The letter from General Yves said that the kingdoms of Wu and Zhao were currently at war.
The kingdom of Zhao had stopped fighting. When General Yves returned to the capital, he found out that many provinces in the kingdom were suffering from a severe drought. He planned to travel around to provide disaster relief.
Time was short, and the task was urgent.
He sent all the valuable items he had to Sophia, asking her to exchange them for money to buy food, water, and other supplies for the relief efforts.
"Of course, I'll also call on local officials and wealthy families along the way to collect donations."
Sophia read this and immediately replied, giving him a firm answer of support.
She planned to go to the town's warehouse and send him equipment like drilling rigs and excavators, since digging wells would take time.
Other areas were still waiting for General Yves to bring them help.
Even one minute could mean the difference between life and death.
After sending the supplies to Sophia, General Yves called in people from the Ministry of Works. These officials knew the land of Zhao better than anyone.
General Yves told them what had already been done in Chen County. "A god has granted us drought-resistant crop seeds. When the time comes, your ministry should send people to help the citizens start planting. We need a good harvest next year."
The officials looked troubled and exchanged glances. "My lord, the people can barely feed themselves right now. They might not have the strength or resources to plant anything."
Because it hadn't rained for months, the ground had cracked open in many places. It was impossible to grow anything.
"This isn't your concern," General Yves cut them off with a wave of his hand. "I have a way to solve that. For now, your job is to survey the land and find areas with more moisture. We'll use those places for planting."
General Yves continued to distribute food and provide aid. At the same time, the emperor issued an order, calling everyone from the royal family to the officials and even local nobles and merchants to donate for disaster relief.
"Who among you is willing to come with me and help the people in need?" General Yves asked after the emperor's announcement.
Disaster relief couldn't be done by one man alone. It was too slow and demanding. The entire government needed to work together.
An old official stepped forward and said, "My lord, I'm too old and weak. This task should go to a younger man. I think Minister Yuan is a great choice! He's strong and full of energy — perfect for this mission!"
General Yves felt frustrated with the officials of Zhao. Everyone in court was connected to each other in complicated ways.
The one who just spoke and embarrassed General Yves in front of everyone was actually the emperor's uncle.
General Yves frowned. He was clearly annoyed. It was already hard enough to help people in such a crisis, and instead of helping, someone was holding him back. If the emperor's uncle weren't related by blood, General Yves would've had him dragged out and executed.
He looked around the room, then his eyes landed on a nervous, timid young man in the corner. "I think Minister Wei is also a good candidate. He's young and needs more experience. Minister Wei and Minister Yuan will come with me for disaster relief."
The emperor's uncle didn't expect that trying to push someone else into this would end up involving his own son. He was stunned into silence.
He had suggested it, so refusing now wouldn't just insult General Yves — it would also make him look like a coward in front of everyone.
Many on the court were quietly enjoying the drama, but very few dared to challenge General Yves directly.
Not everyone had the kind of protection the emperor's uncle did.
The emperor, who had been sitting on his throne half asleep, suddenly spoke, "I've already arranged for Lord Rongcheng to lead a prayer ceremony for rain. Let someone else take care of the relief effort."
General Yves's eyes darkened. He looked up at the emperor, but the emperor avoided meeting his gaze.
After a long pause, General Yves closed his eyes. He took a moment before opening them again, his dark eyes calm and cold.
"I obey," he said.
The emperor immediately pointed out twelve officials in front of everyone.
This time, he didn't say much more or try to explain the organization.
The royal uncle had been ready to speak again and stir up trouble, with a smile on his face. But when he looked up and met General Yves' eyes, his smile froze. He let out a cold snort and looked away.
So the plan to go south and help with the disaster was decided.
The reason the royal uncle kept trying to challenge General Yves was because, in the past, General Yves had rejected marrying his daughter. This made the royal uncle lose face in front of everyone.
As the emperor's brother-in-law, Lord Wei was used to doing whatever he wanted both in court and among the people.
Among the princes, he didn't think much of General Yves at first. General Yves was quiet, didn't talk much, and had no strong support behind him.
At the beginning, Lord Wei supported the eldest prince. Since Zhao followed the tradition of the oldest legitimate son becoming king, the eldest prince had the best chance to take the throne.
But Zhao was weak. There weren't many resources, and other countries were close to taking over.
While the country was falling apart and no one in court knew how to fight battles, General Yves, who was just twenty years old, stepped forward and took responsibility.
At that time, the whole nation was hopeless. People thought the country would be destroyed. But General Yves led thirty thousand soldiers to fight against one hundred twenty thousand enemy soldiers from the Chu Kingdom. He used surprise attacks and smart plans.
Slowly, he held the enemy back. Not only that, he pushed the enemy line farther and farther away. In the end, he forced the Chu army to leave Zhao and took back three cities.
After that, good news kept coming. But the country was already poor, and three to four years of war had emptied it even more.
General Yves had no choice but to stop fighting and return to the capital so the country could rest and recover.
He had been fighting outside the capital for four years and didn't know much about how things worked inside. But the entire court was waiting for him to come back.
By then, he was at the right age to get married.
Lord Wei set his sights on him.
Even if the eldest prince became king, would he really be able to protect the throne? Lord Wei thought it was better to support General Yves instead.
But General Yves didn't care at all. He rejected the marriage offer in front of everyone. Lord Wei was so angry his face turned dark red.
That was when they started to hate each other. In the end, Lord Wei gave his daughter to the eldest prince as a concubine.
After that, they were on opposite sides.
When court ended, General Yves led a group of officials to the office.
He had already made all the preparations. The people he picked had been checked in advance or had worked under him before.
Usually, going to help in disaster areas gave people a chance to earn extra money. But when your boss watches everything you do, the job becomes hard work with no chance to take advantage.
That was also why the royal uncle looked upset. The emperor didn't let Wei Rongcheng join General Yves' team.
But the people General Yves chose didn't complain.
"Your Highness, I used to work in Xuzhou, so I know that place well. Maybe I can take charge of that area," one official said.
General Yves took out the map of Zhao and started assigning tasks to everyone.
Once he started, everyone quickly stepped up to choose their areas.
But General Yves interrupted them. "Hold on. This mission is not just about helping with the disaster."