Chapter 1 A Sleepless Night

That night, many in Tanli couldn't sleep, as they discussed and planned, negotiated and bargained, scheming for their own interests, those of the imperial court, and the soldiers. This sleepless night belonged to countless others in various locations. Tens of thousands of Dongping soldiers, scattered along the entire front, quietly marched according to pre-planned routes, the sound of their hooves echoing through the mountains and forests, yet few discovered them or could relay the information to their enemies in time. In the opposite direction of the marching troops, streams of military intelligence converged, and groups of messengers galloped madly, hoping their reports would still be somewhat fresh when they reached the central army headquarters, so their revered commander would be pleased with their speed and progress… And among all the military intelligence, those originating from Tanli were constantly given the highest priority during each transfer, finally arriving at the headquarters two hours before dawn.

Although the headquarters was also filled with staff officers working diligently, processing intelligence and marking the latest positions of various units on the massive sandbox, the work, while busy, was quiet and efficient, with no one raising their voice. For these staff officers, it was simply another routine task. Since the battle plan had been prepared long ago, with numerous table-top exercises, and routes and feasibility repeatedly confirmed by scouts, on this day of actual action, no senior officers at headquarters were issuing orders; everything proceeded smoothly. General Dai Shijin was on duty for the first half of the night, merely holding a book, reading intently under the lamplight at his command post. In the second half of the night, the duty officer was Battalion Commander Shiliu of the Central Army.

Shiliu was no longer the guard she once was for Dai Yun. From initial trepidation to present ease, Shiliu had become a genuine member of Yunzhou's high-ranking officers, a very powerful one at that. In terms of manpower, the Central Army Battalion had six direct detachments: scouts, guards, logistics, communications, technical support, and chief service, totaling over 5,700 soldiers, undoubtedly the largest of all battalion-level units, with an astonishing number of various technical weapons and advanced equipment. Staff officers and similar personnel were not included in this structure but were organized and established by the command headquarters according to the specific situation. Furthermore, due to the importance of this operation, the Ye family, along with most of the important members of the Dai family, were all in the central army garrison, and their personal soldiers and guards were currently under Shiliu's control. Even the formidable guard battalion around Ye Tao, with its full two detachments of 2,100 soldiers, was also in this group. Shiliu currently had direct command over, and could coordinate the deployment of, a total force exceeding 12,000 soldiers. And the central army garrison had gradually become what it was today through the Central Army Battalion's hard work. As battalion commander, Shiliu was not only the head of her unit, the guarantor of command, communication, and coordination, but also effectively acting as the garrison commander of the central army garrison. On this crucial night, she had undoubtedly become the most authoritative battalion commander in the world.

When the intelligence reached Shiliu, she frowned. There wasn't much time to react to this military intelligence. The duty officer was the pillar of the staff headquarters, and their authority was: complete self-determination. Clearly, Ye Tao and Dai Yun had no intention of interfering with their subordinates' command during the battle layout phase, and even hoped they would exercise their freedom and bring them some surprises. However, Shiliu understood the situation too well. Chen Su, who had left Dai Yun's guard team around the same time as her, was now working with Kong Xin, making many contributions in the airship field, she knew this. She also knew about the decision to have Northern Liao manufacture large numbers of airships to deplete their national resources. So she hesitated.

"Zhang Ning… immediately notify Marshal Ye and General Dai Yun… Also, tell them I request an audience," Shiliu said after a moment's hesitation, deciding to ask Ye Tao or Dai Yun how to handle the situation.

With a complete and efficient staff team, Ye Tao and Dai Yun were quite relaxed at this moment. After dinner, Ye Tao and Dai Yun rested in their residence, not even bothering to visit the headquarters to check on progress. The two even indulged in some intimate moments, after which Dai Yun went to sleep. After all, she had to reorganize the second batch of departing troops the next noon, set off with the staff team, and move the headquarters forward, which was also a very complicated task. But Ye Tao was different. He still had to stay in the central army garrison for two more days, waiting for the initial battle results from the front lines before setting off to join Dai Yun and jointly command the final battle against Northern Liao. Ye Tao was very confident in the progress at the front, but he was still awake, meticulously carving a glass seal in his studio.

Wherever Ye Tao was, his studio was there too. For the guards, this was a common sight. And Ye Tao's tools and equipment, after gradual optimization and adjustment, now only filled one carriage. Other than that, Ye Tao's carriage team could be described as simple. Even with so much stuff dedicated to his personal interests, Ye Tao was still much easier to serve than many others. Some generals in the army had to bring a lot of personal collections, a wagon train of fine wines and delicacies, and many strange things when marching. Such people might not be very popular in Dongping now, having to restrain themselves again and again, but there were many such people throughout the world.

A small wind turbine, a set of work lights, a multi-functional electric tool set, and two large toolboxes, a folding workbench, that was all there was in Ye Tao's current studio. The glass seal he was working on was an important task, it would become the new seal of the Danyang city governor. The reconstruction of Danyang had entered the middle and late stages. Although a large amount of heavy work remained to be solved, and it might take quite a long time to create a perfect new capital, the general outline and layout of the entire city had finally been determined after repeated revisions. The new city walls had been fully completed, which also meant that the Danyang city governor's office would have to shoulder more important responsibilities. In fact, everyone in Dongping now knew that Danyang, the city destined to become the future imperial capital, had to start adapting to those future responsibilities now. The Danyang city governor's office was undergoing a very comprehensive and detailed reform. The bronze seal, only the size of a fist, which had represented the city governor's defense responsibilities for nearly 120 years, was now somewhat criticized. Tan Xiaopei had given Ye Tao a year to conceive and create this seal, as long as it was ready to play the role of the city governor's seal for the first time at the new city completion ceremony. However, Ye Tao didn't plan to wait until the deadline to start working on it. With the resumption of war with Northern Liao, he didn't know when it would end. No matter how confident he was, he couldn't withstand the ever-changing battlefield. And carving was a skill that really required a calm mood and state of mind to avoid leaving any regrets. Taking advantage of these few days when the army was launched and he, as the commander, was free, he had already done most of the work, and today he was doing the final polishing. The Danyang city governor's seal was made of glass, which also matched the colorful appearance and temperament of the city in the future. With an electric motor, a fur-covered ball mounted on a metal rod with adjustable rotation speed, fine polishing could be done by pressing the switch, which was many times more efficient than the original manual wiping and polishing. Ye Tao had already polished about half of the previously carved glass seal in just over an hour. During this time, he even made some corrections to some details.

Wearing goggles, drops of sweat streamed down his forehead, but Ye Tao really enjoyed this state of focused creation. After dominating the north for many years, he undoubtedly had great authority, and his subordinates would strive to achieve any of his ideas, even if they were just occasional thoughts. Not only because he was the supreme ruler of the northern lands, but also because he had managed the north for many years, transforming the lives of countless people into the peaceful and prosperous state they were in today. Ye Tao had ordered the cleanup of all personal tributes to him and had issued a document explaining that what he had done was nothing more than what a qualified local official should do. He was absolutely obeyed in the north; he could clean up the worship of him, but he could not stop people from admiring him. Even so, Ye Tao had no other thoughts besides helplessness, and he had never given up on making all kinds of small things. Some, like the important object today that could represent the face of a city, and many more, were various small things that became the collections of Tan Weishi, Tan Weixin, Dai Yun, Sophie, and Dai Qiuyan. And now, Ye Wenxuan and Ye Wenji were also gradually becoming the main forces in competing for these interesting little things.

The polishing work was interrupted by a report, but Ye Tao didn't feel any displeasure. Wasn't he awake on this night waiting for these things? But seeing Shiliu walk into the studio with a slightly anxious expression, he was a little surprised.

"Sit," Ye Tao said, pointing to the chair next to him. He took off his goggles, and Shiliu skillfully and without hesitation took a sweat towel from the basin of water on the side table and handed it to Ye Tao. Ye Tao wiped himself, put down the sweat towel, poured two cups of tea on the table, and handed one of them to Shiliu. Shiliu took it, not feeling particularly flattered. Ye Tao had always treated the people around him like this, she knew.

"Marshal Ye, we just received an urgent military intelligence report from Tanli. Northern Liao has deployed airship squadrons in Tanli, and they will definitely be able to participate in the battle tomorrow. Also… Mr. Kong is currently in Tanli," Shiliu reported.

"Oh?" Ye Tao smiled. "You mean, we might see the first aerial battle in history?"