Chapter Thirty-Three: It Cannot All Be Blamed on Yang Chuan Alone

After hearing the Prime Minister’s words, Sun Xin’s lips twitched, and he could only manage an awkward smile in response. As a veteran official who had served two dynasties, he knew better than anyone that the old Prime Minister before him had never been a pushover. Although the man had not appeared at court for several years, his loyalists were embedded in every corner of the government. Even some local officials had been beneficiaries of the "Prime Minister’s grace" for generations; if he were to incite a rebellion within the borders of Qi, the Empress herself might not be his match.

As for Yang Chuan, objectively speaking, his arrival in Great Qi to govern was purely to repay Tian Yueying. The subsequent relentless retaliation from Great Kang was merely the result of a falling out between him and the Empress of Great Kang, Yan Wugou. When all was said and done, the blame could not be laid entirely at Yang Chuan’s feet. Years ago, when Yang Chuan was alone in Great Qi accompanying Yan Wugou, Tian Yueying was still just a little princess playing with her nurse in the inner palace. Had the late Emperor not passed away so prematurely, leaving no male heir to the throne, she would not have been forced to shoulder the burdens of the entire nation at such a tender age.

The fate connecting these three was truly lamentable. Yang Chuan was a youth of exceptional talent, possessing the cultivation of a Grandmaster while still in his teens. Had the first Empress he encountered been Tian Yueying rather than Yan Wugou, perhaps the Great Qi of today...

Sun Xin shook his head, pushing these thoughts aside, and turned to explain to An Xunlu, "Prime Minister, the relentless pressure from the Kang Kingdom is not entirely Yang Chuan’s fault; it is merely the Empress of Great Kang, Yan Wugou, acting out of a desire for revenge against him."

"Hmph! If we follow your logic, Protector of the State, then this matter is not Yang Chuan’s fault—are you suggesting it is ours instead?" Having been away from court for years, the old Prime Minister was quite adept at shifting blame. He glanced at Yang Chuan, who sat at the same table as the Empress, and turned back to Sun Xin. "When he first arrived in Qi, I heard of it, but because I did not know of his relationship with the Empress of Kang, I paid it no mind. After all, if our Majesty could recruit a man of talent to help govern the country, it would have been a fine thing. But who could have foreseen that this man would be so indecisive? How could he come to govern another nation when he had yet to sever his past ties with the Empress of Kang?"

After a brief pause, the Prime Minister continued to exonerate himself. "Back then, I was severely ill and unable to attend court. Had I been there, I would have certainly submitted a memorial to force this Yang Chuan to retire to his fields!"

Sun Xin watched the Prime Minister’s performance with raised brows, feeling a profound sense of disappointment in the mentality of the old officials of Qi. When the nation prospered, they took the credit; when it weakened, they cast the blame. The reason the once-dominant Great Qi had fallen to its current state was due in no small part to the civil and military officials who filled its court.

Meanwhile, Yang Chuan, after careful deliberation, decided to bargain. Handing over three million taels of gold would not only cripple Great Qi but also potentially allow Great Kang to siphon away the nation’s very destiny. He had to find another way to reduce the indemnity and compensate for the difference elsewhere.

"Master Zou, the sum requested by the Empress of Great Kang is, I fear, beyond our immediate means," Yang Chuan said, his tone unusually humble for a man known for his defiance. "How about this: I shall provide two million taels of gold for now. If we can develop our trade, we could extend our policies to the three border cities. What do you think?"

Zou Zhiping was the envoy from Kang, but when it came to strategy and rhetoric, he was not even fit to tie Yang Chuan’s shoes. Yang Chuan’s proposal was a clever ploy to reclaim what Great Kang had just seized. After all, those three border cities had originally belonged to Great Qi. In this era of seven warring states, the people’s sense of national identity was strong; even after the territory was ceded, the inhabitants still considered themselves citizens of Qi. By effectively abandoning these cities in terms of governance, Great Kang was alienating the populace. Yang Chuan’s plan to boost the economy of these cities was, in truth, a move to win the hearts of the people. As he had told Tian Yueying, once the citizens and the garrison felt the grace of Great Qi, he could reclaim the cities without shedding a drop of blood.

Zou Zhiping frowned in thought for a long time, yet he failed to detect the trap. Instead, he felt that Yang Chuan had finally been driven into a corner and was bowing his head to seek a peace settlement.

After a moment of contemplation, Zou Zhiping clapped his hands. "Agreed! A general in the field may sometimes disregard his ruler's orders; while I am no general, as an envoy of Great Kang, I have the discretion to be flexible if the terms are reasonable." He stood up and addressed the gathered officials of Qi, "Gentlemen, the grace of Great Kang is vast. Our Empress does not drive those who submit to the brink of despair. That is the case today, and it shall remain so in the future!"

*So, he's using this opportunity to advertise for Yan Wugou?* Yang Chuan thought, finding the man’s simplicity almost pitiable. He had no desire to say more. It was easy to manipulate a fool. In the past, he had used a similar ruse that had led to Zou Zhiping being scolded by his own superiors upon his return. Who would have thought he would fall for it again? Regardless, thanks to Zou Zhiping’s gullibility, a million taels of gold had been saved, and Yang Chuan was satisfied.

Though the officials harbored resentment toward Yang Chuan, the presence of the Great Kang envoy prevented them from demanding his dismissal on the spot. However, that bitterness was carried over to the next morning’s court session.

The following day, after two million taels of gold were loaded onto carts and sent off with Zou Zhiping, the light had clearly faded from Tian Yueying’s face. As a woman herself, she had not expected Yan Wugou to pursue Yang Chuan with such relentless vengeance. She realized that even with his superior strategy, martial prowess, and governance skills that surpassed his time, his loss of support in the court meant he would inevitably become a target for the other officials.

"Master Yang, I have begun to reflect," she said quietly. "Was I too eager to bring you to Great Qi? Now you are besieged on both sides—the court officials are dissatisfied, and the Empress of Great Kang seeks every opportunity to retaliate. Do I truly need to remove you from your post, just so you can find some peace?"