Chapter 1540: Yin Chu's Troubles

There was still something Yin Chu did not understand about Misty Pavilion's intentions. He asked, "If this is Misty Pavilion's doing, why not act directly against Yan and Han? Why use us as their hand?"

"If they could act openly, they wouldn't need to creep around in secret. Since they're doing things secretly, they must have their reasons." Gao Pin waved a hand, unwilling to dwell on it. He looked toward the endless enemy camps and asked thoughtfully, "I hear Meng Shanming has come?"

Yin Chu said, "Yes. It isn't a secret anymore. Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming arrived with great fanfare. According to the reports from our spies, they're staying on that hillside." He pointed toward a distant spot.

Gao Pin gazed there for a while and gave a soft sigh. "Shang Chaozong isn't much of a concern. Meng Shanming is troublesome. With that old fellow there, the Yan army will be difficult to break."

Yin Chu laughed. "People say, 'Yan has Shanming; Qi has Wuhen!' Huyan Wuhen, who stood equal in fame with Meng Shanming, has already lost to the Marshal. I'm afraid this Meng Shanming may also taste defeat at the Marshal's hands."

Gao Pin turned and looked at him. "Whenever you think something is wrong, you're a man who even dares obey His Majesty in public and defy him in private. You dared kill the Princess's man. Since when did you learn to flatter people?" The reference to killing the Princess's man was naturally to what had happened here with Chen Changgong.

Yin Chu chuckled. "Maybe there's some praise in it, but I wouldn't call it flattery. The State of Jin is strong in soldiers and horses now. That's what gives me the confidence to say it. Huyan Wuhen couldn't stop us. Meng Shanming may not be able to stop the Marshal either."

Gao Pin shook his head slightly, worry showing in his eyes. With a sigh, he said, "I'm not trying to belittle Huyan Wuhen. He and Meng Shanming may have been equally famous, but if you truly compare the two, I'm afraid he was still a little short of Meng Shanming."

Yin Chu gave an "oh." "How so?"

Gao Pin said, "If you count Huyan Wuhen's life carefully, apart from the time Qi joined Wei against Zhao, he really only ever crossed swords with our State of Jin. Meng Shanming is different. You know what that old fellow did in his prime. He pressed Zhao in the west, threatened Han in the north, and crushed Song in the east. He fought those three states until the very mention of him struck fear into them. He crossed hands with every kind of opponent and was truly tempered through a hundred battles."

"When Yan was on the verge of destruction last time, that old cripple dragged his aged body back out and forcibly turned the tide, pulling Yan back from the gates of death."

"Song had victory in its grasp, yet he counterattacked alone and turned the whole State of Song pale with fear. He killed until everyone from top to bottom in Song was terrified. They say that even now, mentioning Meng Shanming's name in Song can stop a child from crying and make Emperor Wu Gongling lower his voice by a few degrees."

"Rumors like that can be treated as jokes, but that campaign truly was a classic victory of the weak over the strong. You have to remember that Yan's army pushed deep into enemy territory and won after its supply line had been cut. If it were you or me, could we do it? Our army may hold the greater strength now, but who dares guarantee we won't follow in Song's footsteps?"

Yin Chu fell silent.

Gao Pin shifted his gaze toward the Han army. "Meng Shanming excels at attacking. He often uses offense in place of defense. Jin Jue, the commander of Han's army, is the opposite. He truly excels at defense... I once heard Shang Chaozong say, 'Those skilled in war win no resounding glory.' I rather admire that line. Jin Jue is exactly that kind of man."

"In reputation, he can't compare with Meng Shanming. In the sheer number of military achievements, he isn't even fit to carry Meng Shanming's shoes. And yet this is the man who kept Han standing immovable among the former Seven States. No matter how the winds and clouds changed, no matter how powerful the foreign enemy, so long as Jin Jue was there, Han remained steady."

"Brother, don't forget: Meng Shanming lost those legs of his to Jin Jue! Now one excels at attack and the other at defense, and the two are joining forces against our State of Jin... A commander must know himself and know his enemy. Brother, this battle will not be easy."

Yin Chu could not help sighing too. "That's why I said I don't know what those sons of bitches are thinking, forcing us to attack in such haste."

Gao Pin's gaze grew deep and thoughtful. "If we want to win, this battle might be much easier if that man in Jin were willing to come out of retirement."

Yin Chu asked, "Who?"

Gao Pin said, "Superintendent Shao of the Imperial Academy."

Yin Chu stared. "Shao Pingbo?"

Gao Pin nodded. "His talents are exactly what we need to break open a deadlock like this. Unfortunately, after the ministers at court joined hands to blunt his edge, he actually withdrew into a school and became a teacher. Yet even as a teacher, he's exceptional. He somehow took his adversity at court and turned the whole situation back in his favor. A talent like his appears once in an age."

"When we were mobilizing troops and preparing for the eastern campaign, I already anticipated the difficulty we're facing now. I invited him again and again to come out and help. After the capital moved, I even carried generous gifts to his door three separate times. Every visit failed. All I got from him was one sentence."

Yin Chu's interest was piqued. "What did he say?"

Gao Pin said, "I don't know whether he learned that Misty Pavilion is supervising the war from behind, but he gave me only one piece of advice: now is not the time for an eastern campaign. I wasn't willing to give up, so I went to His Majesty. His Majesty himself couldn't persuade him either. Superintendent Shao simply refuses to come out again, no matter what."

Yin Chu said, "He dares defy an imperial decree?"

"It isn't that serious. I expect His Majesty also values the Imperial Academy's function and didn't force him too hard. Conquering the realm is easy; governing it is hard. His Majesty has his own considerations, and I can understand them. Still, the realm hasn't been conquered yet. Good steel should be used on the blade. It's a pity for Superintendent Shao to hide in the rear when he is hardly a man willing to spend his entire life teaching."

At the mention of the Imperial Academy, Yin Chu was reminded of a private concern. He suddenly coughed. "Well, Marshal... speaking of Superintendent Shao's Imperial Academy, my wife keeps sending letters and nagging me. One day she's telling me so-and-so's boy has entered the Academy, the next she's telling me somebody else's son walked out of the Academy and was immediately sent by the court to serve as an official. Still a student on one side, already out serving as an official in training on the other. Women see that kind of thing and naturally grow envious. And I still have a younger son at home. My wife doesn't want the boy fighting and killing on battlefields too... I hear the Marshal's eldest grandson has entered the Imperial Academy?"

Gao Pin gave him a sidelong look. "What are you getting at?"

"Ah!" Yin Chu rubbed his hands together. "You know what happened between me and the Princess. It's really difficult for me to open my mouth. The moment I do, wouldn't I be tearing open somebody else's old scar? Who knows what Superintendent Shao would think afterward? That man isn't easy to provoke. He's the fellow who dared throw the families of half the court into prison."

Gao Pin paused, remembered the matter, and found it both irritating and funny. "So you know it's hard to ask. You made that mess yourself. If you can't open your mouth, you think I can? Why don't you ask His Majesty? With the military merit General Yin has accumulated, His Majesty should be willing to make an exception for you. Go ask him."

Yin Chu groaned. "Marshal, this involves that business with the Seventh Princess. Do you really think I can raise it with His Majesty? If I did, I'd only be inviting humiliation. No one at court wants to touch my affair. I genuinely can't find anyone else. And my wife nags me every day. I can't even keep my mind on the war anymore."

Gao Pin said, "Don't give me that. If your wife nags too much, divorce her and marry another."

Yin Chu's eyes went wide. "Marshal! I've followed you for all these years. You can't treat a brother like this."

With his hands behind his back, Gao Pin said, "No one can easily speak on your behalf in this matter. Anything else would be easier. This one, I truly can't help you."

Yin Chu looked at him pitifully. "Isn't it because I heard the Marshal has a good relationship with Superintendent Shao? Think it over again. See if there isn't some way you can smooth things over for me."

Gao Pin said, "You're imagining things. I have some dealings with him, yes, but we're nowhere near close enough for me to interfere in a family disgrace like this."

Yin Chu stared. "Marshal, saying that just isn't interesting. I've heard all about it. The two of you joined hands to get rich before. The war had barely started when I heard you were already buying property all over Wei Capital. Now you've made money hand over fist. Who would believe the two of you never discussed it privately?"

"Because of that, the one time I finally managed to get home, my wife cursed me until I couldn't lift my head. She said we're all fighting wars, yet other people fight and make fortunes while I not only fail to make money, I spend all my time offending people and even cut off the future roads of my own descendants. I'm a seven-foot man, a proper man, and she cursed me so badly I couldn't raise my head..."

Gao Pin grew angry. "Nonsense! Where did you hear that rumor?"

Yin Chu said, "Is it a rumor? Those grand mansions of yours are sitting right there, along with all that fertile farmland. I even heard the Marshal bought a wharf outside the city. Once ships begin traveling in and out of the capital, they'll all have to pay you. You can sit still and make money! At current prices, Marshal, you're rich enough to drip oil. I don't know how many people are salivating with envy. If there was such a good opportunity, why didn't you tell your brother about it beforehand? Now I get cursed by my wife every day. That's hardly very loyal of you, is it?"

"..."

Gao Pin was rendered speechless and raised a hand to point at him.

Yin Chu said, "If I'm wrong, punish me under military law. If I'm right, then help me solve my son's problem."

Gao Pin flung his hand down helplessly. "Things aren't what you think. At first, I had no idea Shao Pingbo had bought so much property in Wei Capital either. After I led the army in and occupied the city, we imposed military control and began confiscating certain properties for the state. Then I received a letter from him and discovered he owned some of them."

"I asked about it and received an explanation from Blackwater Terrace. Back then, Shao Pingbo had privately purchased those properties so he could operate more conveniently in Wei and have cover for his activities."

"He spent his own money buying them and then rendered great service. What was I supposed to do? Confiscate his property anyway?"

"At the time, Shao Pingbo wrote that if the war later took another turn, those properties might still be useful as cover. Not only could I not confiscate them, I had to help protect them. Of course, in the same letter he also suggested that I buy some property there myself. He said that if I established holdings there, it would help steady people's hearts."

"I thought about it and realized he was right. If I bought property there, it would show that our Jin army was confident it could hold its ground in Wei. That truly could steady people's hearts. So I submitted a memorial to His Majesty. His Majesty agreed it made sense, and only then did I buy a batch of confiscated properties from the court at prices no one else was willing to pay."

"How was I supposed to know back then that even Jin's capital would end up moving to Wei Capital? Why didn't anyone else at court buy? Because with Huyan Wuhen pressing us, no one had confidence. Buying at that time could easily have meant throwing money into the water. Listen carefully: I wasn't trying to make a fortune. I spent money to steady people's hearts. It wasn't nearly as filthy as you're making it sound!"

[End of Chapter 1540]