Chapter 151: Strategy and Decision

Lou Gui’s plan was very simple — this “Mushroom King” Yaya Keli appeared to be visiting a friend, but judging by his words and manner, if he could find outside help in Han territory to deal with his political foe Minglin Physician, he would be more than willing, and it was even very likely he had come specifically to seek outside aid.

So, agree to it, then help him with this matter, and that would be enough.

“That’s enough?” Gongsun Xun was dumbfounded. “Lou Zibo, are you not just toying with me?”

“Young lord, hear me out.” Lou Gui showed no stage fright, stepping directly forward and lowering his voice. “This matter seems absurd, but in truth…”

“In truth what?” Gongsun Xun questioned with his mouth, but as his mind turned, he was the first to figure out the twist himself.

Namely, that this Yaya Keli’s trip to Liaodong this time was, I fear, indeed to seek outside aid!

He had been too busy sulking before to think deeply about it, but now looking back, even if he himself had not brought up the topic, the other party would likely have raised the matter on his own.

The internal reasons for seeking aid go without saying — losing ground in a political struggle, and even the old tribal alliance system that was the very foundation of this scoundrel’s power had the potential to be shattered by that powerful minister Minglin Physician. To these old nobles, Minglin Physician was the most terrifying enemy! Any chance to topple the other man had to be seized.

And how exactly to topple him?

Given Minglin Physician’s current momentum, it was nothing more than a small-scale bloody coup internally or inviting outside intervention. Yet even a small-scale bloody coup would likely require preparations for civil war regardless of success or failure, and that too would require outside aid to have the confidence to purge the state and rebuild order.

So outside aid had to be sought.

And speaking of seeking outside aid, from Goguryeo’s perspective in this day and age, who was qualified to serve as outside aid?

The Great Han and the Xianbei?! Would you not seek out the Great Han with its stately robes and caps, but instead go to the Xianbei? Do you believe that Chanyu Tanshihuai would not carry off another tens of thousands of fishing slaves to the west bank of the Liao River?

“In truth, it has precisely a wondrous effect!” Lu Fan hurriedly stepped forward to interject and explain. At this moment, his explanation of Lou Gui’s stratagem, coming from a third party and the person Gongsun Xun trusted most, was actually more persuasive, and Lou Zibo understood this reasoning too, immediately shutting his mouth and staying silent. “Wenqi, you are trapped here by the old madam, seemingly wrapped up so tightly that you cannot resist, but have you ever considered where the weakest point in her design lies?”

Gongsun Xun held his breath, pondered seriously for a moment, and then immediately arrived at the conclusion: “At the imperial court, or rather, with Teacher Lu, who controls the assignment of officials!”

“Correct.” Lu Fan could not help but grow animated, yet hurriedly lowered his voice again. “The old madam’s intent, Wenqi, you have already explained to us very thoroughly, but no matter how much personal friendship Teacher Lu shares with the old madam, I fear his mind is not entirely the same as hers! Whatever considerations led Teacher Lu to help the old madam carry this out, in the end he is a loyal minister of the Great Han!”

Lu Fan was a man who always liked to speak overly direct, yet utterly irrefutable, great truths.

And Gongsun Xun let out a long sigh, not knowing what to say either… Lu Zhi was a man whom Gongsun Xun had always admired to no end, accomplished in both civil and martial affairs, and thoroughly versed in the ways of the world and the human heart.

Born twenty years earlier, he might have been a renowned prime minister of his generation; born twenty years later, I fear the realm would have gained one more fierce rival to contend with Cao and Liu… Yet in the end, he was born in this most awkward of eras, and could only stand in the court with an identity that was neither here nor there.

Call him a famed Confucian of the realm, yet he could not even keep the Goushi Mountain Academy from closing down; say he brought stability to the region, yet he was merely a firefighting Grand Administrator; say he held real power over the promotion and transfer of officials, controlling the most critical link in court governance, yet he could not stop the Son of Heaven from selling offices, and was powerless against the eunuchs’ monopoly on power!

He submitted a memorial with several earnest proposals, yet it had not the slightest effect! Instead, it was He Jin, that butcher-shop Song Yu, who persuaded the Honored Lady He, and only then did the Son of Heaven tacitly allow Empress Song and the Song clan members to secretly collect the corpses and bury them.

But no matter what, Lu Zigan was ultimately Lu Zigan. The era he was born into, the environment he grew up in, and his own cultivation and moral character destined him to be nothing other than a loyal minister of the Great Han dynasty!

One can imagine that Teacher Lu had sufficient reasons to assist Lady Gongsun — perhaps simply out of their personal friendship, purely wanting mother and son to be closer to each other? Perhaps to protect his student, to keep him far from political storms, lest his excessive rigidity break easily? Even if one retreated ten thousand steps, even if he had vaguely sensed something, it could only be that he wanted to toss this wildly ambitious student of his into a corner, so that he could not turn over!

But no matter what, Lu Zhi would not allow others, through his own hands, to directly or indirectly facilitate Gongsun Xun forming a separatist power… He was not the same as Zhang Jian, who had been on the run for decades!

In other words, behind his cooperation with Lady Gongsun, the starting points of the two sides were completely different! And this point, without a doubt, left Gongsun Xun with an enormous opening.

So returning to the situation at hand, if Gongsun Xun wanted to break the current predicament, the simplest way was to stir up a huge commotion in Liaodong, and then make Lu Zhi alert. No matter what he became alert about, as long as Teacher Lu became alert, his mother’s design would collapse of its own accord!

Moreover, at that time Lady Gongsun would not be able to say anything — it was a flaw in her own design, and she could neither blame her son nor blame Lu Zhi… the mother-son relationship would naturally be preserved as well.

And as for whether the imperial court would become alert, think of ways to handle the situation beyond the frontier, or put some label on him because of this, Gongsun Xun was not the least bit worried… Zhang Jiao could plot rebellion and be pardoned; what had he himself done? Intervening in Goguryeo’s situation, displaying the Great Han’s might and pacifying the people — how did that become a crime?

Only someone directly connected like Lu Zhi would become alert.

“But to what extent must it be done to make Teacher Lu feel I should no longer stay?” Gongsun Xun paced about the official residence’s sleeping chamber with his hands behind his back. “Destroy Goguryeo? If I could truly destroy Goguryeo, whether Teacher Lu thought I was too capable of stirring up trouble and causing disasters, or thought my ambitions were too hard to control, I fear he would step in to remedy his mistake. But a state established for several hundred years — how could I destroy it just by saying so? And I am a mere county magistrate; with what would I destroy another’s state?”

“No need to destroy it,” Lu Fan said calmly. “Simply using this man Yaya Keli to intervene in Goguryeo’s situation, and then carrying out an act of deposing and enthroning in Goguryeo, would be enough to shake the central government!”

“And if this matter can succeed, with Goguryeo henceforth bowing its head and being submissive, even Liaodong would become much more stable.” Lou Gui also hurriedly seized the chance to offer his counsel. “This is what I meant by one deed with three gains — achieving merit, pacifying the people, and leaping out of the cage of Liaodong!”

Gongsun Xun was silent for a moment, but still shook his head: “You are still thinking about it wrongly… If this matter could succeed, it would indeed bring these three gains, but to succeed, it would absolutely require a major military campaign! And even with Yaya Keli as an internal ally, defeating Minglin Physician would not be so simple.”

Lu Fan and Lou Gui were momentarily speechless… When it came to military matters, although they had experienced some, compared to Gongsun Xun they were still far behind. Even Han Dang, Han Yigong, who was not in the city but outside training the civilian defense force, would be far more knowledgeable than them.

“Do you know how many households Goguryeo has?”

“Merely fifty to sixty Battalion Commander, a population of just over three hundred thousand.” Lou Gui this time did know some inside information. “Exactly equivalent to one of our commanderies.”

“Even if it is just the territory of one commandery,” Gongsun Xun sat back down on the couch helplessly and sighed, “it still has several thousand short-legged cavalry and ten thousand infantry. And what do we have today? Merely seventy or eighty personal followers, and then a thousand or so civilian defense troops… and the civilian defense has just been organized and trained, insufficient for battle.”

Lu Fan and Lou Gui were momentarily at a loss.

“The path you speak of is correct,” Gongsun Xun said bluntly, though it was unclear if he was comforting the two men. “But for this matter to succeed, our strength is insufficient!”

“Then what if we wait half a year, until the civilian defense is fully trained?” Lou Zibo’s expression was dejected, but he was still unwilling to give up.

“Still utterly useless.” Gongsun Xun answered frankly. “To create a political shock, a military victory is inevitably required… In other words, only by possessing the strength to defeat Minglin Physician in a direct confrontation can we carry out an act of deposing and enthroning in Goguryeo, and only then can we make the central government and Teacher Lu unable to tolerate my continued stay in Liaodong.”

Lu and Lou grew even more helpless… How to defeat Minglin Physician in a direct confrontation — Gongsun Yu and another former Xuantu Grand Administrator, Geng Lin, had in fact just provided a standard answer: five thousand armored cavalry!

Without that number of troops, how could one speak of destroying the powerful minister of a state?

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat awkward for a moment… After all, that number seemed utterly out of reach for the current Gongsun Xun.

“Do not lose heart, you two.” Gongsun Xun consoled them with effort. “The path is ultimately correct. Let us think further on ways and means, see if we have missed anything, and then go talk in detail with that ‘Mushroom King.’ Perhaps the resistance forces within Goguryeo are not limited to him alone? If three of the five tribes are in revolt, then naturally we need not think about any five thousand armored cavalry…”

“Indeed!”

“Correct!”

Lou Gui and Lu Fan were both greatly invigorated. If truly three of Goguryeo’s five tribes were in revolt, Gongsun Xun might only need to charge over under the Great Han’s banner and could gain something without bloodying his blade.

With this thought, the two men no longer delayed, but immediately cupped their hands and took their leave, preparing to discuss how to negotiate with that Mushroom King. It was only then that Bian Yu re-entered the room.

“You have worked hard,” Gongsun Xun put away his earlier rather helpless expression, and with a trace of tender concern stepped forward to take her hand. “Once the autumn harvest passes in Liaodong, it turns cold extremely fast. Making you wait outside for so long must have been hard on you…”

“My lord is truly gentle.” Bian Yu lowered her head and lost herself in a smile for a moment. “I have been orphaned and wretched since childhood, drifting to the four corners of the land. I have waited nineteen years; waiting a while at the doorway counts for what?”

“How should one put it?” Gongsun Xun was also momentarily moved with emotion. “If one’s body is without shackles, one can naturally calm the heart and await heaven’s timing, but if the heart dwells in a place of death, restless and uneasy, then one is unwilling to wait even half a moment.”

Bian Yu lowered her head to look at his hand reaching toward her chest, and also lost herself in a smile: “My lord cannot wait any longer?”

Gongsun Xun smoothly peeled aside her clothing, his gaze fixed directly for a long while, before he finally spoke frankly: “Indeed, I can wait no longer.”

———————I am the dividing line being peeled aside———————

“The founding emperor of our dynasty had under him many famous ministers and tiger-like warriors, each with appellations for one another… such as Lou Zibo being skilled in strategy, and Lu Ziheng being skilled in decision, and as the two associated for a long time, there were many instances of their combined counsel settling policy. Thus people of the time praised them, saying: ‘Bo strategizes, Heng decides,’ which became a fine tale for a time.” — Miscellaneous Notes of the Scholarly Circles, Chapter on Social Intercourse, by an Anonymous Author of Yan

PS: Thanks to the book friend brother Yang Ming for the reward, and also the new book group 684558115, everyone can join.

(End of Chapter)