My wife, Wei Gui, was 1.9 meters tall and fought against the Tang dynasty for the throne.

Zhuojun, the temporary palace.

Zheng Kuan knelt in the hall and reported the results of Li Yang's investigation in detail.

He paused, then added, "I have investigated for three days and found no flaws."

Yang Guang leaned back on his throne, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

Pei Yun stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Li Ju is young, yet he acts with impeccable skill. We should be wary of him. He commands both the army and the grain transport, wielding unprecedented power, far beyond what ordinary civil officials can match."

Yuwen Shu sneered and stepped forward, saying, "If a crime is found and punished according to the law, I have nothing to say. But now that no wrongdoing has been found, why are you being so harshly criticized? To suspect someone when they are innocent means being punished no matter what. Are you trying to force a meritorious official to his death?"

Pei Yun remained expressionless: "General Yuwen, you flatter me. I was merely reminding His Majesty to plan ahead, not to punish Li Ju. Merit should be rewarded, and power should be exercised; the two are not mutually exclusive."

Yuwen Shu retorted sharply, "If no problems can be found, then there is no suspicion. Is Imperial Censor Pei nitpicking because he fears Li Ju's contributions will overshadow someone else's?"

Pei Yun frowned slightly: "General Yuwen has been speaking up for Li Ju. Is he acting out of personal interest or for the public good?"

Yang Guang got annoyed and raised his hand to stop him.

That's enough.

The hall fell silent.

Yang Guang slowly said, "Li Ju was meritorious in the Battle of Liyang. Since the investigation found no problems, I have no doubts about him." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials, "But Pei Yun is also right—meritorious service should be rewarded, and power should be exercised."

He pondered for a moment, then said to the eunuch beside him, "Issue an imperial decree that from this day forward, the number of soldiers in the Imperial Water Conservancy Bureau shall be permanently prohibited from being increased; the Censorate shall conduct routine monthly inspections of all granaries along the river in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances."

Yuwen Shu said nothing more. He knew that Yang Guang was trying to appease both sides—he didn't want to alienate Li Ju, but he also didn't want to let him grow too powerful.

Yang Guang stood up and walked to the map. The map was densely marked with mountains, rivers, and cities in Liaodong, and small red flags were planted at each location from the Liao River to Liaodong City.

"How is the army's assembly progressing?" he asked.

Yuwen Shu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the troops from all directions have arrived one after another. Although it has not met expectations and desertions have reached 30 to 40%, the logistics of the canal transport are stable, and the grain and military supplies have arrived on schedule."

Yang Guang nodded, his expression softening slightly.

"Issue the decree." He turned around, his eyes blazing. "Tomorrow, hold a swearing-in ceremony and march into Liaodong."

The assembled officials in the hall responded in unison.

Zhang Jincheng's department.

In the central command tent, Zhang Jin smashed his wine bowl and cursed, "Damn it! That lackey Li Ju! He emptied the granary cleaners cleaner than rats! I've been fighting for three days and haven't even gotten a single grain of rice!"

The leaders in the tent echoed, "That corrupt official has guarded the main granary like an iron fortress, while the smaller granaries are all empty!"

"The boats at the dock are faster than rabbits; the brothers couldn't even catch a small boat!"

Zhang Jin slammed his fist on the table: "From now on, no more attacking granaries! Attack the county seat! Rob the wealthy! That bastard Li Ju, I'll chop off his dog's head sooner or later!"

Outside the tent, rebel soldiers squatted on the ground gnawing on tree bark, some muttering curses: "Li Ju, that heartless, childless official..."

Another rebel camp.

Several leaders sat around the campfire, cursing and swearing.

"That bastard Li Ju hid all the grain, leaving us brothers to starve!"

"I heard that Dou Jiande has already started attacking cities, while we're still here gnawing on bones."

"Attack cities? Do cities have grain? Yes! But if we attack a city, the government troops will come to besiege us. We can't attack the granaries. We can't live like this!"

"It's all Li Ju's fault! If he hadn't defended the granary and cut off our supply lines, what would the imperial court have used to fight the war?"

"Li Ju is nothing but a dog of the imperial court! And the fiercest one at that!"

Along the banks of the Yongji Canal.

At the dock, several boatmen squatted by the river eating.

"Old Zhao, how old is your child this year?" a boatman asked.

"Eight years old. I almost starved to death last year, but thanks to Supervisor Li's distribution of grain, I was saved." Old Zhao took a bite of rice and mumbled, "Supervisor Li is a good official. In the past, which of those corrupt officials in the canal transport didn't deduct wages? When Supervisor Li came, he paid every penny and even provided meals."

Another boatman nodded: "That's right. I've been running the canal for twenty years, and this is the first time I've encountered an official who isn't corrupt."

"I heard that the rebels are cursing Li Jianjun."

"Let them curse. Let them curse all they want, we'll live our lives. As long as Supervisor Li is here, we have food to eat; if Supervisor Li isn't here, we'll all starve to death."

Old Zhao finished his rice and wiped his mouth. "Let's get to work. Supervisor Li said this batch of grain must be delivered to Zhuojun before the autumn flood season. We can't afford to delay."

The men stood up, shouldered the ropes, and walked toward the cargo ship.

On the river, grain boats lined up in a row, their sails billowing, winding northward along the Yongji Canal. The flags at the bows bore the character "Li," fluttering in the summer breeze.

Luoyang, the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau.

Li Ju sat in the duty room, with a thick stack of military reports from various warehouses piled up in front of him.

Du Chen stood aside, reading out the defense situation of each warehouse.

"At Wucheng Granary, Zhang Jincheng withdrew his troops with minimal casualties. At Yongji Granary, the rebel army probed twice but was repelled by the grain transport troops. At Pingyuan Granary—" Du Chen paused, "it was lost. The garrison, following the orders of the Imperial Supervisor, withdrew its main force, leaving only a small amount of grain for the rebel army. When the rebel army stormed in, they found the granary empty and, in their anger, burned down the granary city to vent their frustration."

Li Ju nodded, his expression unchanged.

Wang Yu came in from outside, bringing with him a cool breeze.

He sat down casually, grinning, and said, "My lord, the rebel army has stopped attacking the granaries and started attacking the cities instead. Zhang Jincheng, Sun Xuanya, and their ilk are all busy seizing territory, and no one dares to touch our grain ships anymore."

"Why?" Li Ju looked up at him.

Wang Yu grinned: "The ships have many escort troops, armed with powerful crossbows and bows. They're not used to naval warfare; we'll wipe them out every time they come. Besides, they're not stupid; who would willingly throw their lives away?"

Li Ju leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a moment.

He had heard the rumors circulating outside.

The rebels cursed him as a "lackey of the imperial court" and a "traitor Li Ju," wishing they could skin him alive and eat his flesh.

They poured all their hatred for the court, their resentment towards the Liaodong campaign, and their anger over the lack of supplies onto him.

Du Chen put down the documents and said softly, "Your Majesty, the rebels are hurling nasty insults at you, portraying you as a great villain."

"Let them curse. The more they hate me, the more right I am," Li Ju said, rising to his feet. "Pass down the order: all warehouses and docks shall continue to operate as usual. We will not launch an attack unless the rebel army attacks. Defending the canal transport is the greatest achievement."