After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 33

Soon, the day arrived for Xie Anyu and Zhou Ning to depart on the bandit suppression campaign.

Xie Wan did not go to the city gate to see them off, but stood on the palace tower, watching quietly.

Everything that needed to be explained had been explained. For this campaign, Qi Shu had also arranged for people to assist. The merchants understood the environment of Lingbei better than she did, and their accompanying the expedition would surely yield twice the results with half the effort.

“Your Majesty, there is something this subject does not understand.” Also standing with her was her eldest cousin, Xie Yunyu. “The troops Your Majesty has assigned to Little Official Zhou are quite substantial. Does Your Majesty intend for them to clear out all the banditry in Lingbei on this trip?”

“Half a year… I didn’t expect it to take half a year either.” Xie Wan shook her head. “What I want them to open up are the most crucial routes.”

“But the north is currently suffering from a natural disaster. Even if the routes are successfully opened as planned, Your Majesty’s ideas may not be immediately achievable.” This was precisely what Xie Yunyu found confusing.

She wanted to promote trade between the north and south, build roads, and develop water conservancy projects, but these were not things that could be accomplished instantly. Even after issuing decrees, it would take time to see results.

Of course, these ideas and decrees were not problematic, but was Your Majesty… perhaps too hasty?

Rather, mobilizing such a large force during a year of great disaster was, from various perspectives, not ideal.

Xie Wan understood his meaning. Just as she was about to speak, she began to cough incessantly.

With the coughing, her already pale face became even more devoid of color.

“Your Majesty…”

Xie Wan waved her hand. “I am fine, I just caught a bit of a cold from the chill last night. My body is just weak; I catch a cold whenever the wind blows.”

Xie Yunyu was startled. Seeing her pale lips, he said, “Your Majesty, let us descend the palace tower. The wind is strong here.”

Just then, Xie Wan asked him, “Minister Xie, how many more years do you think I have to live?”

Xie Yunyu’s body stiffened abruptly.

“While I still have a few years, I hope Da Yue can become a little better. Only then will I have the face to meet my ancestors. Don’t you agree?” Xie Wan’s words were half-true, half-false. She didn’t know if Emperor Ruiming’s end was truly just a few years away, nor did she know if Emperor Ruiming’s death was an accident or foul play, but she was calculating based on the future she knew.

Calculating how many years she could live, and what she could make Da Yue become in those few years.

Xie Yunyu didn’t know what to say. Her Majesty’s words left him at a loss. The Emperor before him was clearly only in her early twenties.

Would someone in their early twenties think about when they would die?

These words sounded as if… she already knew when she would die. Moreover, there wasn’t a hint of fear in her voice.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be seeking quick success and instant benefits.”

She just wanted to make sure everything that needed to be deployed was deployed, and all the talented people were promoted before she left. In the future, no matter who became the next emperor, what was left for them would certainly not be a devastated Da Yue.

Of course, it was also to avoid leaving a mess for ‘herself’.

“Let’s go, back to the palace. They’ve gone to suppress bandits, and there’s still a lot for us to do in court.” Xie Wan rubbed her chin and smiled. “Minister Li and Second Young Master Xie should also be recalled soon. I’ve already sent the disaster relief funds and grain; those local officials need to start being useful.”

Xie Yunyu wanted to say something, but couldn’t discern anything else from Her Majesty’s eyes. He could only say, “Yes.”

Between the north and south of Da Yue lay a region of higher elevation, where mountains stretched endlessly, blocking the main transportation routes between north and south.

Lingbei belonged to the area north of the mountains, mostly under the jurisdiction of Da Yue’s Fenghe Commandery.

Fenghe was considered the largest commandery in Da Yue by area, and also a famous mountainous region. The prevalence of banditry in Lingbei was inseparable from poverty.

Of course, it was the common people who were poor, the common people who were impoverished. It had nothing to do with the county officials within Fenghe Commandery, and even less with the Commandery Governor.

A few days after Anyu and Zhou Ning departed, the news that the court was going to suppress bandits finally reached Fenghe Commandery.

The Commandery Governor of Fenghe was at that moment lying in his grand armchair, enjoying a foot massage from his concubine, utterly at ease.

Logically speaking, with the great disaster in the north, although Fenghe Commandery was not in the most severely affected area, it couldn’t be completely spared. Even in previous years at this time, it would have been enough to make him frantic.

But this year, the court suddenly took action, as if they had foreseen everything, sending an imperial envoy early and even delivering disaster relief funds and grain.

By now, the disaster in the north was basically under control, and it hadn’t spread to Fenghe Commandery. Naturally, he was happy to be idle.

Furthermore, the disaster relief merchant caravan sent by the court some time ago had paid quite a bit of ‘road toll’ to the mountain bandits in the commandery, so those bandits hadn’t caused any trouble recently.

Not only had they not caused trouble, but they had also offered him quite a bit of tribute.

The Commandery Governor stroked the thumb ring on his finger, squinting his eyes in enjoyment as he thought.

If the court could be like this every year, that would be truly wonderful.

Just as he was thinking this, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside—

“Sir, bad news!” his trusted subordinate shouted.

The Commandery Governor almost choked. “What’s bad news?”

“A message came from above! The court has issued an order to suppress bandits!”

Upon hearing this, the Commandery Governor of Fenghe shot up from his seat, startling the concubine massaging his feet.

“Suppress bandits? Suppress what bandits? Those mountain strongholds in Lingbei are easy to defend and hard to attack. How many garrison troops does my Fenghe Commandery have? The population isn’t large, and the annual taxes are so little. What are we going to use to suppress them!”

The subordinate’s cold sweat dripped down. “No, sir, it’s not for us to suppress them. The court has sent troops, and the imperial envoys are already on their way!”

Hearing this, the Commandery Governor was stunned. Sent troops?

He quickly asked, “Which imperial envoys?”

“Sir, it’s the daughter of the Minister of War, last year’s Martial Arts Champion, Zhou Ning, and the daughter of Great General Xie, Xie Wan.”

Fenghe Commandery Governor: Huh?

“Lady Consort Wan… is also an imperial envoy?” The Emperor sent his favored consort out to suppress bandits? Was this Xie Wan favored or not!

“Yes.” The subordinate stammered, “Sir, what do we do now?”

“What do we do?” The Commandery Governor rubbed his thumb ring. “If they want to suppress them, let them. If they need our help, we’ll help. It would be good if they could get rid of those bandits and mountain thieves, but if they can’t… the court’s blame won’t fall on us.”

The Commandery Governor thought for a moment, waved away the attending concubine, slipped his feet into his shoes, and stood up, saying, “However, since the two imperial envoys have come a long way, we must make proper arrangements and hold a welcoming banquet for them.”

Putting on his outer robe, the Commandery Governor glanced at his trusted subordinate. “A few days ago, several mountain strongholds sent this official quite a few things. As a gesture of reciprocity, go and pass the news of the court’s bandit suppression order to those few sensible stronghold leaders.”

“What about the others…”

“No need for the insensible ones,” the Commandery Governor chuckled lightly. “It just so happens that the court wants to suppress bandits. Let the two imperial envoys busy themselves and help us get rid of those disobedient strongholds.”

The subordinate understood, nodded, and said, “As the sir commands.”

Xie Anyu and Zhou Ning’s contingent took ten days to finally reach Fenghe Commandery.

They set up camp outside the city, and the soldiers rested in place, sitting on the ground.

Ten days was not long, but not short either, enough for Anyu to become familiar with the soldiers under her command.

Zhou Ning handed her something to eat. “I’ll go negotiate with the local county magistrate in a while.”

Anyu gnawed on her hardtack and said, “The magistrate of Jinhe County is a good official. Her Majesty said he is a talent worth cultivating.”

Zhou Ning: ?

“Her Majesty said that?”

“Yes.” Xie Anyu took out a brocade pouch from the pocket of her chest. “Her Majesty gave it to me, a brocade pouch strategy.”

Zhou Ning didn’t expect her to have such a thing. Anyu wasn’t stingy and opened the pouch, taking out the crumpled piece of paper inside—

It had over a dozen names written on it, each marked with a different colored pen.

“Before I came, Her Majesty told me that although Fenghe Commandery is vast and sparsely populated, the rampant banditry cannot be generalized. Some people became bandits out of poverty, but that’s only a small part. The bandit problem in Fenghe Commandery is inextricably linked to collusion between officials and bandits, and officials shielding each other.”

“It seems Her Majesty had the idea of rectifying Lingbei before this.” The paper Anyu took out was very detailed. After reading it, Zhou Ning could only conclude that Her Majesty had long had plans for Lingbei.

Anyu nodded.

She thought so too.

“Someone, call A Da over,” Zhou Ning called out.

A Da was a merchant, someone sent to accompany them after her eldest cousin negotiated with Qi Shu. He was very intelligent and often traveled between the north and south. He was the head of a transport merchant caravan and had some connections with various large and small mountain strongholds around Lingbei.

It must be said that with the help of the merchant, they avoided many detours.

Of course, it was also because of this that A Da’s merchant caravan could travel smoothly between the north and south. Even within the merchant association, he was highly respected.

This time, when Her Majesty transported grain to the north, it was also through Qi Shu’s connections that A Da provided considerable assistance.

And upon learning that the court was going to suppress bandits and promote trade, A Da also volunteered to come along. When it came to understanding the situation, no one was more familiar with the surrounding area than he was.

Once the north-south trade route was opened, it would be truly beneficial and harmless for their merchant caravans.

Calling A Da over, Zhou Ning said, “Jinhe County is just ahead. A Da, according to the original plan, you will enter the city with me.”

The smaller mountain strongholds in the vicinity that could be persuaded to surrender should be persuaded.

If they could successfully persuade them through negotiations between the officials, merchants, and bandits, it would save a lot of effort.

As mentioned earlier, some people became bandits and thieves not by choice.

How to specifically implement the plan still required negotiating with the local officials first.

And Jinhe County was the brocade pouch strategy given by Her Majesty.

It was also the first stop for the bandit suppression campaign.

A Da heard this and nodded. “Okay.”

The magistrate of Jinhe County was indeed a famously honest official in Fenghe Commandery.

Unfortunately, an honest official was suppressed by those above him, and no matter how outstanding his achievements were, they would not reach the Emperor’s ears.

Anyu clapped her hands and stood up. “Sister Zhou Ning, I’ll leave the recruitment of the surrounding small mountain strongholds to you.”

Zhou Ning nodded.

A Da, however, was confused. “Is Your Ladyship not coming with us?”

Anyu shook her head. “I will set off shortly and lead the troops to the commandery seat of Fenghe Commandery.”

A Da still didn’t understand.

Anyu revealed a sharp, eagle-like gaze. To catch the bandits, one must first catch their leader. To suppress bandits in Fenghe Commandery, one must first get the Commandery Governor under control to ensure no mistakes occur during the campaign.

Her Majesty had issued two imperial decrees.

Bandits must be suppressed, and corrupt officials must be punished.

Anyu put away her small brocade pouch and gently held it.

Only Zhou Ning, who had seen the list, knew that the name of the Fenghe Commandery Governor was written at the very top of the small piece of paper given by Her Majesty, marked with a large cross in vermilion ink.

Before issuing the order to suppress bandits, the Emperor had already sentenced the Fenghe Commandery Governor to hanging.