Chapter 1 From the Central Army Camp to Yejia Fort

From the Central Army Camp to Yejia Fort, it would normally be a journey of around three days by airship. Unfortunately, the weather had been bad lately, with intermittent thunderstorms. After weighing the options, Ye Tao had to travel by carriage. By the time he arrived at Yejia Fort, the war report from the front lines had arrived. In the battle of Qianze Lake, Dai Yun had fully displayed his command skills, and in the grand scheme of the battle, the formidable combat power of the Yunzhou army and the Blood Kirin Army was on full display. Although the mobility, a crucial component of their combat effectiveness, might not have been fully showcased, the Dongping army was already terrifying enough for many Northern Liao soldiers.

In this battle, Dai Yun threw almost all of his troops into the battlefield, totaling over 440,000 soldiers. This was a rare instance of numerical superiority since the invasion of Liao. Gao Senqi also sent 350,000 soldiers under his command. This great battle lasted a full four days, and the three-stage engagement finally came to an end. Gao Senqi was killed in action, and although the elite of the Western Route Army inflicted nearly 100,000 casualties on the Dongping army, they themselves were almost completely wiped out. From then on, the elite troops of Northern Liao were exhausted. Although they still had a vast territory, they could no longer mobilize an army of more than 100,000. The destruction of the Western Route Army and the death of Gao Senqi further plunged the morale of the Northern Liao army and people to rock bottom. Kong Xinhua soon received the news, and the question of whether to find a way for the Northern Liao royal family and high officials to have a dignified exit had been discussed several times in the State Preceptor's study. The airship fleet was still being built in an orderly manner, but probably no one was thinking about what reason to use to interrupt production.

In this situation, both Northern Liao and Dongping understood what was about to happen, and a channel for private communication was being established. Ye Tao had participated in discussions on similar topics before. From Dongping's perspective, it would be best if Northern Liao could surrender. It wasn't that Dongping didn't have the ability to destroy Northern Liao, but if Northern Liao ended the war by surrendering, it could minimize the Northern Liao people's resistance to Dongping. The Northern Liao soldiers and civilians probably wouldn't resist Dongping's rule to the end. And that would indeed save a lot of trouble.

But Ye Tao couldn't worry about these things for the time being. Yejia Fort was currently peaceful. There were no carriages or horses coming and going at the foot of the mountain, and the telegraph station was quiet, with only a few routine documents being transmitted each day. In this way, Yejia Fort had the feel of a holiday resort.

For Yejia Fort, Ye Tao's return was a big event at any time. Tan Weishi, Sophie, and Dai Qiuyan were all at Yejia Fort, and although they found Ye Tao's return a bit strange, they were also extremely happy. In this time of war, any reunion was a good thing. And everyone knew that his return had something to do with the recent rumors.

"Where are those little rascals?" Ye Tao asked, slightly surprised not to see Ye Wenxuan, Ye Wenji, and Ye Wenjun.

"They left for Danyang the day before yesterday. They heard that Weiran was injured, so they went to see him. Actually, it's just for fun. Danyang is much more lively than here," Tan Weishi replied with a smile.

"Yes... we'll have to wait until the war is over for things to liven up here. Yunzhou has too few people. So many people have gone to the front lines that the rear is really too deserted," Ye Tao sighed.

After exchanging news about their recent experiences, Ye Tao took Sophie for a walk in the garden. Back then, Ye Tao was amazed when he saw Sophie's face, which was almost identical to that of the young Sophie Marceau from his memories. Keeping Sophie by his side was probably due to a transmigrator's wicked desire to cultivate a waifu. But after all, this was an era of considerable technological backwardness. Ye Tao had been working hard to expand technology from the time he was a few years old until now, when he was approaching forty, but it was still so far from that increasingly blurred era in his memory. Movies and television were impossible, and although stage plays were now flourishing, they were, after all, expensive and refined activities. Although Ye Tao initially hoped that theater could be more accessible, judging from the current situation, it still had a long way to go before it could cultivate some mass stars. It wasn't because theater lacked influence, but because it was still wartime, and the country's love for theater could only be expressed in a limited way.

There was no fertile ground for cultivating stars, and Sophie had not walked the path to becoming a star. The current Sophie had a completely different temperament. Sophie had grown up by constantly accumulating knowledge. Years of organizing and drawing blueprints had given her far more knowledge of design and other aspects than the average person, and it had also caused her eyesight to decline somewhat. Fortunately, the Ye Family Workshop's optical workshop had become skilled in the design and production of glasses, and had long made this advanced commodity popular at home and abroad. Sophie's glasses were even designed with data determined by the workshop's chief optometrist, and the frames were handmade by Ye Tao himself from textured tortoiseshell material. With the light glasses, an intellectual charm emerged spontaneously. Sophie gave people a gentle feeling, a temperament that was very different from the stars in Ye Tao's memory, but it had a strong appeal.

In front of Ye Tao, Sophie was a little uneasy. She was probably worried that Ye Tao would be unhappy about the overwhelming rumors these days. She wasn't a native of the Central Plains, and still had the resoluteness and open-mindedness of a foreign woman in her bones, but after all, she had lived in Dongping and by Ye Tao's side for so many years, and she could be said to be well-versed in the customs and practices of the Central Plains continent. Rumors, without a doubt, ruined people. Sometimes, many people didn't care whether the rumors were true or not, but believed that since a person had a reason to be rumored about, and had a handle that could be grasped, this person's moral judgment must not be perfect. The one who steals a state becomes a lord, the one who steals a hook is executed... those who had fallen ten thousand times might instead be able to avoid such trouble. Sophie knew that the reason she had fallen into such trouble wasn't because she had much value, but because the other party was clearly targeting Ye Tao. Would she cause Ye Tao unnecessary trouble? Sophie felt very uncomfortable that Ye Tao had to rush back from the front lines at this time.

"Don't worry too much. Nie Rui is investigating this matter. What does it matter if people talk about us? Is it not enough to know what we have done and why, for me, for you, for people like us?" Ye Tao comforted her, seeing Sophie's nervousness.

"I don't care... but it will cause you trouble. It will also affect the people around us," Sophie sighed.

Ye Tao said with a smile, "So what? Isn't our family troublesome enough? I'm the leading power minister in the world, and according to those people, I must have rebellious intentions. Xin'er is now in charge of several major chambers of commerce and Dongping's financial strategy, and how many people say that she is greedy and has a heart like a snake? They say that Dai Yun monopolizes military power and buys people's hearts, that the Ye family occupies high positions and bewitches the State Preceptor... there are too many. If we had to worry about all of them, what would we become? I really can't do anything about those uninformed onlookers, I can't possibly kill them all, but don't worry, those who are causing trouble, spreading rumors, and adding fuel to the fire, they will have a hard time. I've probably been too polite to others all along. Don't worry, I won't let any of those who make you angry get away with it."

Sophie frowned, hesitating, "Is that okay? I know you don't believe those rumors, I'm just afraid of causing you trouble. If this goes on, won't it..."

Ye Tao shook his head, "If we don't act, there will be trouble in the future."

Sophie still wanted to say something, but Ye Tao stopped her, "Don't worry, I'm measured in what I do. I came back from the front lines because I was afraid you'd think too much. Don't I know you? You should rest for a while, there are still piles of things waiting for you to help with. Our family is all workaholics, none of us can be idle."

After chatting with Ye Tao for a while, the topic gradually lightened up. Having traveled north and south, constantly coordinating and communicating with craftsmen from all over the world, Sophie's knowledge was quite extensive, and she was also well-versed in the various dynamics of the Ye Family Workshop's three branches. Some recent technological developments also made Ye Tao quite interested.

It was only natural for Ye Tao to want a result for Sophie, in Nie Rui's and even Tan Xiaopei's view. The enemy spies had infiltrated Dongping's market to this extent, if they didn't take action now, when would they? What really angered Tan Xiaopei was the guys inside Dongping who jumped out to take advantage of the situation. In some people's view, Northern Liao was now almost a foregone conclusion, and compared to Dongping, both Chunnan and Xiling were at a clear disadvantage. Therefore, Ye Tao, a powerful minister who had expanded the territory and was already showing a clear tendency to overshadow the ruler with his merits, should step down first. The task of attacking Chunnan and Xiling should be handed over to others, so that the kingdom's political situation could be balanced by mutual restraint in the future. This argument couldn't be said to be wrong, but on the one hand, Tan Xiaopei knew that Ye Tao wasn't attached to power. For him, even being the Northern Border Pacification Commissioner was something Tan Xiaopei had forced on him. When the time was right, Ye Tao would definitely happily relinquish all his power. However, this ambition was too incredible for too many people. And some other people were just trying to suppress others for the sake of suppression. The closer Dongping got to the completion of the great cause of unification, the more vigilant Tan Xiaopei became about the spread of these bad tendencies in the court. Dongping must not degenerate into the chaotic and complex state that Chunnan was in now, which made people exhausted.

And what made Tan Xiaopei even more embarrassed was that after being attacked and impeached for so many years, this was the first time Ye Tao had clearly expressed his dissatisfaction. Moreover, he didn't overstep his bounds or get angry, he just expressed his attitude lightly, which was clearly a great respect for Tan Xiaopei. And in Nie Rui's view, if he didn't give Ye Tao an explanation, he really couldn't live with himself.

The first to act was naturally Tan Xiaopei, who gave a thorough scolding during the court session. Subsequently, a considerable number of officials were dismissed from their positions. However, Tan Xiaopei was also controlling the degree of this disposal, so that it could deter the officials, but not make everyone feel that it was too much. It was necessary to warn the officials not to suppress each other and increase internal friction, but also not to make people hate Ye Tao even more because of this matter.

In comparison, Nie Rui's actions were much more unscrupulous. Tracing down one clue after another, and repeatedly understanding the ins and outs of the matter with Sophie and Ye Jingyun, he finally discovered some clues. Initially, it was because Ye Jingyun was drinking with some friends in a restaurant, which allowed a Chunnan spy to learn of Ye Jingyun's identity. The spy deliberately befriended him, but when he wanted Ye Jingyun to get a set of blueprints for something, Ye Jingyun felt that something was wrong, but he didn't feel comfortable asking about it in his circle of friends, so he avoided a few invitations by claiming that he was busy working for Sophie. And then, during another private gathering with friends, Ye Jingyun ran into the spy again, who joked that Ye Jingyun treated Sophie better than he treated his own fiancée. Ye Jingyun didn't say anything at the time, and didn't want to pay any attention to the spy at all. But afterwards, the spy's words unknowingly spread. At first, it was just teasing among a few friends, but these words were quickly exploited. Although the friends naturally stopped talking when they realized that something was wrong, how could a few young masters control the spread of these words outside, especially when they were deliberately exaggerated? Afterwards, the Chunnan spy realized that the situation had gotten out of his control, so he stopped and pretended to be traveling far away, disappearing from Danyang's social circle. The other things that followed were handled by the Xiling spies who saw an opportunity. Xiling had two independent spy groups lurking in Danyang, one to monitor public officials and important ministers, and the other to infiltrate the market. This time, it was a rare opportunity for cooperation between the two groups. However, they didn't understand what kind of people Ye Tao and Sophie were, nor did they understand Ye Tao's transcendent position in Dongping's court. When they saw that Ye Tao was unharmed and prepared to stop, they ran into Nie Rui's major operation.

Since he understood that enemy spies were the culprits, Nie Rui's butcher knife was unscrupulous. The Intelligence Bureau's armed forces were well-versed in this way, and were proficient in searching, arresting, and killing. Several major operations eliminated at least most of the two Xiling spy groups. A few individuals hid deeper and escaped, but it was a daydream for Xiling to be able to grasp the movements of the entire Danyang with so few people. And Nie Rui was now even more ruthless towards the Chunnan spies. Although Dongping and Chunnan were nominally allies, this so-called alliance had long been in name only. Civilian trade was naturally still flourishing, but there was no longer any exchange of military and technical know-how. Sales of sensitive military goods had also been completely stopped to Chunnan. Chunnan was now even flirting with its old rival Xiling, because of the huge pressure from Dongping, and there were some signs of a possible alliance. Although Nie Rui hadn't investigated this clearly, he knew it in his heart by looking at some situations on the borders of the two countries. Nie Rui was even more resentful towards the Chunnan spies. After investigating the young master who had mixed into Dongping's social circle, he found that the guy had now returned to Yuhang. Not many days later, the spy was stabbed to death in his own house. As for those Chunnan spies in Danyang and other cities whose identities had been confirmed, they were all cleaned up without leaving a single one. Even those spies who were preparing to escape were hunted down by Nie Rui one by one. A merchant with considerable status prepared to hide in Golden Valley Garden and ask the Chunnan envoy to intercede and exonerate him. Unexpectedly, Nie Rui killed him directly at the entrance of Golden Valley Garden. This made the Chunnan envoy extremely angry.

For Dongping, this was an all-too-obvious statement: if Chunnan was too idle and looking for trouble, then don't blame us for being impolite. And when the news reached Yuhang, Yuhang responded with silence.