The early morning sun had just climbed over the battlements of Zhenbei City, illuminating most of the field headquarters' backyard.
Lin Siniang had changed into a clean, coarse linen tunic. The cuffs were tied tight, revealing two forearms so thin the bones showed.
She squatted at the base of the wall. In front of her sat a newly crafted willow wood box, its bottom lined with a layer of alkaline soil mixed with plant ash.
Using two sharpened bamboo sticks, Lin Siniang was carefully transplanting five broomcorn millet seedlings from an earthen pot into the wooden box, roots, soil, and all.
Her movements were incredibly light and slow. Her thumb and index finger loosely cupped the clump of dirt around the roots, terrified that even a fraction more force would snap those delicate fibrous roots.
...
On the other side of the courtyard, Xu Zhan was practicing his saber forms.
Wielding a saber with one arm was naturally more strenuous than for a normal person, but every chop he made was steady and heavy. The wind from his blade swept up the fine sand on the ground, making a rustling sound.
After practicing for about half an incense stick's time, he sheathed his saber. He grabbed the coarse cloth towel on his shoulder to wipe his sweat, but his gaze kept drifting toward the base of the wall.
He had been holding onto some words all night.
Yesterday in the main hall, he had listened to her discuss digging trenches to drain salt and diverting muddy water to deposit silt.
Although he only half-understood it, he could tell she had real skills.
But there was one thing he just couldn't figure out.
Farming is just farming. How could someone who scratched out a living in alkaline soil know so much about military secrets like what forage warhorses should eat and why the Helian cavalry was so fierce?
It didn't make sense.
Xu Zhan leaned his saber against a pillar, strode over to Lin Siniang, and squatted on the ground.
His long legs stuck out, barely three feet away from the wooden box.
Lin Siniang noticed the extra figure beside her, but her hands didn't stop moving.
Xu Zhan watched her plant the last seedling into the box and lightly pack the alkaline soil around the roots with the pads of her fingers.
Then, Lin Siniang dipped her fingers into a nearby clay bowl and sprinkled water drop by drop onto the roots.
When she finished, she leaned in close to check the color of the leaves, silently counting something under her breath.
Her intense focus made Xu Zhan stare in a daze.
"Sister... Lin," Xu Zhan finally couldn't hold it in and spoke.
Lin Siniang's hand paused slightly, but she didn't look up. "Is there something you need, Lord Xu?"
Xu Zhan rubbed the calluses on his only arm, weighing his words. "I, Xu Zhan, am a rough man. There's something I can't wrap my head around, so please don't take offense."
"Ask."
"Yesterday in the hall, you said the reason the Helian cavalry is so fierce is because of their good pastures."
"You also said that growing alfalfa keeps warhorses from losing weight and builds their strength." Xu Zhan tilted his head, staring hard at her profile. "Those aren't things you can learn just by scratching a living out of the dirt."
Lin Siniang's hands, which had been planting seedlings, stopped.
She didn't turn around. Her eyes flickered slightly before returning to their calm state.
"Lord Xu has investigated my background, so you should know I am originally from Luzhou in Jiangnan."
Lin Siniang's voice carried a hint of weather-beaten weariness.
"My father farmed paddy fields his whole life. I grew up soaking in muddy water."
"Later, I married Dazhu and came to this sand-swept Zhenbei City."
Xu Zhan frowned slightly but didn't interrupt her.
"Dazhu was an infantryman." Lin Siniang looked down at the millet seedlings in the box. "When he was alive and came home on leave, he always complained to me. He said the forage sent by the imperial court was trash fit for pigs, wheat straw mixed with thirty percent sand and dirt."
"He said the warhorses lost weight and got diarrhea after eating it, and couldn't even run when they got on the battlefield."
"He said that if our horses could eat their fill and outrun the Helian cavalry, the two-legged infantrymen like him wouldn't be treated as live targets to be hacked down."
Xu Zhan's fist clenched involuntarily.
"Later, Dazhu died. He didn't even leave behind a whole bone."
"I was kicked out by my in-laws and left to scratch out a living in this alkaline soil." Lin Siniang's mouth twitched into a smile uglier than crying. "I thought to myself, I could farm the paddy fields of Jiangnan, so why couldn't I bring this dead northern soil to life?"
"Relying on the farming techniques my father taught me, I sneaked out to the edge of the grasslands to dig up the grass the Helians grew. I brought it back and compared it, blade by blade."
"In the end, I settled on alfalfa."
"This stuff has deep roots and thick leaves. The more you chew it, the more energy it gives. Not only can it break up and revive dead soil, but it's also top-tier horse feed."
Thinking of this, Lin Siniang's eyes instantly turned red.
But she didn't shed a single tear.
Her tears for this lifetime had long since run dry.
"The battle Dazhu didn't finish fighting, I'll farm it for him."
"I'll make sure the warhorses of Great Qian eat the best forage, so they can outrun the Helian cavalry on the battlefield! No one will ever have to be chased down and slaughtered like Dazhu and the others again!"
The backyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Xu Zhan slowly stood up. He took a step back, made a fist with his single arm, and struck it heavily against his chest.
This was a solemn military salute.
It was a salute given only to comrades-in-arms whom one would trust with their life.
"Agricultural Commissioner Lin," Xu Zhan said, his tone incredibly heavy. "With a rare talent like you here, the Hetao agricultural colonies will surely succeed! I, Xu Zhan, swear here and now that the sons of the Zhenbei Army will fight to the death to protect you!"
Startled by the sudden military salute, Lin Siniang's knees went weak, and she almost sprang up from the ground.
Lin Siniang scrambled to stand up and return the gesture, but she pulled at the injury on her ribs. She gasped in pain and fell back into a sitting position.
"Lord Xu, what are you doing... This common woman cannot accept such a grand salute!"
"You can!"
Xu Zhan lowered his fist from his chest, his tone firm.
"You carry the unfinished work of your man, and I carry the unfinished battles of my brothers who died on the front lines!"
"We are the same kind of people."
Lin Siniang stared at him blankly. Finally, she said nothing and just gave a heavy nod.
Just then, the courtyard door was slammed open from the outside with a bang, its hinges creaking loudly.
Li Sheng strode in, covered in sweat, the soles of his boots kicking up a cloud of loose dirt.
Before he could even catch his breath, he cupped his fists toward Lin Siniang and shouted:
"Lord Lin, the carriages, horses, and grain seeds are all fully prepared. Lord Xu orders you to set out immediately!"
