"Have the advisors and generals come." Huo Tingshan said to the guard, who accepted the order and left.
Back when he left the Chenyuan Dao, Huo Tingshan had left most of his core team for Huo Zhizhang, taking with him only three generals and two advisors.
The generals were all wounded men, namely Xiong Mao, Sha Ying, and Li Qiongqi; the advisors were Chen Shichang, and Ke Zuo, who had joined the Youzhou army less than two years prior.
Pei Ying quickened her pace tidying the ledgers on the desk. "You go ahead with your work, I won't disturb you. I'll go back and make copies of Mingji's betrothal gift list."
One list wasn't enough; several copies were needed at minimum. These would then be distributed to subordinates for simultaneous preparations.
"Copy them here, Madam. No need to go back." Huo Tingshan fetched new paper for her.
Pei Ying paused briefly. "But they will be here shortly."
Huo Tingshan: "They'll attend to their business, you attend to yours. Why should you mind them, Madam?"
Since he didn't mind whether someone was present to listen, Pei Ying decided not to leave. She might as well finish copying the lists here in one go and proceed to the next stage tomorrow.
Chen Shichang and Ke Zuo lived closer to the study than the others and were the first to arrive. Upon entering, both their steps halted for an instant.
The study was the same study, only a new long desk had been added. Sitting quietly behind it was a beautiful lady in a dark-patterned, lotus-colored brocade cross-collar ruqun. Her eyes were lowered, her hand adorned with a crystal bracelet holding a wolf-hair brush as she wrote unhurriedly on mulberry paper.
The mistress was here?
The two men's gazes swept past the man not far away as if by chance. Seeing his ordinary expression and the placid look in his eyes, they, being men of first-rate intelligence, immediately understood.
It seemed this was the Lord's intention.
If someone had told Chen Shichang years ago that one day there would be a woman in the study during their discussions, he would have scoffed, ridiculing the other for serving a lord too lax in discipline, and told him not to judge others by his own standards.
After all, having served his lord for many years, not only were there no charming ladies present during strategy sessions, but even ordinarily, women were not permitted near the study or the surrounding courtyards.
Now, watching the mistress quietly attending to her own affairs as if no one else was present, Chen Shichang sighed inwardly.
Truly, times change.
He probably wouldn't even be surprised if the mistress were to participate in governance in the future.
"Lord, Mistress." The two men saluted.
"Please be seated, gentlemen. We've received important military intelligence today. I'm afraid we'll be spending the entire afternoon in the study." Huo Tingshan smiled, inviting them to sit.
Shortly after they were seated, the others arrived.
The advisors were fine, each clever and discreet, capable of hiding their thoughts. Even if immensely surprised, they wouldn't show much on their faces. But the generals were transparent, all staring wide-eyed at Pei Ying.
Under the barrage of astonished gazes, feeling as if being roasted by fire, Pei Ying shot a reproachful glance at Huo Tingshan beside her.
'Why should you mind them?' How could he say such a thing?
She felt like she was being roasted over a fire, already seventy percent cooked.
Huo Tingshan rapped his knuckles heavily on the desk twice, snapping the men back to attention. Before they could speak, he began, "I presume you all know that Li Qiongqi possesses an iron-ridged serpent spear capable of cutting metal and stone."
Xiong Mao and Sha Ying nodded.
They knew all too well; they coveted it intensely.
For generals like them who lived by the sword on the battlefield, a fine steed and a treasured blade were like their own limbs. Well-suited equipment was something they wouldn't trade for gold or mansions.
Li Qiongqi, also present, straightened his back proudly at the mention of his spear.
Since the Great General had returned the spear to him in front of his eldest son, he surely wouldn't take it back.
He was the only one in the entire army with such a divine weapon!
Huo Tingshan rose from his desk and walked to a wooden cabinet nearby, opening it. "Madam said that iron-ridged serpent spear was forged from hundred-refined steel. The first batch of hundred-refined steel has been smelted by Madam, and a few weapons have been forged. Come and choose for yourselves. The quantity is limited, so only one each for now."
Before the men could recover from the shock of seeing the mistress, they were stunned by the new revelation.
Hundred-refined steel?
Smelted by the Mistress, and already forged into weapons?
Did that mean they could each have a divine weapon?!
Sha Ying, who had been the first to face Li Qiongqi back then, knew all too well the power of that spear. It was no exaggeration to say that if the wielder had sufficient strength, after several clashes, they could completely shatter an opponent's weapon through brute force alone.
Without a weapon, what difference was there from a lamb awaiting slaughter?
Now they too would have divine weapons.
Immediately taking three swift steps, Xiong Mao and Sha Ying rushed to the wooden cabinet together. Peering inside, they saw over a dozen blades, mostly long sabers.
Xiong Mao picked up a long saber with one hand, using his thumb to push the scabbard open with a click. Seeing the blade bright as a mirror, his eyes instantly lit up. "A fine blade!"
Huo Tingshan was also by the cabinet, so Sha Ying didn't dare jostle him. Instead, he pushed aside Xiong Mao, who had already taken a saber, and eagerly grabbed one for himself, unable to put it down, praising it repeatedly.
Li Qiongqi, incredulous, also moved closer to look.
The generals, enamored with blades, were captivated by the new weapons.
Ke Zuo and Chen Shichang, however, focused their attention elsewhere. They looked at Pei Ying.
The beautiful lady still sat quietly at the desk, writing, completely unaffected by the generals' joy, as if the world-shaking divine weapons were mere fleeting clouds to her.
Their reverence deepened.
Weapons were different from soap or sugar. The latter were like a dull knife, slowly increasing military strength through wealth accumulation and recruitment. The former produced immediate, dramatic results, like forcing a seedling to grow tall overnight, but with absolutely no side effects.
With such weapons, would they fear breaking through the gates of other provinces?
Sha Ying and Xiong Mao had selected their weapons, both looking excitedly at Huo Tingshan.
Huo Tingshan chuckled. "Why look at me? I didn't forge this hundred-refined steel. Thank your Mistress. She spent days in the smelting room until she was practically wilted from the heat."
They turned in unison, speaking as one: "Thank you, Mistress!"
"The Mistress is like an immortal descended to earth."
"With the Mistress presiding within Youzhou, it is no different from adding wings to a tiger."
Under the scorching gazes, feeling fully cooked now rather than seventy percent, Pei Ying said, "...You're welcome. Please, attend to your matters. Pay me no mind."
Although she said this, the men were all fired up with excitement. How could they simply ignore her? They continued to gaze fervently at Pei Ying, their eyes looking upon her as if she were a celestial being descended from the heavenly mountains.
Ke Zuo stroked his small beard, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his rat-like eyes. While others only saw the emergence of hundred-refined steel and the gift of weapons, he perceived something deeper.
The Lord intended to establish the Mistress's authority.
If things continue this way for long, in the future, even if the lord is absent or washes his hands of affairs, not even the eldest son, who is the legitimate heir and can rightfully succeed, will be able to do as he pleases.
Huo Tingshan spoke at this moment: "I have just received urgent news. Wei of Yizhou has died from poisoning. His legitimate son, Wei Qinghua, joined forces with his subordinate He Zheng to open the city gates and welcome the allied forces of Yong and Yi provinces. They have undoubtedly surrendered to the imperial court."
The attention of everyone in the study was instantly pulled back, their expressions all changing drastically.
"Poisoned? Which side administered the poison? Their reach is astonishingly long. We should take this as a warning, my lord. The personnel within our mansion need to be thoroughly screened."
"Wei of Yizhou had three legitimate sons. If I recall correctly, this Wei Qinghua is the third son, with two elder brothers above him, neither of whom seemed particularly outstanding. How did it come to be his turn to take charge?"
"Naturally, someone must have meddled in the process. The first and second Weis were likely incapacitated, giving this Third Wei a chance to rise." Speaking here, Sha Ying laughed. "Before this, that Wei of Yizhou went to great lengths to build momentum for proclaiming himself emperor—finding prophecies in fish bellies, seeing omens in fox cries by bonfires. Who would have thought he'd fail before even starting? He's not even as good as Cong Liuqi next door. At least Cong Liuqi truly became an emperor. Unlike him, who schemed so much only to prepare a wedding dress for someone else in the end."
Ke Zuo looked towards the newly joined Li Qiongqi, calling him by his courtesy name with a smile: "Li Yungui, Third Wei's rise has some credit to you."
Li Qiongqi's face changed on the spot: "Master Ke, be careful with your words. The Grand General has shown me great kindness, and since I have pledged myself to Youzhou, I would not lightly betray my lord."
"Don't be hasty, I'm not accusing you of betrayal. It's just that Wei of Yizhou had a valiant general named Mu Qianqiu, the brother of Wei's favorite concubine, who was loyal both to Wei of Yizhou and to his legitimate eldest son. This man was later struck down from his horse by you. The eldest Wei lost a powerful arm, perhaps that's why he couldn't overcome Third Wei," Ke Zuo explained.
Huo Tingshan glanced to his side, seeing her copying calligraphy models with single-minded focus, before withdrawing his gaze: "Yizhou borders Jingzhou and Jiaozhou. With Yizhou now under the court's control, the court's next target might be Jiaozhou."
They spoke of the court, yet everyone present knew the young emperor was only nine years old. The Zhao dynasty existed in name only, and in Chang'an, it was Grand Marshal Ji who held the real power.
Yizhou was now Ji Xianbai's Yizhou.
"Jiaozhou..." Ke Zuo pondered for a moment. "My lord, privately, I believe we need not devote too much energy to Jiaozhou. Firstly, we share no border with it; our reach would exceed our grasp. Secondly, Jiaozhou currently operates under a 'jimi' or loose-rein administration, with local clans holding supreme authority."
The so-called "jimi" administration essentially designated the area as a special zone, appointing local chieftains as officials. The central court established economic ties through tributes and bestowal of titles, a model somewhat similar to modern special administrative regions.
In this era, Jiaozhou was backward and impoverished, once grouped with Youzhou as a land of exile. It was populated mostly by various ethnic minorities. Conventional governance methods had little effect, forcing the adoption of a "using barbarians to control barbarians" approach.
As Ke Zuo said, this method of governance using chieftains eventually evolved to be centered around clans.
Power became concentrated within certain families. If the northern powers needed to establish influence in this land, the quickest method was to subdue these clans and make them dependent.
"My lord, traveling a thousand miles to subdue these southern clans would be a case of half the result for twice the effort for us—hardly worth the trouble. It might be better to cede Jiaozhou to the court for now and turn our gaze eastward. Governor Lei of Yuzhou is about to become our kin through marriage, already an ally. Why not join forces with him to first take Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou?" Ke Zuo proposed.
Yanzhou connected to Jizhou in the north, neighbored Sizhou in the west, bordered Yuzhou in the south, and was adjacent to Qingzhou and Xuzhou in the east.
Currently, Jizhou and Sizhou belonged to Huo Tingshan, while Yuzhou was under Lei Chengshuang's control, and the two were already allied. For Yanzhou, it was clearly being surrounded, with the encirclement nearly complete.
Huo Tingshan's long fingers tapped intermittently on the desk. "Very well, let's take Yanzhou first. The south can wait. However, Yanzhou has abundant waterways; naval battles will be unavoidable. Although we are allied with Lei Chengshuang, if his contribution far outweighs ours, even if Yanzhou is taken, it might well end up surnamed Lei."
"Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself, Grand General. Why don't we start training a naval force now?" Xiong Mao rubbed his hands eagerly.
Sha Ying sighed. "Ships rock unsteadily on water; overcoming seasickness is not a matter of a short while."
The study fell into silence.
"My lord, I have an idea," Chen Shichang spoke up. "Why not connect the ships with iron chains? This would reduce the rocking during travel, allowing soldiers to stand on deck as if on solid ground..."
"No!"
Someone suddenly spoke.
Everyone in the study was taken aback, looking towards Pei Ying, who had remained silent since they began discussing Yizhou affairs.
Pei Ying still held a writing brush in her hand, a character half-written on the paper. At first glance, it seemed she had spoken up on a whim mid-writing.
Huo Tingshan, however, asked with keen interest: "Why does my lady say that? Did Master Chen's proposal have a flaw?"
Seeing the black ink about to drip onto the paper, Pei Ying simply set down the brush: "To increase troop capacity, the warships would undoubtedly be large-scale. And to securely connect such large vessels would require extremely heavy, massive iron chains, likely more than one per ship. Have you considered that if the enemy uses fire attack, they would burn a whole swath at once, sending you all off in one go?"
The historical Battle of Red Cliffs was a turning point. Before it, Cao Cao had conquered the entire north and reportedly led a two-hundred-thousand strong army south, attempting to unify the south.
The result was a bitter defeat at Red Cliffs, with tens of thousands killed in battle and over a hundred thousand dead from illness, dealing a devastating blow. After this battle, Cao Cao lacked the strength to campaign south again, thus laying the foundation for the Three Kingdoms tripartite division.
Upon hearing Pei Ying's words, Chen Shichang's face turned pale, instantly filled with remorse. "The lady is right. My lord, I failed to consider this thoroughly."
...
The setting sun cast its brilliant afterglow across the vast sky. The study door opened once more in the evening.
The strategists and generals filed out. Ke Zuo walked last. After exiting, hearing no footsteps behind him, he turned to close the door.
With that turn of his head, Ke Zuo saw the man who had been sitting alone at his own desk earlier had now left it. He had walked to the side and sat behind the beautiful lady.
His long arms rose to rest on either side of the long desk, encircling her in his embrace like a giant serpent coiling around its prey.
