On Qingyue Mountain lies a peach orchard, now in full bloom. The pink blossoms halfway up the mountainside are breathtaking, a sight so beautiful one cannot look away. The verdant forest and vibrant peach blossoms are a sight even a master painter with decades of experience could not capture in detail.
The Yiqi Temple is nestled within this peach orchard, faintly visible.
Because the Temple's leader, Master Xiao, departed for the capital the day before, there were far fewer high-ranking officials and nobles seeking an audience with him. The sparse crowds on the 2,999 stone steps made the mountain, the temple, and especially the peach orchard much quieter.
Every year when the peach orchard blooms, visitors are forbidden from entering. It's unclear whether the Taoists of Yiqi Temple fear visitors will ruin this naturally beautiful scene, or if the orchard holds some secret that cannot be revealed when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The Yi Qi Temple held a prestigious position. Not only tourists, but even the Governor-General of Jianghuai Circuit wouldn't easily violate its rules.
In the peach grove stood a nameless pavilion.
Originally, this pavilion was a resting place for tourists, but ever since a remarkable figure moved into the Yi Qi Temple, it had practically become her private property. Even the Taoist priests of the temple had to consider the young lady's temper before they could enter. If they angered her, they might incur a scolding from the temple's head priest.
This young lady was more beautiful than a flower, but her personality was somewhat willful and capricious.
This young lady was none other than Wu Yidao, the richest man in the Sui Dynasty, who had spent fifteen thousand taels of gold to place her in the Yi Qi Temple's lap of luxury.
Wu Yinyu, this young lady was only fifteen years old, yet she was loved by everyone. However, perhaps because Wu Yidao spoiled her too much, her wild nature was somewhat exasperating. On her first day at Yiqi Temple, this young lady, hands on her slender waist, asked the eldest disciple of Master Xiao, Heli Daoist, where her residence was. Heli Daoist pointed to a secluded courtyard and said, "That's it." Without even turning her head, Miss Wu pointed to the peach grove and said, "I want to stay there."
From that moment on, the pavilion in the peach grove became her private property.
And the small fenced courtyard deep within the peach grove, where Master Xiao secluded himself for cultivation every year when the peach blossoms bloomed, also became her private property.
The weather was so fine it brightened everyone's spirits, but this young lady of the Wu family, though not yet fully blossoming, but a true budding beauty, was in a rather low mood. A priceless scorched-tail zither sat on the stone table in the pavilion, but Wu Yinyu, who loved playing the zither, had no interest in it today.
Her long, slender fingers, like spring onions, traced back and forth across the scorched-tail zither, her mind elsewhere.
Seeing her mistress's unhappiness, her personal maid, Dujuan, placed a freshly brewed lotus seed soup beside her and softly asked, "What's wrong, Miss? You've even lost your appetite for playing the zither."
A girl with an oval face, especially with delicate features, is always incredibly adorable. Even a slight frown doesn't convey sadness; she remains lively and fresh.
Wu Yinyu stroked the zither strings and sighed softly, saying, "Back in the capital, Luo Weiran, the commander of the Imperial Guards, personally examined me. He opened 122 out of 128 acupoints. Even he said I'm a rare genius; not only in Chang'an, but in the entire Sui Dynasty, there's no one else like me."
She looked at Dujuan and asked, "That's what Luo Weiran said back then, right?"
"Yes."
Dujuan said proudly for her mistress, "Commander Luo also said that if Miss doesn't mind, he'd like to take you as his last disciple." "I don't know how high the commander's cultivation level is, but I guess there are many who want to become his disciples."
Wu Yinyu nodded, but her brows didn't relax at all: "But why am I not valued after arriving at Yiqi Temple?"
"No, Miss, when you arrived at Yiqi Temple, you stayed in the small courtyard that Master Xiao only stayed in when he was in seclusion. No one else is allowed to come to this pavilion. Before Master Xiao left, he specifically instructed Daoist Heli that you could have whatever you wanted and do whatever you wanted. This shows that Master Xiao values you very much."
"That's because of my father's 15,000..." "A thousand taels of gold."
Wu Yinyu sighed, "If they truly valued me, why didn't they take me to Chang'an for the martial arts academy's exam, but instead took that woman?"
"Miss, are you referring to...Mo Ningzhi?"
"Who else could it be besides her?"
Wu Yinyu looked up at the peach grove and sighed, "At home, I was like a little bird my father kept. They were always afraid I'd get hurt, so they wouldn't let me touch anything. The mansion's courtyard was frighteningly large, but wasn't it still just a huge cage? Now that I've come to the Yiqi Temple, I've taken over this peach grove, but..." "It's just a bigger birdcage."
She suddenly stood up, clenched her fists, and said, "I want to go back to Chang'an."
"But Miss, we just escaped from Chang'an!"
"I'm not afraid!"
Wu Yinyu said, "I've already given Master Xiao 15,000 taels of gold. Does he think he can only protect me at the Yi Qi Temple? If he can't protect me in Chang'an, then I'll have Father take the gold back! Others may not know, but I know that old man is greedy to the extreme!"
...
...
Chang'an, the Imperial Study in the Baohe Hall of the Taiji Palace.
Emperor Yang Yi of the Sui Dynasty glanced at the bowing minister before him, slammed the memorial shut, and tossed it at the minister's feet. He leaned back, shaking his aching neck, and said angrily, "This is the so-called invincible military strategy that a group of elites from the Ministry of War's War Affairs Department worked day and night to come up with? I'm ashamed for them! The Sui Dynasty was founded on military strength; our army has never lacked generals skilled in battle, nor soldiers with countless victories! But look at the strategy written in this memorial—is it trying to fool me because I've never led troops into battle?"
"It says something about using elite troops to bypass Nirvana City and launch a surprise attack on the Mongol Yuan Dynasty." "The Manchu bannermen's garrison was burned and killed for a while before retreating. Then, they ambushed and annihilated the hastily organized Manchu bannermen's pursuing troops!"
The Emperor looked at the minister before him, his tone suddenly rising: "Do your advisors and assistant ministers in the War Affairs Department think war is child's play?! The Great Sui Dynasty has indeed been at peace for nearly twenty years. Since the late Emperor destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and I have been on the throne for eleven years, we have not waged war for over a decade. Have the people of the Ministry of War forgotten how to fight?!"
"Your subject knows his crime!"
Minister of War Yu Donglai knelt down with a thud, but dared not pick up the memorial the Emperor had thrown to the ground. The Emperor turned and pointed to the map of the entire Sui Dynasty's territory hanging on the wall, saying, "Is the map hanging in the Ministry of War's War Affairs Department different from the one hanging in my East Warm Pavilion? If they are the same, can't those bookworms see what kind of terrain lies west of Wolf's Breath Mountain, which stretches thousands of miles from north to south? And what about this 'surprise attack'... No matter how fast my Sui infantry runs, can they outrun the Mongol cavalry after crossing Wolf's Breath Mountain? And then they burn and kill for a while before retreating, setting up an ambush halfway... West of Wolf's Breath Mountain is a flat grassland; where can they set up an ambush?"
The Emperor pointed to the map and asked, "Yu Donglai, you submitted this memorial. Tell me, where exactly is the ambush?"
Yu Donglai lowered his head deeply, not daring to speak.
Emperor Yang Yi got off the earthen bed, and the chief eunuch, Su Buwei, immediately knelt down to help the Emperor put on his boots. After the Emperor stood up, Su Buwei knelt again to straighten the hem of the Emperor's robe before standing up and retreating. The Emperor glanced at Yu Donglai and said, "You're not even as diligent as a servant!"
Su Buwei quickly lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty... Lord Yu is in charge of the Ministry of War, and he has too many things to worry about every day. The entire army needs to be deployed by the Ministry of War, and there are other trivial matters as well. This servant only needs to serve Your Majesty well; each has their own expertise."
The Emperor nodded and said, "You can say 'each has their own expertise,' quite impressive."
Even Yu Donglai couldn't help but secretly cast a grateful glance at Su Buwei, thinking that this Su Buwei was far superior to the former Grand Eunuch Wu Peisheng. Wu Peisheng was a snobbish and opportunistic man; he would do things when there was benefit, and when there wasn't, he would naturally kick someone when they were down.
Just as he was thinking of Wu Peisheng, the Emperor asked about this dead man.
"Wu Peisheng died at Fangu. The Ministry of War's report says he died while assisting in the battle. He wasn't a perfect man, but the courage he displayed proves my trust in him. I was planning to give his nephew back home a sinecure and a large mansion in a few days… but last night it suddenly occurred to me that none of the people who went to the capital returned alive… This is unusual. Yu Donglai, send someone to investigate again. I've also sent Hou Wenji's men to investigate; the Ministry of War can't remain inactive. If it's truly as the battle report says, I will not only reward Wu Peisheng but also greatly honor the soldiers and civilians of Fangu!"
"If… something is being concealed…"
The Emperor glanced at Yu Donglai and didn't continue. Yu Donglai said, "Your Majesty, the military reports from the Ministry of War are absolutely infallible. Moreover, the first to report was General Li Yuanshan of the Right Valiant Guard. Your Majesty knows that Li Yuanshan is fair and humble; he would never dare to deceive Your Majesty."
"Li Yuanshan is trustworthy."
The Emperor nodded, kicked the memorial on the ground, and ordered, "Take this back. All officials in the Ministry of War will have their salaries deducted for a year. If those advisors in the War Affairs Department are only working to deceive me, then I have no use for them. If within three days…" "If you cannot provide me with a satisfactory strategy, I will entrust this matter to the Martial Arts Academy."
"Your Majesty, I obey! I am terrified."
"Alright, rise."
The Emperor picked up his tea, took a sip, and said slowly, "I have been on the throne for eleven years. The reason I haven't launched a military campaign is not because I don't want to or dare to, but because if I am going to act, it must be like a cataclysmic upheaval! And we are fighting the Mongol Yuan, not the Southern Yan or the Eastern Chu. You naturally understand the weight of this battle's success or failure. If we win, you, as his subjects, will all be remembered in history. If we lose… you..." "You'll all be infamous along with me! But don't worry, I never take the blame for others. If this battle goes poorly, I have the resolve to thoroughly investigate the entire Ministry of War."
"Your Majesty, I will go back and revise it myself."
"Go."
The Emperor waved his hand. His legs were numb from sitting cross-legged on the earthen bed for so long. He paced back and forth in the East Warm Pavilion a few times, then suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Su Buwei: "Su Buwei, you tell me… what if I use a group of martial arts..." "How about the new recruits from the academy serving in the Western Expeditionary Army?"
Su Buwei lowered her head and said, "This servant dares not discuss politics, and besides..."
The Emperor asked, "And what?"
"Besides... I'm afraid it won't be easy to get past Dean Zhou."
The Emperor was taken aback, then said with some annoyance, "I've said before that no matter how good a student is, once they enter the Martial Arts Academy, they won't be my people for three years! I'll have to consider Zhou Banchuan's opinion if I want to use them... Oh well, I'll just consider this a joke to pass the time."
...
...
Fangu.
The flowers have already bloomed in the capital, but the snow in Fangu City hasn't melted yet. The border troops on the city walls are no longer the original eight hundred veterans, but have been replaced by the Right Valiant Guard. Although these soldiers are nominally still Li Xiaozong's men, he knows he can't really command them.
There are also civilians in Fangu City, and even the iconic towers in Fangu City are still bustling with activity. But these civilians are not the same people who were once part of Fangu.
On the very day another market opened, a dozen or so people appeared near the woods outside the west gate of Fangu City. These were people rarely seen in the Sui Dynasty… bald, dressed in grey cloth, with Buddhist prayer beads around their necks and vajras in their hands.
The most striking among them was a young monk, with exquisitely handsome features, his beauty almost like that of a captivating woman. He was tall and slender, with elegant manners.
His arched eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and even his nose and mouth were exquisitely refined.
He wore a red monk's robe, making him stand out even more among the group.
"Venerable One... that's Fan Gu ahead, but it seems he's already set off for Chang'an, the capital of the Sui Dynasty. It's said he's going to the Sui Martial Arts Academy to take the exam."
A grey-robed monk respectfully said to the young red-robed monk, "If he enters the Martial Arts Academy, it will be difficult to make a move."
"Martial Arts Academy..."
The handsome red-robed monk murmured, repeating those three words, then calmly said, "Then I'll go to the Martial Arts Academy to find him."
"We can't enter Sui territory, and the Martial Arts Academy... we can't enter either."
A monk said somewhat angrily.
"Because of this bald head?"
The young monk in red robes pointed to his head, then smiled and said, "It's just a physical body. Not growing hair is to sever worldly ties, but the King of Light also said, what is the physical body if not important? A single-minded devotion to Buddhism is enough. So, whether one is bald or not, isn't it all a matter of a single thought?"
As he finished speaking, hair began to grow on his bald head, growing rapidly at a visible speed. In a moment, his hair reached his shoulders.
He took off his prayer beads from his wrist and then used them to casually tie his hair back.
What a handsome young man!