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

Urgent reports from the Liaodong front arrived three times a day.

Daily grain rations poured into the Imperial Waterworks like snowflakes. The stacks of documents on Li Ju's desk were taller than a person, and every single one of them said the same thing—grain, grain, grain.

"His Majesty has been besieging Liaodong City for a long time without success, and the consumption of grain and fodder has increased by 30% compared to expectations." Du Chen flipped through the account books, his brows furrowed. "If this continues, the grain reserves in Zhuojun will not last until the end of the month."

Li Ju remained silent. He was waiting.

Waiting for news from Li Yang.

Liyang, the temporary headquarters.

Yang Xuangan and Li Mi sat facing each other, with a map spread out on the table. The map marked the locations of Luoyang, Liyang, and Zhuojun, and the route of the Yongji Canal was drawn in red.

"We can't wait any longer." Yang Xuangan pointed to Liaodong City on the map. "His Majesty is trapped beneath the fortified city, caught in a dilemma. This is the best time to raise an army."

Li Mi pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Three days later, kill the imperial censor in charge of urging grain supplies and issue a proclamation to the whole country." He paused, "At the same time, send a secret order to Li Ju, that as soon as the signal to raise troops arrives, immediately block the grain supply route from Luoyang to Liaodong."

Yang Xuangan picked up his pen and wrote a secret letter, which he handed to his confidant: "Send it to Luoyang by fast horse and personally deliver it to Li Yezhe."

The trusted confidant accepted the order and set off overnight.

Li Ju received the secret letter late at night.

He unfolded the letter, which contained only one line: "Signal arrives, lock the grain supply route."

He looked at it for a moment, then brought the letter close to the candle flame and burned it to ashes.

"Someone come here."

Wang Yu pushed open the door and entered: "The Attendant?"

"Pass down the order: adjust the deployment of Luoyang's granaries, key ferry crossings along the Grand Canal, and grain transit stations according to the second plan." Li Ju's voice was soft, but every word was clear. "Do it tonight."

Wang Yu's eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice: "Your Excellency, are you about to make your move?"

"They've made their move."

Wang Yu grinned, then turned and left.

Li Ju wrote another letter and handed it to another trusted confidant: "Send this to Liyang and give it to Wei Feng. Deliver it to him personally."

The trusted confidant carefully put away the letter and disappeared into the night.

Li Ju stood by the window, looking at the deep night outside.

The granaries in Liyang were piled high with grain and fodder transferred from Luoyang and nearby prefectures and counties.

Li Mi ordered all the stored grain around Luoyang to be concentrated in Liyang in preparation for launching an uprising.

As the garrison commander of Liyang, Wei Feng personally oversaw the transfer of grain supplies. Boat after boat, cart after cart, day and night without ceasing.

No one doubted Wei Feng. Everyone knew that Wei Feng was Li Ju's man, and Li Ju was Yang Xuangan's man, so Wei Feng was naturally Yang Xuangan's man as well.

Every boatload of grain delivered to Liyang was fully loaded when it was unloaded at the dock. The grain was stacked neatly, and the sacks were full.

In the deeper of the night, another air route is also busy.

Wu'an Prefecture, Huangshishan Granary.

Wang Yu's younger brother, Wang Yuan, led his men day and night to receive grain ships secretly transported from Liyang on the canal.

The granaries in Liyang were piled higher and higher, stretching from inside the granaries to outside, forming a long line along the canal bank. Yang Xuangan stood in front of the granaries, looking at the endless rows of grain sacks, feeling smug and self-satisfied.

"Lord Pushan, with such provisions, what is there to worry about in achieving great things?"

Li Mi also looked at it and nodded.

Three days later, in Liyang.

Yang Xuangan summoned his generals to the main hall of his headquarters and publicly executed the grain-collecting censor sent by Yang Guang. Blood splattered on the stone steps in front of the hall, and everyone present turned pale.

"This tyrannical ruler has been waging war against Liao for years, causing immense suffering to the people!" Yang Xuangan shouted, drawing his sword. "The time has come! Raise your army today! Depose this tyrannical ruler and install a wise one! Those who wish to follow me, stay! Those who do not, leave!"

No one left.

The proclamation spread throughout the land.

The fast horse set off from Liyang and traveled day and night to Luoyang.

When the envoy arrived at the Water Conservancy Bureau, Li Ju was in his office reviewing documents.

He received the secret order and unfolded it—it was written by Yang Xuangan himself: "Immediately block the grain route from Luoyang to Liaodong, and not a single grain of grain shall be allowed to travel north."

After reading it, Li Ju put the secret order into his sleeve and said to the messenger, "Report back to the Duke of Chu, and I will carry it out immediately."

The envoy nodded in satisfaction and mounted his horse.

Li Ju stood at the door of the duty room, watching the envoy's figure disappear around the street corner, then turned to Du Chen and said, "Close the door."

Du Chen closed the door.

"Let's begin," Li Ju said.

Xingyang, Zheng Prefecture.

Zheng Guanyin sat alone in her boudoir, a single lamp flickering dimly.

She held a piece of paper in her hand; the paper was slightly yellowed, and the edges were neatly folded, clearly indicating that it had been read and examined repeatedly.

The candlelight flickered on her profile, illuminating a cold and serene face—brows like distant mountains, eyes like cold stars, a high nose, and pale lips, showing no joy or anger, yet possessing an unapproachable majesty.

The fifteen-year-old girl already possessed an air of superiority over all living beings.

She read the lines on the poem again.

"A fortified city may be impregnable, but ants can easily burrow inside."

Her gaze lingered on that sentence, remaining fixed for a long time.

Outside the window, the night in Xingyang was deep, and the sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard in the distance.

She put down the poem and looked up.

Those eyes were extremely bright and deep, as if they could see through the paper, the current situation, and the lies that embellished the truth.

"Someone come here."

A maid entered, standing with her hands at her sides: "What are your orders, Madam?"

Zheng Guanyin did not look at her; her gaze remained fixed on the poem.

She spoke, her voice not loud, but each word clear and decisive.

"Pass on a message to Ah Lang, saying that Guanyin will not marry Li Min."

Yang Xuangan was deploying his troops. Li Zixiong stood to the side when a trusted aide hurried in, handed him a letter, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Li Zixiong took the letter, and his expression changed drastically.

"What's wrong?" Yang Xuangan asked.

Li Zixiong gritted his teeth and handed over the letter: "The Zheng family—Zheng Guanyin is unwilling to marry Min'er."

Yang Xuangan took the letter, read it through, and frowned slightly: "What's the reason?"

"They said they heard about a poem Li Ju wrote at the gathering on the Luo River."

Li Mi, who was looking at a map, looked up when he heard this.

"What poem?"

Yang Xuangan handed the letter to Li Mi. Li Mi glanced at it; the letter was brief, only saying, "At the gathering at the Luo River, Li Ju composed a poem. Zheng's daughter heard it and thought he had foresight, so she did not wish to marry the son of a powerful and wealthy man."

"Find that poem," Li Mi said.

Although Yang Xuangan still had doubts, he still sent people to investigate.

In less than half an hour, someone brought over a copy of Li Ju's poem.

The aide then read the poem aloud. At first, Li Mi didn't think much of it; it was indeed a poem about ancient times.

But when the phrase "The golden fortress is solid in vain, yet ants burrow into it" appeared, Li Mi's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stood up abruptly, his face ashen.

"Damn it! The granary!!" he hissed. "To the granary!!!"

Yang Xuangan was startled: "Master Pushan, what's wrong?"

Li Mi did not answer and strode out. Yang Xuangan quickly followed.

On the open ground in front of the warehouse, grain sacks were piled up like small mountains, stretching from inside the warehouse all the way outside, layer upon layer, with no end in sight.

Li Mi walked over, his gaze sweeping over the piles of grain sacks. Suddenly, he drew his long sword from his waist and plunged it into a grain sack beside him.

The sword pierced through, and with a forceful slash, the grain sack tore open.

What flowed out was sand.