When asked why Dong Heng had to be assassinated, Yin Yinyin instead changed the subject and started discussing current affairs:
"The city lockdown order will last two days at most."
Hearing Yin Yinyin's confident judgment, Le Yu raised an eyebrow. "That certain? Everyone in our Statistics Department thinks this is the prelude to war. For all we know, the city will remain locked down until either Ding Yi or Lu Zhong is defeated."
"How could that be?" Yin Yinyin said disdainfully. "Do you think war is something they can start just because they want to? The Morning Wind District hasn't seen internal strife in nearly a century. Do you think it's so easy to raise a butcher's knife against your fellow citizens?"
Seeing the bewildered look on Le Yu's face, as if he were a three-year-old child, Yin Yinyin had no choice but to take a small notebook from his robes and educate him on the basics. "Whether war breaks out now has nothing to do with Ding Yi or Lu Zhong. It doesn't even have anything to do with the interest groups behind them. It depends on the Coastal Army."
"The Coastal Army has existed for several hundred years. Its internal factions are numerous, and its tangled web of interests goes without saying. However, according to Linhai's three lines of defense, it can roughly be divided into three camps: Sun Coast, Swallow's Nest, and Sirius Lighthouse."
"In the past, the troops stationed at the three defensive lines would rotate. But after the Annihilation Cannon, Light Crossbow, and other new extermination weapons were installed across the board, the cost of integrating new troops after a rotation rose significantly. The rotation system was abandoned entirely more than a decade ago, and the three forces became deeply entrenched in their respective lines of defense."
"Local ties shape positions, positions create estrangement, and estrangement leads to opposition."
"Unequal distribution of supplies and friction during military exercises gradually split the Coastal Army into three factions."
"On top of that, Ding Yi became the governor of Star Engraving Prefecture and deliberately cultivated ties with the Coastal Army stationed at Sun Coast, giving them priority in the distribution of supplies. This further intensified the friction within the Coastal Army. Lu Zhong becoming the executive officer came later. He decisively chose to support Swallow's Nest and Sirius Lighthouse with the resources of the entire district. The result was that the Coastal Army split into Lu Zhong's faction and Ding Yi's faction."
"Admittedly, Ding Yi and Lu Zhong are both pieces of trash, but their political instincts are remarkably sharp. If they tried to win over the entire Coastal Army, the army would only take advantage without taking sides. Only by winning over one side and suppressing the other could they gain the loyalty of part of the Coastal Army."
"But." Yin Yinyin closed his notebook. "Humans aren't beasts with nothing but asses and positions."
"Opposing positions don't mean they can ruthlessly attack their former comrades-in-arms. They're all people of the Morning Wind District, all members of the Coastal Army. Small scuffles are one thing, but if anyone dared order them to attack their comrades, part of the mid- and lower-ranking officers would immediately scatter, and another part would flee after the battle ended. As for besieging the city, that's even more absurd. Many members of the Coastal Army have family living in Star Engraving Prefecture. How could they possibly attack the city?"
"Even if we ignored the threat of the sea barbarians, wouldn't Lu Zhong and Ding Yi worry that, after the Coastal Army's strength was greatly reduced, Dongyang and Azure would start coveting their territory?"
"Negotiation and compromise, or a palace coup—those are the only possible paths to unifying the Morning Wind District. War simply cannot break out. They can't fight, they don't dare fight, and they don't want to fight!"
Put simply, this was a confrontation between two gang bosses. Neither wanted to waste his own underlings, yet both wanted to seize the other's territory... Le Yu immediately understood and nodded. "If they don't want to fight, then why is Ding Yi locking down the city?"
"A sponge soaked with water won't release any until you squeeze it." Yin Yinyin spoke with schadenfreude. "Do you think the lockdown affects ordinary people? No. The ones hit hardest are the estates and businesses of the nobles and wealthy merchants."
"Ordinary people will merely be restless for these two days, but the nobles will lose real gold and silver!"
"Externally, the lockdown is meant to intimidate Lu Zhong and stop him from acting rashly. Internally, it's meant to seize military funds, forcing the nobles tied to Ding Yi's chariot to empty their coffers. It also lets your Statistics Department clean out the pieces Lu Zhong planted in Star Engraving Prefecture. After two days of lockdown, Ding Yi will have achieved all his goals and can naturally lift the order."
Le Yu asked, "Then why exactly do we have to kill Dong Heng?"
Yin Yinyin said, "The City Defense Department in Star Engraving Prefecture is currently subordinate to the Judicial Department. Once Dong Heng dies, Ding Yi will have no other capable person under him to use, leaving him with two choices: promote an officer from the City Defense Department to take charge of the city's defenses, or let the Judicial Department continue handling them, or let the Statistics Department handle them."
"No matter what Ding Yi chooses, we in White Night will be able to control at least part of Star Engraving Prefecture's city defenses. Moreover, if we kill Dong Heng now, Ding Yi will only assume it's Lu Zhong's retaliation. He won't suspect White Night."
Le Yu suddenly understood. "The White Night branch has been established? We have people in the Statistics Department, the Judicial Department, and the City Defense Department?"
Yin Yinyin remained expressionless. "As an undercover agent who could fall into enemy hands at any moment, you must not inquire about the intelligence of other covert operatives. That's common sense and professional ethics. If there's a next time, I'll suspect you've been bought off by the enemy and turned into a double agent deliberately stealing our intelligence."
"Sure, sure." Le Yu spread his hands. "But what's the point of controlling the city defenses? Smuggling?"
"More or less, though the goods are rather special."
"What goods?"
"Firearms."
Le Yu blinked. Weapons?
Yin Yinyin flipped through his notebook, pondered for a moment, and said, "There's no need to hide this from you... Once the time is right, we'll launch a coup, assassinate Ding Yi, and use Star Engraving Prefecture as our base to carry out reforms. Firearms not bound by Radiance law are being prepared for that purpose."
Le Yu was shocked. "Ding Yi will be dead, but there's still Lu Zhong!"
"He'll die too. The difference is that we already have a suitable replacement for Ding Yi. Under Radiance law, after a governor dies, the highest-ranking surviving administrator can temporarily assume the position. But the executive officer is appointed by the imperial court and cannot be replaced."
"But that will be enough." Yin Yinyin took out a map of the Morning Wind District. "Once Lu Zhong and Ding Yi are dead, the other eight prefectures of the Morning Wind District will certainly develop ambitions of their own and govern themselves independently. White Night can then consolidate Star Engraving Prefecture without interference and, depending on the situation, seize the other eight prefectures and the Coastal Army."
Le Yu swallowed. "That's incredibly exciting... So most of White Night's forces will have to come to the Morning Wind District? But why choose Star Engraving Prefecture as the base?"
"In terms of military strength, the Coastal Army ranks among the top three elite forces in the world. Economically, the Morning Wind District thrives on maritime trade. In terms of abundance, the Morning Wind District's three harvests a year make it the most fertile land under heaven. If White Night can unify the Morning Wind District, it will amount to taking a firm first step toward liberating all of Radiance."
Yin Yinyin glanced at Le Yu, apparently too lazy to say, That's common sense too.
Le Yu had grown used to that look from Yin Yinyin. Besides, given Yin Yinyin's rather feminine appearance, he had already decided to treat him as a tsundere. "Then when do you think the right time will be?"
"Within ten days."
Le Yu blinked. "That's incredibly soon... Wait, you're launching it within ten days? Are you sure you can take control of Star Engraving Prefecture?"
Yin Yinyin said nothing. He merely closed his notebook.
Le Yu blinked, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Looks like there are far more White Night Walkers in Star Engraving Prefecture than I imagined... I thought White Night was just a small organization built on wild fantasies."
"Why would you say that?"
"Think about it. There's Accumulated Mistakes, the pursuit of fairness and justice, and the emphasis on safeguarding the greater whole while preserving the smaller whole... Most people aren't sages. They just want to rise above others, abuse power for personal gain, and seize every advantage. Yet joining White Night means losing that kind of power, and if you make a mistake, your old accounts may even be dug up. I thought only young students would join such a ridiculous organization on the strength of youthful passion, like Qian Yuliu... in other words, me."
Yin Yinyin looked at Le Yu, thought for a moment, and said:
"Suppose that, at the end of the world, there exists a wondrous nation. Its people obey the law and are courteous. Its government works efficiently for the people. Laborers are not divided into high and low, noble and base. Every student can receive the finest education. Everyone has a bright future. The elderly are cared for, the young are nurtured, and all under heaven lives in harmony. Everyone takes pride in being part of it... Would you want to visit that nation?"
"I would."
"But the journey there is extremely far. You'd have to endure raging winds and torrential rain, and even attacks by sea beasts. No one has ever successfully reached that nation before. The journey would be a narrow escape from death—or perhaps no escape at all. Would you still want to go?"
"No. Besides, you said no one has ever reached that nation. How would you know it exists?"
Yin Yinyin smiled faintly and suddenly changed the subject. "Do you think justice is a concept created by humans, or a law that exists objectively?"
Le Yu blinked and fell into thought. "This..."
The tsundere Yin Yinyin sighed. "Do you ever feel that certain things aren't just, fair, or reasonable enough?"
Le Yu snorted. "What kind of person do you think I am? I'm an officer of the Statistics Department, the people who manufacture injustice, unfairness, and unreasonableness."
"Then in your heart, there must be more just, fair, and reasonable ways to handle everything, right?" Yin Yinyin asked. "Otherwise, what you call 'injustice' would be meaningless. So the 'justice' you believe in—did you create it yourself, or does it exist objectively?"
Before Le Yu could answer, Yin Yinyin answered for him. "Justice is a concept created jointly by every member of society. Therefore, it's an objectively existing law."
"That nation is just like justice. When we look at the nation of Radiance, we feel that its nobles consider themselves superior, its government treats human lives as weeds, and the powerful exploit the people."
"Then, in opposition to the Radiance of today, there must inevitably exist a nation where everyone is equal regardless of status, where the government loves its people as its own children, and where public authority serves the people."
"Though we cannot see or touch it, it must exist in the future."
"So," Yin Yinyin said, "now do you understand why there are so many White Night Walkers?"
"Longing for that nation is our natural instinct. Once the first person steps forward, there will be a second and a third. There will be craftsmen responsible for building ships, warriors who protect everyone's safety, helmsmen who steer the vessels, executioners who maintain discipline, and actors who liven up the atmosphere... One ship after another will raise its sails, and everyone will advance wave upon wave toward that nation."
"During this process, the pioneers are destined to face countless dangers: natural disasters from outside, calamities caused by people within, and the doubts of others... But in the end, we will certainly chart a viable route and lead everyone toward the new world."
Le Yu suddenly had a brainwave and asked, "Then... what if some privileged people who consider themselves superior don't want to go to this so-called nation of yours?"
"Those people will become fuel for the new era along with the old-world ship of Radiance, where ruler and subject are strictly ordered and status is clearly ranked." Yin Yinyin slammed a fist onto the map of Star Engraving Prefecture.
"Star Engraving Prefecture is White Night's first ship."
Le Yu stared at the map for a long while before slowly asking, "When do we make our move?"
Yin Yinyin took out his pocket watch and checked it. "Thirteen minutes remain."
"What?"
"There are only twelve minutes left now. Change clothes and prepare for action."
Le Yu looked utterly shocked. "Today? So soon!?"
"Do you think an assassination is a dinner party that requires choosing an auspicious date?" Yin Yinyin opened a chest. "The sooner you kill, the better. Strike swiftly and cut through the chaos. I've prepared your clothes."
He flung two outfits onto the bed in the basement. One was a deep-black men's silk formal suit that felt luxurious and imposing at a touch. The other...
Le Yu picked up the other outfit and looked at Yin Yinyin in confusion.
Yin Yinyin looked at Le Yu as if he were an idiot. "Dong Heng lives in the wealthy district. We can't conceal our faces and sneak in. Disguising yourself during espionage is common sense among common sense."
"I understand the reasoning." Le Yu waved the shirt and skirt in his hand. "But why did you bring out a white off-the-shoulder blouse and a light-pink pleated skirt?"
Before you continue