Liu Wenji did not immediately agree to cooperate with the Southern Barbarians.

He first settled the envoy in his private residence. He placated them, saying he needed a few days to consider.

The envoy gave a cold laugh, knowing Liu Wenji wanted to wait for battle reports before making his decision. As a Southern Barbarian, the envoy instinctively looked down on Great Wei’s military strength. How could the Southern Barbarians lose to Great Wei on the battlefield? If this Lord Liu wanted to wait and see, then let him.

In the following days, battle reports arriving in Chang’an all concerned the two fronts. The Hexi battlefield held Great Wei’s main force, where elite troops were stationed year-round to guard against neighboring nomadic tribes.

The Southern Barbarians had gained no advantage on the Hexi front in the short term.

For years, due to geographical advantages and disadvantages, the Hexi battlefield had been the main battleground between Great Wei and surrounding nomadic tribes. In previous years when Great Wei fought the Wu Barbarians, the battles were also in Hexi. This time, although Great Wei had foreseen changes in the Southern Barbarians’ situation through Yang Sanlang’s eyes, the court believed that if the Southern Barbarians wanted to attack Great Wei, the main battlefield would still be Hexi.

Even now, except for Liu Wenji who had his suspicions after talking with the Southern Barbarian envoy, others in Great Wei hadn’t realized that this time, the Southern Barbarians had placed their main force on the Jiannan battlefield.

Great Wei only shared borders with the Southern Barbarians through Longyou and Jiannan. Longyou had geographical advantages, while Jiannan’s terrain was treacherous… who would ignore Hexi to focus on Jiannan?

Unless the Southern Barbarians’ goal in this war was to capture Jiannan.

Jiannan previously bordered the Wu Barbarians, who had suffered many losses there when fighting Great Wei. After the Wu Barbarians returned to the Southern Barbarians, King Ale recognized Jiannan’s vital position, knowing that as long as Jiannan stood, the Southern Barbarians would find it difficult to break into the interior and reach Great Wei’s truly prosperous regions.

Only by making Jiannan their own… would future wars against Great Wei become much easier.

Of course, Hexi was also important. If they captured Hexi and broke through Yumen Pass, they could sweep across thousands of miles of plains straight to Chang’an, capturing the Great Wei Emperor… the benefits would be just as great.

The Southern Barbarian King Ale was ambitious this time, mobilizing all troops nationwide, claiming to have an army of 400,000, divided into two forces. Whichever front achieved a breakthrough first would receive support.

Battle reports continued to circulate among officials in Chang’an daily. With war at hand, the Ministry of War became a hot spot. Not only did Prime Minister Liu constantly inquire, but even Liu Wenji asked for reports three times a day, putting immense pressure on the Minister of War.

Even more pressure came from the poor results in the reports.

King Ale personally commanded the forces, determined to take Jiannan in one strike. The Jiannan border was the first to see action, and in recent days, all reports from Jiannan spoke of defeats, leaving Prime Minister Liu’s face as black as a pot, gloomy all day. Among the constant defeats, the occasional few victories drew much attention—

In the court discussion, both eunuchs and scholars stopped arguing and sat down together to study the military situation.

Prime Minister Liu pondered thoughtfully while looking at the “victories” in the battle report: “Who led these troops? Promote these victorious commanders, grant them titles and positions, and send them to the main battlefield!”

The Minister of War wiped his sweat, extremely embarrassed: “These few victories were just luck, they can’t be considered the norm…”

Prime Minister Liu asked: “Who led the troops?”

The Minister avoided the question: “Although we’re at a temporary disadvantage, our army has abundant supplies…”

Prime Minister Liu repeated: “Who led the troops?”

Liu Wenji gave a light laugh from the side, his tone sarcastic: “Minister Luo, if the Ministry of War is this incompetent, are you planning to fill the battlefield with soldiers’ lives? No matter how abundant the supplies, they will run out. Besides, does Great Wei not need money for other things? Is the Ministry of Revenue only supplying the Ministry of War?

“As I know, two days ago news came from Hebei that the great earth dragon awakened there, killing many people; the rainy season has come, and this year floods in Huainan and Jiangnan have breached the dikes, submerging many houses, even local government offices were washed away.

“Not to mention distant matters, let’s talk about nearby ones. The palace halls leaked due to age, and the other day several rooms in Noble Consort Xian’s palace collapsed, killing several palace maids and eunuchs, even the Crown Prince was frightened and sent to stay with other consorts. The palace needs money for repairs. Today it’s just a few palace maids killed, but what if one day it’s Noble Consort Xian or His Majesty… that wouldn’t be good.

“Also, His Majesty wants to leave Chang’an for an imperial tour, but the Secretariat keeps refusing to approve, and His Majesty has been quite unhappy these past few days.

“You see, each matter requires silver from the Ministry of Revenue. Even though the war is urgent, our matters can be delayed, but no matter how pressing the war is, if we keep throwing resources in without seeing results, it seems pointless, doesn’t it?”

The officials from the Ministry of War glared at him angrily.

Prime Minister Liu turned to Liu Wenji, his tone cold: “So, what suggestions does Lord Liu have? Perhaps you possess extraordinary talent and unique insights into military affairs?”

Liu Wenji smiled: “I wouldn’t dare. When military efforts fail, remove the commander. I merely think that if the Minister of War cannot perform his duties well, letting someone else take over would be fine. Or else… if Great Wei truly cannot win this war, making peace would also be acceptable.”

Immediately, an uproar erupted among the scholars, leading to a new round of arguments.

As all the ministers began arguing over this matter, in the chaos, only a Lang official from the Ministry of Rites, Wei Shu, the seventh son of the Wei family, remained quiet and silent.

Wei Shu watched their arguments with perfect calm, thoughtfully observing the scholar faction led by Prime Minister Liu, noting how noble families and common scholars had unexpectedly joined forces to attack the eunuchs; then he looked at Liu Wenji, whose words were sharp and quick.

Wei Shu’s eyelashes flickered as he lowered his eyes, unconsciously rubbing the wooden armrest: Liu Wenji’s eyes showed anxiety.

What was he anxious about?

What was running out of time?

Could it be that Liu Wenji particularly hoped for Great Wei to win this war?

Wei Shu frowned, feeling this wasn’t like the Liu Wenji he knew. Of course, he had only spoken with Liu Wenji a few times when he was fourteen or fifteen. So much time had passed, Liu Wenji had changed so much, and Wei Shu no longer recognized this person at all.

But there was someone who would understand Liu Wenji better than him.

Wei Shu decided to write to Yan Shang when he returned, informing him of Liu Wenji’s unusual behavior and asking if Yan Shang could discern anything—

This court session ended with the Minister of War angrily requesting to resign. Liu Wenji, without blinking an eye, pushed Lord Zhao, a powerful figure from the Zhao family who had extremely good relations with him, into the position of Minister of War. The scholars had no choice; they couldn’t just watch Great Wei sue for peace.

But it was the scholar faction suffering defeats, and the great eunuch Liu Wenji refused to let go, insisting someone must take responsibility.

Looking at that Lord Zhao who followed Liu Wenji’s every word, Prime Minister Liu couldn’t be bothered to look again and stormed off.

After leaving the hall, having calmed somewhat, Prime Minister Liu asked a eunuch behind him: “What has His Majesty been doing these past days?”

The eunuch lowered his head: “His Majesty is worried about the war, he went to the imperial tombs to pay respects to the ancestors, and after returning, he has been secluded in his hall for days, fasting and praying for Great Wei’s fortune.”

Prime Minister Liu immediately gave a cold laugh—who would believe that an emperor who doesn’t even attend court discussions claims to be fasting and praying for Great Wei’s fortune?

But Prime Minister Liu waved his hand irritably, thinking that as long as the emperor stayed quietly in the palace and didn’t cause trouble, he could do as he pleased.

As Prime Minister Liu descended the steps, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask the Minister of War, but as he turned, he saw the officials in twos and threes, all in their solemn official robes, purple and crimson, imposing in their bearing. Prime Minister Liu then remembered that the Minister of War had just resigned and was no longer among this group of officials.

Standing on the steps, though people were everywhere, Prime Minister Liu suddenly felt empty, as if there was no one beside him.

An official asked with concern: “Prime Minister, are you unwell?”

Prime Minister Liu came back to himself: “I’m getting old, my mind wandered.”

The official pretended not to notice the momentary weariness in Prime Minister Liu’s eyes, only saying: “Prime Minister, take care of your health, we all rely on you.”

Prime Minister Liu nodded and asked the Right Vice Minister of War who happened to pass by: “Earlier your minister didn’t say who led those few victories. He kept hesitating, what was the reason?”

The Vice Minister carefully looked back at the Golden Palace Hall behind them and said quietly: “There was no other reason, it’s because that person bears the crime of rebellion, and His Majesty is watching, so we didn’t dare to promote him—it’s Yang Sanlang, Yang Si.”

Prime Minister Liu fell silent, understanding the reason at once—His Majesty was petty, afraid of seeing someone who had previously plotted rebellion with the Crown Prince being pardoned, it would make him uncomfortable.

Prime Minister Liu sighed, planning to write to Yan Shang when he returned, leaving the matter of Yang Sanlang for Yan Shang to handle.

His steps on the stairs were unsteady, his back increasingly hunched. Perhaps he was getting old, lately, he often couldn’t sleep and felt tired… he thought that after this war ended, it would be time for him to resign. But by then, he would need to recall Yan Suchen to Chang’an.

Among his several students, Yan Suchen was the one he trusted most. Not because his other students’ political skills were inferior to Yan Shang’s, but because Yan Shang, though deeply involved in politics, could still maintain his integrity—that was rare. When the time came, his students and the Liu family along with other noble families would support Yan Shang, and Yan Shang would suppress the eunuchs, then Prime Minister Liu could leave with peace of mind.

He was old now, it was time to enjoy some peace.

After resigning, he would leave Chang’an and live with his favorite granddaughter and grandson-in-law. Two years ago, his granddaughter had given him a great-grandson, whom he hadn’t even seen yet… Thinking of Liu Ruozhu, whom he had personally taught, Prime Minister Liu’s eyes softened with warmth.

Yet there were still many worries.

Because his grandson-in-law now served in Hexi, Liu Ruozhu had followed her husband there. With the tense military situation in Hexi now, private letters had to give way to military intelligence… Prime Minister Liu hadn’t been able to contact his granddaughter for a long time.

He was very worried about them.

But he was Great Wei’s Prime Minister. With an incompetent emperor, the Prime Minister governed—he couldn’t put personal feelings above state affairs.

Only in the dead of night could he pray for his granddaughter’s family to safely weather this crisis—

The Four Commanderies of Hexi were Hexi’s four most important passes. When the war began, all of Longyou entered wartime status. Because Longyou had long bordered foreign countries, military officials had always held more authority there. When the Southern Barbarians attacked Longyou, all civil official groups in Longyou gave way to military officials.

Military officials fought while civil officials relocated civilians—this was already a well-practiced cooperation after so many years of development in Longyou.

Liu Ruozhu’s husband, Lin Dao, was such a civil official.

When the area under his jurisdiction was engulfed by war, he joined other officials in moving civilians toward the interior. Civilians were unwilling to leave their homeland, reluctant to abandon their homes and grain stores, all requiring officials to forcefully drive them away. In Lin Dao’s case, as soon as he and Liu Ruozhu discovered something was wrong, they had already sent their wet nurse and servants to flee inland with their young son.

Liu Ruozhu couldn’t leave.

Because, unlike ordinary civilians, she had to preserve those precious books and cultural relics that had been painstakingly collected from various countries over many years.

Those books and manuscripts were treasures passed down through thousands of years. If consumed by the flames of war, everything would be lost. How could Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao abandon the classics they had collected over many years in Hexi?

Therefore, they could only flee with their two carts of stored books. When they encountered civilians along the way, the couple helped rescue them too. Although they occasionally encountered warfare on this journey and lost some books, it was much better than abandoning everything.

Longyou’s terrain varied greatly, with both endless deserts and vast fertile plains.

In the afternoon, Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao hid behind a dune. After eating some dried food, they rested with the civilians in a sheltered spot. Lin Dao’s brows were furrowed as he looked at their cart of books.

Liu Ruozhu held his hand, and he looked at his wife. Liu Ruozhu said softly: “Don’t worry, husband. My grandfather is in court, he certainly won’t watch Hexi fall into Southern Barbarian hands. Once we reach the foot of the Qinling Mountains, we’ll be safe. We will preserve these books.”

Lin Dao: “If there isn’t time, you protect the books and lead the civilians away. The Southern Barbarians will need to negotiate with Hexi officials, I’ll buy time for you all.”

Liu Ruozhu was stunned.

She stared at him unblinkingly, her eyes like starlight, with fragments of stars flowing within.

She said: “Are you afraid Hexi will fall into Southern Barbarian hands? No, it won’t. The central government won’t abandon Hexi… my grandfather won’t abandon Hexi.”

Lin Dao embraced her shoulders, saying: “I’m just talking about the worst case. We should prepare for the worst… Hexi is too important, how could the central government let it go? Just worried about possibilities.”

Liu Ruozhu held back tears: “There are no such possibilities. Even if there were, I wouldn’t abandon my husband to flee alone. I will stay with you.”

Lin Dao scolded: “Nonsense! You’ve always been sensible, how can you not know what’s important at this time? If you stay with me, who will look after these civilians, who will protect these books we’ve worked so hard to preserve and spent so much effort to acquire, who will care for our child? Ruozhu, don’t be childish.”

Liu Ruozhu turned her face to look at the undulating dunes. Moisture clung to her eyelashes as she said softly: “Husband, that’s not how it works. If things get that bad… I will prepare well with you, arrange everything. But I won’t leave you alone.

“It’s not about having no choice, but in this world, the only one who will accompany me for life is you, husband. A person’s life cannot be reborn, and regrets over missed chances cannot be remedied. Since our aspirations align, we should naturally live and die together.”

Lin Dao looked down at her. He couldn’t help but laugh, thinking they were worrying too much. He gripped her hand, about to say something when a civilian suddenly shouted: “Enemy troops are coming, Lord, Lady, enemy troops are coming—I see the Southern Barbarians’ flags!”

Lin Dao and Liu Ruozhu’s expressions changed simultaneously, immediately calling everyone to action: “Quick, everyone gets down, hide—the wind and sand are heavy here, we’re not soldiers, they might not notice us. Everyone hide well, don’t come out!”

Looking at their two large carts of books, the couple gritted their teeth and abandoned them—leaving it to fate.

The Southern Barbarians were illiterate, didn’t understand Great Wei’s writing, and disdained to learn it. These books were useless to them, they would mostly be uninterested, at most throwing away a few books…

Losing a few books to save everyone’s lives would be good enough—

The night wind blew at the window, creating a gap that let in a cool breeze, startling awake the young man who had been bent over his desk.

In the deep night of Lingnan, Yan Shang was suddenly awakened by the wind. As he raised his head, he met the gaze of Mu Wanyao who was standing beside him, holding a candle and studying him. Yan Shang pulled his shoulders together, discovering an outer robe had been draped over them.

Feeling bad about making Mu Wanyao worry about his overwork, he glanced at her sheepishly and asked: “What is it?”

Mu Wanyao suppressed her concern for him. Since the war began, Yan Shang hadn’t been sleeping well, waiting every day for news from Chang’an. Sometimes she felt resentful, thinking if he cared so much, he might as well return to Chang’an… cursing Lingnan for being too remote, making news transmission so slow.

Mu Wanyao said softly: “Letters have come from Chang’an, I brought them to you.”

Yan Shang’s spirits lifted, the anxiety between his brows slightly relaxing.

Setting down the candlestick, Mu Wanyao sat beside him, holding several letters that the couple opened together. There were letters from various ministers at court, from Prime Minister Liu, and Wei Shu.

Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao learned of the current situation from the ministers’ letters. Both felt troubled, not expecting the military operations to suffer such repeated setbacks—after all these years when Great Wei faced the Southern Barbarians, they were still militarily weak. Then the couple read Prime Minister Liu’s letter, which included battle reports mentioning Yang Sanlang’s few victories.

Mu Wanyao: “Since there’s someone who can fight, they should promote him. What is the central government worried about?”

Yan Shang said blandly: “They’re worried about His Majesty’s feelings.”

Mu Wanyao paused, then snorted.

They then read Wei Shu’s letter. While Mu Wanyao didn’t notice anything special, Yan Shang fixated on the passage about Liu Wenji’s unusual behavior, reading it over and over.

While Mu Wanyao was studying Prime Minister Liu’s letter, wondering why he would write to Yan Shang about Yang Sanlang when the central government couldn’t control him, Yan Shang suddenly said: “Liu Wenji probably has dealings with the Southern Barbarians.”

The candle flame sputtered, and Mu Wanyao sharply raised her face.

Mu Wanyao: “Your wild guesses without evidence won’t work.”

Yan Shang: “Back then Liu Wenji secretly killed Luo Xiu, who was one of the Wu Barbarian envoys. I discovered court officials were sharing Great Wei’s intelligence with Luo Xiu, and later found that the person might have been Liu Wenji. But then… I was imprisoned, and couldn’t pursue the matter further. I had warned Liu Wenji to be careful, but if Ju Yuan’s judgment was correct, Liu Wenji is problematic.”

Mu Wanyao’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

She said: “Your imprisonment… though partly due to your reckless youthful behavior, thinking about it now, Liu Wenji might have been pushing things from behind.”

Yan Shang remained silent.

After several years, of peeling back the layers, certain deeply hidden political factors that had never been discovered emerged from the abyss, revealing their ugly faces, mockingly watching the couple.

Once one trace was found, more traces appeared.

Mu Wanyao gnashed her teeth: “He’s truly despicable!”

Yan Shang didn’t wish to dwell on his past imprisonment, so he sighed and said no more. However, both became serious—if they discovered Liu Wenji was problematic, they would need to readjust their methods of influencing Chang’an…

Mu Wanyao picked up a letter from the desk, seeing it contained a map of Jiannan. The attack routes and troop distributions throughout Jiannan had been clearly marked by Yan Shang. This extremely detailed strategic map was intended for Chang’an.

Mu Wanyao mocked Yan Shang: “You’re a civil official, isn’t it inappropriate for you to command others in battle?”

Yan Shang pinched his brow, saying: “I’m not commanding, this is from Sanlang’s letter sent through Xiaozhou a few days ago, I’m just copying it for the central government…”

He paused: “But now we can’t use it.”

If someone at court wasn’t on their side, this map would harm Great Wei. Although they weren’t certain if Liu Wenji had betrayed Great Wei… better to be cautious.

Yan Shang spread out the letter again, beginning to casually write some random military commands… It didn’t matter if his commands were casual, his main role was to take a stance, to urge Chang’an to fight, and to press the Ministry of War to advance the war effort.

Seeing Yan Shang busy again, Mu Wanyao said no more. She gently pressed his thin shoulders, then rose and closed the door as she left. Mu Wanyao leaned against the study door, listening to the scratching sound of the writing brush inside. She thought about how Yan Shang had participated in Chang’an’s military exercises with Yang Sanlang back then—though Yan Shang couldn’t fight himself, he might well be able to command others.

Fang Tong carried a lamp, seeing the Princess had been standing in the frost for too long. The Princess was frail, and he feared she would fall ill from standing too long, so he came to remind her to return to her chambers.

Fang Tong glanced at the young man’s shadow on the window: “Your Highness need not worry, I will watch over the Second Young Master and not let him stay up all night.”

Mu Wanyao waved her hand, indicating that wasn’t what she was thinking about. She said: “Tomorrow I’ll prescribe some calming medicine for our Yan Er’er, let him sleep well for a day.”

Fang Tong remained silent.

Mu Wanyao thoughtfully instructed: “Fang Tong, tomorrow after our Yan Er’er falls asleep, take your Prince Consort’s official seal and summon the Guangzhou Military Commissioner to see me. No… not just Guangzhou, all of Lingnan’s Military Commissioners should come to see me.

“Tell them Lingnan needs to begin military exercises to guard against external threats.”

Fang Tong immediately became nervous: “What? Will the Southern Barbarians attack Lingnan? Do they have that many troops?”

Mu Wanyao curved her lips: “They claim to have 400,000 troops, but I estimate that after excluding the old, weak, sick, and disabled, their real fighting force is only about 300,000. With 300,000 troops split into two routes… as long as Great Wei holds out, they will be the ones defeated. They’ve been constantly at war, hollowing themselves out, which is why they urgently need this war. But if this war drags on, Great Wei will be the victor.

“If they don’t want to take risks, they shouldn’t dare to open another battlefield. Even Meng Zai Shi couldn’t withstand such dispersed forces. I’m not having Lingnan conduct military exercises because I fear they’ll invade Lingnan… I fear there are people at court who aren’t on our side, and who won’t send troops to Jiannan and Hexi.

“Better to prepare early.”

Fang Tong suddenly said: “Lord Zhao has now become Minister of War, and his daughter Zhao Wu Niang is Noble Consort Zhao Ling in Jiannan, surely Lord Zhao will look after his own daughter? Couldn’t we win over Lord Zhao?”

Mu Wanyao’s eyes brightened as she looked approvingly at Fang Tong: “Then let Wu Niang win him over!”—

In the imperial palace of Chang’an, the Emperor was listless. During this time of national war, almost all his previous pleasures had been curtailed. He couldn’t bear not knowing when this war would end.

Liu Wenji came to pay respects to the Emperor, originally to report on the war, but the Emperor held him back, complaining endlessly about Prime Minister Liu’s harsh stance.

The Emperor was dissatisfied: “I’m not ignoring the war! My fasting is all for praying for blessings, yet that old man still lectured me, telling me to believe less in supernatural things. Old fool, eventually I will control the court, make the court listen to me!”

Liu Wenji cast a cool glance at the Emperor.

The Emperor complained again about how the war was draining the treasury, saying even his palace leaked at night with no money for repairs.

Liu Wenji looked at him for a long while, thinking how they were helping such an emperor.

How ironic.

Liu Wenji suddenly said: “Your Majesty, actually the Southern Barbarian envoys have come to Great Wei, wanting to negotiate peace. I felt that with the war ongoing, we shouldn’t negotiate with the envoys, so I suppressed this.”

The Emperor was startled, and seeing Liu Wenji about to kneel and beg forgiveness, he hurriedly said: “I understand, you were afraid of Prime Minister Liu and his people, right? They won’t negotiate peace, so you didn’t dare mention it. You’ve been wronged!”

The Emperor asked: “What are their peace terms?”

Liu Wenji: “They want Jiannan.”

The Emperor was stunned, not expecting the Southern Barbarians to be so ambitious. He immediately cursed their wolfish ambitions and delusions, daring to demand Great Wei’s territory. Seeing the Emperor so agitated, Liu Wenji thought he had misjudged this emperor.

Indeed, after his cursing, the Emperor said: “We can’t give them Jiannan.”

Liu Wenji lowered his head in agreement.

But unexpectedly, the Emperor changed his tone: “We can only give them part of Jiannan. Places like Yizhou absolutely cannot be given. ‘Yang first, Yi second’—a prosperous place like Yizhou absolutely cannot be given. But besides Yizhou, other parts of Jiannan are mostly poor and desolate, giving them wouldn’t matter. Those barbarians don’t understand anyway, it’s fine to fool them.”

Liu Wenji studied this emperor.

Initially, he had wanted to support a worthless emperor, but today he truly realized that this worthless person actually understood everything yet still didn’t care. Even when Liu Wenji hesitated about giving away Jiannan, the Emperor only cared about not giving away the prosperous regions.

Such a person was the sovereign.