Chapter 57: Offering Counsel
Gao Yunqu had her doubts about Fan Ying's New Policies, so she specifically sought a time to pay a visit. Fan Ying had already reached the age of fifty; with age, the once-sharp gaze in her eyes had softened considerably, and she now felt a genuine fondness for outstanding members of the younger generation. The Fan family had not produced many promising descendants. Her own children were of merely average ability; although they had entered officialdom through family connections, their positions were not high. In contrast, her youngest brother's daughter, Fan Tingrong, possessed a certain intelligence, so Fan Ying kept her by her side to teach her.
"Lushuang, you've come." Seeing her arrive, Fan Ying smiled with a kindly expression. Fan Tingrong, who was standing in attendance, also bowed to her.
"Greetings, Lord Fan." Gao Yunqu had always respected her, and her bow was impeccable.
Fan Ying did not treat her as an outsider, handing her the document she was holding. "You've come at just the right time. Come and help me polish this document."
Gao Yunqu sat down to one side and went through it word by word, sentence by sentence, making her revisions with great care. After a good while, she recopied it onto a new sheet, then stood and presented it on Fan Ying's desk.
Fan Ying gave it a brief look, then put it away and asked, "Did you come here today specifically to ask me something?"
"Yes."
"Then I am all ears."
With a perplexed look, Gao Yunqu asked, "Lord Fan, why the rush to implement the New Policies? The three strategies of the New Policies all seem to concern tax revenue, but in reality, they are a sword aimed at the powerful clans in every prefecture and province, are they not?"
Fan Ying smiled. "Lushuang, your eyes are as sharp as ever."
"Lord Fan! It's not just me who can see it; the powerful clans can see it too. Aren't you putting yourself in a perilous position?" Gao Yunqu was somewhat agitated. "Didn't you once tell me not to be rash?"
"That was then, this is now." Fan Ying's voice remained gentle.
"But that doesn't mean you can act recklessly. This is a potent medicine. It might cure the illness in one dose, but it could also…"
Fan Ying interrupted Gao Yunqu, her voice deepening. "Lushuang, Her Majesty can no longer wait."
"…" Gao Yunqu's understanding of Wei Qi was no less than Fan Ying's. She too could sense the eager desire welling up in Wei Qi's heart, but she did not believe that now was the best time.
"I know what you're thinking, but cutting a tangled knot with a swift blade is not necessarily a bad thing," Fan Ying said. "Strike while the iron is hot, for a second attempt brings decline, and a third, exhaustion. If we ride this momentum, we might just succeed."
"But what if we startle the snake in the grass?"
Fan Ying glanced at her and said, "Startling the snake might be precisely what Her Majesty desires."
Her words confirmed Gao Yunqu's suspicions. Wei Qi held military power. Her backup plan was to provoke a rebellion among the powerful clans, then dispatch troops to crush them, using her iron cavalry to grind them into dust.
"If that happens, how are the common people to blame?" Gao Yunqu closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, her voice firm. "I understand your determination for reform, but there are some aspects I cannot agree with…"
She had intended to discuss the matter in detail with Fan Ying, but Fan Ying did not respond, instead interrupting with a smile. "Lushuang, it is common for there to be differing political views at court. If you have a proposal, submit a memorial and state it directly. There is no need to discuss it with me first. Do what you must do, without any reservations."
Gao Yunqu was silent for a moment, understanding Fan Ying's meaning. She then bowed to Fan Ying and said, "Yes, I understand."
Fan Ying watched her depart, her figure resolute. She then looked down at the document Gao Yunqu had recopied for her. The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful—youthful, after all. Though she was in her twilight years, she had not yet lost her edge. Gao Yunqu had her own path to walk, and she, Fan Ying, had hers. How could she let these new waves overtake the ones before them?
Gao Yunqu exited Fan Ying's study and walked toward the estate gates, her brow furrowed in deep thought.
"Lord Gao, please wait." Fan Tingrong caught up from behind and called out to her.
"Young Lady Fan." Gao Yunqu stopped at her words and looked at her.
Fan Tingrong bowed before speaking. "There is something I do not understand. I must trouble you to enlighten me, my lord."
"Please speak, Young Lady Fan."
"You were once a pioneer of the New Policies reform, my lord. I was once in awe of your courage. Why is it that you are now retreating?" Fan Tingrong was younger than her, and her eyes carried a sharp edge. She raised an eyebrow slightly, her words tinged with a hint of provocation.
Gao Yunqu was not angered. She said lightly, "I have never possessed any courage for life-or-death reform. I have only ever done what I believe to be right. In the past, I was willing to risk universal condemnation to do it, and it is the same now."
"You believe your reforms are correct, but my aunt's are not?" Fan Tingrong asked again.
"It cannot be called a matter of right or wrong. I simply feel that some measures are too risky, and I hope Lord Fan will reconsider them."
"Are you afraid?" Fan Tingrong was not satisfied with her answer, and her brow furrowed.
"How could I not be afraid? This empire, this state, may seem vast and solid, but it is incredibly fragile. Every step we take might mend its cracks, or it might deepen them. How can one not be cautious?" Gao Yunqu sighed.
Fan Tingrong was somewhat disappointed. "Does holding back for fear of breaking the vase mean you stop striving for progress?"
"Young Lady Fan, years ago, your aunt advised me to be reverent, cautious, and not to act rashly. Today, I pass these words on to you. You were born a child of fortune, walking among the clouds. But the higher you are, the more you must lower your head to look at what is below, to see the common people prostrating themselves beneath you." Gao Yunqu looked at the young woman before her, her words exceedingly gentle.
But Fan Tingrong did not really take it in. As Gao Yunqu had said, she had been born high above. She was a daughter of the Fan family, the niece of the Left Chancellor. She naturally looked forward and upward, wanting to reach even greater heights, wanting to inherit everything that was Fan Ying's.
"I have received your lesson." Unable to hide the disappointment in her heart, she gave a cursory bow and saw Gao Yunqu off.
Gao Yunqu could see what she was thinking but paid it little mind. She was, after all, another family's daughter, to be taught by her own elders. If it were A'jian… oh, the A'jian of today probably wouldn't be willing to listen to her either.
She mounted her horse and urged it into a light trot. Fan Ying's meaning was that in the initial stages of the New Policies, oversights were inevitable. If there were suggestions, they should be brought to the court to be debated and argued openly and honorably. Or perhaps, the currently harsh clauses were deliberately set to leave room for political wrangling—a deterrent, a warning, Her Majesty's declaration to the world: "Don't say you were not warned."
As expected, over the following period, the court debated the clauses of the New Policies over and over, one by one. Every point was contested at length. The two individuals who raised the most objections were Lu Songnian, the Minister of Rites, and Gao Yunqu. Lu Songnian was a student of the former Left Chancellor, Cai Quan, and also came from a powerful clan. Countless aristocratic families pushed him to act on their behalf. His opposition was mainly centered on the idea that the ancestral laws could not be changed, believing that rash alterations could easily cause instability and harm the state. Fan Ying's response to him was, "There is nothing that does not change; without change, there is no progress. This is the natural way of Heaven."1 The other person was Gao Yunqu. She certainly did not believe that nothing could ever be changed. She offered her own opinions on many of the reform's details, arguing that reform should not harm the foundation of the people and that a compromise more beneficial to the common folk should be sought between change and continuity. She did indeed propose many new ideas and also rejected some of Fan Ying's original ones. Lu Songnian and other opponents drew inspiration from Gao Yunqu's memorials, changed their strategy, and began to find fault with the details of the New Policies under the banner of letting the people rest and recuperate. They scrutinized everything, attempting to prolong the debate and fight for their interests in the details.
Under Fan Ying's deliberate control, the standards were gradually relaxed, and concessions were made step by step, transforming the New Policies from initially overly harsh to now perhaps worth a try. For example, the Hired Service System was relaxed from requiring all officials and powerful clans to pay the service levy equally, to a system where officials of different ranks enjoyed a different number of service exemptions, with the levy only being paid for household members exceeding that number. This perfectly silenced those officials who had been clamoring about the distinction between scholar-officials and commoners.
Fan Ying was, in the end, a seasoned veteran. This was something she and Her Majesty had intended to do all along. By letting them debate it like this, it seemed as if they had truly won something. Every time they won a point after a protracted argument, they would celebrate as if it were a grand victory. And through this back-and-forth, though some time was wasted, the ministers' stance truly shifted from opposing the New Policies to figuring out how to make them more moderate. It was a brilliant tactic indeed.
In this matter, Gao Yunqu had unwittingly found herself on the opposite side of the Reformist Faction, standing with the conservatives. This caused some dissatisfaction among the younger officials of the Reformist Faction, who felt that as she had grown older, her courage had shrunk, and she had become hesitant and overly cautious. Gao Yunqu, of course, did not care. She only did what she wanted to do. The New Policies had flaws, so she would inform Her Majesty and Chancellor Fan and strive to close those loopholes. That was all. It didn't matter if she became a spear once more. As for being isolated by the Reformist Faction, it was not the first time. It would only mean fewer visitors at her door, something Gao Yunqu simply laughed off.
On the other hand, Lu Songnian personally sent her several invitations, perhaps thinking she could be won over. Gao Yunqu ignored them as well, causing Lu Songnian to lose some face and curse her at home for two days.
Thus, Gao Yunqu once again played the role of someone who belonged to no side. And this time, she was not even on Her Majesty's side. Wei Qi had not summoned her for a long time, and rumors abounded at court that she had lost imperial favor.
Wei Qi slammed the book in her hand onto the desk and sneered, "Am I such a fickle person?"
She looked at the Head Eunuch, who stood as still as a mountain, as if she had heard nothing. She then looked at A'zheng, who smiled gently and also did not reply.
Wei Qi felt a bit deflated. "I was just thinking that Minister Gao has walked a perilous path through mountains of knives and seas of fire. I was just letting her rest for a while. How is that sidelining her?"
The Head Eunuch reminded her, "You have not said any of this to Vice Minister Gao."
"Minister Gao… Minister Gao must know of my care for her." Wei Qi also felt a little anxious. What she said was the truth. Although she did not always understand Gao Yunqu's actions, she believed in trusting those she employed. She still needed Gao Yunqu to clean up the administration, so she would certainly not abandon her at this time. "Has anything joyous happened in Minister Gao's household recently? Head Eunuch, could you make a trip on my behalf? Minister Gao has embroiled herself in this mess, so it would be improper for me to openly show her favor."
"This servant obeys." The Head Eunuch bowed and accepted, preparing to find a pretext to visit the Gao residence later.
"Ah, this Minister Gao," Wei Qi sighed again. "We know she is playing a part in concert with Chancellor Fan, but others do not. She ends up being disliked by both sides."
A'zheng added, "But that is precisely where Vice Minister Gao's loyalty lies. Vice Minister Gao holds the common people of the world in her heart. And for the court to have such a loyal and devoted minister is all due to Your Majesty's wisdom, tolerance, and magnanimity."
Wei Qi was, in the end, willing to hear such considerate words. She was no longer in the position she had been in years ago, with no one to use. She no longer relied on just one person, and had learned to use the right people for the right tasks. Fan Ying was the Left Chancellor, skilled in matters of taxation, and possessed the resolve to burn her bridges. She was the perfect person to carry out this reform. Gao Yunqu, on the other hand, was still young, and her strength lay in administrative reform. It would be more prudent to have her clean up the court after the regions were stabilized. Her cold treatment of Gao Yunqu was also a way to have her sheathe her sword and bide her time for the future. But Gao Yunqu was, after all, not a chess piece made of jade. She had her own hands and her own voice.
Post a Comment