Xuanqing Guard

A single imperial edict, a single envoy, a single mouth—if it could persuade the Barbarian Race and make them a vassal state of the Dynasty, sparing the losses and bloodshed of war, what kind of merit would that be? An immense, world-shaking merit! The kind that would surely go down in history, praised for generations to come!

This is, at present, the most genuine and urgent wish of the scholars.

As for whether such an idea is feasible, well, the wise will see wisdom, the benevolent will see benevolence. Others might think, since the Human Race and Barbarian Race are age-old enemies, could they truly "treat each other gently" except by force of arms? Is that not utter nonsense?

But in the eyes of many idealistic civil servants, nothing is impossible. Is not "subduing the enemy without fighting" the highest glory scholars aspire to? Now that the Barbarian Race is weakened and the Jingjiu Dynasty is strong, as long as the barbarians have any sense at all, they should submit and "borrow the slope to get off the donkey." Would this not be "subduing the enemy without fighting"?

Therefore, in the eyes of the Civil Servant Group, persuading the Barbarians—changing the future of the two peoples by means other than war—was not beyond the realm of possibility.

Left Minister Ye Lansheng was among the supporters of this view.

After all, the fighting is endless and exhausting. Why not try another approach to dealing with the Barbarians?

Yet not everyone sees it this way—at least, not everyone grew more optimistic because of the recent changes in the Ministry of War. Take Minister of Revenue Bai Changqing, for instance.

Bai Changqing took up the thread of conversation, expressing his negative view on the Emperor directly taking over the Ministry of War: "Your Majesty has always taken a middle position between us and the military, but as I see it, His Majesty is actually in favor of war. Otherwise, he would not have allowed Daoxing Chief Zuo Yuliang in the South to aggressively drill troops and make deployments outside the border. You may also be unaware, but just a few days ago, His Majesty issued an order for the national granaries to send a vast quantity of grain south—over ten times as much as before."

Bai Changqing’s words came close to revealing classified information, but all present were leading figures of the Civil Servant Group; none would go out and spread it recklessly.

Ye Lansheng frowned slightly, speaking gravely: "Minister Bai, you mean... His Majesty not only favors war, but has been secretly advancing preparations for battle all along? While we have been focused on the military, we’ve been left in the dark?"

"Exactly. I feel that now the Ministry of War is under His Majesty’s direct control, it will be even harder to realize our hopes. His Majesty is eager for war—after all, it was His Majesty who personally supervised the last great victory over the Barbarians. Given both the previous outcome and the experience gained, I fear His Majesty will not be inclined to ’sit down and talk’ with the Barbarians."

"The Emperor may favor war, but the people’s livelihood is of utmost importance! Once the flames of war are lit, isn’t the National Treasury the first to suffer? Wouldn’t those funds be better spent on digging a few more canals? And how many must die when a great war breaks out? We must do all in our power to persuade His Majesty to change his mind!"

"Right! Is this not precisely our duty as officials of the court?"

"Tsk tsk, it’s our duty no doubt, but given His Majesty’s temperament... I think it’ll be hard!"

"Even if it is hard, so what? Should we just give up then?"

Bai Changqing’s words completely ignited the discussion. After all, everyone present was a wily old fox; with things made plain, everyone naturally grasped what lay between the lines. Yet to withdraw now would be beyond their control.

"In fact, if you look at it another way, His Majesty’s grasp on the Ministry of War may not be a good thing for us at all. It’s equivalent to His Majesty siding with the military—might he not turn around and suppress us instead?"

With those words, the study fell silent again. It was the truth, and others had thought of it too.

Ye Lansheng turned his teacup, seemingly lost in thought, and as his silence lengthened, the voices around him dwindled away.

"My lord?"

"I’m thinking whether we might find others who can speak before His Majesty to help us persuade him. The situation in the South brooks no more delay—if it goes on and open war breaks out, it won’t be possible to stop even if we want to." As head of the civil servants, Ye Lansheng was the main advocate for peace; once that position was suppressed, the one most affected was certainly him. No matter what, they could not allow war to break out so quickly.

"Help? But all those in the court nowadays who could help are already on our side, aren’t they? Who else is there?"

Yet some, quick-witted, caught on in an instant, hesitated a moment, and said: "Left Minister, do you mean the princes?"

The princes?

Everyone present turned to stare at Ye Lansheng, hoping their leader would give a clear answer.

"Exactly. To be precise—the Emperor’s seven princes. For over two years now, they’ve been making their moves up and down the court. I know some of you must’ve had dealings with them, too. I previously warned you not to pick sides lightly as the time wasn’t ripe; but now, I think it’s time to make use of these princes."

With that, Ye Lansheng’s gaze swept the room. Everyone either looked down, pretended to glance elsewhere, or feigned to whisper with their neighbor—anything to avoid meeting Ye Lansheng’s eyes.

Such words are not easy to take up, especially for whoever puts themselves forward—they’ll easily be remembered.

Ye Lansheng had long grown used to this. People say civil servants are wily; it is no idle observation. Every one of those present put self-preservation first. Seeking support from the princes—it sounds pleasant, but said less pleasantly, it’s getting mixed up in "struggles for the throne," where one misstep could cost your head.

Yet Ye Lansheng could not possibly shoulder it all himself, so he named a name directly: "Lord Bai, what do you think?"

The corner of Bai Changqing’s mouth twitched. Inwardly, he said: Why is it me again?!

But now that Ye Lansheng had singled him out, Bai Changqing could not feign deafness—it would suggest disrespect for the leader. After a brief moment’s thought, he said: "Have any of you noticed these past years how the Emperor has grown more and more lax in restraining the princes?"

"Indeed. But what do you mean, Lord Bai?"

"I believe... it’s that His Majesty is deliberately allowing the princes to act, and also testing them. Most likely, he’s preparing for that matter. So—is it really appropriate for us to seek to borrow the princes’ influence now?"

The clever rarely speak with full frankness; they say seventy percent and hide thirty. Ordinary men might call this pretentious and find it taxing to follow, but the good in it is: "If you understand, you understand." It is also convenient for plausible deniability: I never said anything—you’re the ones who imagined it!

Ye Lansheng and the others were clearly clever men, too—even if to varying degrees. Still, understanding Bai Changqing’s meaning was not hard for them.

"Hiss... Now that Lord Bai puts it that way, it’s really true!"

Some truly only just realized, looking amazed; while others stayed perfectly calm, plainly having figured it out long before but chosen not to say.

Ye Lansheng was among those calmly composed, but he was in no hurry to speak. Since Bai Changqing had started the conversation, he would let the others discuss for a bit—he would listen, and in the end, it would fall to him to make the final decision.

Sure enough, once Bai Changqing had made himself the "one who speaks first," the rest could not simply listen. Each began making his own calculations, while offering a raft of supposed opinions in word.