Taiheiki

Chapter 314 Thinking about retreating
"Believe you? It's simple. This matter with Ah Xuan can't end like this!" Dou Yun sneered. "We must investigate to the end and deal with everyone connected to Yuan Shu!"

"Ah Yun, you must think this through!" Wei Cong pondered for a moment and said, "The world is prone to chaos and hard to maintain order. If you do as you say, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles in the future, and in the end, your Dou family will also be implicated!"

"Aren't you the son-in-law of the Dou family?" Dou Yun sneered. "Everyone in the world says that your military tactics are like those of Han Yu and Bai Qi. Can't you even handle a few scholars from Runan?"

"The reason I have never suffered a defeat since raising an army is because I never fight a battle I am not confident of winning. Runan is a place that attracts the attention of scholars throughout the land. Once chaos breaks out, the outcome will be uncertain." Wei Cong said coldly, "I still stand by my old saying: the world is prone to chaos but difficult to maintain stability. If it really comes to that, I can retreat to Jiaozhou, defend the Five Ridges, and still be a ruler of a country. But it's hard to say about your Dou family. You should think carefully!"

"What a fine way to describe yourself as a ruler of a country! You really only think of yourself when things happen!" Dou Yun sneered.

"Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately! You must have heard this saying before, right?" Wei Cong said coldly. "The Dou family formed an alliance with me through marriage, helping me become a Grand General and take control of the court; in return, I ensured the Dou family's peaceful residence in the Western Palace, raising the Emperor, and together we supported the Han Dynasty. This was the agreement we made back then. Now you want to interfere in politics, which breaks the original agreement. What can I do about it?"

"I'm interfering in court affairs?" Dou Yun retorted angrily, "Don't forget where you got your position as Grand General from!"

"What you say makes sense!" Seeing Dou Yun's expression, Wei Cong couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. "How about this, I'll resign from my position as Grand General and return to Jiaozhou. The affairs of the court will no longer be my concern, what do you say?"

"Don't try to blackmail me with this!" Dou Yun flicked her sleeves and walked straight out. She stopped at the door and said, "I knew you were still thinking about that female Taoist priest. If you want to go see her, then go. Don't make excuses!" With that, she left without looking back.

“Women, oh women!” Wei Cong shook his head, his face full of helplessness. He knew, of course, why Dou Yun was so resentful, but knowing something was one thing, being able to solve it was another. Ultimately, his alliance with the Dou family was based on self-interest, but their desired paths were vastly different. The Dou family wanted to follow the path of the powerful maternal relatives of the Han dynasty, like the Lü, Deng, and Liang families—wielding absolute power and reaping all the benefits. In their eyes, Wei Cong was merely a figurehead, someone to wield power for them. Wei Cong, on the other hand, saw the Dou family as nothing more than a legitimacy tool for his control of the Han court. He could offer them some benefits, but the specifics of their actions remained his own. This contradiction became apparent after external enemies were eliminated one by one and the new regime gradually stabilized.

"Father!"

"Ah Sheng, you're here!" Wei Cong turned around and waved to Nie Sheng, who was standing at the door: "Come in and sit down to talk!"

"Thank you, Godfather!" Nie Sheng entered the room, bowed to Wei Cong, and then sat down on the brocade cushion beside him. "Godfather, what brings you here?"

"Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong?" Wei Cong laughed. "It's been a while since my son and I sat down together!"

"No, that's not it!" Nie Sheng laughed. "It's all my fault. The main problem is that I'm now the General of the Five Offices, and I have too many things to do with the palace guards every day. I really can't greet you every morning and evening like I used to!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong smiled. "General of the Five Offices! In charge of the Five Offices Guards, a crucial position, and a palace guard. Only a trusted confidant can be appointed! Without you, I wouldn't dare to take on this great general position!"

Having followed Wei Cong for many years, Nie Sheng could easily understand the implication in his words: "Godfather, has something happened?"

"Not yet! But it's possible my time as general won't last long!"

"Huh?" Nie Sheng was taken aback. "How is this possible? Does someone dare to compete with you for the position of Grand General?"

"No, that's not true!" Wei Cong shook his head. "But the Grand General is the head of the inner court, and only those trusted by the Emperor can hold this position. The Emperor is currently young, and the Empress Dowager is the head of the palace. If the Empress Dowager no longer trusts me, then it would be better to resign from my post sooner rather than remain in office; that would make things look better!"

Nie Sheng opened his mouth wide, and after a moment he recovered: "Then, is there any way to salvage this?"

"Do you see that pottery jar?" Wei Cong pointed to the pottery jar by the door. "When this pottery jar is intact, it can last for many years. But if it gets cracked, even if you try your best to repair it, it's very difficult to fix, and it will leak easily. So instead of wasting your energy repairing it, you might as well just throw it away!"

"Abandon them?" Nie Sheng thought for a moment, then suddenly his eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Father, do you intend to exterminate the Dou family and take their place? Rest assured, with just your order, I will lead troops into the palace and kill the Dou family members one by one!"

“It’s not time for that yet!” Wei Cong waved his hand. “Besides, without the Dou family’s support, even if I occupy Luoyang, I’ll just be a leaky pot. It’s better to go back to Jiaozhou. If we go back to Jiaozhou, the matter of protecting us on the way will be your responsibility!”

"Father, please rest assured, everything is in my hands!" This time, Nie Sheng answered very readily. He bowed and said, "To be honest, I also think that this General of the Five Offices is nothing more than a guard dog, far less carefree than when I was in Jiaozhou!"

"A guard dog?" Wei Cong laughed. "That's a good analogy. That's all for now. Don't let anyone else know what I'm saying tonight. Go back and prepare carefully!"

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Panyu.

His low-grade fever persisted, but his diarrhea gradually subsided, and the doctor finally announced that he could go out and walk. Duan Jiong was extremely impatient; he only wanted to mount his warhorse as soon as possible and command thousands of troops on the battlefield.

"You still need to rest and recuperate! It's too early to lead troops into battle!" Kong Gui patiently advised, "To be honest, although I don't think the miasma in the south is as terrible as the legends say, you still need time to adapt to the southern climate and water. It's already June, and the military campaign in Jiaozhou won't be until at least October. You have four months to rest and recuperate, which is plenty of time!"

"Four months?" Duan Jiong frowned. "You're not joking, are you? Traveling by carriage costs a fortune every day. How can you delay like this?"

"That's better than losing the battle!" Kong Gui laughed. "Besides, you have plenty of things to do in Panyu!"

"In Panyu?"

"Yes, for example, inspecting new ships. As you know, military operations in the South China Sea often involve sea routes!"

Duan Jiong looked at Kong Gui with a mixture of belief and skepticism. In the days since arriving in Panyu, he had gained a basic understanding of the power structure of Jiaozhou. If Wei Cong was the Liu Bang of Jiaozhou, then this always-smiling old man was the Xiao He of Jiaozhou. He was one of the very few who could gain the trust of both the military group left behind by Wei Cong and the respect of the local gentry of Jiaozhou. Before Duan Jiong fell ill, Kong Gui had almost magically produced an astonishing amount of soldiers, armor, provisions, equipment, ships, and money to meet the needs of the upcoming expedition. "Brother, Prefect Kong is right!" Duan Jiong interjected, "This is Jiaozhou; we can't underestimate this epidemic!"

"I understand!" Duan Jiong waved his hand impatiently. "In that case, when will we inspect the new ship?"

"In two more days!" Kong Gui pointed out the window: "Look at the sky, a strong wind is probably coming soon. The government has already ordered the ships to move to various safe harbors!"

Kong Gui didn't stay long. Although he was in the ward, people kept coming in to report on matters and request approval. Clearly, he had too much official business to attend to, so he soon got up to take his leave. Only the Duan brothers and Xia Yu remained in the room.

"Come on, do me a favor, I want to get out of bed and walk around!" Duan Jiong stretched out his right hand to his younger brother, Duan Wei, but Duan Wei looked troubled: "Now? Brother, why don't you stay in bed for a couple more days?"

"Just help me up!" Duan Jiong said angrily, "The doctor clearly said I'm already able to get out of bed!"

"Alright!" Duan Wei reluctantly supported his brother's right hand, and Xia Yu also quickly reached out to help. With their help, Duan Jiong walked around the courtyard. The green water in the distance looked like a huge piece of jade, but there was not a single sail in sight. There was no wind in the courtyard, and the branches did not move.

"When did Kong Gui learn to lie and deceive people!" Duan Jiong sneered. "He said a strong wind was coming soon, but there wasn't a breath of wind! Where did this strong wind come from?"

"Chief Secretary! This is no lie!" Xia Yu interjected, "I heard from the locals this morning that there was indeed a strong wind coming from the sea. The stronger the wind, the calmer it becomes for a while before the boats reach the shore. Look at how many boats there are on the water every day!"

Duan Jiong frowned. He had been in Panyu for quite some time now and knew how many boats were on the water; the current situation was indeed rather strange. He waved his hand impatiently, "Never mind, help me inside!"

Duan Wei pursed his lips at Xia Yu, and together they helped their elder brother back to the house and onto the bed. Duan Jiong boarded the boat, closed his eyes to rest for a while, and suddenly asked, "Has there been any news from Luoyang these past few days?"

"Luoyang?" Duan Wei shook his head. "No news, everything's normal. Oh, by the way, Yuan Gonglu is dead!"

"Yuan Gonglu, you mean Yuan Shu?" Duan Jiong asked, "How did he die?"

"He led men to assassinate a young man from the Dou family, who seemed to be General Wei's brother-in-law, and then the government sent men to kill him!"

"So that's how it is!" Duan Jiong pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "The Yuan family of Runan had four generations of members serving as the Three Dukes, how prosperous they were! Yet in the blink of an eye, the entire family was wiped out. It's truly lamentable!"

"Yes!" Duan Wei responded, but there was no trace of sorrow on his face. "But in my opinion, this is a good thing. These scholars from Ruying used to look down on us, occupying so many positions. The more they die, the more chances we have to rise up, right, Commandant Xia?"

"Excellent!" Xia Yu laughed. "General Wei, aside from everything else, has this one quality that suits us Liangzhou people perfectly. Those who follow him rise to prominence, while those who oppose him are wiped out. Unlike others, who only think of us Liangzhou people when it comes to risking their lives, but then make excuses when it comes to being recommended for official positions, promoted, or ennobled. Look at Zhang Huan and Feng Kun, they fought half their lives and still didn't get what they wanted, but now they have it all!"

Hearing his younger brother and subordinates' smug words, Duan Jiong suddenly felt a surge of anger rising in his chest: "What do you know?!"

Duan Wei and Xia Yu, not knowing what they had said to offend their elder brother, quickly shut their mouths. A few minutes later, Duan Wei cautiously asked, "Brother, aren't you the Chief Secretary of the General's Mansion now? We're all the General's men!"

Duan Jiong was even more annoyed by his younger brother's words. He turned around, his back to his brother and subordinate, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm tired. You two can leave now and don't bother me!"

Duan Wei and Xia Yu exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Yes!"

Duan and Xia went out the door and walked towards the outer room. Duan Wei said in a low voice, "What's wrong with my brother? He got angry for no reason!"

"People get sick all the time. It's inevitable! Once you recover, you'll be fine!" Xia Yu replied nonchalantly.

"I don't think so!" Duan Wei shook his head. "But it could also be due to the weather. Everything else in Jiaozhou is great, except it's too hot!"

“Yes!” Xia Yu nodded. “Why don’t we go get a bowl of iced cheese? There’s one just two streets away from the Prefect’s residence. It’s the perfect way to beat the summer heat!”

"Ugh, this awful weather!"

The two left the prefect's residence and found the streets sparsely populated, most shops closed, and those still open were busy reinforcing their structures in preparation for the approaching strong winds. They frequently saw patrols of soldiers; had it not been for the colors of their uniforms identifying them, they would likely have been stopped and questioned. Reaching a shop, they were fortunate to find it still open. They ordered two bowls of iced cheese and sat down.

"Putting everything else aside, Panyu City is really well-governed!" Xia Yu pointed to a patrol of soldiers who had just passed by: "At times like this, even Luoyang would be full of vagrants looking to take advantage of the chaos!"

"Mmm, satisfying, tastes great!" Duan Wei took a big gulp of ice cream custard: "Really? It's like this in Luoyang too?"

“Of course it’s true. I happened to encounter this once when I came to Luoyang to report something two years ago! There was a fire, and half the street was full of people trying to take advantage of the chaos!” Xia Yu also took a big bite, exhaling cold air as he said, “Moreover, the shops along the street in Panyu are much wealthier than many streets outside Luoyang. Take this shop for example, it can sell at least several hundred bowls of ice cream syrup a day, right? At three five-zhu per bowl, you can calculate how much profit they can make?”

"Yes!" Duan Wei did a quick calculation and was shocked. He exclaimed, "That's over a thousand coins a day! Wouldn't that be tens of thousands a month? In a year, that's enough for a county magistrate! How many shops like this are there on this street? Wouldn't one street alone make tens of millions of coins a year?"

(End of this chapter)