Chapter 718: The Underage Imperial Younger Brother
Xie Tu didn't go empty-handed; he even wrote a letter
Bai Li Hu opened it and glanced at it: "As the Crown Prince, I have received the nation's grace, borne the virtue of heaven and earth, and cherish filial loyalty...."
He skipped the bombastic pleasantries and went straight to the end.
"... I look up to the emperor's benevolence and martial virtue, for the peace of the world, I hereby declare that from today onward I will share weal and woe with my imperial elder brother. I will retire to You Prefecture and forever relinquish military authority..."
This day came just like that, and Bai Li Hu felt he was still fairly composed.
Shameless, so direct a threat—martial virtue, heh.
He heard himself ask calmly: "What does San Pangzi have to offer in exchange for my agreement to this thing?"
"The lives of the hundreds of thousands of troops in Jing Prefecture.
"Your Highness's life.
"And the Empress Dowager's dignity for the remainder of her life."
Bai Li Hu's reason told him he couldn't win, he couldn't escape, and further struggle would be futile. If he hadn't gone on this trip to the grasslands, he could still naively cling to a sliver of hope...
At the same time, his chest pounded as if it were about to burst. He thought of the hundreds of the Cui clan, and of the relentless instruction he had received since childhood. He had only learned how to smile to the end after victory...
Retiring to You Prefecture and losing his fief, he suddenly couldn't imagine how to live thereafter.
At one moment, Xie Tu faintly felt as if he were bullying a child, and he solemnly said: "His Majesty values family ties, and Your Highness is a smart person. It's easy to see that from the Elder Princess of Everlasting Spring and the Seventh Highness. The court opposes the Elder Princess of Everlasting Spring returning to the palace, and some even suggest dealing with the Seventh Highness first in extraordinary times to avoid more trouble. But you have seen, His Majesty has absolute confidence; he would never stoop to such an act."
Bai Li Hu snorted, "Your Highness naturally knows my life is safe." But being alive and living with dignity are not the same.
"Go tell San Pangzi to wake up—what basis does Your Highness have to trust his empty promises? Let him first return my people!"
Bai Li Hu left, and Xie Tu immediately went to the palace to see the Great King, who was reciting a text as if life were worse than death.
Xie Yuan got angry just lecturing on Zhuangzi, went home, and, after painful reflection, decided to defeat magic with magic. Isn't it that he can't stand listening to lectures? If good days can't be had, he can arrange some bad ones.
He simply skipped the lecture procedure, picked an article, and had the Great King recite it. He announced that there would be a check the next day; failure to recite would double the penalty—meaning the number of articles would be doubled—and Xie Yuan would come to have him repeat it line by line.
It doesn't matter if the vocabulary is poor or the word choice inappropriate; first memorize others' articles, and when your vocabulary grows you'll be able to recall what you want… recall half… no, recalling one-fifth is enough.
Xie Yuan sent the article yesterday; the Great King stared at it for the length of an incense stick, almost seeing himself as a mosquito-coil eye, then sent it back unchanged.
He said he couldn't make sense of it without punctuation!
He called for all of Great Jin to use punctuation, to break the aristocracy's monopoly, and that must start with him.
Xie Yuan studied punctuation half the night, overnight marked the article with punctuation for him, and sent it again this afternoon.
When Xie Tu arrived, it was the end of the Wei hour, and the Great King was reciting his book with deep resentment; upon seeing his spearman, he became so moved he almost cried, and was angry.
"Minister Xie, your uncle has gone bad. He relies on My reverence for teachers and the Dao, and My fondness for scholars, to deliberately make things difficult for Me!" Reciting orally! Can't even find a spearman! If worse comes to worst, let Me copy it; I could still think of a way.
"Young Master Xie suitably showed a surprised expression: '... Could it not be because Chancellor Xie is swamped with government affairs, and thus Your Majesty especially pities his hard work?...'"
Great King:...
Nonsense, spouting big truths!
He greatly respects the top worker.
The Great King propped his chin with both hands, shifting the topic: "You call your uncle Chancellor Xie, right? Well, what are you here for? Today the Orchid Terrace Hall doesn't need you, sigh!" The Great King felt regretful. Seeing such an outstanding first-place talent placed here, it's just a waste!
Xie Tu hurriedly spoke on the matter, conveying Bai Li Hu's meaning: "... The Jing Prince demands that his attendants be released first, then we can talk about other things."
The Great King thought: "Good thing I kept him alive… I'll return that Mr. Wen to him; the personal guards are out of the question, but should I let them risk their lives to send Si Pangzi fleeing from You Prefecture?"
"Right, don't waste the people either—they're all experts… Like this: scatter them into the Liao East Commandery garrison."
Xie Tu reminded: "That Mr. Wen is a strategist greatly trusted by the Jing Prince; he likely serves only him."
The Great King didn't care: "A strategist—truly smart is good. A truly smart one should advise his lord to make the best decision."
Thinking of this, the Great King revived. He sat up energetically from his half-reclined pose: "In the next issue, the newspaper's front page will fully carry this notice; use the boldest font for Me, don't save ink on Me! Then on the back, report this western expedition, describing the newly acquired South of the Desert and Cloud Capital. This issue will have just one matter: to exalt our nation's prestige!"
Xie Tu:...
"The issue currently being printed also covers this campaign..."
"No problem—if the next issue has nothing to write, you can interview the soldiers of this campaign. Ask them how they feel about storming cities, what loot they've gotten, and promote it more."
Xie Tu:... Learned.
However, regarding the Jing Prince, Xie Tu thought the Great King was overconfident. He felt that even if Mr. Wen were released, Bai Li Hu wouldn't easily sign; there would surely be second and third conditions, and further haggling.
Who would have thought that upon his saying that, the Great King glared at him, resentful that he wasn't made of steel: "Just informing him is already giving Si Pangzi plenty of face! He's read it, tacitly accepted, understood—besides, he's still a minor; if he won't sign, as his elder brother I can sign for him!"
Xie Tu:...
What article to memorize? With this sort of tricky mindset, no article can be learned.
End of Chapter
