Chapter 105: The Sovereign Sits with Folded Robes; the Subject Runs and Toils

Sun Chengzong spoke, each word deliberate and measured:

"He has reined in his brutality, conciliated the Han people, vigorously pursued state-building, and reformed internal governance — he is truly a great foe of our Great Ming."

"Fortunately, as Your Majesty has said, the joint rule of the four Beile of his tribe is, in the end, a check upon him."

"What we are doing now is precisely to aid the other Beile and to suppress Hong Taiji!"

Zhu Youjian nodded heavily.

"Master Sun is absolutely right."

Zhu Youjian fixed his gaze on Sun Chengzong and spoke, each word deliberate and measured:

"Since ancient times, steppe peoples without culture have never been fearsome. They are merely locusts passing through — though they can rampage for a time, they can never endure."

"On the contrary, it is those steppe peoples who have undergone a degree of Sinicization, who have learned our institutions and our statecraft, who are most fearsome at the dawn of their rise."

"The Liao and Jin of the Song, and the Mongol Yuan after them — all are examples of this."

He hesitated a moment, briefly weighing in his heart the blood and tears that would follow this command, and then spoke with final resolve:

"Therefore, among the Later Jin, whoever conciliates the Han, whoever wishes to adopt Han institutions — he is our enemy!"

"Whoever is brutal to the Han, whoever upholds tribal tradition — he is our friend!"

As his words fell, the very air in the great hall seemed to freeze in an instant.

The autumn sunlight was still warm, yet Sun Chengzong felt only a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, making this old man who had weathered decades of storms shudder uncontrollably.

He shot to his feet — not from excitement, but from a soul-deep shock and dread.

He looked at the young monarch before him. On that handsome face, there was not the slightest hint of jest.

In those deep-set eyes, there was only cold, unquestionable resolve.

These were the words of an emperor.

More than that — these were the words of a hegemon!

Sun Chengzong's lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but found that any words, before so naked a political declaration, seemed pallid and powerless.

He drew a deep breath, straightened his robes and cap, and then — under Zhu Youjian's astonished gaze — he slowly, yet with absolute firmness, knelt down and performed a full prostration before Zhu Youjian.

"Master Sun, what are you doing? Please, rise at once!"

Zhu Youjian was greatly startled and hurried forward to help him up.

Yet when his hand touched Sun Chengzong's shoulder, it felt as if he were pushing against a mountain — utterly immovable!

Sun Chengzong, prostrate on the floor, spoke in a tone of utmost gravity, tinged even with a note of sorrow:

"Your Majesty, the sage ruler sits with folded robes, showing the realm the upright path; the subject runs and toils, to carry out the thunderbolt on his sovereign's behalf!"

"Such… such treacherous and cunning matters that might tarnish sagely virtue are the duty of the subject, not the responsibility of the sovereign! I beg Your Majesty to store the thunder above the ninth heaven, and leave this wind and rain entirely to your subject!"

"This subject earnestly implores Your Majesty: henceforth, never speak such words again!"

His voice echoed through the great hall, each word as if delivered with all the strength his body could muster.

Zhu Youjian's hand froze in midair.

He looked at the old man prostrate on the floor, his graying hair pressed against the cold gold brick, and for a moment his heart was shaken.

Sun Chengzong was not opposing his strategy.

Quite the contrary — he was using this most vehement of gestures to express his most thorough support.

He meant to take upon himself all the blame for this lack of benevolence and righteousness, all the infamy of supping with the devil, in order to preserve his sovereign's sagely name.

The sovereign must walk the kingly path, open and aboveboard.

And the subject must, for his sovereign, fill in those shadowed corners the kingly path cannot reach, stopping at nothing.

This — this was Sun Chengzong's "Dao."

The deepest, weightiest loyalty an old minister could offer his sovereign.

Zhu Youjian was, in truth, somewhat at a loss.

As a man of the modern era, he could not truly grasp the pursuit of so-called "sovereign sagely virtue" by the civil officials of this age.

— Look at the presidents of later ages: what virtue could any of them claim?

Rule in later ages had long since torn away every tender veil; nothing remained but the law of the jungle!

But no matter — Zhu Youjian understood perfectly how he ought to perform at this moment.

He slowly withdrew his hand, took a step back, and toward Sun Chengzong prostrate on the floor, he solemnly and deeply bowed with clasped hands.

"Master Sun, I… have reverently received your teaching."

A short while later, sovereign and subject resumed their seats upon the brocade stools.

"As for the matter of Liu Xingzuo — does Master Sun think we should still summon him back?" Zhu Youjian's voice had returned to calm.

Sun Chengzong pondered. "Your Majesty, this subject has been away from his post for a long time, and beyond the passes the situation shifts with every breath. This matter must wait until I have taken up my post and made fresh inquiries into the man's recent circumstances before I can judge. We must not act in undue haste."

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval. "Very well. I shall shortly have Gao Shiming prepare for you several blank imperial edicts and commissions. Should there be occasion to grant offices and make promises, Master Sun may handle it on the spot — no need to seek approval for every detail."

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for his heavenly grace!" Sun Chengzong bowed slightly with clasped hands.

"Among the four Beile, with whom should we begin?" Zhu Youjian asked again.

This time, a wry smile appeared on Sun Chengzong's face.

"Your Majesty, this truly puts your old minister in a difficult position. I have been out of office for over two years — so much time is enough to change a great many things. What Your Majesty asks, this subject honestly cannot fully know."

Zhu Youjian laughed heartily and pressed no further.

He knew he was being somewhat overeager.

He turned and beckoned to Gao Shiming, who had been standing in attendance nearby.

Gao Shiming understood at once. He produced from his sleeve a small, prepared rosewood box and, bowing, presented it.

Zhu Youjian took the box and held it out before Sun Chengzong.

"Master Sun, not every matter of frontline military affairs can be spoken of openly."

"The matter of intelligence and reconnaissance is like this. So too is the matter of rooting out corruption and rectifying abuses."

"We have already ordered Tian Ergeng, Guard Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to select a dozen or so capable guard officers. They will accompany you to your post. In ordinary times, they shall serve as your personal guards and escorts."

"But should you have matters that cannot be spoken openly, matters inconvenient to commit to official correspondence, you may also choose one among them to carry this box and race by night to the capital, entering the palace directly to see Us."

Zhu Youjian unfastened a small, clever brass key from his waist and held it up before Sun Chengzong.

"Of the keys to this box, you hold one, and We hold the other. Master Sun, in all matters you may report with complete peace of mind."

Sun Chengzong gazed at the red sandalwood box before him, a battle raging between heaven and man within his heart.

As a scholar-official deeply steeped in Confucian thought, he had lived his entire life by the principle that "nothing one does may not be told to another."

To engage in such clandestine matters of secret memorials ran counter to the convictions of his entire life.

And yet…

The situation in Liaodong was a tangled web of intertwined roots and knotted branches — military intelligence, personal ties, interests, grievances — all a single mass of twisted hemp.

There were indeed far too many matters that could not be laid bare before the court, beneath the gaze of a hundred watching eyes.

Within his heart, a fierce struggle raged.

In the end, it was the supple and pragmatic cast of mind that won the upper hand.

Slowly he extended both hands and, with grave solemnity, accepted the little wooden box.

"This subject shall not fail Your Majesty's sacred trust!"

With the matter settled, Sun Chengzong took his leave and withdrew.

Zhu Youjian personally escorted him to the great hall's entrance and watched as that figure — aged, yet still straight and unbowed as a pine — vanished around the corner of the palace.

Only after a long while did Zhu Youjian turn back, unable to suppress a self-mocking shake of his head.

He had previously assumed that, while the commanders at the front might engage in some espionage — stealing cities, sowing discord —

such systematic schemes to subvert an enemy state and manipulate men's hearts were probably beyond the grasp of more than a handful of men in the entire Great Ming.

— At any rate, when he had read the histories in later ages, he had hardly seen Ming men employ such methods.

Thinking back on it now, he had been far too naive.

On this land where five thousand years of power struggles had played out, what story had not already unfolded? What method had not already been used?

He had truly mistaken these old foxes — men who had spent a lifetime bobbing and sinking in the sea of officialdom — for fools.

Well, so be it.

A smile of release tugged at the corner of Zhu Youjian's mouth.

So long as the thing could be accomplished, he was not afraid of this small embarrassment.

He turned his head and looked toward Gao Shiming, who had been standing in silent attendance all the while. His gaze grew clear and resolute once more.

"Companion Gao."

"Have those tabloid scribblers that Wang Tiqian found come in."

— So I can't outplay you Ming men at espionage, but can I not outplay you at newspapers?!