The sky was dull grey, and the air bitterly cold. The transplanted pines, with their branches drooping downwards, seemed utterly devoid of spirit.
After finishing her workout, Yuxi walked out of the house, wiping off her sweat. Looking up at the sky, she asked, "Did the General take an umbrella with him when he went out?" Yun Qing had gone to the military camp, where the Dingbei Army had now grown to fifty thousand. Yun Qing spent half of the day at the camp.
Zijin shook her head and said, "Yu Cong has already taken a straw raincoat and hat." It was impractical to ride a horse with an umbrella; a raincoat and hat were more appropriate. She never thought that her Madam would make such a common sense mistake. Zijin decided not to mention it to Yuxi and simply chuckled to herself.
Traditional Chinese Straw raincoats
Yuxi entered the house and waited for her sweat to dry before calling for water to wash up. Afterwards, she had her breakfast. As Zaozao watched Yuxi enjoy the sweet taste of goat's milk, she grabbed Yuxi's hand, indicating that she wanted to drink some too.
When Mama Lan saw Yuxi scooping up a spoonful of goat's milk to feed to Zaozao, she quickly said, "Madam, Young Miss isn't ready to drink goat's milk yet."
As soon as those words were spoken, the goat's milk intended for Zaozao's mouth ended up in Yuxi's own mouth. After finishing this sip of goat's milk, Yuxi asked, "If Zaozao can have rice paste, why can't she have goat's milk?"
Rice Paste
Mama Lan replied, "Because children are still too young, they have delicate stomachs, so there are many indigestible things they can't eat. Things like rice paste and vegetable juice are easy to digest, but goat and cow's milk are not. It's best to wait until the child is three years old before giving them goat or cow's milk."
Yuxi humbly nodded and commented, "Raising a child is truly a profound subject." It was also thanks to Mama Lan taking such good care of Zaozao that Yuxi could spare herself a lot of worry.
Shortly afterwards, Xu Wu came in and informed Yuxi: "Madam, the person has arrived and is waiting outside."
Yuxi asked Mama Lan to take the child out, and everyone in the room was dismissed, leaving only Zijin. Then she said, "Bring him in!"
As the person entered, Yuxi glanced at him. He was pretty short in stature, but his gaze was unusually fierce and intimidating, capable of scaring people just by looking at them. Surprised, Yuxi asked, "Did you look like this when you were with the Xu family before?"
The man shook his head. "No, I've changed my appearance. As I am now, no one would recognise me even if I stood in front of the Xu family." While a person's height could not be changed, their appearance could.
Yuxi had reservations about this answer. She believed that no matter how powerful the art of disguise was, it could only bring about partial changes and couldn't truly transform a person. However, she decided to ask Yun Qing about this matter later. She asked, "What is your name?"
The man said, "During my time with the Xu family, my codename was Ying Shanghong1." The man shook his head when Yuxi asked him for his real name. "In the eyes of the world, I have long been a dead man."
Yuxi made no comment on this, instead asking, "The General should have told you to prepare to smuggle a batch of supplies across the pass in exchange for the things we need, right?"
Ying Shanghong asked, "What does Madam intend to exchange them for?"
Yuxi replied, "Horses. The Yu City's army of 100,000 men has only 5,000 horses, and the quality of those horses is not very good. It would be excellent to acquire some horses of better breeds." The 5,000 horses Yuxi mentioned also included those old and unfit for the battlefield.
Ying Shanghong shook his head. "With fine rice, white flour, or silk, we can trade for quality horses, but the quantity will not be substantial. Asking for too many would arouse suspicion." Getting many quality horses was impossible, and even acquiring a significant number of ordinary horses would be a challenge.
Yuxi furrowed her brow and said, "Trade as much as you can. If we can't get horses, we should try to acquire unique items specific to the northern regions, such as sable pelts, which are relatively scarce inland. After obtaining these items, we can sell them in prosperous places like Jiangnan to fetch a good price."
Ying Shanghong shook his head. "Madam, this is difficult. Even if there are valuable items like sable pelts, they are in the hands of the nobles. The people we trade with are mostly ordinary herders, and they only own common things like cattle, sheep, and horses. Rare items are all in the possession of the nobility."
After observing Ying Shanghong's extensive knowledge of the northern regions, Yuxi took the opportunity to ask him numerous questions. Despite conversing all morning, Yuxi had gained only a limited understanding. Yuxi suggested, "Why don't you go back and write down everything you remember, and then let me go through it? Do you think that's possible?" Yuxi realised that her range of questions was limited, making it easy to miss important details. If Ying Shanghong had put his knowledge into writing, it would have helped Yuxi understand the people from the northern regions. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without fear of defeat.
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Ying Shanhong had no objections and nodded. "Very well, I'll go back and write down what I've seen and heard over the years and hand it over to you, Madam."
Yuxi rubbed her shoulders and was about to enter the study when Mama Qu stopped her. Mama Qu reminded her, "Madam, no matter how busy you are, you must finish your lunch first." When Madam got busy, she lost track of time, so it was up to those around her to remind her.
After having lunch and feeding Zaozao, Yuxi entered the study. Everyone thought she would stay in the study for a long time, but surprisingly, she came out after only fifteen minutes. Instead of doing anything else, she was preparing for her afternoon nap.
Mama Qu remarked, "Madam has developed this habit very well." Under normal circumstances, Yuxi would take a half-hour nap every day at noon.
After her afternoon nap, Yuxi did nothing but play with Zaozao. This confused Mama Qu a little, but she understood her role and knew it wasn't her place to ask.
Zijin rushed in, saw Yuxi amusing a happy Zaozao and exclaimed, "Madam, something terrible has happened! The Imperial Commissioner has been murdered on his way back to the capital."
Yuxi's hand that was holding Zaozao stopped moving as she asked, "Who killed him? Where was he killed?" The Imperial Commissioner had been gone for about ten days, and based on the calculation of his route, he was about seven to eight hundred miles from Xinping City.
Zijin replied, "Madam, he was killed by horse thieves. The place where he was killed is only two hundred miles away from Lan2 City. Madam, I can't believe that these horse thieves would dare to kill even an Imperial Commissioner. Aren't they afraid that the Imperial Court will send troops to exterminate them?"
Yuxi secretly thought that this was the outcome she wanted. But the less people knew about it, the better. She asked, "Apart from Cao De, did everyone else escape?" Usually, horse thieves would not leave any survivors. Of course, the lucky ones could still escape.
Zijin replied, "More than a dozen managed to escape, but they were all servants. All the officials, on the other hand, died. None of them survived." After a pause, she continued, "Madam, I've heard that these horse bandits particularly despise government officials. Most of them have been persecuted by officials." However, even if they had been persecuted, the fact that they had dared to kill an Imperial Commissioner showed that they must have eaten the heart of a bear and the bile of a leopard3.
Yuxi responded calmly, "It's not our concern if the Imperial Commissioner was killed by the horse bandits. The one who should be concerned is the Prefect of Lan City." When an incident involving an Imperial Commissioner occurred in Lanzhou, the local prefect would undoubtedly be the first one to be held accountable by the Imperial Court.
Zijin looked at Yuxi, who seemed completely unaffected and felt that she was the only one who might have gotten too excited. Speaking of which, she really couldn't keep her cool.
Yuxi said, "In a few days, the Qingming Hall will start classes, and the children from the farmland should also return. Go to the farmland tomorrow and bring back girls who are eight years old or older." Stunned by Mr Xia's incident, Yuxi decided to employ a group of orphan girls. She didn't trust those who had been bought from outside or sent by the Han Residence.
Understanding Yuxi's concern, Zijin said, "Madam, there's no need to choose only orphan girls. Among the other children, there's a child, Jingbo, who's also quite good. And there are two other girls who are also very talented. If Madam doesn't mind, I would like to take them as apprentices."
Yuxi laughed and said, "Your appetite is quite big, isn't it? Wanting to take on three apprentices at once." After a moment's pause, she continued, "I don't mind you taking on apprentices, but this matter also requires Master Yang's approval." These children were all good. However, when it came to martial arts, she was a layman, while Master Yang was an expert. Yuxi felt that it was essential to listen to Master Yang's opinion. After all, taking on apprentices was not a trivial matter and should be approached cautiously.
Speaking of Master Yang and Yu Zhi, Zijin was filled with frustration. "The residence is as busy as can be, and yet he still has the leisure to take Yu Zhi to visit friends. They've been gone for over ten days, and there's no telling when they'll return."
Yuxi smiled and said, "They will naturally come back when the time is right. By the way, when you go to the Charity Home later, bring back that child named Wei Meiyun as well. That child is also very impressive." Yuxi was especially impressed by the child that she wanted to bring her into the residence for cultivation.
In the evening, Yun Qing returned from outside with a very grim expression on his face. Yuxi went up to him, took off his cloak, and hung it on a hanger. She asked, "Why do you look so troubled? Is it because of the incident where the Imperial Commissioner was killed?"
Yun Qing was extremely angry as he replied, "These bandits and horse thieves are becoming more and more brazen. They even dare to kill even an Imperial Commissioner?" He didn't have a good opinion of Cao De, but the brazenness of the horse thieves really annoyed him.
Yuxi said, "I've heard that there are a huge number of horse thieves and bandits around Lanzhou and that the Prefect of Lanzhou has been ineffective in suppressing them. The bandits have already become a threat." In reality, bandits in Shanxi, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces were particularly formidable.
Yun Qing's face turned cold as he said, "It's not just Lanzhou; the entire northwest is infested with bandits." What infuriates Yun Qing the most is that the imperial court has not given him the order to suppress the bandits. If he were given the command to mobilise his troops, he guaranteed that he would completely annihilate the bandits and horse thieves in the northwest within half a year.
Yuxi shook her head. "You can't kill all these bandits and horse thieves." Seeing Yun Qing staring at her with wide eyes, she continued, "There are many who are truly evil among these bandits and horse thieves, but most of them are forced to take refuge in the mountains out of desperation. If they had enough to eat and wear and could live a peaceful life, who would want to become a bandit. In the end, it's still the Imperial Court's incompetence and the officials' corruption that have made it impossible for the common people to survive." Joining a bandit gang was a way to stay alive, otherwise there was only death.
After a moment of silence, Yun Qing spoke up, "But they still have to be killed." This statement implied that if the Imperial Court ordered him to mobilise his troops, he would show no mercy to those bandits.
Yuxi said, "Of course, bandits and horse thieves who indiscriminately kill innocent people should be exterminated. But if we meet those who have principles and do not kill innocent people, we should let them go if possible."
Yun Qing disagreed with Yuxi. Whether these people were forced or not, since they chose to become bandits, they should bear the consequences of being exterminated.
Yuxi didn't argue with Yun Qing and said, "Let's wait for the Imperial Court to issue an order for you to mobilise your troops." Even if the Imperial Court decided to suppress the bandits, Ji Xuan would undoubtedly be the first to lead the campaign. Only if Ji Xuan failed to effectively suppress the bandits would there be a possibility of deploying the Northwest Army.
Yun Qing immediately had nothing to say.
Footnotes Full List
- If you read his codename as one word, it means azalea.
- orchid
- Chinese idiom: tremendous audacity
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi