Chapter 1343: Activating the Big Con Mode

Yu Yu Zhaoan's mood was like a roller coaster, rising and falling, up and down.

Upon learning that the Emperor had arranged for him to go to the northwest to wrestle with Marquis Pingjiang, he immediately felt like eating someone alive. Anyone with half a brain could figure out this move was Xie Changling's doing.

Hmph!

Stealing someone else's trick!

Back in the late Emperor's day, he'd pulled the same stunt. Now, Xie Changling had picked up his method and turned it against him. It was like a poisoned dart thrown out years ago, flying around outside, and finally lodging in his own body.

He was furious.

Yet he couldn't refuse!

Not only could he not refuse, he had to weep with gratitude and kneel to thank the imperial grace!

He was quick on the uptake, and Emperor Jian Shi was very satisfied.

Next, they began discussing the northwest strategy—how to "proceed gradually," how to restrict and dismantle Marquis Pingjiang's military power, how to cultivate a new generation of military generals and commanders for the court. There must never again be a break in the talent pipeline.

Yu Yu Zhaoan had a grand strategy in mind and immediately produced a set of proposals. With Xie Changling supplementing from the side, the plan received Emperor Jian Shi's approval and was settled quickly and smoothly.

After that, they would begin recruiting talent, preparing to depart, bringing both the people and supplies to the northwest to make a big splash.

Jingcheng never lacked for talent.

Disappointed scholars, disappointed officials, disappointed scions of noble houses…

All kinds of talent gathered, and in a short time Yu Yu Zhaoan successfully assembled a small team. He only had to wait for the Emperor to allocate sufficient resources, then he could lead his people north to try his hand at wrestling with Marquis Pingjiang.

To avoid suspicion, Hou Fu had no contact with Yu Yu Zhaoan.

Chen Chen Guanlou stepped forward and invited Yu Yu Zhaoan to a painted pleasure boat for drinks.

A top-class pleasure boat, costing several thousand taels for a single night—a true money-burning den. Hou Fu footed the entire bill.

Yu Yu Zhaoan arrived on time.

At first they didn't discuss business, busy admiring the beauties—singing girls, dancing girls—even the maids serving wine were top-tier beauties. No wonder keeping so many gorgeous women cost several thousand taels to book the whole boat for a night.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of dishes, with a wave of the hand, all attendants withdrew. The two men were about to discuss business.

"The northwest is a complete mess."

Unexpectedly, Yu Yu Zhaoan was the one to speak first.

"The purpose behind your treating me to wine is crystal clear to this old man. Go back and tell Hou Fu—we're all of one mind, working to share the court's burdens, dutifully fulfilling our roles, each relying on our own abilities."

Chen Chen Guanlou snorted with laughter. "You yourself said the northwest is a mess. Such a mess—even if peace eventually comes, do a rough calculation of how much money and grain it would take to restore the northwest to self-sufficiency."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Since it's already a mess, why bother patching it up. Simply carry out a mass migration of the refugees inside. The upfront costs may be high, but in the long run it'll definitely save the court a huge sum of silver."

Yu Yu Zhaoan never expected Chen Chen Guanlou to actually discuss migration with him!

Absurd!

Migration—what a massive undertaking, what an enormous amount of provisions it would require. Truly young, daring to toss out the word 'migration' so casually.

"When funds are scarce, there are ways that cost less. Start with a small-scale migration at first. Once the path is well-trodden, then begin large-scale migration. The northwest's land is barren—ultimately, the output of that little land simply can't support so many people. Too little land, too many people, not enough to eat—that's the root cause of the northwest's unrest. So move the people to lands that are rich and fertile."

"Absurd! The fertile lands already have populations far denser than the northwest. Where would you find spare land to settle large numbers of refugees?"

"Who says we have to move people to already-developed fertile lands? There are so many barren islands overseas—the land on those islands is so fertile, why not put it to use? Settling a few hundred thousand, or even a million people on one island shouldn't be a problem, right?"

So said Chen Chen Guanlou.

Yu Yu Zhaoan was instantly dumbfounded.

"Migrate overseas?"

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded. "While we're at it, we can develop the navy, show off naval strength, and carry out large-scale overseas trade. A three-way win! How about it—the idea I've given you is genuinely for your own good. I absolutely won't screw you over."

"Wait… why are you offering suggestions to me? Is this Hou Fu's intent, or yours?" Yu Yu Zhaoan set aside the merits of the proposal for now—he was worried the other side was digging a pit for him.

Chen Chen Guanlou gave a cold laugh. "Does it matter? The northwest is a bitter, cold land with limited output. Even if one wanted to be a mountain king, with so few resources, how much could one accomplish, how many troops could one support—everyone knows the score. You all keep suspecting Marquis Pingjiang of harboring rebellious intent, but have you ever considered—does Marquis Pingjiang actually covet that broken piece of land in the northwest?

The land is barren, the local powerful families and big households are all short-sighted rabble. Conquer that piece of land, and in the blink of an eye the northwest would shift from being the court's burden to being Hou Fu's burden. Let alone Hou Fu's limited finances—even if Hou Fu had mountains of gold and silver, it couldn't afford to support the entire northwest. Better to let the northwest remain the court's northwest forever."

"Does Hou Fu truly think this way? Does Marquis Pingjiang truly think this way?" Yu Yu Zhaoan didn't believe it.

Whether one admitted it or not, Marquis Pingjiang had already become a northwestern warlord, the court's greatest menace. The court's strongest troops, the forces most skilled in open-field warfare, were all in Marquis Pingjiang's grip. Once those troops marched south, Jingcheng would be in danger, the Daqian would be in danger, the realm would be in danger!

He couldn't believe that Marquis Pingjiang, faced with the temptation of possibly overthrowing the Daqian dynasty and becoming Emperor himself, would remain unmoved.

This was also the view of most officials at court.

In their place, they too couldn't resist rebelling against the court. He who wins becomes king, he who loses becomes a bandit—regardless of the outcome, one's name would be recorded in history. Even if it ended with the execution of nine generations of kin, it would be worth it!

This was also the mindset of many rebels—fame in life and after death, profit and renown; even if they were eventually torn apart by five horses in death, so what! They'd already enjoyed themselves; a little pain at the moment of death, what did it matter? As for descendants and kin of the nine generations, dying alongside them was exactly what they deserved.

One can't just enjoy the benefits without bearing the consequences. There's no such beautiful deal in this world.

"Minister Yu, broaden your horizons, set your sights further. Out there lies a sea of stars—why cling to this single flower in the northwest!"

What the heck!

Yu Yu Zhaoan snorted, somewhat displeased.

But the single address of "Minister Yu" sent a thrill of pleasure through his whole body.

He thought to himself: if this fellow Chen Chen Guanlou were willing to flatter sincerely, he could certainly flatter anyone into complete comfort, and promotion and wealth would be a cinch. Unfortunately, this fellow was venomous-tongued by nature—two sentences in and he'd switch to venom mode.

"First make it clear—is this your personal opinion, or Hou Fu's? I need to know exactly what Marquis Pingjiang is thinking."

Chen Chen Guanlou took a sip of tea and said softly: "I trust you, so I'll let slip a word of truth. If you were sitting in the Grand General's seat, would you be half-hearted, entertaining thoughts you shouldn't have?"

Yu Yu Zhaoan fell silent.

Chen Chen Guanlou also fell silent, staring fixedly at the other man.

Yu Yu Zhaoan clenched his teeth and nodded silently, admitting that he would entertain improper thoughts.

"Don't feel embarrassed—this is human nature! Marquis Pingjiang is also human; he possesses all the evil sides of human nature and will also harbor some overreaching desires. Thinking is thinking, but you can't punish him just because he occasionally has some untimely thoughts. As the saying goes, judge by deeds, not by heart. Merely thinking isn't a crime, as long as no one knows."