Half a Spoiler Chapter 66

The county where Shangxing Pass is located is named Wu’an. With the Sovereign’s arrival, the local government office was naturally requisitioned.

Huang Xu was also among the accompanying entourage. He had originally advised the Emperor to renovate the government office, but his suggestion was rejected by the Emperor. Instead, he was sent outside the city pass to personally oversee the construction of the moat and city defenses.

In fact, Shangxing Pass is the only route for the Western Tribes to reach the central regions, making its location critically important. Even an incompetent ruler like Emperor Li never relaxed the local defenses. Upon Wen Yanran’s arrival, she dispatched Zhong Zhiwei to inspect the area, confirming that the overall state of the city’s defenses remained relatively sound.

Zhang Luo arrived in Wu’an ahead of the imperial procession, doing his best to prepare the government office to the standards of Jianping. However, it still made Wen Yanran acutely aware – that the Taiqi Palace, which she deeply disliked, was actually among the finest residences of this era…

On the day of her arrival, Wen Yanran first summoned the local officials. Most were pale with fear at the sudden appearance of the Emperor, with only a few remaining composed. Without pressing them further, she asked a few questions before dismissing them. Then, she opened the [War Sandbox].

At that moment, a long-absent system prompt flashed on the game panel –

[System:
Please name this war.]

Wen Yanran: “…”

If the world’s will could bring her here through transmigration, why couldn’t it add an auto-naming feature to the system?

As a STEM student with a severe imbalance in skills and not a shred of literary talent, Wen Yanran fell silent for a long while. In the end, she decided to name the war in the simplest way possible –

[System:
Side Quest [War Against the Western Tribes] begins. Wishing you an enjoyable game.]

The local officials withdrew trembling with fear. Although they had personally witnessed the Emperor’s procession, they still felt an unreal, dreamlike sensation. One of them murmured, “Her Majesty arrived so quickly!”

The others deeply agreed with this sentiment.

Wen Yanran’s journey indeed gave people a sense of surprise. Her repeated summons of Lu Yuanguang beforehand were precisely to ensure that logistical matters were thoroughly prepared. Having received great favor from the Emperor, Lu Yuanguang carried out her duties with utmost diligence and maintained strict secrecy – not even Yuan Yanshi and others caught the slightest hint.

Once everything was in order, Wen Yanran directly summoned Yan Xiaolou to the palace, solemnly entrusting him with the defense of Jianping. She also issued an explicit decree confirming his responsibilities while granting Yan Xiaolou the military title of General Martial Might.

In addition, the daily governance of Jianping was delegated to Yuan Yanshi, Attendant Song, and State Preceptor Wen Jingmei. Each of them firmly declined the responsibility – Yuan Yanshi claimed he was too old and frail to shoulder such a burden; Attendant Song argued that with Song Nanlou leading troops abroad, his own involvement in political affairs might cause complications; and Wen Jingmei refused on the grounds that the Tianfu Palace should not wield actual power.

Upon hearing this, Wen Yanran simply sent a herald to offer words of comfort but refused to change the appointed administrators. Realizing the Emperor had made a firm decision and there was no room for negotiation, the three reluctantly accepted their duties.

In addition, Wen Yanran transferred Song Nanlou from the Front Camp, ordering him to lead five thousand elite troops and rush urgently to Shangxing Pass. His original responsibilities were temporarily taken over by his deputy, Shi Zhuhe. The envoy responsible for delivering the imperial edict also brought along a private letter from the Emperor and had a confidential conversation with both Song and Shi before taking his leave.

Shi Zhuhe, attentive to details, noticed that after the envoy from Jianping departed, he did not immediately head south to return but instead traveled in a southeasterly direction.

In addition to the border camps, the Great Zhou dynasty had five major military camps: Central, Front, Rear, Left, and Right. The Left Camp was located at the border between Tai Province and Dan Province, largely controlled by local indigenous groups, making it difficult to provide assistance. As for the Central Camp, it had always been considered a reserve source of troops for the imperial guards. Wen Yanran drafted twenty thousand elite soldiers from it, along with ten thousand imperial guards from the Three Guards, to accompany her. She also appointed Tao Jia as the vanguard general, granting him the authority to recruit troops.

The Tao family had been military officials for generations. Although the family was somewhat in decline, their former subordinates remained. Once Tao Jia rose to answer the call, while not exactly drawing overwhelming support, many former generals were willing to follow him into battle.