Fine snow drifted under the eaves. The bronze bell hanging below had a layer of frost condensed on its chain, unmoved by the wind.

Inside the warm pavilion, Wen Yu held a purple clay teapot and poured a cup of hot tea for Gu Xiyun. Amidst the rising white steam, she asked: “Are you adjusting well in the army?”

Gu Xiyun held the tea bowl with both hands: “Officer Xiao Zhou has already familiarized me with all military affairs. These days escorting grain with the army, I’ve basically adapted to military life. General Chen Wei has approved my accompanying the army when attacking Xiangzhou. I hear Xiangzhou is defended by the Han family’s Han Qi, who proclaims himself the Han family spear is the world’s number one spear.”

Her expression showed much displeasure, but soon transformed into another kind of spirit: “Hatefully, when my elder brother became famous, he never showed his face. After all the Gu family men died on battlefields, he dares to brazenly announce such a title. I naturally must take my Gu family’s Tyrant Spear and reclaim the title of world’s number one spear!”

Wen Yu also poured herself a cup of tea. Holding the tea cup with one hand, after hearing this, her movements paused slightly as she advised: “Battlefields are perilous. Everything requires careful adherence to military orders. You cannot act impetuously.”

Gu Xiyun had just taken a sip of tea while holding the cup. Finding it somewhat hot, she fanned her hand toward her lips, looking at Wen Yu incredulously: “You’re actually worried I won’t follow military orders? Have you forgotten four years ago during the Hexi bandit troubles, when my father was ordered to suppress bandits, I recklessly begged my brother to take me along? In the end, though I did establish merit, when my father saw me in the bandit den, that look in his eyes nearly had my brother torn apart alive. He immediately awarded my brother twenty military lashes, beating his buttocks into a rotten tomato. He couldn’t get out of bed for three days. It just so happened not long after was your birthday. I helped deliver the gift to you, lying and telling you he’d fallen from horseback and injured his leg, making him immobile in the short term.”

With Gu Xiyun bringing up this past incident, the two seemed to return to their former days at the Prince’s Manor. Wen Yu shook her head with a smile, yet still said: “That time you were truly quite bold. Changfeng Elder Brother actually allowed you to recklessly disguise yourself as a merchant’s daughter to be captured by that bandit nest as an inside agent. If you’d truly come to harm, what would have been done?”

Gu Xiyun’s expression suddenly became somewhat embarrassed: “Previously, mindful of my brother’s dignity, I didn’t dare tell you—that time he agreed to let me do that because he disguised himself as my maidservant and was captured into the bandit den together with me!”

Wen Yu was slightly stunned. In her memory, Gu Xiyun’s elder brother had always been steady and refined like her own brother, quite fitting the phrase “an upright gentleman.”

She hadn’t expected there was such a time. She couldn’t help but feel amused.

Gu Xiyun laughed for a while, yet her eyes reddened as if about to cry. She grinned and continued laughing: “When my father punished my brother with military lashes, he said I wasn’t part of his military camp, so he wouldn’t punish me. But my brother, as his subordinate general, daring to commit such an offense, had to be dealt with by military regulations. This lesson was indeed more effective than having my own buttocks beaten into a rotten tomato.”

Having similarly lost father and brothers, Wen Yu understood Gu Xiyun’s state of mind. She didn’t say many comforting words, only: “You will become a good general like Uncle Gu and Changfeng Elder Brother.”

Gu Xiyun forcefully raised her eyes upward, forcing back the soreness, and smiled: “Naturally!”

Before the two could say anything more, the warm pavilion’s door curtain was lifted from outside. Zhao Bai strode in, presenting an urgent report in his hands to Wen Yu: “Princess, a battle report from the front lines.”

After Wen Yu opened and read it, seeming to contemplate something, she didn’t immediately speak. She passed the battle report to Gu Xiyun, saying: “Take a look.”

After reading it, Gu Xiyun said: “We’ve reclaimed several more counties from that dog thief Pei Song’s hands. This is good news.”

Wen Yu said: “Pei Song is conscripting troops.”

Gu Xiyun looked again at what the battle report mentioned—civilians fleeing war, with refugees migrating from the Central Plains to the southern border suddenly increasing. She asked: “Is the Princess worried that Pei’s side will likely make a desperate stand, and with severe winter, the refugees entering the border will be difficult to manage?”

Wen Yu shook her head, her long lashes lowering slightly: “This time last year, when Pei Song broke through Luodu, he was still reaping benefits after my father and the Ao faction fought to mutual destruction. But when he captured Fengyang, it also had quite a bit to do with many commoners resenting Great Liang.”

Even though Prince Changlian and his son, along with all the upright ministers, were desperately contending against the Ao faction and the Empress Dowager to save the people’s livelihood.

But the lowest-level commoners under heaven, unable even to secure food and warmth, how could they know of her father and brother’s actions and those court disputes? They would know even less that Pei Song was precisely the one who helped the Ao faction commit violence and exploit them.

When news of Luodu’s fall and Great Liang’s impending collapse reached these lowest-level commoners’ ears, having been oppressed for years by corrupt officials bred during the outer relatives’ governance, they naturally harbored bellies full of resentment toward the court and corrupt government, only hoping to overthrow the old dynasty and rebuild a new one for better days.

Those who harbored extreme hatred toward all officials and wealthy merchants would likely join the rebels, helping together to destroy this crumbling edifice.

Pei Song’s rebel army—which plundered, abused, and massacred wherever it fought—was initially assembled this way.

They hated Great Liang, hated everyone living good lives. Anger and greed made them unstoppable.

Slaughter, plunder, becoming people above others.

Massacred lands were filled with wails of grief, but whether poor or rich, when armies pressed down they mostly died, so civil voices crying injustice and denouncing his Pei camp were very few.

When she wrote proclamations in Yongzhou painfully exposing Pei Song’s various evil deeds, they spread most widely among the world’s scholars.

Pei Song’s city massacre intimidation also most greatly affected provincial officials. Though ordinary commoners would discuss it anxiously, after all, these were matters of other prefectures and counties. Since the butcher’s blade hadn’t fallen on their own heads, they wouldn’t be too terrified. After cursing a bit, the matter would pass.

This struggle for the realm, to them, was all the power holders’ business. Whoever sat on that dragon throne, they would still alike be calculating for three meals and warmth.

Only when war spread to them, when fleeing with family in tow, would they feel catastrophe looming.

Pei Song seemed to have seen through the lowest-level commoners’ numbness and dullness toward all this, using war to feed war and supply military needs. For the most fiercely resisting prefectures, he used city massacres to let subordinate officers vent their hatred, while using this to intimidate weak provincial governments into voluntarily surrendering.

For captured cities, perhaps due to various reasons he briefly made subordinate armies restrain themselves, but once wartime came, his true nature was again fully exposed.

In all last year’s warfare, benevolence toward commoners seemed the most ridiculous and useless thing.

Hearing Wen Yu say this, Gu Xiyun thought she was heartbroken because Prince Changlian and his son worked so devotedly yet commoners helped the tyrant’s evil. She said: “What the commoners resented wasn’t the Prince and Heir, but Great Liang controlled by outer relatives at that time. The Great Liang the Princess has now reformed is already different from the past. The commoners will eventually understand.”

Wen Yu’s eyes were darkly calm: “I haven’t minded this matter. Rather, I feel the commoners’ resentment toward Great Liang then seems to have transferred to Pei Song.”

Gu Xiyun’s face showed confusion. Zhao Bai also immediately cast his gaze over.

Wen Yu picked up that battle report again, telling the two: “The number of refugees fleeing from the Central Plains to the southern border this time far exceeds when Pei Song raised his rebellion banner last year. Moreover, the Pei camp is so conspicuously conscripting while two armies face off, which further indicates his Pei camp’s military situation is already quite pessimistic.”

Gu Xiyun said joyfully: “That dog thief Pei Song has completely lost the people’s hearts?”

Wen Yu said: “The commoners resented former Liang because when outer relatives controlled everything, the people had already suffered over ten years of oppression by corrupt officials. But after Pei Song rebelled, he also didn’t change heaven and earth for them. His subordinate rebels instead became habituated to burning, killing, and plundering, forcing all prefectures’ commoners into even more unbearable suffering. So when Pei Song first rebelled, he could rally hundreds to respond. But this year’s time has been enough for all under heaven’s commoners to see his true face clearly.”

Even if lowest-level commoners didn’t understand governance, whether their entire family could survive or not, they could still distinguish clearly.

Those fierce and vicious thugs willing to follow Pei Song in burning, killing, plundering, and abusing to vent hatred had all rushed to his army early in the year.

The commoners now arduously surviving in the flames of war were without exception only wanting to live peaceful lives.

Pei Song likely still wanted to conscript a city-massacring force as before, but forgot that currently, the one forcing his subordinate commoners into having no way to live was himself.

Wen Yu’s five fingers pressed that letter report back onto the desk. Under the two’s gaze, she said clearly and gravely: “We still need to add fuel to the fire, letting all under heaven’s commoners see a better way out.”

“Distribute porridge and send clothing. Clear out the vacant civilian houses in all prefectures and properly settle all refugees fleeing from within the passes.”

With such a hope of settling down peacefully in the southern border, commoners within the passes would even more not submit to Pei Song’s tyranny.

Gu Xiyun, having just been responsible for escorting grain, hesitated somewhat: “But the grain stored in Pingzhou isn’t much anymore…”

Wen Yu furrowed her brow slightly: “Set aside the porridge grain first. Afterwards I’ll discuss with Minister Li, moving out portions of grain seeds from our governed prefectures to use as military rations, then before spring reopens trade routes outside Bairen Pass, selling out the silk accumulated within the passes since war began, exchanging it back for grain seeds.”

Gu Xiyun could no longer sit still. Standing up: “This plan sounds feasible, but there should still be many minute details needing discussion with Minister Li and the others. I happen to need to make a trip to the army, so I’ll convey word for Minister Li to come over.”

Wen Yu nodded. Gu Xiyun hurriedly lifted the curtain and departed.

Zhao Bai, feeling a great defeat of Pei Song was in sight, also said: “This slave will dispatch more Azure Cloud Guards to secretly approach the Heir’s Consort in Fengyang!”

Wen Yu asked: “Have the people sent before transmitted any news back?”

Zhao Bai shook his head, his face showing slight difficulty: “We’ve only learned the Heir’s Consort is now pregnant, guarded day and night strictly by Pei Song’s running dogs. Our people cannot infiltrate.”

When Jiang Yichu proposed using herself as bait to have the Azure Cloud Guards lead Grand Tutor Yu and other old ministers to escape Fengyang, she hadn’t informed them she was pregnant.

Wen Yu thought briefly: “Have them shift to watching A’yin closely.”

Zhao Bai was slightly stunned, then understood. Pei Song had always used the young County Princess to threaten the Heir’s Consort. Their people currently couldn’t approach the courtyard where the Heir’s Consort was confined under house arrest, nor could they confirm whether the person confined inside was actually the Heir’s Consort.

But as long as they kept close watch on the young County Princess, they could likewise know whether the Heir’s Consort was still in Fengyang now.

He cupped his fists: “This slave will give orders immediately.”

Turning to head outside, he suddenly paused again. Seeming slightly hesitant, he then opened his mouth to ask: “Princess, does this slave need to dispatch people to the Northern Territory again to abduct the person?”

Wen Yu was somewhat surprised, her eyes holding some amusement as she looked toward Zhao Bai.

Zhao Bai’s face remained expressionless, only his complexion seemed somewhat more rigid, saying somewhat stiffly: “He is trapped for the Princess’s sake. We Azure Cloud Guards owe him a debt of gratitude.”