When the King of the New City, Grand Marshal Wang, was guarding the northern frontier, he commanded craftsmen to forge a great saber—nearly a foot wide and weighing over a hundred catties.

Every time he patrolled the border, four soldiers followed him, doing nothing but carrying the sword for him.

Whenever the procession reached a designated spot, the great saber would be placed on the ground, deliberately offered for the northern residents to lift; the result was always the same: like a dragonfly attempting to shake a stone pillar, it wouldn't budge an inch.

Marshal Wang secretly commissioned a new saber made of tung wood, plated with silver foil, identical in style and dimension to the first.

He would occasionally wield it on horseback, executing maneuvers that left the northern tribes awestruck.

To guard against enemy incursions, Wang planted sections of reed mats along the border as far as the eye could see, stretching for dozens of li, forming a living fence, declaring, "This shall be my Great Wall." Later, when the enemy attacked, they set fire to the reed mats, reducing them to ash.

Marshal Wang was unperturbed; he built another reed wall.

This happened three times in succession, each time destroyed by the enemy's arson.

On the fourth attempt, as Wang constructed the reed wall, he secretly buried countless gunpowder charges beneath the ground.

When the enemy set their torch to the wall, the gunpowder exploded, causing massive casualties.

From then on, they fled far away, never daring to act presumptuously again.

Decades later, Marshal Wang retired to his hometown.

As border skirmishes flared up once more, the Imperial Court reappointed a Marshal, tasking him with resisting the enemy.

By then, Wang was eighty-three years old, unable to charge into battle, yet he gallantly accepted the command.

Before he departed, the Emperor told him, "Old General, your prestige is renowned.

On this expedition, you need not fight; simply resting quietly in your tent will strike terror into the enemy's hearts, causing them to flee without a fight." Marshal Wang diligently followed these instructions and took up his post at the frontier.

When the enemy received the news, they were utterly disbelieving.

Using the pretext of peace negotiations, they sent envoys to the camp to ascertain the truth.

Lifting the curtain, they saw Marshal Wang reclining on his bed, composed and serene, radiating an inherent, unforced majesty.

Fear gripped the envoys, and they involuntarily knelt down, offering their greetings before retreating in disarray.