Arrival

As evening drew near, the setting sun streamed through the window lattice into the study, staining row upon row of shelves lined with case files red.

A middle-aged man in black robes leaned over the desk, the wolf-hair brush between his fingers swiftly reviewing memorial after memorial.

The Great Yan Prime Minister wielded power, but also bore responsibility. In these troubled times, memorials that could reach the imperial ear were as numerous as ox hairs. Many matters required his personal review, and eight or nine out of ten were connected to the war that had ended at the Northern Border.

The war at the Northern Border was about to end.

In the Northern Border, ravaged by the flames of war, much still needed to be dealt with. Memorials of every kind came flying in like snowflakes.

Pensions for fallen soldiers, rewards and promotions according to the merits of officers and men, all manner of personnel transfers, punishment for wartime corruption, even contingency plans for the migration of tens of millions of commoners.

As he looked at the names appearing one after another in the memorials, Xu Yinhe could summon the corresponding portraits in his mind.

This was the accumulation of decades.

Without understanding them, how could one speak of recognizing men and employing them well?

Yet when he saw the volume in his hand titled Chronicle of the Gui Mao Year, Xu Yinhe's brush paused slightly.

The Barbarian Tribe had invaded south in force during the Gui Mao Year, hence the name. In annalistic form, it recorded the major and minor battles of the past eleven years.

To see this chronicle meant that the war at the Northern Border had truly ended. Once he had reviewed it and added his annotations, it would be entered into the historical records of