The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 409 The Different Ways

The administrative regions of the Tang Empire were divided into four levels of prefectures, counties, towns, and villages. The terrain in the east of Mount Tai was generally flat. Qing Prefecture was the capital of Pinglu, and there was fertile land. There were large areas of farmland with crisscross footpaths outside Qing Prefecture. The cottages in each town and village were very dense.

People started work at sunrise and rested at sunset. There was always a busy scene of farming here in recent years. The farmers went out and went home with their hoes. In autumn, the harvest would ensure that they would have plenty of food and clothing for the whole year.

But now, the farmland outside Qing Prefecture was completely destroyed. The well-growing crops were trampled and destroyed, turning into mud. They were no different from weeds. There was no one in the cottages where the fire was burning, and everyone fled to the city for shelter.

Within a radius of dozens of kilometers, besides the armored soldiers with knives and the cavalrymen who were riding horses back and forth, the most striking of all were the military barracks taking up more than 5 kilometers.

That was the military barracks of the Xuanwu Army.

The Xuanwu Army just arrived outside Qing Prefecture. Although they were still preparing to attack the city, they controlled the area within a radius of dozens of kilometers. No matter on the roads or the strategic points, there were no Pinglu soldiers.

The big city became an isolated island. It had to face a strong enemy alone with weak forces.

In front of the gate tower, several officials and generals gathered together and watched the bustling barracks of the Xuanwu Army—at that place, they were busy making equipment for attacking the city.

The officials and generals of Qing Prefecture were surrounding a civil official. The middle-aged man with a wide face and straight eyebrows was the highest-ranking person here. He was given the right to take over the whole Pinglu before Prince An left to suppress Hedong.

He was Cui Keli, the secretary of the commissioner’s mansion.

At this moment, Cui Keli frowned slightly.

He never smiled and seemed a little too strict. Maybe he was always concerned about the common people and the country in his mind. He had too much concern, especially in this chaotic world, so his burden was heavy. He had no time to take a rest, so it was difficult for him to relax.

“The Xuanwu Army claims that they have 200,000 soldiers, but in fact, they have only 100,000 soldiers. Now we only have 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in the entire Pinglu. Qing Prefecture is the capital and its defense is a top priority, but there are only 8,000 brave soldiers. 8,000 against 100,000, each of our soldiers needs to fight ten enemies.”

The one who spoke was Wang Zhi, the general of Qing Prefecture. He was a burly man in the prime of his life and came from the Wang family of Qing Prefecture.

After Li Ye first entered Pinglu and subdued the major families in Qing Prefecture, this veteran was not taken seriously at first, but he was gradually recognized and entrusted important tasks by Li Ye later. Now he was a famous general in the Pinglu Army.

Cui Keli knew what Wang Zhi meant. It wasn’t easy to guard Qing Prefecture.

Of course, it wasn’t.

Bianzhou was not close to Qing Prefecture. When the Xuanwu Army sent troops, all the vassal states along the way closed their doors and didn’t stop the Xuanwu Army from passing.

The fact that 100,000 troops could march straight showed a lot of problems.

Although the commissioners and the officials of the vassal states were afraid of Prince An’s power, they were in danger of being killed by Great Cultivators.

Cui Keli replied, “I have ordered all the prefectures to send troops to help. I will arrange people to organize the strong youths in the city to help later. At the same time, I will call up all the families and cultivators in Jianghu to help the defending soldiers. General, you only need to guard for three days. I can guarantee that I can give you 2,000 cultivators and 30,000 strong youths.”

This was not a discussion, but an order. In high spirits, Wang Zhi answered with cupped fists, “With your help, Qing Prefecture can resist the enemy. In the next three days, even if I die on top of the city wall, I will never let an enemy enter the city!”

Cui Keli nodded. “Thank you.”

Wang Zhi led the generals to inspect the city’s defense, and Cui Keli was still on the gate tower.

There was only one person left beside him at this time. He was a young Confucian scholar in a cloth gown with elegant temperament.

Seeing no one around, the young Confucian scholar smiled and said, “100,000 troops are besieging the city and they must control the main roads to stop the reinforcements. The strong youths in the city can’t compare with the elite soldiers in armor, and even if the cultivators in Jianghu try their best to fight, they are no match for the regular military formation. Qing Prefecture is already an isolated island. It isn’t easy to fight a strong enemy alone with the weak forces.”

Cui Keli should be very familiar with this strange man. After hearing what he said, Cui Keli didn’t look back at him. “There are a few easy things in the world.”

The Confucian scholar said, “Senior Brother, you’re lucky, because there’s one right now.”

Cui Keli said, “Oh? Why didn’t I find that?”

The Confucian scholar said, “Senior Brother, you’re knowledgeable and resourceful. You should know that the opposite of any difficult thing is an easy thing.”

Cui Keli said, “The easy things are always boring.”

The Confucian scholar said, “But, sometimes, if you do the difficult things, you will die.”

Cui Keli said, “The battle in the Qing Prefecture is indeed very dangerous before Prince An comes back. But as long as Prince An comes back to help, we will be able to turn defensive into offensive, and things will become easy.”

The Confucian scholar said, “I’m afraid that Qing Prefecture won’t be able to hold out for Prince An’s return.”

Cui Keli said, “If I don’t try my best, I won’t know the result.”

The Confucian scholar said, “Senior Brother, don’t you know that a wise man should have foresight?”

Cui Keli sneered. He lost his patience. Looking back at his Junior Brother, he said in an unfriendly tone, “For the sake of our same master, I allow you to leave alive this time.”

The Confucian smiled and said, “I’m your Junior Brother, but you are not so kind to me.”

Cui Keli said, “I’ve never been kind to my enemy.”

The Confucian scholar stopped smiling, and his voice became low. “Senior Brother, do you think I am Zhu Wen’s lobbyist?”

Cui Keli said coldly, “Aren’t you?”

The Confucian scholar shook his head and said seriously, “I come to Qing Prefecture this time on Master’s order.”

Cui Keli was slightly surprised. The meaning of his words was to persuade him to give up Qing Prefecture. This was, of course, in Zhu Wen’s favor. But he knew his Junior Brother very well that he would never lie on this kind of thing.

He asked in a deep voice, “What does Master intend to do?”

The Confucian scholar said, “You should know Master’s ambition because it has never changed—to rectify the world, to save people from difficult situations and seek well-being for them.”

Cui Keli said, “All Confucian scholars have such an ambition. But there is more than one way to the ambition, and ambition doesn’t mean choice.”

The Confucian scholar asked, “Do you think that Confucianism has chosen Zhu Wen?”

Cui Keli said, “It doesn’t matter.”

The Confucian scholar asked, “What matters?”

Cui Keli said, “It matters that Confucianism hasn’t chosen Prince An.”

However, the Confucian scholar shook his head. “On the contrary, I don’t think so.”

Cui Keli said, “It matters that I have already chosen Prince An!”

The Confucian scholar was a little stunned. Then, he said coldly, “Are you going to disobey Master and the order of Confucianism? Are you going to betray our sect and be a traitor?”

Cui Keli sneered. “I wonder why Master doesn’t think that Prince An is worth being chosen.”

The Confucian scholar frowned and narrowed his eyes. He said in a sharp voice, “What Confucianism wants is to assist a new emperor and achieve the great cause of the True Dragon. But now the Luck of the Tang Empire has dissipated, and Prince An is destined not to achieve the revival of the Tang Empire. Isn’t it self-destruction to follow him?”

“Nonsense!” Cui Keli swung his sleeves and turned around angrily. He looked at the military barracks of the Xuanwu Army outside the city coldly. He paused for a moment. “It seems that Master has already made his own choice, apart from Prince An and Zhu Wen.”

The Confucian scholar said, “Of course, Confucianism will make the most suitable choice for itself!”

Cui Keli sneered and said, “So the reason that you persuaded me to give up Qing Prefecture is to harm Prince An.”

The Confucian scholar took it for granted. “Although Prince An is destined not to revive the country, he is the most powerful at present. Confucianism needs Prince An’s foundation to collapse and the north to fall into chaos again. In this way, the selected feudal prince of Confucianism will have enough time to gather forces.”

Cui Keli asked, “So you would rather the people in the north suffer again from the scourge of war of chaos?”

The Confucian scholar said, “If an incompetent emperor ascends the throne and rules the country cruelly, it will bring disaster to ordinary people. Compared with that, this is just the pain of a moment. It’s acceptable, and it’s the price we have to pay. Senior Brother, you should understand that the people with etiquette don’t care about a small reproach.”

Cui Keli nodded. “Then, why don’t you leave?”

The Confucian scholar was a little stunned. “What do you mean?”

Cui Keli said, “Since we have different goals, we can’t work together.”

The Confucian scholar finally became angry. He questioned, “Do you really want to be a traitor and betray Master and Confucianism? Since you choose a person who is destined to fail, aren’t you afraid of death?”

At this point, the coldness on Cui Keli’s face gradually dissipated, but his eyes were gradually filled with sorrow and pain, because his eyes moved from the barracks of the Xuanwu Army to the destroyed crops and the burned cottages.

His mind was not calm, but he said steadily, “There is always more than one way to the destination. In the chaotic world, from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Militarism to cultivators and scholars, everyone has to make a choice and have more choices than peaceful times. Maybe, life is all about choices, and I have already made my own choice. The only thing I need to do in the rest of my life is to insist.”

He gradually looked afar, and his voice slowly became low, revealing the power of vicissitudes and the wisdom of insight. “Maybe my body can’t reach the destination. Maybe my ambition will disappear halfway. Maybe I will be too exhausted to get out of the night. Maybe I’m destined not to see the rainbow after the storm, I will fall on the muddy road, and I will die on the road.”

“However, there are more than ten million people with lofty ideals in the world. Most of them can’t reach the destination and can’t realize their ambitions all their lives. Even when they die, they can only be unknown to the public, without a strong and moving figure. No one will remember their names, and their heroic ambitions will not be recorded in history. However, this is real history, the history of ordinary people hidden by glorious names and achievements.”

“I’m just an ordinary person. Maybe I don’t have the favor of heaven or others’ help, but I’m willing to fall on the road as long as I’m on the road. The Great Tao is ahead, but the world is in chaos. Even if there are countless difficulties, even if thousands of people stop me, I will also try my best to go forward. As a Confucian scholar, instead of achieving the Great Tao, I only want to die on the way to Tao.”

Cui Keli turned around again and seriously looked at his Junior Brother, who was an outstanding genius of Confucianism. “In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all schools of thought contended for attention. Since the Han Dynasty, they have converged and merged with each other. Today, there are only Confucianism, Taoism, and Militarism. The Confucian scholars are no longer pure disciples of Confucius, and they also learn tactics and compete for power. There are thousands of roads to the destination. There’s nothing wrong with choosing the easy one.”

“But for me, since I stand here today, I have the responsibility to protect all ordinary people in the five prefectures in Pinglu and make them live and work in peace and contentment. This is a mission that I can’t give up. Since ancient times, ordinary people suffer whether an empire rises or falls. The peace and happiness of ordinary people in Pinglu are hard-earned, so I can’t let them disappear.”

“You go back and tell Master that I have already chosen a wise emperor. Whether he succeeds or not, I will follow him all my life. If he succeeds, I will govern the world. If he fails, I will govern the five prefectures of Pinglu. If he dies, I will die with him in this land where we have shed blood and tears!”

The Confucian scholar was tongue-tied. He looked at Cui Keli, speechless for a long time.

When Cui Keli said this, his tone was stable and not loud. Hearing his words, the Confucian scholar was very shocked, like a frightened swan goose in the night rain.

He was Zhang Zhongsheng, one of the young talents of Confucianism.

Since Confucianism was established, there had been a saying of four sages, eight outstanding people, and seventy-two young talents, symbolizing the inheritance of Confucianism.

Cui Keli and Zhang Zhongsheng were classmates at school, and they formally acknowledged Wang Zaifeng, one of the four sages, as their master. Because of their intelligence, both of them were on the list of 72 young talents at the end of the study.

When they were at school, they were always together, and they had a close friendship.

A long time later, Zhang Zhongsheng sighed. He made obeisance with cupped hands toward Cui Keli. “Since you have made up your mind, I have no other way. Master ordered me to come, and I originally thought that it would be easy, but everything is different now as time passes by.”

He stood straight and smiled bitterly. “That year, when you finished your studies, I sent you to the mountain gate. I once playfully said that school was good, while the secular world was full of disputes. Once you entered the bustling world, we might be completely different, go on the opposite ways, and become strangers in front of vulgar wealth and power when we met again. I never thought that my joke would come true.”

Zhang Zhongsheng took out an invitation from his sleeve and handed it to Cui Keli with both hands. He lacked interest and looked sad. “On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Master will comment on all the scholars in the world and make a list of eight outstanding people and seventy-two young talents again with the other three sages, by the river in Yangzhou. This is a grand event of our sect, and all the scholars will go there. I hope you can spare time to go south.”

Cui Keli took the invitation and kept silent for a moment. “If I have time, I will go.”

Zhang Zhongsheng bowed again. “Senior Brother, goodbye.”

Cui Keli bowed and replied, “Junior Brother, take care of yourself.”

When Zhang Zhongsheng walked down the gate tower and disappeared at the end of the long street, Cui Keli felt the impermanence of the world. They were classmates and they drank and slept together many times, but now, they drifted apart gradually in this chaotic world.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the army outside the city again.

The sun was shining brightly and everywhere was quiet today. In this isolated city, Cui Keli saw the whole world raging like a storm at the end of the sky. Countless people were going through ups and downs, crying, and laughing there.

Qing Prefecture under his feet was covered with black clouds that could destroy the city and were eyed covetously by countless people with different thoughts.

When studying in the past, he wanted to be a man of indomitable spirit and support the world with his shoulders. When he came down the mountain gate, he went out into the world. He came to Qing Prefecture now. At this moment, facing the enemy army of 100,000 soldiers, he had to guard this ancient city filled with the hope of countless people by his body and his spirit of devotion.

He was walking on the road, and maybe he would die on the road.

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