Chapter 5: The Heavenly Sword

  Everything in front of them seemed so illusory, but Cao Cao and Zhang Liao both held back and didn't make a sound, afraid of disturbing the Emperor who was holding his long sword, concentrating his spirit and working his magic.

  Moreover, Cao Cao discovered that the Emperor's appearance today was different from before. The Emperor held a long sword in his hand, and although there was no golden aura around him, he vaguely saw a golden object about the thickness of a finger moving around his body. Cao Cao was greatly surprised and couldn't help but take a few more glances.

  As a result, he took a closer look and found that the golden thing was actually a small golden dragon. After moving around for a while, it finally came to his own long sword along the arm of the Son of Heaven. Along the blade, it spiralled upwards, and where the golden dragon had spiralled, his own sword, the Reclining Heaven Sword, seemed to have undergone some change.

  Cao Cao couldn't see anything at this time, everything was just based on feeling, and he didn't dare disturb Liu Xuan, so he could only stand there quietly waiting.

  Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long. The golden dragon coiled around the sword tip and stopped, then slid back into Tianzi's body with a whoosh - this time, nothing unusual could be seen, as if everything just now was just an illusion.

  That small golden dragon is naturally the manifestation of Liu Xuan's Tianzi Dragon Qi after reaching the infant dragon stage. Next, he needs to nurture this little infant dragon into maturity, and then the first stage of Tianzi Dragon Qi can be considered truly cultivated.

  By then, he could use some immortal techniques. Although it was unlikely that he would be able to rush out of the earth and wander in space, at least on this earth there were no more restrictions.

  However, he roughly estimated that in order to cultivate the first golden dragon of the Heavenly Son's Dragon Energy to maturity, it would be necessary to restore the entire Han Dynasty at least, and only then could he rely on the complete Han royal family - if he relied solely on this northwest corner of the land, heaven knows how long it would take.

  So he must cultivate these followers well and help Cao Cao temper his sword, which is also the intention.

  "This sword has been tempered and is no longer ordinary iron, but the final step of this tempering I have not completed, that needs to be done by Meng De himself."

  Hand over the Heaven Sword to Cao Cao, Cao Cao was startled.

  Drawing a sword in front of the emperor is an unforgivable thing, it's a symbol of status - so-called "wearing boots to ascend to the throne" is just like that.

  But who is Cao Cao? He was only surprised for a moment, and immediately stepped forward to take over the Heaven-Reliant Sword. With both hands holding the long sword, he suddenly felt a faint sense of pressure coming from the sword, a feeling that was just like when he faced the Emperor himself.

  He felt a strange sensation in his heart and couldn't help but look up, coincidentally meeting the emperor's gaze.

  Liu Xuan had actually used his own dragon energy to temper the Yitian Sword during its refinement, allowing it to naturally absorb some of the Tianjia's majesty.

  Doing so was naturally the evil taste in his heart, thinking of the name "Yi Tian Jian", he was ready to distort the meaning of this sword name: relying on the power of heaven!

  "This sword has been tempered by me, and it carries a dignity of the imperial family. After Meng De holds this sword to fight outside, he will be superior to others. If there are officials who disobey military orders or commit crimes, Meng De can use this sword to execute them."

  In short, it was the legendary "Treasured Sword of the Imperial Court", but Liu Xuan also told Cao Cao: "However, this sword cannot be easily drawn, once drawn, it must see blood... it must be used with caution."

  Cao Cao didn't understand how the emperor came up with this idea, but after listening to the end, he understood the emperor's intention - isn't this sword equivalent to a fake seal? It's just that it was given in the form of a worn sword, and some restrictions were added.

  Thinking about it, this also conforms to the style of the Son of Heaven's actions, which is to reduce and restrict some additions to the existing Han Dynasty and the powers of existing officials. The Son of Heaven bestowing this sword on himself seems to mean that he will not give any civil or military officials 'delegated authority' again.

  So, in that case, isn't this equivalent to the most exclusive offer under heaven? From this, it can also be known how much the Emperor values him. However, he always feels that it's not just that - Cao Cao roughly understands that although the Son of Heaven esteems his abilities, he doesn't esteem them to the point where all good things are sent to him first.

  It is indeed the case that Liu Xuan gave him the Yitian Sword, which was actually a consideration of Cao Cao not having a suitable weapon - but this point is not worth worrying about, because Cao Cao is more of a commander, and now he has soldiers and generals under his command, there is no need for him to personally wield a weapon on the battlefield.

  So even if Liu Xuan didn't solve the problem of weapons for Cao Cao, Cao Cao wouldn't think there's anything wrong with that - let alone this Heaven-Reliant Sword, although it is extremely sharp and one of the few divine weapons in the world, but in Cao Cao's hands at present, it is more of a symbol of status.

  Liu Xuan also knew a thing or two, otherwise he wouldn't have tempered the Heaven-Reliant Sword and then designated it as a symbol of the Emperor, giving Cao Cao many benefits. He allowed Cao Cao to see officials one rank higher, and gave him the power to behead errant officials (below 2,000 stones) without needing to report to anyone. With this power in hand, even though Cao Cao's current official position wasn't high, he had already become the most powerful person in the imperial court.

  He tempered this sword for Cao Cao and added so many benefits, but in the end it was just a reason: to closely monitor Cao Cao. Although Liu Xuan had the six seals to appoint officials, after being appointed by the six seals, the officials would have a close connection with the dragon energy of the dynasty, and once they rebelled, they would trigger a reaction from the dragon energy, and Liu Xuan, who was cultivating the heavenly dragon energy, would also know, but it was too troublesome.

  What's more important is that someone would rebel, then the dragon energy would react and inform Liu Xuan, and Liu Xuan would use this route to judge who was rebelling. This would cause a lot of trouble and waste time. But Cao Cao was not that kind of person, if he were to rebel, he would absolutely not give Liu Xuan so much time to react.

  So he simply made a small move on Cao Cao's personal bodyguard, and if Cao Cao really rebelled, he would definitely be the first to know.

  Moreover, the more important point is that Liu Xuan added so many 'additional attributes' to Yitian Sword, which is also a restriction on Cao Cao, making him unable to neglect this sword. Not only must he keep it well and not damage it, but he must also carry it with him at all times. Once he abandons the sword, Liu Xuan can similarly judge that Cao Cao has become disloyal and take action.

  As for what Yitian Sword cannot be easily drawn, once it is drawn, it must see blood, which is purely Liu Xuan's own bad taste.

  "I would rather be wronged by all under heaven than wrong all under heaven!"

  This famous saying is really too profound, although Cao Cao has not made any unusual moves for the time being, Liu Xuan feels that it's still better to be prepared. After all, Cao Cao is different from Lü Bu, who would definitely rebel in a straightforward and impulsive manner, which Liu Xuan is not afraid of. What he fears is someone like Cao Cao, who is deep-thinking and far-sighted, and only acts after careful planning.

  In comparison, Liu Bei doesn't need to worry - if he were to rebel against himself, that would be self-destructive. He relies on his identity as a member of the Han imperial clan, and supporting the Han dynasty is his slogan. In the current situation where Liu Xuan is doing well, if he were to rebel, wouldn't that be self-contradictory?

  Of course, if Cao Cao really had no intention of rebellion, then these benefits would be real and substantial. Liu Xuan would not treat Cao Cao unfairly, not only would he not be shortchanged in terms of high office and wealth, but also in terms of longevity and immortality - as for Cao Cao's personal hobbies... Liu Xuan could also fully accommodate them according to the situation.

  In short, it's a situation of "You don't betray me, I won't betray you!"

  Of course, Liu Xuan thought that his plans, even if Cao Cao didn't notice at the time, would definitely be figured out by Cao Cao later, and with Cao Cao's wisdom, he could also understand the key points. It could even be said that once this sword was sent out, Cao Cao's side would have a general choice to make.

  Watching Cao Cao carefully put the Yitian sword back in its scabbard and hang it at his waist, Liu Xuan smiled and added: "In the future, Meng De does not need to remove this sword when entering the palace. Wen Yuan will explain this matter to the Imperial Guard stationed in the imperial city later."

  "I understand, Your Majesty!"

  Now that the reorganization of the Imperial Guard is gradually completed, Liu Xuan has thoroughly liberated the Tiger Guards, and the heavy armored guards in the Tiger Guards are no longer guards, but have become thorough heavy infantry.

  Not only was the defense of Chang'an City handed over to the Imperial Guards, but even the defense of the imperial palace was taken over by the Imperial Guards - originally, the ministers in the court were not in favor of this, thinking that the Imperial Guards had a complex composition and were stationed to defend the imperial city, and all the officials in the court could not put their minds at ease.

  But Liu Xuan didn't care about those, and only said one sentence: "Are the many soldiers and horses raised just for show?" In addition, Liu Xuan only allowed the Imperial Guards to be stationed outside the imperial city, so the officials in the court thought about it and followed the emperor's intention.

  Now they have seen that the Emperor wants to hand over all military affairs to the Imperial Guard, if so, will the power of the Imperial Guard be too great?

  Fortunately, the various systems implemented by Liu Xuan within the Imperial Guard have constrained the possibility of the Imperial Guard being controlled by one person. Additionally, since the Emperor is still in his prime years, it's unlikely that he will make the mistake of entrusting all power to one person, so there is no need to worry about the Imperial Guard issue for now.

  It's just that the protection of the inner court is a bit troublesome. Nowadays, the protection of the inner court is basically handled by the Feathered Forest Army, but Your Majesty's intention is to send the Feathered Forest Army out to conquer in all directions sooner or later, so the safety of the inner court...

  They did not know that Liu Xuan was considering letting Cao Jie cultivate a small number of eunuchs to guard the inner court, and the number did not need to be large, as long as they could patrol all around.

  Apart from this, Diao Chan also jokingly said something about organizing some female soldiers. Liu Xuan thought that it would be better not to let ordinary soldiers enter the imperial palace, and had considered this issue before.

  Finally, another trustworthy imperial guard unit was needed to protect the inner palace and the emperor and empress. However, there was no suitable person to lead it at the moment. Zhang Liao would have been a good candidate, but he was too talented to be wasted on just guarding duties, as Cao Cao planned to reuse him in the future. So he had to put this matter aside for now and worry about it later.

  Watching Cao Cao leave, Liu Xuan glanced at Zhang Liao again, one of the future Five Elite Generals of Wei. Although still young, his calm demeanor was already hard to ignore. After a moment's thought, Liu Xuan suddenly remembered Zhang Liao's swordsmanship and couldn't help but say: "Wen Yuan is skilled with swords, why don't I help you forge a Dragon-Slaying Sword?"