Book 60: Chapter 9: A Tooth for A Tooth

Leading his group of ministers, Li Yuan toasted Kou Zhong and Ge Suwen, respectively, pushing the banquet to a climax, followed by singing and dancing performances, with gongs, drums and musical instruments interweaving into a strong rhythm. Over a hundred singing and dancing courtesans in colorful costumes whirling around and singing to the beat. Amidst the unbounded scenes of springtime, there was an abundance of youthful health and beauty, nothing more beautiful could be imagined, it was such a tender beauty and wonderful appearance that the eye could not take it all.

The urgent drumbeats overcome the clapping, the waist pliable; the sweat penetrates the gauzed clothes like flowers of rain drops. The song finished, like colorful butterflies the crowd of courtesans retreated outside the palace hall, provoking thunderous applause.

Li Yuan raised his cup and said,

Zhen

[I, imperial use] salute all

qing

[subject] with one cup!

All the people in the palace hall responded with a loud roar; following the example, they drank their cups in one gulp.

Ge Suwen laughed and said, The performance just now, was it the

Hu Xuan Wu

[

hu

(barbarian/non-Han) whirling dance] from Qiuci?

Li Yuan cheerfully said,

Dashuai

s [lit. great/grand commander] discerning eye did not err, it was indeed the

Hu Xuan Wu

of Qiuci. Only it has been somewhat enhanced, compiled and edited by the masters. The Qiuci song lyrics have also been translated into Han language.

Turning to Kou Zhong he asked,

Shaoshuai

s trip outside the Great Wall, I wonder if you also went to Qiuci?

The mention of Qiuci stirred up Kou Zhongs memory of Ling Longjiao, hence his mind was wandering. Hearing the question, he was slightly startled; shaking his head, he said, I missed that opportunity!

Ge Suwen spoke indifferently,

Shaoshuai

seems to have something in your mind. I wonder if you, just like Suwen, are speculating about the master that

Bixia

[His Majesty] was referring to, unexpectedly able to choreograph such a splendid singing and dancing piece?

Kou Zhong mused, Here it comes! Since Li Yuan introduced he and Ge Suwen to each other, the other party has been polite, naturally it was just a formality [orig. shop front effort], and now he finally came around to provoke him, Kou Zhong.

Hastily composing himself, he replied, Hearing

Dashuai

s comment,

Xiaodi

s curiosity is piqued as well, I want to know which this divine figure is this gentleman?

Actually, he already guessed that it was Shang Xiufangs creation, but he did not lay it bare.

Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment,

Fazhu

seems to be holding the climax on purpose, am I right?

Li Yuan smiled and said, Ba

Xiansheng

did not guess incorrectly, that is indeed so. It is a pity that she is absent tonight, otherwise we could ask her to appear and enlighten us. [Note: the word I translated as enlighten is the same word refering to preaching (religion).]

Ge Suwens pair of eyes revealed worshiping and admiring look, he sighed and said, No doubt that must be Xiufang

Dajia

.

Separated by Li Jiancheng, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances, both were thinking that Kou Zhong had one more rival in love.

Ge Suwen cast his gaze at Kou Zhong again, his pair of slender eyes narrowed into two slits, emitting rays of light swifter and fiercer than saber blade, arrow and dart; he spoke calmly, This time I, Ge Suwen, make light of traveling a thousand

li

coming to the Central Earth, it is to fulfil a big wish in my heart, hoping to have the opportunity to experience the Heavenly Saber Song Ques brilliance, to see how the Heavenly Saber has reached perfection? I wonder if

Shaoshuai

could help Suwen fulfilling this big wish?

On the main banquet table, from Li Yuan all the way down, everybodys smile vanished; the crow and peacock made no sound.

At this time, Wei

Gonggong

came to ask for instructions, as soon as Li Yuan gave his nod, the cabinet ministers such as Pei Ji, Feng Deyi and the others would lead the crowd of ministers to propose a toast, but Li Yuan signaled him with his hand, telling him to retreat.

Kou Zhongs gaze turned sharp, he met Ge Suwens gaze, with a smile yet not a smile, with an air of displeasure.

Ba Fenghan sneered in displeasure, he said, Why did

Dashuai

challenge

Shaoshuai

in a roundabout way?

Xu Ziling understood the meaning behind Ba Fenghans words best. Ge Suwens scheming ability was indeed outstanding, if he directly challenged Kou Zhong, Kou Zhong could refuse, and then Ba Fenghan or Xu Ziling could go down the arena on his behalf. But by only challenging Song Que, since Kou Zhong was Song Ques future son-in-law, he was the only one with the qualifications to act on Song Ques behalf, other peoples interference would become meddlesome. Ba Fenghan expressed his dissatisfaction because he missed the opportunity to fight hand to hand against Ge Suwen.

Li Shimin looked at Li Yuan first, seeing his brows deeply furrowed, he turned to Ge Suwen sitting beside him, and spoke calmly, Theres one thing that Shimin dont understand, I wish to consult

Dashuai

.

With Li Shimins status and reputation, no matter how unwilling, Ge Suwen could not ignore him, thereupon he smiled and said, How could I dare? Qin

Wang

, please give advice.

Li Shimins interruption greatly diminished the tense atmosphere.

Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Nantian all appeared that they were paying attention, they wanted to clearly grasp the relationship between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong from this.

Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Li Shimin said, As far as Shimin knows, the Tujue Wolf Armys threat to your distinguished country far exceeds the threat to our Central Earth

Huaxia

[old name for China]. At this moment, when inside and outside the Great Wall war could happen any moment, if

Dashuai

and

Shaoshuai

fight against each other, regardless of victory or defeat, inevitably one side will suffer damage, what good is that for

Dashuai

?

Ge Suwen has not responded yet, Li Jiancheng, in anger and displeasure, frowned and said,

Qin

Wangs words are wrong. Bi Xuan

Dashi

was willing to come to Changan in person, it shows that even though there was misunderstanding between our Great Tang and the Tujue in the past, currently we have already forgotten previous differences, the big earth is returning to spring. If Qin

Wang

s words spread outside, the consequences are too horrible to contemplate.

Turning to Li Yuan, he said,

Fuhuang

, please bestow instructions!

This remark did not leave the slightest leeway, it carried a killing-Li Shimin-to-the-last-one attitude, and it indirectly attacked Kou Zhong, accusing him of coming to Changan to ruin the friendly relations being established between their Li Tang and the Tujue.

Immediately Li Yuan was trapped in difficult position left and right. If he supported Li Jiancheng, he would offend Kou Zhong. If he did not, he would offend the Tujue. And in his status as the emperor, no one could help him resolving this dispute, their allotted share was just to quietly wait for him to speak up.

Kou Zhong and the others began to understand the reasons why Li Shimin had always been at the disadvantage in the struggle within the imperial court, it was because Li Jiancheng indeed had a set of skill, he knew how to decipher the dragons intention better than Li Shimin.

Li Yuan was, after all, someone who was accustomed to seeing the big picture. His countenance solemn, he said,

Er Huanger

[the second emperors son] is talking about the current situation, while

Da Huanger

[the first emperors son] is referring to the development of the situation, both have certain logical basis for it, there is no question of who is right or who is wrong. This matter is not suitable to discuss here, well let it drop at this point.

Han Chaoan was staring hatefully at Kou Zhong, hearing that, he spoke grimly,

Shaoshuai

is not timid, is it?

The refined light in Ge Suwens pair of eyes flashing, he shouted in displeasure at Han Chaoan, How could Chaoan talk nonsense?

Han Chaoan hung his head down, his face was like cicada in winter [mournful].

Ge Suwen put on a smile and explained to Li Yuan, Suwen is not a brave man who loves fierce battle at all, only, just like Fu

Dashi

, I regard the saber technique as one kind of art, the ultimate beauty; like some people are pursuing rare paintings and calligraphy, hence unwilling to enter the treasure mountain and return empty-handed.

Li Yuan sighed and said, It does not matter which side suffer harm, that is the thing that I, Li Yuan do not want to see the most.

Ge Suwen calmly said, Suwen certainly wholeheartedly desire to experience the brilliant skills, but absolutely do not have the intention to distinguish life and death.

Xu Ziling laughed indifferently, he said,

Dashuai

has not yet answered Qin

Wang

s question.

Li Yuanji could not help but intervene,

Fuhuang

indicated that it is not suitable to discuss this issue on the banquet table. I wonder if Xu

Xiansheng

ask for

Dashuai

s guidance at another occasion?

He and Li Jiancheng echoed one another. This remark seemed to be addressed to Xu Ziling, but secretly the spearhead was pointed at Li Shimin, to remind Li Yuan who was the main culprit.

Xu Ziling spoke slyly, Is Qi

Wang

asking me in retrospect?

Immediately Li Yuanji was at a loss for words, because he was asking after Kou Zhong and Ge Suwen had fought, at that time, the rice has already been cooked, what was the sense in speaking?

Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Frankly speaking, having the opportunity to fight hand to hand and exchange blows against Ge

Dashuai

is indeed a pleasure in life, but it is definitely not a touch-and-stop, the defeated side will definitely have his might greatly reduced, perhaps if not death then injury. Therefore, Qin

Wang

s remark is very reasonable. After clarifying

Dashuai

s intentions first, fighting will be a bit more straightforward. Dont

Dashuai

think so?

Ge Suwens eyes became even swifter, fiercer and sharper, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly relaxed. He smiled and said, For me, Ge Suwen, the pursuit of saber technique not only transcends personal gratitude and grudges, honor and disgrace, it transcends the issue of struggle, strength and weakness between nations. If

Shaoshuai

doesnt have this kind of aspiration, how could you be worthy of being the Central Earths most outstanding saber technique great expert after the Heavenly Saber Song Que?

Kou Zhong stretched his limbs, he smiled and said,

Dashuai

praises me, this

Xiaoshuai

, too much [

da

and

xiao

mean big and small, respectively]! My saber technique is only used to deceive people who dont understand saber.

Xiaodi

s aspiration cannot compare with your,

Laoxiong

s grandeur even more.

And then he leaned forward slightly; meeting Ge Suwens sharp gaze, he said, Dont say that I am bluffing, if you and I are going down the arena to move sabers and come to the palace courtyard for a contest, his

Niang

s! Theres definitely no such thing as touch-and-stop. Life or death, victory or defeat will be decided in a few saber strikes.

He leaned back into the chair, smiled and said, Therefore, it is said that a gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist. Your,

LaoGe

s Han language is more refined than mine, you ought to understand the meaning of this saying.

These remarks displayed Kou Zhongs consistent style and the getting-more-powerful-when-meeting-the-powerful heroic qualities, brimming with Jianghu flavor.

A burst of uncomfortable feeling suddenly welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he was certain that it was not because of the unavoidable palace courtyard competition against Ge Suwen, but he could not tell a better reason, so he could not help but wonder.

Immediately Ge Suwen became the target of multiple arrows. Everyone wanted to see how he responded, only to see a smile escaped from the corners of his mouth, which gradually grew and turned into a brilliant smile. He spoke cheerfully, As long as

Shaoshuai

is willing to bestow some face and impart your wisdom to me, how could I, Ge Suwen still have the leisurely mood to bother about life or death, victory or defeat?

Kou Zhongs pair of eyes turned bright, he was about to speak.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Everyone was stunned, their countenance changed, instinctively they looked to the west of the palace hall at the same time, because the series of explosions were coming from the west outside of the

Taiji

Palace Hall; it was quite close.

The entire

Taiji

Palace Hall suddenly was so quiet that the crow and peacock made no sound, the sound of a needle falling would have been heard, yet no one knew what was going on.

Boom!

There was another explosion, and then outside the palace hall there was a boiling cauldron of voices [idiom].

Li Yuan stood up abruptly and shouted sternly, What happened?

Only to see Cheng Mo, flustered and exasperated, pounced into the palace hall, straight toward the steps, crouched down in front of it and spoke with trembling voice, Reporting to

Huangshang

, the

Qing Liang Zhai

[lit. clear and cool building (usually religious, maybe similar to a chapel)] northwest of

Yeting

Palace suddenly exploded and caught fire!

Hearing that, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Li Shimin, Li Shentong, and Ba Fenghan, five men looked at each other in dismay, they cried, Bad! inwardly. Although they were still unclear of what was happening, they knew that it must be the enemys doing.

Xu Ziling swept his gaze around at Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, they were exchanging a pleased-with-themselves expression surreptitiously.

By the time everybody spurred their horses to rush to the scene, the

Yeting

Palaces

Qing Liang Zhai

had become damaged-roof-ruined-walls, only the poisonous black smoke was still rising [orig. the soul of a deceased has not yet dispersed (idiom)], the imperial bodyguards in the palace poured water to fight the fire, gradually the smoke disappeared.

After Li Yuan got off the horse, his face ashen, he started blankly at the disaster site after the catastrophe, so that people knew that another storm was brewing in his heart, which could erupt at any time.

Behind him stood Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Li Nantian, Wei

Gonggong

, Cheng Mo, Dugu Feng, and so on, while farther away were the various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion who rushed over to the disaster site one after another.

And thus the state banquet was chopped in half at the waist due to the sudden disaster. At Kou Zhongs insistence, Li Yuan reluctantly agreed to let them, three men, to come with him, while others, such as Ge Suwen and the others, left on their own.

The disaster this time was obviously caused by firearm explosion. In term of scale, it could not compare to Li Jianchengs East Palace big explosion, but it was still big enough to destroy the entire

Qing Liang Zhai

, along with burning more than a dozen large trees nearby.

Seven corpses were excavated and were laid up in a row on the ground; they were burnt like coke, hard to identify.

Li Shimins pair of eyes shot an expression of disbelief, his face was like dead ashes, as he stared blankly at the big tragedy that had happened in his own domain.

Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan you looked at me I gazed at you, they had a faint feeling that it was Jiancheng, Yuanji and the others malicious scheme of a tooth for a tooth, using a batch of surplus firearms they did not know about, creating the tragedy before their eyes to frame Li Shimin. Furthermore, they were certain that before the explosion the maids and servants inside the building [

zhai

] have been killed by their lackeys.

They wanted to comfort Li Shimin, yet they were unable to utter anything.

His gaze fixed on the disaster area, Li Yuan spoke heavily, What is this all about?

Li Shimin took a step forward to come behind him, he spoke in grief, Child does not know, really dont know.

Li Yuan muttered, You dont know? Really dont know?

And then, like a whirlwind he turned his dragons body around, the blaze in his pair of eyes burned into the sky, suddenly he spoke furiously, Whose place is this, you unexpectedly said you dont know and push all responsibilities away one and all? Obviously there are a large quantity of firearms hidden in here, and you still tell me you dont know. Quickly own up to the fact.

Li Shimin dropped down on his knees and cried out sadly, Child really does not know the facts,

Fuhuang

please note clearly.

Rage welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; Li Yuan blamed Li Shimin like this in front of them, three outsiders, not leaving the slightest amount of leeway.

Li Yuans face was as cold as water, word after word burst forth from the gap between his teeth as he spoke in heavy voice, The facts are there, how could there be any room for quibble? Just today

Zhen

have repeatedly urged that you, brothers to be kind and love one another, ay!

After a short pause, he went on, Do you want me to serve you with the family law [rules and discipline that apply within a family] before you are willing to tell the truth? Ay! The Li Family is unfortunate, unexpectedly we produced such a rebellious child. Toward your past conduct and deeds,

Zhen

have made supreme effort to tolerate. Considering time and again you rendered meritorious military service, I did not bother about you, who could have thought that unexpectedly you change to become more severe, concealing firearms, conspiring illegally. Are you even unwilling to let

Zhen

off?

Li Shimin knocked his forehead on the ground, he cried in distress, If Child has this intention, let the heaven punish and the earth exterminate Child and die. Child is completely without any knowledge of these firearms, heaven and earth can be my witness.

Xu Ziling looked at Jiancheng, Yuanji. Although the two men were silent without speaking, they both had triumphant expressions in their eyes.

Even with such an apathetic personality, he still felt indescribable grief and indignation, Li Shimin, who bore the brunt, need not be mentioned. Why did Li Yuan this generous to that but unkind to this? He did not mention a single word about Li Jiancheng keeping firearms in his private possession, but he blamed Li Shimin so heavily. Without even listening to Li Shimins explanation the slightest bit, he stubbornly decided that Li Shimins intentions were unruly; it was indeed too much. Only regretfully with their status as outsiders, under the circumstances, they did not have any qualifications to speak up and offer an opinion.

Li Yuan looked down at the kneeling-on-the-ground Li Shimin, his face alternated between bursts of red and white, while his chest fluctuated indeterminately with rage. Suddenly he pointed his halberd fingers and spoke sternly, Get lost to the

Hong Yi

Palace for

Zhen

. Without

Zhen

s permission, you are not allowed to step out of the palace gate for even half a step, wait for your punishment.

Kou Zhong and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as Li Yuan did not immediately execute Li Shimin on the spot, they still had a chance to redress the lost game.

Jiancheng, Yuanjis move was indeed formidable, attacking them that they had no time to deal with it.

On the way back to the

Xing Qing

Palace, the three men inside the carriage were in a heavy mood, yet because the Tang Army escorted them in front and behind, it was inconvenient to talk, they had no choice but to temporarily sealed it inside their heart.

The first day in Changan, already twists and turns were coming one after another, the last one being Li Shimin brutally framed-up, not to mention that later in the

zi

hour [11pm 1am] they were going to see Fu Cailin, good or bad luck was still difficult to foresee.

It was only this moment that they began to realize how difficult their opponents were. Long before they arrived in Changan, Jianchengs party had already drawn up a comprehensive plan to deal with them. Plus Li Shimin was readily available to take the blame, which made them having their hands bound and were unable to do anything about it even more, they had the power but difficult to use it, unable to move a single step.

Time passed in heavy pressure. After returning to

Xing Qing

Palace, the three men went to the highest floor of

Shuang Hui Lou

[Double Splendor Building] to talk.

Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, What do we do? If Li Yuan uses this excuse to send Li Shimin away to the western border, the various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion under his command would be divided to Jiancheng and Yuanji. The only way we could deal with it was to slip away immediately and slowly plan follow-up strategy.

Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, This must be Jiancheng and Yuanjis idea, and they surely recruited the imperial concubine party to lobby Li Yuan. The most frightening thing is that from Li Yuans standpoint, this is the best way to solve the separating wall problem between brothers, once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved.

Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Shall I come forward and point out that without Li Shimin providing assistance in military affair, we will cancel the alliance proposal?

Ba Fenghan sighed and said, In that case, the fantasy that often appears in your brain about five hundred saber and axe wielders pouncing from the left and right will become a reality.

Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You are right! Ay! His grannys bear, how could it suddenly become like this?

Ba Fenghan said, Li Jiancheng is very capable, unexpectedly he could came up with such a malicious trick.

Xu Ziling said, Wed better check this point, to see if there is still a third batch of firearms. Ay! The top priority before our eyes is to prevent Li Yuan from using this as a pretext to execute Shimin

Xiong

.

Ba Fenghan said, In addition to this problem, there is still a possibility that cant be worse. Let Ziling tell you! He was the one who thought about it.

Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Please consider my ability to bear it. His

Niang

s! Speak up!

Thereupon Xu Ziling expressed his suspicion about Wanwan in fives and tens [idiom: to narrate systematically and in full detail]. Finished listening, Kou Zhongs countenance became so unsightly that it could not possibly be worse.

After muttering to himself irresolutely for a long time, Kou Zhongs palm slapped the center of the small table by his side, he screamed, Li Shimin fell into someones trap, we also fell into someones trap. Nine out of ten, Zilings analysis is right. This is called rivers and mountains are easy to change, it is hard to change human nature, Wanwan practically has never changed, what has changed is only the means. Is there any way to dig her mole out of the palace?

Recovering his calm, Ba Fenghan said, This is definitely not a moment of self-pity [orig. to repent and redress ones errors], we must first make a contingency plan, otherwise Changan will be the place where our bones are buried; there is no other possibility.

Xu Ziling nodded and said, Things have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent [idiom]. First of all, we must try to lighten Li Yuans punishment to Shimin

Xiong

, other things we can take our time in making a decision.

Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Based on Li Yuans contradictory character, the punishment to Li Shimin for should not be decided in a rush within one or two days, because it will have an unimaginable impact on the troops heart. I think the most urgent matter is to deal with Shi Zhixuan, to cut off Wanwans greatest support. Shi Zhixuan is the thorn on our backs. One day we have him glaring like a tiger watching his prey in the dark, we can forget about being able to sleep peacefully. The explosion and big fire at the

Ye Ting

Palace are so brilliant that it makes peoples heart tremble, its not like something that Jiancheng and the others brains can conceive; its comparable to Shi Zhixuan or Wanwans tricks.

Ba Fenghan stood up and said, Now its best to put everything aside, sit quietly for his grannys one or two

sichen

, and then go visit your

Shigong

in optimal condition, otherwise, tonight, you will not be able to sleep even more.

Wang Xuanshu climbed up the stairs and said, Hou

Ye

is here!