Chapter 34
Shen Nian stood there, mulling over the Emperor's words with great seriousness, then nodded solemnly and said, "This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your understanding. I do not have three heads and six arms—I truly lack the capacity to take on more."
Qi Junmu looked at him with an expression hard to read, then said, "If your face were ranked for thickness, no one would dare claim first place—you would be second to none."
Qi Junmu let out a cold huff. "I have no idea what I just said that sounded like praise to you."
Unruffled, Shen Nian answered, "This humble subject has spent most of his years at the North Frontier and has only recently had the fortune of beholding Your Majesty's countenance. Naturally, I have rarely been praised by Your Majesty, so at this moment I genuinely feel that every word you said was praise for me."
Qi Junmu felt a twinge of exasperation and was suddenly tempted to shut himself away, unwilling to entertain this smug Shen Nian any further.
Both were clever men, and with this bit of banter between sovereign and subject, the tension that had hung in the air moments ago had dissipated.
Shen Nian had tested the waters regarding the Emperor's trust, and the Emperor, in his impatient tone, had given him the answer he wanted—authority over the Western Frontier—thereby indirectly signaling his trust in Marquis Zhenbei.
Though Shen Nian could not be certain whether the Emperor's words were genuine, he seized the opportunity to pledge his loyalty.
The goal was achieved, though the process had left the Emperor rather speechless.
As they fell into mutual silence, the Emperor busied himself with reading memorials, his eyes cast down, while Shen Nian casually looked around. His gaze drifted idly until it settled on Qi Junmu's face.
With his eyes cast down, the Emperor appeared even more solemn than usual. But he was handsome by nature, and seated there like that, he looked like a painting come to life.
Shen Nian made no effort to conceal his scrutiny. At first, Qi Junmu tried to pretend he didn't notice, but as time passed, the gaze grew bolder and more brazen.
Qi Junmu had been Emperor across two lifetimes. Though he had died a pitiful death in his first, a sovereign was still a sovereign—no one dared to stare openly at the Emperor's face without permission.
What is he even looking at? Do I have flowers blooming on my face?
With these thoughts running through his mind, Qi Junmu suddenly raised his head, locking eyes with Shen Nian.
When the Emperor was in a foul mood, he appeared cold, haughty, and aloof.
Shen Nian had been studying the Emperor's features with great interest when their eyes unexpectedly met. His first reaction was not to realize he had committed the grave offense of impropriety before the sovereign—no, his first reaction was a flicker of embarrassment, a flustered withdrawal of his gaze.
But then Shen Nian thought better of it. The Emperor was a petty man by nature; if he started overthinking things, he would surely find a way to make trouble for him later. So, with renewed confidence, he stared straight back.
Qi Junmu had not been overthinking at all. He simply found Shen Nian's reaction rather amusing.
Anyone else caught in the act by the Emperor would have immediately begged for forgiveness. Only Shen Nian behaved in such an unexpected way.
Qi Junmu's mind seemed to be turning over something as he spoke slowly: "What, have you already come up with an idea about who should get the funds for reinforcing the West Frontier defenses, Marquis Shen?"
Shen Nian let out an "ah" before recalling the Emperor's original question. He quickly replied, "I do have a thought. If Your Majesty trusts the Garrison Commander of the West Frontier, the funds might as well be given to him."
Qi Junmu felt that not only was Shen Nian an interesting person, but his words were also interesting. Speaking with such a clever and amusing man could sometimes be genuinely delightful.
So he said, "What do you mean by that, Marquis Shen?"
Realizing the Emperor was determined to press him for details, Shen Nian—perhaps feeling the awkwardness of the moment, or perhaps genuinely wanting to contribute his thoughts on border affairs—turned serious and said, "Your Majesty knows that before returning to the capital, this humble subject had never left the North Frontier and is not very familiar with the Garrison Commander of the West Frontier. We Northern troops are rather brash; over the years we have fought many battles, and the soldiers have always been on edge. In comparison, the Garrison Commander of the West Frontier is a steady man, a defender of the city walls. The West Frontier has been relatively peaceful all these years, and the soldiers there have grown accustomed to a comfortable life. If the West Frontier remains as it is, that too is a blessing for Da Qi."
On the surface, Shen Nian seemed to be singing Chang Sheng's praises, but his words were laced with knives.
As the commander of the West Frontier Army, Chang Sheng had turned a blind eye to the Western Di's minor skirmishes, only occasionally sending troops to drive them off. When the Western Di made slightly larger moves, Chang Sheng's first instinct was to send memorials to the capital.
Fortunately, the Western Di had been cooperative over the years. When food was scarce at home, they would raid the Western Frontier for supplies, but they never launched large-scale attacks, careful not to burn bridges with Da Qi.
By handling things this way, Chang Sheng kept West Frontier casualties to a minimum in the short term, earning him no small amount of praise at court.
But the Western Di's appetite would not remain so small forever. One day, sooner or later, they would grow dissatisfied and strike Da Qi with a vicious bite.
Qi Junmu had also detested Chang Sheng's approach in the past—a commander of an army without an ounce of fighting spirit. At the time, he had only just ascended the throne, and when it came time to allocate funds to the West Frontier, he chose to trust Chang Sheng nonetheless.
He believed no one would treat soldiers' lives lightly. Yet in the end, he—the Emperor—became the laughingstock.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were slaughtered, and Chang Sheng had practically thrown open the Western gates to let the Western Di march right in.
At this memory, a chill flickered in Qi Junmu's eyes, and he looked up. "I understand your point. But who should I send now to make the Garrison Commander of the West Frontier feel that I have no ulterior motives?"
The West Frontier army also numbered tens of thousands, and Chang Sheng had commanded them for many years—his authority was not something a newly enthroned emperor could easily shake.
He could send Yan Yuntai to supervise the West Frontier defenses, but Chang Sheng was the Garrison Commander of the West Frontier. That would make it painfully obvious that the Emperor did not trust him. And if that pushed Chang Sheng into rebellion, the situation would become very difficult to handle.
Shen Nian understood all this as well. This was the inherent contradiction between a field commander and the Emperor.
If a general had too much power, the Emperor had to guard against him; if the general had too little power, he would be constrained in his actions. On the border, the battlefield could change in an instant—a single day's delay could mean a world of difference.
There was no general in the world who placed absolute trust in the Emperor, nor any emperor who held no wariness toward his generals. Shen Nian was no exception.
Sometimes Shen Nian thought that being a general was pitiful and tragic. Now, looking at the Emperor, he felt that the Emperor had his own share of burdens.
In short, everyone was struggling.
But no matter how hard things got, the matter still had to be resolved.
Before the Emperor decided to turn against him, Shen Nian still wanted to do what he wished to do. And since the Emperor was now asking for his opinion, he would speak his mind.
So Shen Nian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is actually easy. The Garrison Commander of the West Frontier holds a position that has earned him the respect of the Western troops, unshakable by anyone. The funds Your Majesty sends will pass through Qingzhou on their way to the West Frontier, and Qingzhou is some distance from the West Frontier, with bandits frequently along the route. Since the two princes and Commander Yang are currently in Qingzhou, have them escort the silver into the West Frontier and oversee the defense works at the same time. General Chang will have no grounds to object."
"No." Qi Junmu had known what Shen Nian was going to say the moment he opened his mouth. He let him finish, then rejected it without hesitation.
Shen Nian was taken aback by the Emperor's resolute tone. He studied the Emperor's expression and said softly, "This approach is the most natural and would not put General Chang overly on guard. Your Majesty governs with the nation's affairs as your priority, yet this time you rejected your subject's proposal without a second thought—may I ask why?"
"Just take it as a moment of willfulness on my part," said Qi Junmu. The plan was sound, but it would require sending Qi Junzhuo into the West Frontier.
The West Frontier was the place where Qi Junzhuo had vanished, his fate unknown. In this lifetime, Qi Junmu would never let him set foot there again.
Shen Nian stared fixedly at Qi Junmu.
Could an Emperor afford to be willful? Put before the court, most ministers would say no—an Emperor had no right to be capricious. He held the lives of all under heaven in his hands and had to remain objective and just.
But the Emperor was only human, with but one pair of shoulders.
Now this man was telling him, openly, that he wanted to be willful just once. For some reason, Shen Nian felt a pang of something bittersweet in his chest.
Suddenly, he no longer wanted to ask why.
Qi Junmu was the Emperor. Whatever he wanted to do, it was Shen Nian's duty as his subject to find a way.
So Shen Nian lowered his gaze and said, "If this road is blocked, we'll take another."
Now it was Qi Junmu's turn to be startled. He had expected Shen Nian to press further, but it turned out he had a backup plan.
So he asked, "And what road is that?"
Shen Nian looked up with a smile and pointed to himself. "The North Frontier."
Shen Nian was a refined, handsome man, and his smile made him appear even more gentle and warm. With his eyes bright and spirited, he looked both dazzling and smug.
Qi Junmu was no fool, and Shen Nian had not brought up the North Frontier without reason.
Shen Nian was the first general to be enfeoffed as a marquis. No general could be indifferent to that—Chang Sheng was certainly no exception.
Except for a small number who blindly trusted Shen Nian, most believed that the Emperor's favor toward him was feigned. Surely the Emperor would never let Shen Nian return to the North, nor would he allow Shen Nian's followers to become generals.
The position of Garrison Commander of the North Frontier could not remain vacant forever.
The North Frontier was a place where one could earn merit, and many had their eyes on it.
The Emperor had not spoken, so everyone pretended not to care about the North Frontier.
Now that the Emperor's attention was on the West Frontier, and he had no intention of stripping Shen Nian of his military authority, to avoid making Chang Sheng suspicious, he could use a feint-to-the-east, strike-to-the-west strategy.
Fool Chang Sheng into going to the North Frontier, weakening his grip on the West Frontier. Changing a commander was no small matter, and Chang Sheng was unlikely to want to leave the familiar West Frontier.
Shen Nian had even prepared a convenient excuse for the Emperor—himself. He could tell Chang Sheng that the Emperor did not trust Shen Nian, hoping Chang Sheng would first go to the North Frontier to survey the situation and, ideally, dig up something incriminating against him.
As long as Chang Sheng left the West Frontier, the construction of its defenses would no longer be under his control.
In short, once Chang Sheng was coaxed away, everything would become manageable.
There were, of course, many uncertainties hidden in this scheme—but that was fine. Qi Junmu thought to himself that he would carefully deliberate on how to make this performance of truth and falsehood play out to perfection.
Seeing the look on the Emperor's face, Shen Nian knew he approved of his idea. He curled his lip and said, "Your Majesty, if General Chang does find something on me in the North Frontier, I beg you, in consideration of the fact that I came up with such a terrible plan, to at least spare my life."
"Can you even use words properly? What do you mean, a terrible plan? And what does that make me, the one who listens to it?" Qi Junmu shot him a sideways glare.
Shen Nian chuckled sheepishly. "This humble subject has read few books and cannot speak well—do not mind me, Your Majesty."
Qi Junmu let out two cold snorts and waved his hand, dismissing him.
Shen Nian stepped back, but after taking only two steps, he remembered Shen Qing, who was at home studying diligently, and turned back to bring up the matter.
With his mind preoccupied with the West Frontier, Qi Junmu had no patience for trivialities and said, "Handle it yourself."
Shen Nian then left, satisfied.
After he was gone, the expression on Qi Junmu's face turned cold. He picked up a brush and wrote the two characters for Chang Sheng on a sheet of paper, then expressionlessly crossed them out. Once Chang Sheng left the West Frontier, who could control whether he lived or died?
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