"Lord Jingnan said he will enter the capital in three days, and on that day, Jingnan’s army will also withdraw from Nanwang City."
"Phew..." Hui Wenzu exhaled deeply. Obviously, this statent had relieved him of a great deal of pressure.
His predecessor had died mysteriously, an assassination attempt had occurred at the funeral, and he himself had been ambushed en route to his new post. After his arrival in Nanwang City, all matters within the city were dictated by Lord Jingnan. As the Commander-in-Chief, he was rely a figurehead.
Now, things were looking up. Once Lord Jingnan’s army withdrew from Nanwang City, he should be able to reclaim so of his rightful authority.
"Furthermore, the Lord wants to take along to the capital."
"Take you to the capital?"
"Yes."
"Right now, the capital is a hotbed of controversy. At court, whether there would be war or peace was uncertain, and matters were at an impasse. You, a re Commander, had managed to stir up so much trouble; people would undoubtedly cause you problems once you entered the capital."
The current Pri Minister’s alma mater was destroyed by ; how could this not spell enormous trouble?
"Still, since Lord Jingnan wants to take to the capital, he surely wouldn’t stand by and watch them kill , right?"
"You scamp," Hui Wenzu said, patting Zheng Fan’s shoulder.
Yesterday, upon hearing Zheng Fan had regained consciousness, Hui Wenzu had gone to Green Willow Fortress and knelt before him. After that gesture, the two had agreed to address each other as "brothers."
Therefore, in front of Comrade Deep Sea, Zheng Fan could now relax a little.
This was Nanwang City, after all, not Hutou City.
To put it pleasantly, his revolutionary camaraderie with Comrade Deep Sea had deepened. More realistically, Hui Wenzu was no longer the Recruitnt Envoy who could overrule the county magistrate with a single word in Hutou City. Although his official rank had risen, his actual authority had significantly diminished. Moreover, he, Zheng Fan, had now boarded Lord Jingnan’s ship.
"Although Lord Jingnan’s title isn’t perpetually hereditary, and he indeed lacks the deep-rooted foundation of our Earl of North Border’s Household, this generation’s Lord Jingnan is the Empress’s biological brother and the future Crown Prince’s maternal uncle. Moreover, he himself is highly esteed by the Emperor. Now that you’ve earned his regard, your future is truly limitless."
"Older Brother, are you probing ?"
"Ah, it’s no probe. I have nothing to hide from you anymore. Co, look at these."
Hui Wenzu proactively pulled Zheng Fan over to his desk.
"Look at these, these, and these."
"Are these all docunts about building fortresses?"
"Correct. They were issued by the Ministry of Works. The docunts from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War are underneath."
"Oh."
"It seems you knew about this all along, Younger Brother?"
Zheng Fan badly wanted to ask what Hui Wenzu knew, but he feigned deep thought and rely humd in response.
"Exactly. You must have gone to the post station ahead of that day specifically to inform about these matters."
Zheng Fan continued to ponder, nodding subtly.
Please, continue with your assumptions, Comrade Deep Sea.
"I was rushed when I visited yesterday, and seeing you had just awoken, I didn’t think it right to discuss official business. Truthfully, I was initially baffled by my sudden appointnt as Commander-in-Chief in the south. I even suspected the Imperial Court had seen through my guise and deliberately transferred away from Beifeng Prefecture.
But it wasn’t until I saw these docunts that I realized this war... it’s highly unlikely to happen."
It made no sense for the Imperial Court, while supposedly preparing for war with the Earl of North Border’s army, to instead be diverting resources and manpower to the southern frontier to construct new fortresses and cities.
Even if one argued they were taking precautions—fearing the Qian State might launch another northern invasion to capitalize on a civil war in Yan—it still wouldn’t add up. The fortresses and cities of the Yan State weren’t primarily built for defense.
The Yan Army’s doctrine has always centered on offense, relying on the fad iron cavalry the Yan people take such pride in. Their battlefield strategy is to charge and shatter enemy formations, not to cower in fortresses playing a war of attrition with the Qian.
Realistically speaking, the Yan State can ill afford such a war of attrition.
"The construction of these fortresses and cities is a form of preparation," Zheng Fan stated.
"Yes. It’s preparation to accommodate more troops and to stockpile more provisions, armants, and other supplies."
In truth, when the First Emperor of Qin initially built the Great Wall, he envisioned it as a forward base for launching offensives against the Huns. It was his less capable descendants who gradually turned it into a defensive "turtle shell."
"The dispatches from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War have authorized ten Commander positions for . Funds and laborers from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue will also be mobilized after spring comnces.
These are all genuine arrangents, not re lip service. The only irregularity is that these dispatches weren’t issued through explicit imperial decrees."
This lack of an explicit decree ant that while these docunts appeared to originate from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and other such departnts, those governnt offices themselves were likely unaware of these directives.
However, the docunts bore the red approval mark of the Ministry of Rites and the Yan Emperor’s personal seal. Furthermore, they had been delivered via the Spy Bureau. This proved that these docunts and instructions originated directly from the Yan Emperor, not from deliberations with the court ministers.
This bore no resemblance to preparations for a civil war! Hell, this was clearly gearing up to march south!
Zheng Fan took a deep breath. His and Blind Bei’s conjecture was finally confird. The Earl of North Border and the Yan Emperor were indeed putting on an act.
Zheng Fan turned to Hui Wenzu and said,
"Older Brother, focus on the preliminary work for now. When spring arrives, then you can earnestly begin."
"Do you think I need you to teach that? I, Hui Wenzu, though my heart lies with the Earl of North Border’s Household, am also a man of Yan!"
Hui Wenzu was clearly displeased by Zheng Fan’s reminder.
User Comments
0 comments from readers