By the second lunar month, the ice and snow in Jin Territory had not yet fully melted, but basic production activity had already gradually resumed near most of the major towns.
Industrial production had begun a few days before the New Year, and commercial support had followed close behind. Some convoys braved the ice and snow to reach the countryside, delivering supplies to people during the New Year season while also spreading word of the Lady Chancellor’s benevolent governance. Among them, accompanying military physicians saved the lives of no small number of villagers during the depths of winter.
Political activity had not stopped either. Weisheng and Dongcheng had taken advantage of good weather to squeeze in several New Year celebrations, and after the fifteenth of the month, Yu Yulin led troops in a lively military parade outside Weisheng.
Organizing collective activities during periods of idleness served both as a test of organizational capability and as a way to raise the collective’s level of organization through practical exercise. This was the method Ning Yi had used in the southwest, and Lou Shuwan had been learning it bit by bit. Now that she had a bit of surplus grain to work with, she threw herself into it enthusiastically.
Overall, the results were excellent.
Many of the noble clans and merchant houses across the Central Plains that still had some assets sensed that Jin Territory was on the verge of taking off. By the second month, a good number of people from various regions had already gathered near Weisheng. Some directly petitioned the Jin court for audiences and cooperation; more approached, through various channels, one powerful figure after another in Jin Territory, hoping to establish partnerships and get a share of the coming development. Even some major merchants who had once operated actively in Jin’s territory quietly began sending envoys this way.
The situation across the Central Plains was, at this moment, at its most favorable point yet for Jin Territory.
Looking south across the Yellow River, the situation in Bian Liang was gradually stabilizing. The territory once controlled by a handful of short-sighted petty landowners like Yin Zong and Chen Shiquan, who had maintained all manner of ties with the Jurchen, was now in the hands of the brilliant and ambitious Zou Xu. After crushing Liu Guangshi, the reigning “sage” Dai Mengwei had made up for whatever Zou Xu lacked in moral legitimacy. At this moment, in terms of sheer competence, the two of them were shaping up to be the pair of chaotic-era partners the world most anticipated. Given time, everyone knew they would accomplish something remarkable—after all, the standard they measured themselves against was none other than the colossal power still lying dormant in the southwest.
But being measured against the southwest was both a reflection of the high expectations placed on them, and also their greatest point of vulnerability. No one knew when the Huaxia Army might emerge from the southwest, but when it did, it would surely deliver a thunderous blow to both Zou Xu and Dai Mengwei. Even a peerless hero like Nian Han Xiyin had been no match for the Huaxia Army of the southwest—how much chance did Zou Xu and Dai Mengwei have of surviving the wrath of that Mister Ning?
On top of that, Mister Ning of the southwest also had a reputation as a “demon of the mind.” Even without deploying his army, he need only quietly reveal a fraction of his intent, or send a few disruptive teams into Bian Liang, and that alone would be enough to give this side a real headache. So although people held some hope for short-term stability near Bian Liang, most still felt uneasy about its long-term fate.
Looking further north past Jin Territory, in the lands of the Jin state—once considered the greatest threat—word had spread after the New Year that Xiyin’s entire family had been imprisoned and that Gao Qingyi was under investigation. With one deputy and one senior minister falling one after another, the western faction under Nian Han, which had once supported half of the Jin state’s power, was now in a precarious position. Some of the great merchants who had once traveled through the north had begun turning their attention this way, a fact that itself demonstrated how much the pressure on Jin Territory’s northern front had eased.
To the east, the Huaxia Army and Guangwu Army forces stationed at Liangshan, who had once endured extremely difficult times due to shortages of supplies, had now finally gotten a bit of breathing room. Backed by past military achievements, the Jurchen eastern route army did not dare act rashly, and the Lady Chancellor’s substantial support to Liangshan over the past two years was a fact well known to those in the know.
To the west, the northwest had become nearly a blank slate. After Zhe Keqiu’s family, who had surrendered to the Jurchen, was wiped out, this already impoverished land was left with nothing but a scattering of unremarkable bandit gangs and drifters living by the blade—no longer capable of posing much of a threat to any major power in the realm.
With all four directions—east, west, south, and north—settled, and its territory well-connected in every direction, this kind of power, one that maintained at least peaceful relations, if not close ties, with every major force in the realm, could be found nowhere else but in Jin Territory. And with Ning Yi’s guidance, the Lady Chancellor’s attitude toward the outside world had grown warm and open. Dongcheng had taken over various technologies from the Huaxia Army, and many of the businesses developed in the southwest had already gone into production in Jin Territory. Though output wasn’t yet very large, if one wanted to make money, nowhere else in the realm offered as many opportunities as Jin Territory did right now.
The moment Jin Territory showed even the slightest hint of intent to expand, interests from every direction came flocking in. For a time, the bustle in Jin Territory almost replicated the grand gathering the southwest had held two years earlier.
In the second month, once the situation in Bian Liang had settled somewhat, Zou Xu personally led a delegation across the river north to Weisheng—partly to thank the Lady Chancellor for her support of Bian Liang during the previous fighting, and partly to discuss further cooperation opportunities with Lou Shuwan. This included an invitation extended to Lou Shuwan regarding the so-called China Martial Arts Association that Dai Mengwei planned to establish that summer.
Aunt and nephew met and discussed matters in the Green Palace, in an atmosphere of warmth and harmony.
Regarding this whole affair, Zhan Wu and Xue Guangcheng of the Huaxia Army had repeatedly protested, said to be furious about it, but powerless to do anything. Lou Shuwan, feeling she had the upper hand, was rather pleased with herself.
On the day of the negotiations, Zou Xu led his party out of the palace and had just stepped onto the street when someone by the roadside threw off their cloak and opened fire on him with a series of gunshots. Zou Xu, however, had come prepared—he darted behind his carriage in an instant, using the iron plating inside the carriage along with the shields of his attendants to dodge the attack.
On occasions like this, Jin Territory normally took security for its guests quite seriously. But perhaps because the long period of harmonious dealings had led to an underestimation of the Huaxia Army’s resolve, or perhaps because the assassination Xue Guangcheng had organized had genuinely brought out his best tradecraft, the Huaxia Army operatives’ hiding spot had gone completely undetected. Had Zou Xu himself not been so alert, those first few shots alone would have turned him into mincemeat.
But the attack could go no further. Skilled fighters among the Lady Chancellor’s own escort sprang into action; bows, a wall of gunfire, and Zou Xu’s own guard detail all mobilized, surrounding the small group of attackers. But the attackers, holding grenades, didn’t throw them—Xue Guangcheng stood at the front, glaring defiantly at everyone, while Zhan Wu, the other person in charge, stood further off down the street with a group of men, watching how things would unfold.
Before long, Lou Shuwan, who hadn’t yet made it back after seeing off her guests, emerged from that direction as well, her face ashen, walking slowly toward the middle of the standoff. Even when Shi Jin tried to hold her back, she forcefully shook him off.
The situation was extremely awkward, and extremely complicated.
From Lou Shuwan’s perspective, she didn’t believe Xue Guangcheng and the others would actually go so far as to use such methods against Zou Xu—after all, the profit split from their last deal hadn’t even been fully paid out yet (in truth, Jin Territory was too far from the southwest for it to be transported back easily even if it had been). But Xue Guangcheng had gone and done it anyway. The planning of the assassination might not have been entirely thorough, but had Zou Xu himself reacted even slightly slower, he’d already have been turned into a sieve.
Now that the assassination had failed and the attackers were surrounded, still holding their grenades, they carried themselves with a reckless, don’t-care attitude. The whole problem had suddenly been thrown back onto Lou Shuwan and everyone in Jin Territory. As a representative of the southwest’s support team, Lou Shuwan naturally believed they wouldn’t simply leave. Xue Guangcheng and Zhan Wu had always been easygoing, seemingly reasonable and even rather considerate of the bigger picture. But at this moment, Lou Shuwan realized: Zou Xu certainly couldn’t be allowed to die—but how could Xue Guangcheng and the others be allowed to die either?
Xue Guangcheng, who had once saved an entire city’s worth of people in Bian Liang—if he were to die here like this, Lou Shuwan had no desire to bear the brunt of Ning Yi’s fury in the southwest.
Surrounding the several assassins, no one dared step forward. Even Lou Shuwan, in the first flush of her fury, waved her hand and gave the order: “Protect General Zou and the others!”
The soldiers of Jin Territory hastily split off another squad to encircle Zou Xu’s group protectively. Both sides were desperados who had come out of the Huaxia Army; and when that particular temperament was allowed to fully surface unchecked, even if Xue Guangcheng didn’t pull the pin on his grenade, there was no guarantee that Zou Xu—who just moments ago had been calling her “Aunt” with every other breath—wouldn’t suddenly step out and open fire himself, gunning down a few Huaxia Army members right there on the spot.
Perhaps it was Lou Shuwan’s instant decisiveness that pleased Zou Xu; that man, who had been hiding behind the carriage with an air of mild-mannered humility, suddenly burst into laughter, his manner turning wild and unrestrained.
Lou Shuwan, her face like thunder, strode toward Xue Guangcheng and the others. She spread her arms wide, saying nothing more, as if she meant to embrace them. Having governed Jin Territory for years, she was dressed today in a plain black long gown that gave off a relaxed, homey air—but once she spread her arms, her presence was overwhelming, her stride quick, enough to make even the resolutely composed Xue Guangcheng instinctively step back.
“Chancellor Lou, you—”
“Go on, then. Blow me up.”
Xue Guangcheng reached up and touched his lips.
“This is a matter between people within the Huaxia Army.”
“Was it Ning Yi who told you to do this?!”
“That’s our business.”
“You’re committing violence here in Jin Territory!”
“The Huaxia Army has long since lodged its protests!”
“—Either blow me up, or surrender yourselves!”
Snow still lay unmelted on the long street, and the sharp words clashed and exploded in the open air. Shi Jin, one hand extended, also approached Xue Guangcheng and the others, shaking his head as he offered words of caution. Nearby, the Jin Territory soldiers spread out into formation all at once, letting out a unified roar to intimidate the attackers. All along the street, countless eyes watched this tense, bloody scene unfold.
Zou Xu, behind the carriage, laughed wildly for a moment, then fell quiet. In that stillness, he suddenly called out: “Xue Guangcheng, Zhan Wu—since you can’t manage to kill me today, let’s talk!”
The three of them had not had much prior contact. Zou Xu had come out of the very first class of Ning Yi’s training program, ranking among the senior disciples in terms of seniority, his brilliance considerable. Xue Guangcheng, having faced the blades and axes of the Jurchen head-on in frontline work without flinching, was of an extremely hardened temperament. At this point, Zhan Wu stood off in the distance while Xue Guangcheng, facing the carriage, called out sternly: “Do you know what you’ve done!”
“I know—”
Zou Xu’s answer came immediately.