He Lingchuan asked curiously, "What does all this have to do with Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu? Why did they race all the way out here to seize the Dafang Pot?"
"Sun Fuping plotted rebellion alongside the Grand Marshal and was personally stripped of his post as National Preceptor by the King afterward. That is why he never once used the State Token throughout our time in the Panlong Desert," He Chunhua chimed in. "As for the Governor of Xunzhou, he originally belonged to the Grand Marshal's faction and shared deep personal ties with him, yet he has kept his troops in place without openly rebelling. In my estimation, if Nian Songyu had managed to bring the Dafang Pot back for him, it would have been a tremendous bargaining chip—allowing him to pick whichever side he fancied."
A man as shrewd as Sun Fuping had backed the wrong side this time, and the price had been his life in Panlong City.
In struggles over power, one truly could not afford a single misstep.
He Yue said in a clear voice, "The vast, turbulent main battlefield lies in the north and the center. Blackwater City and the Panlong Desert are merely tiny ripples swept up in it."
He Chunhua exchanged a glance with his elder son.
Their thrilling adventure, in which they had narrowly escaped death time and again, seemed to amount to very little in the eyes of the rulers steering the grand scheme of things.
He Lingchuan searched his memories for a moment before giving up. The body's former host had cared only for drinking and making merry, completely oblivious to affairs of state; he had almost no impression of the prominent figures his younger brother mentioned.
Madam Ying, who had been listening quietly all this time, finally spoke up: "In that case, did the journey to Panlong City yield nothing at all? It even cost so many lives."
She rarely meddled when the men discussed affairs of state, but the He father and son had barely escaped with their lives; out of two hundred men taken out, only a few dozen had returned.
They had come back empty-handed, and the dead required compensation pensions. Had her husband's venture really been such a bad bargain?
Hearing this, He Chunhua burst into hearty laughter. "Madam, you cannot reckon the accounts that way!"
"Though we didn't obtain the Dafang Pot, we took down Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping—that was our greatest gain from this journey!" He grabbed a full cup of wine and drained it in a single gulp. "Sun Fuping was one of the prime culprits of this rebellion, someone the royal court regarded as a grave menace. Killing him both relieves the King's worries and bolsters military morale. It is a tremendous merit."
He Yue agreed as well. "Sun Fuping served as National Preceptor for years and knew countless state secrets, not to mention his scheming mind and formidable cultivation. His scheme to seize the Dafang Pot in Panlong City, whether to aid the Grand Marshal or defect to someone else, was deeply feared by the royal court. By eliminating this future threat for Great Yuan, we have effectively joined the campaign to quell the rebellion. Afterward, we might even receive rewards for our merits."
He Lingchuan grinned. "Killing Sun Fuping was sharing the country's burdens, but killing Nian Songyu eliminated trouble for our second brother here. If we had died in the desert, he definitely would have come looking for you."
Madam Ying asked curiously, "What would he want with Yue'er?"
He Yue turned pale and said in annoyance, "Don't listen to Eldest Brother's nonsense. Still, with the Governor of Xunzhou failing to get the Dafang Pot and losing a son in the process, one wonders what he will do next."
He Chunhua sneered. "All along the road back, I was fretting over how to explain the deaths of Sun and Nian to the royal court, but it turns out I was worrying over nothing. Tomorrow, I will submit a report to the royal court exposing how the Governor of Xunzhou and Sun Fuping colluded to seize the Dafang Pot. After that, he won't have time to cause trouble for me."
He Lingchuan recalled his old man's sullen, worried frown during the ten-plus days of marching through the desert, and seeing him now so exultant, with a faint ruthlessness between his brows, he knew his father had finally let go of the regret of missing out on the Dafang Pot.
He Chunhua then quizzed He Yue: "Let me test you. If word of Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping's deaths reaches Xunzhou, how will the General Pacifying the North act?"
He Lingchuan protested, "Father, why don't you ask for my opinion?"
"Then speak up."
"Rebel," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Excuses won't do any good. Aside from rebelling, he has no other choice."
The Governor of Xunzhou, Nian Zanli, had always been thick as thieves with the Grand Marshal. But he had not been present when the Grand Marshal rebelled, and afterward he had held his troops back without mobilizing. Others might not have known what he was calculating, but the royal court was bound to be displeased—refusing to dispatch troops to fight the Grand Marshal was failure to demonstrate loyalty.
Now that news of Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping plotting to seize the Dafang Pot would spread, it would be like yellow mud falling into the Governor of Xunzhou's trousers—no matter how he tried to explain, everyone would take it for shit, and the royal court would never believe him. What was more, his motives had been suspect to begin with.
Wouldn't this simply force him into open rebellion?
"Not necessarily. Nian Zanli still has another option," He Yue remarked. "Aside from joining the Grand Marshal's rebellion, he could also defect to the northern demon kingdom!"
He Lingchuan blinked in surprise. "He's called the General Pacifying the North—hasn't he fought many battles against the demon kingdom?"
It seemed he really ought to find an opportunity to brush up on this knowledge.
"Actually, the Nian family has built up quite an influence in the north," He Yue said. "After Father came to Qiansong Commandery, he also fought foreign enemies every few days, continuing for ten whole years. Yet look at us now: our border trade is flourishing, and relations with various countries are good."
"That's because the Panlong Desert still stands between us and our foreign enemies. As long as we hold Blackwater City, they can't get in..." He Lingchuan chuckled. "All right, all right, I get your point. It's possible Nian Zanli might surrender to the northern demon kingdom."
"In that case, his surrender gift to the northern demon kingdom would be Xunzhou, the territory under his jurisdiction," He Yue said gravely to He Chunhua. "All things considered, he wouldn't suffer a loss either, because the northern demon kingdom would appoint him to continue serving as governor of the province. Employing surrendered generals to govern surrendered provinces is a practice that goes back to antiquity."
"Then he only has those two choices left: follow the Grand Marshal, or defect to the northern demon kingdom," He Chunhua mused. "Though the Grand Marshal has suffered defeats recently, his foundation remains formidable. If he gains a backer like the Governor of Xunzhou, there's no telling when this domestic civil war will end. If Nian Zanli chooses to defect north, the northern demon kingdom will naturally be delighted to claim another province without shedding a drop of blood. Moreover, Xunzhou's terrain is of vital strategic importance. Once occupied by the demon kingdom, the land behind it consists of vast, fertile plains—easy to attack, hard to defend."
"In other words, no matter what the Governor of Xunzhou does next, it'll be a deep, bloody slash into Great Yuan." He Lingchuan stretched his back. "If I were the King, I'd rather maintain the status quo."
He Chunhua's brows knitted tightly at those words.
He Lingchuan wiped his mouth and was about to leave the table when something suddenly occurred to him. "By the way, Father, Sun Fuping's ritual staff won't listen to me. Do you happen to have an instruction manual for it?"
After losing its master, the beast-head staff had reverted to the shape of a vajra pestle, remaining dead silent no matter how much true power he channeled into it.
"That ritual staff isn't actually suited for you. Why not sell it?"
Madam Ying also chimed in, "Now that you've returned from this expedition, there are so many more expenses. Not to mention anything else, think of how much silver it will take to disburse the pensions! Why not sell it for money to make up for the deficit?"
He Lingchuan crossed his arms over his chest. "This was my reward for saving dozens of lives, personally given to me by Father. How could you take it back?"
Trying to swindle him? Bereavement pensions came from public funds; the He family didn't have to pay a copper out of their own pockets.
He Chunhua looked thoughtful. Reaching casually into his robes, he pulled out a booklet, flipped through it with a rustle, tore out a page, and handed it to him. "Here. The instructions for using that staff are all written on this."
Chapter 76