Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Su Yu arrived in Shuozhou in the middle of the night.

Though Liu Wushi was in a dire situation, his location near the city exit made it easier for Su Yu to direct her people to clear the path.

Indeed, Liu Wushi owed her his gratitude.

If she hadn’t entered the city overnight and located him through the system, he might have died from hypothermia.

Su Yu remained with Liu Wushi nearly the whole night. It wasn’t until Yu Chiyi completely cleared the main road into the city and followed the markers she had left that she departed with Yu Chiyi.

She felt no concern leaving Liu Wushi alone in the cave, as she had left some coal, a warm fox fur cloak, and dry food there.

Through the projection, Su Yu observed that Guo Laidong had already located Liu Wushi.

Despite the numerous caves, Guo Laidong easily found Liu Wushi, which was the male lead's luck. Su Yu couldn’t help feeling a twinge of envy.

After entering Shuozhou, Su Yu went to see Yang Ping, the Prefect and Defense Commissioner of Shuozhou. In most regions of Great Qi, the positions of Prefect and Defense Commissioner were distinct to prevent the concentration of local administration and military power in one person. However, Shuozhou was a special case.

The military in Shuozhou was not under local jurisdiction but, like the Yu Chi army, was under the central court. However, when Su Yan was in power, he was hesitant to disburse the salaries of these directly subordinate border troops. Yang Ping, then the Defense Commissioner of Shuozhou, repeatedly submitted memorials urging Su Yan to pay the salaries. Coincidentally, the position of Prefect of Shuozhou was vacant at the time, so Su Yan followed Li Jianzhang's advice and directly named Yang Ping as the Prefect of Shuozhou, implying that the local revenues of Shuozhou were under his management and he should no longer petition the court for funds.

Indeed, Shuozhou had amassed considerable wealth due to frequent trade with the northern deserts.

But the northern deserts were the domain of nomadic tribes.

In times of favorable weather, these nomadic tribes were friendly and cooperative. However, once their lives became difficult or they noticed that life in Shuozhou was not going well, the nomadic tribes would act without hesitation and would only think of coming to plunder.

Especially this time, when Shuozhou was hit by a snow disaster, the nomadic tribes lying in wait outside the city were already brandishing their scimitars, waiting for the snow to partially melt before launching a full-scale raid on the city—

This was why Su Yu brought Yu Chiyi with her.

Initially, she had considered leaving Yu Chiyi with Xie Yiguan and bringing Wei Jiong instead, as using the Wei family token could mobilize more troops from Tongzhou. However, in the end, she chose to bring Yu Chiyi to Shuozhou, fearing that Shuozhou would face peril and the nomadic tribes outside Yanmen Pass would take advantage of the situation.

Compared to the relatively inexperienced Wei Jiong, Yu Chiyi, having been stationed at the border for so long, possessed extensive experience in confronting adversaries.

Yang Ping was personally leading the troops in shoveling snow, anxious and worried about the sudden attack by the nomadic tribes who had no sense of martial ethics. He didn’t anticipate that after clearing the snow, he would encounter Yu Chiyi.

Yu Chiyi greeted him warmly, "It's been a long time, Jinggao."

Jinggao was Yang Ping's courtesy name.

Yang Ping: "..." It had indeed been a long time, but he wasn’t particularly eager to see Yu Chiyi.

Yu Chiyi was stationed at the western border, while Yang Ping was at the northern border. In fact, they hadn’t met many times, but as fellow border troops living in difficult times, Yang Ping had heard of Yu Chiyi's bravery and skill in battle, which led to his admiration. He had written many letters to Yu Chiyi.

Over time, they became pen pals.

During the most difficult times, Yu Chiyi invited him to raid the Shuofang military governor together.

Compared to the unruly Yu Chiyi, Yang Ping was more inclined to follow the rules. At that time, he told Yu Chiyi that this might not be appropriate.

However, Yu Chiyi argued that the Shuofang military governor, as a local military governor, had not paid taxes for years. The salaries of their border troops were paid by the court, and where did the court's money come from? Naturally, from local taxes. In other words, because military governors like Shuofang, Hedong, and Weibo did not pay taxes, the court had no money, leading to their border troops not receiving salaries. In essence, the Shuofang military governor was withholding their salaries, so going to the Shuofang military governor to take some military rations was just reclaiming what was rightfully theirs.

At that time, Yang Ping blindly admired Yu Chiyi and firmly believed in his reasoning. So, following Yu Chiyi's plan, Yu Chiyi attacked from the west while Yang Ping attacked from the north, jointly assaulting the Shuofang military governor.

But who would have thought that what Yu Chiyi meant by "taking a little" was actually plundering most of the Shuofang military governor's granary.

When dividing the spoils, Yu Chiyi was quite generous, giving Yang Ping a third. However, Yu Chiyi ran faster than a rabbit. When the Shuofang military governor came after them, he didn’t see Yu Chiyi and chased Yang Ping all the way, forcing him to flee back to Shuozhou in a panic.

Yang Ping had initially vowed never to get involved in such schemes again, but not long after, Yu Chiyi sent another letter. He claimed to have learned from the last experience and this time, instead of raiding the Shuofang Military Governor, they would target the Hedong Military Governor. Since Shuozhou was close to Hedong, Yang Ping could escape back to Shuozhou ahead of him and avoid being implicated.

Back then, young and naive, Yang Ping actually believed Yu Chiyi.

Who would’ve guessed that even during the Hedong raid, Yu Chiyi still outran him. By the time the Hedong Military Governor came to his senses, he didn’t see Yu Chiyi and instead pinned everything on Yang Ping, who was caught in the act. For a while, the Hedong Military Governor would occasionally launch attacks, leaving Yang Ping questioning his life choices.

Yang Ping lived in constant fear that the two Military Governors might join forces and tear him to pieces. Fortunately, these two Military Governors didn’t get along and had no interest in cooperating, allowing him to survive until now.

Over the years, he had been nervously guarding Shuozhou, rarely leaving the city except for occasional skirmishes with the nomadic tribes.

If he hadn’t run into Yu Chiyi, Yang Ping might have nearly forgotten those unbearable past events. But when he saw Yu Chiyi's somewhat punchable smiling face—

To make matters worse, he couldn’t even beat Yu Chiyi!

Yang Ping snapped, "Turn left out of the city for Shuofang, turn right for Hedong. Hurry up and leave; I don’t have time to deal with you now!"

Yu Chiyi smiled and said, "Brother Jinggao, that’s not very fair of you. I came here specifically to support Shuozhou."

Yang Ping eyed him suspiciously. As far as he knew, Yu Chiyi was even poorer than him. What could he possibly use to support him?

Yu Chiyi brazenly boasted, "Brother Jinggao, being in Shuozhou, you’re not up to date with the news from the capital. I am now the Grand General of the Imperial Guards and the Right Yulin Guard General, personally appointed by His Majesty. This time, I am here on His Majesty’s orders to provide disaster relief in Shuozhou."

Yang Ping was indeed out of the loop. He had only heard that Yu Chiyi had been transferred to Tongguan. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad luck for the guy, but before he even reached Tongguan, the previous emperor passed away.

Yang Ping figured that while Su Yan was cruel and tyrannical, he was at least the son of the empress and had received a proper royal education. The current emperor was different. He had heard that the emperor had been overlooked since childhood, hadn’t read much in the palace, and was sent to a desolate and impoverished place at the age of thirteen, lacking both culture and insight—

Could such a person be the emperor?

Yang Ping was deeply concerned, but his concerns were futile. Over the years, he had stubbornly stayed in Shuozhou, not leaving even when Su Yu ascended the throne. He feared that if he turned his back, Shuozhou would fall to foreign invaders.

Not to mention Su Yan, even when Su Yan’s father was the emperor, Yang Ping never expected the court to send anyone for disaster relief. Hearing Yu Chiyi’s words, he was dumbfounded for a moment before cautiously asking, "Are you not fooling me again? So, who are you targeting this time? But as you can see, I really can’t spare any effort to help you now."

Yu Chiyi couldn’t have come from the capital; it’s not that quick a trip to Shuozhou.

As soon as Yang Ping finished speaking, he heard someone laugh. When he looked over, his eyes widened.

Perhaps because she stood next to Yu Chiyi, Su Yu appeared ethereal, like a celestial being. Yang Ping suddenly believed that Yu Chiyi had come from the capital—at least Su Yu must have. "Who is this?"

Su Yu wasn’t ready to reveal her true identity as the emperor yet, so she borrowed Xie Yiguan’s name: "I am Xie Zhiwei, the Pacification Commissioner personally appointed by His Majesty, responsible for this disaster relief in Shuozhou."

She had temporarily bestowed herself with an official title. After all, she was the emperor and could claim any title she wanted.

As he listened to Su Yu’s introduction, Yu Chiyi silently noted that the emperor, like him, lacked refinement, and her words didn’t have the same polished tone as Xie Yiguan’s.

Fortunately, Yang Ping didn’t notice. He stared at Su Yu with burning eyes: "So it’s Xie Yiguan! I’ve long heard of your reputation!"

Someone from the Hanlin Academy—it must be true that the capital had sent people for disaster relief!

Su Yu coughed lightly and corrected Yang Ping: "I am now the secretary in the Secretariat."

Yang Ping apologized somewhat embarrassedly: "Indeed, I have been living in a remote place and am not up to date with the news. I hope Secretary Xie will forgive me."

Yu Chiyi quietly tugged at Su Yu’s cloak, afraid she might say too much and give herself away.

But Su Yu was confident, smiling at Yang Ping with dimples showing.

Yang Ping was momentarily entranced by her smile. Su Yu’s appearance alone was worthy of the phrase "orchid and jade tree," so he didn’t notice the loopholes in her words.

Su Yu calmly asked Yang Ping about the number of troops and the amount of grain stored in Shuozhou.

She told Yang Ping that she had brought charcoal and some of the relief grain this time, and she needed to know if the city’s grain reserves could last until the rest of the relief grain arrived.

"Is the charcoal for medicine?" To Yang Ping, charcoal was still just a medicinal item, but the people of Shuozhou now needed firewood more urgently.

Su Yu shook her head, "It’s for fuel."

Yang Ping was shocked; charcoal wasn’t cheap, and so much of it... just for fuel?

"There’s a limited amount, so we can’t give it to every household," Su Yu said. "Governor Yang needs to gather the affected people and organize them into groups. Then assign tasks—some groups will shovel snow, others will repair things. The more they work, the more food they get."

In times like these, paying by work is the only way to keep things from falling apart.

Yang Ping was taken aback; he hadn’t considered making the victims work, but upon reflection, relying only on the city’s soldiers wasn’t enough.

Su Yu thought for a moment and added, "Kids under ten and folks over fifty should be in separate groups. They can get food without working. Also, round up anyone in the city who knows medicine, whether they’re doctors or Taoist healers, and have them patrol with the soldiers."

The cold and slushy snow made people more likely to get sick.

Technically, Yang Ping outranked Xie Yiguan as Governor of Shuozhou, but at this moment, he listened to Su Yu in a daze, just nodding along.

However, a scholar who had been following Yang Ping interjected, "Since you’re sent by the court, you should show the dignity and generosity of Great Qi. Why make the victims work? I heard Xie Yiguan is Great Qi’s youngest top scholar, but your words are so plain?"

Yu Chiyi glared at him, hand already on his sword hilt, scaring the scholar into taking two steps back.

Su Yu smiled, "These people are part of Great Qi and Shuozhou. Shuozhou is their home, and everyone needs to pitch in. As for my speaking style..."

She glanced at the scholar, "Who are you? I’m talking to Governor Yang; how dare you butt in?"

Yang Ping hurriedly spoke up for the scholar, "This is Secretary Zhang. He’s not usually like this; he’s just tired today. Please forgive him."

Su Yu nodded casually but quietly told Yu Chiyou to follow Secretary Zhang. She felt something was off about him.

Yu Chiyi quietly asked Su Yu, "Your Majesty, do you think this Secretary Zhang is a spy?"

The Yu Chi family had a knack for strange intuition.

Su Yu tapped his mouth, "Call me Zhi Wei."

Yu Chiyi held back his words. Indeed, the emperor looked quite majestic as long as she didn’t speak.

Soon, Yu Chiyou returned, holding a carrier pigeon. He handed a note to Su Yu, "This was released by Secretary Zhang, flying north."

Su Yu glanced at it but couldn’t understand it; it wasn’t written in Chinese characters.

Yu Chiyi peeked and snorted, "This Secretary Zhang is indeed a spy. He’s sending a message to the Tiele tribe."

The nomadic tribes in the north were mainly the Tiele tribe. They usually traded with Great Qi, such as the horses Liu Wushi had purchased from them, but they also liked to take advantage of chaos.

Su Yu hadn’t expected Yu Chiyi to understand the script of these nomadic tribes.

Yu Chiyi quickly altered two characters and had Yu Chiyou release the pigeon again. He turned to Su Yu, "I brought a crossbow this time. It’s perfect for you... Zhi Wei to see its power."

On the third day after the pigeon was released, Yang Ping heard from his soldiers that the Tiele tribe had launched a surprise attack. He hurried to the city wall and ordered the soldiers to inform Yu Chiyi.

The soldier hesitated, "General, General Yu is already guarding the city wall."

Yang Ping: "?"

Yang Ping felt some unpleasant memories resurfacing. He rushed to the city wall and saw Yu Chiyi and Su Yu, one in black armor and the other in a white cloak, standing together. From afar, they looked like an ink painting stretched across the sky and land.

Yu Chiyi raised his bow/crossbow and shot the arrow.

Yang Ping glanced at the Tiele forces below the city wall, still some distance away, thinking this arrow seemed like it would miss its mark...

He was suddenly stunned, as the arrow flew much farther than he had imagined, directly hitting the throat of the Tiele leader, killing him instantly!

Yang Ping looked at Yu Chiyi in shock. He stood tall and steady, unmoving, but a cavalry that had charged in from behind the Tiele forces tore through their formation. After throwing the Tiele forces into disarray like headless chickens, the cavalry swiftly returned to the city of Shuo without lingering in battle.

Yang Ping: "..." Indeed, this was the Yu Chi-style tactics he was familiar with—hit hard, strike fast, and pull back at the right moment! This was the same strategy used against the Shuo Fang and Hedong military governors!

He gritted his teeth. As long as he wasn't tricked, Yu Chiyi was still someone he admired!

Su Yu was also taken aback. At this moment, she gained a more comprehensive understanding of Yu Chiyi's peak combat skills—not only was he highly skilled in martial arts, but he was also a first-rate commander in battle!