Thus, no matter how urgently the King of Yuan pressed him, He Chunhua refused to move his troops. His entire strategy could be summed up as remaining steady.

Her husband was effectively defying the royal command through inaction, and Madame Ying could not help but worry. “Will His Majesty punish you?”

“The army is inadequately trained, the supply of grain and fodder is insufficient, and we can’t even gather enough horses. His Majesty is well aware of all this. Besides, I’ve already made my position clear. If he insists that I march out recklessly, I will resign my seal of office and ask him to find someone more capable.”

Madame Ying’s expression changed drastically.

He Yue hurried to reassure her. “Mother, don’t be afraid. His Majesty will never allow Father to leave.” His expression dimmed slightly as he added, “The Yuan court doesn’t have many capable people left.”

“These mugwort-shoot dumplings are quite good today.” He...