The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

Ma Wenyuan's line, "I have long heard that Brother Lan is a man of exceptional talent," is like a perfectly timed spring breeze.

Although it's not exactly a compliment.

But it also dispelled most of the awkwardness in Lan Yu's heart.

He's not here to back down this time.

He came to visit his boss and congratulate him.

As for those words about the Mid-Autumn Festival—

What?

Is that true?

Ma Wenyuan doesn't remember.

Since Ma Wenyuan doesn't remember, then there's no such thing as "bowing down".

Lan Yu straightened up, her expression much more natural than before, even managing a slight smile.

"Right Commander, you are too kind. I should have come to visit you sooner, but I have been too busy with military affairs to do so."

These words were spoken politely, but Ma Wenyuan could tell that they still carried a hint of rigid arrogance—what did he mean by "not free"? He clearly didn't want to come.

However, Ma Wenyuan didn't mind. Since they had already come, he would give them face.

Chang Lan followed behind Lan Yu, and seeing that her younger brother did not give her a hard time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She stepped forward, smiled, and gave Ma Wenyuan a half-bow: "Congratulations, Your Excellency, on your great joy. I have come here today to offer my congratulations."

After saying that, Lan Shi continued,

"We will have to trouble the Imperial Uncle with the matter of Mao'er and the others enrolling in school."

Ma Wenyuan quickly returned the greeting.

"Madam, you flatter me. Opening a school and taking on students is, in essence, about cultivating talent for the country."

Upon hearing this, Chang Mao, Chang Sheng, and Chang Sen stepped forward again to pay their respects.

Chang Mao was only a few years younger than Ma Wenyuan, and he was quite burly. He bowed rather reluctantly when he did so.

Just like before, he muttered "Greetings, Your Majesty" and stepped aside.

Chang Sheng, on the other hand, behaved himself properly and bowed respectfully. When he raised his head, his gaze lingered on Ma Wenyuan for a moment, with a hint of scrutiny.

Chang Sen, the youngest, smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying in a generous manner, "Student Chang Sen greets teacher."

Ma Wenyuan's impression of the three brothers was formed at this moment, about 70-80% complete.

It is ever lush and verdant, ever rising and falling, ever dense and spiritual.

Chang Yuchun's three sons each had their own distinct appearance.

Welcoming everyone into the main hall, a maidservant served tea.

Ma Wenyuan took his seat in the main seat, Lan Yu sat in the first seat among the guests, Chang Lanshi sat in the second seat, and the three children stood behind them.

Lan Yu picked up her teacup and took a sip, her gaze unconsciously sweeping over the furnishings of the main hall.

He now realized that the main hall of the emperor's brother-in-law was completely different from what he had imagined.

There were no rare paintings or calligraphy, no expensive furniture, but a shelf against the wall was filled with all kinds of glassware.

Cups, bowls, bottles, goblets, and several polished lenses refracted a crystal-clear luster in the afternoon sunlight.

The most eye-catching feature is a huge map hanging on the north wall of the main hall.

The map was as tall as a person and as wide as two people; it was neither a landscape painting hanging in an ordinary household nor a territorial map commonly seen in the imperial court.

It is outlined with extremely fine ink lines, and the mountains and rivers are marked densely.

Starting from Yingtianfu and heading west, passing through Yangzhou, Luzhou, Huangzhou, and Jingzhou, it extends all the way to Shu (Sichuan) – Chongqing, Chengdu, and even further west to the mountains and passes.

The map not only marked cities and rivers, but also drew many lines.

Although Lan Yu couldn't understand what those winding, thin lines meant, he instinctively felt that this thing was not simple.

What puzzled Lan Yu even more was that many place names on the map were marked with strange symbols and numbers, neither Chinese characters nor Mongolian script, but crooked and twisted, like a book written in the heavens.

Lan Yu stood in front of the map, looking up at it for a long time, her brows furrowed in a frown.

"Your Excellency, what...what kind of picture is this?"

Ma Wenyuan walked over, stood beside him with his hands behind his back, and said casually.

"This is a map I drew myself. It stretches 3,600 li from Yingtian Prefecture to Shu, passing through seven prefectures and forty-two counties. Mountains, rivers, passes, post stations, and waterways and land routes—everything that could be marked is marked."

It was a casual drawing I did in Shu, nothing special, but since Lan Yu asked, I couldn't very well not answer.

Lan Yu's brows furrowed even more tightly.

When he conquered Sichuan, he traveled along the northern route, but he also had some knowledge of the terrain in eastern Sichuan.

He leaned closer, trying to see clearly what those winding, thin lines were, but the more he looked, the more confused he became.

"What are these winding lines? They don't look like rivers, nor do they look like official roads."

Lan Yu reached out and pointed at the closed curves on the map marked "150m", "300m" and "600m", looking completely confused.

Ma Wenyuan smiled, knowing that Lan Yu couldn't understand contour lines, and didn't intend to explain in detail.

"That's the terrain. How high the mountain is, how steep the slope is, and which way is the easiest to climb—all of that is along these lines. The closer the contour lines are, the steeper the mountain is."

Lan Yu glanced at the map again, still somewhat doubtful, then suddenly pointed to the section marked with the Shu region on the map.

"Is this Qutang Gorge?"

Ma Wenyuan followed his finger and nodded.

"General Lan has a good eye. This is Qutang Gorge. The river is narrow here, and the mountains on both sides are high. The Shu army has set up defenses on both sides, with iron chains across the river and fire rafts being set up upstream."

"Brother Tang's navy was blocked for two months. Later, Yang Hao led several hundred men to circle around to the back of the Shu army, crossing over along this line on the map."

Ma Wenyuan pointed to an inconspicuous path marker between the contour lines, "The path used by local herbalists, even mules can't get through."

Lan Yu fell silent.

He was a military commander and knew the significance of this map.

Lan Yu suddenly remembered what she had said in the palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and suddenly felt her face burning.

Chang Lan also came over to look at the map. Although she didn't quite understand it, seeing her younger brother's constantly changing expression, she knew it was something special. She whispered something...

"Your Excellency, the Emperor's brother-in-law, are truly skilled. Such a detailed map—even the Ministry of War probably doesn't have one!"

Ma Wenyuan shook his head.

"I've also seen the Ministry of War's maps, and they're far inferior to this. Their maps only show cities and rivers, without contour lines or a scale. They rely entirely on the experience of their generals and the guidance of their commanders when marching and fighting."

"My map is different. Anyone who can read a map can use it to get to their destination without a guide."

Chang Mao, standing at the back, couldn't see the details on the map even on tiptoe, so he simply gave up and muttered something.

"Anyway, I'm not going to be a scout, so what's the point of seeing this thing?"

Then Chang Lan glared at him and shut up.

Chang Sheng studied it very carefully. Although he couldn't understand most of it, he silently memorized those strange symbols and numbers.

Chang Sen then asked directly,

"Sir, how did you draw these winding lines? You don't have wings, how can you know how high the mountain is?"

Ma Wenyuan glanced down at the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy and smiled.

"It was measured step by step by the soldiers. They measured it, then calculated it, and then drew it."

Chang Sen exclaimed "Wow!" with a face full of admiration.