CH 70

Chapter 70: Persuasion

Dong Sheng opened his mouth and paused before saying in a low voice, “The imperial court planned to cut the Yanbei Army’s military pay, then send people to cause riots within the Yanbei Army and arouse public anger. It is a good opportunity to achieve the goal of reducing the combat effectiveness of the Yanbei Army. The Yanbei Army has always been a heart problem of the court. The Yan Family believes that after more than ten years of management, the situation in the court has now stabilised and the time is ripe to weaken the Xiao Family.”

Xiao Jingxi smiled, stroked the rim of his blue and white tea bowl carelessly, “If I remember correctly, your master’s surname is Li, right?”

Dong Sheng nodded without changed his face: “Your Excellency is right, my master’s surname is Li, but it is not Yan. Moreover, my master wants to live. If the Yanbei Army were to lose to the Yan Family’s court, my master would be the first to suffer. That is why I want the Yanbei Army to be strong more than anyone else.”

Xiao Jingxi’s mouth held a smile of uncertain meaning, and his voice was low and beautiful: “Which one of your masters made you say this again?”

Dong Sheng bowed his head and did not say anything.

Xiao Jingxi didn’t care, smiling and saying in a warm voice: “Since the ancient times, when a ruler wanted his subjects to die, they had to die. Otherwise, your master would not have gone to Yanbei back then. If the court wanted to disarm, Yanbei would have had no choice but to follow the ruler’s wishes.”

Xiao Jingxi naturally did not believe a word of this, so he said in a deep voice, “But a general is not subject to military orders. Does Yanbei want to repeat the same catastrophe that happened decades ago? I am not talented, but I also know that although the Khitans have been driven out of Yanbei by the Yanbei Army for decades, they are still eyeing to make a comeback, while the northwestern border is plagued by the Dangxiang Tribe. Without the Yanbei Army, what would happen to the people of Yanbei? Linger under the iron cavalry of the Khitans like they were in those days, live not as good as pigs and dogs? What would happen if the Yanbei Army did not hold its ground? The Yanbei Army cannot be defeated and must not retreat.”

Only then did Xiao Jingxi bet his eyes on Dong Sheng, looked at him seriously for a few moments, and then suddenly laughed, “What is your solution to the court’s disarmament order against Yanbei?”

At his words, Dong Sheng glanced at Tong He, the servant standing beside Xiao Jingxi.

Without waiting for Xiao Jingxi’s order, Tong He bowed his head and retreated out, closing the door behind him.

Xiao Jingxi looked at Dong Sheng with a gentle gaze and smiled as he waited for him to say more.

Dong Sheng said, “My lord likes to listen to opera, so this young one will sing a few lines. I remember that there was a part of the play that was sung, ‘repairing the plank road in the open, crossing Chencang in the dark[1]“

Xiao Jingxi sat at the top, his deep eyes flickering slightly, didn’t speak.

“I know that Wu Xiaohe, the current Ningxia General Military Officer, is the Prince Yanbei’s brother-in-law. Back then, the previous Prince Yanbei asked the county princess to tie the knot with the Wu Family, perhaps with the intention of letting the two families of Xiao and Wu keep each other at critical moments. Therefore, if the court were to order disarmament one day, the most likely thing the Yanbei Royal Family would do is to find a way to transfer part of the Yanbei Army to Ningxia, so as to distract the court’s attention and preserve the strength of the Yanbei Army.”

The surprise in Xiao Jingxi’s eyes flickered away as he heard the words. This was a move made by the late Prince Yanbei when he was still alive, and although he did not like it, his father had approved of it.

But how had the man in front of him guessed this?

When Prince Xian was sent to Yanbei, all the people around him had been checked by the Yanbei Royal Family. Therefore, Xiao Jingxi knew that the opera troupe raised by Prince Xian was in fact a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger[2].

However, since there was no conflict of interest between Prince Xian and the Yanbei Royal Family, those people would not be able to make any big waves. That is why the Yanbei Royal Family turned a blind eye to them. At that time, his grandfather thought that it might not be useless for them to keep Prince Xian in Yanbei in the future.

Despite this, both Prince Xian and his son were calm and idle. Even if this idleness was only an appearance, he did not think they could guess the previous Prince Yanbei’s arrangement.

Outside, the rain grew more and more intense, but inside, it was quiet and dull.

Dong Sheng’s voice also gradually became steadier and more confident: “But I don’t think this is a good solution. Only what you hold in your own hands is your own, changing hands means changing surnames. To put it bluntly, even though Wu Xiaohe is the son-in-law of the Yanbei Royal Family, his surname is not Xiao. No matter how good the friendship between the Xiao Family and the Wu Family is in the end, they cannot argue with the word ‘profit’. After a long time, who can tell? Even if the Wu Family and the Xiao Family were to move forward and backward together, the Wu Family has always looked up to the Xiao Family, but what if the time comes when the Wu Family can’t help itself? Military positions in our dynasty can be hereditary, like Wu Xiaohe inherited the post of general military officer from his father, Wu Houchun. However, there are unpredictable circumstances in the sky, and people have their own fortunes. A hereditary position does not mean that it will always be secure. Instead of placing our hopes on our allies, we should hold the power in our own hands.”

Xiao Jingxi’s eyes were inexplicable with a touch of deeper meaning, but the corners of his mouth still wore a light smile, not speaking or taking a position.

When Dong Sheng said this, he looked at Xiao Jingxi’s expression secretly, but he couldn’t see anything, and couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy again.

At that moment a gust of wind blew in through the open window, bringing with it a moist vapour, Xiao Jingxi frowned and coughed softly.

Dong Sheng noticed that even when the young man in front of him was coughing, he had a leisurely and elegant demeanour that was not normally found in common people.

Only then did he remember that the Second Young Master of the Xiao Family had always been in poor health, and when he had last left the capital there is a rumour that he had been so ill that he was about to die. Although his health had improved since his return a year ago, he still needed to recuperate from time to time.

There was an inexpressible aura in Xiao Jingxi’s body, an aura that could attract people’s attention and make them ignore his weaknesses and see only his beauty.

At this moment, Dong Sheng looked at him and realized that Xiao Jingxi’s appearance was really outstanding, but he was not as “excellent” as the world claimed. It was just that his every gesture, his eyes, and the tone of his voice were so impressive. The unique rhythm that belongs to Xiao Jingxi exudes was the reason why people couldn’t take their eyes off him.

Dong Sheng stared blankly for a while before coming back to his senses, and couldn’t help but avert his eyes in some embarrassment, cursing himself for being bewildered.

Although Xiao Jingxi was outstanding, it was of the manly kind of outstanding, and he was certain that he did not have any eccentricities, so Dong Sheng was a little depressed about the fact that he was looking at a man in a daze.

When Xiao Jingxi coughed for a while, the boy named Tong He who was waiting outside asked urgently through the door, “Sir, do you want me to come in and serve you?”

Xiao Jingxi’s coughing gradually subsided, and he put away his handkerchief and said in a light voice, “No need.”

There was no sound from outside.

Dong Sheng saw that the window was still open, so he couldn’t help but say, “Shall I close the window for you? The rain is blowing in.”

Xiao Jingxi looked out of the window with a calm and peaceful expression, his gaze as quiet as deep flowing water, he smiled and shook his head: “No need, it’s more uncomfortable to be stuffy.”

Dong Sheng then retreated back to stand again.

Xiao Jingxi turned his eyes to him again and said gently, “Sorry, you go on.”

Dong Sheng thought for a moment, then continued, “So I think that the Yanbei Army can only be most powerful and effective if it stays in Yanbei. To divide and conquer is an extremely risky move.”

Xiao Jingxi looked down and Dong Sheng smiled quietly and said, “Perhaps you are right, but I still say that the ruler’s orders cannot be disobeyed.”

Dong Sheng thought for a moment and said bluntly, “Does Your Excellency mean that Yanbei has no intention of confronting the imperial court head on for the time being?” This statement was extremely straightforward, exposing Xiao Jingxi’s high-sounding reason completely.

However, Xiao Jingxi was not angry, just smiled without saying anything.

Dong Sheng also smiled and said, “This is the purpose of my visit to see you today. Although we want to ask you to protect us, we will not accept your favor in vain. The same as having to pay for food.”

Xiao Jingxi laughed softly, his voice still low and dark: “Say something, if you can convince me, I will keep you and your master safe and sound.”

His tone was friendly and casual, like a joke, but it gave people a sense of certainty and reassurance.

Dong Sheng couldn’t help being overjoyed. He had naturally heard of Xiao Jingxi, who would never go back on his word, was very much a gentleman of his word.

He had been talking for so long, only to hear such a promise from him.

So Dong Sheng said without hesitation, “Your Excellency is right, the court wants to disarm, Yanbei should not fight hard against it. Otherwise it would stand in opposition to those scholarly people in the world who spend their days talking about propriety, righteousness and integrity. Although the scholars will not be able to rebel for three years, they will not be able to resist the rebellion when they are all together. So Yanbei should go with the flow.”

Without waiting for Xiao Jingxi to ask, Dong Sheng said consciously, “Who do you think is the richest person in our Yanbei today, my lord?”

Xiao Jingxi smiled slightly.

Dong Sheng laughed, “I don’t think it’s any of the Su Family, Ren Family, Lin Family, Yun Family… and so on, but…”

Dong Sheng said and pointed to the land beneath his feet and then to the sky.

“Rather, it is this place of Buddhist purity. The people often say that of the ten parts of the world’s wealth, Buddha takes up seven.”

Xiao Jingxi inclined his head slightly in thought and smiled faintly, clearly he did not object to this statement either.

“There are about eight hundred temples of all sizes in the whole of Yanbei, take this Beilong Temple for example, the fields recorded under its name, the land donated by the incense-bearers and believers, plus the barren land reclaimed and not reported can support at least two to three thousand people every year, this does not include other income. And there are about twenty or so monasteries of the same size as the Beilong Temple throughout Yanbei.”

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[1] The idiom of “repairing the plank road in the open, crossing Chencang in the dark” refers to confusing the opponent with a certain action on the surface, but taking another action to achieve the goal in the dark. It also refers to carrying out certain activities in secret.

[2] The idiom of “hidden dragon and crouching tiger” means hidden talents that have not been discovered, or talents that are hidden from view.

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