Kays Translations

Chapter 145: Crossing the River and Destroying the Bridge is a Realm of Destruction

At midnight, Li Yulong was actively planning specific actions. Meanwhile, in Anyang, the atmosphere was extremely tense, with a heavy air that even made Xu Ren feel irritated.

Two hundred thousand troops were pouring toward Anyang. Although Anyang had confidence, it was still facing an army of two hundred thousand! Currently, Anyang had only about fifty thousand soldiers, and many of them were tasked with guarding the border.

The reason Anyang had been able to withstand countless attacks from the State of Cai was because of the defensive assistance from places like Kaiping County. However, if faced directly with an army of two hundred thousand, the result would not be pleasant.

In northern Kaiping County, Li Liang was also busy. On one hand, he was withdrawing all forces from Xinan County, handing the entire county over to the Crown Prince in exchange for the Crown Prince remaining passive—if successful, the Crown Prince would be happy to watch Kaiping County, Anyang, and Zhongshan County fight each other to the death, then swoop in to reap the benefits.

On the other hand, Li Liang was preparing to dispatch a large army southward to assist Anyang in defending Zhongshan County.

However, Li Liang had a significant problem—Kaiping County was not as small as Anyang. He had not fully mastered Kaiping County, nor did he have full control over its generals. Many of the defected generals were loyal to the command but not to the orders. These generals had performed well in the past, but at a critical moment, they pulled the rug out from under him!

Li Liang was deeply troubled; meanwhile, Xu Ren and the others, upon receiving the information, frowned. Xia Qingqing directly referred to these Kaiping County generals as “traitors.”

As for Yuan Yong, he was leisurely sipping tea and watching several groups of singing girls perform dances, thoroughly relaxed.

Yuan Zhao, with a mischievous grin, said, “Dad, the Kong family has sent troops to attack Zhongshan County. Shouldn’t we make a move? We should show ourselves a bit.”

Yuan Yong smiled slightly, “No hurry, no hurry. Let’s wait and see how the Li and Kong families perform. We, on the other hand, should just wait for business to come to us. There’s no need to be too proactive.”

Just then, someone came in with news: the Kong family had sent a message.

Yuan Yong put down his scroll and smiled, “Look, business is here.”

When Yuan Yong received the letter from Kong Xiang, Kong Xiang himself had also received a letter from Li Yulong. Compared to the previous blank letter, this time it contained four words—”use the neighbor as a ditch.”

“Use the neighbor as a ditch? What do these four words mean?” Kong Yingzhi, who was following Kong Xiang, was somewhat confused.

After reading these four words, Kong Xiang fell into deep thought for a long time, then suddenly looked at Kong Yingzhi and asked, “Xiaozhi, what do you think if we join forces with the Li family?”

“What? Join forces with the Li family? Does that mean we won’t take revenge for my second uncle (Kong Donghua)?”

Kong Xiang glanced at Kong Yingzhi and said faintly, “Yes, Li Xian and we have unresolved enmity. But this enmity is from the past! If we can avoid further casualties, if it can bring benefits to the Kong family, even if it’s with Li Xian, even if it’s with someone who killed our father and took our wife, we can still cooperate temporarily. This is politics.

But as for revenge, a gentleman takes revenge after ten years!”

Kong Yingzhi didn’t respond. Although he rationally acknowledged that what Kong Xiang said made sense, emotionally, he couldn’t quite accept it. Finally, he asked, “Third Uncle, what do these ‘use the neighbor as a ditch’ four words mean?”

Without turning his head, Kong Xiang replied, “What is the original meaning of ‘use the neighbor as a ditch’?”

“To treat the neighboring land as a ditch and discharge your own flood disasters onto it; this is a typical behavior of harming others for one’s own benefit. But this… doesn’t match the current situation!”

Kong Xiang began to teach Kong Yingzhi, “You need to listen for the subtext. Regular speech means just the literal meaning; the speech of a smart person often carries a hidden meaning; a politician’s words contain more than one layer of meaning. And the most top-tier politicians, their words contain all three layers of meaning.

Right now, you’re still just a smart person. You’re a little way off from the level of a politician. And even further from the realm of a top-level politician.”

The phrase “use the neighbor as a ditch” carries three layers of meaning. The first layer refers to harming others for one’s own benefit. Li Yulong’s words suggest that our two families should join forces to expel the Yuan family. Then, the two of us can divide the benefits.

The second layer of meaning is: the Yuan family is our neighbor, and it’s better if they’re weak. In the strategy of “joining forces and attacking the nearby,” there’s this kind of thinking—attract distant allies while attacking those close by.

The Li family is in the north, and we are in the south, with the Yuan family conveniently located between us.

The third, deeper meaning is: a division between the north and the south! The Li family will control the north, specifically the northeast, and we will control the south. By placing the Yuan family between us, they become a buffer zone, a punching bag for us.

Kong Yingzhi was dizzy after hearing this. “So, Third Uncle, are we really going to ally with the Li family? What about the Crown Prince?”

“The Crown Prince?” Kong Xiang’s lips curled into a hint of mockery. “He’s useless! In politics, burning bridges after crossing them is a kind of skill.”

“Burning bridges after crossing them is a skill? That sounds profound!” Kong Yingzhi was confused.

Seeing Kong Yingzhi’s confusion, Kong Xiang, unusually, explained a bit more: “Some ties need to be cut decisively, no lingering, or you’ll end up dragging yourself down with them.

The Crown Prince is incompetent. Don’t follow the Crown Prince down the wrong path. When it’s time to burn bridges, do it without hesitation! If necessary, even take advantage of the situation to strike them when they’re down, to show your stance! Of course, this also allows you to eliminate those who harbor resentment, striking them down so they can never rise again.”

Kong Yingzhi now understood, and a cold sweat ran down his back! Political struggles are just as brutal, if not more so, than warfare.

As the sky gradually brightened, Kong Xiang seemed to step into the first ray of the morning sun, returning to the imperial capital, Wuyang City! He immediately visited Li Yulong, Yuan Yong, Wang Chuan, Fu Minghui, and others.

At the morning court, Kong Xiang officially took over the position of Prime Minister of the Great Xia Kingdom; the three great ministers and powerbrokers of the kingdom had finally gathered once more.

At this moment, Yuan Yong suddenly stepped forward, “Your Majesty, I wish to file a complaint against Li Yulong.”

The emperor, curled up on his throne, became interested, as if watching a spectacle. “Oh? Do tell.”

Li Xian, or rather, the Li family, had earned the emperor’s favor by building the royal tombs, allowing the Li family to resist the enticements of various forces and maintain neutrality. But this protection was not absolute. In the end, it all depended on whose strategy and methods were superior and whose face was thicker.

As for those who managed to rise to the rank of a first-rank official, it went without saying.

Yuan Yong calmly continued, “Your Majesty, the rebellion in Zhongshan County, I believe, was completely instigated by Li Xian and his son Li Yulong! In the end, it was Li Xian’s insatiable greed that forced Zhongshan County’s Prefect Shi Chengsong into rebellion.

Furthermore, with Li Yulong inside and Li Xian and Li Liang controlling the regions outside, I believe this situation is untenable.”

(He turned to Li Yulong) “Lord Li, for the stability of the Great Xia Kingdom, I respectfully ask that you voluntarily resign from your position as Grand Tutor.”

Yuan Yong actually wanted to kick Li Yulong out of the imperial capital! Out of the center of power! Though the Great Xia Kingdom is essentially a shell of its former self, it’s clear that any attempt to act on this would cause more harm than good. Without Li Yulong holding up the central authority, how could Li Xian and Li Liang maintain their current stability?

But of course, Li Yulong is the Grand Tutor. It’s not easy to bring down a man in such a powerful position.

And there’s also the matter of burning bridges after crossing them!

Kong Xiang stepped out under the watchful eyes of the Crown Prince and Yuan Yong. “Your humble servant greets His Majesty. After spending a few months at home, I have been reflecting on the current situation of the Great Xia Kingdom. I now have a few questions that I wish to ask Lord Yuan Yong.”

Uh? The atmosphere suddenly felt off! Yuan Yong’s heart tightened.

Kong Xiang turned toward Yuan Yong, “Lord Yuan, as the Grand Marshal, you hold the military and political power of the nation. A few months ago, the Imperial Commissioner Fu Minghui was ordered to lead a northern campaign against the State of Cai, but he was betrayed and returned in defeat. While it appeared that external forces were behind this, it is, after all, a matter of national importance. Did Lord Yuan fail to notice such a significant issue?”

Yuan Yong was immediately stunned! The sharpest arrow always comes from behind, and this was the most painful and deadly kind of blow!

How could he respond to this question? If he said he didn’t know, it would mean negligence—this Grand Marshal is too incompetent. If he said he knew, it would imply he had a hidden agenda—why didn’t he intervene at the time? What was his motive?

But Kong Xiang didn’t give Yuan Yong a chance to explain and continued, “Your Majesty, now, even in Wuyang City, there is no available military force. This matter, I believe, requires an explanation from Lord Yuan Yong.”

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