Chapter 53

General Guan stopped abruptly.Oh dear, he had said a bit too much.

He had forgotten that nowadays the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun had been ceded, and the Central Plains had lost its horse breeding grounds. Nowadays His Majesty kept tight control over horses.

"Ah, um..." General Guan started rubbing his knees.

Ye Suijin gave a faint smile.

How could she not know that nowadays the Jin Emperor kept tight control over horses too.

This Emperor had ceded the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun to the barbarians, and made an agreement with the barbarian emperor to be father and son, borrowing soldiers to seize the Central Plains. Afterwards he was constantly scolded as the "Child Emperor", destined to leave an ugly mark in the history books.

Zhao Jingwen had told her lazily during pillow talk in the rear palace: "Reading history recently, looking at the appraisals of previous emperors, internal conflicts within the Central Plains didn't really matter. But an 'Child Emperor' like the Jin Emperor, that reputation would follow him for all eternity and could never be erased."

"He deserved it," Ye Suijin said. "Forget about him. If we don't recover the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun, our reputations in the history books will be tarnished too."

Ye Suijin dreamed of recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Not just the rear palace, she actually preferred military camps and the clashing of swords and spears over the court.

But her hands were tied. Zhao Jingwen would not let her personally lead campaigns. As Empress, her military accomplishments were already too great. Neither Zhao Jingwen nor the civil officials would give her opportunities to take to the battlefield again.

She could only have Duan Jin fulfill this dream for her.

"The general need not feel awkward. I would certainly not covet His Majesty's horses," Ye Suijin said. "What I want are the horses of Liangzhou."

General Guan: "Huh?"

Ye Suijin said: "I ask that General Guan help make connections with the Dingnan Army's Tuyuhun Li clan."

According to historical records, the horses of Liangzhou were the Dayuan horses introduced to the Central Plains a thousand years ago. Later they blended the bloodlines of Ganqing horses and Monguor horses. During the Northern Wei dynasty, they had shone brilliantly.

But under the current fragmented situation, when Ye Suijin thought of the horses of Liangzhou, the first that came to mind was the Dingnan Army.

The Tuyuhun people were "skilled in marshes and grasslands, and excellent at animal husbandry."

The Tuoba clan, the Li clan.

The Li clan were also turncoats, originally surrendering ministers of the Northern Wei. Just a few years ago they had also pledged allegiance to the bogus Liang regime. Soon, they would pledge allegiance to the Jin Emperor like Ye Suijin had.

When that time came, the Jin Emperor would definitely restrict the Li clan's horses. It would be even more difficult to obtain horses then.

It had to be now.

The Jin Emperor had originally been the military governor of Hedong. His territory was cheek by jowl with the Dingnan Army's. General Guan was a cousin of the Jin Emperor. He must have ways to contact the Li clan of Dingnan.

Sure enough, General Guan heaved a sigh of relief. After a brief moment of thought, he said: "Let me try."

Ye Suijin raised her wine cup. "I toast General."

General Guan clinked cups with her. Observing her bearing, she downed it in one go, very bold and unrestrained. He praised: "Lady Ye is refreshingly straightforward."

And downed his in one go too.

He did not know that in her past life, after Ye Suijin had taken over the position of head of the Ye Family Fort, she had to grit her teeth and prop up the Liang regime. No matter what she faced, she could not use "I am a woman" as an excuse to shirk responsibility.

She led troops, the military camps were full of men, running around half-naked. If it weren't for their commander being a woman, those fellows could prance around butt naked swinging their birds during the summer when bathing.

What could she do? She could hardly demand, just because she was a woman, that the officers and men be fully dressed beyond fighting bloody battles for their lives, could she?

She could only adapt herself to the environment, make everyone forget she was a woman.

After a long time, everyone did indeed forget, even she herself forgot.

Only Zhao Jingwen's existence could remind her that she was a woman.

Ye Suijin put down her wine cup. Her shoulders, waist and back were erect as she said, "General Guan, there is another matter."

General Guan said: "Lady Ye, please speak."

"Since His Majesty appointed me Military Governor of Dengzhou, day and night I worry, fearing that I may fail to live up to His Majesty's sagely grace," said Ye Suijin. "This time His Majesty has also bestowed a hundred sets of armor. Such great favor makes me apprehensive."

"Thinking it over, Dengzhou and Tangzhou were originally one entity. Since the routing of the Xuanhua Army, bandits have sprung up everywhere, and the common people live in unease. Having received His Majesty’s grace and been appointed Military Governor of Dengzhou, how can I only sweep the snow in front of my own door? My strength is meager, but I should also accomplish some merit for His Majesty."

General Guan's hand holding the wine cup stopped. He gazed intently: "Lady Ye's meaning is...?"

Ye Suijin said smilingly: "I am currently sweeping Tangzhou clean for His Majesty. Shangma and Ciqiu have already been purified, officials are in place, and the common people settled. Just these meager contributions need not disturb His Majesty. Reporting to General Guan is the same."

General Guan paused for a moment, then put down his wine cup: "Bring a map."

Once the attendant had spread out the map, Ye Suijin and General Guan stood before it.

"Let the General look. The General is currently here. Shangma is here, Ciqiu is here. The other places, I will slowly take care of them for His Majesty."

Ye Suijin's lips curved in a smile: "General, look, Ciqiu is not far from you, very convenient for Dengzhou to get close to you."

As expected, money does not fall from the sky for no reason. This Ye woman of Dengzhou wants to swallow Tangzhou whole, and does not want His Majesty to know. She wants to get rich quietly, not loudly.

Very good. General Guan does not want to make noise either. He also wants to get rich silently.

Dengzhou and Tangzhou were not large in area. During the Northern Wei era they were administered by a single prefect who concurrently held both provinces. Militarily, they were merely two of the five provinces originally held by the Military Governor of Xuanhua.

General Guan thought briefly, then drew a line with his finger: "The area south of here will be handed to Lady Ye. The north and other places I will guard for His Majesty."

He slanted a glance at Ye Suijin: "His Majesty is only temporarily unable to spare effort here. Once the west is settled, I will definitely push forward to the northern banks of the Yangtze. When that time comes, all the Central Plains will be the royal domain."

"Naturally," Ye Suijin tactfully agreed. "I and the General are both ministers of Jin, we are one family."

With the agreement that the Ye family would not invade north, a borderline was thus happily drawn.

After leaving General Guan's camp, both Mr. Yang and Third Son Ye were happy that this trip had been successful. With General Guan's tacit approval, they could boldly swallow up Tangzhou.

"Let's go back," Third Son Ye said.

Although they had seized the northern part of Tangzhou, Tangzhou still had many other parts for them to wrest away.

But upon hearing this, Ye Suijin looked north.

Third Son Ye and Mr. Yang also looked north, though they did not know what she was looking at.

Ye Suijin's face held a strange expression they could not comprehend.

Third Son Ye: "Sister?"

Ye Suijin suddenly jerked her reins: "Since we're here already, Third Brother, you haven't seen the capital yet right? Let's go take a look at the capital!"

Mr. Yang and Third Son Ye were both surprised.

But Third Son Ye was quite eager, because he truly had not seen the capital before.

Since this was so, Mr. Yang had always been easygoing, and did not try to stop them. On the contrary he said: "If you want to go then go."

After sending people back to report their safety, the party set off north.

Mr. Yang came to the capital for the second time. On the way he said: "Much more peaceful than last time."

With General Guan's defense line pushed south, public security in the capital region had visibly improved. Great Jin was clearly taking on the air of settling down.

When living in the present, how could one know what twists the future would take? In one lifetime, there were far too many unimaginable things. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Ye Suijin said nothing.

They had left the southern goods with General Guan. The party traveled light. In just a few days they arrived at the capital.

Third Son Ye craned his neck to look at the city walls, his manner identical to Fourth Uncle Ye. Passersby could tell with one look this was a country bumpkin seeing the capital for the first time, shaking their heads and smiling.

Third Son Ye was completely oblivious to the disdainful laughter of passersbys. He was immersed in shock.

"So this is the capital," he murmured. "It really had to be seen."

Looking at such majestic city walls, he suddenly felt his heart fill with boundless heroic spirit.

Just what was that feeling surging in his heart, Third Son Ye could not say clearly. He just felt like taking a deep breath, and felt his blood vessels grow hot.

Ye Suijin, however, was looking at the city gates, observing for a while. She said to Mr. Yang: "No verification at all."

Verification referred to documents imprinted with official seals, used to verify identity. An official taking up his post had his "report of name", relay runners had their "tally slips", militiamen mobilizing had their "muster rolls". As for commoners, it was a permit stating your native place, proving you were a law-abiding citizen.

Mr. Yang was surprised: "It's been abolished for so many years."

Ye Suijin said: "That's true."

It had been eighteen years since the turmoil, when the land could not retain commoners. Where was there still any "verification"?

"It reminds me," she said, "Dengzhou's verification system should be revived. Can't have people wandering around randomly."

Adult males had to pay taxes and provide corvee labor, they could not lightly leave their native soil. In the era when the verification system was still intact, a commoner without a "permit" could not go anywhere.

It was an effective means of binding commoners to the land.

Mr. Yang said, "That's right."

The group entered the city.

Mr. Yang had been here before and stayed for quite a few days. He and Fourth Uncle Ye had gotten fat in the capital and were no longer impressed by it. But many of the guards were visiting the capital for the first time and were very impressed by everything they saw. When they returned home, they would have many boastful stories to tell.

In later years, when they dandled their grandchildren on their knees, they could tell their grandsons, "Your grandfather once visited the capital."

Ye Suijin instructed the guards not to get into any fights with people, then let them wander freely around the capital city.

Mr. Yang's old waist couldn't take the hardship of travel, so he rested at an inn. Ye Suijin only brought along Third Son Ye to tour around.

The capital city was both familiar yet strange to her.

She saw shops that would still exist over ten years later, as well as many houses she had never seen in the future capital.

The stone bricks on many streets looked worn and old, unlike later when they would all be repaved and the capital made more splendid and prosperous.

As they walked, she led Third Son Ye outside the Imperial City.

She craned her neck and squinted up for a long time.

Third Son Ye exclaimed in admiration, “This is the Imperial Palace!”

Ever since his father had visited the capital once and seen the Emperor, he had become conceited. He had even secretly told Third Son Ye, "The Emperor is no different than ordinary people."

But Third Son Ye did not agree.

To ordinary people, the Emperor was distant and high above.

As Third Son Ye looked at the majestic palace walls, this feeling was even stronger.

Just as he was feeling emotional, he heard Ye Suijin give a long, leisurely sigh: “The walls are so high!"

Third Son Ye agreed, “Yes, truly magnificent. As expected of the residence of the Son of Heaven, an imperial palace.”

But her sentiment was actually the opposite of his. Hearing his admiration, Ye Suijin gently said, "It's not as good as you imagine."

Third Son Ye looked at her in surprise: "How could this not be good enough?"

Ye Suijin lifted her horse whip and gestured as she spoke: "It looks impressive from the outside, but it's quite boring on the inside. The front area is still alright, but the rear areas are extremely boring. There is only empty nobility that vainly consumes one's life."

"Extremely boring," she said.