KinKou.
Imperial Palace.
A few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the emperor was frowning over the northwestern war, the eldest princess came to the palace.
The eldest princess was the daughter of his principal wife and his first child. He doted on her very much. Seeing the eldest princess cheered him up a lot. He told her, "Don't worry, your husband is fine."
The eldest princess said, "I'm not worried about him at all. I've come to present a memorial to Father Emperor."
She waved the memorial and said, "Father Emperor, guess who submitted this memorial?"
Emperor Jin was not going to play this childish guessing game with her. "Just tell me directly."
The emperor would usually grant reasonable requests from his eldest daughter.
The eldest princess smiled and said, "It's from that woman surnamed Ye from Deng Prefecture."
The emperor said, "She's presenting a memorial of thanks?"
The memorial of thanks was a little late. But the emperor had never considered that rural stronghold master Ye Suijin to be someone important, and had completely forgotten about her.
To his surprise, the princess happily said, "I guess you could say that. But she's asking for something more."
The emperor rubbed his temples. "That woman really has thick skin."
But since the princess had a smiling attitude, it meant that the woman's request was not too excessive, but acceptable.
"Father Emperor, guess what she's asking for?" said the princess.
The emperor had a headache. "You're too old for childish games like Guess Guess Guess. Just tell me directly."
The princess handed him the memorial. "Father Emperor can read it yourself."
As the emperor started reading, the princess chatted away, "They rushed to my residence as soon as they arrived, to thank me for speaking on their behalf last time. I asked what they had come here for. When I saw what she was asking for in this memorial, I was delighted and hurried to bring it to you, Father Emperor."
In fact, the princess had accepted gifts from them again. After looking at the memorial, she said, "If this was submitted to the yamen, who knows whether it would even reach my Father Emperor? Since the family master is so understanding and cultured, I'll help pass it directly to you."
The emperor read it. The beginning was naturally flattering words of gratitude. It was clear the memorial was written by someone very versed in the official style.
Then it started to describe the plight of Deng Prefecture, how many refugees there were, and how she was extremely anxious about the coming cold winter and losing sleep worrying over it.
By this point, the emperor was mentally prepared for this shameless woman to ask him for food, cloth and fabric. But as he read on, he was surprised. "Huh?"
The princess leaned over. "I know, right? I was surprised when I first read it too. She's asking for paper. Father Emperor, can paper clothing keep people warm?"
The emperor sighed. "You really don't know the sufferings of the common people."
The princess said proudly, "I was born young miss of Hedong Circuit. Now I'm the Princess of Great Jin. Why would I need to know about suffering?"
The emperor smiled at her indulgently. "Oh, you."
He explained to her, "The poor common folk have always worn paper clothing. As long as the paper is thick enough, it can keep the wind out. Keeping the wind out keeps you warm."
He added, "This woman Ye Suijin from Deng Prefecture is very tactful."
He had worries about keeping his troops warm over the winter too. If Ye Suijin had directly asked him for food and clothing, it would have shown a lack of judgment.
Even if he gave her some to keep up imperial appearances, it wouldn't be much, just enough to send her off.
But she asked for paper.
[Your servant has heard that the Three Departments, Six Ministries and Nine Courts, have old documents from Former Wei piling up and overflowing the storerooms, gnawed by rats and worms. These discarded objects are of no use whatsoever to the court. But they can be made into paper clothing for the poor to keep out the cold. The rich scorn it, but it is the only aid for destitute refugees.]
What she wanted was the old documents piled up in the storerooms of the various yamen and bureaucratic agencies.
In fact, it wasn't until years later, after Zhao Jingwen's Daming reforms, when the yamen did a major clear-out, that they still discovered huge quantities of old Wei documents.
In one yamen, just the old attendance records alone filled dozens of large boxes. The amount was quite astonishing.
These things were useless trash to the yamen, but many poor families could take them home to paste up windows and walls, or make clothes.
Of course Ye Suijin would not skimp on winter clothes and shoes for the Ye family troops she was currently raising.
But Deng Prefecture still had so many refugees, many who had lost all their property while fleeing, and were now destitute. As the master of Deng Prefecture, Ye Suijin naturally could not ignore them.
But meeting such a huge demand for winter clothing would be difficult even if she used money to purchase supplies, and would lead to sharp rises in cloth and fabric prices, directly impacting the livelihoods of the local commoners.
After thinking it over, Ye Suijin thought of the massive piles of discarded documents and paper accumulating in the yamen storehouses of the capital.
See, the capital was nearby, and had this benefit.
Normally the yamen would clear these out every few years in peaceful times.
But from the end of Former Wei, through the False Liang, to the present Great Jin, it had never been peaceful or stable, so naturally these piles were left untouched.
Ye Suijin planned to help Emperor Jin clear out his inventory.
"Grant her request," Emperor Jin decided after thinking about it. After all, he could not be too stingy as the majestic Son of Heaven. "Also grant her twenty sets of iron armor and a hundred sets of leather armor."
In fact, there was no need to bother the emperor with something like this.
The main thing was that the eldest princess was honorable to help someone who had given her money. She really did assist in getting things done.
But there was a saying, the young devils were the real troublemakers. Even with the emperor's verbal approval and the princess' backing, when it came to the minor officials at the bottom actually getting things done, it still wasn't smooth sailing.
Fortunately, County Prefect Sun Xiangxue of Ruan County was along. As an outside official, he was very familiar with all the ins and outs of the yamen.
Uncle Ye Ba accompanied Prefect Sun on visits to the various halls of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts, dealing with the troublesome petty officials. The experience shattered many intellectuals' rosy imaginings of the "capital".
On August 24, Uncles Ye Wu and Ye Ba set off on the return journey with a full harvest.
On the way back, they encountered the same general they had met on the way there. This was the general that Uncle Ye Si had also met before, who had sent a deputy general to escort Uncle Ye Si.
Since it was the farming off season now, and Ye Suijin had sent more men to accompany Uncles Ye Wu and Ye Ba, plus the family steward who had come before was familiar with the route, there was no need to ask for an escort again.
But they had brought gifts for the general this time, to thank him for his previous kindness. On the return journey, when they passed his station, they dropped by to pay their respects.
General Guan naturally had to give them a warmer reception after accepting gifts. He even drank wine with Uncles Ye Wu and Ye Ba, and said, "It'll make my job easier if Deng Prefecture remains stable."
On the way back to the Ye family stronghold in Deng Prefecture, they saw that the women of every household were sitting in their yards and doorways, taking advantage of the daylight to sew and patch clothes and shoes during the farming off season.
They were working on the military robes and winter shoes that the Ye family stronghold had contracted out.
The Ye family stronghold now had almost three thousand retainers being organized. The number of military robes and shoes needed was not just three thousand sets. The Ye family stronghold still intended to continue recruiting in the future.
They had not contracted this work out to the silk shops and embroidery houses, but had set up recruitment points throughout, like when recruiting troops, and registered households to take on the work, just like commoners.
The neighbors would keep each other accountable, so no one dared embezzle the cloth and thread.
But what woman did not know how to sew? And the requirements for military robes were not high, unlike the embroidered silks of wealthy households. Even coarser farm women could do the work. This autumn, the extra income gave many households something to smile about.
Uncles Ye Wu and Ye Ba returned safely, bringing back the paper Ye Suijin had requested.
Cartload after cartload.
Uncle Ye Ba said, "Too much to transport all at once. It's been arranged to store the remainder in the capital first. We can go get it again later."
Ye Suijin and Mr. Yang were concerned about the same thing. "Where did you encounter General Guan?"
After comparing the location where Uncle Ye Si had met General Guan on the map, Ye Suijin and Mr. Yang exchanged looks and nodded.
Uncle Ye Si asked, "What is it?"
Ye Suijin told him, "General Guan has moved south."
Although Emperor Jin was currently stationed in the capital, his actual power base was in Hedong Circuit. His priority now was the west, pursuing and mopping up the Former Liang remnants.
General Guan guarding the southern line was essentially the limit of Emperor Jin's actual control in the south.
That was why he also said if Deng Prefecture remained stable, it would take a load off his mind, allowing him to devote more attention to other areas.
Deng Prefecture in turn guarded the area further south for him.
"Not bad. Still room to spare," said Ye Suijin, pinching her thumb and forefinger to indicate the distance between Deng Prefecture and General Guan's forces, then tapping it down to draw a line. "Here. Let's not overstep this boundary."
However incompetent one might find Emperor Jin for ceding the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, for Deng Prefecture he was still a massive force not to be provoked.
Ye's influence could not expand northward.
Fourth Uncle Ye said, "Suijin, let's take Tangzhou. Taking half is fine too. Leave the other half for His Majesty."
After a trip to the capital, Fourth Uncle Ye's horizons had broadened considerably. He no longer had any awe of the Emperor, and was much bolder now, with appetite to match.
Suijin was pleased to see this change. She smiled, "Train the troops first."
Fourth Uncle Ye eagerly nodded. "Yes!"
He praised the Emperor again, "Quite generous."
Just like that, he had given a hundred sets of leather armor, twenty sets of iron armor.
"He has geographical advantages," Suijin sighed. "He used to be the military governor of Hedong, with access to coal and iron."
With his former location, he had horses to the north and grain to the south, supporting tens of thousands of crack troops. It really made people envious.
If Emperor Jin had not ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, or had died a little later, the Jin Dynasty could have matched Da Mu of the Later Zhou.
But that was fate.
The short-lived dynasty vanished like dust.
Who knows how many heroes and nobodies had faded away in the long river of history.
Judging by the situation when she died, Da Mu was rising steadily with unification of the realm at hand. Zhao Jingwen was destined to go down in history as the founding hero.
Her Ah Jin had restored the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, with glorious battle achievements, and would also become a romantic segment in the writings of scholars and poets.
Then what about her?
How would history record Ye Suijin?
But she also knew, no matter the record, her final identity would be pinned on Zhao Jingwen's empress.
How annoying, to be nailed to this identity.
Suijin was furious.
Suijin instructed her uncles to build good relations with General Guan: "It will be very useful later."
Her uncles were naturally more adept than her at good relations with men. They all thumped their chests and told her to rest assured.
After the meeting dispersed, only Mr. Yang remained.
Suijin and he stood by the map, staring at it.
After a long while, they both looked up.
"Was Your Ladyship looking at the same place I was looking?" Mr. Yang ventured.
Suijin nodded.
The wooden stick extended and drew a line southward from Dengzhou, tapping at a certain spot.
Mr. Yang grinned.
