Upon closer inspection, most of them had cold expressions. Even Ma Teng, who was usually quite talkative, was sitting there quietly, sipping his tea.
Soon, the nine people gathered together. However, no one spoke first. Yuan Feng, the chief minister, was leaning back in his recliner with his eyes half-closed, it was unclear whether he was asleep or resting with his eyes closed.
Ma Teng, the marquis with a fiefdom, was also drinking tea continuously, one cup after another. In just a short while, he had finished several pots.
As for Xun Shuang, who is usually a modest gentleman with an elegant demeanor in every move, he was now reading an ancient book.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door, and the nine big shots instantly woke up, pretending to be working hard.
Suddenly, a senior eunuch appeared at the door. This man was Zhang Rang, and he looked very smug, as if he wanted to see them make a fool of themselves. Unfortunately for him, the nine big shots were all very good actors, and after watching for a long time, they still couldn't figure out any information.
"Ahem, everyone, this is His Majesty's decree."
"Send the cabinet to handle the Taiping Dao matter."
"My lords, this is the content of the imperial edict," Zhang Rang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Feng subconsciously frowned. The words were completely unclear. How should the Cabinet handle the Taiping Dao matter? What were the standards? What would the final outcome be?
There's no information whatsoever. If things go well, it'll be thanks to Emperor Ling's leadership! If they botch it, it'll be because the cabinet leaders failed to properly understand His Majesty's intentions...
For example, the Taiping Dao was originally doing well and didn't want to rebel, but the cabinet directly forced the Taiping Dao to rebel. This is the cabinet's fault!
If the Taiping Dao was originally planning a rebellion, but the cabinet handled it carelessly, and the rebellion actually happened, the cabinet would still be to blame.
This is called the art of leadership, or the supreme principle of non-action yet accomplishing everything. Regardless of the final outcome, Emperor Ling will never be wrong.
Watching Zhang Rang's arrogant back, Yuan Feng coughed and said, "His Majesty has asked us to handle the affairs of the Way of Peace. What do you think? Ju Gao, you speak first."
"The matter of the Way of Peace actually originates from this book, 'The Biography of Aspiring to Greatness.' As for the authenticity of this book, no one knows, and no one dares to say for sure whether it is true or false. Therefore, we might as well prepare for both possibilities," Cao Song said calmly.
This argument was truly watertight, seemingly very reasonable, but it offered no real insight. In the end, it even came to the conclusion of having a backup plan – how cunning!
“That’s right, Ju Gao is right. Nobody knows whether the Taiping Dao’s rebellion is true or false. What if someone is just trying to sow discord? In that case, wouldn’t it mean that anyone could just pull out a storybook and attack their political enemies?”
"Well, it's better to stay still than to act rashly. The people of the whole world are watching us! We must be extremely careful in our actions from now on! We must not make any mistakes in haste, which could alienate the aristocratic families from the court."
“That’s good. We can observe secretly first and carefully gather relevant intelligence. Then, we can send an envoy to Jizhou to observe carefully.”
“I agree, but it would be best if the envoy were someone with a high reputation among the people, and even better if he knew Zhang Jiao.”
"I do have someone in mind, he is..."
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Chapter Fifteen: Better to Stay Still than Move – Huangfu Song's Dilemma
Inside a pavilion in Jizhou.
This pavilion, located beside the dock, is one of the most popular pavilions in the entire Jizhou region. Every day, many young men and women can be seen here saying goodbye.
After all, the dock was just past the pavilion. Once at the dock, one would board a boat to leave Jizhou and head towards the Central Plains.
Today, however, the pavilion is completely deserted. Instead, three hundred elite soldiers stand guard around it.
These elite soldiers, each possessing innate strength, were the personal guards of Huangfu Song, the Commander-in-Chief of Ji Province (equivalent to the top military official in Ji Province, to whom all the troops of Ji Province were subject). Therefore, the identity of the general in the pavilion was self-evident.
At this moment, Huangfu Song was pondering the imperial court's orders while recalling the specific circumstances of the Taiping Dao over the years.
Jizhou is the location of the Taiping Dao's mountain gate and its core. It can be said that every town and village has a temple on Taiping Island. As for its followers, there are even more.
Moreover, since they usually kept a low profile, Huangfu Song didn't pay much attention. After all, a deeply rooted religion like the Way of Peace wasn't something he was usually in charge of!
Relevant information wouldn't even be sent to him; the separation of military and political affairs wasn't just a slogan. He was already the Commander-in-Chief of Ji Province; to actively concern himself with political affairs wasn't fighting for the country, it was idiocy.
"Hiss, I didn't notice it before, but now I realize that the Taiping Dao has unknowingly built up a huge empire, spreading throughout the entire Ji Province. If anything goes wrong, it will surely result in the devastation of several provinces!"
"Moreover, how many troops does the entire Ji Province have? There has been no war for many years, and the military preparedness of the country has long been neglected. Each county has only about five hundred soldiers. Each prefecture has only about three thousand soldiers. Even I, the commander-in-chief of Ji Province, only have twenty thousand provincial soldiers under my command."
"This is only because I come from the Huangfu family, a family of generals for generations, and am deeply trusted by the court. Otherwise, if a general with a weaker background were to come, let alone 20,000 state soldiers, even 15,000 would be considered a feat."
"Kang Cheng, tell me, under these circumstances, how can I suppress the Way of Peace? You must know that there are no less than ten million followers in Jizhou alone! Even if we defeat ten million ordinary people, can we kill them all?"
The so-called Kang Cheng was actually Zheng Xuan, who was also the mastermind behind this incident and was specifically responsible for investigating the Taiping Dao.
At this time, Zheng Xuan was a renowned scholar of classical studies, with a wide circle of friends and a far-reaching reputation. He had good relationships with many people; at least, Zhang Jiao had received a favor from him. Furthermore, he had no interest in an official career, which is why the court sent him.
He wasn't an official, yet he was highly respected and had some connection with Zhang Jiao. Most importantly, Zheng Xuan's strength was at the sixth level; he was strong enough that even if the Taiping Dao truly intended to rebel, he could still relay the news in time.
Seeing Huangfu Song constantly complaining, Zheng Xuan smiled wryly and said, "Haha, Yizhen, even if you complain, there's nothing I can do. After all, I'm just an envoy, and I can't be of much help."
"Moreover, it's better to remain still than to act rashly. Regardless of whether Zhang Jiao intends to rebel, the court cannot directly take action against him unless they find real evidence, or in other words, he has actually rebelled."
"You must understand, the imperial court is the imperial court after all. Many things must be done according to principles. One cannot be punished for speaking out, nor can one disrupt the government because of so-called 'insightful remarks.' Otherwise, if today we use this as an excuse to suppress the Way of Peace, tomorrow could we just find any book and wipe out the powerful families?"
To put it bluntly, although Lin Yang meant well by revealing a lot of secrets to warn others, the actual effect was really not that great.
So far, not only have there been few positive effects, but there have also been quite a few negative effects.
For example, if Lin Yang secretly reported to the imperial court that Zhang Jiao was planning a rebellion, then, given his status as the Duke of Wu, the court would naturally employ certain means to seriously investigate the matter.
For example, they used the Embroidered Uniform Guard's undercover agents and the Eastern Depot, employing any means necessary to investigate. But now that this biography of ambition has been made public, these underhanded methods can no longer be used. Otherwise, the powerful families will worry!
"The problem is, if Zhang Jiao really rebels, I, as the commander-in-chief of Ji Province, cannot suppress him. Tens of millions of believers—it's terrifying to even think about!" Huangfu Song suddenly said seriously.
He had simulated the situation many times over the past few days, but the best outcome was nothing more than holding the city of Jizhou while using the private armies of powerful families to defend it continuously.
If it's a direct attack, a mere 20,000 troops from the prefecture are really not enough. It can only be said that after so many years of peace, our military preparedness has become far too lax.
Although Zheng Xuan understood Huangfu Song's concerns, it was useless for him to understand alone. He shook his head and said, "I came here today without concealing any information. Does the Way of Peace have no reaction at all?"