The entire city is covered in golden armor.

Author: Bian Zhihong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month in the third year of the Tiantong era of the Later Tang (928 AD), it was a gloomy and desolate day. Around the fourth watch at night, the waning moon suddenly broke through the clouds, and a cool autumn breeze rose over the vast Western Sichuan Plain. The lush greenery of the trees and grass swayed and fell in disarray, as if the heavens and earth had sighed in a long breath. Before this sigh faded, a powerful sound of horse hooves suddenly erupted, and the straight, gray-white official road began to tremble slightly. Silver helmets, silver armor, and silver spears swept across the ground like a fierce silver whirlwind. This was a elite imperial guard cavalry, with strong and agile horses, as swift as dragons. The sound of armor clinking against each other made the calm faces of the guards even more somber. With silver spears tucked at their elbows and swords slung at their waists, their figures leaping over the horsebacks amidst the dust seemed forged from metal. The flags in the sky swept past in a rhythmic manner, like towering sails gliding over the night ocean. Suddenly, a grand carriage drawn by eight white horses appeared in the ranks, escorted by solemn ceremonial guards—its exquisite canopy flashed in the moonlight. The cavalry stretched endlessly, and for a moment, time seemed to pause, as if the earth had been shaking under the rush of this silver tide since ancient times. Yet in an instant, the cavalry passed, dust swirling, and a few withered leaves continued to circle and drift on the official road.