Half a Spoiler Chapter 44

When Wen Yanran was tilling the soil herself, Chi Yi remained by her side, attentive and respectful. As a future powerful court official designated by the comments section, Chi Yi’s attributes made her particularly well-suited for the workplace of the Great Zhou Dynasty – she was exceptionally energetic, intelligent, and astute. In an era where timekeeping tools were particularly crude, she possessed an unusual vigilance for the passage of time. Wen Yanran felt that even if the emperor were not a transmigrator like herself who had been “spoiled” by knowledge of the future, with Chi Yi’s abilities, as long as she was given the opportunity to prove herself, she would easily rise to prominence.

Chi Yi said, “Your Majesty, Captain Zhong will arrive shortly.”

Wen Yanran nodded, supported herself on a palace attendant to stand up, and a prepared eunuch presented a bronze basin filled with warm water for the Emperor to wash her hands. Chi Yi stepped forward to untie the Emperor’s sleeves, which were fastened with thin cords.

During this period, Wen Yanran had been contemplating how to gradually increase the burden on the already strained state finances. Her long-term plan, of course, involved large-scale infrastructure projects. As for the short term, with the spring hunt approaching, Wen Yanran felt she could find a pretext to invest in horse breeding.

Horses were valuable assets. In the Great Zhou, owning a warhorse could even be used to offset corvée labor duties. Moreover, horse breeding was a long-term endeavor. Horses consumed large amounts of food and required ample space for living and activity. As long as one kept a significant number of them, the daily expenses would inevitably be substantial.

In his later years, the late emperor, apart from constructing the Gui Palace and the Yao Palace, also specially built a vast royal garden named Jingyuan, which Wen Yanran could now conveniently use for raising animals.

Zhong Zhiwei, having been summoned, arrived and coincidentally met the Director of the Imperial Household, who was also there for an audience with the Emperor, at the gate of the Western Yong Palace.

In terms of official rank alone, the Director of the Imperial Household was higher than the Commander of the Inner Guard. Moreover, palace eunuchs had always been known for their arrogance. However, Hou Suo, who believed he had been repeatedly admonished by the Emperor, dared not act haughtily in front of the Emperor’s favored courtier. Recently, he had been behaving with exceptional humility. Some court officials, observing the changes among the eunuchs with a cold eye, greatly admired the Emperor’s skill in managing her subordinates.

Hou Suo had heard that Zhong Zhiwei had a steady, or more precisely, an inflexible personality. With the intention of currying favor, he quietly reminded her, “Today, Her Majesty has summoned both you and me. It is most likely to assign some spending-related tasks.”

“I am grateful for your guidance.”

Having served within the palace for many years, Zhong Zhiwei didn’t need Hou Suo to elaborate in detail. She understood that the tasks to be assigned likely had some connection to military affairs. Coupled with the current timing, she could also roughly guess that they might be related to the upcoming spring hunt.

Among the previous emperors, Emperor Dao had been extremely fond of hunting and excursions. Since his days as the crown prince, he had favored famous horses and fine bows. Emperor Li had also frequently hunted in the outskirts of the city. Based on the preferences of these two rulers, the close courtiers assumed that even if the new emperor was not obsessed with hunting, she would at least not dislike such activities. However, they hadn’t anticipated that before discussing her personal inclinations, there was an even more pressing issue to resolve…

As a young person who had not received a formal royal education, Wen Yanran didn’t know how to ride a horse at all. She usually had little opportunity to leave the palace gates; her only venture outside was during the enthronement ceremony, and even then, she had remained seated in the carriage the entire time.

Thanks to the original body’s social isolation, any shortcomings in Wen Yanran’s abilities were easily justifiable.

“…”

Given the attentiveness of her close attendants and court officials, they should not have overlooked the possibility that the young emperor had never been on horseback before. However, since her accession, Wen Yanran had, through her remarkable conduct, successfully given those around her the mistaken impression that “Her Majesty might be capable of anything.” Moreover, as Wen Yanran subtly displayed authoritarian tendencies, others dared not interfere arbitrarily with the Emperor’s education. Thus, it wasn’t until less than a month remained before the spring hunt that the courtiers, upon receiving the reply, “Well, I have never ridden a horse,” hastily assigned Zhong Zhiwei the additional, impromptu task of tutoring the Emperor in horsemanship.

When Zhong Zhiwei received the summons, she initially thought the Emperor wished to discuss some details regarding the lesson. However, based on what the Director of the Imperial Household said, there might be other matters as well.

She pondered carefully but still came up with no clues.

After all, in Zhong Zhiwei’s view, the Emperor was naturally a rare and enlightened sovereign, yet her knowledge base had clear biases.

• The Emperor herself was not versed in military affairs.

Although the previous suppression of the palace rebellion showed that Wen Yanran had some innate talent for tactical planning, she lacked systematic training. It was difficult to determine whether her performance back then was merely a fleeting moment of brilliance.

While Zhong Zhiwei was deep in thought, she was led into the hall by a palace eunuch. She paid her respects to the Emperor seated above and awaited further instructions.

Wen Yanran first asked the Director of the Imperial Household, “Minister Hou, how many fine horses do I currently possess?”

The Director of the Imperial Household reported, “Across the various imperial parks in the capital, there are over 1,200 trained horses.”

These 1,200-plus were not the total number of warhorses in Jianping but rather the personal property of the Emperor.

The Director of the Imperial Household thought for a moment and couldn’t help but add, “Although the fine horses in the parks have been trained, many still have fierce temperaments…”

He was somewhat worried that the Emperor might want to gallop on horseback but find it difficult to control the mount and end up injured. After all, even though Her Majesty possessed exceptional natural talent, no one could guarantee that the horses would sense her supreme virtue. They could hardly wait until an accident occurred and then blame the horses for not being loyal enough, could they?

Wen Yanran said, “The Director need not worry. For this spring hunt, I intend to ride in a carriage.”

Anyway, her ultimate goal was to become a tyrannical ruler, so she didn’t mind appearing somewhat cautious in the details.

“…”

The Director of the Imperial Household was momentarily stunned before a sudden realization dawned on him – Her Majesty was a prudent sovereign. Her person was tied to the ancestral temples and the state, and it was only natural that she would not take risks for the sake of hunting excursions. If court officials witnessed this, at most one or two frivolous individuals might whisper privately about her lack of valor, but they would not be concerned for the emperor’s safety.

By doing this, Her Majesty was willing to bear the risk of being underestimated by others, taking the issue upon herself, all to stabilize the sentiments within the court as much as possible!

Wen Yanran could still speculate about the logical train of thought of her subordinates, but Hou Suo’s reflections had already surpassed her ability to grasp. Although she noticed his emotional agitation, she simply assumed it was because her decision to ride in a carriage had caught him off guard. She then proceeded to instruct him further, “Today, I summoned you, Minister Hou, because there is another matter I need to trouble you with.”

The Director of the Imperial Household immediately bowed halfway and replied respectfully, “Please command me, Your Majesty.”

Wen Yanran said, “The saddlery for the fine horses in the parks has been entirely discontinued. All are to be newly equipped. As for the new saddles, they are to be made of leather, cotton, and silk. Also, cut down some fine-quality wood for the frames.”

The Great Zhou valued agriculture and thus also prized plow oxen. Wen Yanran faintly recalled that the main material for saddles was water buffalo leather. Merely re-equipping the fine horses in the parks with new saddles would already constitute a significant expense.

Wen Yanran considered that she had been on the throne for too short a time and was too young. Although she held some authority in Jianping, she couldn’t even claim to have fully won over the loyalty of the twelve central provinces. Moreover, with figures like the Marquis of Quanling watching covetously nearby, if she truly indulged in extravagance and luxury, no one could guarantee that someone in the court might not emulate the actions of Yi Yin or Huo Guang. She could only start with straightforward matters and gradually test the limits of the court officials.

“…”

The Director of the Imperial Household felt that his inner sense of surprise never truly settled. He didn’t quite understand why wood needed to be used in saddles?

He wanted to ask but, intimidated by the Emperor’s authority, dared not speak further. He only resolved to firmly remember the Emperor’s requirements and find ways to fulfill them.

Wen Yanran had no idea that the saddles currently used in the Great Zhou were actually soft saddles. As for the more stabilizing hard saddles she remembered, they simply hadn’t been invented yet.

Compared to the Director of the Imperial Household, who was filled with both surprise and confusion, Zhong Zhiwei’s emotional turmoil could be described as a raging storm.

She was a military officer, courageous and skilled in both mounted and infantry combat. She almost immediately realized that if the Emperor’s intention could be successfully realized, the combat effectiveness of cavalry would undoubtedly improve.

Unlike in later eras, cavalry in this time had to rely on gripping the reins tightly with both hands to stabilize their bodies on horseback once they began galloping at high speed. Cavalry with insufficient equestrian skills were simply unable to charge. If soft saddles were replaced with hard saddles…

Before Zhong Zhiwei could fully process one thought, she heard the Emperor give another instruction:

“The long stirrups on both sides of the horses are to be made of refined iron and may be slightly embellished. As for the horseshoes, they are also to be forged from refined iron.”

Originally, according to Wen Yanran’s idea, since it was all for her own display, using gold to make stirrups and horseshoes might have been possible. However, considering the income level of ordinary people in this era, she suspected that if she did so, the stirrups and horseshoes would soon be secretly taken, melted down, and sold. Moreover, as someone with a background in science and engineering, Wen Yanran couldn’t allow herself to use soft metals like gold to craft load-bearing equipment.

Anyway, refined iron was not cheap and was also a strategic resource. Regardless, it would still amount to a significant expense.

Upon hearing these words, Zhong Zhiwei’s pupils contracted sharply: “…!!!”

Just as hard saddles had not yet appeared in this world, only single-sided soft stirrups existed to facilitate mounting for cavalry. Double-sided long stirrups and horseshoes had also not yet emerged in the Great Zhou.

With Zhong Zhiwei’s capability, she almost immediately realized that double-sided long stirrups could fully secure soldiers on horseback. In this way, the Great Zhou could field heavy cavalry!

In the Great Zhou, the emergence of stirrups held epoch-making significance. It meant that the Great Zhou was about to possess the most formidable cavalry force in the entire world.

As for what horseshoes were for, although Zhong Zhiwei had never seen them before, she could easily understand from the literal meaning. Coupled with the Emperor’s indication that they should be made of refined iron, a rough concept immediately formed in her mind. In Zhong Zhiwei’s view, the role of horseshoes was equally crucial. Horses domesticated by humans, due to the substantial burden of transportation work, would suffer severe wear on their hooves. If a horse’s hoof were injured, that horse would essentially lose its value for both transport and combat.

Just as saddles and stirrups would free the cavalry’s hands, horseshoes, to a certain extent, also liberated the strength of livestock. By nailing iron protective gear onto horses’ hooves, their attrition rate could be reduced while simultaneously enhancing their working capabilities.

“Minister Zhong, please help me with a review. Select from the Inner Guard some robust, swift, and agile imperial guards who are skilled in archery and horsemanship to serve as knights.”

Wen Yanran’s main reason for doing this was to put up a respectable front. Her foundation was still weak, and it was a time when capable personnel were needed. Naturally, she had to ensure the combat effectiveness of the cavalry. Later, when it was time to fully reveal her tyrannical ruler side, transforming these cavalry units into mere showpieces should not be too difficult.

Normally, after Wen Yanran assigned a task, whether immediately accepting it or offering personal insights, her ministers would respond promptly. However, for some reason today, both the Director of the Imperial Household and Zhong Zhiwei remained silent for a long time in response to her words.

Wen Yanran addressed her by name. “Minister Zhong?”

Hearing the Emperor’s call, the usually astute eyes of this Inner Guard Commander, which could only be described as dazed, finally shifted slightly: “…I’m here.”

Zhong Zhiwei’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

Wen Yanran’s gaze sharpened slightly, and her eyebrows lifted gently. Since arriving in this era, she had thought the minds of those around her were no longer so difficult to read, but the other’s current state far exceeded her expectations.

Wen Yanran thought that perhaps, for this young general with border ancestry, her previous conduct had been fairly commendable, making it completely unacceptable for her tyrannical ruler index to change today.

Since even Zhong Zhiwei couldn’t accept it, she should hold back for a while longer.

Wen Yanran decided to reassure the esteemed minister before her and find a reasonable justification for her face-saving project. She softened her tone and smiled, saying, “The Great Zhou is a land of propriety and ceremony, yet without dignity, propriety cannot be upheld. Although this matter is challenging, I must still trouble you with it, Minister Zhong.”

As a typical science-oriented student with a bias, Wen Yanran had no understanding of stirrups and was completely unaware that they did not appear in the same era as cavalry. Of course, her ability to make such a misjudgment was largely thanks to various historical literary works, renowned for their meticulous research, which lacked accuracy in equestrian equipment. This had left a deeply ingrained yet mistaken impression in her mind…