Bandits

All the governors of the border fortresses are calling for me. Only twice before has anything like this happened.

One was during the Great Upheaval. It was a time when famous great clans were dismembered almost every day for choosing the wrong side, and the prisons were overflowing. Among them were some people who were still alive but whose mere custody posed a political danger.

So they were asking for help, pleading to be taken away as quickly as possible. But the upheaval ended with the accession of a new Celestial Emperor, and no major disturbance had yet befallen the court.

That left only one possibility.

"You must have been attacked."

"By what, sir?"

Of course, I didn't know either. It wouldn't have been difficult to include the reason in the letters sent with the ravens, but every one of these idiots had kept their mouths shut.

"Shall we convene a council of war?"

"No, forget it."

I pondered Yeonri's question for a moment, then shook my head. Calling in the commanders of every post meant mobilizing troops...