After dinner, Li Chi and Lu Chonglou strolled through the encampment, talking as they walked.

“Regarding the matter of the box, We thought it over carefully just now. At the founding of a dynasty, all things are difficult, so there is need for such a box to exist. But once government is clean and above and below are of one mind in the future, such a box — it would be best not to use it if it can be helped.”

Lu Chonglou bowed: “Your Majesty has thought it through with great thoroughness.”

This box — used well, it could naturally allow Dachu’s emperor to manage the realm’s affairs more securely. But used poorly, should it fall into the hands of someone with impure intentions, it would certainly give rise to grave problems.

Li Chi shook his head: “We must also think of Our children and descendants. Unless it is a ruler facing a time of upheaval and change, there would be no need for this box at all. This thing… consider it a method We leave for those who come after Us.”

Lu Chonglou said: “Now, Your Majesty has use for such a box — it is to make Dachu ever more prosperous. In the future, should there be need for it again, it will certainly also be used to make Dachu ever more prosperous.”

Li Chi smiled: “The way you talk these days is growing more and more like Yu Jiuling.”

Lu Chonglou also smiled: “Your servant must also keep learning.”

Li Chi gave a derisive scoff, then said: “Regarding the Western Frontier Direct Road — when We return, We will have Xu Ji hand over this responsibility. You will personally oversee it.”

Lu Chonglou bowed: “As commanded.”

Li Chi listened to the sounds of snoring rising and falling throughout the encampment, was quiet for a moment, then said: “When We return, We will also have them discuss raising the wages of all the craftsmen working on this road — as much as possible.”

He asked Lu Chonglou: “What do you think about doubling them?”

Lu Chonglou bowed once more: “Your Majesty is wise and benevolent. Your servant thanks Your Majesty on behalf of everyone.”

Li Chi said: “Having seen this with Our own eyes, it is now clear — to truly build this road to completion will likely take no fewer than fifty years, and possibly more. Xu Ji’s way of doing things — always chasing quick results and instant glory — will cost more lives.”

He looked toward Lu Chonglou: “You too must keep this in mind: what can and should be done swiftly, do swiftly. What cannot be rushed must be done steadily.”

Just then, Yu Jiuling came trotting up from behind. Catching the tail end of what Li Chi had said, he asked with curiosity: “What was Your Majesty saying about fast and slow?”

Li Chi turned back and glanced at Yu Jiuling, then smiled: “We were saying that you are the fastest of them all — faster than anyone.”

Yu Jiuling: “That’s… not entirely true in all respects.”

Li Chi smiled and asked: “Then tell Us — is fast better, or slow?”

Yu Jiuling answered: “That depends on the matter. Take this Western Frontier Direct Road — once it is built, travel from the central heartland to the Western Frontier will be more than twice as fast as before. In that regard, faster is certainly better. Yet building the road is not something that can be done in a day, and must be done with steady, careful steps — rush it, and problems arise. So fast and slow cannot be judged in simple terms: fast when it should be fast and slow when it should be slow, movement and stillness in harmony — fast as a galloping horse, slow as a trickling stream. Now that, I must say, is satisfying.”

Li Chi narrowed his eyes: “If it weren’t for those last two sentences, We’d almost have thought the speaker wasn’t you, Yu Jiuling.”

Yu Jiuling let out a sheepish laugh.

Li Chi said: “Yet the reasoning is sound. The logic that even you can grasp — many who appear far cleverer than you pretend not to understand.”

Yu Jiuling and the others understood that Li Chi was referring to Xu Ji.

Li Chi said: “When officials chase quick results and make mistakes, they invariably offer excuses afterward, claiming their intentions were good…”

He paused, then continued: “That excuse is utter nonsense.”

Yu Jiuling said: “Your Majesty is absolutely right. That is nothing but committing all manner of outrage while waving the banner of doing good.”

Li Chi roared with laughter: “Ninth Sister is sharp as ever — rough words, but sound reasoning.”

While they were talking, Tang Anchen came hurrying over. When he saw Li Chi, he quickly paid his respects.

Earlier in Liangzhou City, Li Chi had been meaning to seek out Tang Anchen for a thorough conversation about his son Tang Xu.

Yet that day Li Chi had not said much — only a brief word of caution — and afterward Tang Anchen had arranged to have his wife and children sent back to the Inner Grasslands.

This time, when Li Chi came to the Direct Road construction site, Tang Anchen had come back and chased after him here — specifically to beg Li Chi’s forgiveness for his failings.

Yu Jiuling and the others understood that His Majesty had words to say to Tang Anchen privately, and so they all deliberately fell back a few steps.

They followed at a distance behind, and by the light of the encampment fires could see Tang Anchen bowing his head from time to time in reply.

After they had walked a ways, Tang Anchen’s steps came to a halt. He lifted his robe and knelt to the ground, as if making a full admission of fault.

Lu Chonglou let out a sigh: “It seems raising a child is harder than any campaign of conquest.”

A great general like Tang Anchen, capable of striking fear into any enemy — and yet he could not make his own son behave.

Yu Jiuling also sighed: “Is His Majesty not like a father figure? The civil and military officials of the entire court are all His Majesty’s children — is it not even harder for His Majesty to raise them? Truly, His Majesty has worn himself to the bone worrying over us all.”

Lu Chonglou narrowed his eyes: “His Majesty just said my way of speaking is growing more and more like yours… after hearing what you just said, I realize how far I still have to go before I catch up.”

Yu Jiuling smiled: “That’s right. If all of you catch up with me too easily, how am I supposed to hold my title as Dachu’s foremost flatterer? Flattery isn’t easy — it takes study, it takes effort.”

Lu Chonglou clasped his hands in a bow: “A single conversation with you is worth ten years of reading.”

Yu Jiuling said: “Oh, come off it. Just be yourself — my approach won’t work for you. The reason I exist is to make His Majesty happy. You all — you exist to give His Majesty peace of mind.”

Lu Chonglou was quiet for a moment, then clasped his hands once more: “A single conversation with you is worth ten years of reading!”

Up ahead.

Li Chi looked toward Tang Anchen: “If you truly knew where you went wrong, you should not have come chasing after Us. Instead, you should have gone back to Liangzhou City and personally gone to apologize to the families whose belongings your son snatched, whom he bullied.”

Tang Anchen quickly said: “Your servant will attend to this immediately upon returning.”

Li Chi said: “Apologizing is what should be done. Don’t carry yourself like a Duke and make people feel that your coming is doing them a favor.”

Saying this, Li Chi looked at Tang Anchen a moment longer: “That you can come and apologize to Us now, that you can apologize to the families who were wronged, shows it is not yet too late. But if one day a truly grave matter arises — can you come and apologize to the law of the realm?”

These words were already very weighty.

But Li Chi had one more — weightier still.

“The law of the realm does not accept apologies.”

Tang Anchen knelt to the ground and prostrated himself in acknowledgment of his fault.

Yet in his heart, he felt that His Majesty was perhaps making a mountain out of a molehill… A child of a few years old, a bit unruly — what great wrong could he really commit? What great trouble could possibly come of it?

What child isn’t naughty? Boys in particular — wasn’t that just the way it was?

He could think it, but he dared not say it. Of course, he did genuinely feel he had been somewhat remiss in his discipline.

But he truly did not feel his son was all that bad. He thought: go back, give him a few more scoldings, and that would sort it out.

How could he have known that years hence, because of that son, the harm done would extend far beyond his own family — reaching even to the Grand General Tang Pidi himself.

Not only did he fail to foresee it — had Li Chi been able to foresee it, the conversation today would not have ended there. Li Chi felt the words he had spoken were already rather heavy. At the end of the day, this matter had not yet risen to the level of a violation of law and discipline.

Even for an emperor, to inquire into a subject’s family affairs could only go so far as pointing things out — and the words Li Chi had already spoken had gone well beyond merely pointing things out.

Yet those words — *the law of the realm does not accept apologies* — failed to have their intended effect. That, too, was beyond what Li Chi could have foreseen.

Li Chi spent seven or eight days at the Direct Road construction site. The longer he looked, the clearer it became just how difficult it was to build such a road.

On the very first day, Li Chi had reckoned that eight or ten years would absolutely not be enough — probably a full fifty years would be needed.

By the seventh or eighth day, Li Chi was thinking that to truly finish this road, even fifty years might not be enough.

It was not as if no one had counseled Li Chi that to expend such vast amounts of money, grain, and resources on building a single road at the very founding of Dachu seemed perhaps unwise.

But Li Chi’s answer was this: Dachu is not a Dachu of fifty years, nor a Dachu of a hundred years. Once this road is finished, it will bring prosperity for ten thousand generations.

Seven or eight days later, Li Chi and the officials returned to Liangzhou. Along the way, a memorial arrived from the Outer Grasslands.

Börte Chino had sent an emissary with a personal letter, informing Li Chi of recent developments in the Outer Grasslands.

After the Black Martial forces withdrew, certain tribes in the Outer Grasslands that had previously colluded with the Black Martial were all the more gripped by fear.

And so incidents of defection had been occurring one after another. Börte Chino responded with swift and decisive action, personally leading troops on campaign and annihilating six tribes in succession.

Dantai Qi said to Li Chi: “Is this not somewhat too severe?”

Li Chi shook his head: “What severity is this? That Börte Chino can act with such fairness is already commendable. Do not forget what the Outer Grasslands’ allied army did to his people back then.”

Dantai Qi thought it over — His Majesty was truly thinking a great deal further ahead.

By any reckoning of that old hatred, there was no number of people Börte Chino could kill in the Outer Grasslands that would be excessive.

Yet he had not gone to that extreme. He had only suppressed those who needed suppressing, and eliminated only the traitors who deserved elimination.

“Ding Qing’an, bring paper and brush.”

Li Chi gave the command.

The young eunuch Ding Qing’an quickly brought paper and brush. Li Chi sat down and began composing a reply to Börte Chino.

After writing several hundred characters, Li Chi set down his brush and sat in quiet thought for a moment. Then he tore up the freshly written letter.

He picked up his brush and began again — this time, only five characters.

*We trust you.*

Li Chi’s stay in Liangzhou lasted approximately three months. He inspected the Western Frontier Direct Road, and also toured the border passes.

Three months later, Li Chi made the decision to return to Chang’an.

Grand General Wang Tang Pidi, Dantai Qi, and the others came to see him off. Before getting into the carriage, Li Chi thought to say a few words to Tang Pidi — but after a moment of silence, he simply glared at him and got into the carriage without a word.

Watching His Majesty’s carriage recede into the distance, Tang Pidi lifted his robe, dropped to his knees, and gave several deep, reverent bows.

“Grand General, what is this about?”

Dantai Qi reached out and helped Tang Pidi to his feet. Tang Pidi stood, and after a long silence, finally answered.

“After this parting, I think I shall likely never see His Majesty again.”

Hearing these words, Dantai Qi was startled, and quickly said: “Grand General, why would you think such a thing? If you miss His Majesty, you may return to Chang’an at any time. His Majesty has said it himself — you, Grand General, and you alone, may return to Chang’an without first requesting permission. You may go at any time.”

Tang Pidi shook his head: “His Majesty may bestow upon me great honor and privilege, but I cannot conduct myself with willful disregard for propriety… I will not return to Chang’an. I am only a new soldier instructor at the Northwest Camp. But if I were to return to Chang’an — among the powerful ministers of this realm, who could compare to me?”

Hearing this, Dantai Qi also fell into a long silence. He felt only a heaviness in his chest that would not lift.

And thinking back to those old days of campaigning together with His Majesty, the abandon and the freedom of it all — he felt as though it had been a lifetime ago.

Some things grow better the further you walk. But some things — only when you look back do you realize that those days were the most beautiful of all.

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