YWTGU -Chapter 69 Rising from the Ruins

Half a month.

A full half month.

Li An felt that across both this life and his previous one, he had never worked this much.

In his past life, being corporate livestock at an internet company, at worst he worked seven straight days of overtime and died suddenly once.

Now?

He ran construction sites by day, balanced accounts by night, and at midnight still had to coordinate intelligence with Hongmei.

He seriously suspected he had transmigrated into some hell-difficulty city-management simulation game.

And the worst part?

No save function.

Still… the results were real.

He stood at the entrance of the largest rice shop in South City, watching the line of commoners waiting to buy rice, and finally let out a long breath.

Ten days ago, this place had been dead silent.

All storefronts shuttered. Not even a stray dog on the street.

People clutched their last sack of rice at home, afraid to step outside.

Back then, when he activated 【Public Sentiment Perception】, the screen had been flooded with despair, fear, anger.

It made his scalp tingle.

After thinking all night, he realized something simple:

The people didn’t care whether they used Tongbao notes or silver.

They only cared about one thing—

Could they buy rice?

That was it.

All the complicated financial theory, monetary policy, credit systems…

In the face of “my family has no rice left,” it was all nonsense.

So he changed direction.

Forget finance.

Focus on grain.

He wrote a memorial overnight and sent it into the palace. The core points were two:

First: Open the national granaries and release grain at 80% of market price.

Second: Resume grain trade with Southern Zhou and reopen three coastal ports for grain imports.

After reading it, Zhao Ling’er approved it immediately.

She even added an imperial note:

“Implement at once. No delay permitted.”

When Li An received the reply, he paused.

This young emperor was far too easygoing.

No—

She trusted him too much.

So much that it made him uneasy.

The day after approval, grain from the national reserves began moving into the capital’s major rice shops.

When the first shipment arrived in South City, the shop owner nearly cried.

“Sir! This is official grain? Truly for us to sell?”

“At 80% of market price.”

“And if anyone dares to raise prices privately?”

“I’ll have Jin Daya go have a chat with him.”

The shop owner’s legs went weak at the name.

Jin Daya’s reputation was truly spreading.

“Wouldn’t dare! Absolutely wouldn’t dare!”

The day the first shop reopened, a long line formed immediately.

And everyone was quiet.

No shouting. No pushing.

The people were afraid that any disturbance might cause the court to cancel the sale.

They stood in silent understanding, clutching copper coins and bits of silver.

When their turn came, they received the rice sack with both hands, nodded gratefully, and hurried away.

Their cooperation and quiet composure reassured Li An more than any cheers could have.

Standing at the corner, he opened the system panel.

Ding!

【Day 3 of Discount Grain Policy】

【Capital rice prices reduced to 82% of pre-collapse level】

【Public panic index significantly decreased】

【National Fortune +3,200】

【Current National Fortune: 188,171】

Up 3,200.

Not huge—but the direction was right.

He closed the panel and exhaled.

“Sir.”

Jin Daya appeared out of nowhere, cracking melon seeds.

“South City’s stable. East City’s about the same. Just the old brands in North City are still waiting, saying they want to see first.”

“See what?”

“Whether the court changes its mind.”

Li An sneered.

“Have Zhao Dadan take men there. Tell them I personally guarantee it. Open within three days. If not, they can forget doing business in the capital again.”

“Got it!”

Jin Daya dashed off—then ran back two steps.

“Oh, and about the work-for-relief project—Zhang Tiezhu from the Ministry of Works says progress is smooth. He wants you to inspect when you can.”

“I’ll go this afternoon.”

That afternoon, at the construction site.

Li An stood atop a half-completed section of city wall, looking down at the sea of workers below.

Tens of thousands.

Some carrying stone. Some hauling bricks. Some mixing mortar. Some laying walls.

Shouts, hammering, work chants echoed in waves.

Half a month ago, these people had been unemployed drifters in the capital.

Money houses collapsed. Shops closed. Crafts had no buyers.

They wandered the streets or built shacks outside the city waiting to starve.

Li An proposed “work-for-relief.”

The court provided money and grain.

The people provided labor.

Repair city walls, canals, official roads.

On the surface, municipal construction.

In reality…

He glanced at the defensive blueprint copied from the system item 【Heavenly Craft Blueprint】 in his hand.

This wasn’t simple repair.

This was fortress construction.

He added barbicans, arrow slits in towers, hidden troop passages.

To the Ministry of Works, he called it “aesthetic renovation.”

Zhang Tiezhu understood instantly.

No questions asked.

He led craftsmen to work overnight.

That guy was getting more reliable by the day.

“Sir!”

Zhang Tiezhu jumped down from scaffolding, trousers caked in mud.

He held a blackened iron tube.

“Look at this!”

“What is it?”

“The core component of the repeating crossbow! Forged using your blueprint method! Ordinary iron couldn’t handle it, but that batch of refined steel from Evernight City worked perfectly!”

He raised it excitedly.

“Once mounted, it can fire eight arrows consecutively! Eight! Three times more than traditional bows!”

Li An weighed it.

Heavy. Well crafted.

“Can it be mass-produced?”

“With enough craftsmen, five units a day.”

“Add more manpower. If Ministry quotas aren’t enough, pull from the wall crews.”

“Understood!”

Zhang Tiezhu leapt back onto the scaffolding.

Li An watched him go.

These people…

He originally pulled them out of the mud intending to wreck Great Qi from within.

Now?

Each one more capable. More hardworking than the last.

It almost looked like this country could actually be saved.

Ding!

【Day 15 Work-for-Relief Report】

【City wall repair progress: 47% (including covert reinforcements)】

【New repeating crossbows completed: 32/200】

【Capital unemployment reduced to 12%, refugee resettlement 91%】

【Public confidence in court rising】

【National Fortune +8,500】

【Current National Fortune: 196,671】

Almost 200,000.

Li An stared at the number, conflicted.

As a “loyal minister,” rising National Fortune was good.

But something felt off.

Too smooth.

When had heaven ever been this gentle to him?

Every time things seemed on track, something went wrong.

Like scoring full marks on an exam, only for the teacher to announce bonus questions.

“Sir.”

Hongmei appeared silently, voice cold.

“The Ministry of Revenue reports Tongbao redemption at 70%. At this rate, the treasury can sustain it.”

“Good.”

Redeeming Tongbao at 80% silver value was the optimal solution he found after simulating all night with 【Economic Sandbox】.

Too high—the treasury collapses.

Too low—the people revolt.

Eighty percent was the sweet spot.

“How are the people reacting?”

“Not bad.”

She paused.

“Some in tea houses say the court cheated them once—but at least it honored the debt. Better than the previous dynasty.”

Li An snorted.

“Sounds like they’re cursing me.”

“They are.”

Hongmei remained expressionless.

“But after cursing you, they say Minister Li may be shameless—but he gets things done.”

“… ”

Was that praise or insult?

Probably Great Qi–style approval.

Three days later, Tongbao redemption was completed.

Worthless paper turned into silver.

Discounted—but not zero.

Jin Daya cleared most of the money houses’ bad debts during the process.

In court, Zhao Ling’er declared before the ministers:

“Though the court erred in oversight during this economic turmoil, it is not too late to mend what is broken. Minister Li accepted responsibility in crisis and turned the tide. His merit is undeniable.”

The ministers’ expressions were complicated.

After all—the crisis was caused by Li An.

First he issued Tongbao to fleece the market.

Then he saved it.

Wasn’t that arsonist-firefighter behavior?

But no one dared say it.

Because the emperor forbade it.

And because—

The economy really had recovered.

Ding!

【Tongbao Redemption Complete. Financial order restored】

【Commercial activity recovered to 71% of pre-collapse level】

【Public trust surpasses safety threshold】

【National Fortune +5,800】

【Current National Fortune: 202,471】

Over 200,000.

Li An smiled genuinely for the first time.

For about three seconds.

Because Zhao Ling’er immediately added—

“Esteemed ministers, I have another matter to announce.”

She rose from the dragon throne.

“Reports from the northern frontier indicate large-scale military mobilization north of Baima Pass. As a precaution, I have decided to—”

Before she finished—

Urgent hoofbeats thundered outside the hall.

Boom boom boom boom!

Not one horse.

Several.

Inside the imperial palace?

Only one possibility—

Eight-hundred-li urgent frontier dispatch.

Bang!

The palace doors were flung open.

A courier, covered in blood, stumbled into the hall.

His left arm appeared broken, the entire sleeve soaked red.
In his right hand, he clutched a feathered urgent dispatch.

“Report!!”

His voice was drawn from the very last of his strength.

“Eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch…”

“Beiyan… two hundred thousand troops… have crossed Baima Pass!”

“The vanguard—thirty thousand cavalry—are driving straight toward Yanyun Pass…”

“Request immediate reinforcements from the court…”

Before he could finish, he collapsed face-first onto the golden tiles of the hall.

The feathered letter slipped from his hand and rolled across the floor.

The entire court fell silent.

Two hundred thousand.

The number landed like a boulder in everyone’s chest.

Great Qi’s total available forces…
Fifty thousand Imperial Guards, plus at most eighty thousand miscellaneous border troops that could be scraped together.

Thirteen thousand? No—thirteen ten-thousands.
One hundred thirty thousand at best.

One hundred thirty thousand against two hundred thousand.

And Beiyan’s two hundred thousand were no ordinary troops.

They wore new iron armor forged with the smelting techniques Li An had provided.
They ate sweet potatoes introduced by Li An to strengthen their military provisions.
They were equipped with the most advanced technology of Great Qi.

Technology that should have armed Great Qi.

Every blade and every suit of armor had once passed through Li An’s own hands.

Zhao Ling’er’s face turned pale in an instant.

She gripped the armrest of the dragon throne, her body swaying slightly.

Prime Minister Wang Fu was the first to kneel.

“Your Majesty! Beiyan comes with fierce momentum. We must immediately mobilize the entire nation and fortify Yanyun Pass!”

The Minister of War followed suit.

“The capital’s fifty thousand guards, plus forces from Hebei Circuit and Hedong Circuit—at most thirteen ten-thousands. The disparity is immense, Your Majesty!”

The Grand Commandant knelt as well.

“Your Majesty, I advise we first dispatch envoys to negotiate peace and buy time!”

“Negotiate?”

Zhao Ling’er shot him a cold look.

“Last time we negotiated, they took three cities. This time—what? Half the empire?”

The Grand Commandant fell silent.

The hall was deathly still.

Only the faint breathing of the fallen courier could be heard.

Li An stood near the front of the civil officials’ ranks, saying nothing.

His mind replayed scenes from the previous cycle.

Iron armor.

Sweet potatoes.

One after another, gifts he had personally handed to Beiyan.

What had he been thinking then?

Right—ruin Great Qi, strengthen Beiyan.

Give Great Qi’s best to its enemy, weaken Qi, strengthen Beiyan.

That way, Qi’s national fortune would plummet, and he would earn more gold.

Now karma had come.

In the form of blades and armor.

In the form of two hundred thousand troops.

And they were charging straight at him—at this version of him who now stood as a loyal minister of Great Qi.

The system panel appeared quietly.

Ding!

【Beiyan’s 200,000-strong army has invaded Great Qi】

【Military crisis triggered. Public panic spreading】

【National Fortune -3,500】

【Current National Fortune: 198,971】

He had just pushed it past two hundred thousand.

And in an instant, it dropped back below.

He knew it wouldn’t go smoothly.

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

It’s here.

What was bound to come has finally arrived.

“Ministers.”

Zhao Ling’er’s voice rang out again.

Everyone looked up.

She stood before the dragon throne. The golden imperial robe draped over her with imposing authority.

The fear from moments ago was gone.

In its place was a resolute determination Li An had never seen on her young face before.

“Great Qi has reached this point. Retreating will not save us.”

Her gaze swept across the court.

“I will personally lead the campaign.”

The hall erupted.

“Your Majesty, absolutely not!”

“Please reconsider!”

“The Dragon Body must not risk danger—!”

Officials dropped to their knees en masse.

But Zhao Ling’er did not look at them.

Her gaze pierced through the layers of kneeling ministers and stopped on the man at the front who had been silent all along.

“Li An.”

No “beloved minister.” No formal title.

Just his name.

He opened his eyes and met her gaze.

In that moment, he saw many things in her eyes.

Trust.

Dependence.

And a firmness he couldn’t quite define.

“You… will accompany me.”

Not a request.

An imperial command.

Li An was speechless.

Has this little emperor gone mad?

You’re leading the army yourself—why bring me?!

He opened his mouth, intending to say something.

“Your Majesty, I am a civil official.”

“I can barely ride a horse.”

“Can’t you pick someone else?”

But in the end, he said nothing.

After all… who caused this disaster?

Without the things he had given Beiyan, would they dare invade Great Qi now?

He finally bowed.

“Your subject Li An obeys.”

A faint smile curved Zhao Ling’er’s lips.

Then she turned back to the court.

“Decree!”

“The fifty thousand Imperial Guards are to assemble immediately!”

“Orders to Hebei and Hedong Circuits: within ten days, mobilize all available troops to Yanyun Pass!”

“Li An is granted the title of Accompanying Military Strategist, responsible for overall logistics and tactics!”

“The entire court stands on wartime footing. All priorities subordinate to resisting Beiyan!”

“Disobedience… execution!”

There were no more objections.

All officials knelt in unison.

“We obey!”

Li An knelt among them, mind racing wildly.

In his previous life, he worked overtime until death.

After transmigrating, he became a top scholar.
Then a corrupt official selling offices.
Then an economist.
Then Great Qi’s firefighter, rushing everywhere to put out crises.

And now—a military strategist.

He had just been an ordinary office worker!

How did it come to this?

Ding!

【Emergency Military Mission Generated】

【Repel Beiyan’s 200,000-strong invasion】

【Success: National Fortune +50,000 or more】

【Failure: National Fortune reduced to zero. Great Qi destroyed】

【Note: Host’s current alignment: “Official of Great Qi.” If Great Qi falls, mission fails.】

【Failure Penalty: Permanent account ban. Soul annihilation.】

National Fortune zero.

Soul annihilation.

Li An stared at the blood-red text.

He had a thousand curses stuck in his throat.

This system really doesn’t let people live.

Win, and fine.

Lose, and he dies for real. No reincarnation. No second chance.

He exhaled slowly and closed the panel.

Looking up, he watched Zhao Ling’er step down from the throne.

The young emperor was now discussing troop routes with the Minister of War.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, fingers tracing routes across the map with meticulous focus.

That seriousness reminded him faintly of his former female CEO in his past life—the kind who could silence an entire meeting room with sheer force.

Except this “female boss” wore a crown instead of a hairclip.

“Minister Li.”

After a while, Zhao Ling’er beckoned him over.

“Come look at this.”

He stepped forward.

Spread across the table was the northern defense map of Great Qi.

Yanyun Pass.
Baima Pass.
Tieling Guard.
Pinglu Fort.

Each marked on aged parchment.

Her finger rested on Yanyun Pass.

“Beiyan’s thirty-thousand cavalry vanguard has arrived here. The main force of one hundred seventy thousand remains north of Baima Pass.”

“At their marching speed, the main force will reach Yanyun Pass within ten days.”

“We have ten days to prepare.”

Ten days.

One hundred thirty thousand versus two hundred thousand.

A frontal clash? Suicide.

Defend the pass? It was a natural fortress—but their enemy had superior equipment and numbers.

Negotiate? Not with Zhao Ling’er’s current stance.

That left only one option.

Win by strategy.

“Your Majesty,” Li An said.

“I have an idea.”

“Speak.”

“These two hundred thousand look terrifying. But numbers aren’t always an advantage.”

She frowned slightly. “Explain.”

He pointed to the enemy’s position on the map.

“Two hundred thousand men consume astronomical supplies every day. Even with sweet potatoes, maintaining such a massive supply line during a campaign will strain Beiyan.”

“And…”

He paused.

“My confidential channels report that Beiyan’s commander Yelü Xiong has fallen out with the court minister Helian Jun. Helian Jun advocates peace from the rear, and the two have been openly arguing before the Beiyan emperor.”

Zhao Ling’er’s eyes brightened.

“You mean…”

“The cracks in the enemy are our lifeline.”

A sly smile curled at Li An’s lips.

If Jin Daye saw that expression, he would surely say, “My lord’s about to scheme again.”

“Rest assured, Your Majesty.”

He clasped his hands.

“I may not know how to fight battles—but manipulating people… ah, I mean—psychological warfare—I have some experience.”

“Good.”

Zhao Ling’er’s expression hardened back into that of a decisive ruler.

“Prepare military supplies. Organize the army.”

“In three days, we depart.”

“Destination… Yanyun Pass.”