Chapter 5 …a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s Strategy, Too Sinister!

　　Gu Hong Jian had already been well prepared to see Lin Si Ze and He Fang Ning lie down together in the evening, but to her surprise, He Fang Ning grinded the inksticks later that day before Lin Si Ze sent someone to see her off. He had then slept in his study for the evening.

　　The next day, news from the Hu prefecture arrived at the imperial morning court. The courier was brought to the main hall of the palace.

　　How unexpectedly quick was this? It was only September 16th…

　　This was quicker than Gu Hong Jian had predicted by five full days, making Gu Hong Jian extremely surprised. At that time, she couldn’t help her heart being filled with evil intentions as she looked forward to Lin Si Ze’s reaction upon hearing the news of her death.

　　Gu Hong Jian didn’t expect the courier to announce the news, however, of a.s.sistant Minister Gu and Deputy General w.a.n.g having already conquered the Ji va.s.sal state and having sent the backup rations to the Hu Prefecture. Ji Feng appeared to have already been surrounded over there. Moreover, there were no rations. a.s.sistant Minister Gu and Deputy General w.a.n.g had already set up layer upon layer of heavy barricades and traps, only waiting continuously for the Ji Feng soldiers to be lured out to meet the enemy head-on——both sides had yet to face each other, the opposing side to break first would lose more than half their troops in all likelihood.

　　Moreover, Hu Prefecture neighbored the plague-filled Ke Prefecture. During the siege, a.s.sistant Minister Gu secretly caught plagued rats from Ke Prefecture and sneaked them into the city walls of Hu Prefecture.

　　According to a spy in the enemy ranks, many Hu Prefecture soldiers had already been infected with the plague.

　　Gu Hong Jian stared blankly for quite a while. She recalled that this was approximately a week before she died, so someone should have returned with the news.

　　Oh, right. She unexpectedly forgot; there was still this matter…

　　So, everyone still didn’t know about her death. To the contrary, everyone believed she had already captured Hu Prefecture…

　　Truly ironic.

　　The courier spoke of this, but the numerous court officials’ complexions were very good. After all, the Ji va.s.sal state soldiers were in a drought and had little provisions in addition to the plague infection. These prevailing advantageous odds were really tremendous.

　　There were also many people with poor complexions.

　　For example, Zhao Yun Yuan.

　　Everyone praised a.s.sistant Minister Gu for being so resourceful—the majority of them also said Gu Hong Jian was strategic and cunning. As a matter of fact, these two words really had only a fine line of distinction.

　　Zhao Yun Yuan completely untactfully stood up and said, “Your Imperial Majesty, wēi chén thinks Gu dà ren’s strategies are absolutely improper!”

　　Lin Si Ze’s expression hadn’t changed since the courier gave his announcement. Everyone was motionless while they were listening to Zhao Yun Yuan. Lin Si Ze raised his eyebrow and said, “Eh? Scholar Zhao might as well speak straightforwardly.”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan frowned and elaborated. “Gu dà ren’s method… is too sinister! To go as far as to catch plagued rats and toss them into Hu Prefecture… Hu prefecture has more than just Ji va.s.sal state soldiers, it’s clearly occupied also by Hu Prefecture commoners! And although Hu Prefecture is at the lower reaches of the Tanchon River, further beyond them are Ming Prefecture and He Prefecture. If Hu Prefecture breaks out with plague, it will inevitably spread through the Tanchon River to Ming Prefecture and He Prefecture… Although the Ming Prefecture and He Prefecture are currently the same as Hu Prefecture and not regarded as my Tianmin country’s territory, they are bound to surrender and pay allegiance to Tianmin in the future… How can a.s.sistant Minister Gu…”

　　After this speech, everyone was silent; no one dared to speak. Many of them had long ago thought of this, but they feigned surprise. Some may have genuinely been surprised. Because of his little speech, suddenly no one dared to say anything.

　　They had praised a.s.sistant Minister Gu, so they naturally didn’t dare to open their mouths, and they didn’t dare scold her.

　　Contrarily, Zuo Ning Hao had just heard Zhao Yun Yuan’s words and looked distracted for a moment. He stood up afterwards and said, “Your Imperial Majesty, chén’s opinion is the same as Zhao dà ren.a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s strategy is so sinister that it impacts Hu Prefecture commoners alongside the Ji country’s citizens. In the future, it may also impact my Tianmin country! Such a person certainly cannot stay in the imperial morning court…”

　　Implying that Zhao Yun Yuan argued logically, Zuo Ning Hao was completely throwing Gu Hong Jian into the garbage. Gu Hong Jian, at the end of her wire, thought, To think I would really hurt Tianmin country’s people… first I will kill you and then Lin Si Ze.

　　Lin Si Ze listened, nodded his head, and said, “Both ài qīng spoke truth. When Gu ài qīng returns, zhèn1will bestow upon her a heavy punishment. Her lack of care for human life is not a matter of Tianmin. When she set out on her campaign, zhèn had long foreseen this kind of circ.u.mstance arising… thus zhèn is also at fault.”

　　Zhao Yu Yuan drew a blank before saying, “After a.s.sistant Minister Gu returns, your Imperial Majesty only needs to send a few skilled doctors to Hu Prefecture to control the plague situation. Presumably, this will also remedy a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s mistake…”

　　Zuo Ning Hao was just about to embellish details to make Lin Si Ze punish Gu Hong Jian, but to his surprise, Zhao Yun Yuan once again gave Gu Hong Jian leniency. He incredulously glanced at him with wide eyes before sullenly closing his mouth.

　　Gu Hong Jian watched on silently, but she couldn’t help smiling.

　　This Zhao Yun Yuan is indeed a blockhead. Lin Si Ze said he was also at fault. Those officials were all scared for a good reason. Lin Si Ze had clearly and deliberately shared some of the guilt so Zhao Yun Yuan could no longer dare to continue. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yun Yuan still continued to speak of something to remedy the mistake… Truly…

　　In regards to Zhao Yun Yuan’s proposal, Gu Hong Jian actually approved of it. She had also worked out this solution , but she had not discussed this with many. She had only told Deputy General w.a.n.g and the few people she sent out to catch rats.

　　Even Deputy General w.a.n.g agreed with her plan. Listening to all of this, however, her complexion changed greatly. The straightforward explanation implied this method was too abominable and thus highly decreased her merits.

　　Gu Hong Jian thought, Decreasing merits isn’t under my purview. What I want to know is if a method to cure the plague in Ke Prefecture had been found yet. Gu Hong Jian had made her people brew a large quant.i.ty of herbal medicine. If Baili Chen had adopted a lighthearted perspective, he would have quickly opened some of the city gates. The infected could be quarantined, making it less likely for the plague to spread to other prefectures.

　　If Baili Chen hardened his heart, the dead would blame Baili Chen instead of Gu Hong Jian.

　　As for decreased merits… Gu Hong Jian still smiled, knowing that she could no longer attend to matters of the living; virtuous merits were something no longer important to her.

　　Those were indeed prophetic words. Her time for retribution had come. As a result of her numerous misdeeds, her merits have really ceased to exist… so she had become a ghost to stay by Lin Si Ze’s side.

　　Baili Chen really was a good general, so he wouldn’t disappoint Gu Hong Jian. Gu Hong Jian threw the rats into Hu Prefecture, and the plague broke out on the third day. On the fifth day, Baili Chen opened the city gates.

　　Although Gu Hong Jian had long foreseen her mortality in Hu Prefecture, she still avoided this outcome as much as possible. Thus, she decided to not be too positive. To avoid high hostility, she focused on killing.

　　Baili Chen evidently loathed Gu Hong Jian immensely, as he had approached her with a few high-ranking military officers. After unexpectedly killing the heavy siege single-handedly, he left to seek Gu Hong Jian.

　　Gu Hong Jian had no way out. Running away would drastically impact morale, so she could only mount her horse and sigh as she engaged the enemy.

　　She knew she would lose.

　　She had her martial arts, which were pretty decent. With a few tricks she could easily kill government officials and hide from imperial bodyguards with room to spare. In a long campaign against Baili Chen, however, her odds of success were pitifully small.

　　Baili Chen held extremely intense hatred towards her… or could it even be called hatred? She… to be frank, she actually didn’t have a very strong will to live. She merely didn’t want to die. She didn’t hate the idea of her death, she just wanted to keep on living.

　　 At that moment when Baili Chen’s extremely complicated gaze met with hers, she even thought the other option was also good.

　　Dying like this under Baili Chen, at the age of 25, she figured this was karmic retribution for the deaths she indirectly or directly caused.

　　And when she died, her death could be considered as sacrificing her life for the country.

　　This would lighten her infamy a bit. Lin Si Ze’s loathing and hatred towards her could also ease a bit.

　　When fighting a war, this kind of thinking was highly discouraged, but Gu Hong Jian had foreseen and accepted the possibility of not returning. Baili Chen knocked her off her horse very quickly, driving his spear through her.

　　Thus, Gu Hong Jian’s way of thinking came true. She died.

　　Because her death wasn’t very explosive, no one seemed to discover her death at first, not even the soldiers battling enemies nearby.

　　Having not died, Baili Chen was unscathed to say the least.

　　In short…

　　Very ridiculous…

　　Lin Si Ze enjoyed listening to this Zhao Yun Yuan talk, so Lin Si Ze was not unhappy. As Lin Si Ze listened in silence, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

　　In fact, Lin Si Ze’s mood should be pretty good.

　　Although Lin Si Ze was expressionless from beginning to end, the corner of his mouth was slightly curled at present. Over the past several years, Gu Hong Jian had come to an understanding of Lin Si Ze and could immediately grasp Lin Si Ze’s thought processes completely.

　　His mood should currently be very good, probably because of the announcement of war in Hu Prefecture proceeding smoothly.

　　Gu Hong Jian floated beside Lin Si Ze, following him around at the imperial morning court and watching him… Zhao Yun Yuan called for the continuation of the report.

　　Strange, what does this have to do with Zhao Yun Yuan calling for the continuation of the report?

　　Gu Hong Jian’s whole heart was full of suspicions, but she felt Lin Si Ze didn’t care about the matter and Zhao Yun Yuan’s proposal. She also believed that Lin Si Ze was probably remaining calm and collected because he was enjoying Zhao Yun Yuan’s antics… Aiya, could it be that Lin Si Ze fancies Zhao Yun Yuan?

　　Gu Hong Jian let her imagination run wild, but she saw Lin Si Ze leisurely start to talk. “Official Zhao, zhèn admires your honest and straightforward character but is worried that you will easily fold. Thus for a long time now, zhèn has not yet promoted you and allowed you to stay at the Imperial Hanlin Academy to temper yourself. Currently, Gu Hong Jian is a rank 2 a.s.sistant Minister, but you are still a rank 5 Scholar. Are you dissatisfied?”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan became startled. He immediately exclaimed, “Your Imperial Majesty, regardless of the magnitude of the official position, chén only seeks to serve the country efficiently; never has chén had any complaints on the magnitude of chén’s official position! Chén requests earnestly for Your Imperial Majesty’s guidance!”

　　This man was really stupid. Lin Si Ze was evidently giving him a promotion, so how come he didn’t realize it?

　　Gu Hong Jian wanted to laugh.

　　As expected, the corner of Lin Si Ze’s mouth rose as he said, “Official Zhao does not need to be tense. A few days ago, you worriedly claimed that a.s.sistant Minister Gu was not up to the task, asking zhèn to dispatch troops to aid a.s.sistant Minister Gu. Zhèn already had a plan in mind. And today, everyone has praised a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s attack on Hu Prefecture. Only you have pointed out her error. Zhèn has thus decided—in the previous dynasty, my fù huáng2 was engrossed with Daoism and extremely hated others’ interference. The entire Imperial Censorate had been empty. Particularly now, the Investigating Censor office is still vacant. Zhèn thinks Official Zhao may be qualified.”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan froze. Without any refusal, he kneeled down to make his salutations, lowly saying, “Chén… will not fail this task.”

　　“Check all the civil and military officials, down to the investigation division’s squire, for any who committed treason, mild or errant, so zhèn can overlook it all and impeach whomever for their crimes.” Lin Si Ze indifferently continued, “There should be at least five Investigating Censors, so zhèn has in mind for Official Zhao to choose on his lonesome for now. Official Zhao has stayed in the Imperial Hanlin Academy for an excess six years. Surely his mind can adequately recommend subjects able to take undertake the task. Write an accounts book and give it to zhèn as a proposal.”

　　Like how an Imperial Censorate was in charge of supervising all kinds of governmental divisions and thus most vulnerable to collusions, even the Senior Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate had difficulty recommending people to enter. Lin Si Ze could only allow Zhao Yun Yuan to choose people. It demonstrated his trust in Zhao Yun Yuan, who was even more extremely grateful. And no one argued as they all agreed one after another.

　　The Investigating Censor was only rank 4. Superior to him was rank 3 Head Administrator, rank 2 Imperial Censor, rank 1 Deputy Imperial Censor, and rank 1 Senior Imperial Censor.

　　Although the Imperial Censor outranks him, his extent of power could be said to be the highest due to his ability to directly impeach his superior Senior Imperial Censor. It was also a demonstration of the extreme trust the emperor had placed in him.

　　Lin Si Ze allowed him to rise, saying afterwards, “Allow zhèn to guess—will the first one to be impeached be a.s.sistant Minister Gu?”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan replied, “Chén in fact holds no prejudice towards her, only disapproving of her work methods. Previously, chén had handed your Imperial Majesty an accounts book, saying chén is in opposition of some of Gu dà ren’s actions…”

　　Lin Si Ze smiled and said, “Hn, I have looked through your accounts book, and it is very well-written. I gave it to a.s.sistant Minister Gu to look at, and she also praised your good writing style.”

　　“…This…” Zhao Yun Yuan clearly didn’t expect Gu Hong Jian to have also looked at that imperial report, even more for her to praise his writing style as good…

　　Lin Si Ze said, “Gu dà ren has a job that indeed brings up questions, but she is not particularly afraid of zhèn. Therefore, zhèn can’t do anything about it beyond helping her correct her own problems.”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan was stunned. He then said, “Your Imperial Majesty cherishes her; if a.s.sistant Minister Gu really has this much freedom, then it is hard to avoid her conniving… adding a little restriction in the future, surely…”

　　Lin Si Ze shook his head. “This is her problem, but it is also zhèn’s problem. Zhèn sometimes searches zhèn’s heart and thoroughly understands how a.s.sistant Minister Gu turned out like this. It is probably because Zhèn has a a lot of relationships. Hence…wait for a.s.sistant Minister Gu to return. You simply write your thoughts. With her attendance, zhèn can…remove her from office.”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan was suddenly struck dumb. He breathed, “Your Imperial Majesty…”

　　Gu Hong Jian also stopped floating around, staying in place.

　　Lin Si Ze said with a gentle expression, “On one hand, zhèn wants to teach a.s.sistant Minister Gu a few morals. On the other hand, this also gives you the opportunity to establish credibility. The Senior Imperial Censor and Deputy Imperial Censors are old after all, but those three are elders of the imperial morning court. Zhèn also cannot directly dismiss them. If you force a.s.sistant Minister Gu to step down, the people of the imperial morning court should know zhèn’s current intentions.”

　　This intention was very obvious. Lin Si Ze wanted to punish Gu Hong Jian to allow Zhao Yun Yuan to establish credibility. This way, people would know that the Imperial Censorate’s function had begun to be restored.

　　Zhao Yun Yuan did not seem to be happy, instead he creased his brows and said, “Although wēi chéndoes not admire a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s practices, still… As a matter of fact, as an official, a.s.sistant Minister Gu does indeed have some strong points others do not have…”

　　He unexpectedly still spoke on her behalf…Gu Hong Jian floated beside Zhao Yun Yuan. Looking at him, she couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Investigator Zhao is indeed still excessively honest!”

　　Lin Si Ze’s face was expressionless as he said, “Her merits do not make up for her actions. After she had been removed from her official position, I can make her reflect upon herself. Once she has done so properly, she may return to the imperial morning court.”

　　Zhao Yun Yuan probably felt this was too preposterous, but he remained silent. After quite a while, he whispered, “…Yes.”

　　Gu Hong Jian heard Lin Si Ze say this about her, and she unexpectedly didn’t feel sad. On the contrary, she wanted to rejoiced in other people’s misfortunes. Ha! She couldn’t return, so Lin Si Ze was unable to make her resign from office. She would return victorious through her dead body. With this kind of circ.u.mstance, Lin Si Ze couldn’t strip Gu Hong Jian of her office. In addition, he would have to posthumously promote her, grant her a t.i.tle, and hold a grand burial for her.

　　Allowing Zhao Yun Yuan to leave, Lin Si Ze quietly sat alone in Wen Dao Tang, seemingly reflecting on something. After a short while, He Fang Ning appeared, and Lin Si Ze didn’t block her, allowing her to smoothly advance into Wen Dao Tang.

　　Gu Hong Jian realized He Fang Ning’s eyes were slightly red, and Lin Si Ze also clearly realized this. He glanced at her eyes but didn’t seem to care about her, instead inquiring, “Why are you here again?”

　　His tone, contrary to expectations, was still not considered to be as thick as honey. Lin Si Ze appeared to be somewhat impatient when he said the word ‘again.’

　　He Fang Ning paused before her eyes rapidly reddened. She said, “Your Imperial Majesty, are you sick of chén qiè?”

　　Lin Si Ze frowned slightly and asked, “Why are you crying again?”

　　The repeated use of the word ‘again’ made Gu Hong Jian want to laugh.

　　He Fang Ning cried, “Chén qiè, chén qiè simply heard a.s.sistant Minister Gu proceeding in Hu Prefecture smoothly. Although her methods are controversial, in the end, her power is tremendous…”

　　“So?”

　　“Thus, chén qiè feels somewhat sad— chén qiè resides in the harem and does not have a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s military expertise nor a.s.sistant Minister Gu’s resourcefulness. Chén qiè cannot share your Imperial Majesty’s tribulations completely… Before, being able to grind your Imperial Majesty’s inkstick, being able to accompany your Imperial Majesty, chén qiè felt she had done a great effort, but compared to a.s.sistant Minister Gu, chén qiè discovers she is in truth not doing anything…”

　　Lin Si Ze pondered for a moment before raising his eyebrow and commenting, “Do you also want to go to war?”

　　He Fang Nin squeaked. “…eep.”

　　Gu Hong Jian laughed. “Hahahahahaha!!”

　　He Fang Ning hurriedly explained, “No, no, chén qiè doesn’t want to lead the troops to battle. Chén qièis really afraid that… Chén qiè merely feels chén qiè cannot share your Imperial Majesty’s tribulations and split the distress like a.s.sistant Minister Gu. In every respect, chén qiè is inferior to a.s.sistant Minister Gu. Not only is she better, chén qiè also feels sad as your Imperial Majesty’s favorite is a.s.sistant Minister Gu, your love for her surpa.s.sing your love for chén qiè…”

　　Lin Si Ze stared blankly before saying, “What nonsense.”

　　He did not say anything else, forcing He Fang Ning to obediently remain quiet.

　　Gu Hong Jian also stared blankly.