The Sangli chieftain never in his life expected that the Pusheng chieftain — his ally of just a moment ago — would stab him like this. The blow was vicious enough that all the Sangli chieftain could do was shout: “Stop him! Kill him!” — not a single other option available.
The Xika clan was never as fierce as the Jima to begin with, and the Pusheng chieftain had launched an ambush from inside the stronghold itself — striking with complete premeditation against an unsuspecting target. By the time the Sangli chieftain had gathered even a fraction of his people, the Pusheng chieftain had already finished his raid and departed.
His son and the household slaves helped carry the Sangli chieftain outside. He saw several fires burning within the stronghold, a chorus of wailing and screaming, and at this moment, in the outer stretches of the main hall, who could tell chieftain from slave? Some people were fleeing, some were fighting the fires, the stronghold gates stood wide open, and the rear guard of the Pusheng chieftain’s force was already reduced to a single torch-bearing silhouette disappearing into the distance.
It was the son who kept his head, saying: “Father — we need to repair the stronghold quickly. That old Grandmaster of Wuzhou is still alive. She will certainly remember us as enemies. The Pusheng chieftain is gone. We’re the only ones left here!”
The Sangli chieftain understood the logic well enough, and trembled out his words: “Quickly! Quickly! Rally the men! Fight the fires! Seal the gates!”
The Pusheng chieftain’s treachery had gone beyond even the Sangli chieftain’s imagination. Raiding was one thing — but he had also set fires! Not only had he set fire to the granary and the houses, but in his flight he had also smashed the gates and broken down a section of the wall. And as if all that were not enough — before leaving, he had gone and thoroughly antagonized that woman of Wuzhou as well.
Wait — was she a woman? An odd thought flickered strangely through the Sangli chieftain’s mind. Look at her however you liked, there was nothing womanly about her. Among the mountain peoples there were occasionally women who headed their households — usually the wife or mother of some chieftain — and even their fierceness always carried the faintest trace of feminine softness. Zhù Ying had none of that whatsoever.
He was still muddling through these peculiar thoughts when his son came again to report: “Father — our remaining stores of grain are also running low.”
The Sangli chieftain did not even pause to think: “First borrow a little from your maternal uncles and paternal uncles. By autumn we’ll have brought in more — it’ll be fine.”
This was standard practice. A chieftain had never been the one to absorb losses. When autumn came, a bit more would be squeezed from those below — slaves could be cut from two meals a day to one; one would muddle through somehow.
The son went to comply and to oversee the repairs to the stronghold. The Sangli clan had been locked in constant confrontation with Gan County while also participating in the coalition’s war against Wuzhou — their able-bodied men had suffered considerable losses, and the stronghold repairs also required labor, which meant the chieftain’s son had to conscript the men in person and supervise the work. The air was filled with a thunderous chorus of grievance.
It was two days later, sitting over rice wine and roasted meat, that the Sangli chieftain suddenly thought of a question: what was to be done next?
Before he could work out an answer, Zhù Qingjun came back — not in pursuit of the Pusheng chieftain, but turning around and coming straight for him!
Zhù Qingjun had been charging left and right behind the coalition’s lines, turning everything upside down. Even in her furious state, she had kept half a mind to think: what should I do?
She had personally accompanied Zhù Ying on an exploratory journey through the territories of the two clans, and she knew how vast the land was. Her forces, without logistical support, might be able to fight their way to the Pusheng chieftain’s great stronghold — but taking it was another matter, and holding it yet another. Throwing the enemy into chaos was easy; the cleanup afterward already exceeded what she was currently capable of managing.
And she was still unwilling to let go of it — she urgently wanted to come back and see for herself how Zhù Ying truly fared.
After one more round of lightning strikes, she turned and came back.
The Sangli clan was on full alert. But Zhù Qingjun did not drive directly into the Sangli stronghold — she seized three of the smaller surrounding villages in one sweep, then, while the hearts of all the villages quaked with fear, she wheeled around and rode at full speed back to Gan County.
The moment she set foot in Gan County, Zhù Qingjun sensed that something was wrong — this did not look like a place in mourning!
Her heart beating with unease, she went directly to the nearest village and asked around, learning that Zhù Ying was still alive — she nearly went limp over her horse: “Honestly — stop frightening people!”
The news Zhù Qingjun had received was “Grandmaster is perfectly fine — she was even laying a trap for the enemy.” When she arrived at the Gan County yamen and saw the long scar across the left side of Zhù Ying’s face, the shock hit her like a second blow: “You really were injured?!”
She swept a reproachful gaze from Zhù Lian on down — past Zhù Qingye, Su Zhe, and all the rest — and one by one they felt their backs break out in cold sweat.
Zhù Ying said: “In battle between two armies, who isn’t sometimes wounded?”
She was actually lecturing now! The gratitude and relief in Zhù Qingjun’s heart drained away; anger began rising in its place. She said: “A commanding general who manages to get herself wounded in battle between two armies — that is not a very common occurrence.”
The tone was not right at all. Both Zhù Lian and Su Zhe swallowed any impulse to pull rank on their seniority. Zhù Ying looked entirely untroubled and said: “Well, now there happens to be one.”
Zhù Qingjun tilted her head and fixed her with a cold gaze. Zhù Ying said: “I’ve been going too smoothly lately — flawless, nothing left to chance. What’s too perfect must invite misfortune; one must take a bit of a knock, or Heaven will grow envious.”
This reasoning came out with such conviction and such detail that everyone was left half-believing, half-uncertain. Zhù Ying pointed to her cheek and said: “Anyone with eyes in their head can see it — there is no hiding it. When you go out, say exactly this. Understood?”
At this point in things, she was still arranging this kind of play. Zhù Lian felt a trace of admiration; Zhù Qingjun found herself laughing through her exasperation: “You really do have quick wit in a pinch!”
Zhù Ying said: “These are minor tricks — let’s talk about the arrangements going forward!” She rushed ahead before Zhù Qingjun could say a word: “I’ll hold Gan County — recuperate, and not go home and let the family see me worrying. The coalition has already scattered; we can proceed as originally planned. Once you’ve rested and regrouped, push forward with Little Sister. I won’t be going to the front.”
Su Zhe said: “That works! When Danqing and the others come back, they’ll go home to rest too.”
As she spoke, she kept exchanging meaningful glances with Zhù Qingjun. The anger in Zhù Qingjun had passed; she felt that her own manner a moment ago had been somewhat rude, and she took the offered way down: “When you first set the strategy, the situation was slightly different from what it is now. At that point, you hadn’t wanted to alarm the Jima clan — you planned to advance from near to far. And this stretch of road — well — I destroyed quite a few roads and burned quite a few granaries. Perhaps let them build up their stores again for a while?”
She had also accumulated some enemies along the way. The roads in this area had never been as good as those in Wuzhou, and now they were in even worse shape. The original plan had included “living off the enemy’s land” to reduce logistical pressure; but after all this destruction, when Zhù Qingjun thought ahead to the difficulty of “running short of food” she herself would soon face, she began to feel a headache coming on.
A headache was no reason to conceal things — they had to be told plainly. Best to let the enemy fatten up a bit more, and then go in for the slaughter — wouldn’t that be ideal?
Zhù Ying said: “We cannot wait any longer. These chieftains have suffered defeat after defeat. Win, and the slaves back in the stronghold may not fare any better — but lose, and under retreating soldiers with no discipline, not just the slaves but even the ordinary tribespeople would certainly live far worse. No telling how many more would starve to death.
Let them build up their stores, and they will only scrape the land bare and grow more exhausted — when we take over afterward, it will be nothing but a burden. Better to rescue the people without delay, take control, and then allow rest and recovery under our management — that will always be better than leaving them in those people’s hands.
Moreover, Jiang Zheng has sealed off the mountains. Even with Shao Shuxin’s help and the support of Jiyuan’s gentry, we cannot put all our hope in staying on good terms with them. We cannot afford to wait. The only way to break the deadlock is to push west!”
Zhù Lian was the first to agree: “Teacher is right! Let’s work harder. Teacher — let Jiang Wan and the others follow behind Qingjun. It will help consolidate what we gain. True, the tribal peoples have no written language — but that is simply a matter of not having encountered it. Among them are quick and sharp men and women who are not one bit less capable than people outside the mountains. Mix them in with what we have, and from those willing to attach themselves, select the fast learners — begin teaching literacy and language. They will be able to help very quickly. People all need to be pushed; that is how they discover how much they can truly accomplish.”
Zhù Qingjun thought it over and said: “I am willing to push west.”
Su Zhe and Jin Yu also moved quickly to declare themselves!
Zhù Ying said: “Good. It’s decided. Rest and regroup first. And — not another word about my injury to anyone. Just say it was my plan.”
Zhù Qingjun said: “As for Gan County, we can manage. Why not go home—”
“Oh dear — my head aches. I need to recover.”
“Recover?” Zhù Qingye’s face went red with suppressed feeling — she had never seen recovery done like this!
Zhù Ying pointed to her cheek: “You wouldn’t really have me go home looking like this and scare everyone, would you?”
The young people were completely stumped for a reply. Zhù Qingjun confirmed with Zhù Ying three more times: “You will stay right here in the main camp?”
Zhù Ying said: “Where is there an enemy left who can make it to my doorstep now?”
That, somehow, seemed to have a point to it. Zhù Qingjun said: “While everyone’s spirit hasn’t yet gone slack, I’ll go take the Sangli family first. You happen to be here — you can work on planning how to establish a county, and on settling the people. It will set a model for the future. What do you think?”
Her smile showed every tooth, and every tooth carried a grudge.
Zhù Ying agreed at once: “Fine! As it happens, I’ve met a few sharp children here in this county — I think they could go west along with Jiang Wan and the others.”
Zhù Qingjun suddenly felt there was absolutely no point in nursing a grievance with Zhù Ying. You fumed away, and she had already moved past it — already arranging the next set of tasks. Zhù Qingjun said darkly: “Then I’ll be off.”
Zhù Ying said: “Wait — bring the soldiers up to full strength first before you go. The wounded stay behind. The compensation—” and just like that, she had Zhù Qingjun arranged down to the last detail.
Zhù Qingjun felt in equal parts relieved — no loose ends to worry about — and irritated that Zhù Ying seemed to have no care whatsoever for her own wellbeing. Five days later, with the rested and refitted tribal soldiers behind her, she drove straight for the Sangli family!
This time, Jiang Wan and the others followed behind her. With each stronghold Zhù Qingjun took — executing the chieftains and their ilk — Jiang Wan and the others came in behind to tally the population and distribute the farmland. The remaining stores were not plentiful, and the population had also thinned somewhat in the recent upheaval — yet it proved just barely sufficient to hold things together.
Zhù Qingjun took stronghold after stronghold, and was outside the walls of the Sangli clan’s main stronghold surveying the terrain, deciding to attack through the section of wall that had been hastily repaired, when Lu Danqing arrived with her people.
Lu Danqing’s cheeks were slightly sunken. When she saw Zhù Qingjun, she first ordered her subordinates to stop, deploy into formation, and keep watch on the Sangli stronghold; then she went alone to meet Zhù Qingjun. Seeing that Zhù Qingjun’s color was reasonable, she was not sure whether Zhù Qingjun had yet heard the terrible news — she herself had heard the report that Zhù Ying had died while on the march, and had turned her forces around and come back.
They had traveled separate routes, and the paths back did not overlap — it was only because the Sangli stronghold lay on the way back to Gan County that they had run into each other here.
With a great enemy directly in front of them, Lu Danqing dared not let Zhù Qingjun be distracted. She had settled on her explanation: “The troops have been on a long campaign and provisions are running out — I didn’t dare leave the soldiers stranded far out. That is why I came back.”
Zhù Qingjun said: “Don’t pretend. Have your people take off those mourning strips from their heads — Grandmaster is perfectly fine.” She laid out the whole story.
Lu Danqing heard it and was delighted: “That truly is wonderful news!”
The two joined forces and surrounded the Sangli stronghold. The Sangli family had suffered fresh defeat and had no outside support; their will to fight collapsed quickly. Zhù Qingjun led the main assault, surrounding on three sides and leaving one open; Lu Danqing set an ambush on the escape route.
They swiftly cut down the Sangli chieftain and his kind. Lu Danqing withdrew to Gan County; Zhù Qingjun pressed further west. On the road, she ran into Su Sheng returning from his own mission and had Su Sheng also remove his mourning and go back to Gan County.
Zhù Ying sat in command at Gan County and ordered Lu Danqing and Su Sheng to return to Zhù County to rest and regroup. Neither Lu Danqing nor Su Sheng was at all pleased; both dragged their feet. Girls in Zhù Ying’s presence were allowed a certain degree of coaxing, and Lu Danqing worked at her with every soft approach she had — she simply refused to go back: “Qingjun needs only a few days to be ready to go out again. If Little Sister and I push west with her, the whole thing can be wrapped up faster!”
Zhù Ying said: “If the supply train can’t keep up, more bodies actually become a problem. You two go back — I have things to assign you.”
Lu Danqing said: “Then tell me first what those things are.”
Every single one of them had learned to bargain! Zhù Ying said: “The news of my injury will surely have leaked — there will be rumors for certain. You need to bring the news back that I am alive and well, and reassure everyone.”
Zhao Su had already sent a message inquiring, and Zhù Ying had replied by official document — but Zhao Su had eight hundred schemes running in his head; he might not trust a document alone. And Zhù Ying did not want to return herself at this point. So she sent Zhù Lian back with them at the same time.
Zhù Lian was reluctant to leave Zhù Ying and said: “My being here is more useful than going home.”
Zhù Ying said: “There is a matter that needs you to go back and work out with Zhao Su and Xiang Le before it can be handled.”
Zhù Lian asked immediately: “What matter?”
“Buying grain.”
The original “live off the enemy” plan had been disrupted. Everything else could be worked around, but the grain situation in both clans’ territory was fast becoming a real problem. Stores had been badly depleted; the harvest this year, due to the war, was unlikely to be good; and next year fighting was expected to continue. Inside and outside, at minimum two years of poor harvests ahead. These areas of famine would immediately become her own difficulty to manage — preparations had to be made in advance.
Outside the mountains, rice and wheat both had two harvests a season; stored grain would certainly exist. But how to buy it, how to transport it, and all the other complications would require careful thought. Zhù Ying managing it in person would be ideal — but the western advance needed her to hold the position.
Zhù Lian heard the instructions and quickly grasped the key points; he and Lu Danqing and the others set off at speed for the mountain town.
With them gone, the only voice left at Zhù Ying’s ear was Zhù Qingye’s, solitary but holding the line — listing her cautions and instructions in an unbroken stream: get more rest; the wound on the face needed ointment applied or it would leave a scar; and so on.
Zhù Ying let her murmur on, her mood not bad at all.
Until Sister Hu arrived.
Sister Hu brought with her letters from Zhang Xiangu and Huajie. In an instant, Zhù Ying felt the skin on her scalp go slightly numb.