" Prefect Si."
Gu Moran picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote the three characters "grain," "road," and "pass" on the side of the map.
" The Tubo have already handed their swords to our doorstep. If we just stand there and wait for them to fall, we'll die even faster."
The study fell silent.
Fang Bi stood to the side, clutching the ink stick in his hand, even his breathing became soft.
Zhen Daijin looked down at the map, his thick fingers pointing to several places: Severed Dragon Ridge, Water Canal, and the North Post.
He didn't understand Gu Moran's political maneuvering, but he did understand one thing.
In Yi Prefecture these days, road repairs, water supply, iron smelting, and grain storage are underway.
Now they've all become things needed for fighting wars.
Gu Moran added, "The curfew remains in effect, but we must not disturb the people in the city. We will tell the outside world that we have caught a foreign merchant who has an upset stomach, and the public toilets will remain open as usual."
Lin Qingdai investigated the hidden agents within the city, while Yun Shuyue traced his route back into the city.
Commandant Zhen, the Zhechong Command's rotation, city patrol, and pass defense were all conducted as if they were regular drills.
Zhen Daijin raised his head. "I understand. People can move, but the flag must not be disorderly."
"Right."
Gu Moran looked at Si Renyou.
" The Prefect Si wrote a memorial, including witnesses, daggers, and confessions in Tubo, leaving nothing out."
I will also write a memorial to my father, stating that I am willing to risk my life to protect Yi Prefecture.
I beg Your Majesty's permission to act on the spot; I swear to defend the nation's borders to the death!
Si Renyou's hand remained pressed on the confession, not moving for a long time.
I've spent half my life studying the classics.
The classics taught him that an official should be stable, act uprightly, and abide by the law.
But at this moment, the dagger, the confession, and the map on the table were all forcing him to admit one thing.
In some situations, simply relying on the word "stability" is not enough to maintain stability.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Gu Moran leaned back in her chair.
"If you still feel it's inappropriate, I won't force you. I'll write the memorial myself; whether you affix your seal is up to you."
Si Renyou looked at Gu Moran.
This person, who when he first arrived in Yi Prefecture, was wearing a thick fur coat, carrying a bowl of medicine, and needed support to walk even a few steps...
Now, sitting before the map, holding a chess piece in his hand, he has already placed Tubo, Anyang, and the capital on the chessboard.
Si Renyou suddenly asked, "Your Highness, what if His Majesty still refuses?"
Gu Moran placed the black piece on the pass of Jiannan Circuit.
"Then let's think of another way."
"We can't let the Tubo make decisions for us."
"As far as I know, Yi Prefecture was once the garrison of the Liu Clan Army."
Gu Moran looked up at Si Renyou and Zhen Daijin.
"If Lord Liu's former troops were still scattered among the people, they might well be willing to fight for Yi Prefecture again."
Do you two know if any of them still remain in Chuan-Shu?
The brass bell in the study rang softly.
The teacup beside Si Renyou was knocked askew by his sleeve, and the tea spilled over the edge of the table, soaking half a page of the Tubo tribute text.
He stared at Gu Moran, his throat tightening.
"Where did Your Highness hear about the Liu Clan Army?"
Zhen Daijin pressed down on the old knife at his waist, his face tense.
When he joined the army, the Liu Clan Army had already disbanded, but the old soldiers would lower their voices when they talked about the army.
Those were no ordinary former subordinates.
That was a bone left behind by the Liu Clan on the border of Great Yan.
Gu Moran coughed.
"I was just thinking that Yi Prefecture is far from the capital, and if there is a sudden enemy attack, we cannot rely solely on the existing forces of the Zhechong Command."
He put down his charcoal pencil and pressed his fingertip against the post North Post on the map.
"If you can find your former subordinates, ask them to guard your home."
If you can't find it, there's no need to force it.
"Right now, we must hold the city gates, supply lines, and passes to prevent the Tubo from sneaking in again."
A breeze blew through the corridor outside the window, causing the newly hung brass bells to tinkle softly.
Fang Bi handed over the hot tea, Si Renyou didn't take it, only staring at the black chess piece on the map.
His ancestral home is in Min County. His family was poor when he was young. His father relied on sea freight. With just a boat and an old straw raincoat, he would leave his life to fate when he encountered storms.
Later, he studied and entered officialdom, becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination. However, due to his family's poverty, he faced suppression at every turn.
He was introduced to Yi Prefecture by Lord Liu through a policy essay, and gradually rose to the position, where he remained for seventeen years.
Over the years, he guarded the salt tax, the granary, and the people of the city.
I waited until my hair thinned, until old friends left one by one, until the threshold of the government office was worn into a pit.
He kept telling himself that playing it safe was never a bad idea.
Yet, even today, the Tubo ' knives have infiltrated the city.
Is it really going to be...?
Si Renyou raised his head.
"Your Highness, this old minister is not afraid of death."
"I know."
Gu Moran added the second half of the sentence for him.
"Are you afraid Yi Prefecture can't afford to lose?"
Si Renyou's hands hung at his sides, the cuffs of his official robe wrinkled from being pinched.
"The lives of the people of Yi Prefecture are getting better and better. The irrigation canals have just been completed, the farmland has just been opened, and the trade routes in the city are smooth."
If a war really breaks out, the people will suffer again.
Gu Moran did not respond immediately.
I walked to the window and looked at the bustling South Street in the distance.
The villagers carrying their breakfast on shoulder poles had already set out, while a veteran from Tailwind Express, wearing a linen vest, led a mule at the alley entrance.
Mixue Ice City hadn't even opened yet, but people were already holding children, waiting for the first batch of hot drinks.
The vibrant atmosphere that this city has painstakingly built up.
Nobody wants to fight.
However, Tubo spies have already infiltrated Yi Prefecture, and Anyang's second brother is frequently making underhanded moves.
If they don't capture the Tubo outside the pass, their irrigation canals, farmlands, and trade routes will inevitably be destroyed by others sooner or later.
Old Si, Old Si, it's true that the older you get, the more timid you become.
Gu Moran turned around and smiled.
" Prefect Si, are you from Min County?"
Si Renyou was taken aback.
"Yes."
" Min County?"
"... yes."
"What a coincidence! I happen to like a folk song from Fujian. The lyrics are rather crude, but they certainly lift my spirits."
"Is this borrowed today to ease the Prefect Si's homesickness?"
Si Renyou was taken aback. How could the prince be in the mood to sing at a time like this?
Before he could reply, Gu Moran cleared his throat and spoke.
"It is inevitable to lament when one is discouraged, and it is inevitable to feel fear when one is down on one's luck."
His voice was still hoarse from illness, so it didn't sound very pleasant.
But when standard Hokkien reached Si Renyou's ears, everything was different.
"That Tong lost all hope, spending his days in a drunken stupor, a soulless body but a scarecrow."
Upon hearing this, Si Renyou's first thought was of Prince Yi in the capital, who frequented taverns and was known throughout the city as someone who only knew how to drink and dine.
He believed it back then.
What could a prince who couldn't even hold a medicine bowl properly do in Yi Prefecture?
But later, Gu Moran cleared up the old debts, dredged the irrigation canals, opened up the farmland, and brought together a group of scattered soldiers and artisans.
So that decadent, dissolute demeanor was all an act for the capital!
Life can be compared to the waves on the sea.
Sometimes it rises, sometimes it falls.
Good luck, bad luck.
"We must always get to work."
The tune shifts to the sea.
Si Renyou pictured his father's old cargo ship.
The father, wearing a straw raincoat, stood at the bow of the boat watching the waves; when the boat rose, one had to stand firm, and when the boat fell, one had to hold on tight even more.
On the day his father saw him off from Min County, he only said one sentence, "To make a living at sea, those who are afraid of the wind will never be able to get on a ship."
The phrase "sometimes rising, sometimes falling" particularly reminded Si Renyou of Lord Liu.
Back then, when Lord Liu recommended him in the capital, he shielded him from countless open and covert attacks.
The Liu Clan was once so glorious, but overnight, the entire family perished, leaving not even a single person who could clear their name.
His constant pursuit of stability over the years is surely a result of being terrified by that bloody incident.
He feared that if he made a wrong move, he would drag Yi Prefecture into the fire as well.
Is it possible to get a refund? Is it really possible to get a refund?
He guarded Yi Prefecture for seventeen years; its irrigation canals, grain fields, and trade routes—everything was coveted by others.