Chapter 444: Two Contests of Trust

Children's nonsensical talk, especially absurd claims about monsters appearing outside the monastery, naturally caused no stir. Initially, Caishi Mountain paid little attention. However, Hu Chunya, who enjoyed a good crowd, came to the stream with the children. When she saw the familiar yet half-unfamiliar figure from behind, an indescribable feeling welled up within her. Hu Chunya hesitated, then walked to the stream's edge and glanced at the man dressed in white. Usually, after being put in her place outside, she would try to get even once she returned home to feel comfortable. But now, she couldn't utter a single cutting remark. Just as the children looked bewildered, a plump woman in beautiful clothes emerged from the monastery, resembling a voluptuous peony. Compared to the youthful Hu Chunya, her physique was similar, but she exuded a mature charm tempered by the years. Seeing her daughter, the woman paused, then smiled and approached gracefully. As she drew near, the tall, white-haired man stood and turned around. The woman was startled. She had assumed he was an elderly guest from Caishi Mountain, but he turned out to be such an elegant and dashing young man. Especially those phoenix eyes—the woman inwardly marveled, thinking, "This feature truly captivates women's hearts!" She composed herself, about to playfully tease her daughter, when the young man introduced himself. His demeanor was impeccable, and his conversation pleasant. The woman, confident in her judgment, thought that if this young man were to marry into the Caishi Mountain family, it wouldn't be a bad match for Chunya. Throughout their conversation, the woman's gaze was clearly that of a mother-in-law appraising a prospective son-in-law, making Hu Chunya incredibly embarrassed. It took much persuasion for her to finally pull her mother away and head up the mountain. Yet, the woman kept turning back to chat with the handsome young man, inviting him to enjoy the mountain scenery the next day if he had time. The young man agreed to all her invitations. Only when the mother and daughter were almost out of sight did he descend to his residence. Coincidentally, as the woman turned her head and their eyes met, he smiled and waved. After the woman, who had been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures in the monastery, turned away, her smile faded a little, and she quietly asked, "Chunya, what's the background of this Xu Qi?"

Hu Chunya then garrulously recounted both incidents at Dragon Tail Slope. The woman gave a wry smile, laughing at herself for even entertaining the idea of him marrying into their family. She sighed, "He's not just any son of a general. Caishi Mountain is too small a place to keep him."

"Why would we keep him?" Hu Chunya said resentfully. "If it weren't for Sister Zhou's sake, I wouldn't have let him come up the mountain to freeload."

The woman playfully tapped her daughter's forehead. "No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Why pretend to be a tigress in front of me? Don't let your wild ways now fool anyone; I know that once you're married, you'll surely be a good wife and kind mother, devoted to your husband and raising your children."

Hu Chunya playfully giggled, hugging her mother's arm, and asked curiously, "How did you know he's from a military family?"

The woman, Hu Jingxia, the notorious tough woman of Caishi Mountain, gently revealed the secret: "This young man has an aura just like your grandfather's. Only someone who has rolled through blood and corpses could be like that. Even if government officials and their sons are outwardly polite, their arrogance is deeply ingrained, but it's not the same kind of feeling. Furthermore, you mentioned that this man unilaterally slaughtered over a hundred armored soldiers at Dragon Tail Slope. You must understand that in the Liyang court, civil and military officials have always kept to their own spheres. Without a powerful figure from a military background overseeing things, they would never dare to be so audacious. Otherwise, even if you were the legitimate son or grandson of a Six Ministries Minister, you wouldn't act so overbearingly. You also said his escort killed that demonic cult leader with a light spear thrust while still on horseback; he's clearly a warrior capable of facing ten thousand enemies on the battlefield. Chunya, we at Caishi Mountain cannot take this lightly. Let's go with me to your grandfather and tell him all the details."

"I'm not going!" Hu Chunya retorted sulkily.

Hu Jingxia gave a charming smile, simply took her daughter's cold little hand, and slowly walked up the mountain.

Love, once started, deepens without knowing why. Unfortunately, most often it fades from deep to shallow, and people forget each other in the vast world.

When Xu Fengnian returned to the quiet bamboo lodge, he found Gu Dazu and Huang Shang seemingly waiting for a long time. After offering a brief apology, he requested a pot of wine from the lodge's maid. The four of them, including Yuan Zuozong, then gathered around the stove. The stove stood on four legs, with a large, round iron basin in the middle, filled with charcoal mixed with the ashes of burnt charcoal. The maid, crouching by the stove, held iron tongs, carefully poking and turning the charcoal in the basin to ensure the fire wasn't too intense to burn them, nor would it extinguish. As she knelt there, the firelight cast a faint blush on her pretty face. Realizing the method for managing this unfamiliar stove, Xu Fengnian smiled, took the tongs from the maid, and told her to rest. After she left the room, he chuckled, "If only we had sweet potatoes or zongzi from the south, grilled until golden brown—that's truly delicious. My first journey was quite rough, but it wasn't just because I was starving that I found things tasty; they genuinely were delicious."

Gu Dazu nodded, perfunctorily agreeing before stating gravely, "When we spoke earlier, Your Highness truly knew 'The Collection of Ashes' by heart; you weren't just cramming or trying to curry favor with this old man. Since I, Gu Dazu, intend to demonstrate my abilities in the impoverished region of Northern Liang, I won't hold back. As the opening of 'The Collection of Ashes' states, the true strength of a strategic pass lies not in its geographical advantage, but in securing the right people to defend it. Northern Liang is poor, and this poverty isn't just about money and geography; more importantly, it's about people. I, Gu Dazu, deeply admire the Northern Liang King's military governance. However, the imperial court has constantly made things difficult for Northern Liang over the years, preventing it from forming an influential scholar-official group. Just when the Yao family finally emerged, Yao Baifeng was recruited by the imperial court to the capital, essentially filling the void left after the collapse of the Song family, much like a countrywoman who flirted with wealthy city gentlemen for years and finally married into a noble family as a concubine. Moreover, the Spring and Autumn conflicts have always been regarded as a great injustice by scholars across the land, and the Northern Liang King was seen as the culprit who broke the spine of literati. Thus, no powerful aristocratic families would join your Xu family, fearing a stained reputation in history and shaming their ancestors. Northern Liang's current shortage of talent is a pressing concern. Li Yishan is a great talent of this era, but he also struggles to achieve much without resources. Now, with Chen Zhibao leaving Liang, a large number of generals have gone to Shu, subtly aiming to establish their own power base, just waiting for him to be enfeoffed as the King of Shu, which would constrain Northern Liang. This makes Northern Liang like a shaky house with drafts on all sides. At such a time, a large influx of fresh talent is needed to mend its walls and window papers. The outer walls of Northern Liang's courtyard are still strong, protected by the Northern Liang King's 300,000 iron cavalry; for a while, neither the Liyang imperial court nor the predatory Beiman would dare to easily provoke them. But the window papers that keep the house warm must ultimately rely on capable civil officials. Warriors can ride fierce horses and wield iron spears, but asking them to do needlework is inappropriate!"

Xu Fengnian calmly replied, "The Lu family, who leads the Green Faction, and Lu Feichi, one of Liyang's Eight Pillar States, is a genuine powerful minister who served two dynasties. He had served in the Ministries of War, Revenue, and Personnel, and even Zhang Julu, the Grand Secretary, paid him the respect of a student before he retired. This elderly Pillar State intends to marry a woman from the Lu family into Northern Liang. On this trip back to Northern Liang, visiting Shangyin Academy is a private matter; paying respects to Lu Feichi in Qingzhou is the real business. I am attempting to persuade the elder to relocate his entire clan north."

Xu Fengnian stirred the charcoal and chuckled, "I couldn't bring myself to suggest it before. Firstly, the marriage alliance wasn't set in stone, and I was afraid Northern Liang would end up being presumptuous. It's fine if I lose face, but Xu Xiao cannot afford to. Secondly, the timing wasn't right. Back then, the Green Faction in Qingzhou, known for sticking together in the court, hadn't yet scattered like monkeys from a falling tree as they have today. Now, under Zhang Julu's sole manipulation, the Green Faction has disintegrated, with its other two families attaching themselves to Zhang's faction and Gu's faction. So, I suppose it's also time for the Lu family to seek a way out for themselves. After all, the Lu family was the most powerful back then, but they were squeezed so hard by the other two influential families that they couldn't lift their heads. After a complete split, settling accounts later would never favor them against the other two families. Because right now, the Lu family is like a widow sleeping."

Huang Shang, who had not spoken until then, asked in bewilderment, "'Widow sleeping'? What do you mean by that?"

Gu Dazu laughed heartily, "No one on top!"

Huang Shang, who always conducted himself honorably and properly, secretly grimaced and hastily lowered his head to drink.

Xu Fengnian chuckled, "The entire Lu clan, with its entrenched influence, relocating to Liang is a strong medicine, while Master Huang, going to Liang alone, is a mild one. Both are indispensable for Northern Liang. Furthermore, Northern Liang is willing to provide shelter to all impoverished scholars so they can all be happy. Soon, the entire world will know Chen Xiliang and Liu Wenbao."

Huang Shang pondered for a moment, then softly murmured, "Impoverished scholars... 'to provide shelter to all impoverished scholars so they can all be happy.' What a beautiful phrase."

Gu Dazu's words were always blunt. "Scholars read the sages' books, but few wholeheartedly aim to become sages; in reality, they are all seeking fame and profit. Aristocratic scholar-officials who have long held high positions might not care about Northern Liang, but impoverished scholars without connections are different. Although the imperial court, after Zhang Julu formed his cabinet and took office, spared no effort to attract impoverished scholars, no one is a fool. For all these years, only a handful of them have risen to prominence. Most scholars, even if they pass the imperial examinations, are still crushed to dust by the sons of aristocratic families. If Northern Liang's offer is truly substantial, disgruntled scholars will surely flock to Liang like carp crossing a river, and perhaps even many Spring and Autumn remnants in Beiman might come south."

Gu Dazu murmured to himself, "The capital region has always been a battleground. Western Shu is most prone to developing separatist forces, while Jizhou, home to the Han family renowned for their loyalty, can dictate the fate of the world. The southeastern regions are neither geographically remote nor militarily weak; rather, their lack of initiative leads to insufficient self-preservation. I, Gu Dazu, dare to assert that for a thousand years, both past and future, the pattern will be 'the North swallowing the South'. Northern Liang's territory is long and narrow, seemingly surviving in a crack, but it might not be a blessing in disguise. Raising troops in Liang is incomparable to raising troops in the southern regions. Frankly, I, Gu Dazu, am just a brute who only knows how to lead troops; where else can I go if not Northern Liang? Wouldn't Liyang have to worry every day about whether I, Gu Dazu, would rebel if they gave me an army of over a hundred thousand elite soldiers? Heh, I really do want to rebel! I'd love to have a proper fight with Gu Jiantang! Gu Jiantang, destroying Southern Tang—what great skill!"

Setting aside the ironic implications in Gu Dazu's words as a Southern Tang remnant, just the mention of 'rebellion' was enough to make Huang Shang break out in a cold sweat.

Gu Jiantang in the North, Gu Dazu in the South.

Li Yishan once commented in the Listening Tide Pavilion that the fall of Southern Tang was not Gu's fault.

Huang Shang glanced at Xu Fengnian. The young man's expression was calm, seemingly indifferent to Gu Dazu's highly disrespectful and rebellious remarks.

The group entered the bamboo lodge, where Zhao Hongdan and Hu Jingxia, husband and wife, were already present. The elder among them was burly, hale and hearty, showing no signs of age. There's a master for every character: Hu Chunya was fearless before anyone, but she was exceptionally docile and well-behaved in front of her grandfather. This elder, Hu Gonglie, was a Southern Tang remnant, once a brave general at a key border town of Southern Tang. After Southern Tang's fall, he still raised a cavalry force in Caishi Mountain, seemingly unable to sleep soundly without hearing war drums and thundering hooves. Hu Gonglie was famous for his fiery temper. As he entered the bamboo lodge now, he strode with a powerful gait. Gu Dazu's seat was facing away from the door. Just as Hu Gonglie was about to speak, he saw Gu Dazu's back and froze. Zhao Hongdan, though nominally the master of Caishi Mountain for years, had always felt somewhat subordinate and repressed. He had never seen his father-in-law in such an anxious state and was momentarily at a loss.

Gu Dazu turned around without speaking.

Hu Gonglie waved his hand and ordered his daughter and son-in-law, "Both of you, leave."

Only he remained standing in the room.

Hu Gonglie, whose word carried great weight in Caishi Mountain, did not sit. Instead, he suddenly knelt, his fists on the ground, and stated in a deep voice, "Hu Gonglie, the garrison commander of Huatai in Southern Tang, pays respects to General Gu!"

Gu Dazu casually turned around, not looking at Hu Gonglie kneeling on the ground, and laughed self-deprecatingly, "How did you recognize me as Gu Dazu?"

Hu Gonglie remained silent.

Gu Dazu sighed, "Get up. Didn't you, Hu Gonglie, kneel enough when you left the city with the late emperor back then? Southern Tang was lost precisely by such kneeling."

Gu Dazu said calmly, "Many people knelt their way to high office and rich emoluments back then. At the very least, you, Hu Gonglie, stood by your conscience. All right, get up and speak."

After standing up, Hu Gonglie turned and wiped his face. The moment he spoke, he uttered words that gave Huang Shang a headache: "Great General, I hear Western Chu is going to restore its nation. Are we Southern Tang also going to rise up? Great General, rest assured, if any Hu family scoundrel on Caishi Mountain dares to frown, afraid of losing his head, Hu Gonglie will be the first to twist his head off!"