My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

"I...I do!"

"Which one?"

Xu Yun, pressured by Wei Qing, almost went to the head of the Hundred Weapons Pavilion to prove his identity: "I am indeed a descendant of the Xu family! My name is Xu Yun, and I am the nephew of the current head of the Xu family!"

Upon hearing the man identify himself as Xu Yun, Wei Qing quickly realized, "Oh, it's you, kid."

I've heard of you!

Xu's ancestral home is in the State of Zhao, but he cannot afford to lose his business in the capital city of Chang'an.

Giving up Chang'an, the capital city, is not just about losing some business; it also means losing a renowned reputation.

Without a renowned reputation, how could the Xu family have been hailed as a sacred place by countless swordsmen of the Han Dynasty, who would travel thousands of miles from all corners of the world every year just to obtain a single sword?

Therefore, each generation of the Xu family would send a direct descendant to settle in Chang'an, the capital city.

The advantage of doing this is that there is no need to worry that a hundred years later, the Xu family of Chang'an will become too powerful and turn around to swallow up the Xu family of Northern Zhao.

There are also disadvantages. Sending people over in each generation will inevitably lead to power struggles.

This phenomenon might also be what the Xu family of Northern Zhao wanted to see; if a power struggle arose, then the Xu family of Northern Zhao would be unable to be threatened.

Conversely, some members of the Xu family in Chang'an might have, in their quest for power and profit, sided with certain nobles, or even... the Xiongnu barbarians...

Xu Yun came to Chang'an at the age of fifteen, and it has been seventeen years since then.

He wasn't particularly famous in Chang'an, but he wasn't exactly unknown either.

As for why Wei Qing knew him, the main reason was that Xu Yun was a fierce and ruthless warrior!

In reality, the relationship between sword-making families and the Xiongnu barbarians was essentially one of two things: one was that of iron-willed warriors like Xu Yun, who were eager to fight the Xiongnu barbarians to the death.

Another view advocates for mutual exchange and cooperation between the two sides, and also hopes that the Han Dynasty can further lift the ban on selling weapons to the Xiongnu barbarians.

In reality, both of these are essentially about business.

The former wants to expand the human world's market share. As long as there is war, the price of weapons will inevitably remain high and there will be a severe shortage.

The latter wanted to take a piece of the pie from the Xiongnu barbarians. The Xiongnu barbarians were short of resources, but due to years of war, they were extremely short of weapons.

Unfortunately, even the most foolish Han Dynasty knew that while it could yield to the Xiongnu barbarians in some areas, it would still be stuck in other places.

Weapons, without exception, will be strictly controlled.

It doesn't matter if the Xiongnu barbarians who can appear in Chang'an Royal City are either rich or noble, and they certainly won't lack ordinary swords and weapons.

The key issue was the large-scale sale, which was explicitly prohibited by the Han Dynasty.

However, this refers to the early Han Dynasty. As the conflict between the two sides eased due to the marriage alliance, and as the nobles in Chang'an enjoyed themselves more, the situation gradually changed.

Three hundred years ago, the Xiongnu barbarians repeatedly invaded the Han Dynasty on the grounds that the Han people did not open their borders to the Xiongnu barbarians.

Later, the Han Dynasty fell into discontent and had no choice but to open up the markets.

Later, the Xiongnu barbarians continued to attack, citing the scarcity of goods in the border markets.

It wasn't until a century ago, when the Han Dynasty included weapons in the trade goods at the border markets, that this war, which arose from the border markets, finally came to an end.

Of course, the quality and quantity of weapons sold at the border were strictly controlled.

They sold small quantities at high prices, and far from losing money, they actually generated a lot of revenue for the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, we often hear proposals nowadays to increase the number of weapons sold to the Xiongnu barbarians, or even to lift the ban.

Actually, it's not just that the Xiongnu barbarians wanted to get weapons from the human race; the human race also wanted to get horses and eagles from the Xiongnu barbarians.

Open trade is nothing more than a mutually beneficial arrangement where each party gets what they need, but also hopes to get more of what they want while also taking advantage of the other party.

To take it a step further, there is hope that the Han Dynasty will lift the ban on the sale of weapons to the barbarians, but there is no hope that the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu will allow all tribes to trade with the humans using strong horses and eagles.

They're all ancient foxes, why are they acting out a ghost story?

It is only those businessmen who, for a little profit, are willing to sacrifice the future of their own people, who are jumping around there, claiming it is for the good of the human race and the Xiongnu Holy Race.

Wei Qing didn't care about business; his thinking was simple and brutal: anyone who harmed the interests of the human race was a traitor.

As for how to judge whether this approach resulted in a loss or protected the interests of the human race, that is entirely up to Wei Qing's own subjective judgment.

if not?

He feigned conversion, only to regret it later?

.........

Let me explain what the Way of Heaven is.

The term "Tiandao" (天道) is not an internet slang term; it is an ancient Chinese philosophical term referring to the laws governing the movement of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars. Idealism views it as a manifestation of divine will; materialism views it as a natural phenomenon that does not reflect any will.

According to idealism, it is the Supreme God of Heaven, or more colloquially, the Lord of Heaven.

According to materialism, this is the law of nature.

For example, under normal circumstances, water will boil when heated to 100 degrees Celsius and vaporize into steam.

Without oxygen, the fire cannot continue to burn.

Even the natural law that people die when they are killed is what is called the Way of Heaven.

The ancients believed that the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the growth and death of all things, are all part of the natural order.

To reinterpret a classic line from the internet: "The two supreme beings fought to the edge of the universe, even obliterating the Great Dao."

This is my personal understanding, and it does not represent the original author Chen Dong's understanding.

The saying that the great principles have been obliterated means that the laws of nature have been shattered.

Similar to how fire can no longer ignite paper, water can no longer be frozen into soldiers, and even how people can grow younger as they age, these natural laws are being rewritten.

In addition, this book will contain many terms commonly found in online novels, such as the Dao of Heaven and the Void.

These will all be explained in detail later, and we will try our best to make them consistent, rather than empty words that are just for showing off, and we will not leave people confused.

Chapter 44: Xu Youdao – A Roundabout Way to Save the Country

Wei Qing glanced at Xu Yun; she was dressed quite well, but her appearance was rather lackluster.

Xu Yun felt a little uneasy under Wei Qing's gaze. Wei Qing's eyes, combined with his sword-like eyebrows, gave people an invisible sense of pressure when he looked them over.

"Young master, what are your thoughts?"

Sweat beaded on Xu Yun's forehead. He couldn't hold on any longer. If he didn't speak up soon, he was afraid his legs would start to tremble, which would be too embarrassing.

Wei Qing withdrew his scrutinizing gaze. There might be many more opportunities to interact in the future: "Okay, help me recommend a good weapon, preferably at a low price. Gongshu Wu said he'd give me a 10% discount when I shop at his place. Does Hundred Weapons Pavilion offer a 10% or 20% discount as well?"

I broke my bone!

You can actually say it's half price or even just half price?

Wei Qing could certainly say that; he even hoped to get it for free.

There's a saying: If you can get something for free, why wouldn't you?

Xu Yun secretly rolled his eyes, taking it all as a joke, since he wasn't the sect leader anyway.

Xu Yun's ability to forge weapons was indeed not strong, but he still possessed the skill of judging swords.

In reality, his position as a guest advisor was merely nominal. It was only when he encountered Wei Qing and saw that the woodcutter's knife was stained with a large amount of Xiongnu barbarian blood that he developed some interest in him. If it were an ordinary customer, how could he possibly get him to come forward?

After looking around from the top floor, Xu Yun walked to a crystal pillar. The pillar was covered with scars, cut by swords and knives, probably used as a testing ground for swords.

Xu Yun reached through the crystal and touched the exquisitely crafted ring-pommel sword sealed inside the pillar.

Xu Yun pulled the knife from the crystal pillar and held it up to Wei Qing, saying with a smile, "Young master, please try this knife."

Upon hearing this, Wei Qing did not take the knife, but asked curiously, "You can take the knife directly from the crystal pillar?"

“Of course, as you just saw, all the guest elders are qualified.”

Wei Qing asked curiously, "Isn't the Pavilion Master afraid that you'll steal their weapons and run away?"

Hearing Wei Qing's question, Liu Yangxin couldn't help but chuckle. Only he could ask such a question.

Xu Yun was mentally driven crazy. "No matter how bad I am, I'm still a direct descendant of the Xu family. Who do you think you are?!"

"Ahem, young master, you are overthinking it. We still have some sense of shame."

I almost said, "Don't judge others by your own standards, you bastard!"

Wei Qing didn't mind being mocked. He took the ring-pommel sword from Xu Yun and tried it out. It was indeed much stronger than the swords and blades of lower levels. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it could cut through iron like mud.

The more powerful swords, either unusable by ordinary people or forged using special methods, are several times more difficult to make and more expensive.

I checked the price, 13888 gold, it's really not cheap.

It would not only be enough to buy 2,777 wood-chopping knives, but there would even be three gold coins left over.

Wei Qing was just about to find a crystal pillar to use as a test stone when a young man dressed as a guest minister walked over. The key point was that not far behind this guest minister stood three familiar strangers, or more accurately, three Xiongnu barbarians. These Xiongnu barbarians looked at Wei Qing with smug grins on their faces.

Xu Yun's face darkened instantly when he saw the person approaching.

Wei Qing laughed at Xu Yun's expression of having stepped in poop. Sure enough, the combination of Rabbit General and Iron Wolf always attracted some strange and unusual things.

The man who walked over was clearly someone who knew Xu Yun, and quite well at that. He greeted him as soon as they met, saying, "What a coincidence! I never expected to run into Uncle Xu here at the Hundred Weapons Pavilion."

Xu Yun said with a forced smile, "Yeah, it's my fault for not checking the almanac before I went out."

He turned his head and looked at the few Xiongnu barbarians, then said, "Haha, Uncle Xu is still as humorous as ever. Don't misunderstand, I'm not in cahoots with those three Xiongnu saints. Hey... is this young master here to purchase weapons?"

The young guest advisor, though humiliated, remained unperturbed and instead greeted people with a smile, turning his attention to Wei Qing and Liu Yangxin.

He also had the surname Xu, Xu Youdao, and was of the same clan as Xu Yun, but from a different lineage.

Xu Yun was a fierce warrior, eager to fight the Xiongnu barbarians until the world turned upside down.

However, Xu Youdao's lineage preferred a roundabout approach to achieving their goals, advocating that the Xiongnu barbarians engage in trade.

In terms of fighting skills, the human race is inferior to the Xiongnu barbarians, but in terms of business, the Xiongnu barbarians are not even a fraction as good as the human race.

If both sides open up trade and exchange goods, given the human race's business acumen, they will surely be able to reverse the current situation within a century and occupy a dominant position in the relationship between the two races.

For this reason, although the two lineages belong to the same clan, they are indeed sworn enemies, wishing they could find an opportunity to kill each other.

The main family of Bei Zhao did not interfere, keeping all their eggs in one basket—a practice common among so-called aristocratic families.