Chang'an, Eastern Palace.
In the scorching summer heat, melons floated while plums submerged in icy cold water. The low-lying Taiji Palace was particularly humid and sultry this year. Traces of moss was mottled on the corridor steps, and a thin layer of moisture was on the Capricorn-patterned tiles, wetly reflecting the light.
*Melons floated and plums submerged in water (沉李浮瓜): an idiom used to refer to summertime.
As the cicadas chirped noisily, a chamberlain led a travel-worn young man dressed in green official robes through the twists and turns of the corridors to the front of a pavilion.
There were eunuchs waiting in front of the threshold. When they heard the footsteps, they greeted him, smiling ear to ear.
"Du Sheren, His Highness the Crown Prince has been waiting for a long time."
Du Sinan didn't even look at the eunuch. He nodded and stepped inside with an arrogant attitude.
The smile on the eunuch's face remained unchanged.
For more than a year, Du Sinan, a scholar from a poor family in Southern Chu, had made many great achievements. He defended Jin City, killed the Northern Rong spies, and traveled as an envoy to Southern Chu and Western Shu. His understanding of the political situation of these various countries and his eloquence and rhetoric compelled Southern Chu to form an alliance with Great Wei, eliminating Great Wei's future worries. Thus, he had been summoned by Li De time and time again. Each time he was summoned, he could answer his questions readily. Li De's imperial face was greatly pleased. He repeatedly made exceptions, promoting him on a meteoric rise. In the blink of an eye, he was continuously promoted from a white-robed scholar to a Drafter Secretariat. In charge of advising the memorial presented to the Emperor and drawing up imperial edicts, he had become Emperor Li De's most trusted confidant.
Hearing that Du Sinan had not yet married, the influential families and large clans in the capital competed in sending engagement matchmakers to ask for marriage, wanting to take this upstart as a son-in-law. Even one of the prime ministers, Lord Zheng, also revealed the intention to personally matchmake for him. Everyone in the court was moved or envious, but Du Sinan flatly rejected all the marriage proposals, saying that he was from a humble family and did not dare to climb the influential families.
Eunuchs did not understand the surging currents in the court, but after all, they had followed Li Xuanzhen for many years. From the father and son's usual words and actions, they obviously relied more on officials of humble origins. Du Sinan was practically in the emperor's heart lately, often responsible for important tasks. No matter how arrogant and aloof he was, the eunuchs would not offend him.
For these lowly eunuchs, who they should flatter, who they should treat coldly, only depended on the attitude of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. The rest was unrelated to them.
Several lush pomegranate trees stood in front of the window. The open canopy covered half of the courtyard in shade. Appearing a serene green through the window curtains, the light entering the room was dark and dim.
Du Sinan walked inside without being invited, through the maze of a few mica-embedded screens on the floor, arriving in front of the zither room.
A tea aroma drifted, the steam dense. A young attendant kneeled at one side to stoke the fire. The fire in the furnace grew and shrank, flickering with scarlet red tongues of flame.
Li Xuanzhen leaned on a couch on the opposite side, his expression calm, eyes dark and distant. In the proper Crown Prince attire—a wide round-necked robe circled by a brocade belt—it outlined his strong, lean contours. His figure was many times slimmer than it was the last time Du Sinan saw him.
Over the past year, the Crown Prince had changed a lot.
Once upon a time, he was amiable to his subordinates, and on the battlefield, he would fight at the forefront, never leaving any soldiers behind. Gentle and tolerant, respectful, but the darkness deep in his bones could not be concealed as he constantly tried to harm the Seventh Princess and the Second Prince. Moreover, the hero pitied the suffering beauty; he often, for Princess Fukang's sake, did many unthinkable actions, even disregarding his life, attracting the court ministers' sidelong glances.
Now, Princess Fukang had disappeared into thin air, the Seventh Princess died in a foreign land, the Second Prince lost everything and traveled to a distant land far from the capital, and Empress Xie live alone in the imperial villa, insane and foolish. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were placed under house arrest by Li De for the crime of colluding with foreign enemies. The Crown Prince's revenge was avenged, his true love had left, and his Crown Prince's position was solid. It seemed like he was starting to become peaceful and calm, no longer capricious, and no longer hated the Xie family's people.
The ministers in the court were immensely gratified.
Du Sinan's line of sight swept across Li Xuanzhen's handsome face, sneering in his heart: before a pot of water boiled, it hisses with steam; after boiling, the sound will become soft. The Crown Prince had not calmed in the least.
He lowered his head and bowed toward Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen made a gesture for him to get up, not accepting his salute.
Du Sinan took his seat, secretly thinking in his heart: the Crown Prince's courtesy was not a falsehood, but the Crown Prince's ruthlessness was also by no means a rumor. When the Crown Prince mistakenly thought that he was the Second Prince Li Zhongqian's person, he immediately killed. This decisiveness by no means belonged to a merciful and compassionate person.
Li Xuanzhen sat opposite a young official with clear facial features, also in a green official robe similar to Du Sinan. It was the Prime Minister's son Zheng Jing. There had been floods in the Jingnan area recently, and the two had just been discussing the matter of disaster relief.
Zheng Jing nodded his head in greeting toward Du Sinan and asked, "Du Sheren, Southern Chu has changed heirs again?"
Du Sinan returned to his senses and said, "The Crown Prince of Southern Chu injured someone with his horse, and was caught by some courtiers. In order to save his reputation, the Crown Prince actually murdered these several court ministers to silence them. The Southern Chu people discussed this busily, and the ministers kneeling outside the palace gate cried without end. The Emperor of Southern Chu has no choice but to change the heir."
Zheng Jing smiled slightly.
Southern Chu's change of heir had been planned by him and Du Sinan.
As the saying goes, have a taste of your own medicine. They uncovered the Southern Chu's secret spies, then used those spies to find out the Southern Chu's intelligence network. They put out false news to confuse the Southern Chu and made the Southern Chu convinced that Great Wei dared not bring troops down south to divide the river and rule alongside the Southern Chu.
After that, they also released rumors that the reason why several Southern Chu generals were fighting this war was because they were originally from the north.
Southern Chu was affluent. The majority of the officials from Southern Chu were satisfied with their corner of the country. Living a charmed and luxurious life, they did not want to go to war with Great Wei. Thus, their schemes indeed hit the bullseye. Officials presented memorials to impeach the pro-war faction in the court, insisting they were attached to their homeland. Because of their selfishness, they played with tens of thousands of Southern Chu soldiers, disregarding their life and death. Disloyal and unfilial, both a snake and a rat.
*Both a snake and a rat: greedy and cowardly.
The pro-war faction was weak. The Emperor had no choice but to demote a few generals of the pro-war faction to appease the people.
After letting the Southern Chu harm itself, Du Sinan then went out to provoke the relationship between the Southern Chu's Crown Prince and several other princes, intensifying the contradictions between the courtiers and the Crown Prince, fanning the flames, seizing every opportunity. In two short months, the newly conferred Crown Prince was also abolished.
Du Sinan was not a military general. He did not care how vicious and insidious his methods were. As long as it could weaken Southern Chu, he could do anything.
To subdue the enemy without a fight was the first lesson of Strategic Military Power.
*Strategic Military Power section of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
The small red clay stove emitted a crackling sound as small fragments ignited.
Du Sinan continued, "Southern Chu's influential families are numerous. Each and every one of Southern Chu's princes has maternal families that are important local clans. Several of the former princes' faces and hearts are at odds. These past two years, the throne repeatedly changed, and the court ministers are inevitably involved. Many of Southern Chu's large influential families have been intermarried for generations. Twisted roots and intertwined joints; pulling one hair affects the whole body. No one can be unaffected.
*Faces and hearts are at odds; They appear harmonious on the surface, but there are contradictions at heart.
"The hidden stakes we buried are ready. When the time comes, act together. Du mou is sure that within two years, the Southern Chu court will be in turmoil!"
His icy voice echoed in the zither room.
Zheng Jing followed his words, "The Southern Chu ruler and his ministers have been relying on the Yangtze River as a natural stronghold to hold contempt for our Great Wei. There is constant strife in the empire, and there are many contradictions between the Southerners and the Northerners. The Emperor of Southern Chu has cut off his own arm in order to appease the Southerners, and the Northerners have been innocently victimized, so it's just right for us to send someone to persuade them to abandon the darkness and turn to the light."
Regardless of whether or not those Northerners were willing to switch to Great Wei, just by releasing the news that the Northerners had been in contact with the Great Wei, Southern Chu would certainly not rely on them in the future.
Li Xuanzhen listened to the two finish, nodded, and asked, "What if Western Shu and Southern Chu were to ally?"
Du Sinan sneered and said, "The one surnamed Meng of Western Shu is short-sighted and timid. They do not have the strength to struggle for power but have the heart to fight for supremacy. Meng shi once fought against Southern Chu. The two countries have been at odds for a long time; even if they were to ally, it would not last more than a few months. Before that, we can persuade Southern Chu to join hands with us to attack Western Shu. We only need to promise Qianzhong Road, Shannan's Western region, and so on, and Southern Chu is bound to be moved. Then we can secretly persuade Western Shu to join forces with us to attack Southern Chu, promising to divide Jiangnan's Western region to Western Shu, and Western Shu is bound to waver as well.
"When the time comes, we'll intentionally release the news so that Western Shu and Southern Chu will think that they've each reached an agreement with us. At that time, will they dare to ally with each other?"
Zheng Jing's scalp went numb as he listened. He pondered for a while, and nodded his head in agreement, "When we conquer Western Shu, Southern Chu's civil unrest will not end. Instead, it will intensify. When they fight to the point of near-defeat, we will happen to reap the benefits of fishing."
*When a snipe and clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits. Basically, a third party can take advantage of two parties that are fighting and weakening one another.
Du Sinan remembered something, hesitated for a moment, then said, "The reason why Du mou dares to be so certain is also because of a certain person."
Li Xuanzhen looked up, "Which person?"
Du Sinan said word by word, "Princess Wenzhao."
Gudugudu. The clear water in the teapot came to a boil, and the pearl-like bubbles churned.
The three men simultaneously lowered their eyes, looking at the flurry of fine foam in the tea.