A sudden, urgent, and loud cry of an infant abruptly shattered the quiet night sky over Dragon Tooth City.

Inside and outside the courtyard stood people who had been anxiously waiting. At this moment, their expressions all brightened with joy, and they couldn’t help but walk toward the birthing room.

Old Zhao was still somewhat more composed, rubbing his hands together. Only when he craned his neck and saw his wife pushing open the door and walking out from the birthing room did he rush urgently to the front of the corridor to ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Childbirth for women is like passing through the gates of hell, yet you don’t ask how your daughter is doing and only care whether it’s a boy or a girl? If it’s a baby girl, do you want to throw her away?” Madam Zhao glared at Old Zhao and scolded him irritably.

“Master Zhao is just worried and confused. How is Madam’s health?” Tian Cheng stepped forward to ask.

With Han Qian leading the Chishan Army in Jinling, one could say they were proceeding with trepidation at every step, as if treading on thin ice. No one could be certain that no unexpected incidents would occur. If Zhao Ting’er could bear Han Qian a male heir at this time, the significance for stabilizing the morale of Xuzhou would be obvious.

During these two days when Zhao Ting’er was in labor, Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, and Xi Chang had all rushed to Dragon Tooth City to visit, hoping that Zhao Ting’er could bear Han Qian a male heir.

“Madam Xi thought I was getting in the way and drove me out, as if I would actually harm Ting’er! I even forgot to look whether it was a boy or a girl,” Madam Zhao said with a face full of grievance.

“Han Qian has written many times saying that when Ting’er gives birth, you shouldn’t interfere. He especially emphasized that all matters of childbirth must follow Ah-Jiu’s instructions, yet you still insisted on going over to cause trouble?” Old Zhao chided.

“Those are all old family traditions passed down from our ancestors. So many women have given birth this way – why does it become ‘causing trouble’ when it comes to my own daughter? How old is Ah-Jiu anyway? She hasn’t even married or given birth herself – what could she possibly know?” Madam Zhao said indignantly.

Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, and Xi Chang shrugged their shoulders. This was family business they couldn’t interfere with. But seeing Madam Zhao’s puffed-up appearance and hearing the vigorous crying continuing from the birthing room, they also found it inconvenient to continue pressing about whether Zhao Ting’er had given birth to a boy or girl, and could only patiently wait in the courtyard.

After quite a while, Du Jiuniang, who had been keeping watch in the birthing room for a day and a night, finally pushed open the door and walked out wearily, stretching lazily. But when she suddenly saw so many people standing in the courtyard, she was startled, stuck out her tongue, and hurriedly curtsied to Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, and the others, saying, “Madam and the young master are both safe. Congratulations to Master Zhao – you’re a grandfather now…”

Seeing that Zhao Ting’er had given birth to a boy, Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, and Xi Chang exchanged satisfied glances and smiles.

Although the young master born now might not necessarily be Han Qian’s only heir, and couldn’t even be considered a legitimate son, under current circumstances, having Han Qian leave an heir in Xuzhou meant everyone could continue doing what they needed to do without worrying that if something truly unexpected happened in Jinling, Xuzhou would also fall into division and fragmentation.

“Next, shouldn’t we send someone to Jinling to report this joyous news to the Lord?” Yang Qin asked, rubbing his hands together.

“I’ll go to Jinling to report the good news,” Xi Ren said, pushing open the door of the birthing room and walking to the front of the corridor. With the weariness of several days spent caring for Zhao Ting’er, she spoke to Tian Cheng and the others.

Xi Ren had not previously accompanied Han Qian in secretly entering Jinling, choosing instead to remain in Xuzhou, mainly to care for the pregnant Zhao Ting’er.

Now that Zhao Ting’er had safely given birth, with Du Jiuniang – who despite her young age could be called a master of gynecology – by her side to provide care, and having given birth to a young master who could set many minds at ease, Xi Ren thought it was time for her to go to Jinling and reunite with Han Qian.

……

……

By late July, the scorching heat of summer had gradually dissipated and the weather had turned cooler. However, torrential rains had been pouring down continuously across the provinces of Jiangnan East Circuit, leaving the land covered in mud. Mountain floods frequently erupted, also intensifying the increasingly severe famine in Jinling.

Fortunately, the passage from Jinling westward to Chizhou and Jiangzhou via Caishi and Dangtu had not been closed. When the disguised Xi Ren, along with Xi Fa’er and others, came ashore at the northeastern foothills of Mount Jiuhua, they could see along the way large numbers of famine refugees – skeletal, sallow, and emaciated – fleeing westward and southward.

Of course, as they traveled by boat all the way, after leaving Ezhou, the situation they observed along both banks of the Yangtze River in Jiang, Chi, Shu, and Chao provinces was not optimistic either.

Han Qian had once criticized how historians of successive dynasties wrote books focusing too narrowly on the biographical records of princes, marquises, generals, and ministers, not realizing that for the continuation of any dynasty or generation, grain, money, and commerce were fundamental. Xi Ren now felt this even more deeply.

After the Jinling Incident, Anning Palace’s control over Shu, Jiang, Chi, Shou, Chao, Chu, and Lu – the six provinces to the west and north of Jinling – had been strengthened. However, obstructed by the Chuzhou Army, they had lost control over the provinces of Jiangdong before the new year.

Not only had they lost the grain and money supply from the provinces east of the Yangtze, but the salt fields under the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner were mainly distributed along the coastal tidal flats east of Chuzhou and Yangzhou, now fallen under the control of the Chuzhou Army.

With the Jinling Incident and the Chuzhou Army raising their banner in rebellion, the massive salt administration staff established under the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner by Great Chu, which could previously raise over a million strings of cash in salt profit annually, was also lost.

Yet at this time, besides the salaries of court officials and nearly ten thousand eunuchs and palace maids within the Imperial City, a total of up to one hundred and twenty thousand Southern Quarter Forbidden Army troops and Shouzhou Army troops distributed inside and outside Jinling City, as well as fifty to sixty thousand government slaves including the elderly, weak, women, and children, all needed to be supported by the Ministry of Finance.

At this time, Xu Mingzhen commanded forty thousand elite Shouzhou Army troops on the northern bank of the Yangtze, waiting for an opportunity to attack Chu and Yang provinces while also tying down a portion of the Chuzhou Army’s elite forces on the northern bank of the Yangtze River. And with Li Zhigao leading his troops to station in Ezhou to recruit and train soldiers, Anning Palace was also forced to increase the garrison at Jiangzhou – Anning Palace’s military pay and fodder expenses outside Jinling had not only not decreased but had further expanded.

All of this made Jinling’s fiscal deficit grow larger and larger.

However, everything had to be maintained, so Anning Palace could only continuously increase grain levies from Jinling’s subordinate counties and the six provinces of Jiang, Chi, Shu, Chao, Chu, and Shou.

Three grain levies in half a year, each one larger than the last.

The aristocratic families and powerful clans then transferred a considerable portion of miscellaneous taxes and levies onto the common people.

Unable to bear the heavy burden, the populace either fled their lands to avoid harsh taxes and heavy levies, or gathered in groups to resist taxes and levies.

As Xi Ren traveled eastward by small boat, she saw that in Jiang, Chi, Shu, and Chao provinces, the crowds of famine refugees were growing larger and larger, and civil unrest was occurring one after another – though of course, the worst scenario Han Qian had most feared had not occurred. Although there were many famine refugees along the way, by searching rivers and mountains, they could always find food to barely get by day to day.

With military chaos and horse turmoil around Jinling’s periphery, during summer and autumn when the Yangtze waters swelled and flooded, the vast majority of waterways in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, due to the lack of river embankments to constrain them, had water surfaces often dozens or even over a hundred miles wide. No matter how many warships and troops the River Fleet and the naval camps of provinces like Jiang and Chi had, there was no way to completely blockade the Yangtze waterways.

Add to this the large numbers of famine refugees depending on the river for food – when Xi Ren left Ezhou and changed to a small black-awning boat, she became quite inconspicuous.

After coming ashore at the northeastern foothills of Mount Jiuhua, traveling by day and resting by night, they similarly progressed smoothly, hugging Mount Jiuhua all the way east, entering Guangde Stronghold on the third day of the eighth month.

“You fellow, your days have been much more comfortable than ours. Look how white and sturdy you’ve grown! This time I’m going to have the Lord keep you here too, to accompany us and properly share some hardship,” Guo Que said. When Han Qian heard the report, he had specifically instructed Guo Que to come welcome Xi Ren and her group into Guangde Stronghold. Guo Que had an extremely deep friendship with Xi Fa’er, and upon seeing him, happily punched his chest with his fist.

Guo Que could also be considered an important general in the army. Seeing the pallor of hunger on his face, combined with what they had seen and heard all along the way since entering the northern foothills of Mount Fuyu, Xi Ren knew that the Chishan Army’s situation in the northern foothills of Mount Fuyu was even worse than what they had observed along the river and what they had anticipated beforehand in Xuzhou.

Upon inquiring with Guo Que, Xi Ren learned that over three hundred thousand soldiers and their families could normally only receive one-third of their standard grain rations to barely maintain survival, and even so, the army’s grain stores were only sufficient to last a dozen or so days.

In comparison, the Chuzhou Army’s situation was still the best.

After all, with the forces the Chuzhou Army had brought across the river, they were sufficient to control Run, Chang, and Su – the three provinces on the northern shore of Lake Tai.

And these three provinces had extremely abundant grain. Just the grain taxes accumulated from last year and not yet submitted amounted to over a million dan.

Additionally, the Chuzhou Army had immediately taken control of the Huaidong salt fields.

Although both the Zhejiang regions of Hu and Hang were recruiting and training soldiers for self-protection, they were more willing to maintain neutrality before the Chuzhou Army achieved another decisive great victory. But to ensure their own needs, they would not refuse Huaidong salt entering their regions – this could actually raise over a million strings of cash in military funds for the Chuzhou Army.

Apart from Yueyang, which controlled the nine provinces of Hunan, among the three forces currently entangled in and around Jinling, only the Chuzhou Army could truly speak of having strong troops and vigorous horses with the best situation.

Following Guo Que directly into the courtyard where Han Qian usually handled military affairs and resided, Xi Ren saw from afar a graceful silhouette walking out from the study inside, passing through the moon gate of the covered corridor and heading toward the western courtyard.

That person walked hurriedly, carrying a large stack of books in her arms. Just looking at the side profile of her figure, she was extremely beautiful. Xi Ren didn’t get to see her face clearly, but seeing this person enter such a place of military secrets with all the guards in the courtyard acting as if this were perfectly normal, she thought to herself that this fellow Han Qian was certainly not lonely – who had he gotten entangled with now?

She found it inconvenient to directly ask Guo Que, but seeing that the eastern courtyard appeared even more heavily guarded than where Han Qian managed military affairs, she asked curiously, “What kind of place is that over there, with so many guards standing around?”

“The Lord is currently accompanying the Old Master and the Second Master in conversation there. The Lord said when Madam Xi arrives, to go directly over there,” Guo Que said.

“Old Master? Han Wenhuan?” Xi Ren didn’t know about the plan to win over Gu Zhilong’s surrender. Hearing Guo Que say this, she was truly startled, thinking that Han Wenhuan should be in Yueyang at this time. And back when the old master Han Daoxun had died under cruel torture, even if Han Daoming and Han Daochang were not the most direct culprits, they couldn’t escape the crime of adding insult to injury. How could he have the face to suddenly run to Han Qian’s place?

Although winning over Gu Zhilong’s surrender was an absolute secret, Xi Ren was definitely a core figure qualified to know about such matters. Moreover, Han Qian had already instructed Guo Que to bring Xi Ren directly to the eastern courtyard to see him.

Leading Xi Ren and Xi Fa’er toward the heavily guarded eastern side courtyard, Guo Que quietly told them the important points about winning over Gu Zhilong’s surrender: “It’s really quite a coincidence – the Old Master arrived just one step ahead of you, coming together with Marquis Xinchang.”

Xi Ren had too many questions in her heart, but for now she could only suppress her doubts and wait to see Han Qian before saying anything more.