immediately called out loudly, “Thank you, General!”

The subordinates nearby were all extremely envious. “General, there’s still another box.”

Beigong Chun immediately opened the other box. The top layer also contained glass products, packed in straw—five items in total, with slightly different shapes but all exquisitely crafted.

They skillfully and quickly lifted the frame, seeing the straw below, and immediately pushed it aside to discover three curved sabers.

No spear head. Everyone felt momentarily regretful, but quickly grew excited, all staring at the curved sabers.

Beigong Chun pondered, “Put them away for now. Later we’ll distribute them based on merit.”

He continued, “In the battle against the Xiongnu, all our soldiers earned merit. I had intended to wait until we returned to Xiliang before properly rewarding everyone, but I never expected we’d end up trapped in Chang’an.”

Beigong Chun sighed, “Previously we were so destitute that we couldn’t even eat our fill. Now, thanks to General Zhao’s kindness, we have these good things, so let’s distribute rewards based on merit.”

Everyone happily agreed.

Huang An thought of something and lowered his voice, “General, we can’t let this matter spread. Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, and we’ll visit the troops to celebrate. We can quietly distribute the rewards then.”

“Yes, these are all valuable items. If the Prince of Nanyang and the others find out, they might use some excuse to take them. That… why are you elbowing me? Did I say something wrong?”

Beigong Chun wasn’t foolish either. He nodded, “Put the items away. Only we need to know about this matter.”

“Will General Zhao’s household servants spread this news? After all, for General Zhao, this counts as a fine tale to tell.”

Though Huang An couldn’t match Zhao Hanzhang in battle or Fu Tinghan in military strategy, he still had a functioning brain. He immediately said, “No. If she wanted to use the General as a stepping stone, she wouldn’t have secretly hidden the weapons at the bottom of the boxes. Making a grand show of delivering them would have drawn much more attention.”

That way, their general would face even greater difficulties in Chang’an. At that point, he might be forced to truly seek her allegiance.

But today Wu Erlang had come quietly, and delivered the items quietly. Even Huang An, who had always held a grudge against Zhao Hanzhang, couldn’t help but say with a complicated expression, “Zhao Hanzhang is truly a gentleman, acting very considerately toward the General.”

They’d been away from home for two years—no, after today it would be three years.

In these three years away, they’d traveled to various places and encountered countless people: the Emperor, powerful princes like the Prince of Donghai, prestigious scholars from great families like Wang Yan, mediocrities like the Prince of Nanyang, and minor officials and soldiers. But everyone had only calculated how to use them.

They schemed to make the Xiliang army fight and die as their swords and shields, yet never truly valued them. After using them, they discarded them like worn-out shoes.

Only Zhao Hanzhang—only she had respected them from beginning to end, and would even send them local products from thousands of miles away.

Even Huang An couldn’t help but feel his eyes redden. He turned his head away to let tears fall, choking up as he said, “General, although Zhao Hanzhang also has ulterior motives, at least she’s put effort into you, into us, and given us respect—unlike that little Emperor and Wang Yan…”

“Silence!” Beigong Chun also felt dazed for a moment, then said sternly, “You must not speak carelessly about His Majesty.”

The generals lowered their heads, but still couldn’t help pursing their lips. When they had gone to the capital for an imperial audience, the Emperor had been so caring, but after they defeated Liu Cong, he turned against them completely, refusing to let them return to Xiliang.

Huang An’s family were all in Xiliang. Counting it up, he hadn’t seen his wife and children for nearly three years. Today being New Year’s made him miss them even more. He couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “General, why don’t we quietly run away?”

Beigong Chun glanced at him and said he couldn’t compare to Fu Tinghan—he was clearly being foolish. “The Prince of Nanyang controls the passes. How would we escape?”

“Fight our way out…” Huang An’s voice grew quieter and quieter until he didn’t dare speak anymore.

Zhang Gui held great power in Xiliang, which already made the court suspicious and fearful that he might rebel. They were very wary of Zhang Gui.

But both Beigong Chun and Huang An knew that Zhang Gui was utterly loyal to the court and the Jin imperial house. He would absolutely never rebel against the court.

So they couldn’t force their way through the pass and leave. Otherwise, if conflict arose, it would place Zhang Gui in a position of disloyalty and dishonor.

Zhang Gui had shown Beigong Chun the grace of recognition. Just as Zhang Gui was loyal to the Jin imperial house, Beigong Chun was loyal to Zhang Gui and Xiliang, so he absolutely wouldn’t do such a thing.

“If we can’t leave through the pass, then… why don’t we pledge ourselves to Zhao Hanzhang?” A staff officer met Beigong Chun’s sharp gaze and said, “General, currently the soldiers’ daily military pay is just enough not to starve. Since arriving in Chang’an, we haven’t trained the troops for two months.”

“That’s right. Our Xiliang cavalry are forged through battle and training, not by lying around. Now the soldiers can’t even eat their fill—they get hungry after walking a few steps. What training can we speak of?” The officer anxiously continued, “If this continues for three months, will the soldiers still be able to mount horses and kill enemies?”

“Their bones will grow lazy from lying around.”

“When we first arrived, the Prince of Nanyang needed to use the General, and even then we could only obtain this meager military pay. After time passes and the General can’t train effective troops, will he still provide us with rations?”

“We’d be better off pledging ourselves to Zhao Hanzhang. We don’t have to leave through the pass—returning to the Central Plains should be acceptable, right?”

“Moreover, Zhao Hanzhang values loyalty and righteousness. In the future… perhaps she could mediate for us and send us back to Xiliang?”

Beigong Chun lowered his eyes and said nothing, letting them discuss.