Yun Ye wore black robes and carried a very large box, having Wang Cai bear it on his back as they entered the palace. Wang Cai was now very stubborn—wherever Yun Ye went, he would follow. Going to the palace was no exception. Yun Ye had to stay within a range where he could smell him; otherwise, he would become extremely panicked and uneasy.
Wang Cai couldn’t enter Wanmin Hall, so Yun Ye let him wander the plaza on his own. There was also plenty of good food to eat in the imperial gardens. This was Wang Cai’s special privilege, granted by the Empress. All the eunuchs and palace maids who saw Wang Cai would tease him whether they had business or not. With them as company, Yun Ye felt at ease.
When entering the palace gate, he encountered Daoist Sun, who now entered the palace every three days to take the emperor’s pulse. After all, the emperor had consumed too many powerful and harsh medicinal substances in his earlier years, and now his body had deteriorated severely.
The two didn’t exchange pleasantries. Even if Yun Ye asked about the emperor’s condition, Daoist Sun wouldn’t say anything. So until now, only the emperor, the empress, and Daoist Sun knew the emperor’s true condition. Others didn’t ask and couldn’t get answers. Li Chengqian was even more reticent about this matter and never inquired. This was already the final moment.
“To be Crown Prince for forty years—that’s rare in this world!” These were words Li Chengqian said when drinking and chatting with Yun Ye at the Yun family ancestral shrine. Yun Ye looked left and right, and seeing no one around, punched Li Chengqian on the cheek, then continued drinking as if nothing had happened.
Li Chengqian rubbed his cheek, righted his overturned stool, cupped his hands toward Yun Ye, and stopped talking about court matters. Instead, he discussed with Yun Ye the two fleets that would soon return…
Li Er had deteriorated severely. He basically no longer attended court now. National affairs were all handed over to Li Chengqian to handle. He himself only controlled the general direction; the rest he no longer asked about.
“Since you’ve come, let us sovereign and subject have a good discussion about the matter of me growing donkey ears!” When Li Er saw Yun Ye enter his bedchamber, his first words were about the donkey ears.
After Yun Ye respectfully paid his respects to the emperor and empress, he said with a smile: “Your Majesty is mistaken. This is just a story. Your subject now has no interest whatsoever in court affairs. There is absolutely no intention of using the past to satirize the present.”
“No?” Li Er stretched out his neck and asked.
“Absolutely not. That’s just a barber’s story. It has nothing to do with Your Majesty.”
“How do you explain the Lianzhou affair? Hmm? I did nothing wrong in the Lianzhou matter—I just assigned the wrong person. Zhang Hengtian was simply a fool, especially in your presence. Well done! With one small scheme, you Duke of Chu caused Zhang Hengtian’s death and his clan’s destruction. That long arrow of Duan Meng, drawn but not released, has also been shot. In Lingnan, only your Yun family and the Feng family live easily and comfortably. You effortlessly destroyed my art of balance. Is Duke Chu not satisfied now? Oh, and while you were at it, you fitted me with a pair of donkey ears. This is probably the legendary ‘strategizing within the command tent to achieve victory a thousand miles away,’ isn’t it?”
Li Er’s words were extremely venomous. He had aged so much now that his entire mental state had become problematic. With others he could still maintain an impassive expression, but with Yun Ye everything reversed.
The closer someone was to him, the more irritable his temperament became. It was so with Li Chengqian, so with Li Tai, and now it had become this way with Yun Ye. He was now impatient with riddles and always spoke directly to the heart of matters.
Although things were indeed as he said, they couldn’t be stated this way, much less acknowledged. Yun Ye said with a bitter face: “To speak of strategizing before you—isn’t that slapping my own face?”
“Zhang Hengtian had the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a wild dog. When your subject was Minister of War, I already wanted to eliminate him. If Rong’er hadn’t been in Lingnan, if I had eliminated him, everyone in our Great Tang would have celebrated. No one would have accused your subject of harboring selfish motives. Precisely because Rong’er was in Yongzhou, your subject tolerated him in every way. I wrote memorials long ago warning against Zhang Hengtian, and you even said I was making trouble over nothing.”
“After my family’s old grandmother passed away, watching Wang Cai age day by day, how could your subject have the heart to consider such matters? The glory the Yun family could have, you’ve given it all. A hereditary Duke of Chu—as a subject, what more is there to be dissatisfied with? If I’m still not satisfied, all that’s left is the path of rebellion.”
“When Grandmother died, your subject felt half his soul had gone. Go rebel? Fight with you, turn against Her Majesty, then eliminate Chengqian and Qing Que? Then have my perfectly good family torn to pieces, and finally be bound and roasted outside Xuanwu Gate?”
“What would I do that for? In my heart there are only these few people. Losing even one causes me piercing heartache. If I suddenly lost them all, that feeling wouldn’t be much better than being bound and roasted outside Xuanwu Gate. To speak great disrespect, in your subject’s eyes, the throne isn’t worth as much as Wang Cai.”
Having said these words, Yun Ye had prepared himself to receive a slap from Zhangsun. Unexpectedly, Li Er laughed heartily instead, and Zhangsun’s just-raised hand was lowered.
“Right! From now on, speak like this—don’t beat around the bush. Now you only have a title left and aren’t involved in too many interests, so you can say whatever you want. I’m becoming increasingly lonely. Looking around for people I can talk to, only the Empress and you remain. Since you’ve already begun to speak treasonously and nonsensically, I won’t hide anything either. You come tell me what really happened in Lianzhou.” Li Er had Zhangsun place a cushion behind his back, planning to hear how Yun Ye would explain this matter. This was very important. Li Er himself didn’t believe Yun Ye wanted to rebel, but couldn’t figure out the reason, so he simply asked directly.
“The localities are requesting sea expansion rights from Your Majesty!”
“Sea expansion rights?” Li Er’s eyes lit up. He involuntarily sat up: “Speak, explain in detail. You are the person in court with the most authority to speak about Lingnan.”
Yun Ye cupped his hands toward Li Er and said: “Your Majesty has always kept your gaze fixed on land, so your understanding of the sea is not deep enough. To you, the great sea is merely a treasure basin for extracting wealth. Actually, it’s not like that. Before discussing these sea expansion rights, please allow your subject to explain the current structure of the Yun family.”
“Your Majesty may not know that the division of the Yun family’s property has been completed. The wealth in Lingnan belongs to Rong’er, the wealth in Yuezhou belongs to Huan’er, and the wealth in Chang’an belongs to Shou’er. The Yun family has not concentrated wealth to form a huge interest group, but is actively enfeoffing. Indeed, once power becomes immense, it easily breeds ambition. Governing the nation is like governing a family.”
“Your Majesty, you are the supreme sovereign. What you’ve consistently done is keep the main line of the Li family perpetually powerful. This is necessary. The Chao Cuo period already proved that if the main trunk isn’t strong enough, it will lead to national chaos. That’s why Chao Cuo enfeoffed the descendants of the princes, turning one large power into countless small powers. As time passes, the large power will disintegrate. Alliances are unreliable.”
Li Er nodded and said: “So you’re actively splitting up the Yun family? Why? All the meritorious nobles pursue strength. Why does your Yun family do this?”
“Strength means destruction! This is a lesson summarized in blood by countless noble families throughout history, but no one cares. Everyone wants to make their family as large as possible, not knowing that being enormous means threatening others. Once you become enormous, you threaten many people, and then everyone hopes to see you fall. This is human nature—there’s no reasoning with it.”
“When the three families divided Jin, the most enormous family was the Zhi family. The result was the emergence of the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei. Where did the Zhi family go? No family can become enormous enough to oppose all under heaven. So making a family too large is seeking death.”
“What your subject seeks is simply the wellbeing and safety of family members. So I feel Chao Cuo’s idea is very suitable for the Yun family. Who knows which branch will become the family’s pillar in the future? Better to let them venture out on their own. This way there will be many possibilities in the future, and the possibility of the Yun family’s decline is also reduced.”
“Since ancient times, those who achieve great merit not only have extraordinary talent but also indomitable will. Formerly, when Yu the Great controlled the floods, he chiseled open the Longmen embankment and guided the river waters into the sea. Before he succeeded, there was also the tremendous hidden danger of flooding; it was just that Yu could clearly see how things would progress. After floods occurred, he wasn’t afraid but slowly sought methods to deal with them, so he ultimately succeeded. Your subject now also clearly sees how the Great Tang will develop, so I decided to divide the family long ago.”
“Our Great Tang’s golden age has continued for ten years. Until now, your subject sees no end. If we continue executing current policies, within two hundred years, the Great Tang’s population still won’t fill the mountains and rivers. Since the Great Tang’s golden age extends endlessly, as long as no very muddled heir appears, even if the golden age declines, it will take many years before it becomes unmanageable.”
“If this is so, why shouldn’t the Yun family occupy an advantageous position to let the clan multiply, rather than making ourselves a threat to everyone? Stubbornly making the family enormous—this is irresponsible toward our descendants!”
“It’s that simple? One family division lets the Yun family crawl out of the whirlpool?” Li Er looked at Yun Ye, finding it inconceivable.
“The matters of this world are this simple. In Lingnan affairs, Rong’er has the say. In the future, even if Shou’er inherits your subject’s title, he has no right to dictate to Rong’er. The same applies to Huan’er. But the hereditary title of Duke of Chu can only be inherited by the legitimate eldest son! This is the legitimate eldest son’s only privilege. What does Your Majesty think?”
In an instant, Li Er contemplated countless possibilities for the Yun family’s future. Finally, he discovered with surprise that by doing this, the Yun family really could avoid very many troubles. A family divided into three, and in the future to be divided into four—after Yun Ye’s death, it indeed would no longer pose a threat. Regarding human nature, Li Er saw extremely clearly. After dividing, wanting to reunite was too difficult. The three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei tried for three hundred years without success. Heroes like Lord Xinling and Lord Mengchang worked hard until their deaths, yet still failed. Let alone the Yun family.
Li Er lay back down, deciding not to ask about the Yun family’s private affairs—that would be undignified. So he asked Yun Ye: “What are sea expansion rights?”
Yun Ye laboriously dragged a box in from outside the hall and said to Li Er: “It’s all in the box!”