The towns they passed on this return trip were much the same as those on the way there. At first, Gu Fang asked Lin Yi whether she preferred the western route—which would take them back almost exactly the way they came—or the northwestern route, which would lead through some places they hadn't visited before, though the roads might be rough. As soon as she heard "rough and bumpy," Lin Yi made her decision on the spot: take the original route!
Since they were retracing their steps, they had a chance to make up for past regrets. Last time, worried about their travel expenses, she had held back from buying many of the local specialties she'd coveted. Now that they had some breathing room, Lin Yi dragged Gu Fang through the streets and alleys, picking up Tiger Pass coarse pottery, Xingyang frost sugar, Guandu lacquerware, and Junyi bamboo woven goods one by one. By the time the convoy rolled back into the Imperial City, they had two carts loaded to the brim—one with luggage, one with souvenirs.
Back at the General's Mansion, after distributing the rare trinkets they had bought along the way, both Lin Yi and Gu Fang plunged headlong into a frenzy of work.
Gu Fang, as the commander about to march north, had a mountain of matters to attend to: sacrificial rites to heaven, the ceremony of receiving the ceremonial axe and emblem, formulating strategies, determining the scale of the army and the route, accepting imperial decrees, inspecting supplies and weapons, selecting officers, assembling troops, and drilling formations—each task requiring time and effort.
Fortunately, the main force for the upcoming Northern Frontier campaign consisted largely of veteran border troops. What Gu Fang needed to do was select the most physically outstanding soldiers from across the Great Qian, train them as a special operations elite using the modern military training methods Lin Yi had taught, and equip them with the finest individual firearms. The long-term garrison soldiers in the Northern Frontier would be chosen for the artillery battalion, tasked with operating large firearms that required multiple people to handle.
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