Chapter 1899: [Already Schemed] (Part 2)

Weichi Chong said: "To Dakang, I am a treacherous and faithless villain; to Da Yong, what loyal minister am I? I have spent my life on horseback, guarding Bei Jiang, yet in the end I have not even a place to belong."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Father-in-law, why overthink? Even if the court does not see, the people see your merit. If it were not for you garrisoning Bei Jiang and blocking the Black Hu's advance, once the Black Hu break through the Bei Jiang defenses, not only would the people of Da Yong suffer misfortune, the entire Central Plains would plunge into war."

Weichi Chong said: "So what? History will not sing your praises just because you did something."

Hu Xiaotian said: "In that case, Father-in-law, why don't you write history yourself?" He paused then added: "After all, history is written by people." Actually his words already clearly hinted to Weichi Chong: as long as Weichi Chong is willing to join forces with him, the Central Plains and the world will sooner or later be theirs; once he unifies the world, Weichi Chong will be the meritorious official of the future realm, and how history speaks is still up to them.

Weichi Chong slowly shook his head and said: "Do you want me to be a three-surname servant?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I certainly do not mean that." Seeing Weichi Chong wavering, Hu Xiaotian steeled himself, thinking that without a strong dose, Weichi Chong would not make up his mind to join his camp, and he respectfully said: "Father-in-law, do you know about Li Chenzhou and Xue Daoming?"

Weichi Chong nodded and said: "Naturally I know." As a subject of Da Yong, how could he not pay attention to the two strongest political forces within the Da Yong court? Even if he did not pay attention, those two forces have never ceased their efforts to win him over.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Father-in-law, you have been fighting desperately to resist the Black Hu army on the Bei Jiang frontier, yet they not only never thought of presenting a united front against the national crisis, but are constantly scheming how to eliminate each other. With the Bei Jiang conflict now in winter lull, please forgive my frankness, but there will surely be an unprecedented upheaval within Da Yong."

Weichi Chong frowned slightly, not knowing why Hu Xiaotian spoke so confidently, but since he said so, it proves he has inside information.

Hu Xiaotian said: "When the Da Yong Emperor Xue Shengkang died, he left behind a secret letter, which Xue Daoming recently found, and it actually contains the secret of Da Yong officials sent long ago to infiltrate Dakang."

Weichi Chong exclaimed in shock: "What?" He too had never heard of this before.

Hu Xiaotian said: "That official who endured humiliation and bore hardship, who slept on firewood and tasted gall, who infiltrated Dakang for over thirty years as a loyal subject of Da Yong, also comes from a noble family; he is from the Jingguo Duke's mansion, surnamed Li, given name Mingsuo."

Weichi Chong said: "I have heard of Li Mingsuo; he died over thirty years ago."

He merely faked his death; the one who died back then was only a stand-in, while the real Li Minsuo changed his name and appearance, infiltrated Dakang, went to the capital to take the exams, starting from an ordinary scholar, and relying on his talent and scheming, he has in fact become a high-ranking, powerful minister of Dakang over these thirty years.

Weichi Chong sucked in a breath of cold air; given this, Li Minsuo truly is enduring humiliation and bearing hardship, and for Da Yong such a person deserves the four words "loyal and steadfast". What makes him feel chilled, however, is that from Hu Xiaotian's description just now it is not hard to deduce that this matter was first uncovered by Xue Daoming, and what Xue Daoming uncovered has already reached Hu Xiaotian's ears; the whole affair, upon reflection, is terrifyingly clear: it is clearly Xue Daoming intending to sacrifice Li Minsuo, and for Da Yong to treat a loyal and steadfast subject who infiltrated the enemy camp in this way is nothing short of repaying kindness with enmity. Weichi Chong asked: "Under what identity is Li Minsuo currently infiltrating Dakang?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Grand Preceptor of Dakang, Wen Chenghuan!"

Weichi Chong sighed; Wen Chenghuan is one of Dakang's senior officials, and he is the most steadfast pro-peace faction regarding relations with Da Yong, so Hu Xiaotian revealing the secret seems natural and reasonable to him.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Wen Chenghuan will surely die, but Dakang will certainly not glorify his name, and Da Yong will not acknowledge this loyal subject; moreover, they will use him to achieve their goal of dealing with Li Chenzhou."

Weichi Chong gave a bitter smile and shook his head; reality is indeed this cruel. He suddenly realized that Xue Daoming is more ruthless than the late emperor, employs even more underhanded means, yet lacks the late emperor's outstanding talent and strategy; in order to control Da Yong's power he even disregards national security, and regarding all this he can only express sympathy, because he clearly recognizes that he is powerless to change any of it.

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Da Yong court is so ruthless and heartless; Father-in-law, what do you think your future will be?"

Weichi Chong said: "I have long thought about my ending. The reason I am still alive now is first because the Bei Jiang situation is urgent, so they dare not act lightly against me; second, I firmly hold the Bei Jiang military command, and whether it is the emperor or Li Chenzhou who holds power, once the Bei Jiang situation stabilizes, they will first eliminate me."

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed; Weichi Chong's mind is indeed clear-headed.

Weichi Chong said: "Since I was last summoned back to the capital, I have seen that Da Yong's fate is exhausted. After returning, the emperor and Li Chenzhou have been trying every way to strengthen their control over the Bei Jiang garrison; I did not agree, but instead went against the trend and purged a group of their close confidants."

Hu Xiaotian secretly mused; the result of Weichi Chong doing this will inevitably offend both sides, and from a long-term perspective his approach is not wise. However, if Weichi Chong harbors the ambition to establish his own power base, eliminate rivals, and forge the Bei Jiang garrison into an unbreakable entity, that would undoubtedly be correct—could it be that Weichi Chong already had such a plan?

Weichi Chong said: "The Bei Jiang troops are largely brothers who have followed me through life and death for many years; without their bloody struggle, I would have no hope of holding Bei Jiang."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I also heard that your grain and forage supply seems to have run into some problems."

Weichi Chong smiled lightly and said: "It's not really a problem, otherwise we wouldn't have held out until the winter truce." In fact he had already been anxious about this; seeing the year's coldest winter approach, their grain and forage supplies have continually failed to arrive on schedule, he has submitted several memorials, yet they have not had much effect, and he vaguely suspects that the court might use this matter to fabricate accusations.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Father-in-law, have you considered what you would do if the court really moved against you?"

Weichi Chong narrowed his eyes, picked up the map on the table, fixed his gaze on the direction of Dakang, gazed for a long time before saying: "If one day I die, please help persuade my two daughters to scatter my ashes in the Yong River; I do not wish to leave any trace in this world."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; he understood that Weichi Chong did not want to be settled with after death.

Weichi Chong said: "If I join forces with you, after death I will surely incur blame; even my troops would not dare raise their heads before their hometown kin. But if I am killed by the Da Yong court, it will surely arouse the troops' mutual hatred and enemy resolve; if Da Yong truly moves against me, it is tantamount to attacking the foundation of the kingdom—do you understand?"

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Weichi Chong for a long time, then suddenly understood: Weichi Chong had long made preparations; he never thought of leaving Da Yong alive, and had even readied himself to use his death to fulfill his troops' aspirations.

Hu Xiaotian, while admiring him, also felt Weichi Chong was too obstinate; in fact, since ancient times victors and villains are judged by who ends up on the winning side—who would then slander their achievements and reputation? Even so, you could just pretend not to hear. Yet Hu Xiaotian also realized he could not persuade Weichi Chong, for the era determines perception; a warrior's integrity and dignity in Weichi Chong's heart have long surpassed his own life.

Speaking of integrity, civil officials are no different; Wen Chenghuan was arrested in the middle of the night, followed by a raid on his manor, and because of his special status, Qiqi specially entrusted the investigation of his case to Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen.

Zhou Ruizhen and Wen Chenghuan could be called old rivals in court; they have met so many times even they lose count, but meeting like this now is the first time—one high above, the other already reduced to a prisoner.

Wen Chenghuan was stripped of his hat and official robes, his hands and feet placed in shackles, no longer possessing his former vigor or any official dignity; yet his expression showed no fear at all, he calmly gazed at his longtime opponent and softly said: "Sir Zhou, I do not know what crime I have committed."

Zhou Ruizhen walked over to him slowly, but did not directly answer his question, silently observing Wen Chenghuan—this man who had been his rival in politics for nearly twenty years was finally exposed; if not for the Da Yong side actively revealing his identity, he would never have imagined that he was actually a Da Yong infiltrator; although he despises Wen Chenghuan's conduct, from Da Yong's perspective Wen Chenghuan is undoubtedly a loyal subject, yet his fate is tragically miserable—he sacrificed greatly for the state, only to be cast aside by Da Yong's power struggles.

Zhou Ruizhen said: "Corruption and malfeasance! Embezzling the state treasury! Accepting foreign wealth and selling out Dakang's interests."

Wen Chenghuan chuckled: "I have been loyal and steadfast to Dakang; since entering office I have kept my sleeves clean—do you want to slander me? Produce evidence."

Zhou Ruizhen said: "When one wants to add a crime, there is never a lack of pretext!"

Wen Chenghuan's face tightened; Zhou Ruizhen was obviously telling him that these charges need no evidence.

Wen Chenghuan said: "I demand to see the Princess and explain myself to her in person!"

Zhou Ruizhen said: "Why bother doing this futile thing? Should I address you as Grand Preceptor Wen, or as Sir Li?"

Wen Chenghuan stared, then immediately chuckled: "What are you saying, Sir Zhou? I can't make sense of it."

Two updates delivered, please cast a few recommendation votes; the recent votes have been meager……(To be continued~^~)

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