Zhao Su quieted down, and Zhù Ying began to speak unhurriedly, laying out her instructions for Gu Tong and the others. “Each of you must choose a location, settle your minds, and learn to deal with people. Apply yourself to everything — every local product, every aspect of local culture — and know it thoroughly. No effort is ever wasted. Without that, even if an opportunity is handed to you, you won’t be able to seize it.”

Gu Tong and the others murmured in assent.

Zhù Ying looked at them, and felt a certain wistfulness. For a long time, the people around her had mostly walked the path she had laid out for them. Although she did give them the freedom to choose, once they chose to follow her, the road was set — no need to tax their minds overmuch; they only had to put their heads down and work. The girls were like this, and Gu Tong and the others were the same.

The best example was Qi Tai, who had risen with her step by step and lived out his days in contentment.

There was nothing particularly wrong with this, and it had suited her needs at the time perfectly — there was no sense blaming them for it. Because she had never truly needed them to think.

Now, things needed to change — with respect to people, and especially in Wuzhou. She needed people willing to use their minds. Zhao Su counted as one, Su Mingluan counted as one, Su Zhe might count as half, and Zhù Qingjun was only now beginning to show some promise. The others all had their various shortcomings, and choosing a “successor” from among them was no easy matter.

Zhù Ying began to consider giving more free rein, allowing them more opportunities for practical experience, so they could hold their own independently.

She sighed and said to Gu Tong, “You’ve been away from home for so many years — spend some time with your parents first, then go and properly sharpen your skills. Bide your time and keep a low profile — how many times have I said that? You never listen. The ones who kept quiet managed to avoid getting hurt; you could stand to rein in your temperament as well.”

“Yes.”

“Rise. Sit and speak.”

The men climbed to their feet and sat down cautiously in their chairs, listening as Zhù Ying asked whether they had paid a call on Jiang Zheng. Gu Tong said, “We have — we exchanged the usual pleasantries, nothing too pointed. People at home say this prefect is a formidable man.”

Zhù Ying said, “What sort of ‘pointed’ did you expect? Of course he is formidable. He made it to prefect on sheer ability. Don’t think about playing tricks in front of him — he will see right through them. You are probably no match for him; see him as little as possible. If he gets a grip on you, you’ll never get free.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Go back then. Send word home — I want to meet your fathers and brothers. I’ll be right here waiting.”

Not daring to delay, Gu Tong and the others quickly took their leave and hurried home to send word. Zhao Niangzi came again, saying, “It’s getting late — why the rush to leave today? This is a fine occasion to welcome A’Mei back — eat the banquet first, and leave first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

Zhù Ying looked at the light outside and said, “All right.”

Zhù Qingye went to help Zhù Ying change clothes. As Gu Tong and the others left, Zhù Qingye grumbled under her breath, “You were injured, and they didn’t ask about it even once — what kind of people are they!”

Zhù Ying said, “They were afraid of the awkwardness.”

“Then they’re not close enough.”

Before the banquet, Zhao Su came to find Zhù Ying again. Standing outside the bedroom door, he had overheard Zhù Qingye’s words, and called through the door in agreement, “Qingye has a point.”

Zhù Ying said, “They have a wall in their hearts. They’ve read the sages, and they’re close to Teacher in the way disciples are close to teachers — but with women, they keep a certain distance, to project an image of propriety.”

“I’m not like that.”

“You and they are different,” Zhù Ying said. She finished changing and opened the door. “You were a little too unguarded today.”

Zhao Su said, “You’re right that I’m different from them. These past days, seeing them again, I suddenly felt that all the effort from before had been wasted — and that a great deal of your thought had also been squandered. And now you still have to look after them?”

“This is Fulu County — it can’t just be abandoned. Jiang Zheng is pressing me, and I can’t push the local gentry into his arms. As for Gu Tong — if I’m doing well, Gu Tong and the others are genuinely no trouble. But left to make their own decisions? They’ve never done that. It’s no surprise they didn’t do it well.

You are different from them. From a young age you were tested time and again, and you have a mind of your own. That is precisely why, when I pressed westward, I could leave you in charge without worry.

Set aside Wuzhou — even in the court’s world, you are capable. It is a pity that capable people are still too few. The younger generation has not yet grown up; there are too few people who can be of use, and drawing talent from outside has its complications as well.”

If everyone were like Gu Tong, one offer of “amnesty and pacification” from the court and it would all be finished. That was also the reason Zhù Ying had not rushed to issue a second “call for talent.”

Zhao Su said, “I was just about to raise this. Wuzhou lacks people — yet virtually everyone who is learned and reasonable has also read the classics and histories, and their hearts lean toward the court. If the people we bring in are all of that sort, I’m afraid we’d be inviting trouble for ourselves. It’s truly a dilemma.”

The difficulty was: if you don’t use people who are already literate and experienced, where else do you find them?

Among the Wuzhou “tribal people,” there were clever individuals — quite a few, in fact. Zhao Su himself didn’t particularly look down on them. But the objective reality was that these people could not read. No matter how sharp a person was, going from illiteracy to being able to carry out administrative work with logical consistency required at least ten years of training in written language — including arithmetic and coordination and the like.

But what they needed right now were people ready to be put to use immediately.

Zhù Ying said, “We still need to prioritize Wuzhou people. When I went to the capital, I was twelve or thirteen. The first time you met me, you were barely past twenty. The younger generation may be young, but if you never let them weather wind and rain, they will never grow up. Given Wuzhou’s current situation, we have no right to coddle these children, and the children have no right to be comfortable right now either. Let them be tested. We can’t let them reach Gu Tong’s age before they stumble.

As for ‘seeking talent’ — I won’t cancel that either. Just be discerning when selecting people. Looking at things now, it seems the ones who are least likely to ever fit into the court’s norms and rules are actually the most reliable.”

Zhao Su smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”

“It’s a pity Ji is still young. Otherwise, he should be out and about getting some experience too.”

Zhao Su smiled. “He’s not that young anymore — he can manage small things now. My only worry is that your westward push is moving too fast, and he’ll miss his chance at a share of the good.”

Zhù Ying said, “What is there to miss or not miss? Sharing a border with the western tribes — you think that’s going to be easy? If you want him to get a taste of hardship, there will be plenty of opportunity.”

Zhao Su was delighted, and raised the matter of upcoming strategic arrangements. Should they rest the troops over autumn and winter? “But then the campaign would drag on longer, and the consumption would increase. As for Jiang Zheng — we can set him aside for now — but given enough time, I’m afraid he’ll start to notice things. Which means we do need to keep the Fulu gentry stable.”

Zhù Ying said, “No rest — rotating defenses. At this pace, by next spring we can establish one more prefecture, and you and Lian will each take on the role of prefect of one. By the end of next year, we’ll be face to face with Pu Sheng; I expect the western tribes will have something to say by then — they may even intervene. At that point we’ll need to maneuver the court to check the western tribes, and that is when I’ll meet with Jiang Zheng and Shao Shuxin. That is also when you and the others will receive your new designations.”

Zhao Su smiled. “By then, I can petition for the title of Military Governor for you!”

Zhù Ying said, “Once we’re back, we’ll all have to work hard. We need to move quickly on the population migration. Autumn and winter are the right time — dig out a few rat holes, which will help with resettlement.” By “rat holes” she meant the chieftains’ stockpiles: after the autumn harvest, the chieftains’ granaries would be somewhat replenished — there was no point waiting until next spring to act, letting the chieftains spend the entire autumn and winter running through it.

Zhao Su said, “Yes. Not paying taxes this year will also give us a bit more breathing room. Grandma, what about Little Sister and the others?”

Zhù Ying said, “Keep to the original arrangement. As for the mother and daughter — one presses westward, and the other cannot leave. With her there, you’ll have support from outside the five counties as well.”

“Yes.”

……

Zhù Ying stayed at the Zhao family estate for three days. Gu Tong and the others brought back Gu Weng and the rest, and the Zhao estate grew lively again.

The moment Gu Weng and the others met her, they first inquired after Zhù Ying’s health, then carefully asked about the wound on her face.

Zhù Ying said, “Once I got into the mountains I developed a passion for hunting. The mountains have plenty of wild animals, and I got scratched by the brush along the way.”

Gu Weng and the others urged her to take care of herself — “Everyone is counting on you” — while also expressing their gratitude once more, saying that their children and nephews owed everything to Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying said, “That’s how it is with those who are older — they don’t want their young ones to suffer, and wish they could arrange everything perfectly for them. But then they’re afraid that without some hardship now, their young ones will have to swallow hardship dealt out by others later. And so — here we are.”

Gu Weng and the others all expressed agreement, while Gu Tong and his companions flushed red with embarrassment.

Zhù Ying then offered a few words of reassurance to Gu Weng and the others, sharing her thoughts — she hoped that Gu Tong and the group would “travel ten thousand li,” go out, do some work at the trade association branches, and come to understand more about how the world and human nature truly worked. “Wait for word from me.”

Gu Weng and the others quickly asked, “What does the Lord mean?”

Zhù Ying said, “Let them first sharpen their abilities. I have my own arrangements. But they — they need to settle down first.”

Gu Weng and the others hurriedly expressed their gratitude. “We will do whatever the Lord says.”

Zhù Ying made a circuit outside the mountains, reassured the gentry of the lowlands, and then toured the five counties. Asu County was the same as always; in Talang County, Lang Kunwu carried a faint shadow of worry — his maternal uncle had also fallen ill, and there were some small disputes on his father-in-law’s side, with both his mother and wife anxious for their respective families.

Lang Kunwu also asked Zhù Ying, when she passed by those households, to “take a look.” He dimly knew about Zhù Ying’s westward push, but since his son A’Pu had been sent to Zhù Ying’s side, he wasn’t afraid of being completely cut off.

Lang Rui was far more reluctant to let her go, tugging at Zhù Ying’s sleeve. “Grandma! I’m bored at home — and look, there’s nothing really urgent here! Let me come with you.”

Zhù Ying said, “Who told you there’s nothing urgent at home? Look for what needs doing. Stay here and listen to your father.”

Lang Rui muttered and grumbled. “If there’s still nothing happening by next year, you have to promise me. Little Sister and the others are all with you — you can’t just leave me behind here all by myself.”

Zhù Ying thought it over. “All right.”

Lang Rui cheered up immediately.

Zhù Ying continued on her way. As expected, the Sparrow clan father-in-law’s brothers were not getting along particularly well among themselves. “Dividing the household” among chieftain families was different from how it was done in the lowlands — equal division wasn’t the custom, but some property would be given. Wise judges have always found domestic disputes the hardest to settle, and Zhù Ying had no intention of settling this one — when it comes to competing interests, there is no settling it.

Here, she maintained the old traditions, and promised once again that she had already submitted a petition to the court for an imperial enfeoffment — it was simply that with the roads cut off, even the official gazette had been interrupted, so there had been no reply yet. As soon as a reply came, she would come in person to witness it.

That temporarily suppressed the feuding among the Sparrow brothers.

The situations with the Lu Guo and Xi Jin families were somewhat different. Both heads of household were getting on in years and had recently fallen ill, which had caused some restlessness in their respective villages. Zhù Ying made appearances at both, lending her prestige to settle things down somewhat.

After all that continuous rushing about, she returned to the mountain city to find the weather quite cool, and people had changed into padded jackets. Zhang Xiangu looked at her with exasperation upon her return. “Can you finally be at home to properly prepare for New Year now?”

Zhù Ying said, while issuing orders to pull out ten students from the school to accompany her as young assistants — specifically requesting Jiang Zhen, Jiang Bao, and others — “It’s still months until New Year. I’ll go moldy sitting at home.”

Zhang Xiangu looked at her plaintively. “They’re so young — are you going to take them off to war?”

Zhù Ying, reading the worry and reluctance in her eyes, quickly said, “Just making the rounds in the county. We won the war in the west, but there were casualties. Those families deserve an answer. I’m back now — I can’t not go see them.”

“You’re not leaving? Then fine!” Zhang Xiangu quickly changed her tune.

Zhù Ying said, “Tomorrow I’ll just be making rounds in the city. Shall we go together?”

Zhang Xiangu said, “Yes!”

The following day, a group of young students was called to the manor. One by one they stood straight-backed, proudly flushed with red faces, waiting for instructions. The two Jiangs looked on at their daughters with eyes full of smiles, and the two quietly conferred — they would slip along behind and see how their daughters did.

Zhù Ying had a list in hand. She and Zhang Xiangu both eschewed sedan chairs — Zhang Xiangu rode a donkey, and Zhù Ying led the donkey by the reins. The group went door to door on their visits. At the first home of a fallen soldier, a widowed woman in mourning clothes said, “Old Madam — you’ve come again? We’re still getting by all right at home.”

As it turned out, Zhang Xiangu had already gone around to the homes of widows and orphans in the mountain city several times over.

Zhù Ying helped Zhang Xiangu down from the donkey. “My mother brought me to see you.”

The widow wiped her eyes and ushered them inside. “You’re finally back! We’re managing all right, really.”

Zhù Ying sat on the door sill and chatted with her. Beyond “managing all right,” she asked about the family’s plans going forward — and at the end said, “You’ve suffered greatly. I can’t let you only live a hard life. Your family has many mouths and not enough land — I’ll allocate more farmland to you. The plots are a bit far, though, and you might need to divide your household. If you’d rather not split up, you can move westward — and I’ll convert your current land into an equivalent value for you.”

The widow said, “Then…”

“No hurry. You all decide amongst yourselves. In a few days, I’ll have them come and record the names.” She indicated Jiang Zhen and the others. “I’ll personally escort everyone going west.”

The widow said, “All right!”

Jiang Zhen scrambled clumsily to fish paper and brush from the document pouch at her waist and scribbled down the notes. Not far away, at the corner of a wall, Xiao Jiang was peering around the corner; above her head appeared Jiang Zhou’s face. “Both girls are doing well.”

Xiao Jiang said, “Keep your voice down! When you’re in service to the Lord, of course you do well.”

“That’s right — reassuring.”

……

The two Jiangs were “reassured” for less than a month before they received one “alarming” piece of news — Zhù Ying was going to take this whole group of students away with her!

Zhù Ying was going west again!

By then, everyone in the prefect’s manor already knew about the victory in the west and the gain of an entire prefecture of territory, and they all knew that heading west meant “career prospects.” Nothing was said explicitly, but it was widely understood that Zhù Lian would clearly be the second prefect after Zhao Su, and Zhù Qingjun had been commanding so many troops at the front for so long that she was probably something like a “general” by now.

Even within the manor, some people were privately discussing whether to send gifts to Zhao Su or seek Hua Jie’s intercession, hoping through their connections to make their way west.

But Jiang Zhen and Jiang Bao were not very old, and Xiao Jiang was deeply torn inside.

She watched her daughters buzzing with excitement and couldn’t bring herself to stop them — but she was genuinely worried. She held back as long as she could, then went to find Hua Jie to ask what one needed to keep in mind when a child sets out on a long journey.

Hua Jie was also preparing Zhù Ying’s traveling luggage. Seeing Xiao Jiang’s expression, she couldn’t help smiling. “You’re dithering — that’s not like you. You’re such a decisive person.”

“Back when Qingjun was a teenager setting off for the capital, I didn’t feel much. I suppose it’s true that you’re more attached to children you raised yourself. The human heart is just like that — partial. How did you manage to let go, back then?”

Hua Jie said, “There isn’t much else I can say, but at the time I thought: a girl of twelve or thirteen can already be spoken for in marriage. By fourteen or fifteen she can be given to her husband’s family. I will certainly die before her — I can’t keep her with me her whole life, can I? Whatever kind of life she lives afterward depends on herself. Even if she is eventually to be married, she still needs to be able to stand on her own feet — only then will she have a good life.

Is it harder for her to travel more roads, do more things, have more authority and standing, and manage her own household? Or is it harder to go into a stranger’s home, run the household, wait on her husband’s parents and her husband, and follow instructions in everything? Which of those would I find harder to bear seeing her do? Seeing Qingjun today — riding high in her official post, galloping on fine horses and happy — or seeing her just scrubbing pots and wiping tables — which brings me more joy?”

Xiao Jiang stood up. “I’m going to buy her a couple more pairs of shoes to take along!”