Chapter 7
Chapter 7
A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly lowered my head. “It was nothing but idle joking, unfit for serious discussion.”
“Speak freely. I summoned you here precisely because I wanted to hear such things from you.”
My eyelid twitched. Slowly, I raised my head and looked at my imperial grandfather. Though there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face, he was nothing like his usual warm and affectionate self. Instead, the inscrutable majesty of the Son of Heaven weighed all the more heavily upon him.
This was Hanzhang Hall. Here, there were only ruler and subject, no grandfather and granddaughter.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself, then first dipped in a formal curtsy. “If any of you find my words too absurd, then please take them as drunken nonsense and pay them no mind.”
“The White Di’s new ruler has made this move for no other reason than that he believes he can hold us in his grasp. But this trade has always been mutually beneficial. It is not as though we cannot survive without them.”
The mustached lord was taken aback. “Then, Princess, what do you mean?”
“Turn their own methods back upon them.”
Prime Minister Ji seemed to find this rather interesting. Raising a brow, he said, “I would like to hear the details.”
I looked toward my imperial grandfather. He nodded in approval, so I continued, “A batch of tea leaves is due to come down soon, and the time for us to deliver our goods is nearly upon us. First, collect the payment they owe for the tea leaves. Then, citing a poor harvest and a shortage of horses causing insufficient transport capacity, deliver the medicine, tea, and salt in installments. For the first shipment, give them only one-fifth of the originally agreed quantity. Make them taste the consequences of their own actions. Once they are willing to lower their heads and admit fault, then we can deliver the remaining goods.”
These three goods were things they had long lacked. Without them, people would inevitably fall ill and suffer. That was precisely why the White Di had maintained mutual trade with us for a hundred years.
Lord Song was stunned. He shrieked, “Absurd…!” Then, remembering where he was, he hurriedly lowered his head and shut his mouth.
“How is such conduct any different from bandits and mountain brigands?! Great Zhao is a nation of rites and propriety. How could we act in such a manner?!”
The other two officials in red robes echoed him. “Lord Song is right! If we push them too far and they decide to fight us to mutual destruction, what then?”
“This new ruler killed his way onto the throne, so he must have damaged his own strength in the process. If he wants to force a war under such circumstances, his tribes will not simply let him do as he pleases.”
No wonder, if you asked me, that those two had never managed to reach the third rank. Prime Minister Ji had not asked that question. The moment he heard me finish, he had already thought of it.
I went on, “After the first shipment is delivered, the new ruler will inevitably give extra favor to his mother’s clan, who helped him ascend the throne, in order to stabilize the people’s hearts. That will certainly cause internal strife over the unfair distribution. At that point, we can win over some of the more powerful White Di tribes. Whoever can hand over qualified horses, cattle, and sheep will be able to purchase additional medicine, tea, and salt at eighty percent of the usual price.”
Lord Song with the Mustache said loudly, “This act truly violates all rites and law! Winning over the powerful tribes of another country for our own use-such sinister, deceitful methods, and you dare speak of them?!”
I looked straight at him and said evenly, “If the new ruler of the White Di were a benevolent sovereign, he never would have committed such a provocation. Since he does not know what is good for him and cannot read the situation, we will teach him. This is a plan for the White Di’s future generations and for the people of both nations. We repay resentment with uprightness. What is wrong with that?”
“He who steals a hook is executed; he who steals a state becomes a lord. At the gates of the feudal lords, there dwell benevolence and righteousness. Though this may not be perfectly open and aboveboard, the benefits are all tangible. The border beacons will not be lit, and the dignity of our dynasty will remain intact. It can barely be counted as a solution that satisfies both sides. Or could it be that, in Lord Song’s eyes, the people’s livelihood and the foundation of the state are less important than rites and law?”
He still wanted to say something, but his colleagues on either side held him back.
My imperial grandfather watched the commotion for quite a while before leisurely asking, “Minister Ji, what do you think of this plan?”
Prime Minister Ji smiled. “Princess Roujia received the National Preceptor’s personal instruction. She was truly taught extremely well.”
My imperial grandfather nodded, then turned solemn. “Since Lord Song is dissatisfied, he may return first and cool his temper. I will discuss this further with my other beloved ministers.”
What remained was no longer something I should hear. I walked out of Hanzhang Hall. Eunuch Qiu flicked his horsetail whisk and came forward to greet me. “Princess, His Majesty said you would certainly have something to say, so he instructed me to take you somewhere to rest and wait.”
I thanked him for the trouble and followed behind him. Only when the cool wind blew over me did I realize my back had long since been soaked through with cold sweat.