Chapter 68 - Secret Imperial Edict at Midnight

"Senior Fan... you?!" Chen Kaiming, lying on his sickbed, widened his eyes. "Do you also support what Qi Zongbi has done?"

"It has nothing to do with Lord Qi..." The hunched old man set the medicine bowl aside and half-closed his eyes. "Your Majesty, do you know the greatest difference between you and the late Emperor?"

"The late Emperor..." Chen Kaiming muttered to himself, "If the late Emperor were here, what would he do..."

"The late Emperor spent his life on the battlefield. He was decisive when it came to killing," the old man said serenely, "In his lifetime, there were also times when things seemed impossible...

"The biggest difference between Your Majesty and the late Emperor is that he knew when he had to take a risk." The old man tucked in Chen Kaiming’s quilt, and continued. "When he fought, he staked the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the lives of those in his empire, and even his own life."

Chen Kaiming opened his mouth but did not know what to say. He blankly stared at the old man who had counseled him his entire life.

"Your Majesty, you have a righteous and balanced character. You are unwilling to take extreme measures and always prioritize the bigger picture, but..."

The hunched figure raised his head, gazing into the monarch's eyes on the sickbed.

"Will you finally take a risk today?"

"I..." Chen Kaiming licked his dry, cracked lips, but could not come to a decision.

After a long silence, Chen Kaiming hoarsely whispered, "Senior Fan... are you asking me to gamble with the lives of tens of thousands of citizens at the border... If I do this... is it really the right thing to do?"

"I happen to have a plan that could relieve Your Majesty's concerns," Senior Fan said with a measured smile.

"Speak clearly, Senior Fan," Chen Kaiming raised his eyes and looked at the hunched old man before him.

"According to Qi Zongbi’s strategy, the three border cities are the bait, but in reality, it’s the tens of thousands of civilians living in those three cities who will serve as the bait." Fan Shaolin’s lips curled into a faint smile. Despite his stooped figure, he radiated an animated energy.

"If there were no civilians in the cities, Northern Qiang wouldn’t fall for it. In Qi Zongbi’s plan, these tens of thousands of civilians are doomed... They’re nothing but pawns to be sacrificed.

"This is also where Your Majesty’s conflict with Qi Zongbi lies. However, Your Majesty, you could issue a secret edict, ordering Qi Zongbi to evacuate the civilians from the three cities quietly and have the soldiers disguise themselves as commoners.

"When Northern Qiang attacks, the soldiers could feign resistance before retreating and giving up the three cities.

"This way, the war could still proceed according to Qi Zongbi's plan. As for whether victory or defeat follows... if victorious, Northern Qiang will be defeated. If not... Your Majesty, do you dare to take a risk to settle it once and for all?"

Chen Kaiming furrowed his brow and remained silent, deep in thought.

The old man patted the monarch's leg on the sickbed and said, "Your Majesty, I’ve said what I came to say... The rest is up to your decision... I will take my leave."

Senior Fan then bowed deeply and left, closing the door behind him.

Eunuch Yue stood silently to the side, watching everything without saying a word.

That very night, a secret imperial edict was issued from the imperial city and delivered at full speed to the External Prime Minister's residence.

Qi Zongbi saw off the eunuch who delivered the edict, closed the door, and stood in the courtyard, expressionless.

Under the moonlight, Qi Zongbi stood in the courtyard like a statue, motionless, lost in thought.

A woman draped in clothes walked out of the house. Upon seeing Qi Zongbi standing there silently, she couldn’t help but call out, "Husband, what’s wrong?"

Qi Zongbi turned his head, staring fixedly at the woman standing under the eaves, and after a long pause, he waved his hand. "It’s nothing... It’s cold outside, let’s go back inside," he said, walking over to help his wife back into the house.

"Is something troubling you, husband?" The woman looked tenderly at the man who had been by her side for most of her life.

"I can’t hide it from you," Qi Zongbi chuckled softly, "the Emperor agreed to my proposal."

The woman hummed in response and didn’t ask further.

"There will be war," Qi Zongbi said softly. Do you think what I’m doing is right or wrong? After all, tens of thousands of lives are on the line."

"In your heart, you know the answer." The woman reached out, stroking the graying temples of the conflicted man. "You do what you think should be done. I know your heart is with the Ruen Dynasty."

"You know me best." Qi Zongbi smiled slightly at the wrinkled face before him. "If there’s ever a chance, I’ll step down as External Prime Minister and spend the rest of my life peacefully with you."

The woman laughed happily and walked into the house first. "What are you saying? Once you’ve succeeded and retired, I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you."

Qi Zongbi stood at the door, watching the woman inside, his smile turned bitter.

I fear that day will never come,

he thought sadly,

I really owe you too much in this lifetime.

***

"It seems the Emperor has made his decision." The chief military officer, Grand Marshall Ying Gutong, sat in his hall. Sitting below him was a middle-aged man in civilian official attire, the Minister of War, Xu Chenlong.

Xu Chenlong took a sip of tea and said, "The contents of the secret edict are unclear, but we can guess... It looks like war is imminent."

Ying Gutong nodded. "Qi Zongbi... He is someone that you can’t help but admire..."

Xu Chenlong’s face remained expressionless, but he nodded in agreement.

"Indeed... Whether we win or lose this battle, he created this opportunity... But due to his factionalism and forcing counsel upon the Emperor, he can't escape death in the end..."

Ying Gutong lowered his head, looking at the tea leaves swirling in his cup.

"When I first heard his strategy, I thought he was a ruthless man, willing to sacrifice tens of thousands without hesitation. But now, I see that he’s equally harsh on himself..."

"He truly gives everything to the Ruen Dynasty."

"

Mm

..."

The Emperor’s secret edict, sent to the External Prime Minister's residence in the dead of night, spread like a wildfire through the capital’s official circles. Unseen undercurrents surged in the shadows.

Su Yi had only recently been appointed to the position of Hanlin Scholar, so he had yet to be inducted into the inner circle. He remembered his teacher’s advice, listen more, watch more, speak less, and do more. Every day, he diligently completed his tasks.

There wasn’t much to do anyway. The role of a Hanlin Scholar was quite leisurely.

The Hanlin Academy was essentially a place where the young children of the capital’s nobles and officials attended school.

The Hanlin Scholars assisted the scholars and great Confucians with various trivial tasks.

There wasn’t much to do, so Su Yi spent most of his days idly daydreaming.

Regarding the rumors flying around among the officials, he was aware that there would be a war, but then again, there was always a war around this time of year. Naturally, he didn’t pay much attention to the rumors.

But gradually, even the scholars and great Confucians in the Hanlin Academy began to discuss it, and then even the daughters and sons of the nobles started talking about it.

By then, even Su Yi felt that something seemed off. Just hearing snippets from others talking about the "potential deaths of tens of thousands of civilians" was already alarming enough, but it still just hearsay. So, he decided to see if his teacher knew the truth.

In war, it is always the common people who suffer.