Chapter 345: One Arrow, Three Targets Strategy

Yuwen Yan's clenched fist, which he had tightened earlier, had loosened at some point, hanging under the bright yellow dragon robe and trembling lightly.

The flush on his face had not yet faded, but the corners of his eyes and brows were gone, and the fierce, biting intensity he had just shown had instead spread into a mist-like curiosity.

"Lord Sun, I understand everything you say!" When he spoke, his voice was still a bit strained, like a blade dulled by anger yet sharper, "But how exactly should we proceed?"

As he spoke, his fingertips unconsciously tapped the throne's armrest.

Whether it was the situation or the reasoning, Yuwen Yan knew it all too well.

But because he was young and lacked sufficient experience in power struggles, he did not know how to use it to achieve his own aims......

Sun Zhi let out a faint snicker from his throat, and when he lifted his eyes again, a warm, gentle smile rippled in the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, burning even more than the dragon heat in the hall.

"This year's Laba Festival is being organized by Yuwen Hu and Yu Jie..." He stepped forward half a pace, his robe hem brushing the ash of the incense furnace on the floor, his voice carrying a scholarly composure as he began a methodical analysis, "Therefore the instigators must be the two elder pillars!"

The Grand Chamberlain's faction set up a platform, hoping to use the Laba Festival to further boost their prestige.....

They certainly did not want the ceremony to produce any trouble.

And the two elder pillars would never let that wish be fulfilled; they would turn it into a pretext and sabotage it!

"Right!" Yuwen Yan raised his hand to press his temple, his fingertip sliding over the bulging veins from his earlier rage, his lip corner twitching ever so lightly, as fast as an illusion.

Sun Zhi lowered his gaze, his eyes resting on the edge of the young emperor's bright yellow robe hem, his voice lower than before, bearing a gentle, coaxing tone, yet each sentence probed deeper: "I do not know what methods the two elder pillars might employ....."

"But assuming they succeed, may I ask, Your Majesty, what the situation would be like then?"

As he spoke, his fingertips lightly tapped inside his sleeve, as if counting something.

"If they succeed, Yuwen Hu is almost certain to die!"

Yuwen Yan was startled, his mind racing, and almost blurted out, stating the essence in a single line: "And those two old rascals will surely seize power amidst the chaos!"

The eyes that had previously burned with anger now shone astonishingly.

Like stars falling into a cold pool, reflecting the insight churning in his eyes.

"Exactly."

Sun Zhi gave a slight nod, a strand of hair in front of his forehead swaying gently with the movement, yet it did not disturb the calm in his eyes at all.

He straightened up about an inch, his voice still pressed evenly, as if dissecting a freshly laid chessboard with the young emperor: "Then by what means will they control the power vacuum created by Yuwen Hu's death?"

When he lifted his eyes, the smile in his gaze had vanished, leaving only a clear, calculating stare.

"......"

The dragon-scented incense in the Warm Pavilion burned out, the final spark flickering out in the gilded furnace, resembling the expression of the young emperor on the throne at that moment.

Yuwen Yan lowered his eyes, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing the dragon-pattern relief on the throne desk, his pads gliding over the raised scales, producing faint rustling sounds.

Sun Zhi's words were like a stone tossed into a deep pool; at first they only created a few ripples, but now they churned massive waves beneath the surface.

Silence lingered for about half a cup of tea's worth of time, then Yuwen Yan suddenly snapped his gaze up, the doubt and contemplation in his eyes ignited by a scorching clarity.

"Control me!" His voice still carried a youthful sharpness, now with a few extra cuts that pierced the fog, "Hold the emperor to command the lords!"

"Using my name to issue orders, eliminating Yuwen Hu's faction in the court while installing my own confidants!"

"Thus becoming the new power holder!"

His eyes flickered with a light interwoven of fear and cold sharpness.

He, a emperor with title but no real power, was the most crucial link in their power struggle, holding the procedural legitimacy.

And this disadvantage was precisely his advantage!

"Indeed!"

Sun Zhi's hand, hanging in his sleeve, gently clenched, his knuckles pressing the jade clasp on his wrist, exuding a faint chill, he said meaningfully: "One side is jackals, the other is tigers and leopards......"

His eyes were like a bottomless cold pool.

The faint smile he had moments ago had already sunk, leaving only a deep, somber hue.

Outside the Warm Pavilion, wind whirled snowflakes against the window lattice, producing a delicate crackling sound.

Yuwen Yan rose from the throne, hands clasped behind his back, pacing back and forth, his boot soles grinding over the golden brick floor, emitting a muffled scraping sound.

As if to crush the lingering doubts in his heart beneath his feet.

The sharpness ignited by his insight gradually sank under unanswerable contemplation; he suddenly halted, turned to face Sun Zhi on the steps below, the edge in his eyes fading, revealing a youthful bewilderment:

"Lord Sun, given this, what should we do?"

"Do you have a countermeasure?"

In the end, Yuwen Yan admitted his lack of experience and insight; even though he could foresee the conflict, he remained clueless.....

He racked his brain but could not think of how to exploit it.

Sun Zhi's finger, hanging in his sleeve, suddenly halted, the pad gently rubbing his palm as if calculating some hidden mechanism.

The warmth in the Warm Pavilion drifted over his temples, steaming the dangling hair into a slight curl; when he lifted his eyes, a brilliant flash lit his gaze, and in a deep voice he said, "Your Majesty, Grand Marshal Yuwen Heng is Yuwen Hu's younger brother and also your cousin!"

His words were laden with deep meaning.

Especially the repeated "and also", the two conjunctions enunciated heavily, standing out.

Yuwen Hu is close to him; does that mean the current emperor's relation to him is not close?

"Hmm?"

Yuwen Yan's brows knit tighter, the slight sweat on his temple from his hurried pacing now cooling, he looked at Sun Zhi, puzzled: "Lord Sun, what do you mean?"

"I do not quite understand......"

It cannot be that between his elder brother Yuwen Hu and his own younger cousin, Yuwen Heng would choose to help him, right?

That makes no sense!

"Your Majesty, why did Taizu entrust Yuwen Hu with the orphanage instead of choosing Yuwen Heng?" Sun Zhi asked calmly, not answering directly but posing another question.

Yuwen Yan seemed thoughtful, recalling faintly, murmuring, "Because the late emperor felt that Yuwen Hu's temperament and methods most resembled his, whereas Yuwen Heng..."

Upon mentioning this, his pupils suddenly contracted, as if something had struck the Heavenly Spirit Cover, the mist in his eyes swept away by a gale, and he declared, "I understand!"

Compared with Yuwen Hu, Yuwen Heng possesses ample martial strength but lacks political intellect.....

He can go to war, can assist, yet lacks the ability to control the overall situation.

Put another way, Yuwen Heng does not have that strong independence!

After Yuwen Hu's death, if used well, he can become a sharp knife in his hand!

And he also holds military authority.

Sun Zhi bowed deeply, his robe's hem smoothing over the golden bricks, a hint of approval flashing in his deep eyes; his voice, more composed than before, said, "In the end, Yuwen Heng is also a member of the Yuwen royal clan!"

"With Yuwen Hu dead, his party's power will surely be leaderless....."

He paused, then continued: "Your Majesty can certainly, when the time is right, employ Yuwen Heng to deal with the two Grand Pillars of State!"

As long as an accident befalls Yuwen Hu, seizing the chance will allow us to point the spear at the two Grand Pillars of State.

"Excellent!"

Yuwen Yan suddenly lit up, as if someone had sharply ignited a lampwick; the lingering confusion was completely burned away by this burst of light. "That brute Yuwen Heng will definitely clash with those two old fools, to avenge Yuwen Hu!"

Having said so, his fingertips tapped the imperial desk twice swiftly, the light in his eyes growing brighter, "We can then, under the banner of avenging Yuwen Hu, take over his entire power and eliminate those two treacherous old fools!"

This move both protects oneself from becoming a new puppet.

Moreover, in the name of revenge, he pulls Yuwen Heng into his own camp, letting all of Yuwen Hu's efforts become a wedding dress for him......

The key is that he can also, riding the momentum, logically eliminate those two treacherous Grand Pillars of State of a different surname.

It can be called a single arrow that kills three eagles!

"Exactly."

Sun Zhi took a half‑step forward, his voice deeper, each word striking the vital point: "Yu Lao Zhuguo is a former minister of Taizu, loyal and steadfast, and will undoubtedly stand firmly on Your Majesty's side!"

"And Hou Mo Chen Lao Zhuguo is a fence‑sitter; with a little coaxing, he'll join the side....."

Yuwen Hu's initial smooth rise to power owed much to Yu Lao Zhuguo's strong support.

Now, this Old Pillar of State, upon seeing the current Son of Heaven's ability to command the court, will certainly spare no effort in support!

As for Hou Mo Chen Yi and his kind, they can be treated like the other Yuwen Hu Old Troops, promoted and given titles, bought with benefits.

In this way, the jackals are eliminated, the tigers and leopards return to their cages, and the reins are all in the Son of Heaven's hand.

Yuwen Yan, after hearing this, was first stunned in place; the light in his eyes spread like honey‑soaked starlight, and even his eyebrows took on a light, lively curve.

Suddenly he strode forward to Sun Zhi.

"Sun Qing, you truly are my strategist, indeed a pillar of Great Zhou!" He reached out and patted Sun Zhi's shoulder; the boy's strength carried an unabashed excitement, his tone full of praise.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Having said that, he looked up and laughed, the youthful tone mixing with the exhilaration of newly wielding power, echoing with a buzzing sound in the warm pavilion.

The earlier wrath born of fury and the gloom from confusion were both swept clean by this laughter.

Sunlight slanted through the window lattice, weaving golden patterns on his bright‑yellow dragon robe; even the strand of hair in front of his forehead, ruffled by the heat, looked especially vigorous.

With a single stroke eliminating the two major obstacles, the long‑desired direct rule, monopolizing military and civil power, with no one to restrain him, he can now unleash his might!

Li Heng had been hanging his head in the corner; now, raising his eyes, there was not a hint of smile on his face, only a deep worry.

"But all these conjectures rest on the premise that the two Grand Pillars of State can succeed....." His voice was low, yet every word carried doubt; his gaze swept over the radiant young Son of Heaven, then fell back on Sun Zhi, "What if Yuwen Hu emerges completely unscathed?"

One must know these are all hypotheticals......

In this world nothing is infallible.

If Yuwen Hu only sustains minor injuries, or none at all, wouldn't all the scheming be in vain?

Sun Zhi glared at Li Heng, his voice deep: "Then both sides remain in a balanced state, and we shall continue to conceal our light and bide our time!"

While the two clashed, the silent Yuwen Lun, his face solemn, thought inwardly: "The young emperor's and Sun Zhi's calculations must be reported to the Grand Chamberlain promptly....."

At that moment, a faint clatter of boots came from outside the hall, followed by the sharp voice typical of a eunuch, reaching through the curtain: "Your Majesty, the Spring Office sends people!"

"Please go try on the ceremonial robe for the Lax Festival day!"