From Wen Yanbo’s tone, Yun Ye knew that returning to the capital was a done deal, irreversible. Li’er’s edict was irresistible. He had never been polite to Yun Ye. Just listen to the edict given to Li Jing—he was practically praised to the heavens. Laudatory words describing the general came one after another, and the words were spoken with such affection, showing serious Brokeback Mountain tendencies.

The edict to Zhang Gongjin was also full of praise. Su Dingfang was promoted three ranks and became an earl. Zhang Baoxiang also officially joined the ranks of the titled nobility. These past days his mouth couldn’t close from joy. This angered Yun Ye so much that he went to his camp again and collected fifty head of cattle and several hundred sheep, all of which he handed over to Na Rimu.

Na Rimu strongly requested that Yun Ye go look again to see if there were any more lost cattle or sheep and such. It would be best if he could find a few horses. Only after the embarrassed and angry Yun Ye slapped her did she quiet down.

Going to bid farewell to Li Jing, he had just entered the tent when he discovered six or seven imperial edicts spread on his desk. Was he still intoxicated by the glory of the edict proclamation? This didn’t seem like his character. Walking closer before he could clearly see the edicts, he heard Li Jing sigh. Turning to Yun Ye, he said: “As expected, you are still the most favored by the sage. This old man and Li Ji and others can hardly compare even with flattery.”

Yun Ye found his own imperial edict. It had no salutation, no signature, only one large seal. Looking carefully, it was actually those eight characters: “Having received the Mandate of Heaven, may the Emperor live long and prosper.” Hong Cheng’s speed was fast enough, and Li’er’s speed at showing off wasn’t slow either—he was already using it?

Everyone else’s edicts were written full. The text on them gave Yun Ye goosebumps. Only his own edict had just these fourteen characters: “The Marquis of Lantian, Yun Ye, is to immediately return to the capital. No delays permitted.” Not even punctuation marks. Placed among the pile of edicts, it was extremely shabby.

“Are you mocking me? Among these edicts, there are promotions, wealth, and ennoblements. Only my edict has just one sentence ordering me back to the capital, without even one word of consolation. Daoist Sun even has a personal letter from His Majesty. I ran several thousand miles on the grassland and got nothing good.” Very sad indeed. This long journey was a huge loss. Since they said they wouldn’t raise his rank for these years, at least give some money!

“Do you know how this old man envies this edict of yours? No pretense, no praise, no hidden meanings—only one plain sentence. His Majesty treats you as a nephew, feeling no need to be polite with you. Have you ever heard His Majesty praise the Crown Prince?” Li Jing picked up Yun Ye’s edict and carefully looked at it again, his face full of vicissitudes.

The Emperor’s edict to Li Jing could indeed be called a riot of flowers. Whether in literary style or length, it was the most outstanding among everyone’s. Every sentence referenced classical allusions, everywhere filled with gratitude. Recalling Li Jing’s experiences, one knew he truly didn’t want to receive such an edict. It really wasn’t as good as receiving like Yun Ye only commands without those false things. That would be more practical and also reduce others’ grounds for attacking him.

“When are you returning to the capital? Will you return with the great army or will you leave with this junior right away?” Li Jing was ordered to relinquish his position as Grand Commander of the Dingxiang Campaign and also needed to return to the capital for an audience. The army was handed over to Li Ji who had come to replace him. They still needed to stay on the grassland for a while. After spring arrived, they would sweep the grassland’s periphery to thoroughly stabilize the situation.

“This old man, if he does more in the army, makes more mistakes; if he does less, makes fewer mistakes. Now, if he doesn’t do anything, there are no mistakes. Since you’re returning to the capital, just take this old man along. According to Niu Jinda, traveling long distances with you is most comfortable. This old man has suffered plenty this winter. With you and Daoist Sun on the road, you can examine me properly.” Li Jing was very open-minded, at least viewing power and position lightly. Only on the battlefield when killing people could he be called a butcher.

“Then it’s settled. Three days from now we’ll set out. On the road I’ll definitely serve you comfortably. But can you give me a small pasture? It needs to be close to a city, doesn’t need to be large—ten miles in radius would be enough.”

Na Rimu couldn’t return with him. She probably wasn’t willing to go to a place full of Han people either. Now she had actually gathered a small tribe—men and women totaling over a hundred people. Yun Ye looked and saw they were all young people, surrounding her calling “chieftain, chieftain” incessantly. She seemed to enjoy this feeling very much. Since she liked it, Yun Ye planned to help her once more to make her position more secure.

“Worthless! So bewitched by a bearded girl that you’re all mixed up. Haven’t you seen women before? You want even that sort of goods. Losing face here is one thing, but it absolutely mustn’t spread to Chang’an. Otherwise, this old man will lose face too.” Li Jing was questioning Yun Ye’s taste in women.

“You wrong me! This junior hasn’t even touched her body until now. How could I be bewitched by her? I just like her simplicity. Besides, she saved our lives in the heavy snow. Giving her a small pasture so she can have food to eat is purely bodhisattva-like compassion. How does it become a pair of illicit lovers in your mouth?”

“Hmph, whether or not you’re a pair of illicit lovers, you know in your hearts and heaven knows too. No need to explain to this old man. Anyway, this pasture has no one now. Giving her a piece isn’t impossible. However, you must think clearly—grassland great clans all gradually develop from small tribes. That woman has you advising her and the Great Tang military’s support. This old man believes that within ten years, she’ll definitely become a large tribe on the grassland. You control it well. Don’t make this old man come here again in a dozen years to campaign against rebellious tribes.”

Li Jing’s words were absolutely right. On the grassland, life and death, separation and reunion were common occurrences. As long as a small tribe had sufficient cattle and sheep and a sufficiently strong backing, its development proceeded in a snowball fashion. Gathering ten thousand bowmen wouldn’t take many years.

“This junior wants to use her as an experiment to see exactly how to effectively control grassland tribes. The current method of campaigning every few years really isn’t sustainable. If successful, it could solve the grassland’s hidden dangers once and for all.”

This was something Yun Ye had long wanted to do. If grassland herders could no longer do without Han people’s help, and the two peoples changed from an adversarial relationship to a symbiotic one, with the Han people’s powerful ethnic integration ability, after a hundred years or so, whether there would still be barbaric peoples was questionable.

“Oh? Quite ambitious! This old man will wait and see whether you shoot yourself in the foot or can truly find a method for eternal peace. Let’s agree—once you lose control, you must immediately strike ruthlessly without the slightest hesitation. This old man will watch this small tribe’s every movement.”

The two studied the map for quite a while and decided to locate the pasture at the foot of Yin Mountain. The court was already preparing to establish a protectorate in this area to strengthen control over the grassland. This region was a heavy troop concentration area, very suitable and very safe for the newly established small tribe of only a few dozen young people.

“Hasn’t this area already been allocated to Zhisi Shili? Why carve out such a large piece for Na Rimu? Won’t that fellow object?” Yun Ye was very worried about Zhisi Shili. This fellow later became a die-hard loyalist of the Great Tang Dynasty, helping Great Tang pacify countless grassland barbarian tribes. If they drove him to rebellion, it would be somewhat counterproductive.

“Hehe, a mere surrendered captive has no room to negotiate with this old man. This time His Majesty ordered me to preside over reallocating territory for these remaining Turks precisely to constrain them in the long term. Although the court has already completed their allocation, this old man still has the authority to make decisions on the spot. Making slight modifications, no one will say anything.”

He laughed twice and said again: “This old man has invested heavily for your little sweetheart this time. Boy, it’s up to you now. Don’t disappoint this old man.”

Na Rimu returned with the cattle and sheep, stepping on the last rays of the setting sun. Yun Ye stood by the cattle pen watching her bustle about. A very diligent girl—the leather hat on her head hung on her back. Holding a whip in her hand, she continuously cracked crisp sounds in the air. Her mouth issued “ao ao” commands. Those gradually robust cattle lined up and walked into the pen. Wiping away sweat, her small face was smeared with a patch of dirt. Grinning, she revealed white teeth and smiled at Yun Ye.

Before Yun Ye could speak, she hurriedly ran back to the tent. Only a moment later, she ran out again, carrying a plate and coming before Yun Ye.

“This is dried milk curds. The cattle are producing milk.”

Yun Ye didn’t touch the dried curds. He extended his hand and used a handkerchief to wipe the dirt from Na Rimu’s face, saying to her: “I’m sorry.”

Obviously she hadn’t yet learned to say this phrase and didn’t understand its meaning. She only widened her eyes and held the wooden plate higher, letting Yun Ye eat.

He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to chew gently. Milk fragrance filled his mouth, only it was somewhat sour. The more he chewed, the more sour it became. Na Rimu watched Yun Ye eat with relish, her eyes smiling into two crescents. Only she started drooling again. Yun Ye even heard her stomach gurgling.

Holding her hand, he came to the tent. Huan Niang had long prepared a table of food. Yun Ye had specially steamed some rice and stir-fried two dishes. Li Jing contributed the lotus root His Majesty had bestowed on him. Yun Ye made lotus root boxes and another dish with radish—only these things were available on the grassland.

Na Rimu threw herself at the table, using a spoon to scoop and eat happily. Yun Ye and Huan Niang just watched from the side.

As Na Rimu ate, crystalline tears dripped down. When she raised her head, Yun Ye discovered her mouth was stuffed full of food, yet tears gushed from her eyes like springs.

Huan Niang lowered her head to wipe tears from her eye corners. Yun Ye smiled watching Na Rimu, and Na Rimu continued eating hard, crying hard.

She wasn’t a fool. She knew the grassland couldn’t keep Yun Ye. She had once fallen asleep embracing the most beautiful fantasy. In her dreams, she was churning butter in the tent while Yun Ye herded on the grassland. Though his movements were clumsy and the cattle and sheep didn’t obey him—he was often butted head over heels by the mischievous lead sheep—he was always smiling. Na Rimu most loved Yun Ye’s smile.

Sometimes in dreams there were children—one or two. They practiced wrestling while hugging sheep—all grassland little men. They looked exactly like Yun Ye.

Today’s meal was extremely delicious. Na Rimu stopped eating. She raised her head, her eyes brimming with pleading.

Her answer was Yun Ye’s shake of his head.