Chapter 11: Min Shian's Little Tails
"Mother, I have heard that the Grand Master of Ceremonies[1] is about to retire and return home."
Upon hearing this, Empress Xie put down the scroll in her hand, looked over, and replied, "Yes, An'er, why are you asking about this?"
"I have someone I would like to recommend. What do you think, Mother?"
Min Shian's voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in the bedroom.
Empress Xie became interested and said thoughtfully, "The person An'er recommended must be a good one. Tell me, mother, who he is."
"He's just a nobody, not worth mentioning." Min Shian paused, then continued, "I once saved his life."
Empress Xie understood her implication, rubbed her brows, and said earnestly, "Mother knows what you are thinking, but is this path easy to take?"
"Yes, I insist on doing so."
"Never mind, I understand."
*
A villa in the suburbs of Beijing.
This place is nestled in the mountains and beside the water, with only an ordinary tile-roofed courtyard. When you get close, you can faintly hear the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs. Ordinary people passing by will certainly mistake this for an ordinary hunter, but in fact there is a lot of secrets inside.
"Master, Xiaoyi has been waiting for a long time." The woman in coarse cloth and with a simple bun put down the food in her hands and came forward when she saw Min Shian.
In her early years, Min Shian was naughty and often sneaked out to play, but the second time she went out, she encountered a drought that was rare in a century.
That was also the first time she saw the scene outside Shangjing City. Corpses were floating everywhere, and people who were starving and emaciated fell on the roadside, without even the strength to struggle. Their dark, empty eyes stared at the sky without blinking.
At that time, she was still quite clever and knew how to disguise herself, but even so, she was still being followed viciously by several pairs of eyes.
The dry land was cracked open, and there was no grass to be seen.
This place is only a stone's throw away from the capital, yet it has such a tragic scene.
Just across the wall is heaven and hell.
Therefore, she did not dare to go too far out of the city. When she turned around to leave, a dry hand rested on Min Shian's ankle.
Min Shian's whole body was stiff, and she was sweating coldly. She slowly lowered her head, but unexpectedly saw a child of the same age as her.
"Sister, please, save me."
So when she went back, she had a little tail.
She didn't dare let Empress Xie know, so she secretly bought a farm in the suburbs and settled her people there.
Later, she went out more and more frequently, but she was alone and weak after all, so she only dared to go out at night and secretly pick up a few little tails to bring back.
While she was dazed, a man knelt on one knee, and his low, hoarse voice brought her back to reality: "Sister, what do you want?"
Min Shian waved his hand to let him stand up, frowned, swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and walked slowly towards the main hall.
Xiaoyi followed closely behind him without saying a word.
"Don't call me sister from now on. Are you willing to go to the court and work for me?" Min Shi'an said seriously, "If you want to refuse, I will choose someone else."
Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment. In the past, her elder sister was always gentle and patient, with her eyes full of love. But at this moment, although she was wearing casual clothes, it was difficult to hide her ruthlessness and decisiveness.
"Sister... Your Highness, please give me your orders. I am willing to do anything." Xiaoyi bowed and said firmly.
"From now on, you are the Xie family of Huailin, Zhuang Yi, and your courtesy name is He Miao."
"I will arrange for you to be a Grand Master of Ceremonies. I hope you will not let me down for all the years of teaching you."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The next day, the position of Taichang was handed over smoothly. Now the Song family was in charge of the Secretariat, and most of the Nine Ministers were idle positions, but they also had a small amount of power, which was managed by the Xie family.
The sense of territory among the aristocratic families is extremely strong, so the Minister of Personnel only asked briefly and did not intervene.
Song Mansion.
"Father, the results of the Crossing Guard have not met our expectations. Can we continue to move forward?"
Then Song Sheng described the specific situation of the guard in detail.
Beiwu is connected to Beifeng of Cangzhou in the southwest and Yeping of Xingzhou in the southeast. It overlooks the three states of Cangzhou, Bingzhou and Lu across the sea in the south.
Its terrain is complex, with mostly deserts and plateaus. It is particularly good at land warfare and has strong soldiers and horses.
The downside was a shortage of supplies, but the Xiao clan of Beifeng was like an iron wall, unshakable. Therefore, they frequently burned, killed, and looted villages along the border of Xingzhou, believing that the dowry Princess Hejing brought would keep them in peace for a decade or so.
Unexpectedly, a few days ago, Princess He Jing used some unknown method to risk her life to send a message to Beifeng, and a naval battle genius suddenly appeared in the Beiwu Luosaye tribe.
The Northern Witch tribe is in internal strife. The Rossayeh tribe is trying to reshuffle the cards and unify the 32 tribes of the Northern Witch tribe. Then they will launch a surprise attack by crossing the sea and go straight to the capital of Huailin!
After receiving the news, Song Sheng discussed with his father and formed a sea crossing guard team just in case.
But Dajin has never had anyone good at water warfare, this is one of the reasons;
The sea was rough, and existing shipbuilding technology was not advanced enough. This was the second reason.
The problem of food supply has not been solved for the time being; this is the third reason.
Song Sheng finally said slowly: "Although the existing problems can still be solved, it is too far-fetched."
"The Northern Witches are currently engaged in internal strife. We can cross the distant mountains, cross the cold mountain road, pass through the Shayue Pass, and attack them in groups."
Father Song pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said, "No."
"Make every effort to build the Sea Crossing Guard. It must be completed within one month."
Song Sheng did not deliberately conceal the matter of the sea crossing guard. Instead, he ordered the five military ministers to select those who were good at water warfare and give them important positions in three days.
Other people were sent to the south to visit talented people and see if there were any who were proficient in shipbuilding. They would be rewarded with a large sum of money, and if the ship they built was suitable for use, they would be promoted to higher positions.
"Once the issue of ships is resolved, the supply of food and fodder will be much easier." Min Shi'an looked at Xie Zhuangyi and continued, "Send Xiaowu to Guangchuan. I have already arranged a position for him and ordered him to do his best."
"Yes, Your Highness." Xie Zhuangyi lowered his eyes and replied hesitantly, "Your Highness, the special envoy from the Western Regions will come to pay tribute in half a month. The Minister of Rites will report this matter to the Grand Herald."
Min Shian nodded, indicating that he understood, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The little princess from the Western Regions will accompany you."
"Your Highness's two younger brothers are both unmarried and are about the same age as the little princess."
Min Shi'an's eyes flickered slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "I will report this to the Queen Mother, and you go and send Xiaowu to Guangchuan properly."
*
"Hey, that's a thousand taels of gold! Why don't you give it a try? There aren't many people in Jiangnan who can build a ship." A burly man pointed at the notice across the crowd, nudged the thin man next to him, and urged, "Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"
The thin man pursed his lips and said, "Come on! With my level, I can only build a pleasure boat for fun. How can I build the boat the Sea Guard wants?"
A man nearby, who had been huddled to read the notice, turned around and joined the discussion, saying, "I think only the ever-elusive Mr. Wuyin is qualified for the job."
The people around him all said one after another: "Yes. I wonder if Mr. Wuyin would be interested in this job..."
"Who would go against gold and a good future?"
The thin man sighed, "I don't know when I'll be able to meet Mr. Wuyin. I've heard his legend since I was learning shipbuilding, and I've admired him ever since."
“…”
The Mr. Wuyin they were talking about was sitting in the carriage with a pale face. He was dizzy and extremely haggard due to the days of traveling. What was worse was that he was taken away by Song Sheng's men as soon as he arrived in Guangchuan.
I didn't even have time to drink a sip of tea.
"Are you Mr. Wuyin?" Song Sheng noticed that he looked unhappy and tilted his head to order, "Make some tea for Mr. Wuyin."
This matter was of great importance, and he had to confirm it personally before he could feel at ease. He personally checked the man's resume, and although there was nothing wrong with it, he felt something was wrong, so he ordered someone to escort Jiang Wuyin to Shangjing.
Jiang Wuyin, also known as Xiaowu, gulped down the tea and took a long while before he felt better.
"Yes, sir, please forgive me. This is how I ride all the time." He continued, "I only have a basic understanding of shipbuilding."
"I'm afraid it won't be up to par."
Song Sheng was still smiling, but Jiang Wuyin felt oppressed for no reason. Beads of sweat appeared on his palms, and he couldn't help but sit up straight.
"Mr. Wuyin, there's no need to be so modest. I heard that the warship masters from Yeping and Beifeng both provided key design drawings, but they never showed up."
Song Sheng paused, raised his tone, and praised: "It is great to see you today, sir, you are really young and promising."
"But why hasn't Mr. Wuyin chosen a name yet?"
Jiang Wuyin had memorized the story Min Shian had fabricated for him, so he naturally replied, "Your Excellency, I was born in troubled times and unfortunately drifted to the Guangchuan area. If it weren't for the family heirloom, I really wouldn't even know my own surname."
"Maybe it was God's mercy that finally allowed me to make a name for myself, so I named myself 'Wu Yin'."
Song Sheng remained silent about this, and it was unclear whether he believed it or not. Jiang Wuyin's heart was beating fast, and he became more and more uneasy, but he forced himself to remain calm. He was not good at talking to people, but Min Shian told him not to put in any effort and just let nature take its course.
"It is my fault for reminding you of your sad past. Song Chen, take Mr. Wuyin to the guest room to rest."
Jiang Wuyin's fingertips trembled slightly, and he didn't even bother to answer the first half of the sentence. He hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, there is no need. I am a humble commoner. I can just find a restaurant to stay in. How dare I trouble you?"
He couldn't figure out Song Sheng, and was afraid that he would think his identity was in doubt and be killed silently in the dead of night.
Before he could continue speaking, Song Sheng gave a look and the guard named Song Chen stepped forward to lead the way.
Jiang Wuyin followed with a tearful look on his face, realizing that he could not escape death.
But he didn't know that this made it seem more real, and all this was part of Min Shian's plan.
Song Chen quickly settled Jiang Wuyin down, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and asked, "Master, are you still investigating?"
"Check, check carefully."
"Yes." Song Chen responded, turned around and strode away, disappearing in an instant.
Jiang Wuyin, who was fidgeting in the room, wanted to write a letter. When he stood up to pick up the pen, he suddenly remembered Min Shian's instructions. He paused, and then casually took out a collection of poems and studied it quietly.
At the same time, a dark shadow on the roof, almost blending into the tiles, was watching his every move intently.
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