“Among all geometric shapes, which is the most stable?” Yun Ye asked Li Tai with interest.
“Naturally it’s the equilateral triangle. This is already an established principle—why ask again?”
“What do you think is the current state of power division in the Great Tang, and which social classes does it come from?”
“Farmers and scholars!”
“That’s exactly right—only farmers and scholars. His Majesty has thoroughly eliminated the aristocratic clans over these years. Attack dogs like Ma Zhou still have use today. This time His Majesty actually sent him to convey an edict to me—what does this indicate? His Majesty plans to employ Ma Zhou. Before employing Ma Zhou, he must eliminate the conflict between him and the academy. Having him convey the edict to me is His Majesty’s way of telling me to let Ma Zhou off. Only our Majesty could do something like an emperor subtly pleading on behalf of his subject.”
“What will Ma Zhou come out to do? I thought His Majesty just wanted to mediate the conflict. Ma Zhou’s origins are known throughout the realm—he’s practically the spokesman for the common people. Whether in dealing with the Hedong aristocratic clans or resolving the Hexi great families, his methods have been equally cold and ruthless.”
“His Majesty eliminated the old aristocratic clans and supported some new nobles, like my family. But the contradictions still exist. Continuously supporting new nobility and suppressing old nobility will inevitably cause problems. After all, the imperial family is also a member of this interest group. If this cycle truly continues endlessly, the meritorious nobles will become alienated from His Majesty. This absolutely isn’t His Majesty’s original intention. So at this time, a new social class is needed to divide the power of the powerful noble bloc.”
“Common people won’t do—their demand for power is relatively simple, and they’re easily misled. What to do then? At this time, His Majesty discovered a new class. This class is intelligent, capable, wealthy, yet despised by the world.”
“That’s right, this class is the merchant class. The meritorious nobles like money but don’t like merchants. The common people envy merchants’ prosperity but despise their single-minded pursuit of profit. So such a group is absolutely the best chess piece in His Majesty’s hands—it can be used at will without any danger. Once bad signs appear, they can be strangled without even needing an excuse.”
“Scholars and farmers both have the ability to overturn the realm, but merchants alone lack such power.”
“So, Qingque, what you’re seeing is all surface appearance. This is the result of His Majesty’s deliberate indulgence. When merchants could hire academy students, you should have known His Majesty was supporting merchants. When His Majesty raised the commercial tax to one in ten, you should have known His Majesty began looking at merchants directly. When merchants’ children could enter Yushan Academy to study, you should have understood—the merchants’ spring had arrived.”
“We understand from mathematical theory that the equilateral triangle is the most stable geometric form, while His Majesty, starting entirely from the perspective of power tactics, independently comprehended this principle. The saying ‘different paths lead to the same destination’ describes precisely this situation.”
“You’re very fortunate—with such a father, you can just idle away eating and waiting for death. You should honestly apply your thoughts to research and not worry on behalf of His Majesty and the Crown Prince.”
Yun Ye spoke a long string of words and ate two more chicken legs. At this point he was extremely thirsty, so he picked up the teapot and gulped down half of it in one breath.
Actually, only half of these words were his own—the other half were Li Gang’s exact words. Don’t look at how the old man seemed drowsy all day, but those eyes of his had ascended to the sky, staring intently at this nation, not missing any minute change.
Li Tai looked at Yun Ye with admiration, stood up, and respectfully bowed to him. Matters he couldn’t see clearly had been analyzed thoroughly in Yun Ye’s simple passage of words.
“I didn’t realize you were this clever before. Could it be that going to the desert makes people become intelligent?”
“That’s because you’re blind. If you have anything to say, just say it all at once. I’m exceptionally talented and brilliant lately and can resolve your doubts. Ask quickly—I’m exhausted today and plan to sleep after bathing.”
Yun Ye yawned hugely and said lazily to Li Tai.
Li Tai shook his head, indicating he had no questions. Very decisively, he stood up to leave. When he reached the door, he smiled strangely and said: “There are people to attend to your bath—they’ll wash you very clean. General Qibi next door has already been bathing for over a day.”
After speaking, he clapped his hands and four palace maids entered from outside. Pointing at Yun Ye, he said to the palace maids: “Attend to Marquis Yun’s ritual bathing and purification!” Then he cast Yun Ye a lascivious smile and strode away, walking and wondering what expression Xinyue would have when she learned her husband was receiving the service of four beauties.
Yun Ye stretched out his arms to accept the palace maids’ service. Having been wealthy for many years, this small scene couldn’t intimidate him.
So comfortable! Lying face-up in the bathtub, two palace maids held his feet and carefully cleaned them with brushes, not even missing the spaces between his toenails. Na Rimu had helped him wash his feet for three years but had never been this meticulous. Most of the time she was just going through the motions—getting both feet wet counted as having washed them.
Ritual bathing and prayer in the ancestral temple was actually a process where great generals waited for the Ministry of War to verify military merits and await rewards or punishments. After finishing his bath and eating his fill, Yun Ye climbed on the wall to watch the neighboring General Qibi practice with his blade. The old fellow made a very loud sound practicing his blade—the sound of the weapon breaking wind made Yun Ye’s scalp tingle.
The old fellow was bare-chested in the dead of winter, wielding a blade so tightly not even water could penetrate. After finishing with the blade, he even laughed heartily toward the sky twice—utterly comical. This old fellow was too narcissistic.
Through the wide-open doors and windows, several naked women lay sprawled across the old fellow’s large bed, their pale white bodies tangled in a heap. Yun Ye looked up at the sun—it was already afternoon. Could it be that this old fellow had been fighting fiercely from yesterday until today?
“Marquis Yun, if you want to look, then look. Climb over the wall openly and honestly to look. If you’re not convinced of this old man’s abilities, pick two and let’s compare, see whether this old fellow is vigorous despite his age or whether you young people are fierce.”
You couldn’t talk with these lecherous old men from the grasslands—once you spoke, you’d suffer a loss. They were descendants of wolves. Mating casually in the wild was nothing to them at all—they didn’t avoid people. He himself was a civilized person—how could he possibly share women with this old fellow?
They say many sons bring many blessings, but seeing an old fellow with over eighty sons, anyone would have to admire him. Now he’d gained four more wives—who knew how many more sons he could produce for him.
Anyway, the Qi Family Village of later generations was said to be entirely his descendants. Mind you, that was a very large village with a population of nearly ten thousand. This was just one village specifically assigned to guard Li Zhi’s tomb—who knew how many descendants were scattered in other places?
This was a man who truly created an entire clan.
“You, old sir, are vigorous despite your age and abstain from nothing. I’ll pass.” Yun Ye sat on the wall, preparing to ask the old fellow about arrangements after returning.
“Han women’s waists are too thin, their bottoms too small—not good for childbearing. Not as good as the women of our tribe—with full breasts and ample hips, they’re solid when you grab them. Marquis Yun, that Lady Na Rimu is a first-rate beauty of the grasslands—you absolutely mustn’t let her down.”
Damn it, even a crude fellow was crafty as hell. He himself wanted to inquire about some matters with him, but who knew this bastard would only discuss women and wouldn’t say a single word about his own future.
Actually, there was nothing about these matters worth avoiding. It was just that Qibi considered himself a surrendered general and couldn’t do things as brazenly as Yun Ye. Much of the time he appeared cautious and careful. As long as he returned to the capital, he shut himself at home making babies.
“Old Qi, this time you have the great victory at Baideng Mountain. I heard you nearly killed all those savage bachelors in one go—that counts as meritorious service through hard work. Do you still want the Yinshan pastures or not? If not, I plan to make a move. The Yun Family guards a wool workshop but has no wool—what kind of sense does that make? I’m giving you advance notice.”
Hearing these words, the old fellow immediately became dejected. He threw down his blade and repeatedly cupped his hands, saying: “My good Marquis Yun, could you spare this old man? You specialize in farming, I specialize in herding sheep. You, a farmer, should want some fertile place to farm. Could you leave the Yinshan sheep-herding place to this old man?”
“Over ten thousand people in the entire clan are waiting to herd sheep. But this old man’s meritorious service isn’t as great as yours. Yet His Majesty this time is preparing to award the foot of Yinshan Mountain. Your military merit ranks first—this is simply prepared for you. His Majesty is taking this old man’s life! He knows this old man has been coveting the Yinshan pastures for so long—why must he stab this old fellow’s heart with a knife?”
Watching a cunning, lascivious old man transform in an instant into an honest-type Guanzhong old farmer, one really didn’t know how much wolf nature remained in this fellow’s body—how he managed to turn himself into a fox dog.
“Old Qi, stop pretending. It’s disgusting to watch. Obviously that grassland was prepared for you. The island is prepared for Liu Renwang. The fief in Liaodong is for Zhang Jian. I just want to ask if you know what my reward is. If you know, say it quickly. My heart is unsettled going up and down with no resolution. If you know and don’t tell, be careful—I’ll really snatch your share.”
Qibi laughed heartily, leaped up onto the enclosing wall, and sat beside Yun Ye, pointing south: “Stop trying to frighten this old fellow. Your reward is said to be in the south. Originally it was an island, but later for some unknown reason there was no follow-up. It’s said to have been blocked by censorial officials. A major reason why we had to ritually bathe and purify ourselves after returning from the front lines is because of you. Precisely because your reward couldn’t be implemented, someone dug up this messy rule to make us stay here three days. It looks like your reward must be extraordinary.”
Hearing these words, Yun Ye began to worry. Standing out wasn’t a good phenomenon. Li Er always liked using the tactic of going with the flow. Last time he used this move to push Zhangsun Wuji into becoming Governor of Zhaozhou. Who knew where he’d push him this time? Li Tai hadn’t said a single truthful word upon seeing him—it seemed there was nothing seriously wrong. However, this itching like a kitten scratching his heart still made Yun Ye uncomfortable all over.