Chapter 51: Prince of Wu, Wei Yiyun |
"Your Majesty, a memorial from the Secretariat."
The moment it was delivered by the eunuch, Chen Bao presented the appointment memorial to the Emperor.
"They drafted it in half a day."
The Emperor opened the memorial, reading as he spoke.
"This slave subtly hinted to Minister Ouyang at the time," Chen Bao explained.
"Very well. The remaining sub-yuan candidates shall be assigned according to the Secretariat's recommendations." The Emperor casually passed the memorial aside. "Song Shi'an—send him to Shuofeng."
"Yes."
Chen Bao received it with both hands, then inquired: "Should this slave apply the vermillion seal now and send it to the Secretariat?"
"The Forbidden Army departs the day after tomorrow. Give this jieyuan some time to see people." The Emperor spoke lightly. "Or rather, let someone go see him."
"The official appointment should be tomorrow morning. Release news of the appointment now."
After saying this, he thought of something and turned to look at Chen Bao: "Do you think Zhen should give the Prince of Jin some guidance?"
"..."
Having experienced His Majesty's previous lament that 'there is no one in this world who understands my heart,' Chen Bao made a show of thoughtful consideration before opening his mouth: "This slave believes you should."
"You also think Zhen's son is dull-witted, don't you?"
"This slave wouldn't dare!"
Chen Bao immediately knelt before the Emperor. After his denial, he spoke nervously: "The Prince of Jin is not dull-witted, merely fearful of making mistakes."
"Because Zhen is still alive, restraining him in all matters—he's bound by too many shackles, thus 'doing nothing means making no mistakes.' After Zhen dies, he'll be able to perform well."
The Emperor was actually quite clearheaded.
Upon hearing the word 'death,' Chen Bao prostrated himself on the ground, maintaining reverent avoidance.
"Ziyu is not dull-witted."
Slowly, his palm traced circles over his abdomen, massaging to relieve the digestive ailments of old age. The Emperor decided: "For the day after tomorrow's departure, have the Prince of Jin conduct the ceremonial sacrifice and oath in the court's name."
"Yes."
………
Prince of Wu's Estate, in the main hall.
Around a square low table, three men knelt.
Prince of Wu Wei Yiyun, this handsome and fair Fourth Prince, sat in the seat of honor.
To his left and right sat respectively the son of the meritorious noble Marquis of Huai, Commander-General Zhao Yi, and the son of the Minister of Agriculture (one of the Great Yu's Nine Ministers), Ye Changqing.
One civil, one martial, but both quite handsome.
Zhao Yi lived up to his name—resolute and unyielding.
Ye Changqing possessed a dark, handsome beauty, with a touch of elegance and unrestrained freedom.
At this moment, he reclined as he drank wine, his crossed collar loose, revealing rather prominent collarbones.
Wei Yiyun used a long wooden ladle to scoop plum wine soaking with ice from the barrel, then slowly poured it with both hands into the wooden wine cups before the two men.
Zhao Yi nodded lightly to Wei Yiyun, while Ye Changqing directly picked up his wine and drank, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Your Highness."
Gripping his wine cup, Zhao Yi looked toward Wei Yiyun, opening his mouth somewhat hesitantly: "This subordinate has something to say, but doesn't know whether it's appropriate..."
"Within the Prince of Wu's Estate, nothing is forbidden." Wei Yiyun raised his hand, speaking quite calmly.
Hearing this, Zhao Yi stopped holding back and spoke directly: "Last night, my father and I ran through over ten battle simulations for the defense of Shuofeng. Even when I played Ji Yuan and my father played... the Sixth Prince, in all ten-plus simulations, I won every time."
Hearing this, Wei Yiyun's brow furrowed slowly.
"This subordinate is certainly inferior to Ji Yuan, while my father, when it comes to military campaigns, is still superior to the Sixth Prince. Even so, there's not a thread of hope for survival."
Zhao Yi gave his assessment gravely: "Moreover, though Ji Yuan acts tyrannically, he's extremely prudent in employing troops. His troop formations and strategic planning have essentially no gaps. When victory is within reach, he's decisively ruthless. Take his battle with Zhao Xiang—he surrounded Wuwei so tightly not even water could leak through, yet could restrain himself from attacking, accepting massive supply consumption, waiting until Zhao Xiang grew anxious and emerged. Then he targeted the exposed flank with light cavalry in an enveloping maneuver, routing nearly fifty thousand elite troops in one stroke."
"That fool Zhao Xiang was never as good as his father. Losing like that was entirely expected," Ye Changqing mocked.
"But no matter what..."
Wei Yiyun directly finished Zhao Yi's thought: "He's still stronger than Wusheng."
"Precisely." Ye Changqing cut to the heart of it. "His Majesty intends to use the Sixth Prince to pacify the northern people's hearts."
More accurately, he intended to use Wei Wusheng's life to account for the northern military setbacks.
The Emperor also needed to 'report his performance' to the world.
"Then regarding this campaign, what should our stance be?" Wei Yiyun asked.
When questioned, Ye Changqing sat up, set down his wooden cup, looked toward the Prince of Wu, and spoke with considerable spirit: "His Majesty's move is to gather the hearts of the world's people. Your Highness, Prince of Wu, must also act for the people's hearts."
Wei Yiyun asked Zhao Yi: "Do you agree?"
"Changqing, share your insights." Zhao Yi didn't answer directly.
"The Prince of Jin fears making mistakes, so he does as little beyond his duties as possible. If this were a unified realm in times of peace, this approach would naturally be viable. One might even say he has the makings of an heir apparent..."
"Changqing, restrain your words a bit."
Seeing his slight intoxication, Zhao Yi reminded him.
"No matter. The Prince of Wu's Estate is absolutely secure." Wei Yiyun deliberately avoided using the royal 'this prince,' saying instead, "I don't take offense either."
With things said to this point, Ye Changqing spoke freely: "But now, we're in a time of fragmentation. Ji Yuan is in his prime and a formidable ruler, so Your Highness must compete. As long as you win the hearts of the world's people, you can surpass the Prince of Jin."
"But this competition must also have limits," Zhao Yi said.
"Correct."
Ye Changqing raised a finger, affirming him.
Then he picked up his wine cup.
Finding it empty, he moved to pour more.
After the Prince of Wu personally ladled wine for him again, he fell into deep thought.
After drinking, Ye Changqing directly proposed his plan: "The Forbidden Army on this campaign faces nine deaths for every survival. Before their departure the day after tomorrow, Your Highness could donate the princely estate's wealth as military provisions for the soldiers' families, in the court's name."
"No, no, there's no justification for doing it in the court's name." Zhao Yi objected. "It must be done in Your Highness's own name."
"In the court's name, giving this favor to His Majesty. Though it 'oversteps,' it doesn't cross the line."
"But this move would be tantamount to openly declaring war on the Prince of Jin. We should temporarily avoid direct confrontation." Zhao Yi reminded him. "Minister Sun has leaned toward the Prince of Jin, while the Duke of Li sits firmly like Mount Tai, showing no inclination either way."
Right now, the Prince of Jin's momentum was too great.
Even to the discerning eye, one thing was clear.
If the Emperor died tomorrow, the Prince of Jin would become Crown Prince today.
The two men disputed this issue.
The Prince of Wu pondered.
Slowly, he raised his head: "We'll donate, but in this prince's personal name."
As his words finished, just as Ye Changqing was about to persuade further, the Prince of Wu added: "But we'll secretly donate it to Wusheng."
After this sentence emerged, both men froze simultaneously.
After considering for a moment, they both nodded.
"Your Highness is brilliant."
Ye Changqing said with a clasped-fist smile.
"However,"
Speaking to this point, the Prince of Wu hesitated somewhat: "That's a thousand Forbidden Army soldiers. The princely estate's wealth alone probably..."
"Your Highness should contribute what you can; we'll pool together the rest."
Zhao Yi said decisively.
"You took all the good lines." Ye Changqing smiled in mock reproach. "Why didn't I get to say 'we'll pool together the rest'?"
"Then you say it."
Zhao Yi replied impatiently.
"Then it's decided. I'll contribute as much as possible." The Prince of Wu raised his wooden wine cup. "Gentlemen, my thanks."
"Your Highness need not be so courteous."
Just like that, the three men raised their cups and drank together.
At this moment, a trusted eunuch entered and presented a hemp paper document before the Prince of Wu: "Your Highness, this is the public announcement of the sub-yuan appointments from the Secretariat."
"It came out this quickly?"
Wei Yiyun took it with surprise.
And this touched upon a topic of interest to several people.
Or rather, an amusing wager concerning this famous jieyuan.
The two men both knew what Eunuch Chen had said to Song Shi'an at the Secretariat this morning.
Therefore, Zhao Yi said: "He definitely followed the eunuch's instruction and chose the peaceful counties of Anding."
"Even without having met him, I understand Song Shi'an."
Ye Changqing waved his hand, speaking with certainty: "He'll absolutely gamble with his life. He's certain to choose 'Cangxia.'"
Both men looked toward the Prince of Wu with complete confidence.
"Shuofeng."
However, when these two syllables emerged unexpectedly from the Prince of Wu's mouth, both men's pupils simultaneously constricted in shock.