Chapter 98
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The next day, Gu Yuanbai ordered the Ministry of State Affairs to retrieve Lin Zhicheng’s records.
The records included several letters Lin Zhicheng had written to the late emperor. After reviewing them, Gu Yuanbai immediately wrote a letter, summoning Lin Zhicheng to report to the capital after the New Year.
As a mere county magistrate who hadn’t completed even three years in his current post, there was no need for him to report to the capital. Although the emperor did not explicitly state why Lin Zhicheng was being summoned, those in the capital who were on good terms with Lin Zhicheng eagerly awaited his return, secretly hoping that he would be favored by the emperor.
In December, as the temperature dropped sharply, the capital embraced the arrival of winter.
This winter was somewhat special. First, there was a locust plague in the north, swiftly suppressed by the government. Then, there were multiple conflicts between the border and the Khitans, with successive reports of victories. These major events, along with the propagation of the “The Great Heng Daily,” spread widely among the people.
However, these matters were too distant from the common people. While they were angered by the nomadic invasions in the north and proud of the victories of the Great Heng soldiers, they were more concerned about the emerging kang bed-stoves in the capital.
Families near the capital had already begun to hire craftsmen from the capital to install kang bed-stoves in their homes.
However, it was not easy to hire them now. The craftsmen in the capital were already overwhelmed with work. In a city full of wealthy households, where families installed dozens of kang bed-stoves, local craftsmen were already busy enough. Why would they go to other places?
It was too much trouble.
Some who had learned the technique of building kang bed-stoves secretly wanted to install them for these families in other places, but they couldn’t provide the government-issued certificates. As stated in the newspaper, if one hired someone without a certificate and the stove malfunctioned, emitting smoke and toxic fumes, the government would not be held responsible. Since these people hadn’t received training from royal craftsmen, if they wanted to save a few pennies and hired uncertified workers, they would bear the consequences if the stove malfunctioned.
Because of this warning, many people were unwilling to use those who had learned the technique illicitly. The difference in fees between these unlicensed workers and legitimate craftsmen was only a few copper coins. Why take the risk? If the stove didn’t work properly after installation, all the money spent would be wasted.
So even though they had to wait, these people preferred to wait for craftsmen from the capital or for local craftsmen to learn the technique.
Meanwhile, the Xixia envoy finally decided to leave the Great Heng.
But before leaving, the Xixia prince remembered the expression on Chu Wei’s face when he saw him at the palace gate.
Despite his affection for Chu Wei, whenever he thought of him, a malicious intent arose in the Xixia prince’s heart, mingled with an inexplicable fire. The closer it got to the day of departure, the more intense this fire burned.
After thinking it over, Li Angshun found the reason. He felt that Chu Wei didn’t know his place, which provoked such deep animosity in the seventh prince of Xixia.
In the territory of the Great Heng, reason dictated that Li Angshun should do nothing. But the arrogance and ferocity cultivated in Xixia made it impossible for him to suppress this resentment.
Therefore, the Xixia prince prepared to do something clandestine to relieve this inexplicable anger.
***
Gu Yuanbai was waiting for the first snow of the year.
Snow in the capital usually arrived in December, falling heavily like goose feathers, so that overnight, the ground would be covered with thick snow that could bury one’s bare feet.
As winter approached, everyone awaited the snow as if it weren’t winter without it. Gu Yuanbai was also waiting, waiting for an auspicious snowfall.
He lay on the kang bed-stove, with the two wolves Xue Yuan had given him lying comfortably nearby. The warmth not only made Gu Yuanbai feel comfortable but also made the two wolves extremely content.
After spending some time with Gu Yuanbai, these two wolves had become extremely lazy. They would lie on the ground and do nothing unless they were eating or sleeping. The most energetic time of the day for them was when they went out with Gu Yuanbai for a walk, looking handsome and heroic. Although they were lazy, they were smart enough to know who their master was, so they always tried to please Gu Yuanbai.
For instance, as soon as Gu Yuanbai got out of bed, the two wolves immediately raised their bodies and walked over. Their fluffy gray fur was soft, and Gu Yuanbai’s feet landed directly on their backs.
Gu Yuanbai was speechless. He moved away from the wolf’s back, “You guys are really clever.”
He reached out and patted the wolves, intending to retract his hand, but the wolf leaned forward, affectionately licking Gu Yuanbai’s palm with its crimson tongue.
The wolf’s head was huge, with sharp teeth right beside his hand. Gu Yuanbai patted its head, “Licking my hand whenever you see it, what a bad habit. Is it clean?”
Tian Fusheng cleared his throat, “Our emperor’s hands must be clean.”
“I meant whether their tongues are clean,” Gu Yuanbai reached out and pinched the wolf’s jaw, opening its mouth to examine its teeth, “Have they been bathed?”
The eunuch in charge of caring for the two wolves stepped forward, “Your Majesty, they were bathed just a few days ago.”
“Fair enough,” Gu Yuanbai inspected each tooth and the oral cavity, making others tremble with fear. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction and spared the two wolves, “Good.”
These two wolves didn’t have formal names yet, so Gu Yuanbai just referred to them as “big wolf” and “little wolf,” with the larger one being more majestic, and the other being smaller.
Gu Yuanbai had someone take them away for feeding. As palace servants brought warm water for hand washing, he casually asked, “Are there many people in the capital building kang bed-stoves?”
“It sounds like there are a lot,” Tian Fusheng said excitedly, “If something is favored by His Majesty, the people will also like it. It’s said to be bustling outside, with families boasting about the benefits of the kang bed-stoves after installation. Those without them become even more curious. Carpenters in the capital are very busy, barely having time to eat.”
Gu Yuanbai chuckled, “The Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue has opened up another source of income. You can see how different he is from before.”
“The Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue has become more dedicated,” Tian Fusheng said, “A top-notch official.”
Since Gu Yuanbai had warned the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue not to marry the Grand Treasurer’s daughter due to his talent, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue had been shining in his position, working tirelessly for Gu Yuanbai, several times more than before.
Gu Yuanbai nodded and was about to speak when someone came in to report, “Your Majesty, there’s something from the border along with some documents!”
Gu Yuanbai immediately ordered, “Bring it here!”
The messenger quickly entered and presented a heavy wooden box. After palace attendants inspected it, they opened it to reveal a head frozen in ice!
Gu Yuanbai’s breath caught. He stepped forward to take a look and, although he had never seen this person before, he quickly recognized him, “Xiwandan!”
“Yes,” the messenger said, “News came from the northern border that Xiwandan’s tribe faced a food shortage in winter and attempted to attack our army. However, they were discovered, and Xiwandan was killed in battle by our troops.”
Gu Yuanbai felt a surge of satisfaction. “Who killed Xiwandan?”
“General Xue,” the messenger said.
Was it Old General Xue Ping or General Xue Yuan?
Gu Yuanbai suppressed this question, with a gut feeling that only Xue Yuan could have done something like sending a severed head. “Why was Xiwandan’s head sent to me? After Xiwandan’s death, how are the other members of the Khitan eight tribes now?”
A single death didn’t matter much; what came next could be troublesome if mishandled.
The messenger presented a thick envelope, “You’ll see when you read this.”
Gu Yuanbai took the letter and unfolded it, reading through it quickly.
It turned out that Xiwandan’s tribe was also affected by the locust plague, although not as severely as the neighboring tribes. After accepting the remnants of the defeated troops from the neighboring tribe, Xiwandan soon ran out of food.
But unlike the reckless actions of the neighboring tribe, Xiwandan set up an ambush in advance, intending to capture soldiers from the Great Heng in exchange for food. The person who engaged him in battle was General Xue Yuan. When Xiwandan intentionally provoked Xue Yuan, he laughed and mocked, “Your master is just a little kid who hasn’t been weaned yet, sickly and weak. If he were here, I could crush him with a finger!”
Xue Yuan, who used to laugh off any insult, turned expressionless at these words, his gaze on Xiwandan turning dark.
He didn’t fall for the provocation, so Xiwandan had no choice but to lead the team back. However, in the deep of the night, he launched a diversionary attack and sent his son, along with the generals under his command, to attack from four directions, preparing to drive straight into the pass and seize the grain.
That night was a chaotic battle, and the most ridiculous thing was that Xiwandan’s son fell into an ambush. When Xiwandan went to rescue him, he was mistaken by the general Wunan, who had always harbored ill intentions towards Xiwandan’s son, as his own son. Consequently, troops were dispatched to release arrows in the dark, intending to kill the boy under the pretext of being hit by stray arrows. Unexpectedly, when soldiers of Great Heng lit torches, Wunan realized that the one he had killed was actually Xiwandan.
Wunan was stunned.
Wunan’s subordinates were also stunned.
At that moment, everyone from Xiwandan’s tribe was struck by complex emotions, stunned in place. It wasn’t until the soldiers of the Great Heng began attacking with arrows that they panicked and fled the pass in disarray, leaderless.
This head was taken by Xue Yuan to vent his anger to Gu Yuanbai.
Dare to say that Gu Yuanbai would die early? Then Xiwandan would die early.
After seeing how Xiwandan died, Gu Yuanbai instantly understood what had happened.
The arrow that had taken Xiwandan’s life, while it looked like it was caused by Wunan, was probably shot by someone from the Great Heng amid the chaos, blaming it on Wunan.
The letter detailed the whole process of this incident in great detail. Gu Yuanbai could almost feel the chaos and danger of that night from the letter. After reading it, he breathed a sigh of relief, then put down the letter to look at the head in the wooden box.
Regardless of the process, the result was indeed extremely satisfying. Xiwandan died at the hands of a trusted general, regardless of whether the general intended to kill his son or him. The fact remained, and Xiwandan’s tribe was in chaos.
Two of the Khitan eight tribes were now in disarray. The others must be getting anxious too. Perhaps the goal of mutual trade and establishing trade routes with the border could be achieved faster than expected.
Gu Yuanbai looked at Xiwandan’s head, at the lifeless eyes, and said sympathetically, “You won’t have died in vain.”
“I must thank you for laying such a solid foundation for inciting internal strife and invasion in the future. Just wait and see how this little kid, who you said could be crushed with a finger, will make you disappear into the river of history,” he said.
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