Title: Silent Lover Author: Qiang Tang Translated by Condz Edited by Nata
Thousands of miles away, Emperor Ye rushed through the night to return to the capital. Ignoring his travel-weariness, he roused all the old officials of various ranks from their sleep and summoned them secretly to the palace. These officials were all bleary-eyed with sleep and full of complaints.
“I’ve decided to reduce the military power of Zhenbei Wang, and reclaim his soldiers.”
The officials all paled with fright, and were awake in an instant.
“Your Majesty, you must not!”
The officials all seemed to shout in unison. Emperor Ye expected this reaction. He had brought up the subject of reducing military power to the cabinet before, but due to their heavy apprehension he never came to a decision, and set it aside for the time being.
“Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking bluntly. The year you ascended to the throne, Zhenbei Wang was at your beck and call. He won many battles, and also successfully defended the North from the Huns, forcing them to sign a ten year peace treaty. The contributions of Zhenbei Wang cannot be ignored. It can be said that more than half of Qing’s land was defended by him. If you suddenly reduce his military power, wouldn’t this greatly disillusion the troops?”
“Your Majesty, Zhenbei Wang has become arrogant due to his accomplishments. He has formed his own group of supporters to occupy the North. He should be condemned with a beheading!”
“Your Majesty! Zhenbei Wang’s influence is vast. If you suddenly reduce his military power it might rouse his suspicion. Forget ignoring a royal order, he may rise up and mutiny!”
“The reason for reducing his military power is because his influence is so powerful now. Only by slowly disintegrating his power will we end up winning without shedding any blood.”
“Do you think it’s that easy to fool Zhenbei Wang?”
“Otherwise, do you really want to force him to rebel? When that time comes, Goryeo, Hun, Dali, and Persia will all rise up. Qing will be besieged from all sides, both domestically and from abroad. Who will handle the mutiny from Zhenbei Wang? You?”
“Zhenbei Wang is faithful and devoted, and has never shown disloyalty towards His Majesty. After defending a cold and barren territory for years, why does Your Majesty want to suddenly reduce his military power? Without Zhenbei Wang, who will defend Qing against the Huns?
The noise from the officials’ lively discussion was giving Emperor Ye a headache. Aside from a few who were closer to Zhenbei Wang, the rest were on board to deal with this potential trouble. The only issue was that Zhenbei Wang was not like soft clay which could be easily moulded and handled. How should they remove this thorn?
Emperor Ye sat down on the throne wearily.
“I remember how Xuan Xiao assisted me in ascending to the throne, and he had saved my life on the battlefield multiple times. We’re sworn brothers despite the lack of blood relation. I’ve granted him territory, given him a tiger tally, and bestowed my own sister to him in marriage. Regardless of his level of influence, I still saw this as lacking for him.”
“However, the longer I sit on this throne, the stronger my worries grow! That’s why I decided to go on patrol to the North.”
“You all say that the North is a barren borderland that has been laid to waste by war. Haha, how ignorant!” Emperor Ye’s gaze was fiery, “After Xuan Xiao stationed himself in the North, merchants are visiting and the people are happy. The Northern capital is bustling no less than the Capital itself! Do you know that when the Northern citizens were greeting me, not a sound could be heard? How many divisions in my military can achieve this? The citizens of the North only recognize Zhenbei Wang, instead of Emperor Ye! With a shake of Xuan Xiao’s hand, they will surely wave their flags in response! How can I be at ease?!”
“I don’t want to be an incapable ruler plagued by constant paranoia, but I cannot rest easily on this throne, anxious at every step! With one wrong move, one can lose the entire game. Xuan Xiao, don’t blame me for being small-minded. It’s only because your achievements are so great, you’ve thus forced my hand.”
“Xuan Xiao, ah, Xuanxiao, I can tolerate everything else from you. But the one thing you should have never done is to hide a person from Yunmeng!”
After hearing the words “person from Yunmeng”, a few of the younger officials did not understand, but two of the older officials promptly fell from their chairs.
DISCORD LINK
Title: Silent Lover Author: Qiang Tang Translated by Condz Edited by Nata
Thousands of miles away, Emperor Ye rushed through the night to return to the capital. Ignoring his travel-weariness, he roused all the old officials of various ranks from their sleep and summoned them secretly to the palace. These officials were all bleary-eyed with sleep and full of complaints.
“I’ve decided to reduce the military power of Zhenbei Wang, and reclaim his soldiers.”
The officials all paled with fright, and were awake in an instant.
“Your Majesty, you must not!”
The officials all seemed to shout in unison. Emperor Ye expected this reaction. He had brought up the subject of reducing military power to the cabinet before, but due to their heavy apprehension he never came to a decision, and set it aside for the time being.
“Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking bluntly. The year you ascended to the throne, Zhenbei Wang was at your beck and call. He won many battles, and also successfully defended the North from the Huns, forcing them to sign a ten year peace treaty. The contributions of Zhenbei Wang cannot be ignored. It can be said that more than half of Qing’s land was defended by him. If you suddenly reduce his military power, wouldn’t this greatly disillusion the troops?”
“Your Majesty, Zhenbei Wang has become arrogant due to his accomplishments. He has formed his own group of supporters to occupy the North. He should be condemned with a beheading!”
“Your Majesty! Zhenbei Wang’s influence is vast. If you suddenly reduce his military power it might rouse his suspicion. Forget ignoring a royal order, he may rise up and mutiny!”
“The reason for reducing his military power is because his influence is so powerful now. Only by slowly disintegrating his power will we end up winning without shedding any blood.”
“Do you think it’s that easy to fool Zhenbei Wang?”
“Otherwise, do you really want to force him to rebel? When that time comes, Goryeo, Hun, Dali, and Persia will all rise up. Qing will be besieged from all sides, both domestically and from abroad. Who will handle the mutiny from Zhenbei Wang? You?”
“Zhenbei Wang is faithful and devoted, and has never shown disloyalty towards His Majesty. After defending a cold and barren territory for years, why does Your Majesty want to suddenly reduce his military power? Without Zhenbei Wang, who will defend Qing against the Huns?
The noise from the officials’ lively discussion was giving Emperor Ye a headache. Aside from a few who were closer to Zhenbei Wang, the rest were on board to deal with this potential trouble. The only issue was that Zhenbei Wang was not like soft clay which could be easily moulded and handled. How should they remove this thorn?
Emperor Ye sat down on the throne wearily.
“I remember how Xuan Xiao assisted me in ascending to the throne, and he had saved my life on the battlefield multiple times. We’re sworn brothers despite the lack of blood relation. I’ve granted him territory, given him a tiger tally, and bestowed my own sister to him in marriage. Regardless of his level of influence, I still saw this as lacking for him.”
“However, the longer I sit on this throne, the stronger my worries grow! That’s why I decided to go on patrol to the North.”
“You all say that the North is a barren borderland that has been laid to waste by war. Haha, how ignorant!” Emperor Ye’s gaze was fiery, “After Xuan Xiao stationed himself in the North, merchants are visiting and the people are happy. The Northern capital is bustling no less than the Capital itself! Do you know that when the Northern citizens were greeting me, not a sound could be heard? How many divisions in my military can achieve this? The citizens of the North only recognize Zhenbei Wang, instead of Emperor Ye! With a shake of Xuan Xiao’s hand, they will surely wave their flags in response! How can I be at ease?!”
“I don’t want to be an incapable ruler plagued by constant paranoia, but I cannot rest easily on this throne, anxious at every step! With one wrong move, one can lose the entire game. Xuan Xiao, don’t blame me for being small-minded. It’s only because your achievements are so great, you’ve thus forced my hand.”
“Xuan Xiao, ah, Xuanxiao, I can tolerate everything else from you. But the one thing you should have never done is to hide a person from Yunmeng!”
After hearing the words “person from Yunmeng”, a few of the younger officials did not understand, but two of the older officials promptly fell from their chairs.
DISCORD LINK
