After Zhù Ying’s words — “I am the military commissioner” followed by “I have my arrangements” — a silence fell over the main tent.

Young General Leng was more familiar with her, and though he had some concerns about her relationship with Generals Ye and He, Zhù Ying had already issued orders to rotate fresh troops to him, so his forces could rest; and she had taken over the negotiations with Kun Da Chi, dispatching Chen Fang to handle it. Young General Leng reasoned: with the front line in his hands, and Zhù Ying having been reliably impressive behind the lines, the right approach was to make up his mind, have a chat with the other two generals, and return to the front. He gave a fist salute, said simply, “Yes,” and did not speak further.

The other two also raised no further objections. Zhù Ying was indeed the military commissioner; she could command all of them.

Fine. Let’s just see what you’re actually capable of.

Yao Chenying said nothing either. He hoped Zhù Ying could restrain the soldiers from harming the local people, but seeing the silence in the tent, he was also a little worried: if she couldn’t get Generals He and Ye to move, and the battle went badly, the local area would suffer all the more. He resolved to privately remind Zhù Ying of this a little later.

For a moment, both Young General Leng and Yao were waiting for the others to leave first; General Ruan sat with his arms crossed — he simply belonged in this camp anyway.

Generals Ye and He exchanged a glance, then rose together: “The commissioner has taken on such hardships; how could we sit back and enjoy the fruits? Your subordinates will return to camp.”

Zhù Ying said, “There’s no rush. We’ve all just arrived; how we fight this battle still depends on all of us — we also need to get to know one another.”

General He gave a stiff smile and thought: I feel like I already know you quite well now.

Even from his expression alone it was clear he harbored no pleasant thoughts. Zhù Ying also felt helpless.

In terms of battlefield experience, Zhù Ying could not compare with any of the generals before her — even General Ruan, who came from the imperial guards, came from a family with generations of military tradition.

According to her original plan, she should have first met with the familiar Young General Leng. Once the two flanking reinforcements arrived, she would sit down with the commanders of both flanks to talk things through — she genuinely hoped to build a good working relationship with both generals. After establishing some rapport, things would be easier to handle; she would then probe their views, listen to their opinions, synthesize all three perspectives, discuss with Yao Chenying, the local authority, and release the young men she had been training along the way to get a sense of the ground-level situation.

Then she would settle on a plan of response.

Even back in the capital she had already formed a broad strategy. In this war between the two states, the conflict was less a military collision than a contest of power and intrigue — and that was one of the reasons she had stepped forward voluntarily.

Pure tactical prowess and combat were not her strong suits; she was more inclined toward coordination, logistics, and strategic planning.

So in her plan, she herself would indeed be stationed at the central camp, ensuring strong logistics for the others, coordinating relations with the local authorities and managing all the grinding friction with the court, so that the frontline soldiers could face the enemy with undivided attention, unhampered by the scheming and maneuvering back in the capital. At the same time, she also bore the task of outwitting Kun Da Chi’s side — what one might colloquially call a battle of wits.

She had planned it out well. But because of this sudden unexpected case, she now had a minor rift with Generals He and Ye before they had even begun to open up to each other.

When people have grievances with one another, it is absolutely not good for warfare. At the mild end, they drag their feet in cooperation; at the severe end, they stab each other in the back.

Generals He and Ye had no choice but to stay. In their hearts, they were worried: they did not know whether Zhù Ying was simply making a show of authority or genuinely intending to get her hands on their camps. Their camps were absolutely not something they dared declare “unafraid of inspection” — padding the payroll, though not by much, did exist. Skimming off a bit here and there from the top, nothing severe, but it existed. Item by item, all of it was expressly prohibited.

Everyone knew: things like this were tacitly allowed by all parties as long as nobody looked into them, and once someone did look, nobody came out clean. The ones doing it knew it; the ones who could investigate knew it too.

Right now they couldn’t figure out whether this commissioner was merely asserting dominance, or truly intended to rein in all the forces under her command. Someone sent from the court — it was hard not to suspect that factional infighting was her first priority.

But very quickly, Zhù Ying left them no room to worry about anything else.

Zhù Ying had finished assigning all the tasks, and ordered the secretariat staff, “Get to work.”

The only ones left in the tent were herself, Yao, Young General Leng, He, Ye, and Ruan. Zhù Ying said to Elder Sister Hu, “Go stand outside. No one within twenty paces.”

Elder Sister Hu gave a slight bow, gripped her sword, and exited the main tent. Soon came the sounds of her talking with the personal guards, then footsteps. When all sounds ceased, Zhù Ying finally spoke: “Our delay over this matter means that only now can I say what I originally planned to say first — the situation at court is not good, and there is no time left for empty formalities. We are here with our lives hanging in the balance of each breath; only if we work together with one heart can we make it through to the end.”

Yao Chenying asked with concern, “What do you mean?”

Young General Leng glanced at General Ruan, who looked baffled.

Zhù Ying said, “Everyone here knows what has been happening at court these past few years; I will speak plainly. Chief Minister Xian, though acting entirely in the public interest, has been impatient and has wounded people in his haste. Among the current grand councillors: Chief Minister Dou intends to retire; Chief Minister Chen has the least seniority; only Chief Minister Zheng can still offer you all some protection. I will say it plainly — this battle, I intend to win. Chief Minister Zheng has many matters to attend to, and it has always been far easier to do harm than to undo it.

Though we are at the frontier, we are in fact subject to the strings being pulled in the court — for example: if grain runs short, armor is incomplete, and troops are inadequately trained, yet they press you to advance; refuse, and it becomes ‘afraid to fight, colluding with the enemy.’ What would the consequences be?

If you lose — so be it, this land is vast and resilient, it can sustain one or two setbacks; new armies can be raised, and the next commander will be more obedient. Is that not so?

Even if you win — did you expend too many men? Did you harm civilians in any way? Did you inflate the military merits in your reports?”

General He slapped his thigh hard: “Ha!”

Zhù Ying said, “So I came. The wrangling with the court, I will handle. When I was in the capital, I could only manage the Finance Ministry. Now that I am here, I will shoulder the rest. I cannot push every responsibility onto Chief Minister Zheng; I cannot make him deal with everything. What use would we be then?”

The surnames of the key people in this tent already declared their allegiances.

The five quickly nodded in agreement — including Yao Chenying, who had one extra piece of information: his maternal aunt, Zheng Xi’s biological mother, was in poor health. What Zhù Ying had left unsaid was something only he had truly understood.

General Ruan suddenly exclaimed, “So that’s why Chief Minister Dou has been looking so dispirited! He’s going to retire!”

Zhù Ying said, “Given the war, he has no choice but to struggle on for now. Whether he suddenly falls ill and retires without warning — that, one cannot say. In all things, caution is never wrong.”

Young General Leng said earnestly, “Chief Minister Xian — an old retainer of the Eastern Palace… that means we absolutely cannot let our guard down. The western frontier campaign needs to be pushed harder! Now that reinforcements have arrived, shall we rest briefly and then force a decisive battle?”

Zhù Ying said, “There’s no rush.”

General He said, “You speak of such grave urgency, then say there’s no rush — what does that mean?”

“However urgent the matter, treat it as though it is not urgent — otherwise haste breeds errors. There will be a time for you all to show your mettle.”

Young General Leng said, “Then we shall all follow the commissioner’s orders.”

General Ruan immediately voiced agreement. Yao Chenying also said, “Though I do not command troops, I too will follow the commissioner’s arrangements.”

Generals He and Ye exchanged a look: “We will follow the commissioner as well!”

Zhù Ying smiled. “Good.”

With that, Generals He and Ye took their leave first and returned to camp. Yao Chenying, seeing that Young General Leng showed no sign of leaving, said, “I’ll go check on that family’s funeral arrangements and offer the people some reassurance — can’t let something unflattering spread among the population.”

Zhù Ying said, “Thank you. Once the army moves on, the people will still be living here.”

Yao Chenying nodded.

Young General Leng stayed behind, and his words became much more direct: “Commissioner, the front line is getting a bit pressed. Kun Da Chi may appear reckless, but at every step he has made no missteps.”

“Wait for Chen Fang to return first. Kun Da Chi also cannot sustain a prolonged engagement — every bit of loss we spare ourselves is a gain.”

“Are you confident?”

“What is the state of the western frontier’s national strength? How long can they sustain this — and during a period when a new ruler has just taken the throne and his position is not yet stable?”

Young General Leng laughed: “I understand! I’ll set off right away. If I could also take along relief troops, that would be even better.”

Zhù Ying said, “Work it out with Old Ruan.”

“Excellent!”

Young General Leng had been thinking about chatting with the others anyway!

He quickly found General Ruan, who was equally straightforward: “Good! I’ll send two men with you, and when you get there, they’ll bring back the troops you’ve relieved.”

Young General Leng said, “Good — I’ll also send two men to come back with yours. I’ll make sure to instruct them to be cooperative when they get here. There is one condition, though: if they do anything wrong, please guide them along, and put in a good word for them before the commissioner.”

“You’ve served under the commissioner’s command, so you know better than to worry about that. This commissioner of ours — she may look ruthless at times, but she protects her own people.”

“Honestly, I’m a bit afraid they might run afoul of the commissioner’s prohibitions,” said Young General Leng. “The commissioner protects her people, yes — but she is also very decisive when it comes to punishment. By the way, you…”

“Just say it! Who do you think we are to each other?”

Young General Leng lowered his voice: “It might be worth telling those two a bit about the commissioner’s character and conduct. I can see that they look put out.”

General Ruan said, “Ah! Yes — understood.”

Young General Leng was not fully reassured and found a gap in his schedule to take a quick ride over to both camps. With seven or eight thousand men sprawled across the hills and fields, Young General Leng rode from one cluster to the next, and it was dark before he had finished talking with both men. He and these two were not close friends, but they were “family acquaintances,” and he felt compelled to remind them once more: Zhù Ying was right — don’t give Xian Jing the advantage. Following Zhù Ying, however stifling it might feel, they would not come away without their share of merit.

He returned to camp at nightfall. General Ruan had already selected five thousand troops for him. What surprised him was that Yao Chenying had actually appeared at the central camp again and was eating dinner with them!

Yao Chenying had specifically come back. He hadn’t really needed to personally attend the funeral rites of some “local gentry”; that had purely been a pretext to give Young General Leng space. He had turned around not long after and returned for a long conversation with Zhù Ying that had been repeatedly delayed.

…

In Yao Chenying’s plan, after Zhù Ying arrived, he would let her settle in, observe her conduct for a while, and then find a good moment to tell her the rest.

The killing of the “local gentry” had also caught him off guard. Whatever the circumstances, he wanted to communicate with Zhù Ying as soon as possible.

When he came back, Zhù Ying looked completely unsurprised, invited him to sit, and her pace and tone were no different from before — showing not the slightest impatience. Yao Chenying found her easy to be with and became somewhat more candid, saying, “I had hoped to properly host the great army, but then this unexpected incident happened. I am truly ashamed that such a thing occurred under my jurisdiction.”

“Your jurisdiction is in fine shape,” Zhù Ying said. “The people are not afraid of the authorities, the city remains orderly, and my camp was able to be established.”

Yao Chenying finally showed an embarrassed expression. “So you’d already noticed all of that.”

“Seeing you like this, I feel reassured. I have been wanting to meet you for some time now, but the opportunity never arose.”

Yao Chenying said softly, “When you all were dealing with the northern battles, things here were also unsettled. And then when the north quieted down, things here kicked up instead — I kept being unable to leave, and in the end I missed my uncle’s final days.”

He had feared that if he left, should the western frontier invade, the deputy governor and the others might not be able to cope. He had not entered the capital in several years, and so Zhù Ying had only ever heard of him without ever meeting him.

Zhù Ying said, “It has not been easy for you — facing a strong enemy from without, yet the annual tax revenues have still been met.”

“With Seventh Young Master looking out for me, and thanks to you not making things difficult — otherwise…” Yao Chenying shook his head. Then he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small notebook. “This contains information I have gathered about the western frontier over these past years — in more detail than what I wrote in my official memorials to the court.”

Zhù Ying rose and accepted it with both hands: “This is truly wonderful! Many thanks.”

She already knew something about the western frontier’s situation: partly from case files during her time at the Court of Diplomatic Reception, and partly from intelligence gathered through Wuzhou’s trade with the western frontier. Now with Yao Chenying’s notes added, her picture would be far more complete.

Yao Chenying waited until she had put the small notebook away, then asked earnestly, “The old Commandery Princess — how is she truly?”

Zhù Ying met his gaze. The two locked eyes, and Zhù Ying understood at once that he was asking about Zheng Xi’s mother. She said softly, “Before I left the capital, Chief Minister Zheng had just taken another day’s leave to attend to her at her sickbed.”

Yao Chenying sighed. “We can only resign ourselves to fate! Kun Da Chi is more desperate than the court; and we are more desperate than Kun Da Chi…”

“The court is not without its own urgency.”

“But it is the most able to wait things out.”

They spoke one sentence at a time, each knowing the other was a person of understanding — extra words were unnecessary.

Yao Chenying departed that night to hurry back to the city.

…

The following morning early, Young General Leng set out with his troops. Zhù Ying saw him off at the gate of the camp. General Ruan led five thousand soldiers to see them off twenty li.

At the parting, Young General Leng asked, “Have you spoken with those two yet?”

“When did I have time yesterday? I’ll go find them when I get back.”

Young General Leng urged repeatedly, “Don’t forget. We are all on the same side now — internal strife and those hypocritical opportunists at court will use it to undermine us!”

“Don’t worry.”

After General Ruan returned to camp, he did indeed speak separately with Generals He and Ye, who in turn were looking for an opportunity to glean information. They had not quite gotten a read on Zhù Ying’s style and were increasingly anxious at heart — the men Zhù Ying had dispatched to their camps were turning out to be genuinely diligent and capable, which gave them the alarming, furious sensation of their subordinates slipping out of their control.

General Ruan offered soothing words: “In the end, she is a civil official. The last time in the north as well — she opened her own command post, established her authority, and in the end returned to the court all the same. Between ourselves — she is young, and a few more years from now she will certainly enter the Council of State. At that point, think about it… with such a figure in the Council of State, would we still need to fear anything? If you don’t seize this chance now to build a good relationship with her, what exactly are you being so difficult about?”

These words were a revelation to both of them!

They had been thinking about it all wrong — completely wrong!

Viewing her as a peer, everything she did seemed disagreeable; viewing her as a senior figure capable of protecting them, one could only hope she managed everything well.

After General Ruan spoke with them, Generals He and Ye felt considerably calmer at heart. Still, they kept watching the camp change day by day and felt they needed to have a proper conversation with Zhù Ying.

They each sought her out separately, aiming to offer explanations for the covert skimming and other practices that had been uncovered. The young people Zhù Ying had dispatched were at an age when they had little inclination to read others’ expressions, and since they had been sent by the secretariat, they were all the more inclined to “impartiality,” and had uncovered quite a number of problems.

Zhù Ying convened the officers again; rather than publicly announcing their transgressions, she simply declared the outcomes for each person. The penalties fell into several tiers: recovery of ill-gotten gains; dismissal from post for the more serious; demotion with conditional reinstatement for the lighter cases. Then she announced: “Everything prior to this — we turn the page. Going forward, any repeat offense will not be spared by military law!”

Generals He and Ye, seeing there were no beheadings or exiles, were greatly reassured.

Under Zhù Ying’s hand, the camp gradually settled; the soldiers’ morale and spirit steadily grew. She also conferred with Yao Chenying to set aside a stretch of wasteland and went through the motions of preparing to cultivate it — making it look as though she intended a long-term garrison.

Half a month later, Chen Fang returned.

He returned empty-handed, his face having cycled from red to white with anger, and threw himself before Zhù Ying in tears: “Uncle! They were utterly insolent! They insulted the court, and they insulted your nephew!”

Zhù Ying helped him up: “What happened? Stand up and tell me.”

“I presented the national letter to them, and they actually said they had no obligation to report their mourning to the court! They turned around and accused the court’s trading posts of being unjust toward them — charging them high prices and squeezing them! They also said… that we had lured and abducted their men and women as slaves… and told me to…”

Chen Fang had suffered enormously. The national letter had been thrown to the floor; he himself had been thoroughly berated. To make sure he couldn’t claim not to understand, Kun Da Chi had even thoughtfully provided a translator! They had also said that sending such a pretty-faced boy meant the court must have run out of people, then asked whether he’d been so frightened he’d soiled himself. In the end, they told him to take back a message: hand over a certain quantity of grain, a certain number of cattle and horses, and a certain number of slaves, and they would withdraw — otherwise, they would settle it on the battlefield.

To add insult to injury, Chen Fang’s fine outer garment — ornamental belt and all — had been stripped off him!

Zhù Ying said, “You’ve suffered. Rest first…”

Chen Fang wailed, “Uncle! Give me a unit of troops! I’ll skin Kun Da Chi alive!”

Uncle and nephew — one weeping, the other offering comfort — were mid-exchange when Jin Biao came rushing over: “Commissioner! Urgent report from the capital!”

His face bore obvious distress. Zhù Ying looked at what he was holding and asked, “What is this?”

Official letters, documents, even imperial edicts from the court all had a roughly recognizable shape; this did not look like any of them. Jin Biao stepped closer and handed Zhù Ying a bamboo tube: “You… you had best see for yourself.”

The tube had been sealed with a flame-pressed wax seal bearing Zheng Xi’s private stamp. Jin Biao could not read its contents, but he recognized the stamp, and moreover he knew the courier’s face — he already knew about a major event in the capital. Zheng Xi’s mother, that old commandery princess, had died.

Chen Fang, still sniffling, had gotten to his feet, pulled out a chair for Zhù Ying, and reached across the table for a small knife, which he held out toward her.

Zhù Ying sat down, opened the tube as she spoke, and said to Chen Fang, “Go wash your face and change your clothes.”

“Oh.” Chen Fang raised his sleeve, wiped his nose, and walked out, his expression returning to normal.

Zhù Ying unrolled the letter and read it. It was in Zheng Xi’s own hand: he would be entering mourning leave, and he asked Zhù Ying to bring the campaign to an end as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it would not merely be a question of whether they could preserve their current gains — going forward, they would certainly face trouble from Xian Jing’s faction. With a commander in the field, there would always be people whispering unfavorable things into the emperor’s ear.