Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 30 Arsenal
After withdrawing from Yongning Temple, Su Ze returned to the armory in the palace and returned the armor.

The armory was located inside the palace city, not far away from the important court area known as Tai Province. Because it was to the south of the imperial palace where the emperor and empress dowager lived, it was also called Nan Ya.

The Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Censorate all had their offices here, as did the various departments under the Secretariat. Officials in robes of various colors came in and out.

In the past, Su Ze was still full of awe for Taiwan Province, but after experiencing the Yongning Temple incident, Su Ze's awe was diluted a lot.

Going north along the imperial road of the South Courtyard is the Sima Gate of the Imperial Palace, and after passing the Sima Gate is the Forbidden City.

The Menxia Province among the three provinces was not located in the Nan Ya, but in the imperial palace inside the Sima Gate. Officials of the Menxia Province could enter and leave the Forbidden City. The Menxia Province of the Northern Wei Dynasty replaced the Shangshu Province of the Eastern Han Dynasty and became the most powerful department among the three provinces.

Among the many official positions held by Qinghe King Yuan Yi, the position of "Zhangmen Xiashi" was the most prestigious and was also considered the position of prime minister.

The Sima Gate was heavily guarded. Su Ze did not dare to look at it for too long. He just took a quick glance and left quickly.

The armory is located in the southeast corner of the Southern Yamen. It is a huge warehouse that stores the armor of the entire Luoyang Imperial Guard.

Before Emperor Xiaowen's reforms, each army kept its own armor. Even when the Northern Wei Dynasty was first established, when nomadic habits were still very strong, some armor was privately owned by soldiers. Armor snatched on the battlefield was also considered private spoils and could be taken home.

After establishing the capital in Luoyang, Emperor Xiaowen renovated the imperial palace of the Western Jin Dynasty and also renovated the armory. He stipulated that all armor of the imperial guards in Luoyang must be stored in the armory, and only when they needed to wear armor could they come to the armory with a military order to collect it.

Since the Eastern Han Dynasty established its capital in Luoyang, the layout of the palace city has not changed much. However, after the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Barbarians Rebellion followed. When Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, the city had already been reduced to ruins.

When Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, the palace was not yet completed, so he lived in Jinyong City north of Luoyang for several years and only moved in after the imperial palace was renovated.

The Luoyang Armory was also rebuilt on its original site by Cui Guang, the then Minister of the Interior, based on historical records.

As an important place for storing armor, the Luoyang Arsenal was heavily guarded.

When Sima Yi rebelled, he took the lead in attacking the armory, seized armor and armed his troops, and only then did he take control of the Luoyang Palace.

After thinking for a long time, he found that the armory was surrounded by chevaux de frise and trenches, and there were granaries and wells in the treasury, and there were soldiers in armor patrolling.

Su Ze had not thought of a way to attack the armory. It seemed that Sima Yi was able to capture the armory so quickly because the Sima family had "secretly raised three thousand assassins". The Sima family must have planted assassins in the armory.

However, entering the armory is a completely different scene.

The chief officer of the armory is Zang Shuling. The current Zang Shuling is Yuan Yi, the general in charge of guarding the imperial palace. The person in charge of the armory on a daily basis is Zang Shucheng Hou Gang.

This Zang Shucheng Hou Gang and Su Ze had an old relationship, but they just had a grudge against each other. Hou Gang originally served as a lieutenant of Yulin, but was later demoted because of Su Ze's father's case. He was recently reinstated after getting close to Qinghe King Yuan Yi.

Fortunately, Hou Gang's position as Zang Shu Cheng was originally given to him for transfer. As long as he could regain the trust of the ruling Empress Dowager Hu, he would be able to rise to a high position immediately.

Therefore, Hou Gang rarely came to the armory to work. Even if he came to the government office, he only had a banquet in the back court. Su Ze was not worried about meeting him. This was the current situation in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Children from poor families and frontier officers wanted to get a position but could not. Children from wealthy families in high positions were picky and disdained dirty positions. Official positions were just a stepping stone for their promotion. They would leave quickly after getting a gilded post. Some officials were even promoted without even going to the government office once.

The person in charge of the safekeeping of the armor was Zang Shuling. Su Ze first returned the military token, and then stuffed a string of Taihe Wuzhu coins into the clerk next to him.

This is called "armor removal money". The Northern Wei Dynasty had heavily armored cavalry. Although the Yulin Army wore light armor on daily garrison duty, they could not take off the light armor by themselves and had to have someone to help them take it off.

You need to pay "armor removal money" when you take off your armor, and you also need to pay "armor wearing money" when you put on your armor. If you don't pay, you will receive a set of armor that doesn't fit you the next time you go on duty. Or if you find "damage" on the armor after taking it off, Su Ze will need to pay for it at his own expense.

This is also the reason why the soldiers of the Imperial Guard are unwilling to serve on garrison duty. They have to pay for their own expenses even though they are guarding the imperial palace. A complete system of exploitation has long been formed within the Imperial Guard. Ordinary soldiers cannot make a living without some gray income from the military pay they receive.

Zang Shuling, who was in charge of registration, was holding a pen and writing on the bamboo slips. Since they were officials, they naturally did not need to ask for money like the petty clerks did. The money received today would be respectfully stuffed into the pockets of the petty clerks.

After returning the armor, he left the palace with its numerous pavilions and stepped onto the bustling streets of Luoyang. The oppressive feeling he had felt in the palace finally disappeared.

In comparison, Su Ze felt more comfortable with the urban atmosphere of Luoyang. He continued to walk towards Jianyangli and soon arrived in front of Siyi Pavilion.

The Siyi Hall was still heavily guarded. When Su Ze thought of what Princess Chenliu had said about the Rouran King Anagui wanting to marry a princess from the Northern Wei royal family, a sense of discomfort welled up in his heart.

Rouran is the same name as Rouran. Rouran was a derogatory term used by several ancestors of the Northern Wei Dynasty to refer to the Rouran people. Rouran means insects.

When the Northern Wei Dynasty was first established, they were a nomadic people who rose in the north of Dai. At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty had overwhelming victories on the grasslands and each time they seized a large number of livestock and people. At that time, the Rouran people were suppressed and beaten by the Northern Wei Dynasty.

When Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, he was able to rely on the Six Garrisons border troops left in Pingcheng to defeat the Rouran people so that they dared not go south to graze their horses. At that time, in order to prevent the Six Garrisons soldiers from taking Rouran heads to gain military merit, the Rouran people moved far north and did not dare to graze near the Six Garrisons.

In just twenty years, the Northern Wei court not only lost control of the grassland, but also lost control of the Six Garrisons.

In recent years, the Rouran people had been continuously plundering southwards, and the Six Garrisons had sent one emergency document after another, but the Northern Wei court always insisted on holding on and never sent out troops.

The Rouran king Anagui, who lived in the Siyi Pavilion, actually fled to the Northern Wei with his confidants after failing in the political struggle within the Rouran people.

The loser of the grassland struggle was regarded as a treasure by the Northern Wei court, who saw him as an opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the Rouran. Anagui went from being uneasy when he fled to Luoyang to being arrogant and domineering today. He even asked to marry a princess of the royal family and demanded that the Northern Wei send troops to help him regain the position of Khan.

Looking at the domineering Rouran people outside the Siyi Hall, Su Ze shook his head. All declining dynasties were the same, and all kinds of problems broke out at the end of the dynasty.

After crossing the Sitong Bridge, Su Ze went into Sitong City again.

Please continue reading and give me your recommendation votes. Thank you everyone!


(End of this chapter)