Chapter 19: Tongue‑War Among the Scholars, One Strategy to Secure the South

When Wang Jin, dressed in a blue official robe, slowly stepped into the Ganlu Hall, the eyes of the entire court instantly focused on him.

There was curiosity, scrutiny, jealousy, and even unabashed resentment.

Wang Jin (Wang Xiu) pretended not to see it.

He kept his gaze steady, passed through the ranks of officials, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed deeply before Li Xian on the dragon throne.

"I, a Hanlin scholar awaiting the edict for Wang Jin, humbly request an audience with Your Majesty."

His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly in everyone's ears—calm, composed, with no trace of nervousness or fear despite the grand occasion.

That very bearing alone caused many senior ministers to nod silently.

"Wang Jin, you may rise," Li Xian said, his voice tinged with an uncontainable admiration.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Jin straightened his posture, his gaze calmly meeting the emperor.

"Are you aware of the military reports from Yaozhou?" Li Xian asked.

"On my way here, I have already heard the imperial decree mentioned in passing."

"Very well." Li Xian nodded, getting straight to the point, "I have already had Gao Lishi retrieve your earlier memorial. You said that the Yaozhou rebellion should be dealt with by 'combination of suppression and pacification, with pacification taking precedence.' Now, before the entire court, you must explain to me and the honored ministers exactly how your plan should be carried out."

Here it comes!

Wang Xiu's mind sharpened at that moment. He knew this was not merely presenting a plan to the emperor, but a court debate! He would face the questioning and doubts of the entire ministerial body.

Wang Jin (Wang Xiu) inhaled deeply and declared aloud, "Answering Your Majesty, my strategy can be divided into three steps."

"The first step, called 'Clarifying Justice and Exemplary Punishment', to demonstrate thunder."

"Regarding the Yaozhou rebellion, the chief traitors must be punished. I request Your Majesty to issue an immediate edict, announcing to the world that the rebel leaders Mo Zhe Nian and others are declared national traitors, and that all Tang soldiers and civilians may strike them down! At the same time, order the Jian'nan Circuit army to march to the Yaozhou border at once, creating a force poised before the city, but without launching an attack—only to intimidate!"

"This action is the 'suppression' part. It tells the rebels that the heavenly might of Tang tolerates no violation! It tells the wavering ones that opposing the court leads only to death!"

His words rang out with authority, full of lethal resolve, instantly satisfying the war‑faction of the court.

Several generals showed approving expressions.

Wang Jin shifted his tone and continued, "The second step, called 'Opening Sincerity and Public Disclosure', to display imperial grace."

"I believe the root of the Yaozhou barbarians' rebellion lies not in their ferocity but in the greed and cruelty of officials. Therefore, pure suppression will only spur greater resistance. To cure a disease, one must treat its source."

"I request Your Majesty to dispatch another highly respected, upright and incorrupt senior official as a pacification envoy, bearing Your imperial edict, to go personally to Yaozhou."

"The edict must state three points: First, the court will only punish the chief traitors, not the followers. Anyone willing to lay down arms and return to the fields will be fully pardoned. Second, the court will thoroughly investigate corruption among Yaozhou officials; any who oppress the people or levy extortionate taxes will be severely punished without mercy. Third, the court will exempt Yaozhou from taxes for the next three years to soothe the populace."

"This is the 'pacification' part. One hand holds a sword, the other extends mercy. By dividing and weakening the rebels and winning popular support, the rebel morale will crumble. Then, when our main army advances, we will achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

These words, logical and well‑grounded, combined benevolence with authority, causing scholars like Zhang Jianzhi, who advocate conciliation, to nod repeatedly.

However, before the emperor could speak, a sharp voice rang out.

Minister of War Zong Chuke finally found a chance to counter.

He stepped forward from the ranks, sneering, "Wang, waiting for the edict, sounds pleasant! Pardoning followers? Waiving taxes? It's sheer feminine mercy! Does this not tell the world that rebellion is not only without sin but even meritorious? Today we pardon Yaozhou; tomorrow will we pardon Annan? If this continues, where is the law? Where is the court's authority?"

His words immediately resonated with a faction of Legalist officials.

"Minister Zong, your words are absolutely correct! The law of the state is like a mountain; it cannot be shaken by barbarian rebellions!"

"If rewards and punishments are unclear, the world will descend into chaos!"

Facing Zong Chuke's challenge, Wang Jin (Wang Xiu) remained unchanged, simply giving him a faint glance.

"Minister Zong, you only know the first part, not the second."

"May I ask Minister Zong, military doctrine says that winning hearts is superior, besieging cities is secondary. Now the rebels number tens of thousands, the populace is unsettled; if we force a city assault, how much blood will our Tang soldiers shed, how many will die? How much will our treasury be drained of money and grain?"

"With a single edict, I can dismantle most of the enemy without a single soldier, and by waiving three years of taxes I can save ten years of military expenditure. Minister Zong, can you do the math?"

His rapid series of counter‑questions, like a string of swift arrows, left Zong Chuke speechless.

"You… you're using sophistry!" Zong Chuke managed after a long pause, could only utter that.

Wang Jin (Wang Xiu) ignored him and turned to Li Xian on the dragon throne.

"Your Majesty, this is only the first two steps. The most crucial part of my plan is the third step."

"The third step is called 'Reforming the Native Chieftain System, Ensuring Long‑Term Stability'!"

The moment the four words 'Reforming the Native Chieftain System' were spoken, the entire hall fell into a death‑like silence.

Everyone was frozen by those four words.

It is an extraordinarily forward‑looking and bold political concept! Its core is to abolish the existing tusi chieftain system in the border regions, replacing it with directly appointed itinerant officials from the court, fully integrating the frontier lands into centralized rule!

This idea has been proposed throughout the ages, yet few have dared to implement it successfully. Because it strikes at the fundamental interests of the border peoples; a slight misstep could spark even greater, longer‑lasting turmoil.

Even Zhang Jianzhi inhaled a sharp gasp of cold air.

This Wang Jin is far too audacious!

"Nonsense!" Wu Sansi could no longer contain himself and stepped forward, shouting, "Wang Jin! Do you even know what you're saying? Since the previous dynasty, Yaozhou has been governed by local tribal leaders—that is the ancestral system! How dare you rashly propose altering that system? What are your motives? Do you intend to set the entire Southwest ablaze with war?"

The 'violating the ancestral system' label weighed heavily upon him.

Wang Jin (Wang Xiu) straightened his spine, meeting Wu Sansi's murderous gaze, and said word for word:

"Prince Liang, the ancestral system exists to stabilize the realm. If it has become the source of disaster, why cannot it be changed?"

"It is precisely because of the tribal chieftain system that Yaozhou knows only tribal chieftains and not the Tang Son of Heaven! It allows those tribal chieftains to command troops and act independently, leading to frequent rebellions!"

"If we do not reform today, tomorrow and the day after, the Yaozhou rebellion will recur again and again! The Southwest frontier will never know peace!"

"Therefore, I ask Your Majesty, using this pacification as an opportunity, to enact a lasting strategy! Any tribal chief who participated in the rebellion shall be removed; their lands and peoples shall become state property. Court‑appointed officials will survey the land, register households, and treat them equally with the interior prefectures and counties!"

"As for the tribes that did not join the rebellion, they may temporarily retain their leaders. However, their children must be sent to the Capital's Imperial Academy to study, receiving Tang education. After ten years, once they graduate, they return home to succeed their fathers. After three generations, Yaozhou's people will be assimilated, indistinguishable from Central Plains, and the Southwest will enjoy lasting peace!"

"Boom!"

Wang Jin's words can no longer be described merely as a 'strategy'.

This is a complete, systematic, grand blueprint that resolves the Southwest frontier issue from military, political, and cultural angles!

It includes short‑term responses, mid‑term reforms, and a centennial grand plan!

Interlocking, step by step, the grandeur of the vision and the ingenuity of the plan left all the officials present staring speechless, their minds shaken!

They looked at the young man standing in the center of the hall, speaking eloquently, and felt that what they saw was not a twenty-something Hanlin Academy Attendant.

But rather a master strategist who plans victories from within the tent and wins battles a thousand miles away—a peerless national talent!

In the hall, a long silence fell.

Even Wu Sansi and Zhou Chong, who had always been at odds with Wang Jin, could find no reason to refute him at this moment.

Because Wang Jin's plan was too perfect.

So perfect that any rebuttal seemed pale and powerless.

After a long while, Li Xian on the Dragon Throne finally let out a long sigh of turbid breath.

He rose to his feet, step by step descended the imperial steps, and personally walked up to Wang Jin.

He looked at the young man before him, his eyes filled with unprecedented admiration, excitement, and... joy!

He rejoiced that he had not missed such a peerless piece of jade!

"Good!" Li Xian's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"What an excellent 'replacing hereditary rule with direct appointment'! What an excellent 'long-lasting peace and stability'!"

He abruptly turned around, faced the entire civil and military assembly, and announced in an indisputable tone:

"I, approve it!"

"Following Wang Jin's plan! I hereby issue an imperial edict: promote Hanlin Academy Attendant Wang Jin to Secretariat Secretary, grant him the title of Annan Pacification and Response Envoy, and place him in charge of all pacification and surrender affairs concerning the Yao Prefecture rebellion!"

"Furthermore, I appoint Zhang Jianzhi as Grand Commander of the Jiannan Circuit Army to oversee the military campaign, and Li Duozuo as his deputy commander!"

"I want all under heaven to see how my Tang dynasty, with one hand wielding the sword and the other bestowing grace, pacifies the southern borderlands!"

The imperial edict issued, the entire court was astonished!

Secretariat Secretary!

This is a prestigious post of the upper fifth rank! It is a true reserve for the chancellorship, with the right to participate in state affairs and draft edicts!

Wang Jin, from a sixth-rank Hanlin Academy Attendant, leapt several ranks in one step to enter the core of imperial power!

More importantly, the title of Annan Pacification and Response Envoy!

This meant that the emperor entrusted him with full authority over the pacification portion of the entire rebellion suppression plan!

He would stand on equal footing with Zhang Jianzhi and Li Duozuo, who held military power!

This was no mere step to the heavens!

This was like sitting on a rocket and flying up to the ninth heaven!

Wang Jin's (Wang Xiu's) heart was instantly overwhelmed by immense joy!

He knew he had won his wager!

He had not only solved a major future problem for the Tang dynasty, but more importantly, he had won for himself and the entire Wang clan a future radiant with boundless light!