Chapter 632: It Began as a Conspiracy, Now It’s an Open Stratagem

Once he straightened, Gao Jiancheng invited Niu Youdao to sit beside a tea table.

Before serving tea, Fan Zhuan opened the box and showed it to Niu Youdao. “Master Dao, is this the gold hairpin?”

Niu Youdao took it out, turned it over several times, and nodded. “Yes, this is the one. I don’t need the gift box.” He then gestured toward Gao Jiancheng with the hairpin. “It was rather embarrassing. I’m not in the habit of carrying money. I saw something I wanted but couldn’t pay for it, so I had no choice but to borrow the money from Steward Fan. I’ve made Lord Gao laugh.”

Gao Jiancheng laughed aloud.

Now he understood what had happened. He himself rarely carried money either. Normally someone else paid for things on his behalf. He had long since become accustomed to having no money on his person, so he could understand the occasional awkwardness.

“This is an article for a woman. Is Master Dao buying it as a gift?”

He deliberately made a little idle conversation to loosen the atmosphere. It was, after all, the first time the two men had met. A few ordinary words could bring people closer. Going straight to business would be too stiff.

Niu Youdao gave an acknowledging sound. “For a friend.”

Gao Jiancheng said, “How could such a common little thing be worthy of serving as Master Dao’s gift?” He turned to Fan Zhuan. “Aren’t there some fine pieces of jewelry in the storehouse? Bring them over and let Master Dao see whether anything catches his eye.”

“Very well.” Fan Zhuan accepted the order and was about to leave when Niu Youdao waved him back.

“For a gift to a friend, something bought with my own money carries more sincerity. There’s no need to trouble yourselves.”

Gao Jiancheng was puzzled.

Bought with your own money?

Hadn’t this been charged to the Gao residence?

The man had said he was borrowing the money, but could Gao Jiancheng really make him repay such a trifling amount? He had already handed over ten million gold coins. Would he care about this?

To ordinary people, ten gold coins could easily support a family for more than a year. To men like the two of them, it was the sort of sum they could forget before the day was over.

Still, since Niu Youdao had put it that way, and neither man lacked such petty money, Gao Jiancheng did not press him over a trivial gift. Insisting too much would itself be getting caught up in appearances.

He merely let the matter drop.

Even so, Gao Jiancheng’s gaze lingered on the gold hairpin a couple more times.

Privately, he decided he would have the steward buy another identical one later and inspect it carefully to see whether there was some hidden trick.

It was inconvenient to ask to examine this one in front of Niu Youdao.

Gao Jiancheng moved to the real matter. “Master Dao, did you come because you have some instruction for me?”

“How would I dare instruct Lord Gao?” Niu Youdao had no use for the box and casually slipped the gold hairpin into his sleeve. “I came because there is something I want to ask Lord Gao’s advice about.”

Fan Zhuan set the empty gift box aside, then returned to pour tea for both men while remaining nearby to listen.

Gao Jiancheng adopted an attentive expression. “Please speak freely, Master Dao. Gao will listen with full attention.”

Niu Youdao said, “There’s no need to speak in riddles between clear-sighted men, so I won’t circle around the matter.”

Gao Jiancheng nodded and gestured for him to continue.

Niu Youdao did not avoid speaking in front of Fan Zhuan. Since Gao Jiancheng had trusted the steward enough to send him secretly to Maolu Villa to negotiate, the man was clearly an absolutely trusted confidant.

“I read Lord Gao’s last letter. It explained the situation very clearly. One point in the letter mentioned that the imperial court was preparing to have Nanzhou suppress the rebels. Does Lord Gao remember?”

Gao Jiancheng nodded and gestured for him to drink his tea. “Does Master Dao find it strange that the court still hasn’t issued Nanzhou an edict to march?”

That was not actually what Niu Youdao had been asking, but since Gao Jiancheng had raised the matter himself, Niu Youdao was willing to hear him out.

“I would like to hear the details.”

Gao Jiancheng said, “It should be connected to the present situation. No one anticipated things developing this way at the beginning. Cultivators from nearly every state have now become involved.”

“Apart from Yan and Zhao, the two opposing camps have been trying to destroy the supplies the other side is sending to the forces it supports. The casualties have been severe. Cultivators are dying almost every day, and over this period the losses have truly become considerable.”

“That the Western Three States would willingly pay such a large price from so far away was quite unexpected. Master Dao, do you understand the deeper meaning of what Gao is saying?”

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes. “Someone is deliberately using this opportunity to consume the strength of the cultivators?”

Gao Jiancheng said, “Master Dao is a cultivator yourself. There are some things I ordinarily should not say before you, but Master Dao is no outsider, so Gao will speak freely.”

“Master Dao sees clearly indeed. You understood at once.”

“Yes. The Western Three States throwing their full support behind Yan changed the situation in an unexpected way. People on the Han and Song side seem to have understood the game as well and are secretly adding fuel to the fire.”

“The great armies press against the borders yet deliberately refuse to attack, maintaining the deadlock. Yan’s three major sects see a chance to consume the strength of their rivals and are naturally happy to watch it continue.”

“At a time like this, why would they let Master Dao bring Nanzhou’s forces out and break the game?”

Niu Youdao asked, “Aren’t the various states afraid the sects will see through it and settle accounts with them?”

Gao Jiancheng said, “Settle what accounts? How could such accounts even be settled?”

“The eastern camp says: Yan has not yet collapsed internally. Facing several million Yan troops, we cannot attack rashly. One careless move and we might lift a rock only to drop it on our own feet. If the cultivators of Han and Song refuse to believe it, how difficult would it be for their own great army to suffer a small defeat?”

“Naturally the Han and Song cultivators would then believe it and stop daring to take the risk.”

“The western camp says: if Yan is defeated and partitioned, Han and Song will grow dominant, and the consequences will be unimaginable.”

“Yan’s interior is plainly on the verge of becoming one great pot of chaos. The meat is plainly right beside the mouth. Cooked meat is plainly about to be bitten into. Are the cultivators of Han and Song supposed to sit there and watch Yan slowly pacify its own interior? How could they stop committing manpower?”

“And once the eastern side refuses to stop, the western side has already paid such a price and cannot simply watch its earlier sacrifices go to waste. It can only keep playing along.”

“Neither side will stop until it can no longer bear the cost.”

“The situation developed naturally into this. Now that it has reached this point, what exactly is there to ‘see through’?”

“Forgive my bluntness, but in games of this kind, cultivators who devote most of their energy to cultivation may not be the equals of secular men who have spent years immersed in such calculations.”

“This affair began as a conspiracy, but it has already become an open stratagem. There must be a master strategist arranging things behind the scenes. Otherwise, the situation could never have developed into this.”

Fan Zhuan, listening nearby, quietly glanced at Gao Jiancheng.

His master seemed deliberately to be planting the value of his own usefulness in Niu Youdao’s mind.

After hearing this analysis, even Niu Youdao had to admit: see through what?

From beginning to end, he himself had never realized the intention hidden behind the affair. He had always assumed the various sides were simply conspiring to seize territory.

How could he speak of seeing through something he had never even noticed?

After a brief silence, Niu Youdao asked, “Lord Gao says there is a master strategist arranging the game. Who do you think it is?”

Gao Jiancheng shook his head. “Judging from the way the cultivators are being consumed, it should have little to do with Yan or Zhao. It is probably someone among the eastern camp, someone among the western camp, or perhaps...” He raised one hand and pointed upward.

At that gesture, one person flashed through Niu Youdao’s mind.

Could it be him?

After thinking for a while, Niu Youdao asked, “Wouldn’t this also be consuming each state’s own strength?”

Gao Jiancheng smiled. “It hardly counts as much of a loss. If matters truly become untenable, they can simply stop fighting.”

“For the states, territory is important, but it is not as important as maintaining a balance among the powers.”

“No matter how strong cultivators are...” He lifted a hand and pointed upward again. “Can those few people control all beneath Heaven by themselves?”

“There is only so much those few can accomplish personally. They still need people below them to handle affairs.”

“The same principle applies here. This is a realm of cultivators, yes, but the people who wield secular authority in the various states also want to preserve their own voice. Preserve that voice, and they preserve their own interests.”

“Master Dao, for those who govern the secular world, there cannot be too many cultivators. If cultivators become so numerous that they can control every layer and every corner, what voice would secular rulers have left?”

“They could replace anyone they pleased. Even an emperor could be replaced at a word, without so much as a bubble of protest surfacing. Wouldn’t the secular rulers become lambs waiting for slaughter?”

“If they cannot preserve even the slightest say over affairs, then for the secular rulers that is no different from slavery.”

“They could conquer all the territory in the world and it would still belong to someone else. They would exhaust themselves seizing it while gaining no authority to decide anything. What meaning would there be in conquering it at all?”

With the matter spelled out that clearly, Niu Youdao finally understood.

To the imperial powers of the various states, cultivators would forever be the greatest threat. Pretending all the blame for such tensions could be piled onto Prince Ning alone was nonsense.

Gao Jiancheng had barely met him and had already laid out something substantial.

Niu Youdao had to admit that for this alone, the trip had been worthwhile.

“Lord Gao, I don’t care what game the various states are playing. I only know that if they keep doing this to Yan, sooner or later my Nanzhou will be dragged into trouble.”

“If Han and Song finally enter the war, Han will no longer be restraining Zhao. Jinzhou, which is interdependent with us like lips and teeth, will be the first to suffer.”

“Nanzhou will then become the front line between Yan and Zhao, completely exposed to Zhao’s fangs. Zhao will be able to find trouble with us whenever it pleases.”

“Just defending that border would tie down enormous amounts of Nanzhou’s manpower, material, and money.”

“If Yan is exhausted and Han is too occupied elsewhere to intervene, who knows what Zhao might decide to do to Nanzhou?”

“So the internal rebellion must be pacified as quickly as possible. We cannot give the armies of Han and Song a chance to march directly into Yan.”

Niu Youdao pressed one forefinger heavily against the tea table.

This time it was Gao Jiancheng’s turn to smile bitterly.

“Master Dao, you think far too highly of me. Even if you threw these old bones of mine out there, I couldn’t crush anyone with them, much less frighten anyone.”

“How could I possibly possess the ability to pacify the internal rebellion? Master Dao, you truly are making things difficult for me.”

“You cannot pacify it. Nanzhou can.” Niu Youdao looked directly at him. “What we lack now is a proper and legitimate pretext for sending troops. That is precisely why I came.”

A proper and legitimate pretext for sending troops?

Gao Jiancheng frowned slightly, his eyes shifting as his mind worked. He tested, “You want the imperial court to issue an edict?”

Niu Youdao nodded. “Lord Gao understood the moment he heard it. But Nanzhou cannot be the only one contributing strength to this war. The regional lords must work together with one heart.”

“Nanzhou wants supreme authority to coordinate and command Yan’s armies.”

“The rebels are running rampant, yet Shang Yongzhong hides in the capital playing dead. The powers of the Grand Marshal have become nothing more than decoration.”

“Lord Gao, are you confident you can persuade His Majesty to let Commandery Prince Yongping wield the authority of the Grand Marshal for a time?”

“Ah!” Gao Jiancheng jumped in shock.

He and Fan Zhuan stared at each other.

He had seen men open their mouths like lions before. He had never seen anyone open one this wide.

“This...”

For a moment, he did not even know how to answer.

Only after quite some time did he say with a helpless smile, “Master Dao, forgive me for speaking plainly. His Majesty could give the office of Grand Marshal to almost anyone except Commandery Prince Yongping. You surely understand the reason yourself.”

“Even if you could make the three major sects force His Majesty to abdicate, even if the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the new Emperor still could not agree to the three major sects handing that authority to Commandery Prince Yongping.”

“Master Dao, it would be useless even if I opened my mouth. If I dared say such a thing in the morning, by afternoon I would need coffins prepared for my entire household!”

Niu Youdao asked, “With Lord Gao’s ability, is there truly no method at all? Or perhaps Lord Gao can give me even one possible path. I can find a way to handle the rest myself.”

Gao Jiancheng waved both hands repeatedly. “There is not even the slightest possibility.”

“This touches the interests of too many people. None of the imperial loyalists would agree.”

“Even if Master Dao went to the three major sects, I doubt they would dare raise such a demand.”

“The moment that demand was voiced, there would be no need for another state to invade. Yan itself would fall completely into chaos.”

[End of Chapter 632]