Chapter 68
THE OFFICIALS SPENT the next few morning court sessions discussing the war between Great Yu and Western Xia. Western Xia’s forces had now come back with a vengeance, complete with a new commander-in-chief and fighting style. But Zhao Mingwei was nowhere to be found; after losing three minor battles in a row, his strategy was now to station Great Yu’s army in the city and defend it while simultaneously requesting help from the capital. In that memorial, Zhao Mingwei once again emphasized that he couldn’t fulfill the duties of the commander-in-chief, and that he hoped that His Majesty could convince Great General Gu to return to the battlefield quickly.
The emperor sat up in his throne, gazing down upon the officials led by Xiao Cheng, who stood at the very front. The father-son pair looked quite similar now—both were thin and sickly. The emperor held his hand to his forehead, his eyebrows furrowing tightly. The hubbub of the officials’ discussions—Xiao Cheng’s muffled, intermittent coughs included—reached his ear without fail, and his head felt as if it were splitting.
For his part, Xiao Cheng was using all his willpower to stand up in court. Shen Huaishi’s sword had pierced straight into his left lung. Unless a physician capable of miracles reincarnated nearby, the crown prince wouldn’t be able to live life normally again.
Likewise using all his willpower to stand in court was Gu Fuzhou. His eyelids drooped as he stood upright. Everyone assumed that he was resting his eyes, deep in thought.
“Great General Gu and Lin-gongzi have only been married a few days, and now you’re rushing him to the battlefield? He hasn’t even warmed his marriage bed yet,” said General Wu Zhan, Gu Fuzhou’s friend.
The prime minister stroked his beard. “General Wu, that’s neither here nor there. Home exists only because the country exists, and the country is in danger. Would Great General Gu be so greedy for pleasure as to leave the three hundred thousand soldiers in the northwest alone and helpless?”
“What danger is the country in? Prime Minister Cui is overexaggerating. We’re just fighting a few bandits from Western Xia,” Wu Zhan said angrily. He stepped out of his position and kneeled. “Your Majesty, give me ten thousand elite soldiers, and I’ll immediately go northwest with them so we can serve as reinforcements for General Zhao. We’ll win the war for Great Yu within three months!”
“Crazy words.” The prime minister shook his head. “You’re too confident in your own abilities.”
Wu Zhan was furious. “Me—too confident in my own abilities? If you can do it, you go!”
The emperor simply watched the two argue, then suddenly asked, “Crown Prince, what do you think?”
Xiao Cheng’s expression didn’t change at all, as though he hadn’t heard anything. He was clearly distracted.
“Crown Prince!” the emperor barked.
Xiao Cheng finally came back to his senses. “I agree.”
“You agree? With whom?”
“Naturally, Prime Minister Cui.” Xiao Cheng coughed some more. “I’m not feeling well—I’ve been rude in court. I hope you’ll forgive me, Royal Father.”
In light of Xiao Cheng’s health, the emperor held back his anger, asking Gu Fuzhou, “Beloved General Gu, what do you think?”
Gu Fuzhou remained silent and still.
When he was ignored for the second time in a row, the emperor could no longer bear the disrespect and slammed his hand down on the table. “Gu Fuzhou!” he roared.
Gu Fuzhou’s eyes opened, a hint of confusion flashing rapidly through them. He saw Wu Zhan kneeling, looking as though he was offering to do something, and guessed vaguely what the emperor was asking. “General Wu is certainly a capable general, but not a commander-in-chief. I consider him best suited to the vanguard.”
Wu Zhan kept trying to signal Gu Fuzhou, who simply ignored him. “Furthermore, the terrain of the northwest is mostly plains and deserts. General Wu excels in sea battle. Sending him northwest wouldn’t be a sound decision.”
Gu Fuzhou’s words were reasonable, and the emperor—who couldn’t find anything wrong with the general’s logic—could only calm down. “Beloved General Gu makes a good point. Wu Zhan isn’t a good choice to command the northwest.”
The prime minister took the opportunity to speak up. “Great General Gu spent many years in the northwest. No one understands how to fight on plains and deserts better than him. Great General Gu, and no one else, must be commander-in-chief of the army conquering Western Xia.”
The minister of national defense agreed. “The great general came back to the capital secretly to neutralize the heavenly arachnid poison in his body. Now that he’s been cured and even married in a great procession, it’s impossible to hide his return. Western Xia only dared act out because they know the great general is no longer in Yongliang. They will only grow bolder if the great general doesn’t return to quell our army’s doubts.”
Gu Fuzhou frowned and placed his hand on his chest. “I am willing to lead the army into war.”
“No!” Wu Zhan said hurriedly. “The heavenly arachnid poison may have been neutralized, but repeated poisonings and injuries have permanently damaged the great general’s health. The physician said that if the great general wished to live a few more years, he must remain in the capital and rest.”
The physician Wu Zhan spoke of was Gu Fuzhou’s new wife. A few days ago, Wu Zhan had visited the general, who didn’t care much for social convention and invited Wu Zhan to drink with his new wife at the same table. The general’s wife had told him about the great general’s health at that point.
“For the sake of Great Yu, I am willing to sacrifice my life,” Gu Fuzhou said quietly.
“That won’t do!” Wu Zhan exclaimed. “The great general’s life and death concern the country too. If he is forced back to the northwest now and suffers a relapse, will that not play right into the hands of those bandits from Western Xia?!”
The emperor’s head hurt so much he could hardly bear it. He hoped that Xiao Cheng would take charge of the situation, but after replying to the one question the emperor had asked him, the crown prince didn’t say a single word more. No one knew what he was thinking.
How had the crown prince, whom the emperor had placed such hope in, turned out like this?
“We’ll discuss who the commander-in-chief should be later. For now, put a temporary plan in place so that Zhao Mingwei has something to do. Court is dismissed.” The emperor stood, exhausted, his body wobbling.
The officials all kneeled, imploring, “Your Majesty, please take care of yourself.”
After leaving court, Gu Fuzhou and Wu Zhan walked together. “Why don’t you want me going northwest, Great General?” Wu Zhan asked.
“You weren’t suited to the northwest in the first place,” said Gu Fuzhou. If Wu Zhan went, he’d just be giving himself up to the enemy; Gu Fuzhou would rather that that didn’t happen.
“But if I don’t go, Great General, then you’ll have to go. Are you willing to abandon your new wife and stay in the desolate northwest for so many years, returning as an old man?” Wu Zhan joked.
“Naturally,” Gu Fuzhou proclaimed. “A man’s ambitions reach all the world’s corners. How could I let romantic bonds confine me to a certain place?”
Wu Zhan was immediately humbled. “Great General, you are truly our generation’s role model!”
After parting from Wu Zhan, Gu Fuzhou saw a eunuch walking toward him holding a vase. The vase was almost as tall as a small child; the eunuch carrying it couldn’t see the road in front of him.
The eunuch leading Gu Fuzhou was afraid that this individual would block Great General Gu’s path. “Xiaosongzi, walk more slowly.”
“Xiaosongzi?” Gu Fuzhou said. “Is this Xiaosongzi from Qinzheng Hall?”
Xiaosongzi struggled to peek out from behind the vase. When he saw Gu Fuzhou, he said quickly, “I do work at Qinzheng Hall, Great General.”
The corners of Gu Fuzhou’s lips curved. “I’ve admired you for a long time.”
Xiaosongzi was astonished. He was just a eunuch, so how could Great General Gu admire him? “You must be joking, General. I’m the one who has long admired the revered Great General Gu.”
“You’re too humble.” Gu Fuzhou turned to the eunuch leading him. “This Xiaosongzi will walk me to the gate.”
When the other eunuch took the vase and left, Gu Fuzhou told Xiaosongzi, “I’ve heard my wife mention you before.”
“Imperial Physician Lin—I mean, the general’s wife—used to treat us servants’ illnesses.”
Gu Fuzhou nodded slightly. “Didn’t His Majesty recover from his migraines? Why does he look so ill today?”
Xiaosongzi’s tongue was as loose as a songbird’s, as his name suggested. He didn’t even hesitate before replying: “The emperor was feeling much better before, Great General. But as soon as winter came, his migraines suddenly worsened. Neither medicine nor acupuncture helps; not even Head Imperial Physician Lin knows what to do.”