Ching Yuon blustered for several seconds, mouth opening and closing like he was a fish out of water. Hou Jingshu had no intention of letting him say anything more, so she turned to the rest of the people in the room.

“Our country is facing a crisis it has not seen since its founding. Now is not the time for people to argue and fight amongst themselves. If we do not come together and confront the threat posed by the Ming Province and Zhou Kingdoms, we will fall separately. They will not spare you after conquering this land. I would not spare you if I were in their shoes. It is much safer to replace people who would change loyalties at the first sign of trouble with people who they know will be loyal even when their destruction is eminent.”

The many people sitting before her were nodding along. Most of them had a clear understanding of what would happen to them should they change loyalties. Their families might be spared--and that was a big might--but they would be stripped of their positions. No one was dumb enough to let a traitor hold a position of power.

“What of the Yong Clan?” asked another person. He had a head of thick black hair and dark green eyes. His skin was a little tanner than most and he had several tattoos on his exposed upper torso. While his gut was quite thick, his arms, shoulders, and chest were packed with muscle

His name was Fanh Ling. He controlled the westernmost province where their country met the ocean. He was even further removed from the conflict than the Ching Family. Hou Jingshu had once heard that his family were the leaders of an infamous group of pirates who roamed the seas until her ancestor subjigated them. Faced with his overwhelming power, this family had been awed and vowed a pledge of loyalty under the heavens. They could not break their vow. If they tried, the very heavens would punish them.

“We will deal with them ourselves,” Hou Jingshu said through narrowed eyes. “The Yong Clan has constantly been a thorn in my father’s side. They are always seeking more power. That is normally fine. We are all cultivators. Power is what we crave. But they seek power at the cost of their people. A ruler is nothing without something to rule, and they seem not to understand that. I refuse to allow a parasitical clan like that to exist in the Shang Kingdom.”

“Well spoken, Your Highness--no, perhaps I should say Your Majesty,” said someone in the back. He had light skin and masculine features. Hou Jingshu wouldn’t call this man handsome under any circumstance, but he exuded manliness with his large build, wild hair, and numerous piercings.She made him think of a barbarian. She thought his name was Qian Bo… or something like that. She didn’t know much about him. All she knew was that he was the City Lord of Dahua City--the place she had visited so long ago with Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Zhou Lihua when they were trying to get Master Wong Jiu’s help. He belonged to one of the forty-six minor clans.

“My father is still alive, and I intend on curing him of his ailments, so I’d prefer you not refer to me like that,” Hou Jingshu said to him.

“Hmmm. My apologies. You were just so radient that I couldn’t help but feel like our kingdom would be assured if you sat on the throne, but I’ll retract my previous statement. I, too, wish to see your father’s health recovered.” The man sat back down and pretended nothing had happened. Hou Jingshu frowned and made a note to have someone tail him. Something about his mannerisms made her uncomfortable.

“Now, then, let us discuss what we shall do about the two nations who dare enter our borders,” Hou Jingshu decided they had spent enough time dilly-dallying. “I have already scorched the land between the Ming Province and here. The three pavilions who have invaded do not have the numbers to expand their influence into other territories right now, but they will if we let them reinforce themselves. I’m going to have you rally the soldiers and sects within your provinces and have them attack the Ming Province’s supply caravans. Your task will be to destroy their supply lines, then withdraw.”

Humans could not survive without food. By first depriving the Ming Province of food from the Shang Kingdom’s own land, they forced the three pavilions to expend more effort securing a supply line. However, the further they traveled into the Shang Kingdom, the harder it was to protect their supply lines. Their forces would eventually be stretched thin.

“You’ll take the supplies meant for their forces and distribute them to the people who have been forced to flee their homes. I think that is a fitting punishment for those fools who would dare enter our nation uninvited,” continued Hou Jingshu.

“Hmm. So our goal is not to face the Ming Province’s pavilions head on, but force them to expend more resources.”

Hou Jingshu nodded. “In a defensive battle where one kingdom invades another, the key to winning is forcing the opposing force to expend more resources than they can maintain. It does not matter if they have some cultivators at the Deva Realm. The vast majority of their forces are only Anima Realm cultivators. Every member of the Shang Kingdom’s army is an Asura Realm cultivator.”

The Deva and Human Limit Realm Cultivators were going to be attacking the capital. They could not afford to leave their strongest members sidelined protecting their supply caravans. Of course, they would eventually send someone to help protect the supply lines, but her own forces would have withdrawn by then, and they would be at least one member short, making their push to take Shang Imperial City that much harder.

Hou Jingshu pulled out a map, placed several xiangqi pieces on the map, and began pointing them out.

“This is the Ming Province’s forces right now. We’ve recieved word they have reached Maachen City, which means they are less than a week from reaching the capital. Speed of delivery is important for supply lines. They will take the shortest route possible… here. I want all of you to choose a spot along this route, wait for their supply caravans, and attack them. Kill the invaders, steal their supplies, and distribute them to our disparate peoples. Does anyone have any questions?”

“I have one,” said Ching Yuon.

Hou Jingshu raised an eyebrow, surprised the man could even speak. “What is it?”

“What of the Zhou Kingdom? What are we supposed to do about them?”

“A good question.” Hou Jingshu nodded. “Zhe Fēnglì of the Heavenly Sword Sect has brought two peak Human Limit Realm cultivators with him to help bolster our forces. It might not be much, but he is a peak Deva Realm cultivator, making him stronger than any of the cultivators in the Zhou Kingdom. I’m going to have him take the Ning, Wi, Li, and Liu Families, and lead them in an attack on the Zhou Kingdom’s forces. Their job will be to whittle away at the Zhou Kingdom and their allies.”

She paused to see if anyone had anymore questions, but no one did, and thus, the meeting to help decide the fate of the Shang Kingdom ended.

***

The meeting ended with relative ease after she put Ching Yuon in his place. While everyone wanted to get ahead, loyalty was an important factor when considering which families became a noble clan. Even the Yong Clan had, at one point, been very noble. Yong Mihong’s grandfather, Yong Schu, had been friends with Hou Jingshu’s father. He had fought and died alongside her father during an insurrection that had taken place several decades before she was born. It was his actions that had earned the Yong Clan a noble title and become rulers of the Yong Province, which extended the entire Great Wall that protected them from the Zhou Kingdom.

Just how Yong Mihong ended up becoming the man he was today was a mystery she hadn’t solved.

Hou Jingshu ordered Yu Chenguang to reorganize their forces now that the noble clans and minor clans were onboard, then retreated to her private residence after the meeting to discover Yu Mao and Yōuměi being scolded by Li Hua.

“Do you know how many complaints I have received thanks to you two? Did you even stop to think about what kind of trouble you two might cause if you played in the Imperial Palaces garden? You have caused a mess. Are you both courting death? Do not think I won’t bend you over my knee and spank your ass until it’s covered in blisters.”

While Yu Mao trembled in fear, Yōuměi laughed.

“Ha ha! You’re gonna get spanked!”

“That includes you, Yōuměi.”

“MREOW?!”

There was something soothing about watching a woman many times weaker than Yōuměi scold the cat. Did this woman not realize she was threatening a Human Limit Realm magical beast? Well, she obviously did, but it was like she didn’t even care. The situation was made all the funnier because Yōuměi really did seem afraid of getting spanked. Did she not realize that this woman’s hand would break if she seriously spanked her butt?

“What’s going on here?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“Your Highness, listen to this. These two have caused so much trouble.”

Yōuměi and Yu Mao had gone playing in the Imperial Gardens, which had been carefully cultivated for generations by the gardeners, and made a complete mess of it. Those gardens were something that emperors had ordered cultivated for several generations and were often considered the pride of the Shang Imperial Royal Palace. Destroying the gardens was akin to slapping past emperors in the face.

Hou Jingshu turned her eyes on Yu Mao, who shrank into herself, then looked at Yōuměi. The giant cat turned her head. She sighed.

“There is so much at stake right now that I couldn’t care less about the gardens. I’m sorry, but I leave their punishment to you,” she said.

It was probably her fault these two had caused so much trouble. She had left Yōuměi with Yu Mao because she knew the magical beast would be bored on her own, and she had believed letting the two play would keep her out of trouble. She had apparently been very wrong. There was little she could do now, however, and she didn’t care enough to press the issue.

“Very well, Your Highness.” Li Hua offered a martial bow, then glared at the pair. “You two are coming with me. I’m going to have you help restore the gardens. You will not eat or rest until they have been fixed.”

“NOOOOOOO/MREEEEOOOOWWW!” a pair of simultaneous wails mixed together.

After that little interlude, Hou Jingshu found herself sitting on the veranda, sipping a cup of tea she had prepared personally. She would not have many chances to rest and thought it best to take this moment to calm her frayed nerves.

She had so many concerns and worries now. Was she doing the right thing? Would her decisions help or hurt her kingdom? What would happen if she underestimated their enemies? She didn’t think she was, but she also couldn’t accurately judge their strength. What if her soldiers went to attack the supply line and found themselves up against a stiff resistance. Speed was of the essence here. They needed to attack quickly, steal the supplies, and withdraw just as quickly.

And beyond all that, she was worried about Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua.

It’s been so long since they left for the Zhou Kingdom, and now that same kingdom has invaded my country. Are they okay? Were they captured? Killed? I know the second prince had his eyes on Zhou Lihua, but he wouldn’t dare do something to her, would he? He wouldn’t risk angering the Zhou Clan, right?

The tea she had prepared was a chamomile lavender made from five hundred year old chamomile petals. The petals were steeped in hot water mixed with ground two hundred year old lavender. This tea was supposed to be the best at calming nerves, but she had so many worries and anxieties that it seemed to have no effect.

In the midst of her worrying, one of her maids walked onto the veranda and bowed.

“Your Highness, Zhe Fēnglì has arrived with his companions.”

“I see. Please see to them while I freshen up.”

“At once.”

Hou Jingshu went into her bedchamber, where a simple water basin sat. She would normally take a bath. There was no time, however, and so she quickly stripped off her dress, wiped herself down, and had two maids redress her, redo her hair, and help put on her makeup. By the time she entered the reception room, the four were already awaiting her. She studiously ignored the way Bèipàn Zhě eyed her and focused on their leader.

“Your Highness, I’ve heard from Yu Chenguang. You wish me to lead several of your noble clans into battle against the Zhou Kingdom,” Zhe Fēnglì said.

“Correct.”

Hou Jingshu quickly explained what she wanted from him. The Han, Shen, Suren, and Lin Families were all located on the eastern side of the Shang Kingdom, meaning they were closest to the Yong Clan’s province that the Zhou Kingdom had occupied.

“I’ve ordered our forces to mobilize at Ho Cinh City. It will take them several days to arrive, so you’ll need to do what you can to stall the Zhou Kingdom’s forces.”

“I understand. I’ll do as you say.” Zhe Fēnglì bowed. “If I might ask, what will you be doing?”

Hou Jingshu smiled wide. “I’ll be meeting the three pavilion’s forces in battle.”