The First Volume: The Female Fowls Chapter 16: Secret Conference

  (Apologies to everyone, I went out and played until dawn yesterday and owed a chapter of debt. Today, three chapters will be issued to make up for it. Sorry!)

  Having done such a proud thing, especially making Zhao Mingcheng eat his words, Gao Gang felt more refreshed than drinking a can of iced tea on a hot summer day. As he rode his horse, he thought to himself: Don't look at him as the son of a prime minister and a "Tai student", which is one level higher than my "University student". He even married a wife who was famous for all eternity, but in reality, he's really limited in talent. He couldn't even see through my little trick. Hmm, it seems that I, this humble official, am the only one who has mastered the classics and can write 180 poems to compile into a collection called "Washing Jade Words".

  Don't look at the high-ranking official who has studied ancient and modern times, but writing a new poem is harder than ascending to heaven. After being stuck for half a day, I couldn't come up with any good lines, so I could only think: Writing is too tiring, might as well go back and find some ghostwriters instead.

  All the way thinking wildly, arrived at the Marshal's Mansion and the sky was already completely dark. As soon as he entered the door, the doorman reported: "Sir, the old master has summoned you to his study."

  Gao Qiang nodded, thinking that over the past few days he had been diligently practicing martial arts and hadn't gone to pay respects to his father Gao Fu for several mornings in a row, so he especially sent someone to invite him.

  The woman sent by the green building had been taken to the small courtyard of the government office and was already settled, and after hearing that Lu Er had retired, Gao Qiang took a red paper lantern and walked alone towards Gao Zhan's study.

  Not far from the house, he heard bursts of laughter and conversation coming from the study. Gao Qiang felt a little strange in his heart - who was chatting with Father so late at night? He cleared his throat at the door and said, "Father, I'm back."

  Gao Yi's voice immediately rang out: "Qiang Er is back? Come in quickly and let your father take a good look at you."

  Gao Jian nodded and stepped inside, but saw Gao Yun wearing casual clothes sitting next to a tea table, with another person sitting on the other side. This person was in his thirties, wearing casual clothes, with a refined appearance and piercing eyes, giving off an air of being well-read, yet he couldn't recognize him.

  Gao Qiang went forward to pay his respects to his father, while the other person stood aside. Gao Qiang pulled his son's hand and looked him up and down, with an expression that couldn't be described as anything but proud. He turned his head to the other person and said: "Mr. Ye, what do you think of my son?"

  Mr. Ye smiled and said: "The young master of the Gao Mansion is indeed a heroic son, handsome and elegant, a fine figure."

  Gao Fu burst out laughing and saw a question mark on Gao Qiang's face, then said: "Come come, my son has met Ye Shu before."

  "Uncle Ye?" Gao Jian was full of doubts, when did another Uncle Ye pop out? However, he had to give face to his old man, so he brushed off his clothes and made a gesture to bow. That "Uncle Ye" hastily supported him with both hands and repeatedly said: "Nephew, no need for such courtesy! Please get up quickly."

  Gao Jian saw that Shi Uncle was indeed modest, and after several rounds of pushing hands, he finally made a half bow before stopping. Gao Shuai ordered dinner to be served, first inviting Mr. Ye to take a seat, and then asking Gao Jian to sit down and eat together.

  The wine and dishes were all ready, Gao Zhan was the host, he picked up his cup to toast Mr. Ye, who also seemed quite pleasant, raised his cup and drank it in one gulp, then refilled the cups and said: "General Gao, Ye would like to offer you a toast."

  Gao's ears perked up at the mention of "xiang gong": only those who had served as prime ministers could be addressed as such. Among the living, only Zhao Tingzhi and Cai Jing were entitled to this honor. Zeng Bu, who had been demoted to taizhong dafu, ti ju Chongfu Palace, and exiled to Runzhou to watch over a temple, might also qualify, but he had long since lost power. And yet, Zhao was not in the same faction as Gao Guangyi... Could it be that this person was here on behalf of Cai Jing?

  As expected, Gao Zhan smiled and said: "Gao Mou has received great kindness from Chancellor Cai, at this time when the Zhao Party is rampant and Chancellor Cai is in trouble, it is only right to repay him with all his might and assist Chancellor Cai in regaining power. This is what he should do." The two men looked at each other and smiled, and then drank another toast.

  Gao Fang put down his wine cup and saw Gao Qiang dazed beside him, so he pointed to Mr. Ye and said: "My son, this Mr. Ye's learning is not trivial, he is the confidant of Chancellor Cai, named Shang Meng Xia De."

  "Could it be Ye Mengde, the one who was in charge of investigating the Yuanyou faction two years ago?"

  "That's just a small matter, no need to make a fuss about it," the man said with a smile. "My nephew, on the other hand, remembers it very clearly." Although he spoke humbly, his face was full of self-satisfaction.

  Deep in his heart, he cursed silently: Who was praising you? Although you were not the mastermind, this Yuanyou Clique case has caught all of Cai Jing's past enemies and potential opponents off guard. Inside and outside the capital city, everyone is silent, from now on there will be no one in the court who can confront Cai Jing head-on. Everywhere he looks, it's all Cai's party members, colluding with each other to deceive the emperor and bully the common people, indulging in luxury and extravagance without restraint. In the end, they have ruined a great Song Dynasty and handed it over to the small Jin State. Do you still think you have merit?

  Gao Zhen smiled all over his face: "Mr. Ye is full of wisdom, and the rectification of party membership has cleared up the evil atmosphere in the court, which is really admirable. If Mr. Cai becomes prime minister again one day, Mr. Ye will surely rise to prominence and become extremely powerful."

  Yue Mengde heard this and was overjoyed, unable to close his mouth: "It's hard to express one's own affairs, it's hard to express one's own affairs. Yue certain only hopes to be able to serve the emperor under the guidance of En Shang, and really can't care about wealth and nobility."

  Gao's remarks were quite sarcastic, but thinking about it, he himself was also on this boat. If Cai Jing couldn't regain power, his own father would likely fall from power within a year, and in this era, he was just a tiny insect. Seeing this, he could only keep quiet.

  The meal was eaten quickly, and after the bowls and plates were removed, the family presented a pot of clear tea. A few people chatted idly for a while before Ye Mengde stood up to take his leave.

  Gao Jian was about to let out a sigh of relief, but Gao Yun laughed and said: "Jiang Er, I still have some official business to attend to, you go send off Ye Shishu for me." Ye Mengde hastily declined, but it was just a polite phrase.

  It's strange that Gao Fu is doing this, it's clear that he's creating an opportunity for himself to be alone with "Ye Shu Shu", could it be that Ye Meng came here for his own sake?

  Although perplexed, Father has an order that cannot be disobeyed. With a strong and cheerful face, he carefully leads the way with a lantern, while Ye Mengde twirls his small mustache and paces behind in a steady gait.

  From Gao's study to the front yard, you have to cross a pond, and by the side of the pond is a winding path paved with cobblestones, about 100 steps long. The surroundings are secluded and hidden from view, making it a very quiet place. Just as they were walking here, Ye Mengde coughed softly behind him and said: "Xianzhong, may I ask you to stop for a moment? I have something to ask you."

  Gao Jiang said as expected, the words came, and he quickly turned around to say: "Uncle Shi has something to ask, just ask, and I will tell you everything I know."

  "The day before yesterday, your esteemed father sent someone to the Zhong Taiyi Palace in the middle of the night to convey a message, saying that he had decided to assist Mr. Cai in resuming his position as prime minister. His words were sincere and urgent, which greatly moved Mr. Cai's heart. He then ordered Ye to come and express his gratitude, and also to discuss important matters with General Gao. However, after meeting, General Gao said that although he was sympathetic to Mr. Cai, the influence of the Zhao party was currently too strong, and it was not possible to achieve their goal for the time being. It was actually your noble nephew who strongly advocated that Mr. Cai must be restored to his position. Ye is not talented, but has heard of your noble nephew's great reputation, so he wants to ask for your instruction: if Mr. Cai seeks to resume his position, what path should he take?"

  You've heard of me, what's this about you having doubts? My great name is nothing but the four words "Flower Blooming in Old Age", are you here to say you don't believe I have a plan to offer?

  Since they had to rely on Cai's party for the time being, Gao didn't bother to argue with him about these trivial matters. He stopped smiling and said: "Ye Shu, actually, anyone with discerning eyes can see that this matter of Enxiang's reincarnation is just a ruse. My father simply wanted to give my younger cousin an opportunity to enter Enxiang's sights, so he intentionally elevated him. Uncle Ye must not overestimate my younger cousin."

  Ye Mengde originally didn't believe that Gao Qiang could have such insight, and his previous words had a sarcastic tone. However, upon hearing Gao's humble response without any anger, Ye was taken aback. It seemed that this young man, despite his youth, was not to be underestimated. Ye smiled and said: "Young hero, you are indeed modest and brilliant. I, Ye, truly admire you. Please, do share your thoughts with me, and let us hope for an early recovery so that we can all live in peace."

  In the heart of Cao Jing's party, this is a good opportunity to get on board. If you stand in opposition to this massive group that can hold power for twenty years, the outcome will be too terrible to contemplate. The Su Shi family is a prime example. He calmly said: "My young nephew is arrogant and speaks out of turn, I hope Uncle Ye will forgive him. In my opinion, the opportunity for the benevolent official to rise again lies at the end of the year, and the person who rises again will be in the palace."

  Ye Mengde was slightly startled, and the several of Cai Jing's confidants had been discussing day and night these days, always feeling that Zhao's party was advancing step by step, with a fierce momentum. Although Cai's party said it had a deep foundation, it was temporarily busy and unable to resist. Now hearing Gao Qiang so confident, he hastily asked: "Nephew is so determined, I wonder if there is a plan?"

  Gao said with a strong heart, "If you don't have a plan, then there's no need to discuss it. If you want to listen, I can tell you that Zhao Gong was dismissed as the Grand Secretary last June and became the Chancellor of the Observatory. He had already achieved great success, but unfortunately, the timing was not in his favor. The stars were unfavorable, and there was a severe drought for several months. The Emperor avoided the palace to pray for disaster relief and issued an edict seeking honest words. Zhao Gong's party, including the Minister of Rites Liu Wei, took advantage of the situation and slandered him, which led to his dismissal."

  However, I think that the reasons for the return of favors are three: Firstly, the Emperor and the favored official have a close relationship as ruler and minister, and cannot bear to dismiss him completely, so he is only removed from his position as Chancellor, but still holds the title of Grand Preceptor, leading the Three Departments, and guarding the Zhong Taiyi Palace, with an honorable position but no actual power. Last year, when Zhao was dismissed from his position as Chancellor, he was also appointed as the University Scholar of the Observatory, a position below that of the Imperial Censor, showing that the Emperor's favor towards him had not diminished, and it was only to ward off disaster; Secondly, although Zhao was promoted to Chancellor by the favored official, since participating in politics, they have been constantly at odds with each other, and when the natural disasters occurred, he took advantage of the situation to remove him from office. In the court, he had no foundation, and his only allies were a few people like Liu Wei, so when something happened, there was no one to help him, and when one person got into trouble, they all got punished together; Thirdly, Zhao's talent is mediocre, and regarding the laws of Xining and Yuanfeng, he only knows how to follow them rigidly, without knowing how to adapt. This is a major taboo in administration, and it was because of this that Wang Anshi was ridiculed and slandered in his time, and the Yuanyou party people used this as an excuse to turn against him.

  Ye Mengde was both surprised and delighted, not expecting this young official to be so thoughtful and clear-headed. It seemed that a good-looking person wasn't necessarily without talent after all. However, he still wanted to ask clearly what the plan was: "Your words are insightful, Ye has been enlightened, but I don't know what good strategy you have to teach me?"

  Gao Qiang smiled slightly and thought to himself, "If you want to restore your reputation, I think it's best to start with these three things. Firstly, wait for Zhao Party to make a mistake in governance, then use the imperial censor to impeach him; secondly, impeach one person thoroughly, once that person is gone, the entire party will be gone; thirdly, work both inside and outside, collude with inner officials and palace eunuchs, wait for an opportunity to speak to the current emperor about your good deeds. With these three approaches, how can you not restore your reputation?"