Chapter 1229: Untitled

Considering how much Shao Pingbo had done to help his army in this war, Gao Pin truly did want to lend him a hand.

If he were willing to throw caution aside and intervene, the tricks being played by those people at court would certainly be disrupted. For no other reason than this: he was now commander-in-chief of the war, and the war itself lay in his hands. That alone gave his words enormous weight.

But just as he had said, he had climbed from an ordinary soldier to his present position one step at a time. Only he knew what he had endured along the way. To risk everything for Shao Pingbo would mean opposing virtually the entire court. He could not do that.

He understood one thing very clearly. Emperor Taishu Xiong stood behind Shao Pingbo. So long as Shao Pingbo did not act recklessly and hand those people at court a handle to seize, they could only go this far. They would not dare run completely wild. If they did, the Emperor would start killing people.

If Shao Pingbo did not make trouble, the court faction had no excuse to make trouble either. If he did, the situation would become entirely different.

Those men knew they could not stop His Majesty from raising Shao Pingbo into power. Since they could not stop it directly, they might as well force Shao Pingbo into losing his composure. The moment he swallowed the humiliation badly enough to do something rash, they would have achieved their purpose.

Gao Pin was away commanding armies in the field. The last thing he wanted was chaos breaking out in the court behind him. Whether Shao Pingbo acted recklessly or the court faction did, either could affect the army's operations.

He wanted both sides to stop here and not deepen the conflict any further.

Once the war ended, they could fight however they liked. Gao Pin could simply stand in court and say nothing, offending neither side and helping neither side.

They had only just met, and the difference in their rank was considerable. Yet Gao Pin kept calling him "little brother." There was a reason for that. He was trying to persuade the younger man to hold himself back.

Shao Pingbo's eyes flickered. He had already sensed earlier that something was wrong. Now Gao Pin's strange remarks made that suspicion even stronger.

He tested the waters. "Has something happened in the capital? If the Grand Marshal has some guidance for me, please speak plainly."

Gao Pin chuckled but said nothing more. He merely waved toward the entrance, signaling that the messenger could come in.

Then he returned to his seat behind the desk and began flipping through the documents before him, looking as though he had other business to attend to.

Before long, a member of Blackwater Terrace who had been traveling with Shao Pingbo entered the tent. After saluting, he presented Shao Pingbo with a secret letter.

Shao Pingbo withdrew his sidelong glance from Gao Pin and lowered his eyes to the sheet in his hands.

The opening lines stated that Seventh Princess Taishu Huan'er had barged into morning court without authorization.

His attention was caught at once.

But the farther he read, the more violently the hand holding the letter began to tremble.

His expression changed.

Soon, even his entire body seemed to be shaking.

Standing nearby, Shao Sansheng immediately noticed something was wrong. Concern flooded his face. He tentatively called, "Eldest Young Master!"

Behind the desk, Gao Pin also stopped what he was doing and watched Shao Pingbo's reaction.

The man's complexion had gone white.

Almost in the blink of an eye, all color drained from his face until he looked deathly pale.

Gao Pin sighed inwardly.

Those men at court had struck too viciously.

Anyone placed in Shao Pingbo's position would find this difficult to accept.

Even if Shao Pingbo agreed to the marriage, the affair had already buried a hidden danger in his future. If he ever showed the slightest disrespect toward the Princess, it could provoke suspicion from the Emperor.

And even if the Emperor himself did not grow suspicious, others would immediately seize on it.

Gao Pin could already imagine how some of them would proceed.

Why had Shao Pingbo treated the Princess disrespectfully? What was the reason?

From there they could extend the accusation into disrespect toward His Majesty.

Or they could drag the matter involving Chen Changgong back into the light.

In short, so long as Shao Pingbo continued climbing upward, people would keep stabbing him with cold knives from the shadows.

How long could he endure it?

At this point, Gao Pin even found himself blaming Yin Chu for being muddleheaded.

Why had he needed to kill Chen Changgong?

If Chen Changgong had not died, none of this would have happened.

Yet Gao Pin had no way to blame Yin Chu either.

For the sake of holding Xiping Pass and stabilizing the army's morale, Yin Chu had not hesitated to offend the Emperor himself. A general had gone that far for the sake of his duty.

As commander-in-chief, Gao Pin could not utter half a word against him.

"Eldest Young Master!" Shao Sansheng suddenly cried out and rushed forward to support Shao Pingbo.

After finishing the letter, Shao Pingbo had abruptly clutched his own chest. His breathing was clearly disordered.

Shao Sansheng knew him too well. He understood immediately that the enormous shock had triggered the old condition again.

Shao Pingbo slowly lifted his gaze from the paper and met Gao Pin's eyes.

Only now did he fully understand what Gao Pin's earlier words had meant.

The hand holding the letter trembled. His voice trembled as well.

"Grand Marshal, I have exhausted heart and blood at the front for the State of Jin, yet there are people at court plotting behind my back to destroy me. A pack of treacherous ministers and scoundrels!"

Shao Sansheng supported him with one hand while snatching the letter with the other.

He skimmed it quickly.

His face changed drastically.

Gao Pin rose and lifted a hand to stop Shao Pingbo. His voice sank. "What treacherous ministers? Little brother, you may say words like that inside my command tent. Once you leave this tent, you must not spout nonsense again."

"You have no evidence. Where are these 'treacherous ministers' you speak of? If reckless words spread outside, you will only be inviting trouble for yourself."

"No matter what you and I may understand privately, the Princess is marrying down. On the surface, those people are acting from good intentions. Even His Majesty cannot openly say they have done anything wrong."

"You should understand that principle."

Shao Sansheng suddenly interrupted without regard for etiquette, crying bitterly, "Grand Marshal, please stop talking!"

Gao Pin did not know about Shao Pingbo's illness.

He froze.

A moment later, he understood.

"Pu—"

Shao Pingbo suddenly coughed up a mouthful of bright red blood.

His eyes rolled upward, and his body collapsed backward without warning.

"Eldest Young Master!" Shao Sansheng shouted.

Fortunately, he already had one arm around Shao Pingbo and kept him from crashing to the ground.

The Blackwater Terrace messenger rushed forward as well and helped support him.

Shao Pingbo had already lost consciousness.

"..."

Gao Pin was badly startled and stood there blankly for an instant.

Then he recovered and shouted, "Men! Quickly, men!"

Cultivators and soldiers immediately rushed in from outside.

Pointing at the unconscious man, Gao Pin roared, "Save him! Quickly save him! If anything happens to Lord Shao, I will hold all of you responsible!"

The group hurriedly examined Shao Pingbo, then rapidly began helping him regulate his breathing and circulation.

The command tent was no place for treatment. They quickly lifted him and carried him outside.

Shao Sansheng ran after them, wiping tears from his face.

Farther away outside the tent, Linghu Qiu, Sect Leader of Tiandi Sect, suddenly became alert. He stared at the man being carried away, visibly surprised.

He had seen Shao Pingbo descend from the sky when he arrived.

This was someone who had once tried to recruit him, and also one of Niu Youdao's great enemies. Naturally Linghu Qiu had paid attention when he appeared.

He had not expected the man to be carried out again.

What had happened?

By now the entire Tiandi Sect had been brought to the battlefield and forced to fight alongside Jin's army. The sect had suffered considerable losses.

Niu Youdao's death had greatly affected both Linghu Qiu himself and Tiandi Sect.

When Niu Youdao was alive, Linghu Qiu had even been received by Jin Emperor Taishu Xiong. After being sent to accompany the army, Tiandi Sect's assigned positions had generally not been too dangerous.

But once Niu Youdao died, it was as though the sect had lost its remaining usefulness.

Whenever battle began, Tiandi Sect was pushed toward the front lines.

Only later did Linghu Qiu deliberately let word slip that Chuan Ying had once belonged to Tiandi Sect.

After that, his sect was transferred closer to the central command, where following the army's command structure was considerably safer.

Linghu Qiu had not wanted to exploit Chuan Ying's present status.

But faced with the brutal slaughter of two armies colliding head-on, what other choice did he have?

Tiandi Sect had not even been established for very long. If the losses continued at that pace, the sect simply could not endure them.

He had been forced to make limited use of the connection...

"How can he take things so hard?" Gao Pin stamped his foot and sighed, then paced back and forth inside the tent with his hands behind his back.

A general who had heard the commotion hurried in and asked anxiously, "Grand Marshal, Lord Shao... did he offend you somehow?"

He had assumed Gao Pin had punished him.

Gao Pin waved a hand, unwilling to discuss it.

Then he noticed a sheet of paper on the floor.

He bent, picked it up, and glanced at it.

There was no mistake. This was the message from the capital delivered to Shao Pingbo.

Shao Sansheng's entire attention had been on his master. He had not even noticed when the letter slipped from his hand.

"A message from Blackwater Terrace..." Gao Pin murmured after reading it, stroking his beard.

Something about the contents surprised him.

The letter described only what had happened in court.

It did not mention His Majesty's attitude at all.

By rights, Blackwater Terrace was under the Emperor's direct control. There was no reason Blackwater Terrace itself would secretly monitor court affairs on Shao Pingbo's behalf.

A moment later, Gao Pin gave a slow, thoughtful nod.

He understood something.

The general beside him was still trying to guess what had happened.

Gao Pin casually handed him the letter. "Read it yourself."

The general took it quickly.

After finishing, he remained speechless for a long while before finally sighing. "The Seventh Princess's affair... ah. Lord Shao truly lifted a stone only to smash his own foot."

"Grand Marshal, does this count as retribution?"

Gao Pin shot him a cold look. "You don't understand a damned thing!"

Anyone else beneath Heaven could say Shao Pingbo had brought this on himself.

Only men like them could not.

How much had Shao Pingbo done for the Jin army?

How many losses had his work spared them?

The general looked embarrassed and scratched his cheek.

...

In Nanzhou, inside the secret chamber, Niu Youdao finished reading the report Wei Duo had sent back.

Something seemed to click into place.

He lowered the secret letter thoughtfully.

Guan Fangyi tested him. "What if Shao Pingbo refuses the humiliation and simply runs?"

She had brought the report. Given her temperament, there was no chance she had not read it first.

Niu Youdao shook his head and smiled faintly. "If he could run cleanly, that would actually be better. Without the protection of Jin's power, matters would become much simpler."

"But he cannot run."

"The reason I ordered Jia Wuqun to force Shao Pingbo into marrying Taishu Huan'er was precisely to put a rope around his neck."

"He can use Jin's power to protect himself. I can also use Jin's power to restrain him."

"A man like this is too dangerous. Once he finds some point of leverage from which he can exert force, allowing him to escape may not be a good thing at all. We already suffered for that once in the Qi capital."

"This kind of man is not easy to kill. I have driven him into what should have been certain death more than once, and every time he still managed to escape from a dead end. That alone tells you enough."

"So first, use Jin's strength to force him into the open. Then use Jin's strength to keep watch over him. Cut off, as much as possible, his ability to link up with other powers and borrow their strength."

"Only then will there be a chance to kill him in a single stroke. Otherwise, Jia Wuqun may not be able to finish him!"

Guan Fangyi did not understand. "Jin will keep watch over him?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "What kind of man is Shao Pingbo? A ruthless, poisonous strategist!"

"At this point, how could Taishu Xiong possibly fail to see that?"

"He will not allow Shao Pingbo to escape. He would rather kill him than let him go over to someone else!"

Understanding dawned on Guan Fangyi.

...

Inside the imperial study of Jin's palace, lamps burned brightly.

Taishu Xiong sat behind the desk reading the report that Shao Pingbo had coughed blood and collapsed unconscious.

He remained silent.

A long time passed before he slowly said, "Tao Lue, he may refuse the marriage. But he cannot leave!"

Tao Lue bowed. "Your Majesty may rest assured. Lord Shao is a capable minister. This old servant gave the necessary orders long ago. He will be watched over carefully."

[End of Chapter 1229]