This was not Li Chi’s first time in the northwest, and it would certainly not be his last.

Li Chi was genuinely fond of the northwest’s distinctive character and customs. Compared to Jizhou, this region was far richer in variety. In Jizhou you rarely encountered people of foreign ethnicities, but here in the northwest, many different cultures blended together in a way that had its own particular charm.

When he said as much to Yu Jiuling, Yu Jiuling squinted his eyes and said: “Yes, yes, *its own particular charm!*”

At the time, Li Chi had felt a powerful urge to have Yu Jiuling castrated.

In truth, Jizhou — to those with ambitions of conquest in this age — was not a particularly attractive piece of real estate.

This was especially true for the various warlords of the south, men like Li Xiong-hu and Yang Xuanji.

Everyone in the south of the Yangtze knew that Jizhou was comparatively lean pickings. The south was abundant and fertile — the land of fish and rice. Whoever held more southern territory reaped proportionally greater rewards. The imperial capital of Dachu was also in the south, which made the northern frontier feel remote and severe.

Jizhou itself? The city of Liangzhou in its northwest had to contend with the Western Regions nations to the west, and guard against raiders from beyond the passes to the north. Directly north of Jizhou lay the steppe warlords on one side and the Black Wu Empire on the other. To the northeast of Jizhou lay Black Wu on one flank and the Bohai on the other.

If you commanded an army of twenty thousand stationed in the Jiangnan region and wished to march out and contest for power, you might leave five thousand to hold your home base and take fifteen thousand to campaign.

But in Jizhou, commanding that same twenty thousand — if you wanted to march south to contest for power, you might not be able to spare even five thousand.

So there were really only two kinds of people who would want to seize Jizhou.

First: those from the Yanzhou region. Anyone seeking to contest for the Central Plains would have to pass through Jizhou — there was no avoiding it.

Second: the major rebel forces from the Qingzhou and Xuzhou regions, who found it too difficult to push south, unable to overcome either Li Xiong-hu or Prince Wu. So they could only move northward — coveting either Yuzhou or setting their sights on Jizhou.

Anyone with such calculations in mind was, to put it plainly, a person of limited ambition — content with a single corner of territory to rule as their own kingdom.

Take Jizhou as an example: with the Nanping River separating it to the south, southern forces would find it hard to cross north, and northern forces would have little desire to push south. You could proclaim yourself king or emperor right there in Jizhou and be satisfied.

Li Chi and Tang Pidi had once carefully worked through the numbers for a southward campaign.

The northwest alone required a standing garrison of no fewer than thirty thousand, ready to reinforce General Dantai at Liangzhou at any time. The Dingzhou-Xinzhou-Youzhou line to the north of Jizhou required at least fifty thousand to provide timely support to the northern frontier. The garrison forces at Jicheng and Jieshizhou each counted as one full army — another thirty thousand gone.

Add in the forces garrisoning Jizhou proper and distributed across the various prefectures and counties — divide twenty thousand soldiers all those ways, and how many would remain?

If the Ning Army currently had two hundred thousand troops and wanted to march south while keeping Jizhou secure, they might be able to field as few as thirty or forty thousand.

Thirty to forty thousand men, to face Yuzhou — Prince Wu’s heartland.

As for strategic priority, the northwest was in fact more pressing than the northeast. To the northeast, Yanzhou-area forces faced only the Bohai Kingdom, and while the overland connection existed, any passage would be through mountain gorges — defensible without great difficulty. The northwest, by contrast, faced dozens of competing powers.

Dantai Yajing cast a sideways glance at Li Chi, who sat deep in thought in the carriage. She asked: “With you attending to everything this carefully, when will you ever march south?”

Li Chi said: “I’ve been in Jizhou for more than two years, and have brought it to the point where things left on the road aren’t picked up, and doors aren’t bolted at night. Days like these don’t come easily.”

He looked at Dantai Yajing: “If my abilities can only stabilize this one region of Jizhou, then I will let the people of this one region live a few years of peace.”

Dantai Yajing sighed: “You realize that when others contend for power, what they’re after is the entire realm.”

Li Chi smiled: “What I’m after is the people.”

Dantai Yajing shook her head.

Li Chi said: “I understand what you mean. Just wait a little longer. Once I can field eight thousand or more men to spare, I will certainly march south.”

Dantai Yajing sighed: “I’ve calculated how many years I can remain at your side to help you.”

He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, with a faint, quiet melancholy.

“My father is still in good health — holding Liangzhou for another ten years is well within his means. In those ten years, you need to consolidate your position in Jizhou for several of them.”

He looked at Li Chi: “The time I have left to accompany you on a southern march — no more than six or seven years.”

Li Chi smiled: “Can you guess how Old Tang would answer that?”

Dantai Yajing thought for a moment, then said: “Most likely he’d say — it takes six or seven years to take the Jiangnan region?”

Li Chi said: “No — he’d say: *only* six or seven years left? Hmm… so you’d still be able to live in the Dachu capital for five or six of them.”

Dantai Yajing burst out laughing.

Li Chi grinned: “As the ancients say — ‘a craftsman who wishes to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.’ The Ning Army is a formidable instrument. Not only must it be formidable, it must be keen-edged. So it needs a great deal more tempering.”

Dantai Yajing nodded: “I understand that reasoning too. I’m just impatient at heart… If that fellow Luo Jing really does drive straight to Jingzhou in one push…”

He said with a hint of indignation: “Do we then just hand him the entire Central Plains realm?”

Li Chi said: “If he could push all the way to Jingzhou… I would thank him warmly.”

Dantai Yajing’s eyes narrowed slightly, then he burst out laughing again.

Li Chi said: “Old Tang’s assessment of Luo Jing has always been that he is the foremost warrior in the realm — but he is no commander. He probably won’t even be able to chew through Yuzhou, let alone Jingzhou’s strategic heartland.”

He leaned back, settling himself into a more comfortable position.

“Let Little Jing go first.”

Li Chi smiled: “When he’s run out of steam, then we go.”

Dantai Yajing said: “Little Jing…”

Li Chi: “Oh, I completely forgot — you’re Little Jing too.”

Dantai Yajing: “…”

Li Chi looked over at him and said: “Little Jing, don’t wear such a long face — how about a smile?”

Dantai Yajing: “…”

—

At that same moment, in Anyang city.

For three consecutive months, Luo Jing had ordered his forces to sweep along the river in both directions, gathering every vessel they could find — regardless of type. Fishing boats belonging to villagers, cargo vessels belonging to merchant caravans — anything visible was to be requisitioned without exception.

This had been devastating for the merchants who traveled the Nanping River.

Their boats had been taken by Luo Jing, with no telling when they would be returned. And even if they were returned, would they dare go back to trading in the south? Not unless Luo Jing had already swept straight through to Jingzhou and planted his Luo-character banner atop the walls of the imperial capital Daxing. If they were seen to have lent their boats to Luo Jing’s cause, and Prince Wu came to learn of it — could he let that pass?

But what choice did they have? In times like these, whoever commanded the most soldiers called the shots.

In the three months since returning to Anyang from Jizhou, Luo Jing had assembled an enormous fleet of vessels along the northern bank of the river. He made no effort to hide it. He intended to cross openly and in broad daylight, to defeat Prince Wu openly and in broad daylight.

“Guan Feicheng.”

Luo Jing looked toward one of his senior generals.

Guan Feicheng immediately bowed: “Your subordinate is here.”

Luo Jing stepped to the great sand table, and used a baton to point at the Nanping River: “For the river-crossing engagement, you will serve as vanguard commander. I am giving you fifty thousand men.”

He asked Guan Feicheng: “If there is anything else you want, say it now.”

Guan Feicheng said: “There is something your subordinate wishes to ask, my lord.”

Luo Jing said: “Speak.”

Guan Feicheng said: “Your subordinate knows that when Your Highness conducted the eastward assault on Shu County, you took in a young man by the name of Gao Zhen…”

Before he could finish, Luo Jing burst out laughing: “Greedy of you!”

Luo Jing said: “Gao Zhen is only sixteen years old. I had originally planned to keep him with the rear army. Since you want him—”

He turned and looked at the young general and asked: “Gao Zhen, are you willing to follow Guan Feicheng into this first engagement?”

The young man answered at once: “Your subordinate is willing!”

This young man had just turned sixteen.

He was a talent discovered by chance when Luo Jing had sent forces east along the river to expand his territory. He had been personally leading a scouting unit on reconnaissance when they passed a small village. Gao Zhen was the son of a fisherman in that village, who had mistaken them for river pirates come to plunder the settlement.

This young man had single-handedly knocked down two or three dozen of Luo Jing’s elite scouts before Luo Jing himself was roused to act. Intrigued, he personally dismounted to engage — and Gao Zhen fought him to more than a dozen exchanges.

This was partly due to Luo Jing’s own fondness for talent, and partly because it had not been a fight to the death.

Luo Jing praised him without reservation and brought him back to Anyang. Once back, he gave Gao Zhen a position as one of the junior officers in his personal guard battalion, had him familiarize himself with military operations, and intended to personally oversee his development.

It had been barely a year since Gao Zhen had been brought into his ranks, and Luo Jing was curious to see what progress the boy had made.

Seeing Gao Zhen’s eagerness, Luo Jing smiled: “Guan Feicheng is vanguard commander. You are to follow his orders and not act recklessly.”

“Yes!”

Gao Zhen acknowledged the order, then looked at Luo Jing with a grin: “Though if I happen to charge ahead too fast and lose General Guan in the dust, I trust that won’t be held against me.”

Luo Jing roared with laughter.

“Guan Feicheng will serve as vanguard commander. All armies are already prepared — long since battle-ready — and all of you carry the will to fight decisively.”

Luo Jing said: “I’ve checked — the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. Day after tomorrow, at first light, we cross the river and march south!”

“Yes!”

His assembled generals answered in a single, unified voice.

—

Meanwhile, in the northwest.

Li Chi’s force on this expedition consisted of one full army — over twelve thousand combat troops, plus more than a thousand auxiliary soldiers and a thousand or so civilian laborers, making for a sizable column all told.

But Li Chi also knew that a campaign in the northwest wouldn’t require anything close to this many men.

He had brought the force not to fight with it in full, but to put it on display — to let the northwestern population see the Ning Army: vigorous, formidable, an army with the bearing of an iron wall.

The reasoning was simple: whoever looked more powerful, the people would fear more.

As President Gao had once said: governing the people requires first making them fear, then making them submit.

“This is a bit dull,” Li Chi said, glancing over at Dantai Yajing. “What if we slipped away?”

Dantai Yajing started: “You are Prince Ning!”

Li Chi said: “That whole business isn’t very interesting… The main army moves far too slowly. It’ll take another half a month just to get there. Let’s go ahead.”

He smiled and added: “Ye Celeng is capable both in civil and military affairs — this is a fine chance to let him take command too. It’s only marching the column forward. Nothing too worrying.”

Dantai Yajing was still reluctant: “Better not. If the soldiers found out Prince Ning had just slipped away, it wouldn’t look good.”

Li Chi said: “They’ll get used to it eventually.”

He looked at Yu Jiuling: “Nine-sister, pack up your things — we’re sneaking off.”

Yu Jiuling chuckled slyly: “If we move fast enough, we can carve out at least one full night’s worth of free time…”

Li Chi: “Get lost. What a mind full of filth. You’re not coming.”

Yu Jiuling said: “No, no, no — take me along, I won’t go to the brothels, alright?”

Dantai Yajing said: “If you go, take the personal guard battalion with you.”

Li Chi shook his head: “If I bring the personal guard battalion, what’s the point? It’d be just like staying in camp. If you don’t want to come, I’ll just take Nine-sister and Zhang Yuxu.”

Dantai Yajing said: “Take the Court Guard Army!”

Li Chi shook his head again: “No, no. Sightseeing and wandering — it’s no fun with a full entourage.”

Dantai Yajing sighed: “You… as Prince Ning, could you not be a little more obedient?”

Li Chi said: “As Prince Ning, it would be wrong of me to be obedient.”

He smiled: “Pack your things. We leave at dawn tomorrow.”

Dantai Yajing could not stop him. He had no choice but to go find Ye Celeng and inform him that Prince Ning would be departing ahead of the main column.

He couldn’t very well say it was because Li Chi wanted to fool around — so he said instead that Prince Ning was concerned about the urgency of military affairs in the northwest and was therefore traveling light to get there ahead of the column.

Ye Celeng thought to himself: *Prince Ning truly is extraordinary. This is what separates him from ordinary men.*

To go ahead of the army with only a handful of people — who but a man of supreme confidence could do such a thing?

Well. A man of supreme confidence who also had absolutely no shame.

Supreme confidence and no shame together — even more capable of it.

—