Chapter 7

Ye Suijin lowered her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up, "In my dream, my father and grandfather severely scolded me."

"They rebuked me for being too compassionate."

"With the surge of refugees, they could turn into rioters at any moment. The slightest carelessness could throw Ye Family Fort into chaos. Historically, civil unrests always started with a few people, then quickly snowballed like a rolling snowball. If the situation was not controlled from the very beginning, we would only be left to run around desperately, putting out fires everywhere."

Just now when she mentioned the "message from a dream", everyone had different thoughts, but they all shared one thing in common - no one really believed this "message from a dream."

They all thought she was making up some mystical excuse for her own motives.

For example, Fourth Uncle Ye immediately became vigilant and guarded.

But to everyone's surprise, this preposterous claim led to the frank discussion of the real issues that had been privately worrying everyone recently.

While there had been refugees in previous years, everyone this year had an ominous feeling - that the ground was covered in sparks and any misstep could lead to burns, or even explosions.

Mr. Yang put away his smile and solemnly asked, "Did the old fortress master have any instructions?"

This was an acknowledgment of the "message from the dream."

He continued, "Young mistress, what are your thoughts?"

This was leaving the decision to Ye Suijin.

Ye Suijin did not answer his question directly. Instead, she raised her voice slightly and called out, "A-Jin!"

Duan Jin, who was squeezing into the last seat in the back row, immediately stood up with his fists clasped, "Yes, my lady!"

Ye Suijin asked, "Do you know why so many refugees are passing through Deng Prefecture?"

Duan Jin replied, "They want to go to Huainan, Jiangnan and Shannan to make a living, so they have to pass through Deng Prefecture."

Ye Suijin asked, "Then why don't they go through Jun Prefecture and Tang Prefecture?"

"Because going through Deng Prefecture is safer than going through Jun and Tang."

"Why?"

"Because Deng Prefecture has Ye Family Fort that protects the peace and keeps the roads safe."

Ye Suijin looked at him, "Is that so? Is that the only reason?"

Duan Jin hesitated for a moment, recalling what she had said last night.

He was still young and had not yet faced the truly cruel and cold realities of the world. But he had one principle in life - to listen to Ye Suijin.

If Ye Suijin said something was right, then it must be right.

Duan Jin answered loudly, "Because our Ye Family Fort, first does not exploit, second does not plunder, and third does not kill indiscriminately!"

"The people of Tang and Jun Prefectures are not as reasonable as us. If you want to pass through their territories, they'll flay you first before letting you through. I've heard from people who took a detour from Tang Prefecture, and they say it's terrible over there."

"But even though we have been benevolent and righteous, have these refugees therefore been law-abiding and caused no troubles?"

"No! Those bastards wanted to rob our food supply! Just four days ago, Little Qiu was stabbed with a knife, fortunately only on the arm, nothing too serious."

Speaking of this, Duan Jin bared his teeth in anger.

With Duan Jin's words, everyone began to speak up, talking about the various incidents that had happened recently.

Ye Suijin nodded and admitted, "This is my fault."

The voices in the hall stopped abruptly.

"I thought compassion could enlighten people, so I ordered our men not to kill indiscriminately, and to spare lives whenever possible. If Father and Grandfather had not scolded me awake in the dream, I would have still thought I was the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva."

"Now that evil ghosts are everywhere, compassion only shows weakness, making people think we are easy to take advantage of."

"It is time to use the thunderous approach. My friends, if you think I'm wrong, please speak up now and I will listen. If there are no objections, pass on my order to all divisions: In extraordinary times, take extraordinary measures."

"Behead those who steal food supplies! Kill those who cause troubles! Skin alive and hang at the northernmost checkpoint in Deng Prefecture those who incite and instigate the refugees to riot!"

There was dead silence in the great hall.

Because when Ye Suijin uttered those last few sentences, her tone was not agitated at all. She spoke in a calm, almost plain manner.

But this made people even more alarmed.

Some of the elders had always felt that the young mistress of Ye Family Fort was still "too young" and "not steady enough". When did she start speaking in a way that sent chills down people's spines?

Fourth Uncle Ye's lips moved.

Ye Family Fort had a reputation for benevolence and righteousness for decades. Would taking such harsh measures ruin that reputation?

But he also knew very clearly about the various incidents that had happened recently. Each division sent reports every three days about situations everywhere. The feeling that things were on the verge of spiraling out of control was too strong.

So strong that he could not immediately object to what Ye Suijin had said.

He only felt extremely torn inside.

He looked over but saw Ye Suijin's eyebrows had not moved at all.

Speaking of such drastic matters, her voice did not shake, her arms did not flail around passionately at all. But the colder she appeared, the more you knew her resolve was firm and unwavering.

Not wavering like him.

Just then, someone said loudly, "Benevolence should be practiced in peaceful times, but imposing might is proper in chaotic times! The young mistress is absolutely right! I have no objection!"

The speaker was Mr. Yang, with his horse face, triangular eyes, red booze nose, and white beard.

When Ye Suijin's father was still around, Mr. Yang was his chief strategist. Although after Ye Suijin inherited the fortress, everyone understood that the new mistress did not rely on Mr. Yang like the old master did, Ye Suijin still kept up appearances and treated Mr. Yang as the number one guest of the fortress.

Therefore, with Mr. Yang being the first to agree, the other advisors also echoed, "No objection."

Ye Suijin turned her head to look at the other side.

After a slight hesitation, Fourth Uncle Ye also said, "Your father was right, that's how it should be."

The elders of the uncle generation did not participate much anymore. Among the seniors, Fourth Uncle Ye's opinion carried the most weight. With him stating his stance, no one else objected.

In the last row, a young man seemed uneasy again and asked softly, "Are we really going to kill people?"

Ye Suijin deeply understood his concerns. The younger generation had grown up under the protection of their elders. Raised in the comfort of Ye Family Fort’s territory, it was normal for them to hesitate when suddenly told to kill people.

The speaker was none other than Fourth Uncle Ye's youngest son.

Ye Suijin said, "Compassion does not command troops."

This statement made many middle-aged people in the hall nod.

Fourth Uncle Ye also told his son, "Suijin is right."

Ye Suijin said, "Since there are no objections, come."

A steward then stood up from the back row with his fists clasped, "Yes, my lady."

Ye Suijin ordered, "Pass on my commands to each division."

She then called out names, "Third Son, Fourth Son, Fifth Son, Seventh Son, Ninth Son, Tenth Son, come with me on inspection."

Fourth Uncle Ye said, "You're going personally?"

Ye Suijin nodded, "Everyone is used to peaceful days. I'm afraid they may not be able to act at first, so I will go personally to oversee things."

Fourth Uncle Ye thought to himself that you also grew up in peace and comfort, how would you know if you can do it when the time comes?

But the fact that Ye Suijin was able to think of this, whether she came up with it herself or really received some message in a dream, she was already better than his foolish son.

Mr. Yang waved his fan and smiled, "Young mistress, did the old fortress master say anything else?"

There was something different about Ye Suijin today that gave Mr. Yang a "different" feeling. And he keenly sensed that this change seemed to be moving in a direction he considered good.

Whether the message from a dream was real or fake, he wanted to hear more details.

As a strategist, he wanted to understand the inner thoughts of his master better.

Ye Suijin's gaze was deep.

"My father said I have shortsighted vision, only seeing Ye Family Fort."

"Now, the capital has changed dynasties twice, dozens of heroes have occupied territories in the south, yet I only know to stubbornly defend a single Ye Family Fort."

"Father said of course we must defend Ye Family Fort well, as it is the starting point and foundation of our family, but we cannot be confined here."

"Because when others around you are growing stronger while you alone stay static, it is the same as you growing weaker."

"Mr. Yang, does my father speak correctly?"

With each sentence she uttered, Mr. Yang's muddy eyes shone brighter.

When she finally asked the last question, Mr. Yang slapped his fan on his leg and applauded, "As expected of the old fortress master, he speaks directly to the current circumstances. That is precisely the situation now! Just yesterday, we received news, but since the mistress had not rested well yet, I have not had the chance to report. I was about to discuss with you, nowadays in this world, three more emperors have emerged."

There were sounds of surprise in the hall as people asked in chorus, "What happened?"

The original dynasty was Great Wei. The last Wei emperor abdicated to a subject, and the nation became Liang. At the end of last year, the Hedong military governor colluded with northern tribesmen, conquered Liang and claimed himself emperor, with the nation changing to Jin.

People were already dizzy with confusion. How could three more emperors emerge?

Mr. Yang said, "The news arrived yesterday evening. The three emperors are: Wang Rong, military governor of Jian'nan, proclaimed himself emperor with the state as Shu; Liu Sheng, military governor of Qinghai, proclaimed himself emperor with the state as Han; lastly, Deng Yanyou of Weiwei military proclaimed Min Kingdom."

After he finished briefing, the hall immediately broke into loud discussions.

Only Ye Suijin was not surprised at all. These were all ancient history to her, some of the people had long turned to dust, leaving only a line or two in the history books.

By the time of her death, only the Min Emperor was still alive. He had already surrendered to Zhao Jingwen's Great Mu as the Min Prince, then demoted himself further to Min Marquis.

Zhao Jingwen never bothered with him, because as a northerner, the Min region was too far and held little interest for him. His ambitions were set on recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun.

It was a pity. In the end, Duan Jin recovered the last four prefectures in the final Northern Expedition, but did not live to return.

Zhao Jingwen thoroughly fulfilled the idiom of "hiding one's capabilities and biding one's time."

Ye Suijin slightly tilted her head, using the corner of her eye to glance at her husband.

In Ye Family Fort, Zhao Jingwen was also a special existence. If you called him lowly, he was the mistress' bedmate. If you called him noble, he was a despised son-in-law that everyone looked down on.

In the council hall, his position was also unique.

He did not sit with the others, only had a small stool placed diagonally behind and to the side of the mistress' seat.

Neither proper nor improper, as awkward as a concubine.

Ye Suijin withdrew her gaze and said, "This is just the beginning."

She raised her hand, "Bring the maps!"

Immediately someone nimbly brought over several desks to be placed in the hall, and unrolled maps to spread out on them.

Ye Suijin strode over with big steps. She was just about to speak when her gaze fell upon the map and she almost choked.

What is this thing? Is this a map?

So the Ye family fortress didn't even have a proper military map at this time!

Looking at this crude map, Ye Suijin, who was used to looking at marching maps, felt her temples throbbing.

This map was small and rough, simple and crude. But everyone's eyes were already on her, so Ye Suijin could only habitually raise her hand and beckon to the steward beside her.

The steward didn't understand: "What does the fort lord want?"

Ye Suijin was silent for a moment, swallowed a mouthful of old blood, and said, "Never mind."

She was the fool. With such a small map, what use were any pointer sticks.

Ye Suijin stretched out her hand and pointed out the three places Mr. Yang had mentioned on the crude map with perfect accuracy: "Min Country, the emperor is far away in the distant heavens."

Her finger slid: "Han Country, likewise."

"These two places are both in the Lingnan Circuit, separated from the imperial court by the Jiangnan, Shannan, and Huainan Circuits." They took advantage of the remoteness of the terrain that the imperial court's reach could hardly extend to. The local diet and climate were also very different from the north, so northerners who went there would easily lose one-tenth of their men just from not being acclimated to the water and soil.

But likewise, southerners going north simply couldn't stand the cold.

Therefore, Zhao Jingwen was in no hurry to take back the southern borders, he would do so slowly.

Ye Suijin's finger slid again, drawing half a circle: "Jian'nan Circuit."

"The land of abundance, with deep blessings. The Shu paths are difficult, more difficult than ascending to the blue heavens. This territory has been easy to defend but hard to attack since ancient times. This is why Wang Rong dared to occupy Jian'nan Circuit and establish the Shu Kingdom."

"These three places all have the support of natural terrain, which is why they dared to proclaim themselves emperor the earliest..."

The earliest...

Mr. Yang glanced up at Ye Suijin.

But Ye Suijin's gaze had fallen on a place outside of Jian'nan Circuit, in the Shan'nan East Circuit, at the border between Gui Prefecture, Fang Prefecture, and Kuizhou.

Who was there?

Zhao Jingwen's second wife, Pei Lian, was there.

Now was not the time to think about Pei Lian. Ye Suijin banished Pei Lian from her mind and spread out her palm to cover a large area: "Mr. Yang, look here."

Mr. Yang looked closely. The area Ye Suijin's palm covered was almost the entirety of Shannan Circuit and half of Jiangnan Circuit. He glanced at Ye Suijin in puzzlement.

The others were also puzzled.

Ye Suijin smiled: "The imperial granaries are here. Mr. Yang, do you want them?"

Everyone in the hall laughed loudly, thinking Ye Suijin was joking with Mr. Yang.

Only Mr. Yang's gaze condensed slightly, but he soon laughed loudly as well and said, "If I wanted to become emperor, I would naturally want this place. It's been a land of contention since ancient times."

Controlling the Jingchu region could support however large an army. This was the foundation of Zhao Jingwen's ability to launch northern expeditions time and time again.

Ye Suijin poked at the map: "Just you wait, I bet this place will have another emperor soon."

But this region was too large. There were several military governors just among them.

Before the fall of Northern Wei, eunuchs controlled the imperial court and handed out appointments like they were free. Any general with a bit of military power who sent ample tribute to the capital could obtain documents commissioning them as military governor.

And so you're a military governor, and I'm a military governor. There were big and small ones, formal and makeshift ones.

Someone scratched their head: "Which one will become emperor?"

Mr. Yang answered almost unthinkingly: "Cui Fu, military governor of Wuan."

Ye Suijin held her breath for a moment.

Fourth Uncle Ye did not believe it: "I know him. The Wuan army has some history. He's a formal military governor, he must be an old geezer now. Didn't the Wuan army go to the capital to participate in the righteous rebellion back then, and retreated after defeat? It must be greatly weakened compared to before. How could he become emperor?"

Mr. Yang said: "A camel that starved to death is still bigger than a horse. He's also a hero of his time. The only reason he's like this now is because he's too old and his health can't keep up. Also, his eldest son is mediocre, yet suppresses his younger brothers, so they weaken year after year."

Fourth Uncle Ye still didn't believe it: "You said yourself they weaken year after year. How could the next person to become emperor be him?"

Mr. Yang sighed and stroked his beard: "Because he is old, ready to enter his coffin. At his peak, during Northern Wei's time, he upheld his loyalty. But now, what Northern Wei, even the fraudulent Liang is gone, and who knows how many years this Great Jin can last."

"Those several," he gestured at the Shu, Han and Min countries, "have already proclaimed themselves emperor. How could he not have ambitions? A hero of his time like him, if he dies without wearing the dragon robes, would die with his eyes open in resentment."

The crowd laughed loudly again.

"Of course."

"If it were me, with so many troops, I would also die with my eyes open."

"You wish. I meant if!"

Ye Suijin lowered her eyes.

Reborn into this time, she knew how history would unfold. Yet Mr. Yang deduced all this relying solely on present information, without a single mistake.

In her past life, Mr. Yang had never been valued highly by her side. She really had failed to make use of his talents.

Just as Mr. Yang said, Cui Fu did indeed proclaim himself emperor and wear the dragon robes before death, establishing the Chu Kingdom.

He was emperor for two or three months before kicking the bucket.

With his favored eldest son dead, the useless eldest could not control his brothers, and was killed by his younger brothers. One of his younger brothers took the throne. The new emperor was diligent and vigorously governed, almost unifying the vast and fertile lands her palm had covered earlier.

What a pity, he fell off his horse in his prime, hitting his head on a rock and dying.

They only managed to take over such a huge breadbasket later because Cui Fu's sons and uncles, brothers fought each other to the death, causing Chu to fracture again.

To put it this way, Zhao Jingwen really had some fortune on his side.

Ugh, what fortune, he relied entirely on scheming, scheming his two wives' clans to work for him.

Ye Suijin clenched her fist and withdrew her hand. Amidst the chuckles in the hall, she said to Mr. Yang: "I want it."

Mr. Yang froze.

Fourth Uncle Ye didn't understand: "Want what?"

Ye Suijin stared at the crude map: "Everyone else is making their move. We're the only ones staying still, how can this do? In these chaotic times, this is like rowing against the current, retreat if we don't advance."

She slammed her fist on the huge granary: "I want this Jingchu region, to stockpile grain and train troops. One day in the future..."

Her fist suddenly opened, her five fingers pointing in different directions, instantly expanding the area her hand covered.

The hall quieted.

Because this was no joking chatter of a young maiden, this woman was the master of Ye Family Fortress.

She was the one leading them on the road.

Fourth Uncle Ye had been shocked by Ye Suijin repeatedly today. He felt like his mind simply couldn't keep up with her. He stared with wide eyes, unsure if he should rebuke her.

As her uncle, rebuking her preposterous words was of course right. But as a subordinate, he could not openly make the fort lord lose face.

He had argued and conflicted with Ye Suijin several times in the past. His sons had repeatedly advised him about it afterwards.

At this time, Mr. Yang directly poured cold water on Ye Suijin, twirling his seemingly dirty beard: "You can't manage it."

The atmosphere instantly relaxed.

Just as someone was about to laugh, Ye Suijin raised her eyes.

"I know," she said with a smile, casual and indifferent. "So let's take Deng Prefecture first."

It was like a thunderclap exploding in the discussion hall of the Ye family.

Instantly silencing everyone present.