Chapter 658: The Marquis Calls Him to Account!

The winds over Yingdu had finally died down.

The affair of Prince Cheng Residence had been raised high, then brought down hard.

Why say it had been raised high? Because that night, senior officials from every department, the City Patrol Office inside the city, and the great camps outside it had all poured in with troops. It had been an enormous spectacle.

But if the matter was set down, why say it had been brought down hard?

Because Prince Cheng Residence itself had indeed been set down.

No news spread that Prince Cheng had suddenly contracted a grave illness and died. Nor was any specific criminal charge announced against him.

Quite a few people inside the Residence were arrested. Of course, since the Residence guards had already been butchered early on, however many eunuchs, palace maids, and the like were seized afterward, it was not enough to create much of a stir.

What followed was the true display of the new Prefect Xu Wenzu's methods.

The assassination beforehand had laid the groundwork. Troops entering the city had warmed up the stage. The Marquis of Pingxi being present in Yingdu was the paperweight holding everything down. The affair of Prince Cheng Residence remained shrouded in confusion, but there was obviously a great heap of unclean business behind it waiting to be dragged into the light.

There were too many openings, too many excuses, too many gaps to exploit.

Xu Wenzu arrested one batch, hauled in another, demoted a third, and punished a fourth.

Even Gou Moli watched in amazement.

Perhaps it was because, back when the Savage King first learned his trade, he had started with military affairs, then gone onto the snowfields to gather hearts and rally tribes. Conditions had been limited, so the methods he used were still rough work.

A true court and a true bureaucracy had order and counterweights. You could not simply shout, "Men, drag him out and cut him down!"

It was neither barbecue nor a pot of everything stewed together.

It was taking a block of tofu and spending enormous effort and deep skill carving it into something vivid enough to seem alive.

Xu Wenzu showed Gou Moli what true bureaucratic technique looked like.

The Marquis of Pingxi was nearly nodding off.

Gou Moli was beside himself with delight.

With this wave of cuts, blows, removals, and pressure, Xu Wenzu swiftly brought the situation under control. What remained would require a period of slow simmering over a low flame, continuing the deeper adjustments little by little.

When Fatty Xu had first taken office, he had already formed his strategy and prepared himself to spend a long time achieving it.

Who could have known plans would never keep up with changes?

After winds from east, south, west, and north had all blown through in a chaotic rush, he had somehow completed most of his plan to weaken Yingdu's old bureaucratic structure just like that.

Originally, he had intended to spend several years of this term slowly doing the work, then leave himself the final half-year or so to drink tea in Yingdu, savor what he had accomplished, wait for his term to end with the job done, and return to Yanjing to enter the central court.

Now, naturally, Xu Wenzu was not disheartened or at a loss merely because the work had been completed ahead of schedule.

In truth, he was very happy and very satisfied.

It meant he could do more.

It meant he could realize more of his political ambitions and more of the plans he had drawn up for governing a region.

So, at the farewell dinner for the Marquis of Pingxi, Xu Wenzu grew emotional.

How could he not?

Working with someone who understood how human relations worked and was genuinely capable of getting things done was simply too damn comfortable.

Xu Wenzu had experienced that feeling once before in Nanwang City.

Years later, after coming to Yingdu, he was finally experiencing it again.

That was why Xu Wenzu found it perfectly natural that the Prince of Jingnan valued his Brother Zheng so highly. A subordinate like this was exactly the sort one ought to value. Failing to value him, or leaving him frozen on the sidelines, would have been the truly strange thing.

On their final night together, Marquis Zheng also drank merrily with Xu Wenzu.

The two of them reminisced about their glorious years of the past, then joined hands in looking forward to a bright future.

Xu Wenzu drank a little too much.

At the end, he slapped his own heavy chest and, sounding half drunk yet somehow still sober, said, "Brother Zheng, don't worry. Your Marquis Residence has only just been established. Things aren't easy. Here in Yingdu, you've got your elder brother watching out for you."

That amounted to a political commitment.

A regional military strongman and a high official entrusted with governing a major territory had reached a certain kind of alliance.

In truth, after Prince Zhenbei gave up competing for that chair, it was difficult to call Xu Wenzu a man of Prince Zhenbei Residence anymore.

One could even say he had become politically "plain."

And here, "plain" meant clean.

He had an exceptionally close relationship with the First Prince.

He exchanged meaningful glances with the Sixth Lord Faction.

He was perfectly respectful toward the Crown Prince's faction.

Strictly speaking, he did not belong to anyone. Yet every camp looked at this fat man and thought he was pretty good.

So at a time like this, Xu Wenzu choosing to join hands with Zheng Fan was entirely natural.

Of course, the main reason any of this was possible was that the political superstructure of Great Yan had long since tilted into a complete mess. The Emperor of Yan, Prince Zhenbei, and the Prince of Jingnan had formed a politico-military system that looked grotesquely abnormal to every other state.

If this were the State of Qian, Xu Wenzu's first priority upon arriving in Yingdu would not have been cutting down Yingdu's old powerful interests.

It would have been to keep a death grip on the newly established Marquis of Pingxi Residence, divide it, win parts of it over, suppress the rest, and ultimately dismantle that emerging military bloc.

Great Yan did not play things that way.

More precisely, as long as the Emperor of Yan remained on the throne for even one more day, that political climate would not fundamentally change.

After receiving Xu Wenzu's promise, Marquis Zheng was equally satisfied.

He understood that unless he himself raised a banner in rebellion, he and Xu Wenzu would continue to maintain this tacit political alliance and serve as outside support for one another.

This was not the Sixth Lord Faction, nor was it the Crown Prince's faction.

Once the Marquis Residence had been established, setting aside those who might submit to it militarily, there would inevitably be forces in politics and officialdom that were drawn toward it on their own.

Of course, all of that belonged to the future.

Eastern Jin's development could not be separated from Yingdu.

It was not only the money and grain the court sent to eastern Jin every quarter. There was also trade, manpower, transport, and much more. If Yingdu ever decided to put a hand around eastern Jin's throat, the Marquis Residence would be extremely uncomfortable.

Thanks to Xu Wenzu, that hidden danger had now been removed.

Next came putting one's head down and doing one's own work.

Farming.

Forging.

Trade.

The only thing missing was a stone stele outside the gates of the Marquis of Pingxi Residence with a single line carved across it:

Development is the hard truth!

And so, the next morning, Marquis Zheng led his personal guards out of Yingdu and began the journey back.

After crossing the Wang River and passing Yupan City, however, he did not continue toward Fengxin City.

Before going home, there was still one matter he had to settle.

Back when he had been stationed at Snow Sea Pass, he had relied on the Sun Clan's connections in Yingdu and Little Sixth's connections in the Ministry of Revenue to gorge himself until his mouth shone with grease, enjoying supplies and treatment twice as good as those of the other armies, sometimes even better.

But there were some things Zheng Fan himself could do that did not mean he was willing to let his own subordinates repeat his old story.

He had risked his life on the battlefield again and again, surviving by a hair to build this foundation and pull this army together.

How could he possibly allow someone under him to run his own little private kitchen right beneath his nose?

On this matter, the Marquis of Pingxi had zero tolerance.

...

"Young Commander!"

"The Young Commander is back!"

"Haha, Young Commander!"

Gong Lin greeted one uncle and elder after another as he walked into his father's command tent.

Strictly speaking, Gong Wang's force had a city assigned as its garrison. But that county city was still undergoing repairs and was temporarily unsuited to housing a large army, so his command tent remained inside the military camp.

Besides, the Marquis of Pingxi had gone to Yingdu. It was only natural for Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi to the north to bring their troops out and put some pressure on Yupan City, adding weight to the Marquis's presence.

When Gong Lin entered, Gong Wang was eating.

Three dishes and a soup. The food was decent enough.

Seeing his eldest son return, Gong Wang was delighted. He waved him over.

"Eaten yet? Come eat with me."

Gong Lin was Gong Wang's eldest son. Gong Wang had kept him at his side since childhood, and in truth, the boy had begun leading a force of his own quite early.

But ever since Gong Wang had bowed to the hilltop of the Marquis of Pingxi Residence, he had sent this eldest son to the Marquis's side, publicly saying the boy was there to receive instruction.

In reality, there was also an element of sending a hostage.

Father and son had been apart for a long time.

Naturally, the father missed his son terribly.

Faced with his father's warm expression, then noticing the two streaks of white that had already appeared at his temples, Gong Lin drew a deep breath.

He did not sit down to eat with him.

Instead, in a voice that was solemn and even faintly cold, he declared, "Garrison Commander Gong Wang, under the Marquis of Pingxi Residence, kneel to receive the Marquis's command!"

Gong Wang froze.

He studied his son carefully for a while and saw that Gong Lin did not move.

There were several clerks and personal guards inside the command tent as well. At the sight, they all looked at one another.

At last, Gong Wang put down his chopsticks and walked over.

Gong Lin continued staring solemnly at his father without the slightest retreat. In his hand was the command token of the Marquis of Pingxi.

Back when Great Cheng still existed, Gong Wang had already been a great general.

He had fought through war after war over the years. The authority he carried was naturally not something to be taken lightly.

More importantly, there was the relationship between father and son.

The father stood above the son.

Yet Gong Lin remained standing perfectly straight, with almost no emotion shifting in his eyes.

Gong Wang smiled.

He reached out, took his son's shoulders in both hands, and squeezed them.

"My son has grown up."

As a father, seeing his son mature naturally filled him with pride.

After saying that, Gong Wang withdrew his hands, stepped back twice, and went down on one knee before his son.

"This subordinate general, Gong Wang, awaits the Marquis's command!"

At once, the clerks and guards inside the command tent all dropped to their knees as well.

Gong Lin gripped the token and turned his face toward it.

"The Marquis asks: Gong Wang, do you know what this Marquis dislikes most?"

Gong Wang did not answer.

The question was far too broad.

Gong Lin continued, "This Marquis dislikes nothing more than subordinates who harbor other designs of their own."

"This subordinate would not dare. I ask the Marquis to investigate clearly!"

"Gong Wang, think this through carefully for yourself. In consideration of the fact that you and I once fought side by side on the battlefield, this Marquis will give you one chance to explain everything clearly to my face."

"This subordinate accepts the command!"

Gong Lin let out a long breath and put the token away.

Then he himself stepped back three paces, dropped to his knees before his father, and solemnly slammed his forehead against the ground three times.

He struck so hard that his forehead turned blue.

Earlier, he had been transmitting an order.

He knew his father had not been kneeling to him, but to the Marquis's token in his hand.

Even so, watching his own father kneel before him had been genuine torment for a son.

The only thing Gong Lin could do was repay it twice over in this fashion.

Gong Wang laughed, rose, and came over to help his son up.

"Silly boy. What does this amount to? Between the two of us, official business is official business and family is family. Keep the accounts separate."

The others inside the command tent rose as well.

"Father, you've gotten yourself into trouble," Gong Lin said.

Gong Wang sighed.

"I've heard some of the rumors. Prince Cheng Residence looks as though nothing happened to it, but it was cut down badly. Plenty of people in Yingdu officialdom also ran into terrible luck. I've actually been wondering whether it would eventually be my turn. The wars are over now. The Yan people have stabilized the situation in Jin. So now the cleanup begins."

Gong Wang blinked, then shook his head.

"So now it's Father's turn, is it?"

Gong Lin shook his head.

"The Marquis isn't that kind of man."

Gong Wang gave no answer.

He returned behind his command table, sat down, and waved a hand. Everyone else inside the tent withdrew.

"Why did your father submit to the Marquis in the first place? Wasn't it because I wanted a powerful backer to shield us when a day like this came? Yan and Jin are different. At least for these two generations, the divide between Yan and Jin will remain obvious. The Yan people will keep guarding against Jin. While the wars were still being fought, every contradiction could be suppressed. Now... heh. To put it plainly, once the millstone has finished turning, they're killing the donkey."

"Father, I've been with the Marquis for some time now. In his eyes, there really is no distinction between Yan and Jin. Even Savages can be entrusted with important responsibilities under him. The Marquis thinks on a very large scale."

Had this been some other father and son, a son who dared contradict his father's judgment to his face might well have received a contemptuous smile and a single verdict:

Son, you're too naive.

But this time, Gong Wang was plainly listening.

The main reason was not that he had tremendous faith in his son's judgment.

It was what Gong Wang himself knew of the Marquis of Pingxi.

When the winds from Yingdu had first blown toward him, Gong Wang's instincts as a Jin general had produced a sense of insecurity rooted in the difference of his own blood.

That was the greatest, most basic, and least movable part of his view of the world.

Now, because of his son's words, he could ease that instinct aside for a moment and consider what lay beneath it.

Then he recalled the words his son had brought from the Marquis.

Gong Wang felt he had finally grasped the heart of the problem.

There were some things that did not seem like much while you were doing them.

Back when the Marquis of Pingxi was stationed at Snow Sea Pass, helping himself at public expense until his mouth shone with grease, he had only felt that he was using his own ability to demand more money and grain.

Someone was going to eat it anyway, wasn't that so?

But once Gong Wang reversed the perspective and tried standing in the Marquis's position, he finally realized what such a thing meant to a true superior, and what it meant to the newly established system centered on the Marquis Residence.

The fundamental difference was actually very simple.

Back when Marquis Zheng had been taking the lion's share while "turning public resources to private use," the man above him had been Tian Wujing.

Old Tian saw that sort of thing as eating according to one's own ability. Even if he knew about it, he tacitly allowed it.

He had allowed more than that.

When Marquis Zheng told him that the Savage King was in his hands, Old Tian had merely replied:

Got it.

But the man above Gong Wang was Marquis Zheng himself.

"Ahem... ahem..."

Gong Wang began to cough.

"Your father failed to think things through."

Once he understood what the real problem was, the burden on Gong Wang's shoulders actually fell away.

If he had made a mistake, there was still a chance to admit it. The Marquis's message had already laid the groundwork for him to do so.

At worst, he would be punished.

He could correct himself.

Who could live an entire lifetime without ever making a mistake?

Compared with that, being condemned on some fabricated charge merely because he was a Jin man would have been what truly drove Gong Wang to despair.

Now things were actually better.

Gong Wang let out a long breath.

"Your father was frightened earlier. Heh."

It was self-mockery.

Even in front of his own son, he had failed to fully hide the state of a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.

"Gongsun Zhi's force moved several dozen li south. General Liang's force moved eighty li west. Those two armies were like a pair of pincers closing around your father. I thought the Marquis meant to move against me. Looking at it now, the Marquis is still giving me a chance."

Gong Lin immediately said, "Father, if the Marquis didn't intend to give you a chance, he wouldn't have sent your son here with this command. The Marquis hates trouble more than anything."

One could hear it plainly.

After spending enough time at the Marquis's side, his son had begun worshiping the Marquis.

Gong Wang could not help feeling a little wistful.

His son used to worship him.

As a father, there was inevitably a touch of jealousy in his heart.

"I understand. I'll make preparations immediately. The troops will all remain here. You and I will go to Fengxin City. I will personally plead guilty before the Marquis and ask his forgiveness."

Leaving the army behind and entering Fengxin alone to go into the Marquis Residence was the best possible posture.

For a military commander especially, it said more than a thousand explanations ever could.

Gong Lin shook his head.

"Father, there's no need."

"No need for what?" Gong Wang asked, puzzled.

Gong Lin wiped the traces of tears from the corners of his eyes and smiled.

"The Marquis said that if Father decided to go to Fengxin City alone, then Father should step outside the command tent."

"Outside the command tent?"

Gong Wang immediately realized something.

He left the commander's seat and strode straight out.

The moment he emerged, he saw the clerks and personal guards who had left the command tent earlier pinned to the ground, blades laid across their necks.

Ahead of him stood several rows of Marquis Residence guards dressed in Flying Fish Robes.

Around those guards stood soldiers from one of Gong Wang's own direct formations.

They held sabers.

They had bows drawn and arrows nocked.

But the blades and arrowheads were not aimed at the men in Flying Fish Robes.

They were aimed at Gong Wang's own command tent.

At the center of the armored soldiers sat a chair.

A man was sitting on it.

He was shelling peanuts, occasionally blowing on them before tossing them into his mouth to chew.

It was the Marquis of Pingxi.

Standing beside the Marquis was one of the direct subordinate generals Gong Wang had personally raised and trained.

Using the standards of the Yan people, and of Prince Zhenbei Residence in particular, this subordinate was effectively Gong Wang's adopted son.

The man did not actually command that many troops, but in ordinary times his force bore responsibility for guarding Gong Wang's command tent and serving as the pillar of his central army.

This adopted son had betrayed him.

While Gong Wang had been speaking with his son inside the command tent, the man had brought the Marquis in and, without making a sound, taken control of everything around the tent.

Then again, perhaps it could not truly be called betrayal.

Gong Wang himself was a Garrison Commander under the Marquis Residence.

His adopted son was likewise a general under the Marquis Residence.

Obeying the Marquis was only natural.

Farther away, Gong Wang could also see the rest of his subordinate generals.

Their expressions were deeply conflicted, but none of them had been bound or placed under guard.

They were, in fact, free.

Yet it was equally obvious that they would not mobilize their troops on Gong Wang's behalf.

Because the Marquis of Pingxi of Great Yan was already sitting there.

When the Marquis of Pingxi was in Yingdu, Yingdu's waves could not rise.

Everyone knew the Marquis's true prestige lay in the army.

There was no reason he could hold the field down in Yingdu but fail to hold it down inside an army, even if this was a Jin camp.

Gong Wang did not hesitate any longer.

He walked straight forward.

The guards in Flying Fish Robes on either side did not stop him.

Once he was close enough, Gong Wang dropped to his knees before Marquis Zheng.

"This guilty general, Gong Wang, has committed a grave mistake. I ask the Marquis to punish me!"

Marquis Zheng did not answer immediately.

Instead, he opened one hand.

A pile of shelled peanuts lay in his palm.

He blew across them, sending a flutter of red skins drifting away like rouge.

Then he extended his open hand toward Gong Wang, who was kneeling at his feet.

Softly, he said:

"Here. Have some peanuts."

[End of Chapter 658]