After receiving their instructions, Su Zhe and Zhao Su turned many thoughts over in their minds, yet in person they both answered a respectful “Yes” and said nothing more.

Seeing that Zhù Ying had no further instructions, they took their leave together.

Su Zhe said, “Uncle — come sit with me a while?”

Zhao Su said, “Is it convenient? You live in the inner quarters — it’s not suitable for me to come over.”

Su Zhe said, “Then let’s go to the little study hall over there. A’Fa and the others are surely back in their rooms packing by now — it will certainly be quiet there.”

The two went to the small study hall where Lang Rui and the others gathered to study together. It was indeed pitch dark inside, empty of anyone burning the midnight oil. They found a room, Su Zhe sent her maidservant to light a lamp, and Zhao Su asked, “You have something on your mind — it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

Su Zhe said, “Just thinking about being separated from A’Weng — I feel a little unsettled.”

Zhao Su said, “You’ve always had plenty of courage.”

“This time is different, Uncle. From the sound of A’Weng’s words, is she planning to — with Prime Minister Zheng…” She made a gesture, pulling her joined palms apart.

Zhao Su said lightly, “Hasn’t that always been the direction things were heading? Prime Minister Zheng holds great power and is arrogant toward people — he was never anyone worth pouring your heart out to. Besides, there are precious few people in this court worth treating with sincerity. Are you afraid?”

“Absolutely not! If Uncle also says so, then I haven’t guessed wrong. In that case, us staying in the capital this time will be different from before — before, Prime Minister Zheng could be counted as someone to be trusted. Now we can no longer fully rely on him.

Let the two of us put our heads together and work out what still needs to be done to handle things well, and while A’Weng is still here, bring up whatever we need to report or request from her in these next few days. Once A’Weng leaves the capital, it won’t be this convenient.”

Zhao Su said, “Good thinking.”

Having opened up the topic, Su Zhe also asked an odd question: “This Shen Ying — what is there to be concerned about?”

Zhao Su said, “I’ve heard there’s some history there from earlier times — I’m not too clear on the details from before. But he is Prime Minister Chen’s maternal uncle. Knowing what kind of person Prime Minister Chen is, the fact that he and Shen Ying are so distant and formal with each other must have a reason.”

“I see. Then let’s keep a watch on him…”

The two conferred for a long while. From the little study hall they groped their way to find paper and brushes and worked through the night, hammering out a rough draft. With the draft written, the night had grown deep. Zhao Su stayed the night at the Zhù household and got up the next morning to attend court together with Zhù Ying and the others.

Lang Rui and company were so excited they could hardly sleep. They spent the first half of the night packing, were interrupted by servants urging them to sleep early and rise early, and then lay in bed staring wide-eyed through the second half of the night. By the time they sat down for breakfast, they were finally starting to feel drowsy, eating and dozing at the same time.

Su Zhe and the others had been through this before and watched them all in amusement.

Before Zhù Ying left the house, she said, “All of you — do not go out today. Stay home and pack your things.”

Lang Rui and the others answered in a ragged chorus: “Yes.”

Su Zhe suspected they would probably catch up on their sleep at home. Zhù Ying understood this too, but did not say it aloud. Instead, she checked to make sure her memorials and other documents were all in order, and then went out. Su Zhe took the opportunity to hand Zhù Ying the draft she and Zhao Su had written: “A’Weng, this…”

She meant to say: have a look when you have a moment, and if anything is wrong, I’ll correct it. Before she had finished, Zhù Ying was already walking out and had opened it with a wave of her hand. She stood in place and swept through it with her eyes, finishing it in just a few glances.

Su Zhe was a little nervous. Zhù Ying folded the draft and handed it back to her: “What ‘will happen’ and what ‘I hope will happen’ are two different things. People easily confuse the two when making plans. What you have written now is only what you expect to happen. If something happens that you haven’t anticipated, do you have a backup plan? Do you have the courage, the decisiveness, and the depth of mind? Do you know what you must endure, and what you must act on swiftly when the moment comes?”

Su Zhe said, “But if it is something I haven’t anticipated, how do I prepare for it?”

Zhù Ying tapped her lightly on the forehead: “Exactly — how does one prepare?” She pointed to Zhao Su, then to Lin Feng. “All of you think carefully about this. Vision and wisdom require both natural ability and hardening through experience. You’re being given the chance to be hardened right now. If you still can’t work it out, give each other questions to stump one another. Think a bit more — when you’ve handled all those difficult questions, see if you still have any energy left. Let’s go — it’s getting late.”

……——

By the time of morning court, many people already knew that Zhù Ying was leaving the capital, and yet no one stood up to object.

There was, in fact, nothing to object to. The Emperor and the Grand Council Secretariat had already reached consensus, and Zhù Ying had the experience. What remained was preparation.

Zhù Ying had already coordinated with Chen Meng, Zheng Xi, Yue Huan, and others the previous evening. The memorial was submitted, and the Emperor glanced at it and said, “It seems they are all young people?”

Zhù Ying said, “Yes — the western frontier is no more comfortable than the northern territories. Young people are in better health, can endure long marches, and are better able to withstand unfamiliar conditions.”

The Emperor nodded and handed the memorial to the Grand Council Secretariat to process. He then kept Zhù Ying behind to hear more about what she planned to do next. This was the first major battle of his reign, and the Emperor attached extraordinary importance to it. He urged that tea and fruit be brought for Zhù Ying, and then asked, “As for the western frontier — are you genuinely confident?”

Zhù Ying said, “It’s hard to speak in detail before I’ve seen the situation for myself. If all the military reports so far are accurate, it should not be difficult. That is precisely why I dare to bring along some young people — along the way, they will also see something of local conditions and customs and get some real experience. When Your Majesty needs to use them in future, you won’t find yourself short of talent and scrambling to put people together who don’t fit.”

The Emperor said, “No wonder you said earlier you wanted to keep Lang Rui and the others with you for a while.”

Zhù Ying said, “It also depends on what they can develop into — but regardless, they are all Your Majesty’s servants. However, I still have one difficulty that only Your Majesty can solve.”

“Oh?”

Zhù Ying said with a smile, “I have no private troops, no personal guard. The last time I went to the northern territories, General Zheng led the advance and General Leng guarded the rear — I did not need to worry about any of it. Now — might Your Majesty lend me a few of your Imperial Guards? The only ones I can trust are Your Majesty’s own. The others — I’m simply not familiar with them.”

The Emperor also laughed and said, “When you were supervising the northern territories, was there truly no one you could rely on?”

“I am a civil official — I don’t train soldiers,” Zhù Ying said. “And besides, it’s not good for the Imperial Guards to be too long removed from active experience. They guard the palace — a weighty duty — but they should not rashly be replaced wholesale with recruited soldiers. Since they cannot be replaced, they should be put through their paces from time to time, to prevent laziness and laxity. What do you think?”

“Agreed.”

“No scions of privilege who only care about their appearance — I want those who are amenable to instruction. Young and inexperienced is fine — I’ll train them from the ground up. A new court brings new vitality. After they’ve been through this and come back, compare them with those who haven’t been — their spirit and bearing will simply be different.”

The Emperor thought of the northern soldiers Wen Yue had recruited and trained, and this selection was essentially a recruitment within the ranks of the Imperial Guards. The idea appealed to him greatly: “Approved!”

Zhù Ying also said, “Deception is an inherent part of war. When I am at the western frontier, there may be some moves that seem confusing. I ask that Your Majesty trust those you have employed, and not be swayed by the meddlesome words of small-minded people.”

The Emperor asked with concern, “What do you intend to do?”

Zhù Ying said, “There is no fixed rule in war, as water has no fixed form. I may need to use deception and stratagems. To deceive the enemy, one must sometimes conceal things even from one’s own people, lest too many mouths cause information to leak out. In a conflict of this scale, all manner of things get swept in together — it may be necessary to execute a few to uphold military discipline.”

The Emperor hesitated briefly, then agreed as well, saying, “I can promise you all of this — you must simply return in triumph!”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying’s expression was perfectly composed, without the slightest sign of tension. It was the kind of bearing that put people at ease, and the Emperor’s confidence was strengthened in turn.

When setting out, Zhù Ying did not do what most generals did — striving to get as much grain and provisions as possible. The Ministry of Finance was right in her hands; she allocated and used them herself. She also had Zhao Su and others right there in the Ministry, available for contact at any time.

Next came the matter of selecting people from the Imperial Guards. She calmly asked the Emperor for specific choices from the guard roster — and the Imperial Guards were now a reasonably substantial force. Zhù Ying asked the Emperor to have those he himself wished to cultivate and preserve be selected for her to bring along.

The Emperor permitted her to take ten thousand from the Imperial Guards as her central army. The most core element of these was five hundred northern soldiers — the people Zhù Ying trusted most were these five hundred.

Wen Yue’s son had been brought along by Zhù Ying, and the allocation of troops was made very readily.

There was also Jin Biao, who was personally sent to the Zhù household by Jin Liang. Jin Liang was genuinely uneasy, and even considered coming along himself: “I’d be more reliable than any of these young hotheads.”

Zhù Ying said, “I certainly trust your abilities — but Prime Minister Zheng is short of steady, experienced people around him right now, and you understand military strategy. It would be better for you to remain in the capital in case the Prime Minister needs to consult you.”

Jin Liang said, “I doubt there’s much I’d be able to tell the Seventh Young Master.”

“Better to be prepared.”

Jin Liang, seeing this was her mind, pressed no further.

The commanders of the Imperial Guards all turned out to be old acquaintances of Zhù Ying. The head of them, as might be expected, had the surname Ruan — the son of the late General Ruan. The subordinate commanders were also more than half from hereditary military households, and Zhù Ying was also well acquainted with the senior members of their families.

While the troops, armor, provisions, and supply wagons were being assembled, Zhù Ying also squeezed in a visit to the Shi household during the mourning period. Knowing that Administrator Shi had made arrangements for his children and grandchildren, she did not ask the Shi brothers Ji Xing and his siblings for people — she simply came to bid farewell. After that she went to Minister Lu’s household and once again entrusted Gu Tong to his care.

Three days later, all the assignments and appointments were in place. Zhù Ying requested the Emperor’s permission to first set up her command tent in the barracks, and then to assemble all the generals and members of the field headquarters for a review of troops at the drill grounds.

The weather on that day was fine — partly cloudy, with a light breeze. Inside the command tent, the left and right sides were divided, one for civil officials, one for military. Lang Rui and the other newly appointed officials had low ranks and stood toward the back. The military side was headed by General Ruan, below whom stood more than ten battalion commanders. Lu Danqing stood at the very end of the line. The battalion commander nearest to her was a man named Zhang, in his thirties. He gave a sniff and thought he could faintly detect a hint of face powder, and kept sneaking glances at her from time to time.

The civil officials were headed by Fan Sheng and Zhang Sheng. Below them stood Lang Rui, followed by Yang Jing’s several students, and then Jin Yu, Su Sheng, and a few others. The civil officials were generally of lower rank and younger in age. Aside from Fan Sheng and Zhang Sheng, the others were all around twenty years old. Among the military officers, General Ruan was in his forties — two years older than Zhù Ying herself. Most of the battalion commanders were in their thirties and forties, with only two in their twenties.

Zhù Ying began with praise: “All of you are fine young talents! I’ll spare the lengthy speeches. This campaign holds great promise.”

General Ruan took the lead in complimenting Zhù Ying: “With the Commander in Chief leading us, there is nothing for any of us to worry about!”

Lang Rui and the others were astonished to find that the Imperial Guard commanders’ compliments were genuinely heartfelt. They looked at Zhù Ying again with fresh eyes.

Zhù Ying said, “Not so fast. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Let’s establish military law first, so that we may conduct ourselves properly. Otherwise, if someone makes a mistake and spoils the operation, I’ll also have difficulty accounting for it to His Majesty. Jin Biao.”

She had Jin Biao read aloud the military code she had drawn up — beyond the customary provisions for the seven offenses warranting beheading and the thirteen offenses warranting death, there were added: “No harassment of the people; no corruption; no abusing soldiers under your command — those who violate these will face severe punishment.” She also specifically made clear that she was not presiding here in her capacity as Minister of Finance, but as Regional Military Governor on campaign — and she would be enforcing military law.

Whoever was the first to come forward would be unlucky — they would be made an example of, the chicken killed to warn the monkeys.

Having finished the reading, Zhù Ying asked, “Did everyone hear clearly?”

General Ruan was the first to respond: “Clearly heard.”

Zhù Ying said, “Good. Wen Qin.”

Wen Yue’s son, Wen Qin, stepped forward. This time what he read was the schedule of rewards. The dynasty had its regulations: capturing an enemy general and seizing their banner constituted such-and-such merit; being first to scale the walls was such-and-such merit; taking a certain number of enemy heads was such-and-such merit. Zhù Ying restated all of these at this moment. General Ruan also perked up and listened attentively.

Wen Qin finished reading one scroll, set it aside, and took another from the tray — this time he read out the provisions for treatment: daily rations per person, what equipment each person was to receive, what the death compensation was, what the compensation was for serious injury, what for light injury, plus various other arrangements.

General Ruan let out a sharp intake of breath — no need to be coaxed, he was now thoroughly attentive. He thought to himself: this is truly something that Zhù Zi Zhang would do. When she came down hard, she really came down hard — but when she showed care, she really showed care.

Zhù Ying smiled and asked, “Did everyone understand clearly?”

This time they did not need General Ruan to lead them — those below had all understood clearly by themselves.

Zhù Ying said, “On this campaign we must work in concert. Above, we serve His Majesty; below, we bring peace to the common people — this is a matter of public duty. The court will not let you down. Everyone wishes to win glory, seal their wives, and cast their blessings upon their children — but only by not seeking fame and not being driven by gain will you gain fame and gain. Take a longer view. I will also not let you down — but you must be obedient, you must abide by my rules. If anyone violates my rules, I will personally cut off his head!”

“Yes!”

……

On the day Zhù Ying left the capital, the Emperor personally came out of the palace to see her off.

Zhù Ying did not drink wine. At the farewell banquet, Hao Dafang held an ornate wine flask, and what he poured out was clear water.

The Emperor earnestly urged her, “Go quickly and come back quickly — I will be waiting for your triumphant return.”

Zhù Ying also said one final thing to the Emperor: “Your Majesty — if matters at court become truly difficult, it would not hurt to consult Wang Shuliang.”

The Emperor said, “I’ll remember that.” At the mention of Wang Shuliang, he understood immediately what “difficult matters” referred to. After that, the Emperor said a few words to General Ruan as well, and finally let Zhù Ying and the others depart.

On an auspicious day chosen by the Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau, Zhù Ying led the army out, marching westward.

On the first day they covered twenty li and then stopped. The great army made camp. Once the encampment was established, all the generals gathered in the command tent. Zhù Ying said, “Let’s eat later — first let’s go have a look.”

“Yes.”

She brought her full array of civil and military subordinates on a patrol through the camp. On one hand she inspected whether the tents were worn out, whether the armor was in poor repair, whether there were quilts for warmth, and what was cooking in the pots — checking whether rations had been skimped on. On the other hand she spoke to the young people as they went: “Don’t dismiss these things as trivial. Starting from tomorrow, all of you — those forty and under — gather here after camp is made each day!”

She was going to teach them herself.

For the civil officials, they would need to learn supply management, personnel matters, and so on. Lang Rui, the poor wretch, also needed to supplement his arithmetic. Yang Jing’s students numbered eight, their arithmetic barely adequate — Zhù Ying would use them as she had once used Gu Tong and Zhao Su. At every stop, they were to go out in all directions and inquire into the hardships of the local people. They also had to practice some riding and archery — a basic, rudimentary level of martial arts.

The military officers had it worse — they had to take lessons. Besides literacy and reading military texts, some of them actually needed to practice their physical skills, because not all of the Imperial Guard’s battalion commanders were genuinely skilled fighters. Many had entered through hereditary privilege or through the shadow of their family’s rank. Among the Imperial Guards, those who were truly skilled in martial arts were extraordinarily skilled — but those at the low end were shockingly poor.

And this was not all — the military officers, beyond their own individual fighting ability, still needed to drill and lead troops…

Zhù Ying had had the habit of teaching her subordinates back when she was still in Fulu County, and the people who had grown up under her ear and eye were the most capable and the most loyal to her. Now she was exercising command outside the capital, and everything was under her authority. She could let herself go entirely.

She was in the flow of teaching. A few days later, the lower-ranking officers in the Imperial Guards were also added to her list — there were more young people among those officers. The vast army moved in a great, surging stream. The soldiers were well fed and well clothed. The officers were so weary they could do nothing but groan.

At last, a scout rider came with a report from up ahead — Little General Leng had sent someone to meet them.

General Ruan let out a long breath. His face broke into a flower of a smile: “We’ve finally arrived!”

He was in his mid-forties, and while he himself didn’t need to be instructed by Zhù Ying, he had watched the whole thing day after day and had grown as tense as everyone else. He simply couldn’t tell whether this was a march or a classroom! General Ruan loathed studying!

At long last!

He could be free!