Chapter 62 Coercion

  After reporting to the superior and another round of chaos, when setting out again, there were fewer familiar faces around Your Majesty. It is said that they went to Lingnan to develop the border region.

  After the imperial edict was issued, however, there were Old Man Wei and several others from the Imperial Secretariat who stroked their beards, exchanged glances, and smiled before speaking.

  "This official also has today, now the situation is chaotic, and Zhou Zhongshi is also in a hurry. It's really worrying then confused. Just listening to some words, he reported his crime as being too severe and urgent. In this critical moment, if not severe and urgent, how would Your Majesty use him? Of course, it wouldn't hurt to slightly bend the truth to clarify right and wrong. Moreover, these words are not something anyone can say. If it were an imperial censor or a speaking official, it would be fine. But now, at this time and place, if he speaks like that, then Your Majesty won't suspect him of having private motives. Considering past relationships, scolding and sending him to Lingnan is already good."

  "That's Old Master Zhang's turn"

  "No, that Liang person has made a great effort, intentionally or unintentionally. Some people say he is biased and reporting privately, but this reason is foolish. Although it can be said that he was once a subordinate of Ge Shu, there are some intentions inside, Your Majesty may not necessarily understand, but even if there are things that are not fully explained, Your Majesty will still believe him. After all, this gentleman is at most an outsider and a newcomer, with the least connection to those court factions and old parties, so it's unlikely he has any bias."

  Moreover, the cases of corruption he reported, although many are old and unrelated to the present, have accumulated over time, and Your Majesty will not be unmoved. The more detailed his investigation, the more it makes people feel that those involved in handling affairs are serious and meticulous, without being careless in the slightest. Even if some means were used, those who relied on past favors to cry to Your Majesty about their experiences, but those involved did not suffer much, this is enough. Even if someone accuses him of meting out excessive punishment, under these circumstances, it's likely that Your Majesty will instead feel that he has achieved results with great effort. Gao Lishi clearly understands this point, which is why he hasn't spoken up.

  However, this Rong Rou is also a wonderful person. He actually made those people frame and betray each other. In the end, those who were supposed to die died, and those who were supposed to be punished were punished. The remaining ones, even if they managed to escape by luck, would find it difficult to justify themselves. Because they had accused others, they had some handles that were grasped in other people's hands, so how much courage did they have? After this incident, he knew that his old affairs had been exposed, but didn't know who specifically was the one who exposed him. Those eunuchs and old subordinates would also be unaware of how many hidden suspicions and subtle cracks would be left behind in their interactions with each other. The remaining ones should also have known about his tactics by now, so they wouldn't dare to provoke him easily. It's likely that even Gao Lishi would look at him differently from now on...

  Yu Yu Rong Xin Chang said to Wei Weng:

  "Now, the Imperial Censorate is short-staffed in all three courts, and only you are left. You must be cautious and diligent, as the duty of the Censorate is to assist the Emperor by pointing out errors and omissions. Simply trying to please the Emperor with flattery may not be entirely good. People say that if one just goes along with what others say, they won't get the Emperor's attention. However, it's also impossible to just stick to one's own principles and oppose others all the time, which would lead to resentment and create divisions. In short, there must be a balance, and if this balance is well-maintained, then major issues will be taken care of, and minor details won't need to be overly scrutinized. However, since you have accepted someone else's favor this time, you should show your gratitude in the future."

  When I arrived at the upper road, the large team of people and horses behind me had already changed their appearance. Thanks to the thorough preparation by King Han of Zhong, when we entered the city of Hanzhong, there were all sorts of yellow silk umbrellas, jade fans, purple banners, red flags, red cars, and magnificent carriages, with a dazzling array of colors. The palace guards and female historians who held incense burners, fragrant pastries, and precious bottles surrounded the imperial carriage, from which the faint sound of zither music could be heard. Countless civilians knelt down to welcome us under the leadership of officials for several miles along the road. I was in the front row, shouting and cheering, wearing a brand new suit of armor that shone brightly, and the feeling of looking down on the crowd with disdain was truly exhilarating.

  It's all for the sake of dignity, but this armor is really too uncomfortable. The weight of dozens of pounds of metal pieces is crushing me, and I have to wear a loose linen undergarment, then put on the flexible leather armor, and finally fasten the chest, abdomen, shoulders, back, legs, feet, and waist with buckles. The clanging sound of the armor is deafening, and it's really heavy and suffocating to wear. And I still have to maintain my balance and image while riding a horse, which is even more troublesome. To show off my martial arts skills, I also have to attach a sword and gun to the front of the saddle, and carry a large bow and quiver on my back. Every movement makes me feel like I'm going to be crushed. After just two moments of walking, I'm already drenched in sweat.

  The clothes on my body haven't been changed for over a dozen days, and when it's hot, I soak in the river water like those soldiers. Now I probably smell of everything. At the river pool, because I was on guard, I didn't take off my armor all night and couldn't rest well. Moreover, after sleeping on that wooden board and straw pile for so long, I especially yearn for refreshing hot water and a soft bed. So after setting up camp, I immediately exercised my privilege as the commander-in-chief and requisitioned some houses and furniture.

  So now I'm comfortably lying in the large wooden trough that was once used for horses to drink from, letting the heat force out my fatigue and exhaustion from every pore, thoroughly enjoying the comfortable feeling of my muscles relaxing. But I regret having to save face by sending away the two maidservants that King Hanzhong specially sent to attend to me, otherwise it would have been nice to have them give me a massage for those two sections as well.

  The warm sunlight of an autumn afternoon filters through the carved paper window lattice, casting a dappled glow on the rippling water's surface, making one feel so comfortable that they could drift off to sleep. The rising mist creates all sorts of wondrous images. Suddenly, I'm transported back to my childhood, when I'd go with my old man to take a bath and we'd treat the big bathtub like a swimming pool, splashing and playing in the water.

  A faint smile, startled me suddenly opened my eyes, the little girl's smiling face was right in front of me.

  I let out a loud "ah" and started wailing, instinctively standing up and then quickly diving back into the water, covering myself tightly with a towel. I couldn't stop muttering to myself, "What a huge loss! What a huge loss!" I had no idea how much of me that little girl had seen... but then I saw her eyes wide open in shock, as if she had just witnessed something unbelievable, and then she opened her small mouth...

  In an instant, the courtyard erupted with screams, frantic slapping sounds, and someone splashing into the water with a loud "splash". Then came muffled cries of "There's a snake!", "How scary!", "I'm hitting it! I'm hitting it!", "Don't look!", "Why is it still moving?", "Let go!", "Save me!", "Oh my mom!", "Wait...it's not a snake!", "You can't hit it!", "We're doomed!". The various cries of alarm, pleas for help, and wails of despair left the listeners shocked and pale.

  The guards who came at the sound, knowing they were in trouble, immediately burst open the door with a loud crash. They were shocked by what they saw and heard, and quickly retreated in disarray, pulling their colleagues along, shouting "I didn't see anything" and "nothing was seen". They secretly sighed, but the master couldn't wait any longer... These days have been really tough...

  Wiping away the blood from my nose, I desperately told myself "it's nothing", "it's nothing". Suddenly thinking about the vastness of space, galaxies, aliens, the clothes rack stuck upside down in the bathtub, the small head of the young girl who had just started developing her features, the dented and battered copper basin, everything was an illusion.

  It took a lot of effort to explain and reassure the little girl that what she saw had nothing to do with snakes or any other disgusting things, and that it was just a normal thing like the sun, moon, and stars. But after all this fuss, I found myself in an awkward situation where I couldn't calm down even if I wanted to. My whole body was covered in sweat, and my mind was filled with evil thoughts and feelings of guilt. In desperation, I tried to comfort myself by thinking that it was just a matter of time before she learned about this anyway, and that it was just an educational supplement. Only after she helped me calm down did I dare let someone bring in some clothes for her.

  It was just when I, refreshed and rejuvenated, came out that those lazy guards were scolded by me. Not only did they have to clean the toilets and wash horses for half a month, but also, although those who saw this didn't dare say anything, their sympathetic and pitiful expressions, as well as their repeated head-shaking actions, were enough to know the consequences. The old eunuchs guarding outside, such as Zhang Cheng, were even more pale-faced, with tears streaming down, hugging a small maid for no reason, wildly shouting "Old slave is useless! Old slave deserves death!", and didn't dare look back as they walked away. This made me feel quite depressed, but it wasn't like I was any worse off because of it.

  I returned to my temporary residence, but someone had arrived early. Upon seeing me, he bowed his head and said, "General, I have taken care of everything." It was none other than my secretary, Xue Jingxian. He waved his hand, and people carried in a large pile of items, including twenty or fifty taels of silver bars, both loose and packaged, as well as strings of silver coins circulating in the northwest. The pile was enormous, consisting entirely of silver coins. In reality, at that time, the primary legal tender on the market was the copper coins designated by the imperial court. Gold and silver were not widely produced, so they could not become legal tender. Moreover, the government's minting of copper coins could not meet the needs of growing social wealth, leading to repeated occurrences of currency shortages and private money circulating wildly. As a result, not only did large quantities of gold and silver coins from Persia, Arabia, Rome, and other foreign countries circulate, but even expensive goods like silk, tea, and salt could be used directly as substitutes for currency. In the ninth year of the Kaiyuan era (721 CE), Emperor Xuanzong issued a decree stating that "silk, satin, and other miscellaneous goods should all be allowed to circulate freely, just like money. It is not reasonable to require cash in markets and shops. From now on, both currency and goods can be used interchangeably; those who violate this rule will be punished according to the law." Once I had settled down, I instructed Xue Jingxian, who was familiar with local customs, to exchange several hundred pieces of colorful woven fabric for easily portable hard currency.

  I picked out the largest ones, with thirty or forty silver bars each, and had them delivered to people like Gao Lishi, including Zhang Yong, who also received a share. These monks in Chang'an all have considerable wealth, grand houses, estates, as well as wives, concubines, and adopted children. Once they fled, each of them was left with nothing, and when they were out of favor, it was not without benefit to occasionally provide some assistance during their misfortune. Who knows, there might even be unexpected gains. Especially for people like me who often walk in front of the emperor.

  After all, there is no reason to be overly cautious around them, and it's not necessary to keep a distance or reject them outright. Sometimes, even petty people can be useful, as long as you grasp the right measure. The people around the emperor are notoriously incompetent in achieving success but excel at causing trouble. Although they may not have direct involvement with your authority for now, they can either add insult to injury when things go wrong or fan the flames when you're already in a bad situation - all it takes is just one or two words from them. At the same time, they are often the most well-informed about internal matters and can provide timely warnings or secretly create obstacles, even going so far as to kick someone while they're down - these are their specialties.

  Especially Gao Lishi, in history, at most belonged to the kind of favored minister and jester who served for many years, saw countless people, was very clever and had a good eye, although greedy for wealth and profit, fawned on his master, contended for power and interest, but still had a sense of proportion and rarely showed ambition that exceeded his status. The evaluation "good at guessing the situation and timing, even if close to the emperor, would not rescue him when he was about to fall" is apt. Being able to remonstrate with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was also one of his strengths in grasping opportunities and leading by circumstance. Compared to those later eunuchs who seized power, controlled court politics, and made the emperor call them "father", Gao Lishi was like a newborn baby in terms of innocence. Therefore, as long as you can show enough power to make people wary, and have enough benefits, no one will dare to provoke you recklessly. With their help, there will come a time when you are not by the emperor's side, and you won't be too passive.

  This chapter is a bit too much, let's discuss it, the cat can change it, maybe feel that the description of the characters in his own book is a bit too little, there are many people who need to appear, and they are still brewing, so I'll have to supplement and enrich them later. Also, those enthusiastic readers who tried to join my group all needed verification, but when verifying, they were always offline, sweating! Everyone might as well send me an email, maopi007@126.com