027 The Twenty Great Generals of the Eight Pillars Kingdom

"Both his first uncle and his second uncle are still his uncles, high tables or low stools, all made of wood. Taking one step forward and one step back equals not moving at all. With the sky above and the earth below, don't act cocky, kid."

"Making a fuss over nothing, even if it's death, I'll take you on," Chen Duoyu sang and cursed, raising his dagger, boldly shouting towards the other side.

We followed closely behind, with a determination to face death, but were shocked by the sight before us.

Indeed, there were many people, a large group of painted clay warriors, majestic and fierce, intimidating. There were also warhorses and chariots, stretching endlessly, the scale of which was staggering.

Due to the passage of time, some had collapsed and were incomplete. The wooden chariots had rotted into a pile of firewood, and the horse corpses were buried under the yellow soil, with only some ribs exposed.

"This, this, this isn't my fault. The lighting is too poor, I couldn't see clearly."

"You guys didn't see clearly either, right? At first glance, it's indeed quite scary," Chen Duoyu's face was dull, constantly defending himself. Chen Lao Da covered his face and shouted "Third brother." The two brothers blushed and fell silent.

Roughly estimating, there were thousands of these clay warriors, standing in neat rows, exuding a solemn aura.

Ahead were generals wearing armor, heroic and valiant, numbering over a dozen.

In a trance, it seemed as if we were on an ancient battlefield, hearing the neighing of warhorses, the sounds of battle, and seeing billowing smoke and dust.

"Weird, how come there are so many clay warriors here?" Chen Lao Da muttered.

Zhang Ling suggested, "Could this be the chariot burial pit of Emperor Yong Ling?"

Zhang Wenjie disagreed, "It's impossible. The chariot burial system belonged to the Shang, Zhou, and Qin-Han periods. At that time, slavery was prevalent, and human and horse sacrifices were common."

Chen Duoyu scratched his head, "Human sacrifices? Wait a minute, how do you explain the Terracotta Warriors of the First Qin Emperor?"

Zhang Wenjie explained, "During the Shang, Zhou, and Qin-Han periods, with incessant warfare, population declined sharply. To preserve military strength, they..."

"Oh, I understand now. So you're saying that Emperor Qin Shi Huang wasn't that bad after all. It turns out textbooks are deceiving. These experts are really damn annoying."

Walking into the midst of the clay warriors and carefully examining them, Zhang Wenjie gasped, as if he had discovered something.

"Look at these hairstyles, typical of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties style. These clay warriors should be accompanying burial objects of Emperor Wen of Western Wei."

Hearing this, Chen Duoyu's eyes widened, scratching his head vigorously. "How can the shit that's been pulled out go back in? Mr. Zhang, you didn't say that earlier."

Zhang Wenjie smirked mysteriously, continuing to inspect with the mining lamp, saying, "When Qin conquered the six states, it wasn't just because of the development of iron tools and the reforms of Shang Yang, but also because of many other factors, such as military discipline, most notably manifested in hairstyles."

"Class one is a headdress, class two is a crown, class three is a hat, and class four is a hairstyle. The Terracotta Warriors are the best example."

Pausing for a moment, he pointed to a clay warrior with slightly messy hair in front of him. "Guang Ting, you see, after the turmoil of the Five Barbarians, the Xianbei gradually gained control of the Guanzhong area, initiating the sinification process of the nomadic peoples. However..."

"However, due to a lack of deep cultural heritage, they only imitated the appearance without substance. This led to the saying of the Wei and Jin style being unconventional, which also created a good story."

Chen Duoyu listened attentively, his eyes brightening as he understood once again. Drawing out his voice, he exclaimed, "Ohhh, so that's how it is. It's like when they made Journey to the West into a modern drama, right? Am I right?"

I nodded and said, "Exactly, you summed it up well."

After circling around, we returned to the initial question. Since it was confirmed that these clay warriors were from the Western Wei period, what exactly was their background?

"Zhang Wenjie said, 'I just counted, there are a total of twenty generals, they should be the Twenty Great Generals Of The Eight Pillars Kingdom.'"

Speaking of these twenty individuals, they are renowned in history, leaving an indelible mark. Their magnificence is unparalleled, one could say that these twenty individuals, if stripped naked, could bore holes through the sky. That's how incredible they were.

For those interested, you can search online to learn more. Here, I'll briefly introduce a few of these extraordinary figures.

The first, among the Eight Pillars, was Yuwen Tai, the maternal grandfather of Li Shimin. He pioneered the system of garrison troops, the Sui-Tang Six Offices system, and his influence was profound in the later Six Ministries system.

The second, among the Eight Pillars, was Li Hu, the grandfather of Li Yuan. He held the positions of Grand General, Grand Preceptor, Left Deputy Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and others.

The third, among the Eight Pillars, was Li Bi, the great-grandfather of Li Mi. Renowned for his military prowess, his grandeur was unmatched among the Eight Pillars. He was posthumously honored as the Duke of Wei.

The fourth, among the Eight Pillars, was Dugu Xin, the father-in-law of Yang Jian, also known as "Dugu Lang." He established his reputation with integrity and trustworthiness, winning the hearts of the people. He was forced to kill himself by Yuwen Tai.

...

Chen Duoyu moved over to Zhang Ling and said, "Lingzi, you're in charge of the dishes. You understand the market best. Tell us, how much could these fetch if we were to sell them?"

"It's hard to say, but we can compare them to the Terracotta Warriors. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the head of a Terracotta Warrior was priced at 30, on the black market. If it's a complete piece, it could fetch anywhere from 150 to 200."

Chen Duoyu widened his eyes, "Wow, that expensive?"

Zhang Ling raised a finger, "I'm talking about Dollar. Considering the exchange rate at that time, that's a conservative estimate."

"Lingzi, you're not kidding me, right? This thing could be worth ten million?"

"What ten million? It's a hundred million."

"Oh my god!"

With millions and millions adding up, chaos ensued in no time.

Zhang Wenjie shook his head, "Third brother, I'm afraid even holding your own wife doesn't make you this happy, does it?"

Chen Duoyu retorted, "Of course not. Can you be happy holding your own wife?"

Zhang Wenjie was speechless for a moment, and I almost burst out laughing.

Zhang Ling looked embarrassed, "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

I hurriedly said, "Sister Ling, it's not safe alone. I'll accompany you."

Chen Lao Da grabbed me and said, "Men and women are different, are you stupid?"

After waiting for a long time without her return, everyone became worried. They asked me to go check, saying that I was the only one who had seen Zhang Ling pee, which left me speechless.

After walking forward for a while, suddenly we heard Zhang Ling shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Run, it's dangerous!"

Immediately after, we heard the sound of a scuffle behind us. Zhang Wenjie and the others seemed to have gotten into a fight with someone.

Everything happened too quickly for me to think much. I grabbed a piece of horse leg bone and rushed over.

A dagger was pressed against my lower back.

"Don't move, or I'll stab you to death."