Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 303 Yue Fei's Heart, A Game of Power (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Before the camp.

Gu Hui stood with his hands behind his back, quietly surveying the orderly military camp. His gaze swept over the well-organized barracks and the motionless sentry posts, finally settling on the soldiers training on the distant drill ground, and he nodded slightly.

This clearly shows that they highly approve of Yue Fei's efforts to rectify military discipline.

If the previous Gu Hui was a scholar with an unbridled ambition, sharp and unseen like a sword drawn from its sheath, then the current Gu Hui is a sword that has been sheathed, his brilliance restrained, like still waters running deep.

It is a composure and steadfastness that has settled after being tempered by ideals and made choices by the family. It seems calm, but it contains a more magnificent power.

Just then, a series of hurried yet steady footsteps sounded.

Yue Fei had already strode out of the camp gate when he saw that familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure. He stopped abruptly, and the gloom and weariness on his face were instantly dispelled by unbelievable joy.

"Young master! What brings you here?"

His voice was filled with barely concealed excitement, yet he remained steadfast in his manners and propriety.

Gu Hui smiled slightly and reached out to help him up: "Pengju, there's no need for such formalities. The war in the northern frontier is intense, so I came to check on things."

Looking at Yue Fei, whose face was weathered and whose brows were furrowed with worry, Gu Hui smiled sincerely. He patted Yue Fei's strong arm and said in his usual gentle tone, "Pengju, how have you been?"

“This is not the place to talk.” Yue Fei smiled and quickly stepped aside to lead the way: “Please come inside the tent to talk, sir.”

The two of them continued on their way to the commander's tent.

Throughout the entire process, everything in the military camp was so orderly and discipline remained unchanged.

Upon entering the command tent and waiting for his personal guards to leave, Yue Fei personally served tea to Gu Hui. Looking at his travel-worn old friend before him, he finally found someone to confide in, finally able to express the bitterness that had been weighing on his heart these past few days.

“My lord,” Yue Fei’s voice lowered, “this humble general…feels ashamed.”

He clenched his fist and then relaxed it: "The situation in the northern frontier could have been pacified much earlier, but there are too many obstacles in the army. Today we discovered that the enemy's main force is hiding in Heishuiyu, which is a good opportunity to annihilate them, but Commander Zhang..."

He spoke to Gu Hui about the current situation in the northern frontier, his tone growing increasingly heavy: "This humble general has the ambition to serve the country, yet I am unable to put my efforts to the current war situation. I am truly ashamed of the teachings you gave me back then, and of the cultivation I received from the Gu family!"

Although it has been almost two years since I left the Gu family.

But Yue Fei's personality remained the same.

Uphold principles and always strive towards your ideals.

As Yue Fei finished speaking, he couldn't help but slam his fist on the table: "This humble general truly doesn't understand. With the opportunity for battle right before our eyes, why do some people disregard the lives of thousands of soldiers for their own selfish gain!"

Gu Hui gazed at Yue Fei silently, his eyes like a deep pool. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly asked, "Pengju, do you know the true meaning of the four words 'No destruction, no construction'?"

In fact, he could roughly guess Yue Fei's situation without Yue Fei even needing to say it.

The present-day Great Song Dynasty.

In essence, it is somewhat pathological.

An overly advanced economy has created more interest groups, and when the Gu family, a powerful force that could suppress everyone, is gone, internal strife will naturally arise.

Even imperial power cannot restrict everyone.

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei was taken aback.

Of course, he couldn't possibly know the true meaning behind Gu Hui's words.

Instinctively recalling that Gu Hui's words were referring to Song Ting, his expression immediately froze.

He didn't speak immediately, but walked to the front of the tent and looked around. After the guards standing in front of the tent stepped back a few meters, he walked over again and said with a serious expression, "Young Master!"

"I have just heard about the Gu family's reclusion—"

"Has the world really come to this point?"

"Has the imperial court fallen so far from the people's hearts?"

"Even the Gu family is going to give up?"

He said it very directly.

The phrase "no destruction, no construction" is far too sensitive.

Yue Fei certainly didn't think that the Gu family would overstep their bounds and covet the throne.

But he would feel that this was the Gu family abandoning the Song Dynasty!
He knew Gu Hui's abilities all too well, and from any perspective, now was not the time for the Gu family to go into seclusion.

Looking at Yue Fei in front of him, Gu Hui did not speak immediately.

He wasn't surprised by Yue Fei's idea.

And the same—

He was also able to sense Yue Fei's thoughts.

Yue Fei wanted to set things right!
It wasn't out of blind loyalty; after receiving education at Gu's Academy, Yue Fei couldn't possibly be that kind of person now. He simply felt that the world hadn't reached that point yet.

And that is indeed the case.

The Song Dynasty can indeed be saved now, since its overall foundation is still there, but it's just not necessary to do so.

But this was only Gu Hui's idea after all.

In today's world, there are quite a few people who share Yue Fei's ideas, and even within the Gu family, there are quite a few.

He weighed it carefully, then shook his head slightly in denial.

Seeing this, Yue Fei breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, "Although the current situation in the world is dangerous, it is not yet a time of great chaos. Why must you say that destruction is necessary for construction?"

He paused slightly, then bowed to Gu Hui again, saying, "With your talent, young master has emerged."

"It will surely be like the ancestors of the Gu family generation after generation."

"Let's set things right again!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Hui shook his head again without hesitation: "I will not take up an official post."

He stopped himself from telling Yue Fei everything.

In fact, Gu Hui already has a clear strategy for what he wants to do in this life.

He needs help from others!

It was not for any other reason, nor was it to regain control of power.

All of this was in vain for his plan.

What he wants to do this time is to change the mindset of the people and the social customs that have been in place for thousands of years in the Nine Provinces. This is not something that one person can easily accomplish.

Power is merely the foundation.

But that's by no means the whole story!
It was because of his understanding of Yue Fei that he came to the northern frontier.

Yue Fei was the first person he set his sights on!
However, it is clearly not the right time yet.

He needed to bring Yue Fei to his senses.

Do not--

It's not just Yue Fei; everyone in the world should wake up!
At least until the world has come to its senses, he doesn't need to do anything deliberately.

Upon hearing Gu Hui's words, Yue Fei once again showed a look of confusion.

But before he could say anything...

Gu Hui then added, "But Pengju, rest assured, I will take care of all the obstacles in the Northern Frontier for you."

He wanted Yue Fei to see things clearly.

By leveraging the power of the Gu family, we can resolve all of Yue Fei's current obstacles, allowing him to fully unleash his potential and become a leading figure in the northern frontier, so that he can truly see the culprits of the world today!

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei's words, which were almost out of his mouth, instantly caught in his throat again.

The confusion in his eyes became increasingly apparent.

He could clearly sense that Gu Hui had changed, and it would be a very surprising change.

This change even made him somewhat uneasy.

But there's no way to guess it.

He paused for a moment, but finally couldn't contain his turbulent thoughts. Relying on his relationship with Gu Hui, he asked the question that had been bothering him.

Gu Hui simply shook his head and didn't say anything more.

And from this day forward—

Gu Hui simply stayed in Yue Fei's military camp.

He never revealed his identity to anyone, and thus remained a bystander to all the struggles in the military camp.

The letter was quickly sent back to Julu.

Although the Gu family has lost power, they still retain political influence.

Although the Gu family members also didn't think Gu Hui's idea was necessarily correct, they naturally wouldn't leave him without helping under these circumstances.

As the letter emerged from Julu once again, it was followed by a period of court infighting.

Just a few months later—

Zhang Pu, Yue Fei's biggest obstacle in the northern frontier, was accused of colluding with the Jurchens and fell to the executioner's blade. Yue Fei, relying on his military achievements over the years, directly replaced Zhang Pu and became the commander-in-chief of the entire Song Dynasty in the northern frontier.

Is this how everyone plays the game of power?

This was Yue Fei's only question about it.

As the Grand Commander of the Northern Frontier Army and the Deputy Privy Councilor, Zhang Pu was a behemoth in the entire Song Dynasty, both in terms of his status and his family.

But he just collapsed like that.

Of course, this was not because Yue Fei had any mercy for him.

He had long wanted to kill Zhang Pu, that despicable scoundrel.

What he was really struggling with was that before the Gu family made a move, no one cared about Zhang Pu at all, but with the Gu family's actions, Zhang Pu naturally came under their scrutiny.

He had seen Zhang Pu's crimes; these were real facts.

So what exactly is this?
Is it possible that the imperial court was completely unaware of Zhang Pu's actions, or that they never even considered interfering?

In his search for answers, he even asked Gu Hui, wanting to know what the Gu family had done.

If the Gu family had noticed these things.

He doesn't need to be so conflicted anymore.

However, Gu Hui directly denied this.

The Gu family did not actually do anything; in fact, they did not formulate any rules or regulations from beginning to end. They simply expressed their concerns about the northern frontier in their routine reply to the court, and the people in the court naturally took action.

Again--

No one wanted the great ship of the Song Dynasty to capsize like this.

Zhang Pu was indeed no nobody.

But because he was also at the same table, some people were watching his seat and attacking him as a result.

In addition, the Gu family's reputation is indeed quite prestigious.

These people only need to cleverly take advantage of this momentum and make use of Zhang Pu's usual actions to easily bring Zhang Pu down.

This is the game of power.

Yue Fei remained silent for a very long time afterward.

No one knew what he was thinking, not even Gu Hui said anything.

But he didn't make any direct changes.

From then on, he diligently fulfilled his duties as the Grand Commander of the Northern Frontier Army and launched a counterattack against the Jurchen tribes.

It must be said that Yue Fei's military capabilities were indeed very strong.

It might even be stronger than the original history.

In just over a month.

The military spirit of the Song army in the entire northern frontier suddenly changed.

With his tough methods, Yue Fei was able to fully demonstrate his abilities after all his constraints were removed.

The reforms are not just aimed at ordinary soldiers.

Including those generals.

He showed no mercy to anyone who did not meet Yue Fei's requirements, dismissing almost all of them.

This also led to numerous impeachments against him.

He offended far too many people.

Gu Hui originally wanted to help him, but this time Yue Fei took the initiative to find Gu Hui.

"Please, young master, do not make a move!"

After leaving these words, Yue Fei made his promise to the imperial court.

He's sure to win big!

If he were to lose, he was willing to atone with his death, which is how he blocked countless impeachments.

Regarding Yue Fei's behavior.

Gu Hui didn't say much.

Even Gu Yi wasn't surprised.

The Gu family did bring about significant changes, but they couldn't completely alter a person's entire personality.

In the original history—

The fact that Yue Fei, who had already reached that point, was willing to obey orders and withdraw his troops was enough to reveal his true character.

He is a person who has his own principles.

Gu Hui's actions did indeed save him from a lot of trouble.

But he wasn't used to it.

He wanted to overcome all of this on his own!
Including this time!
If that were to change, he wouldn't be Yue Fei anymore, so what's so strange about that?

After a large-scale rectification campaign, Yue Fei embarked on his journey once again.

—His military capabilities are indeed too strong.

Even in terms of attributes, it absolutely surpasses the top tier of the world.

They won several consecutive battles, all of which were resounding victories.

—Almost instantly, the situation in the entire northern frontier was completely reversed, turning the entire Song Dynasty from defense to offense!
Although they were unable to completely resolve the conflict between the Jurchens and Liaodong within a short period of time.

But it was also a rare and resounding victory!

One after another, reports of good news were sent to Yingtianfu.

However, the overall situation of the Song Dynasty did not improve as a result.

Don't forget, the problems of the Song Dynasty were not limited to just the northern frontier.
Especially because of the Gu family's seclusion.

This further exacerbated the already precarious situation of the Song Dynasty, with people from all directions, driven to the brink of despair, constantly rising up in an attempt to carve out a way to survive!

But only those who are observant can discover this.

At least within Yingtian Prefecture, those people were still incredibly excited about these repeated great victories.

Ying Tianfu.

Inside the Chuigong Hall.

As Zhao Gou, clad in his dragon robe, looked at the victory reports from the northern frontier, his gloom of the past few days vanished, and he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "Good!"

"What a brilliant Yue Pengju!"

"Truly a worthy general of mine, a pillar of the nation!"

His face beamed with smug satisfaction, as if these successive victories were not due to the bloody battles fought by the soldiers on the front lines or the strategic planning of Yue Fei and others, but entirely the result of his own discerning eye and wise leadership as emperor.

Qin Hui, who was standing to the side, bowed slightly and put on a flattering smile, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"If it weren't for the Emperor's strong opposition, his selection of Yue Fei from the ranks, and his granting of regional authority, how could such a great victory have been achieved? This truly demonstrates the Emperor's ability to recognize and appoint capable people, and that he is the one destined by Heaven!"

This flattery pleased Zhao Gou greatly, and he stroked his short beard, his smile widening.

However, Qin Hui subtly changed the subject, lowering his voice slightly and adding a touch of just the right amount of worry: "It's just... Yue Fei's use of troops is indeed a bit too ruthless."

"Winning battle after battle and advancing with unstoppable momentum is certainly gratifying."

However, as the old saying goes, "A sharp edge is easily broken."

"His reckless and aggressive attack may bring temporary gains, but if it provokes the Jurchens and the various tribes in Liaodong to fight back desperately, it may not be a good thing for the border."

He didn't leave the slightest trace.

He was actually extremely dissatisfied with Yue Fei.

The reason is quite simple: Yue Fei offended far too many people.

As the current prime minister, he naturally had no choice but to avoid it.

This made him extremely disgusted with right and wrong.

Even though he had never met Yue Fei, he already felt a great deal of aversion to him.

The game of power is that simple.

Even though he had never met Yue Fei, he still had to do something.

After all, someone of his status must consider everything carefully and plan ahead.
(P.S.: I'm begging for monthly votes! Please support me, brothers! I'd be extremely grateful.)
(End of this chapter)