“Commander, this woman is too arrogant. She actually dares to use herself as a wager to threaten you. Should this humble officer make them completely disappear on the road? Rest assured, doing such a thing would certainly accord with His Majesty’s wishes.”
Wuli Sima walked out from the back hall. He had heard clearly the conversation between Yun Ye and Ronghua. The Commander had no reason whatsoever to support this woman from an enemy state.
“Do you think this matter is very unnecessary? Do you think I’m being too lenient with her?” Yun Ye looked at Ronghua’s departing figure without turning his head as he asked Wuli Sima.
“Indeed so. If the Commander likes this woman, just take her as a concubine. There’s no need to expend all this mental energy.”
“You don’t understand. Goguryeo is about to perish. Its incorporation into Great Tang territory is only a matter of time. What we should be considering now isn’t conquest, but how to establish stability. A rebellious Goguryeo doesn’t serve the Great Tang’s interests.”
“No matter how much this woman has said, there’s one point she wasn’t wrong about—the current Goguryeo is filled with resentment toward the Great Tang. If we want to rule that fertile land for the long term, we’ll pay an enormous price.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but this woman’s scope of thinking has already become very broad. Her focus is no longer solely on Yeon Gaesomun as an individual, but has shifted to the common people of Goguryeo.”
Wuli Sima said strangely: “Commander, what difference does it make? She just said Goguryeo would certainly prevail.”
Yun Ye laughed and, after inviting Wuli Sima to sit, said: “By next year at the latest, both Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun will disappear from this world. Not only will they disappear, but disappearing along with them will be all of Goguryeo’s meritorious nobles.”
“Power vacuums need to be filled. The years of civil war between Yeon Gaesomun and Gao Jianwu are the real reason for Goguryeo’s decline. The common people must also be filled with anger toward them. Do you know how difficult it is for such a people who trust no one and like no one to continue living?”
“Do you know how Fang Xuanling, such a gentle person, evaluated Goguryeo? You probably don’t know. Future histories might record it—right there in His Majesty’s palace hall, Fang Xuanling said this: ‘That Goguryeo is a lowly class of border barbarians, not worthy of being treated with benevolence and righteousness, cannot be held to common propriety. Since ancient times they have been kept like fish and turtles, and should be treated loosely. If we must exterminate their entire race, I fear that cornered beasts will fight back. If Goguryeo violated their vassal duties, we could punish them; if they harassed our people, we could destroy them; if they could long remain a threat to the Central Kingdom, we could eliminate them. With any one of these reasons, even if we killed ten thousand men daily, there would be no shame in it.'”
“Do you hear that? Now do you know the Great Tang’s attitude toward Goguryeo? Ansi City was turned into an absolute wasteland by His Majesty. Wherever the great army passed, not a blade of grass remained. What the Great Tang needs is that fertile land there, not the population. Goguryeo people can only be slaves and servants, or be relocated inland. If we let them remain in Goguryeo for long, trouble will inevitably arise.”
“Since both Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun will die, the Goguryeo people will always need a temporary leader. Don’t you think Ronghua is a very good choice?”
“We need time to empty out the Liaodong region. During this time, how do we pacify the remaining Goguryeo people? Ronghua is a very good choice. Only by letting someone who truly loves their country become the leader will the Goguryeo people believe in and follow them. Disarmed Goguryeo people need a leader they can truly trust.”
“With such a leader, they will follow their leader’s choices and work according to the Great Tang’s baton without complaint or regret. No matter how much suffering they endure, how much hardship they bear, they won’t even furrow their brows. You know, on the grasslands, the lead sheep will lead the flock to graze and will fight hungry wolves to protect the flock.”
“But what you don’t know is that in the end, it’s also the lead sheep that leads the flock into the slaughterhouse. Even if one or two clever sheep see something wrong and want to escape, the lead sheep will use its strong horns to prevent them from leaving the group, ultimately welcoming death’s arrival together.”
“I want Ronghua to become the lead sheep. Tonight I’ll write to His Highness the Crown Prince. In Chang’an, Ronghua will certainly become famous. Her beauty, strength, courage, and loyalty—these virtues will spread throughout Goguryeo and will also conquer the Great Tang’s meritorious nobles. She will win a moment of peace for the Goguryeo people and will also bring back large amounts of grain. If possible, she might even bring back some prisoners of war.”
“Believe me, she will bring back all the honors she can bring back, and she will bring stability to Goguryeo. Before long, the flames of war between Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun will reignite. The humiliated Great Tang will enter Goguryeo once again. This time will completely announce Goguryeo’s demise. The bewildered Goguryeo people will remember Ronghua’s achievements. They will spontaneously support Ronghua. Ronghua will become the lead sheep of the Goguryeo flock, until the Great Tang divides Goguryeo cleanly, making this people disappear into the Great Tang’s villages and hamlets, as if they had never appeared at all.”
Yun Ye continued speaking without pause. Wuli Sima knelt on one knee on the ground, sweating like rain.
Having spoken to his satisfaction, Yun Ye turned back to look at Wuli Sima and said: “This is the answer you wanted to know. Satisfied? Let me teach you something—never again inquire about your commander’s intentions. Those are things you cannot grasp, because we’re thinking about matters after the pacification of Goguryeo, not the present. This is also why I’m the commander and you’re the Wuli Sima.”
“Now that you already know all my plans, you’ll be the one to execute them. If Ronghua doesn’t become the person I hope for, I’ll personally chop off your head.”
Having finished his instructions, Yun Ye walked out of the reception hall. He didn’t know how Li Tai was doing now. Hopefully this fellow hadn’t been driven out by Hypatia. It was quite rare for a man to admit his mistakes.
Not bad—Hypatia was from time to time picking up a bright red bayberry and putting it in her mouth to suck on greedily, while Li Tai was diligently helping Hypatia massage her legs. The two were smiling at each other, appearing very harmonious.
“Yun Ye, I gave you the news but you still haven’t answered me. Tell me, am I being excessive wanting one child?” Hypatia’s first sentence made Yun Ye quite frustrated.
Seeing Li Tai looking at him with a smiling face, he knew this fellow had already surrendered. Having planted two melon seeds, he could only harvest one back, and he seemed extremely satisfied. Mr. Sun had said that what was in Hypatia’s belly were dragon-phoenix twins—a boy and a girl. The son would definitely belong to Li Tai. As for the daughter, her name was probably already chosen. They only had one name—she would be called Hypatia.
Each taking what they needed wasn’t bad. Keeping them far apart so they couldn’t influence each other—Li Yuan’s mistake was placing Li Xuanba too close to Li Er. To this day, Yun Ye stubbornly believed that even a strong tiger, if placed together with Li Er, wouldn’t take long before dying of old age.
“Hypatia, to express my apology, I plan to give you a house in Chang’an or Yuezhou as a place for you and your children to live in the future. Since you’re unwilling to marry Qingque, it’s very inconvenient for him to do these things, so I’ll do it. Whatever kind of house you want, just say so. Any size is fine, because I’ll draw the money from Qingque’s dividends.”
“Chang’an, of course Chang’an!” Hypatia’s eyes opened wide as saucers as she answered without hesitation.
Li Tai gave Yun Ye a thumbs up. His trouble now was how to explain to his mother that he’d fathered a beautiful mixed-blood child. But it didn’t matter—among Li Er’s brothers, there were quite a few who didn’t look like Central Plains people. Barbarian bloodlines were difficult to sever for a while, and atavistic phenomena occurred from time to time.
Having a large mansion where he could frequently have secret trysts with Hypatia was something Li Tai was happy to see. His daughter had suffered a great loss and couldn’t become a princess, so compensating her with property was only right and proper.
“Qingque, the Emperor is now undergoing its final interior decoration. It will go to sea in a month. The other six warships have all been completed and are currently conducting adaptive training at sea. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a great storm to test the results.”
Yun Ye simply informed Li Tai of the fleet’s progress, reminding him that his own return to Chang’an was approaching.
“Hypatia will give birth in the next few days. I also don’t like boarding ships, so you go supervise the construction at the seaside yourself. I need to ask Mr. Sun to help me watch over Hypatia and the child. Besides, you have some plans of your own to complete that I shouldn’t participate in.”
Yun Ye nodded, took a basket of pastries from Liu Jinbao and placed it on the low table, then turned to leave. They didn’t have much time left when they could be together openly and legitimately. Better not to disturb them.
Li Anlan felt somewhat melancholic. The complete family was about to start dispersing again, which made her heart feel very uncomfortable. Sitting on the swing frame, watching Xinyue lead Na Rimu and Lingdang in preparing luggage for the journey home, she secretly shed tears. When everyone in the family left, very soon only she and Rong’er would remain guarding the empty princess’s mansion.
Without Xinyue’s annoying voice, without Na Rimu’s melodious singing, Lingdang would no longer accompany her every night, and her own Yun Lu would have to return to Xinyue’s arms. She had been busy for ten years, and in the end all she harvested was deep loneliness.
“Little sister, these hair ornaments are all left for you. Of course, the yellow jade hairpin I can’t give you. If I gave it to you, you’d become the household mistress. That won’t do. Take any of the rest as you please.” Xinyue smiled as she put away her yellow jade hairpin and brought the rest of the jewelry to Li Anlan’s side. As the household matron, she understood that Lingnan would be another home for the Yun family. It was still very necessary to win over Li Anlan.
“Elder sister, please don’t do this. Anlan knows Lingnan’s importance to the Yun family and will certainly guard it well. You’re traveling thousands of miles back to Chang’an. The mountains are high and the roads are long along the way. You must take care of yourself.”
“It’s not like we’re leaving right now. Why are you two being so sentimental? You clearly don’t get along, so stop putting on this disgusting display of sisterly affection. Who is this family performing for?”
As soon as Yun Ye entered the house, he saw this scene of false sentimentality and was very unhappy. If a family still had to rely on those empty pretenses for support, could it still be called a family?