Northern Treasury Under Heaven

Li E and Pei Min in the vault

The Northern Treasury Under Heaven (天下北庫) situated beneath Mojia Village in Qinghe was one of the secret vaults constructed by Chinese Assassins as a reserve armory of military gear and cache of funds for future xiake who would take up the Assassin mantle against tyranny. Since the site was nestled in a small valley within the Taihang Mountains that was accessible only through a cave, it was well hidden from the Assassins' enemies.

History

Pei Min, a retired Tang general and Mohist elder, established the community on top of the vault so as to maintain a watchful eye over it as its guardian. The Northern Treasury Under Heaven in particular had accumulated 500,000 pieces of weapons and armour, alongside money and trade goods from the Jianghuai and Henan regions, by the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion in 755. Among the equipment it managed to preserve through the ages was the Fish Belly Blade that Zhuan Zhu used to assassinate King Liao of Wu and the spear of Wei Yu, Jing Ke, the oldest polearm in the armory. The centrepiece of the vault was the allegedly-indestructible Heavenly King's Armor.

At the height of the An Lushan Rebellion in 756, the Hidden One Li E returned to the village in dire straits following his escape from captivity by the Golden Turtles. The Golden Turtles had sabotaged his attempt to unite loyalist forces in Changshan with the Tang army defending Tong Pass, resulting in the collapse of both to the imperilment of Chang'an. Pei Min recognized that it was now the time to reveal the vault to Li E and pass its secrets onto him. At that point, no Assassin had risen to inherit the treasury since the Kaiyuan era (713–741). As Pei Min explained its history to Li E, the Heavenly King's Armor immediately caught Li E's eye, as did Jing Ke after Pei Min had also bestowed the Fish Belly Blade to him. Li E donned the Heavenly King's Armor, repurposed the Fish Belly Blade as a new Hidden Blade, armed himself with five jian and a crossbow, and finally departed with Jing Ke as his main weapon of choice.

Following Pei Min's advice, Li E proceeded to Pingyuan to beseech its Grand Protector, Yan Zhenqing, to form an alliance with Qinghe and reinvigorate Hebei's counter-rebellion against Lushan. Zhenqing needed little persuasion, not least of all because his brother Yan Gaoqing, as Grand Protector of Changshan, and nephew Yan Jiming had both been executed by Lushan. With access to the Northern Treasury Under Heaven, Zhenqing was able to immediately raise fresh troops and provide them with both equipment and training while Li E gathered a special team consisting of eight survivors from Changshan to journey to the capital and assassinate the Golden Turtles.

Gallery

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  The Fish Belly Blade kept in the vault
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  Jing Ke, the spear belonging to Wei Yu
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  The Heavenly King's Armor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Dynasty