Chapter 368: The Older Ginger Is the Spicier

When Hei Fu was seeing his father-in-law off, Neishi Teng instead had Hei Fu board his own carriage and accompany him for a few more li.

Passing Qishan Post Station ten li east of Yong County, just before Hei Fu got off, Neishi Teng suddenly grabbed his arm and said in a low voice, "His Majesty ordering me back east this time is somewhat unusual!"

To Hei Fu, Neishi Teng ending his escort duty and returning east to Xianyang seemed unproblematic, but who was Neishi Teng? The old fox immediately caught a whiff of something off.

"Though the statutes forbid commandery and county chief officials from leaving their jurisdictions without cause, escorting the imperial procession is normally seen through from start to finish. Unless something has happened in Xianyang, I should not have been abruptly sent back. To my eyes, this looks more like a rap on the knuckles and a warning..."

"A warning?"

In his past life, Hei Fu had been only a small-time police officer; though he possessed vision beyond his era, his political acumen was not necessarily greater than that of Ye Teng, who had steeped himself in officialdom for decades. He was slightly startled at these words.

"Father-in-law, do you mean His Majesty does not approve of this proposal?"

"Not at all. His Majesty approves of the proposal; otherwise, the one sent back would not be this old man, but you."

Neishi Teng quickly guessed the crux of the matter. "If I am not mistaken, His Majesty has grown suspicious of the motive behind your proposal this time."

Hei Fu said, "My motive, I stated it clearly during the audience."

Neishi Teng shook his head. "No. Back then, you were the detached division commander for the campaign against Yuzhang in Jiangnan. You proposed building Nanchang City to prosper the southern frontier, and even advised His Majesty that the lands of Shanggan and Cangwu could be enfeoffed to imperial sons as border marquises. In His Majesty's eyes, you ought to be the minister most strongly advocating southern advance."

"Yet lately, you have reversed your stance, arguing that the southern advance should be slowed, and instead supporting a western expansion that has nothing to do with you. This took His Majesty by surprise. Afterward, he would certainly wonder: why this shift? And what are you after?"

Before the proposal was made, Neishi Teng's attention had been focused entirely on Hei Fu's farsighted vision, overlooking his motive. Now that trouble had arisen, Hei Fu had no choice but to steel himself and tell him the truth.

"I won't hide it from you, Father-in-law. Apart from believing this policy can truly consolidate the foundation and open up the lands beyond the pass in the west, my suggestion that the southern advance should be slow and the western expansion urgent also has a personal motive. I know well how hard the Five Ranges are to cross and how difficult the Yue people are to attack. I do not wish my former officers and soldiers to suffer heavy casualties..."

"Substituting the plum with the peach, diverting disaster westward?"

Neishi Teng shook his head. "Far more artful than the blunt remonstrations of those so-called 'remonstrating ministers.' You do know how to cherish your old troops. They are your comrades and juniors, your foundation in the regions. Favoring and protecting them is understandable, but if you let sentiment override reason, it will instead become a fetter..."

Hei Fu acknowledged. "Could it be that His Majesty has perceived this deeper intent of mine?"

"If His Majesty were displeased with this, he would likely transfer one of your old subordinates away from Yuzhang as a warning, rather than use me for a rap on the knuckles. This matter should also be connected to me."

After pondering for a long while, Neishi Teng suddenly let out a rueful laugh.

"His Majesty couldn't possibly think that because you married into my family and acted under my direction, you reversed your stance, facing south in the morning and west by evening, could he!"

Indeed, opening up the western pass would bring Neishi Teng considerable power and further opportunities for promotion. This was originally a good thing, but in the Emperor's eyes, this father-and-son-in-law pair would appear to be using public instruments for private gain.

And ordering Neishi Teng to end his escort and return to Xianyang ahead of time was a small admonishment for this act, while also hinting to Hei Fu: have more of your own opinions, do not follow your father-in-law in everything!

This was truly an unexpected calamity. Though it would not affect the overall matter, and Hei Fu would still be put to important use, the Emperor's trust in the father-and-son-in-law pair had dipped a little.

The heart of an emperor is truly unfathomable. Hei Fu felt somewhat wronged and irritated. No wonder people often say: serving a ruler is like keeping company with a tiger.

But Neishi Teng had not stopped pondering this matter. He suddenly added, "My son-in-law, when you served as a court gentleman at His Majesty's side, did you have any enmity with the ministers close to him?"

"Father-in-law, do you mean someone close to His Majesty spoke slander?"

At this reminder, Hei Fu immediately thought of a person.

"Prefect of the Central Chariots, Zhao Gao!"

Because it was only speculation, Hei Fu did not tell Neishi Teng about Zhao Gao for the time being. On the road back to Yong County, he kept his eyes closed in thought.

The older ginger is the spicier indeed. Through Neishi Teng's meticulous unravelling, Hei Fu had more or less sorted out the sequence of events: it was originally a good matter, but a single word from a certain close minister made the Emperor suspicious. Yet not wanting to strike at Hei Fu and make outsiders think the Emperor did not approve of the western expansion, he let Neishi Teng bear the grievance in his stead.

This rap on the knuckles was neither painful nor itchy, but it left Hei Fu feeling very uncomfortable.

"What grudge or grievance does this Zhao Gao have against me, to slip me such foul medicine!"

Just because when Hei Fu was in Chenying and heard Zhao Gao's name, in his shock he stared at him a moment longer—what great enmity was that? Hei Fu surmised that Zhao Gao's inexplicable hostility toward him must have other reasons.

"Later, when discussing the imperial title, my memorial happened to be identical to his, which stole Zhao Gao's thunder. After that, though he treated me as usual, even stopping to exchange pleasantries when we met in the palace, I always felt he harbored ill intent..."

From Zhao Gao's perspective, he probably thought he was in the dark and Hei Fu in the light. But in reality, in Hei Fu's eyes, Zhao Gao had long been a dazzling bright lamp.

"I've suffered one silent loss, there will never be a second..." Hei Fu swore to himself.

Before heading east, Neishi Teng's final instruction to Hei Fu was that even if he identified the slanderer, he should not act rashly, because...

"His Majesty likes to set ministers of differing political views against each other, letting them compete."

He listed the dispute between Li Xin and Wang Jian over attacking Chu, the covert rivalry between the Wang and Meng military houses, the political struggle between Li Si and Wang Wan, and even the old enmity between Meng Yi and Zhao Gao.

In this way, the ministers stirred each other with differing opinions and checked one another, unable to collude to deceive those above and delude those below. And their struggles were firmly controlled by the Emperor, never reaching a degree that could affect the court situation or state affairs.

Neishi Teng was not the least bit worried about that slanderer; on the contrary, he grew cheerful.

"His Majesty is sagaciously wise. Though he occasionally employs the sovereign's arts and leverage, he still listens to all sides and accepts remonstrance, and is sufficiently tolerant toward his subjects. As long as one does not commit treason or rebellion, even someone like Li Xin, who lost his army and disgraced the state, could still meet a good end. He is nothing like mediocre rulers such as Zhao Qian."

"Therefore, having an enemy at court is actually a good thing! His Majesty can then use you with confidence!"

So Neishi Teng told Hei Fu not to act recklessly. In political struggle, trying to topple an enemy in one breath is very difficult. The Emperor sits high above as arbiter and will not let any side have absolute advantage: even when Zhao Gao was sentenced to death by Meng Yi, he was still saved and brought back.

Life and death, victory and defeat, are not decided by the ability or moral standing of the two parties, but solely by the imperial heart.

A mature politician will act as if everything is normal, concealing malice and hatred, smiling and bowing to his enemy—until the day he spots an opening to send the other to utter ruin!

Hei Fu took Neishi Teng's advice. After returning to Qinian Palace to report on his mission, he ran into Zhao Gao at the palace gate.

"Junior Supervisor of the Privy Treasury!" Zhao Gao came over with a smile from afar to greet him. "Have you seen the Neishi off?"

"Prefect of the Central Chariots."

Hei Fu also responded with a smile and exchanged pleasantries with Zhao Gao, saying the Neishi was getting on in years and could not endure long journeys, and that it was fortunate His Majesty released him to return to Xianyang.

Zhao Gao pounded his own aged back, saying he was no longer young either and would have to leave Yong tomorrow for Long Slope, where travel was extremely difficult—he was quite worried about it. Hei Fu recommended that when driving for His Majesty, he place a soft cushion against his lower back...

To the court gentlemen guarding the palace gate, although the two could not be called friends, they treated each other with mutual respect, and their conversation was pleasant and harmonious.

But after bidding Zhao Gao farewell and turning around, Hei Fu's gaze turned cold and grim.

"Compared to that old ginger Neishi Teng, I am but a tender ginger in the political arena, unskilled in these dark schemes and deceptions..."

Yet among those who had recently pledged allegiance to him, there was one Chen Ping. Though he professed the Yellow Emperor and Laozi school, he specialized in venomous stratagems. The ambush of the Wei heavy infantryman Zhou Shi several years ago had been Chen Ping's idea.

"Zhao Gao, ah, Zhao Gao. I hear you have always been cautious, upright and incorruptible in office, with no crack to be found. But are your brothers and sons-in-law equally invulnerable? Once I return to Xianyang, even if I cannot topple you, I can make you understand the consequences of provoking me first!"

After leaving Yong County, Qin Shi Huang's vast procession continued westward.

As the slope gradually rose, the originally broad imperial highway slowly narrowed into a small path that could only accommodate two chariots side by side. The hamlets and farmlands gradually receded, and all around was dense, deep forest.

The rugged grey-rock hills grew steeper by the day. By the third day they had become a mountain range. Though it was already early April, when Heifu looked up from the foot of the mountain, he saw the highest crags still bearing old snow on their shoulders — like grey-and-white mottled giants standing here, dividing the Interior from Longxi Commandery.

A court gentleman from Longxi Commandery told Heifu, "Long Slope twists back on itself nine times; no one knows how high it is. Those who wish to ascend need seven days to cross, and the wind and snow on the highest peaks do not thaw until the fifth month. It is still early yet."

This was a natural barrier on par with the Shu Roads. Fortunately, the imperial highway did not need to climb over the mountain; it wound westward along the mountain streams. The imperial carriage was cumbersome, but at least there was a road it could travel.

Yet the scenery before them was already utterly different from Longdong: on the high ridges stood stretches of low, gnarled birch forest, and vast grasslands like emerald waves blanketing the whole of Long Mountain. Herdsmen in plain clothing drove large herds of spirited, galloping fine horses.

The four horses pulling Heifu's carriage grew light-footed and frisky. Losing their usual docility, they neighed ceaselessly. Had the driver not held the six reins in a death grip, they would long ago have bolted and run wild across the grassland.

These four beasts were newly bestowed by the Emperor, and were said to come from this very grassland "between the Qian and the Wei."

This was the finest and largest natural pasture west of the Pass. In the early Zhou, Qin Feizi once raised horses for the Zhou royal house between the Qian and Wei rivers. Because "the horses greatly multiplied," his achievement was outstanding, and Feizi was enfeoffed as a vassal by the Son of Heaven of Zhou…

This was "the place where the Qin dream began." The western tour was in itself a journey to seek their roots, and Qin Shi Huang also found the very grassland where Qin Feizi was said to have pastured horses. The party of over a thousand men pitched camp, erected a high altar, and performed sacrifices using the traditional offerings of dogs and horses, bustling about until night was about to fall.

As coincidence would have it, on this very night that the Emperor halted between the Qian and Wei rivers, an unexpected event occurred — one that would become a heaven-sent assist for Heifu's "Western Expansion" proposal, helping Qin Shi Huang make up his mind to launch a western campaign…

……

PS: Recommending a Spring and Autumn period novel, "The Zheng King Rules All Under Heaven": The royal house moves east, rites collapse and music decays. Watch how Zheng, after its brief hegemony, renews its glory.

It has been a long time since a novel set in the Spring and Autumn period. This author at least seriously researches the material when writing. Those interested can bookmark it.

(End of chapter)