Chapter 1048

Huo Shengnan and Wei Sa quietly chose to leave; Qiqi was already very familiar with Huo Shengnan, always regarding her merely as Deputy Huang Feihong of the Divine Strategy Manor. Huo Shengnan always appeared in disguise when out, acted cautiously, and did not arouse suspicion from the outside. Qiqi only just took notice of this exotic beauty, Wei Sa, today; although she had felt stunned the few times they had met before, at the time everyone was busy with Xu Fengyi's funeral, so she didn't have a chance to ask. She said to Hu Xiaotian: "I thought you were enduring hardship here, but it turns out you have a golden-haired Lan-eyed beauty keeping you company; no wonder you don't want to go back."

Hu Xiaotian gave a faint smile and said, "She is my maidservant; I rescued her from Xichuan, and to repay my kindness she has always stayed by my side to serve me." He didn't want to explain further, letting Qiqi think whatever she liked.

Although Qiqi felt a vague discomfort, she did not press further and softly said, "I heard you bought an estate at the foot of Luoyun Mountain; do you really intend to stay here long-term?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "That residence in Kangdu was a gift from the Emperor to my father; my father has passed, my mother is gone too, and I have no right to keep staying there. Seeing how clear the waters and beautiful the mountains are here, I liked it, so I bought this mountain villa to be nearer my mother, so she won't be too lonely, and to make it convenient for me to keep vigil and sweep her tomb." His excuse was quite sufficient.

Qiqi walked a few steps forward, overlooked Fengyi Shan Zhuang at the mountain's base, and said meaningfully, "Do you really intend to become a transcendent sage who has seen through the mortal world and renounces worldly affairs?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Who amidst the rolling dust of the world can truly see through? A minor recluse hides in the wilderness, a great recluse hides in the court; true hermits would not choose this place."

Qiqi said, "Then why aren't you willing to be a true hermit?"

Hu Xiaotian's question was not answered by his words: "Princess, you've lost weight again!" Qiqi, once a petite little girl, has now grown into a tall and slender young lady; her height is almost on par with Hu Xiaotian's, but her physical development clearly lags behind her height growth. At least her bust measurement falls short of Hu Xiaotian's; although she is beautiful, she is overly bony.

Qiqi said, "Winter is approaching, yet the famine shows no sign of easing; during this period I have been unable to rest or eat in peace." Xichuan has not been retaken, and Hu Wuwei's maritime grain transport route has basically been ruined. Now Dakang can only tighten belts and reduce consumption; even a skilled housewife cannot cook without rice, and Qiqi has no solution. Within Dakang, war beacons flare everywhere, and almost daily news of civilian uprisings arrives. The outskirts of Kangdu remain relatively stable for now, but if this continues, even the soldiers' rations will become problematic. Should the troops mutiny, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Hu Xiaotian said, "The Emperor isn't anxious, so why must the Princess worry so much?"

Qiqi said, "Dakang has been passed down for hundreds of years; it is only through the countless efforts and devotion of my Long clan ancestors that it has reached its present scale, yet now it faces destruction in our generation's hands. How can I face our forefathers and ancestors?"

Hu Xiaotian said calmly, "You are merely a princess; you need not bear responsibility for Dakang's current affairs. After my mother's death, I suddenly understood a truth: many things in this world cannot be salvaged by human effort. If a person is determined to die, even immortals struggle to save them; if a nation truly wishes to perish, no one can turn the tide."

Qiqi said, "I don't believe in heavenly fate; I only believe that man can conquer heaven!" A flash of stubborn, unyielding light burst from her clear, beautiful eyes.

Hu Xiaotian knew she had always been strong-willed. He smiled and said, "I have been keeping vigil here for a month, and every day I hear resentful cries and mournful wailing from the official road; those people are conscripted laborers seized to build the imperial mausoleum. The common folk cannot fill their stomachs or cover their bodies, yet they are still forced to work on the mausoleum. The Emperor constantly proclaims his love for the people as if they were his children, but is this how he treats his own offspring?" Hu Xiaotian gazed far toward Kangdu's direction and asked, "Can't the Princess see that Dakang is already beyond saving?"

Qiqi said, "If we can just get through this harsh winter, perhaps a solution will appear."

Hu Xiaotian bluntly exposed, "In fact, you have no real recourse, nor does the Emperor."

Qiqi sighed softly and said, "News comes from Bei Jiang that Da Yong is training its navy on the Yong River; they have already gathered a hundred thousand water troops, and the number continues to grow."

Hu Xiaotian said, "It seems Da Yong can no longer hold back; they are preparing to move south and invade Jiangnan."

Qiqi said, "Xichuan has also stationed heavy troops along the border to guard against Dakang refugees breaking through."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The state is founded on the people, and the people consider food as heaven. Dakang's populace cannot simply sit here and starve to death if they have no grain; their attempt to flee Dakang in search of a meal is an unavoidable recourse."

Qiqi said, "The neighboring states have clearly seen Dakang's predicament; not only do they refuse to lend aid, they tightly seal the borders, barring Dakang refugees from entering their territories. Although they have no formal alliance, they seem to have reached a tacit understanding." Speaking of Dakang's situation, Qiqi's mood grew oppressive and heavy; as time passed, Dakang's circumstances kept worsening, and during this period even a sense of despair began to take root in her heart—she had never before lost hope for the future.

Hu Xiaotian nodded. Although he had been keeping vigil here during this period, he had never ceased to monitor the state of the world; he already knew all the matters Qiqi mentioned, and he had also discussed them with Yang Lingqi. They both believed that before spring arrives, no state would launch an active invasion of Dakang—for one, this is not the optimal time to mobilize troops; for two, this harsh winter poses an extraordinarily severe test for Dakang. Dakang's precarious regime might not survive the winter, collapsing from internal division; starving and freezing soldiers would lose the last shred of hope and confidence in the Dakang dynasty, and their loyalty would vanish utterly before the harsh reality.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Princess, do you know what has happened in Xingzhou?"

Qiqi nodded and said, "I have heard that the fifty thousand conscript laborers who rebelled at the imperial mausoleum went to Xingzhou to seek refuge under Guo Guangbi; along the way more than half died of starvation or disease, and only about twenty thousand arrived safely in Xingzhou."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Initially everyone thought that once these laborers entered Xingzhou they would inevitably cause a grain shortage there, but unexpectedly they not only took in more than twenty thousand people, they also guaranteed their food and clothing."

Qiqi said, "Guo Guangbi's provisions were not gathered by pillaging and slaughter everywhere."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "The objects of his burning, killing, and looting were not Dakang, for Dakang had no grain to plunder; instead they burned the naval garrison of Jiangyue City in Da Yong, seized Da Yong's supply grain, and then retreated back to Xingzhou. Because their plan was meticulous and Da Yong was overly careless, they actually succeeded."

Qiqi said, "Da Yong's navy has already massed heavy forces at Jiangyue City; they are likely to attack Xingzhou as soon as spring arrives."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Whether we die early or late, it's better to die a full-stomached ghost and be done with it."

Qiqi said, "Are you urging me to imitate those rebels' tactics, to go about burning, killing, and looting?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "What status does the Princess hold, and how could she consent to such a thing? Dakang's greatest problem now is that its territory is too vast and its population too large, while the realm suffers continual natural disasters year after year, and its stored grain can no longer support so many people—as the saying goes, 'the tail is too big to not sway.' Your Highness, if you truly wish to preserve the Long clan's realm, in extraordinary times extraordinary measures are required."

Qiqi said, "What does 'in extraordinary times extraordinary measures are required' mean? She naturally understands what extraordinary times are, but what exactly are the extraordinary measures Hu Xiaotian speaks of?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It can be foreseen that after enduring this winter's internal consumption, Dakang will soon face the scenario of powerful states dividing and devouring it; given Dakang's present condition it is utterly incapable of resistance. Since national collapse is unavoidable, we might as well early on seek a path of breaking before rebuilding." This was the conclusion he reached after repeatedly discussing it with Yang Lingqi over the past month.

Qiqi said, "What does 'breaking before rebuilding' mean?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Now the people's hearts in Dakang are shifting, and the Dakang court has become a mere empty shell; both its governing authority and public trust have sunk to an unprecedented low. While foreign invasion can still arouse the people's spirit of mutual hatred against the enemy, if rebellion arises from within, the state and altars will inevitably collapse. After much thought, I actually think that if Sichuan were to become independent, it would be a good thing—at least it could temporarily safeguard the peace of the people in that region, and under these circumstances we must be willing to make sacrifices." He would only dare say this in front of Qiqi; if he spoke thus before the old emperor, he would surely be deemed guilty of gross impropriety, and the old emperor might even charge him with conspiratorial treason.

Qiqi said, "I understand your meaning; you want to exchange land for grain!"

Hu Xiaotian blinked in surprise; he hadn't even finished speaking, yet Qiqi already knew.

Qiqi said, "In fact, before you, Minister Wen had already proposed this plan: to trade the sixteen cities along the Yong River to Da Yong for grain to survive the winter."

Hu Xiaotian said, "If the sixteen cities along the Yong River were handed over to Da Yong, it would be tantamount to actively abandoning the Yong River's natural barrier and flinging open the gates to Da Yong—what difference would that make? If this were to come true, Da Yong's cavalry would not need to wait until next spring; they could sweep across Dakang even this winter."

Qiqi said, "So you also understand the stakes of this matter; I strongly oppose it, and His Majesty has not agreed either."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The breaking before rebuilding I speak of differs from Wen Chenghuan's proposal; the Yong River defense line must not be abandoned, Dakang's core territory must not be relinquished, but the borderlands adjoining Xichuan, as well as those bordering Nan Yue and Tianxiang State, may be suitably surrendered."

Qiqi said, "I fear that nowadays no one would agree to trade grain for Dakang's land."

Hu Xiaotian said, "What I mean is not simply giving away land to foreigners for free; since the Emperor was once able to enfeoff Li Tianheng as a king, we can do the same now—divide Dakang's territory into parcels and grant them out as fiefdoms."

Qiqi said, "Are you saying you want to enfeoff feudal lords? If they later carve out independent domains, or if they take their lands and flee to other countries, what then?"

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