For several days in a row, people have been asking when they can start taking the next batch of orders, but Liu'er has replied to them all.
Several boards were displayed at the shop entrance, making the quality of the materials immediately apparent.
One autumn rain brings one chill. On the third day, rain fell in Pingnan City, bringing a damp chill that was crisp and urgent.
Sun Miao'er came out of the alley across the street with an umbrella, but she was still soaked, with water droplets dripping from half of her shoulder.
"Sigh, we haven't even had a single customer today," Liu'er complained listlessly.
Sun Miao'er squeezed the water off her sleeves and said, "In this weather, even rice, flour, and oil shops have hardly any business, let alone us!"
Business has been alright lately. After all, while other shops are raising prices dramatically, Pingting Cloth Shop hasn't raised prices at all, and there are still plenty of people willing to come and buy from them.
Sun Miao'er's mood was affected by the continuous rain, and she couldn't feel happy. She didn't even know if it was raining in Kezhou.
Kezhou is in the northwest, where it doesn't rain in autumn. According to the time of day, the first snow in Kezhou is coming soon.
Kezhou suddenly turned cold. Overnight, the cold wind howled, the river froze, and the world seemed to be frozen. There were very few pedestrians on the streets.
The palace was heated by stoves, making the room warm and cozy.
Fu Yuchi sat on the heated cushion in the study. He hadn't seen snow for many years, since it never snowed in Yingzhou.
These past few nights he's had occasional nightmares. He even dreams that Xiao Miao'er is bullied while running her shop. The emotions in his dreams are incredibly vivid. He takes care of all those thugs and even hugs Xiao Miao'er.
He would even dream of the tragic scene when the Fu family was wiped out, and every time he woke up, he felt as if his heart had been hollowed out.
"Ji'an, this battle will have to be fought after the New Year. Are you confident?" Xi Yan took off his fox fur cloak, threw it into the hands of a servant, and exhaled a puff of white breath.
Fu Yuchi was drawing something in his hand, staring intently at the spot where the brushstrokes were placed. "If Your Highness is confident, then I am confident too. This is the defense map of the capital."
"Where did you get this?" Xi Yan was overjoyed and couldn't wait to take the defense map over.
Fu Yuchi said expressionlessly, "It was made in my head."
“The defenses in Shangjing are vastly different now. My brother values his life above all else and would love to create another Feather Camp to protect him.” Xi Yan pointed to the outside of the palace gate. “When I take Shangjing, Chaotian Gate will be his last escape route, so he will likely leave at least five thousand personal guards to protect him.”
After finishing this one, Fu Yuchi started on the second one. "This one is a map from Kezhou to Shangjing. I envision three lines going there: a water line, a road, and a mountain line."
"Mountain route?" Xi Yan frowned. Kezhou is located west of the Central Plains, in a small basin surrounded by mountains. Traveling by mountain road would be quite a hassle.
As Fu Yuchi spoke, he had already outlined three routes, saying, "We can't travel on these routes, but we can't completely avoid them either."
"Why?" Xi Yan asked, puzzled.
Fu Yuchi said, "Xi Zhengjing was defeated last time and was already prepared. If you attack from the road, it is only natural that you will be ambushed. Besides, the three prefectures and twelve cities along the way are all loyal dogs."
Xi Yan then asked, "What does Ji An think?"
Fu Yuchi drew a circle on the mountain and a circle on the water. "Does Xi Yan know how much military force Kezhou has?"
“How could he know that?” Xi Yan said dismissively. “If he had known, he would never have let me return to Kezhou alive in the first place.”
“Back then, my uncle only had 200,000 troops. In the past ten years, the trade routes have expanded, passing through Kezhou, and the taxes paid have been considerable. Now it has expanded to nearly 400,000.”
Fu Yuchi nodded, "It's best if he doesn't know. That way, the prince only needs to leave a small contingent of troops to go by road to distract the court, while the rest go by mountain roads and waterways to catch them off guard."
"My army isn't exactly known for its swimming skills." Xi Yan
There are also worries in my heart. In Kezhou, apart from the city moat, there are very few wide rivers, not even enough to accommodate a large boat.
In addition, most of the army's generals were locals, and the area was often arid. When it was hot, the river water was not even as high as a person. Most of the people in the city were not good at swimming.
Fu Yuchi took out a map of Kezhou, which showed several rivers. "I spent a few years in the South, so perhaps I can help the Prince train them."
On the other side was a map of Shangjing. Fu Yuchi nodded and said, "At the beginning of the founding of the Great Shang Dynasty, our ancestors believed that Shangjing was a place of auspicious geomancy. Firstly, it had been blessed with favorable weather year after year, with neither drought nor flood. Secondly, Shangjing was surrounded by waterways and numerous wild rivers. The Min River was the main canal of Shangjing, but it had many tributaries. As long as we figured out the direction of these wild rivers, we could take over the Min River and then invade Shangjing."
Xi Yan listened to him without saying a word.
Fu Yuchi marked the tributaries on the map. "These are all drawn by people, so there are some rivers on the map that we can't cross. We'll have to trouble the Prince's people in the capital to draw down the ones that don't have wild water."
“That’s easy to say.” Xi Yan’s gaze never left Fu Yuchi’s pen. “Ji’an, my brother really doesn’t know what’s good for him.”
"Now that he knows I control Kezhou and that trade with the Western Regions is being blocked, he's thinking of going around to the south. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Fu Yuchi moved his pen to the south of Kezhou, "That place is deep in the mountains and forests, humid and hot all year round, with miasma and countless poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. If Xi Yan is really that stupid, then he is truly beyond saving."
In his early years, he ventured into the mountains of Kenan in search of a poisonous insect, only to encounter numerous dangers and barely manage to escape.
"If the prince's army can adapt to the forests of Kenan, then traversing the mountain paths will be a piece of cake."
Xi Yan almost jumped up when he heard this. "Ji An, are you here to help me or to cause me trouble?"
"No matter how powerful my army is, they are still living, breathing people. If they go in, they will face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. I am dying before I even get started!"
Fu Yuchi shook his head and smiled, saying, "Your Highness has too many concerns. These issues are not problems for me."
"No matter how vast the mountains and forests are, there is always a way out; no matter how fierce the rainstorm is, there are always signs; and even poisonous insects and ferocious beasts are not without fear."
Since it's inherently a risky move, why be afraid of taking risks?
Xi Yan suddenly realized something and looked at Fu Yuchi unusually, asking, "Ji An, why are you so proactive today? You've been here for many days, but you've done more today than all of the previous days combined."
"Your Highness, I would like to ask for a few days' leave." Fu Yuchi put down his pen and finished drawing the last line.
"Where to?" Xi Yan thought to himself, no wonder he was so eager to give him advice, there was definitely a reason.
"Return to Yingzhou."
He was so worried that the few months felt like an eternity.
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