Yijan was desperately fleeing, and all the neighboring countries knew he was a fugitive from King Chen's land. None dared to take him in.
Eventually, he found an opportunity to change his name and identity, and that's how he ended up staying in the Kingdom of Zhao.
In the past, General Yves had once told him: if they ever went to war with the Kingdom of Zhao, he would personally let Yijan take revenge with his own hands.
Yijan never expected that day to come so soon.
Back when their cavalry first stepped into the Kingdom of Chen, Yijan had already made a plan on how to bring down this old but still dangerous enemy.
"The entire power structure of Zhao is controlled by the aristocrats. Even if someone is capable, they are never valued. The only generals capable of defending the border are the aging General Zhao and the foreign noble Faron. I've thought of many strategies before, and I believe the best one right now is to use the pride and suspicion among the aristocrats," Yijan stepped forward and bowed as he spoke.
Since joining the army, he had studied the Kingdom of Zhao carefully and gathered a great deal of information about it.
Over the years, General Zhao had grown older, and the younger generation under him lacked talent. Meanwhile, Faron had risen in power.
Though the Kingdom of Zhao was weakening and aging, an old camel is still bigger than a horse. It wasn't something General Yves could conquer easily.
The key was to take advantage of the conflict between General Zhao's family and Faron's.
"A few days ago, Zhao sent troops to garrison in the Kingdom of Chen. There was already a dispute. One of General Zhao's young relatives, angry over a small matter, found an excuse to harm a family member of Faron's soldiers. Now the two sides are one spark away from a full conflict."
General Yves listened thoughtfully, then slowly shook his head. "It's not enough."
He gave Yijan a few instructions. Not long after, Yijan removed his armor, put on plain clothes, and led a group out of the city dressed as ordinary merchants.
After several twists and turns, Yijan and his group finally entered the Kingdom of Zhao posing as traders.
Back when he escaped, Yijan never thought he would one day set foot on Zhao's land again.
He held no fondness for Zhao—only hatred. He felt nothing for the Zhao family, not even toward those who had died. In fact, he resented them.
His mother had been taken by the head of the Zhao family and soon forgotten. Yijan had been cast off to a remote estate.
He never enjoyed the protection of the Zhao family. On the estate, he and his mother were constantly abused by servants. They were often starving, and any rations meant for them were taken before they ever received them.
At ten years old, Yijan was just trying to survive, dreaming only of escaping with his mother one day.
But that day never came.
One night, their ox went missing. After a long search, Yijan returned only to see the estate burning from a distance. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his mother.
After that, his life was one long escape.
Now, Yijan and his people rode a carriage into the Kingdom of Zhao. He saw people on the streets who looked sick and malnourished, while noble families rode past in tall, flashy carriages pulled by well-fed horses. The contrast was especially striking during this time of widespread drought across the northern countries of the Western Continent.
"Genera—" One of his men started to speak, but under Yijan's sharp gaze, quickly corrected himself. "Young Master, I've already booked the inn. It's just a little farther ahead. Should we go rest first and make plans afterward?"
Yijan gave a small nod.
Their carriage blended into the busy street.
When they came across a noble family's carriage with a house emblem, they had to give way.
...
Sophia had no idea General Yves was plotting step by step to take over the Kingdom of Zhao, a nation many times larger and richer than his own.
She had just received another letter from General Yves describing the extreme weather on the Western Continent some areas were plagued by drought, others by floods. Every kingdom was dealing with internal conflict and political betrayal, while the people suffered greatly.
Sophia wrote down her ideas about how to govern a country.
General Yves kept his writing simple. One part focused on farming. Food was the foundation. The other part was about uniting the Western Continent. He believed only by combining all the land through war could they stop future wars. With everything under one rule, all the land's resources could be used well. That way, everyone could have enough to eat.
It was clear General Yves understood how to win people over. He was a smart political thinker. Sophia already wanted to see the Western Continent united, so her heart started to waver.
She wrote back and told him to list out everything he needed.
She knew she couldn't get weapons. Even if she could, the cost would be too high. The money she had, even a few hundred million, wasn't enough to cover it.
But food, medicine, and clothes were still helpful, even if they couldn't win a battle directly.
Sophia divided everything into groups.
For food, she had already sent rice, flour, and cooking oil. But now that it was wartime, she needed things that were easy to carry and gave energy.
She thought of meat cans, compressed biscuits, chocolate, and candy.
For medicine, she listed items that stopped bleeding, killed bugs, and cleared sickness or toxic air.
For clothes, she added liberation shoes, military-style training uniforms, sleeping bags, and hammocks.
She also remembered to add matchboxes.
Sophia called Ronin.
Ronin had heard Sophia was back, so he came quickly.
Even though Sophia gave him a lot of work, she wasn't too strict. They worked well together and understood each other. Ronin liked working for her, and she paid well too.
Sophia turned her laptop toward him. "Ronin, I've got another job for you."
"Ten thousand cans each of beef, fish, chicken, and pork. Forty thousand small packs of compressed biscuits. Also, chocolate and hard candy."
Ronin looked over the list and asked, "Is this for a school?"
Usually, only schools running high-level military training or camps would need things like this.
Ronin didn't know where Sophia had gone recently, so now he guessed she had gone out to get a big order.
Sophia smiled. "School just started. Many schools are running military training. I pulled in a big job."
She didn't say more than that.
She added, "Pack everything as single sets for each person. Forty thousand sets total. Start with this. If I need more, I'll tell you later."
Ronin nodded. He understood.
These days, making money was all about knowing the right things. Something that cost just a few cents or a few dollars could sell for tens or hundreds if passed through enough hands.
With Sophia's contacts, they wouldn't have to worry about income.
Ronin quickly went to work. His schedule was flexible. He could work from anywhere.
While Ronin contacted the suppliers, Sophia kept checking the list to see if there was anything else to buy while she waited for General Yves's reply.