bookrandom Chapter 220 His Majesty has passed away
Chapter 220 His Majesty has passed away
After staying outside until dark and having dinner with Deng Ting, Gu Lin leisurely took a car home.
As soon as he entered the mansion, Da Yan came forward to greet him: "Husband, the master will be back this afternoon."
After listening to what the other person said, Gu Lin nodded without changing his expression, and then walked towards his own courtyard.
As soon as he entered the room and went around the screen, he turned his eyes slightly and saw a young man with a cool and aloof demeanor sitting behind the table. What was unusual was that the other man was not reading a book, but rather leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.
Unsure if the other person was asleep, Gu Lin tiptoed. Seeing that the young man still didn't move, he assumed that the other person was asleep.
After passing the soft couch, Gu Lin picked up a blanket from it, walked over to the young man and covered him with it. Just as he was about to step back, his wrist was grabbed.
A deep, husky voice rang out in the night: "Uncle Gu is back."
Gu Lin looked down and met the young man's dark eyes. Perhaps it was because the candlelight was too dim, but he felt that Zheng Hao's eyes were particularly deep and dark.
Gu Lin nodded and said, "Did I wake you up?"
Zheng Hao straightened up, lifting his back from the chair, and rubbed the young man's slightly rounded wrist with his fingertips, saying in a low voice, "I haven't slept. I just closed my eyes to rest because I was a little tired after discussing things for a long time in the army last night."
Without Gu Lin having to ask, Zheng Hao slowly recounted what they had discussed in the military camp the previous night.
He never put his guard up against the young man and revealed his plans: "With the Marquis of Zhenbei in charge of the Zhenbei Army, it will be difficult for me to place my own people in the army in a short period of time. Taking advantage of this opportunity to organize the militia, I can place my own people in the army."
Gu Lin did not interrupt, but listened to the other party express his thoughts one by one.
After speaking, Zheng Hao got up and led the young man to the soft couch, where the two sat down close together: "If the militia is used properly, it can be a considerable force at critical moments."
Gu Lin could roughly guess how many people Zheng Hao had under his command. Most of them had followed them to Youzhou Prefecture, while some had been sent elsewhere by the other party.
Gu Lin looked up at him: "Whom do you plan to arrange?"
Zheng Hao had already thought it through: "The escort agency has just recruited a batch of young and strong men, and I will have Da Zhuo select suitable people to join the militia."
Noticing the expression on the young man's face beside him, Zheng Hao paused, then asked with a unchanged expression, "What's wrong? Uncle Gu, do you have a suitable candidate to recommend?"
Gu Lin neither nodded nor shook his head. He looked at Zheng Hao and asked, "Do you remember the caravan we encountered at the temple when we came to Youzhou Prefecture to take up our posts?"
Hearing Gu Lin's question, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment.
As the prefect of a prefecture and the military supervisor of the three armies, he had many things to do every day and met countless people. Only useful people like Tian Kangpingjin could leave an impression on him.
After some thought, he remembered.
Zheng Hao turned to Gu Lin and asked, "Uncle Gu, did you run into them?"
Gu Lin nodded, and then told the other party what had happened during the day.
Then he said, “I think that Team Leader Deng is no ordinary person. He is a capable man. He has stopped going out to do business because his wife is seriously ill. If you are short of manpower, you can send someone to make contact with him. If there are no hidden dangers, it is not too late to use him.”
Gu Lin suggested that he did not intend to force Zheng Hao to accept Deng Ting.
He viewed Deng Ting differently because he genuinely admired Deng's abilities, rather than simply out of sympathy for Deng's plight and a desire to help him.
Since Niu Qiang, he had not met a man as brave and resourceful as him for a long time.
When Zheng Hao came to Youzhou Prefecture to take up his post after accepting Emperor Jian'an's appointment, Gu Lin already knew that the other party was carrying an important mission. Emperor Jian'an was wary of the Marquis of Zhenbei's military power, so he specially appointed a young official as the supervisor of the Zhenbei Army, intending to have him share the Marquis of Zhenbei's power.
Gu Lin knew Zheng Hao's original plan, but after learning that the Marquis of Zhenbei was Gu An's grandfather, the plan could not be carried out.
The young military supervisor could not remove the Marquis of Zhenbei, but he also could not simply dismiss the matter. Both the Youzhou Prefecture and the Zhenbei Army had Emperor Jian'an's men watching over them.
If he shows any inclination to befriend the Marquis of Zhenbei, Emperor Jian'an will not tolerate him.
Moreover...
The young man lowered his eyes slightly.
Although Zheng Hao had never explicitly told him, the two spent every day together, sharing a bed and dreams. How could Gu Lin not sense the hidden thoughts that Zheng Hao harbored deep within his heart, thoughts that were unacceptable to the world?
When Gu Lin first sensed Zheng Hao's intention to rebel and overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty, he was surprised but not unexpected.
Although Zheng Hao and the Regent Prince in the original work had different life trajectories in their youth, they were not people who were willing to be subordinate to others. When the Great Qian Dynasty gradually fell into turmoil and rebellious ministers stormed the capital and kidnapped the emperor, the Regent Prince led his troops into the capital to defend the emperor. He then used the emperor to command the feudal lords and raised troops to punish the disobedient, gradually defeating the forces in various places until he reached the highest position of the court and could not be granted any more titles.
Gu Lin believed that if the Great Qian Dynasty were in a prosperous era and a wise ruler sat on the dragon throne, Zheng Hao would not harbor rebellious thoughts, but would become a virtuous and capable minister.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs." Zheng Hao would not have been loyal to the already corrupt and decadent Daqian imperial family.
Having read the original novel, Gu Lin knew the Regent's abilities. The Regent had gone through numerous perilous experiences to finally take control of the country, encountering dangers but never losing his life. Yet, facing the young man he spent every day with, Gu Lin couldn't feel at ease.
Most rebels don't have a good ending. Gu Lin doesn't know if Zheng Hao can have a halo like the regent in the original story. Even the regent went through many life-and-death situations to reach the throne. What would happen to Zheng Hao if he failed to rebel without a halo?
Gu Lin thought carefully, recalling the fates of those traitors and rebels in his memory, all of whom were torn apart by five horses or died tragically.
Even so, Gu Lin did not consider stopping the other party.
This was not only the aspiration of the youth, but also the only possibility for the suffering people to be saved. The people of the Great Qian Dynasty had suffered too much. After the regent came to power in the original story, he was not a benevolent person. He levied a third of the grain tax on the people, which meant that the people had to hand over a third of the fruits of their hard work throughout the year. But for the people, this was already a great blessing. However, in prosperous times, the grain tax was often one-thirtieth or one-fifteenth...
Gu Lin always remembered that after the floods in the south, people were displaced and resorted to cannibalism. The corrupt and backward Daqian Dynasty should have been overthrown long ago.
Although the Red-Clad Army no longer opposed the imperial court and accepted the amnesty, their successive capture of two prefectural cities made people realize that the Great Qian Dynasty was not an unshakeable mountain. The oppressed people in various places were inspired and launched peasant uprisings of all sizes.
Beneath the calm surface of the Great Qian Dynasty, undercurrents were already surging.
Since the onset of winter, the snow in Youzhou has never stopped, and sunny days are rare. It usually snows heavily or lightly.
On the first day of heavy snowfall in Youzhou Prefecture, Gu Lin ordered people to go out of the city to distribute porridge.
Calling it a distribution of porridge isn't entirely accurate, to prevent people from deliberately sneaking in even though they have enough food. Gu Lin and Da Yan devised a plan.
Anyone who wants to receive porridge from Gu's porridge kitchen must complete the corresponding tasks as required by Gu. This is also Gu Lin's way of preventing those who receive relief from developing a habit of laziness.
With the young prefect as their backer, other merchants did not cause any trouble and instead learned from Boss Gu's methods.
In the past, this time of year was when they would buy servants at low prices, but now, with Prefect Zheng in charge and Boss Gu watching over them, no one dared to make a move, and they all worked obediently.
The caravan that had been trading refined salt with the northern barbarians returned before the roads completely froze over.
This caravan was a trump card that the Song family had painstakingly cultivated for many years with countless efforts and money. After Song Heng surrendered to the young prefect, this caravan had come under the control of Zheng Hao.
After Gu Lin produced refined salt, he was unable to sell it to various parts of Daqian for various reasons, except for his own use.
So he handed the refined salt over to Zheng Hao to handle, and the young man directly ordered his caravan to take the refined salt to the grasslands and the northern barbarians to sell to the local dignitaries.
Song Heng led the caravan leader to the Zheng residence.
Upon entering the study, Song Heng discovered that not only the young prefect was present, but also his husband, Gu.
Zheng Hao looked at Song Heng and the team leader with a calm expression. Song Heng received the signal and turned to ask the team leader to report the events that had occurred during the trade trip.
The leader recounted the important events that had occurred along the way without hesitation. The refined salt was pure white and precious, something that even the advanced salt-making technology of the Great Qian Dynasty had never produced before. How could the northern barbarians of the grasslands remain calm upon seeing the refined salt brought by the caravan?
Their nature was to plunder and seize, and they immediately detained the Song family caravan. The Song family caravan had guards with high martial arts skills, but they were burdened with important tasks and did not immediately resist.
The caravan leader remained calm despite the menacing grassland tribes.
He said to the grassland tribe, “This fine salt is owned by a noble family in the Great Qian Dynasty. They have entrusted the trade of fine salt to our caravan. Apart from our caravan, no other caravans have fine salt. If your tribe eliminates us, you will no longer be able to buy fine salt.”
The grassland tribes did not believe them and detained them but did not kill them. After the Song family caravan went hungry for several days, the grassland tribes released them and invited them into their camp. The tribal chief treated them to a feast of wine and meat, and the caravan leader was generous and magnanimous. The two sides reconciled over the wine and meat, not only forgetting their past grievances but also agreeing to do another salt business.
After seeing the Song family caravan off, the burly man turned to the chief in the tribal language and asked, "Father, why didn't you keep them locked up and force them to reveal the salt-making method?"
The tribal chief turned to look at him. His face, weathered by the wind and frost of the grasslands, was not as delicate as that of people from the Central Plains; it was extremely rough. However, the sharp light in his eyes showed no signs of vicissitude.
"Amuqi, you can't deal with the Daqian people by being direct and violent."
"The people of Daqian are very clever, especially their merchants who are very shrewd. They dare to venture deep into the grasslands to buy and sell refined salt, so they must have something to rely on to protect their lives. If we kill them, we may really not be able to buy high-quality, low-priced refined salt."
As he spoke, he reached into the bag of snow-white refined salt beside him, took some and put it in his mouth. The salty but not bitter taste made him squint: "What can we do after we get the method? The salt lake is controlled by the Northern Barbarians. We can only give the method to them and in the end we still have to buy salt from them."
"The northern barbarians won't sell us much salt, because the tribe's warriors need salt to be brave, the women need salt to give birth to strong children, and the children need salt to grow into tall and mighty warriors..."
"The Northern Barbarians will not allow our warriors to become brave, will not allow our women to give birth to strong children, and will not allow our children to grow into tall and mighty warriors. Amuqi, the grassland tribes' submission to the Northern Barbarians is out of necessity, not from the heart."
No tribe wants the warriors, children, and women of the Northern Barbarians to prosper while their own tribe weakens. They will not reveal the existence of refined salt to the Northern Barbarians, but will use it to gradually strengthen themselves.
Song Heng and the caravan leader stayed in the study for half an hour before leaving.
Although Gu Lin didn't speak during their conversation, he listened to the whole thing.
He put down his brush and stopped practicing calligraphy, turning to look at Zheng Hao, his light brown eyes reflecting the other's figure: "You sent the Song family's caravan deep into the various tribes of the grasslands, not only to make money off them with refined salt, but also to intensify the conflict between the various tribes of the grasslands and the northern barbarians, thereby dividing them?"
The young man spoke in a question, but his tone was certain.
Without denying it, Zheng Hao approached the other person, picked up the calligraphy brush that Gu Lin had just put down, and took a piece of snow-white paper from the table.
He lowered his head and asked as he wrote, "Does Uncle Gu know which tribe is in power in the Northern Barbarians?"
Gu Lin pondered for a moment, then uttered two words: "Xiongnu".
“That’s right.” Upon hearing the young man’s reply, a look of relief and joy flashed across Zheng Hao’s eyes.
He continued speaking slowly, drawing the network of relationships among the Northern Barbarians on the paper: "The Northern Barbarians are not like the Great Qian. Although they are called a country, they are actually a large tribe, led by the powerful Xiongnu. Below them are the Xianbei, the clan, the Qiang, the Jie, and other large tribes, as well as many smaller tribes."
"Many tribes may appear to have submitted to the Xiongnu, but they are actually resentful. Once they feel that they can be stronger than the Xiongnu, they will surely attack them as a group and dethrone them from their throne."
“The various tribes of the Northern Barbarians believe in survival of the fittest and resource plunder. The Xiongnu can temporarily unify the tribes by relying on their strong military force, but it cannot last long.” Zheng Hao’s eyes were deep: “As long as the Xianbei tribes see the way to defeat the Xiongnu, and send people to instigate them and add fuel to the fire, they will start fighting among themselves.”
Unlike the Great Qian Dynasty, the Northern Barbarians did not have a deep cultural foundation, and whenever anyone carved out a territory, they all longed to unify the world.
The various tribes of the Northern Barbarians lacked a unified concept, and Zheng Hao used this as a starting point to defeat the forces they had painstakingly united.
The strategy to repel the enemy requires not only military suppression, but also penetrating deep into enemy territory to overwhelm them, so that by the time they realize something is wrong, it will be too late!
Facing the young man who was taking things one step at a time, Gu Lin was neither afraid nor did he think the other was deep in thought.
Rather than letting the Northern Barbarians invade and harm the people of Daqian, it is better to let them kill each other.
The snow fell even heavier in Youzhou Prefecture, and the weather was unusually clear on New Year's Eve.
Gu Lin had someone buy a lot of firecrackers in advance, and after the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone gathered together to light them.
Zheng Hao and Gu Lin stood together, looking up slightly at the dazzling and beautiful fireworks in the night sky.
Suddenly, Da Zhuo rushed in, amidst the noisy sound of firecrackers. He approached the young prefect and said, "My lord, His Majesty has passed away."
Gu Lin was closest to them and heard what Da Zhuo said.
He paused, his expression faltering. Zheng Hao, without changing his expression, grabbed the wrist of the young man beside him and, using an excuse, called Gu An away as well.