"The Grand Secretariat has arrived."
Su Ziji heard this and said no more. He watched the guards crowd around and leave. Yu Lü was about to take his leave when Su Ziji considered for a moment and said, "Come with Me."
"Yes!" Yu Lü had no choice but to follow.
The Grand Secretariat was located in Minghua Hall. Minghua Hall was divided into two sections: one was where the Grand Secretariat conducted its affairs, while the other was the Book Repository, chiefly storing official records and archives from past years.
Stepping inside, they saw painted pillars beneath the eaves, bearing the style of a garden estate. With troops now in motion, military and political dispatches flew in like snowflakes. Yu Lü followed them in and saw shelves and racks everywhere, piled high with documents marked by different labels.
Zhao Xu, Xie Zhi, Cui Zhaoqian, He Yuduan, Qian Wei, and the others from the Grand Secretariat came out to greet them with bows. Even Lu Fengyun was present. Su Ziji waved a hand and took his seat. "No need for empty formalities. Tell Me the situation."
"Yes!" Cui Zhaoqian's expression was solemn. "The Ying Rebels are moving quickly, but an army of seventy or eighty thousand cannot march faster than our eight-hundred-li military reports. Thus, we were able to report ahead of them."
"At present, the Ying Rebels' strategy appears very simple: they advance along the cities."
"If a prefectural city dares to leave its walls for a field battle, they swallow it in one bite. If it holds the city, they plunder the people for grain. It is said the scenes along their path are too dreadful to behold."
It was Yu Lü's first time taking part in such weighty affairs of state and war. He remained silent, merely listening,