Zhuo Jue heard Zhù Ying’s order and reflexively answered, “Yes,” but his feet hesitated and did not move.

Zhù Ying asked, “What is it?”

Zhuo Jue said, “Should the field office not keep some for itself?”

Zhù Ying said, “Since it is to be issued to the border cities, why hold any back?”

“Yes.”

“And the slaves?”

“Oh. Let Su Zhe and the others handle that as they see fit.”

The slaves Marquis Zheng had sent to Zhù Ying were not many — ten men and ten women. Given the intense hatred the border cities had for the barbarians, sending them there would indeed be difficult to manage.

“Yes.”

Zhuo Jue took the list and went to find Su Zhe. Su Zhe was in Elder Sister Hu’s room together with Zhù Qingjun and Xiang An, watching Zhù Qingjun give Elder Sister Hu a follow-up medical examination. Elder Sister Hu was eagerly asking, “Well? Am I fully recovered?”

Zhù Qingjun deliberately withheld her answer. Elder Sister Hu said, “Don’t play tricks on me! If you do this, I’ll go complain to your teacher!”

Zhù Qingjun smiled cheerfully. “Even if it were my teacher in your place, she’d also want you to take the opportunity to rest a few more days.”

Elder Sister Hu said, “You’re playing tricks again! ‘Take the opportunity to rest a few more days’ — so that means I’m recovered, doesn’t it?” With that, she cheered up, looked about for her clothes, and wanted to go right back to Zhù Ying’s side. As she searched, she said, “Lying still has made my very bones ache.”

The young women all laughed.

At this point, Zhuo Jue called out from just outside the doorway. Su Zhe hopped out: “Gentleman Zhuo? Is there something?”

Zhuo Jue explained the matter. Su Zhe said, “Oh, oh — leave it to me! Don’t worry!”

Zhuo Jue handed her a token. Su Zhe received it, said a word of thanks for his effort, and Zhuo Jue quickly left. Su Zhe bounced back into the room: “I have an assignment!”

Elder Sister Hu laughed. “Then let’s all go have a look.”

Xiang An said, “Ask Qingjun first.”

Zhù Qingjun stifled a laugh and nodded. “Fine, fine, let’s go — if I don’t agree, Master will be cross with me.”

The women went together to where the slaves were being held. Su Zhe looked curiously at these slaves and thought to herself: these barbarian slaves look like they used to live well — not the sort who were doing heavy, rough labor.

When Su Zhe was small, there had been many slaves in her household, and slaves who did heavy labor did not look like this at all. These slaves had intact clothing with no patches; on their persons one could still make out a piece or two of ornamentation. Their appearance was also quite presentable — not the numbed, hollow look of ordinary slaves worn down by a hard life.

Either they had been doing refined household service, or they had been in some kind of supervisory role, or they had simply been leaders of their community before being captured and reduced to slaves, thought Zhù Qingjun.

She had once been a slave herself and was not unfamiliar with slaves. Though the north and south differed in many ways, in this regard the differences were probably not that great.

Su Zhe asked, “Who are you people? What did you do before?”

The slaves gave no answer, only watching her with wariness. The men were strung together and the women were strung together, their arms bound with rope, their faces flushed red from the cold.

Xiang An said, “Is there anyone who speaks the official language?”

Su Zhe said, “Looking at these people — I don’t believe for a moment that not one of them knows it. Ask the ones who escorted them. Anyone caught lying and concealing things — hmph!”

Hearing this, one of the men reluctantly said, “I understand.”

Xiang An said, “Since you can understand, answer properly.”

The man did not look at Xiang An; his gaze kept returning to Su Zhe. He had a beard; on closer inspection, he turned out not to be very old — roughly in his twenties. Unwillingly he said, “I am from the Xime tribe under the former Khan’s banner.”

Zhù Qingjun felt something was off, and she whispered to Su Zhe, “There are many small tribes among the barbarians. This Xime tribe — I believe they don’t belong under the Barbarian Lord’s direct command, and their relationship with the Barbarian Chancellor is also not close.”

“A separate tribe,” Su Zhe said, and the two exchanged a glance.

The group began questioning carefully. Zhù Qingjun suddenly pointed at one of the female slaves and said, “You understand too.” There was a difference between genuine blankness and forced calm; one’s expression could not lie.

The female slave, seeing she had not been able to conceal it from Zhù Qingjun’s eye, could only say, “I am only a slave and know nothing.”

After extensive questioning, they could not draw out many further details. They only knew that these individuals were indeed not ordinary slaves from a tribal group — they had been carefully selected by people Marquis Zheng sent. They were all in the prime of life and did not all come from the Xime tribe alone. Marquis Zheng’s battle had defeated three small tribes.

The rough, heavy-labor type of slave that Su Zhe and Zhù Qingjun had imagined also existed — but Marquis Zheng had considered presenting that type to Zhù Ying as insufficiently dignified. So he had deliberately chosen a few from among the ‘people of consequence’ in these tribes — and along with several of their own well-kept household slaves, had combined masters and slaves together and sent the whole lot as slaves to Zhù Ying.

The actual tribal chieftains had been kept by Marquis Zheng. These people were blood relatives of the chieftains — not too close, not too distant — a group that looked the part but did not hold too high a position.

Su Zhe said, “Send the men to care for the horses; put the women to work doing laundry. For now, don’t let any of them near Grandfather — let’s go report to Grandfather.”

The group went together to the outside of Zhù Ying’s door and requested an audience.

Zhù Ying heard the sound of footsteps and looked up. So many people — she asked, “Has everyone gotten together to eat dinner with me? Perfect timing. New cattle and sheep have just arrived — let’s stew a pot of mutton soup! Elder Sister Hu looks much improved, too. Mutton is good for the constitution.”

Elder Sister Hu took her place at Zhù Ying’s side again of her own accord. “I’ve been supplemented quite enough these past few days.”

Su Zhe said, “Grandfather, those slaves…”

Zhù Ying made a gesture. “Sit down.”

The group sat, and reported everything they had seen and the arrangements they had made. Su Zhe said, “The newcomers — we don’t know what is in their hearts, so I didn’t dare let them get too close to you. Why not take a look at them yourself sometime?”

Zhù Ying gave a quiet nod. “No need to wait for ‘sometime’ — let’s go now.”

Su Zhe rose somewhat tensely. “All right.”

She was a little worried — a worry that had appeared suddenly when she looked at the female slaves. Even if Grandfather was after all a grown man, and it had been a long time, and before she might not have thought about it — now…

It wasn’t that she wanted to keep Grandfather to herself, but slaves sent by outsiders — something just felt off.

She went with a troubled heart, only to see that Zhù Ying had not gone first to look at the female slaves but at the male slaves. The male slaves had already been settled in the low buildings beside the stables. Each slave had been given a worn set of bedding and was in the middle of making up their beds. A small fire pit had been lit in the room, with an iron kettle sitting on it, water heating on the flame.

Su Zhe pointed at the man who had spoken earlier and said, “He was the one who spoke to us.”

But Zhù Ying stepped over to another man. This man’s appearance was straightforward and unremarkable. He had a reasonably sturdy build. He had already made up his bed and was now carrying a bundle of firewood over to place beside the fire pit.

Zhù Ying addressed him in the barbarian tongue: “Which tribe are you from?”

The man’s face showed a flash of surprise. Zhù Ying said, “Let’s talk.”

After a moment’s silence, the man glanced at the one who had spoken to Su Zhe, then said, “Why me?”

Zhù Ying smiled. “I feel like it.”

She had him brought to the main hall, indicated he should sit, and asked his name first.

The man said, “Deqi.”

“What are you?”

Deqi said, “A merchant.”

Zhù Ying said to Xiang An, “Cross-check the prices with him — what does salt cost, iron, cattle and sheep, cloth and silk…”

Deqi changed his answer: “I don’t handle such matters at home — there are people in the household who conduct those trades. I only went to the Xime tribe for pleasure.”

“In the middle of winter, your idea of pleasure is rather distinctive,” said Zhù Ying. “Either I kill you now, or you tell me the truth. Border people have been slaughtered. My mood is not good.”

Deqi let out a sigh and said, “The truth. Where there is war, there are slaves, and where there are riches, trade in them is profitable.”

Zhù Ying said, “How about I send word to Marquis Zheng asking where you were found and who was around you, and then interrogate your fellow captives carefully? What do you think?”

Deqi’s expression shifted repeatedly. He asked tentatively, “The southward raid this time was all Leilua’tu’s doing. If we had nothing to do with him…”

Zhù Ying said, “Then start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

He had come to encourage the Xime tribe and several other tribes to ally together against Leilua’tu. Leilua’tu wanted to establish an official administrative system, expand the Barbarian Lord’s residential city and farmlands, conscript soldiers from each tribe to form a new army under the Barbarian Lord’s new direct command, and required each tribe to send hostages to the royal city to serve as the king’s personal guard…

Su Zhe could not help interrupting: “But all of that sounds perfectly reasonable!”

“We were free before, unconstrained by them. If they grow powerful, we lose what we used to have.” Deqi said.

Su Zhe felt something was off — these were things that Zhù Ying had also done to them, more or less, and yet they had all lived quite well.

Zhù Ying asked, “Besides constraint — what else?”

“Is that not enough? All plunder must now be allocated through him — on what grounds? The Xime tribe set a fire, and when they returned they were given a thorough scolding. The Xime tribe was sent to stand watch on the southernmost border as punishment.”

Not allowing each tribe to plunder freely was like not allowing landlords to seize land — an impossibility.

Zhù Ying said, “You and the Xime tribe and the others have reached an agreement?”

“More or less.”

“How many other tribes are involved?”

Deqi weighed the question and asked, “You — also want things to go badly for Leilua’tu, don’t you?”

Zhù Ying nodded. Was that not self-evident?

Deqi said, “We have contacted a number of people. Infuriatingly, some had no backbone — seeing that Leilua’tu was expanding his power, they simply submitted to him.”

“Do not speak in vague terms. Tell me only how many are committed.”

“Two major tribes, seven minor ones.”

Zhù Ying questioned him further about matters related to the Barbarian Lord — how many soldiers were directly under his command, how large his city was, what form his administrative system had taken.

Zhù Ying said, “Very well. Someone come — please take him to rest.”

Deqi was led away and given a more comfortable room. The field office assigned two people to keep watch over him.

Zhù Ying, in the end, never told him how she had seen through him. It was only after Deqi was led away that Zhù Qingjun asked.

Zhù Ying said, “Something in the atmosphere felt off, so I made a calculated guess. If he had been able to rattle off the prices, I might not have bothered with him at all.”

Zhù Qingjun asked, “Then what he said — is it true?”

“Half and half. His having anti-faction intentions is genuine. His actual strength — that will need Marquis Zheng to verify. Go see if General Jin is drinking with General Tang. If they are drinking together, leave them be; if they’re not, invite him over.”

She had in fact asked Jin Liang to keep Tang Shan company in her stead, which also gave the two old friends time to reminisce in private. It was not yet dinnertime, so most likely they were not drinking.

Su Zhe said, “Oh?”

Zhù Ying said, “You all can play for the next few days.”

Su Zhe said, “Is there something happening? The way you said that, there must be something. Is it… a scheme to sow discord?”

Zhù Ying gave a nod.

Zhù Qingjun immediately said, “I’ll go right now!”

She was gone quickly and returned quickly: “General Jin has gone to talk with General Tang. I left word with the people there, asking him to come over as soon as he gets back.”

Zhù Ying said, “Very good.”

In the middle of the day, Jin Liang had not been drinking with Tang Shan — the two men had been having a private conversation. Jin Liang saw that Tang Shan had endured a wearisome journey and asked him to rest, then went back to his own room.

The moment he arrived, he heard the message left for him, and hurried over at once.

Zhù Ying said, “You’re here?”

“Is there something that needs doing?”

Zhù Ying said, “In a while I’ll slaughter some sheep here. Come eat together, and invite General Tang as well.”

“He mentioned — whether there’s wine or not, he’s not fussed, but with the Marquis on campaign outside the capital, none of us dares drink.”

Zhù Ying said, “Perfect. I also have something to ask of him. You can help ask around as well.”

Jin Liang asked, “What matter?”

Zhù Ying said, “Among the slaves who just arrived, there is one man…” She explained what had just happened. She would need Tang Shan to set out early and consult Marquis Zheng on how to handle this. Best to verify the situation first — if one party could be pulled over while striking against the other, so much the better.

Jin Liang said, “Good! I’ll go find him right now!”

Zhù Ying said, “I’ll have the mutton prepared.”

“Wonderful!”

Zhù Ying had several sheep slaughtered and paired with some other dishes. Tang Shan and Jin Liang, both men accustomed to life on the road and in the field, cared nothing for formality, and both ate with full bowls of meat. During the meal, Zhù Ying also raised the matter of the slave.

Tang Shan first exclaimed in admiration, “No wonder, truly. Before the Marquis sent me, he said my lord would certainly respond.”

Zhù Ying said, “I’m afraid the Marquis’s meaning of ‘respond’ refers to something else entirely, does it not?”

“Hm? Ah — haha ha ha.” Tang Shan gave a dry laugh.

Jin Liang said, “Hey — that’s not playing fair! You came with a hook baited, didn’t you?”

Tang Shan said, “I was just about to say it, just about to.”

With that, he glanced at the people present and said with deliberation, “With permission, allow this lowly general to report the details to my lord a little later, in private.”

Zhù Ying smiled. “Very well.”

And indeed the topic was dropped. The conversation turned to things like how best to cook mutton stew, and someone mentioned a shop in the capital that sold excellent mutton soup.

No one drank. After the meal, Zhù Ying and Tang Shan went to the study together. She said to Jin Liang, “Do not follow us in — if we quarrel, it puts you in a difficult position.”

Jin Liang, full of worried concern, remained outside the door. He exchanged a long look with the door panel, and then began pacing back and forth along the eaves outside the entrance. When Zhù Wen invited him to warm himself by the fire in the adjacent room, he refused to go. He listened carefully for a while — there did not seem to be any loud voices coming from inside — which was both a small comfort and still a source of apprehension, since he kept dreading that the next sentence would be the one that set off a quarrel.

Inside, Zhù Ying asked Tang Shan directly, “The Marquis is partly moved by pity for my lack of adequate food and clothing, and also has something he wishes me to do — am I right?”

Tang Shan looked at Zhù Ying with an air of pitiable helplessness. Seeing a man of his age still pulling such a look, Zhù Ying felt not the slightest sympathy and said, “Did you let it slip yourself?”

Tang Shan kept the pitiable smile on his face.

Zhù Ying said, “The Marquis is not in the capital dandling his great-grandchildren — surely he came to the north to do more than drink the wind. There must be a great battle being prepared. Since people have already been mentioning ‘responding’ — is it supplies or civilian laborers?”

Tang Shan let out a sigh and said quietly, “It is. Whatever they do, whether for the public good or even for their own gain, it comes to nothing. They may think they are doing quite well — but it all depends on the comparison. Since you began dispatching your people, the Marquis can no longer look at anyone else with satisfaction. My lord, the Marquis is of this age, still personally exposing himself to arrows and stones — we who watch feel…” He let the thought trail off. “I beg you to think of the old bond between you.”

This matter was something Tang Shan had guessed at himself. Marquis Zheng had spoken at length about his worries regarding supplies for the coming battle and all the complications involved, had complained about the current military commanders being useless, and in the same breath had praised Zhù Ying and sent Tang Shan to bring gifts to her. Tang Shan had read the signs.

Zhù Ying said, “Convey to the Marquis that I do not pick and choose assignments.”

Tang Shan looked up in delighted surprise: “No wonder the Marquis constantly praises you — those other generals have heard so much of it they’re practically…”

“…practically ready to beat me up, aren’t they?”

“Heh heh, ha ha.”

Zhù Ying said, “Take Deqi back with you. He may prove useful.”

“Yes!”

Tang Shan went back bringing Deqi to Marquis Zheng’s main camp, and Zhù Ying on her side began quiet preparations.

First she summoned those assigned to the field office and let them take turns going on leave to return home and be with their families. Yet before they departed, she gave particular instructions to Qiu Yiming and the others: “When you go back, take a look at how the city walls have been repaired, how the city gates have been mended, how many people remain in the city, and how much of a full meal they manage to eat… Make sure to report all of this truthfully.”

“Yes!”

Then she summoned Zhuo Jue, Su Zhe, and the others, and together they recalculated the strength of the army, its distribution, the daily supply requirements, and the transport routes. Working from the required supply quantities, road distances, population densities of the counties and prefectures along the way, the prominent local families at each point, and the losses expected along the transport route, she divided the north into a number of zones. She then took stock of what surpluses she had on hand, so that in the event central government-allocated money and grain were delayed, she would know how much the north could provide in an emergency.

She then invited Jin Liang and, drawing on his experience, asked how far south barbarian forces could advance — the better to determine which areas were relatively safe and suitable for planning new land clearance without disruption.

Ten days later, Tang Shan returned again bearing Marquis Zheng’s personal letter.

The letter was in two parts. The first part stated that Deqi had proven very useful. Of what he had said, roughly six parts out of ten were true, and arrangements were already being made. Marquis Zheng had originally worried that the standoff with Leilua’tu would drag on indefinitely, and had even prepared himself for the prospect of dying in the north. But by making good use of this thread connected to Leilua’tu, his side’s losses could be minimized. Some of the court’s money and grain might be saved as a result.

The second part opened with praise of Zhù Ying — saying he had seen great things in her twenty years ago, and looking at her now, he could see that his eye had been right all along. He was now preparing for a major battle and hoped Zhù Ying would not return to the capital too quickly; please stay and lend him a hand. He wished to recommend Zhù Ying as the Commissioner for Military Supplies.

Zhù Ying read the letter and sat reflecting for quite some time. This position of Commissioner for Military Supplies oversaw the military’s logistical provisions. Although it also bore the word “commissioner,” it was nothing like the Surveillance Commissioner or the Pacification Commissioner. It required dealing closely with the military — and those generals?

No wonder Marquis Zheng had sent her slaves and cattle and sheep and also grain…

Zhù Ying sat at her desk, the Marquis’s letter before her. She read the letter from beginning to end three times, then pulled a sheet of paper toward her and wrote her reply to Marquis Zheng.

The following year, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, Zhù Ying had wrapped herself in a fur robe and was crouching against the wall of a farmhouse chatting with an old woman when Zhuo Jue came galloping up at full speed: “My lord! An envoy from the capital has come with an imperial edict!”

Zhù Ying pressed a handful of candy into the old woman’s hand. “I’m heading back.”

The old woman braced her hands against her knees to stand up, tucked the candy into her apron, and said, “It’s cold on the road — mind you don’t fall.”

“I will.”

By the time Zhù Ying had hurried back to the field office, she found that the visitor was Shi Xi.

Zhù Ying said in surprise, “You didn’t spend New Year in the capital?”

Shi Xi arrived looking drained of color, and said, “Didn’t get the chance — His Majesty sent me straight off.”

Marquis Zheng had presented captives to the Emperor; the Emperor was very pleased. Not only were there rewards, but the Emperor had also granted Marquis Zheng’s request. Zhù Ying’s appointment as Commissioner for Military Supplies was thus approved. Also accompanying the appointment were gifts from the Emperor to Zhù Ying: winter garments, fur robes, brocades, and the like.

Zhù Ying received everything, and then prepared to host a banquet for Shi Xi.

Shi Xi said quietly, “His Majesty has a personal verbal instruction.”

Zhù Ying quickly stood formally and listened. Shi Xi drew close and quietly conveyed the contents. It turned out to concern the corrupt accounts left behind by General Leng and the others, and the enormous expenditure now incurred by Marquis Zheng’s northward campaign. The Emperor agreed to Zhù Ying taking up this post of Commissioner for Military Supplies also in the hope that she would keep strict watch and “prevent people from deceiving the court.”

Zhù Ying thought to herself: So you only now thought of this?

But she responded respectfully.

“That — His Majesty commanded me to go have a look at the border cities. Is that feasible?”

Zhù Ying said, “Were you not commanded to go to Marquis Zheng’s camp as well? How about this: I’ll accompany you to the Marquis’s main camp, and we can hear what he has to say — how does that sound?”

“Yes, yes, very good.”

Zhù Ying could see he was not very keen on going, and added, “His Majesty’s purpose is simply to learn the true situation at the border. If you wish to know, I have some northern youths here — asking them would serve just as well.”

“Excellent!”

Zhù Ying said, “Very well, I will make the arrangements. And as it happens, this —” she pointed to the edict appointing her Commissioner for Military Supplies, “— I also need to go to the Marquis’s camp to report for my post.”