Thinking back on the prosperity and tranquility of Xianglu County these past few days, Yan Xuanzhi suddenly felt a complicated mix of emotions, and his eyes grew damp.
While ordinary people like them were enjoying peaceful lives, the Princess had led soldiers deep into enemy territory, risked her life alone, and reclaimed one city after another, holding up a protective sky for the people under her rule.
He had never seen a ruler like her.
She always seemed able to make the wisest decisions amid complicated circumstances, then act decisively, breaking through everything in her path before anyone else had even had time to react.
Just then, a servant hurried in, followed by Su Danchen, whose face was flushed with excitement. Clearly, he had heard the news as well.
“Is what the paper says true?” Su Danchen asked eagerly.
The tutor’s face was filled with pride. “Everything reported in the paper is true.”
“Wonderful!” Su Danchen threw his head back and laughed. “What a thrill! What a thrill!”
Yan Xuanzhi nodded. “It truly is thrilling. The Princess may not make a move often, but whenever she does, she takes two commanderies at once.”
Su Danchen felt his chest swell with excitement. “The whole outside world is talking about it now. I estimate all of Fengzhou is going to be shaken.”
“Indeed,” Yan Xuanzhi said, stroking his beard. “Before long, I expect the entire Kingdom of Yan will be shaken.”
“Exactly.” A surge of pride rose within Su Danchen. “With the Princess in our Kingdom of Yan, why should we fear the barbarians?”
This was the first time he had truly felt that lost territory was being recovered. It was nothing like before, when he had been in Sizhou and heard only one report after another of defeats and fallen lands.
He looked at Yan Xuanzhi, his nose tingling with emotion. “Coming to Fengzhou was the right choice.”
Yan Xuanzhi pressed his lips tightly together. “Yes. It was the right choice.”
Mo Song entered the county office humming an unfamiliar tune.
After reading the contents of the Gazette first thing that morning, he had been in such a good mood that he insisted on eating one extra oil stick—the kind known as the “Choke-to-Death Fried Dough Stick”—and nearly choked for real.
The snack had become famous because of him, yet he still loved eating it. Every morning, he had to eat one or two; otherwise, breakfast simply felt incomplete.
As soon as he entered the county office, he saw that all his colleagues were beaming, each of them discussing the contents of the paper.
Although they worked in the government office, military operations involving such sensitive information were not something ordinary officials like them could know about. Thus, most of them, just like the people of Fengzhou, had learned of the return of the two commanderies of Chongzhou through the Gazette.
Mo Song had barely sat down when someone called for him, saying that Attendant Xu wanted to see him.
Mo Song’s expression turned serious. He could not guess why Xu Qian wanted to see him.
He straightened his clothes before striding toward Xu Qian’s office.
Everyone watched his retreating figure and whispered among themselves.
“I wonder what Attendant Xu wants with him.”
“It must be an instruction from the Lord, surely. With the Lord away, anything important is conveyed through Attendant Xu or Lord Dong.”
“True, but Official Mo has only been at the county office for a short time. Can he really have been assigned a task so quickly?”
“You still don’t know? He’s no ordinary man.” The speaker lowered his voice. “He used to be a high-ranking official in Sizhou.”
“Hiss, really?”
“I heard he was the one who choked to death on those fried dough sticks.”
“No way! Wasn’t he supposed to have died? How is he still alive and working alongside us?”
“Maybe he didn’t actually die—or perhaps he only choked half to death?”
Mo Song had no idea that everyone was enthusiastically discussing him. Facing Xu Qian, Jiang Jin’s personal attendant, he could not help sighing inwardly.
He really was far too young.
Xu Qian handed him an official document. “The Lord’s orders are for you to go to Shangjing Commandery.”
Mo Song took the document and read it. A moment later, he looked up in astonishment. “You want me to become the governor of Shangjing Commandery?”
Xu Qian nodded. “Shangjing Commandery has only just been reclaimed from the Ji Army, so we need someone with experience to administer it.”
Mo Song’s expression became complicated. “Does the Lord truly trust me so much?”
He had once been an official of Sizhou and had only recently joined the government office of Gefeng County.
Xu Qian smiled. “Naturally. The Lord has said that those she appoints should be trusted, and those she doubts should not be used. It doesn’t matter whether you came from Sizhou or somewhere else. As long as you sincerely care about the people, you can be given a position.”
The words moved Mo Song deeply. He was just about to say a few words pledging his loyalty when Xu Qian suddenly changed tack.
“However, Fengzhou is different from Sizhou. Some bad habits will need to be corrected. The salaries of our officials in Fengzhou are not low, so I hope you won’t betray the Lord’s trust.”
Mo Song’s heart tightened. He understood that this was a warning from above, and quickly nodded. “Please rest assured. I have my own principles.”
“It’s just that I’ve never served as a commandery governor before. I’m afraid I’ll let the Lord down.”
For Jiang Jin to place such trust in him and entrust him with an entire commandery—it was impossible not to be moved. At the same time, he felt the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders.
He had previously been a zhonglang official and truly had no experience administering a commandery. He was afraid he would not do a good job.
Xu Qian smiled. “We’ll send several officials to assist you in managing Shangjing Commandery. You can meet them later. If there are no problems, you should set out within the next two days.”
Gefeng was quite a distance from Shangjing Commandery, but by now, nearly all of Fengzhou’s roads had been completed, making the journey smooth.
If they traveled quickly by carriage, they would probably arrive in six or seven days.
Mo Song pondered for a moment before finally agreeing. “I will not betray the Lord’s gracious trust.”
Even Mo Song’s father was surprised by Jiang Jin’s decision.
“The Princess is really making you the governor of Shangjing Commandery?”
Mo Song nodded. “I’ll be leaving within the next two days.”
His father stroked his beard. After a moment, he sighed. “The Princess truly appoints people without being bound by convention.”
Mo Song agreed. He had only nodded halfway when he suddenly felt that something about his father’s words was off.
“Father, what do you mean by that?”
His father waved a hand. “What I mean isn’t important. What matters is that you must do your job well and not betray the Princess’s trust.”
At that moment, Dong Si was calculating the money and provisions needed to develop the two islands. After a long while, he sighed helplessly. “Money really doesn’t go far.”
Ding Ying smiled. “They’ll be buying our grain with that money. Most of it will eventually make its way back into our hands.”
Dong Si shook his head. “That may be true, but grain costs money too. There are eight hundred thousand people involved. The Lord is simply too benevolent.”
Ding Ying looked wistful. “Once those two islands have been developed, I’d really like to go and see them. They’re sure to be beautiful.”
Dong Si agreed. “Of course they will be. The Lord personally approved the plans. Once they’re finished, we’ll all go take a look.”
As he spoke, his eyebrows curved into a smile. “That boy Xie Nanxiao did a fine job this time, bringing back so much gold and silver. Very good, very good.”
Ding Ying did not know what to say. Technically, Dong Si was a year older than Xie Nanxiao.
But in appearance, Xie Nanxiao, who had spent years campaigning outside, looked several years older than the handsome Dong Si.
Remembering something, she smiled and said, “The eunuchs from Punan Commandery should be arriving soon.”
The eunuchs who had been persecuted in Wenxia City had been ordered by Jiang Jin to go to Gefeng first, where Dong Si would decide how best to handle them.
Dong Si nodded. “There’s no need to hurry. I’ll make sure to train them properly.”
He sighed and handed a chart to Ding Ying. “Use this chart to distribute grain to Keyuan Island first. They should have nearly run out of food by now.”
