Winter had come to Chang’an again, and the solemn capital wore an extra edge of severity in the cold wind.

When Master Yan pushed aside the cotton curtain and entered the East Warm Hall, a wave of warm air greeted him, carrying with it a distinct fragrance — that particular smell that made the stomach growl.

His Majesty was roasting sweet potatoes over the brazier. And by the look of things, they were already done — two of them were positively glistening with escaped sugar.

“Your Majesty.”

Master Yan entered, pulled the curtain closed behind him, and handed Li Chi a booklet with both hands.

“This is a joint state document from the rulers of the Western Regions nations, along with a gift list.”

Li Chi didn’t look at it. He smiled. “How does it compare to last time?”

“The envoys’ ranks, going by the list, are all considerably higher than before. Everyone named this time is either a prince or a king’s son, and several of the smaller kingdoms want to come in person. The gift list is more than twice as generous as last time — looks quite substantive.”

Li Chi made a sound of acknowledgment.

The Western Regions peoples’ sudden change of attitude was simple to explain. Li Chi had already appointed a Supreme Commander of the Western Frontier, and had transferred Tang Pidi to the northwest to train troops.

When that news reached the Western Regions, every small kingdom’s ruler quietly did the arithmetic.

Especially with Tang Pidi in the northwest. For the Western Regions peoples, this was more than a show of force. Old Tang would need live opponents to train his soldiers on, wouldn’t he?

They’d never dealt with Tang Pidi directly, but they had dealt with Tang Anchen — and they hadn’t been able to beat him. Had practically been ground flat by him.

Back when Han Feibao had allied with the Western Regions people and Tang Anchen brought his forces north, there had been some early contact. The Western Regions forces had thought their numbers an advantage, but after a few engagements they understood: the only advantage their numbers gave them was that they couldn’t all be wiped out in a single engagement.

Tang Pidi was legendary as an undefeated war god. Even Han Feibao — who had terrified the Western Regions into submission — had been thoroughly thrashed by Tang Pidi.

Think about it plainly: why was Da Ning’s Emperor increasing his forces in the Western Regions? Because these Western Regions people had played at cleverness, and now the Emperor wanted to give them a lesson.

Once upon a time, Ji Prefecture had Han Feibao, and Liang Prefecture had Dantai Qi — the Western Regions couldn’t advance an inch. Now there was even less hope of breaking into the Central Plains. Their only hope was that Ning’s army wouldn’t come out and strike them first.

What was the morale of the Ning army now? What was its fighting strength?

A million-strong Black Military had been wiped out in the northern wastelands. These small Western Regions kingdoms thought they could arm-wrestle with Ning’s forces?

“Let them come,” Li Chi said with a smile. “Da Ning has just been founded — we can’t keep fighting forever. If the Western Regions people have cowed down, give them a chance to bow and scrape in person.”

Master Yan smiled too. “Letting them come and get a proper look is good. Once they’ve seen clearly, they’ll truly understand they aren’t in the same league.”

Then: “The Ministry of Rites is debating what level of protocol to use for receiving them — are they thinking of sending officials out to meet the delegation along the way?”

“Meet them?” Li Chi frowned slightly. “Has the Ministry of Rites gone mad? The Western Regions people are coming to pay tribute to Da Ning. I didn’t invite them. And we’re sending officials out to welcome them?”

“They’re probably only thinking about maintaining Da Ning’s reputation for courtesy.”

“Ding Qing’an,” Li Chi called out.

The little eunuch hurried in and bowed. “Your Majesty, this servant is here. Please instruct.”

“Go relay my words to the Ministry of Rites,” Li Chi said. “All fifth-rank and above officials in the Ministry of Rites — half a year’s salary docked. Third-rank and above — a full year’s salary docked.”

“Yes.”

Ding Qing’an acknowledged and left.

Master Yan felt a pang of guilt — his own remark had just cost all those officials their pay.

Li Chi stood and stretched. “I have been saying all along that if we want Da Ning’s people to feel proud and hold their heads high, the officials must lead by example.”

“A few envoys from small Western Regions kingdoms warrant officials sent along the road to welcome them?”

His anger deepened as he spoke.

“Next thing, we’ll be giving them whatever they want? If they demand food halfway, we feed them. If they demand drink, we water them. And if they demand women — do we arrange women for them too?!”

Master Yan quickly rose. Li Chi’s fury had exceeded his expectations.

“I did not invite the Western Regions people. The Ministry of Rites has no business fawning on them. Da Ning is standing on its feet now — the Central Plains is standing on its feet. The officials of the Ministry of Rites, more than anyone, should stand straight as a plank. When representing Da Ning abroad, they represent Da Ning’s face — and yet their knees are still soft?”

He pointed outside. “Do you believe, if I allowed their idea, they would genuinely produce something outwardly courteous but inwardly servile?”

“This is not mere irritation on my part. This particular precedent cannot be set. Once set, it becomes an endless source of harm.”

He looked at Master Yan. “Go back and tell them — this is the first offense, so I will not punish heavily. But hereafter, whoever raises such a matter again: salary docked three years. Another offense after that, regardless of who it is — dismissed and expelled.”

“Yes!” Master Yan bowed.

“From now on,” Li Chi said, “no matter what delegation arrives from where — once inside Da Ning, they follow Da Ning’s rules. At the checkpoints, the rules are the rules. No official of Da Ning is to voluntarily open a convenient passage for foreign envoys. That is not hospitality — that is slapping our own face. The rules I set, the laws this entire court hammered out together — if this kind of thing becomes habit, it is slapping *my* face, and slapping the face of Da Ning’s laws.”

He went on: “I will add one more rule. Hereafter, no delegation from anywhere is permitted to pass through checkpoints by special privilege. Da Ning’s people stand in line at checkpoints — so does every foreign delegation.”

“This minister will remember. I’ll go speak with the Ministry of Rites and then convene a discussion to write this into the formal rules.”

Li Chi let out a breath and took Master Yan’s arm to sit him back down. “All habits are cultivated. Remind those below — whenever outsiders come, they are never here because Da Ning needed them. When they come, you can’t even call it a visit. Call it what it is: a tributary audience.”

Master Yan said: “When I return, I’ll convene them and work out carefully what proper conduct — *li* — actually means in this context.”

“Not losing courtesy is enough,” Li Chi said. “There is no need to flatter.”

He asked: “Is there anything else, Yan?”

“Nothing major. There is also the matter of the Academy — it’s finished being built, but a name has not yet been decided. Headmaster Gao would like Your Majesty to bestow a name.”

“I went to look at it a few days ago and fell in love with that Wild Goose Pagoda, so let the Academy be called the Wild Goose Pagoda Academy.”

“Very well. I’ll go inform Headmaster Gao.”

Master Yan ventured: “When the Academy opens its doors — will Your Majesty attend in person?”

“Yes. The Academy opens its doors to every scholar in the realm, to everyone with ambition. Not only will I be there — all civil and military officials will be there.”

Then Li Chi smiled. “After the Academy opens, I’ll make time to attend classes — to hear my teacher lecture.”

Master Yan shook his head vigorously. “I can hardly lecture Your Majesty now—”

“You are always my teacher,” Li Chi said. “My cleverness was something my shifu taught me. My reason began with you.”

At these words, Master Yan felt something inside him buckle. The moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes.

—

“One more thing.” Li Chi went to his desk and retrieved a letter, handing it to Master Yan. “This is from Cao Lie.”

He settled back into his seat. “As expected, there are people stirring up trouble through the jianghu. Right now the cover story is a Merchant Guild — but isn’t that simply a second Mountain River Seal?”

Master Yan said: “Does Your Majesty mean to crush it before the second Mountain River Seal takes shape?”

“No…”

Li Chi shook his head. “Let it grow. Cao Lie has arranged for Tao Xiaomi to make contact with those people — Tao Xiaomi has already become a vice-chairman of the Guild. Cost a few tens of thousands of silver to get there.”

Master Yan suppressed a laugh. “Your Majesty will not lose those tens of thousands — you’ll get it back with interest eventually.”

“With interest? That’s not enough. When I take it, I want it all.”

He smiled. “Cao Lie says that Chen Xugong — the one doing Xu Ji’s bidding — has already become sworn brothers with Tao Xiaomi.”

Master Yan chuckled outright. “That is excellent news.”

“Cao Lie,” Li Chi said, “always does things differently from everyone else. When it comes to jianghu matters, no one handles them better than he does…”

He paused, then asked Master Yan: “If Da Ning were to add to its roster of Dukes in the future — would the court ministers object?”

Master Yan nodded. “Certainly. The Dukes were established at the founding, and Cao Lie was not among them. Unless his contributions are weighty enough to silence everyone, someone will absolutely stand up in objection — and they might well carry a crowd.”

Li Chi said: “A great contribution… I’ve already arranged it for him. He just needs to not drop it.”

Would Cao Lie drop it?

Cao Lie himself had not given the matter of a ducal title a single thought. He was finding life in Anshi County remarkably pleasant.

The estate had been refurbished over the past few months and looked entirely new. He preferred living in a small place like this — it suited him far better than a large city.

And he could enjoy the theater. The show the merchants were performing was, to his eyes, enormously entertaining.

His Majesty had sent him here to handle this affair — which was, truth be told, fighting far below his weight class.

What he enjoyed most now was Tao Xiaomi’s performance. If this whole situation was a grand drama with a large cast, then Tao Xiaomi, the lead, was giving a genuinely brilliant performance.

Just yesterday Tao Xiaomi had sent word asking when to pull in the net — he was already the Guild’s second-in-command.