The Emperor's expression grew solemn.
"So what do you propose?" He asked.
"We endure." Luo He said calmly.
Luo He's finger traced the border between the two kingdoms.
"The opening stages of the war will be difficult. We'll lose men, fortresses, and perhaps even entire prefectures. But that has already been accounted for."
"As long as we hold the capital until our reinforcements arrive, victory will be ours." He said coldly.
"You sound remarkably confident." The emperor said seriously.
"I've calculated this campaign countless times. I'm certain we can win." He looked directly at the Emperor.
"Do not remain in the capital. Gather all the men you can carry, appoint someone you trust completely to defend the capital, and move your army elsewhere."
"A concealed camp or a minor fortress is far better than sitting inside the capital waiting to be surrounded. Keep your movements hidden, and we'll strike when the enemy least expects it."
"And how will we stay in contact?" He asked.
Luo He smiled. "I've trained messenger crows to recognize Your Majesty. They'll keep us in constant communication."
He chuckled. "So if a crow flies into your camp, try not to have it roasted for dinner." He said wickedly.
The Emperor remained silent for a long while. Finally, he looked at Luo He. "There's still one thing you haven't told me." Luo He raised an eyebrow. "The reinforcements." The emperor asked.
He leaned forward, unable to hide the concern in his voice. "You've planned every step of this war, yet you haven't ever once told me one critical thing."
"Where does these reinforcements you told me all about are supposed to come from. Our entire strategy depends on them. If they never arrive, everything you've just said falls apart."
For the first time that morning, genuine curiosity, and a hint of anxiety appeared on the Emperor's face. Luo He simply smiled. "Your Majesty need not concern yourself with that. They will arrive."
Luo He said with absolute confidence. The Emperor frowned. "How can I not? You're asking me to stake the fate of the empire on an army whose existence I haven't even seen."
"I have my own arrangements," Luo He replied calmly. "When the time comes, the reinforcements will arrive exactly where they are needed."
"Until then, the fewer people who know of them, the safer the plan will remain." He studied Luo He for several moments before slowly nodding. "Very well. What else can I do but to trust you."
The two then continued discussing the finer details of the campaign, where the emperor should establish his temporary headquarters.
How many troops could realistically be gathered, then about grain supplies, the capital's ability to withstand a prolonged siege, and the readiness of its defensive works. The person to leave the capital with when it comes to the last battle.
Only after everything had been settled did they leave the study. The emperor arrived late to the first court session, but Luo He's advice had already shaped every decision.
The captured traitors were executed without mercy. The fifteen imperial consorts were stripped of their titles and expelled from the imperial harem rather than executed.
When several ministers attempted to discuss the Crown Prince's mother's punishment, the Emperor's expression darkened.
"She is my wife." He said coldly. "How she is disciplined is entirely for me to decide. I don't need anyone else's approval or Ideas."
The entire court immediately fell silent. Everyone knew the emperor's temper, and no minister wished to provoke him further. That matter was dropped entirely.
Without remaining for the rest of the court proceedings, Luo He departed with Jin Mulan, Ning Jia, and Little Lin. During the reward ceremony, the emperor publicly credited the Jin family for their unwavering loyalty.
Since Luo He refused any personal reward, the emperor instead honored the Jin family. Jin Quan was appointed as a General of the Yue Kingdom and had granted him command of ten thousand imperial soldiers.
Although only a second-rank general, it was an extraordinary honor for a minor count. Unlike the nobility, imperial generals held positions within the court itself.
And could serve directly under the emperor. After the ceremony, Fei returned home with the four thousand cavalry while Jin Quan stayed behind.
Luo He and his family flew back to the Jin residence aboard the Black Cloud Shuttle. From that day onward, Luo He's preparations for war began in earnest.
The estate was transformed into a literal fortress.
Luo He had no intention of winning the coming siege through towering walls or overwhelming numbers alone. His entire defense was built upon deception.
His secrets were thurrow preparation and weapons far ahead of their time. He knew that if he could slow the enemy, disrupt their momentum, and destroy their siege engines before they reached the walls.
The invading army would bleed itself dry long before the fortress fell. The first line of defense was nothing more than an illusion.
Around the Jin manor, Luo He ordered the construction of a moat nearly twelve feet wide. From a distance, it looked like a formidable obstacle.
Enough to force any commander to halt and rethink his assault. Engineers would assume it required bridging or filling before siege towers could advance.
In reality, the moat was barely two feet deep. Any man could simply walk across it. But that was never its purpose. It existed just to delay and confuse.
Siege towers could not roll across it without preparation, ladders could not be rushed to the walls, and proud enemy engineers would waste precious time examining the obstacle.
Workers dug tirelessly beneath the afternoon sun, throwing shovelfuls of earth aside as the broad trench slowly took shape around the manor.
Jin Mulan stood beside Luo He with her arms folded, watching the progress for several moments before finally breaking the silence.
"Husband."
"Yes, honey?"
"They're digging it wrong."
Luo He blinked. "Wrong?"
She nodded with complete confidence.
"It's only two feet deep."
"Yes." He answered confidently.
"Even dwarfs won't have to swim. They can just... walk across it."
Luo He looked at the moat. Then at his wife. "Exactly."
She frowned. "Then what's the point?"
Luo He stared at her for another second before the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward. "It's for the squirrels honey." He said proudly.
"The squirrels?" She asked confused.
He nodded with complete seriousness.
"Have you seen how bold they are these days? Always trying to climb the walls."
Jin Mulan blinked. "Husband?"
"Two feet is enough. They'll never make passesed it ." Luo He said with genuinely calculated pried.
She stared at him for several seconds before realizing what had happened. He wasn't answering her question.
He was teasing her. Her cheeks slowly flushed pink. "You're making fun of me."
Luo He chuckled quietly. "Am I honey?"
Without another word, he slipped an arm around her waist and gently pulled her against his side. Mulan didn't resist.
Resting her head against his shoulder, she watched the workers continue digging while a small smile crept across her face. She understood.
If Luo He had answered with a ridiculous excuse instead of explaining himself, it meant her question wasn't worth a serious explanation in the first place.
He could have bluntly told her she was overthinking something obvious. Months ago, perhaps he would have, but not anymore.
Instead, he simply joked with her. It spared her embarrassment, and also somehow made her feel even closer to him in a more comfortable way.
They stood together in comfortable silence, watching the defenses rise one by one. Beyond the walls, an army of nearly thirty thousand men was already preparing to march against Jin County.
Before the campaign ended, that number would swell to almost sixty thousand. At least according to Luo He's predictions. Against them stood barely five thousand defenders.
Any experienced commander would call those odds hopeless. Yet Mulan found herself growing calmer with each passing day. Luo He never looked worried.
He spent every waking hour preparing another defense, another trick, another weapon, another plan. Sometimes he behaved like the biggest fool she had ever met in her entire lifetime.
Sometimes he made jokes so absurd she wanted to roll her eyes. But when ever the conversation turned to war...
She had long since learned never to doubt him.
My husband may act like an idiot, she thought, smiling to herself as she leaned a little closer into his embrace. But he's the greatest genius I've ever known.
And for the first time since the enemy banners had appeared on the horizon. She truly believed Jin Manor might survive.
Every minute the attackers hesitated was another minute the defenders gained.
The real strength of the fortress stood behind the walls.