Book 62: Chapter 12: Guarding A Tree-Stump, Waiting for Rabbits
‘Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang!’
The doors and windows shattered. Together, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Yuwen Shang, Granny You, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai broke the window and smashed the door and entered. With such a formidable battle formation, even if the ones holding Li Yuan hostage were Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan, perhaps they still had no time to deal with it.
Everything went on without generating any noise. Li Fan was summoned by the personal guards to explain everything. They also learned from Li Fan that after granting the dragon tally to Yuwen Shiji, Wei Gonggong left in a hurry.
After some discussion and were certain that there were only Li Yuan and Bai Qing’er in the bedroom [palace to lie down], they unanimously agreed to break into the room to rescue the emperor’s good-self using the ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum.
They did not hear Bai Qinger’s screams, the bedroom was so quiet that it did not conform to conventional reasoning and morals. There was only Li Yuan, one person lying supine on the dragon bed.
The six persons rushed to the bedside, only to see Li Yuan’s face like golden paper, his qi like a gossamer thread, he was in a seriously-ill-and-about-to-die state, half his feet stepped across into the gates of hell.
Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, and Li Fan rushed in from the broken door, as soon as they saw it, their soul flew away and scattered, they fell to their knees and cried bitterly.
Kou Zhong shouted, “Don’t cry!” With his right palm pressing on Li Yuan’s chest, he shouted again, “Ziling help me!”
Xu Ziling lifted the dragon quilt, reached in and grabbed both of Li Yuan’s feet, the hollow of his palms pressed against the yongquan acupoint, he suggested, “Kou Zhong, try to inject your Long-Life Qi from the tianling acupoint, and I will meet you at the dantian acupoint.”
Yuchi Jingde, Duan Zhixuan, and Zhangsun Wuji blocked the door to prevent others from entering, in order to avoid disturbing the two boys.
Everyone held their breaths and quieted their qi, suppressing their stirred-up emotions, entrusting their hope on the two’s Long-Life True Qi which name shook the world.
Less than the time needed to burn an incense stick later, Li Yuan’s complexion began to change, it gradually turned rosy, his chest lightly rose and fell, and his breathing gradually became even.
Kou Zhong was the first to put his hand away, he spoke cheerfully, “Bai Qing’er’s whatever his Niang’s Cha Nu Da Fa [Great Method of Beautiful Girl] is really formidable. Luckily Huangshang’s foundation is deep, he got through a daunting experience without mishap, and crossed over the crisis.”
The crowd cheered in unison.
Xu Ziling also let go of both hands, he said, “Do not, by all means, move Huangshang, just let him sleep for a few sichen and wake up naturally, he will recover his usual health.”
Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong stood up from the ground, while Li Fan, his face ashen like a dead person, still knelt on the ground, he spoke in a trembling voice, “Li Fan did not do his best to protect the emperor’s good-self, his guilt deserves ten thousand deaths, Qin Wang please bestow punishment.”
Li Shimin reached out into the quilt to feel Li Yuan’s pulse. After confirming that what Xu Ziling said was true, he put down the big rock in his heart, how could he have the time to bother about Li Fan not doing his job properly? He said, “The fault is not yours, stand up!”
As if he received benevolence from the emperor, in fear and trepidation [idiom; from the dictionary: in reverence before your majesty (court formula of humility)] Li Fan stood with his hands hung down
Knitting his brows, Li Xiaogong said, “It’s impossible that Bai Yaonu could slip away without alarming anybody.”
Kou Zhong asked Li Fan, “Did anybody accompany Wei Gonggong when he left?”
Li Fan replied, “It was the little Gonggong [court eunuch] who has always followed him …”
Without waiting for him to finish, Li Shimin shouted, “Search for me!”
And then, turning to Yuwen Shang and the others, he said, “Time is running out, Fuhuang in here, everything is as usual, with ladies and gentlemen martial art masters royal escort and the personal guards responsible for ensuring his safety. On the outside, we will deal with it. Inside the Yanjia Gong, the serving ministers and maidservants are not allowed to leave the house even for half a step. Those who go against orders, kill without question.”
Finished speaking, he walked out of the bedroom in large strides. Kou Zhong and others, with completely different inspired mood, chased behind him. At this moment, they fully felt that Li Shimin was no longer the King of Qin who had suffered enough oppression before, but the successor of the Great Tang Kingdom. Becoming the master of the world would be a matter of sooner or later.
And they have also reached the moment when they stood face-to-face against the demonic school and all the opposing forces in Chang’an.
Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Duan Zhixuan, Hou Junji, Zhangsun Wuji, Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Rang discussed matters of vital importance, they drew up the next step of the operation in the imperial garden outside the bedroom palace.
Li Shimin said, “Now it is less than a stick of incense before dawn. If we cannot get back the tiger tally as soon as possible, once Tang Jian’s men and the city guards fall into Wei Gonggong’s hands, the only way left for us is to defend the Yanjia Gong to the death.”
Hou Xibai did not understand, he asked, “Can a command tally have such a big effect?”
Li Xiaogong explained, “The dragon tally and the tiger tally are Huangshang‘s token. In conjunction with the seal of state and written imperial orders and Huangshang‘s signature, he can appoint qualified princes and dukes and cabinet ministers to mobilize the imperial guards and the garrison troops, to deal with all kinds of emergencies inside and outside the city. Wei Gonggong himself does not have the authority to lead the troops, nevertheless, he is the person to transmit an order that people will trust the most. If he confers the tiger tally and imperial command to either Taizi or Qi Wang, the power to control the garrison troops will fall into his hands, unless Huangshang personally takes back the military power, otherwise, no one could have any objection, they could only follow orders.”
Ba Fenghan said, “But in any case, they can’t command the garrison troops to attack the imperial city!”
Zhangsun Wuji sighed and said, “Now the situation is delicate and complicated. If the other side falsely claims that Hejian Wang is allying himself with us, raises troops to rebel, and holds Huangshang hostage, then there is a serious reason to attack the imperial city. The greatest headache is that Wei Gonggong mobilized Tang Jian’s army to enters the palace one step ahead to change guard, and seized the military power of the garrison troops, it is akin to the Taiji Gong falling into the opponent’s hands, while we only have Yanjia Gong, this one corner. Other than defending it to the death, there is no other way.”
Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, “This person must be Li Yuanji. He is willing to be used by the demonic school to achieve his ambition of wild wolves [idiom: rapacious designs] to ascend the throne by killing his own father and murder his brothers.”
Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ba Fenghan said, “Luckily the dragon tally did not fall into his hands, otherwise we would have no place to stand even more. Isn’t this Wei Gonggong’s loss?”
Li Xiaogong shook his head and said, “This is the risk that Wei Gonggong has to take due to he had no alternative. Because only the dragon tally can seize control of the imperial guards from my hands, and then order the martial art masters protecting the emperor’s good-self to cooperate with the personal guards to murder us, several people. Only he never thought that things would develop as they are now.”
Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes lit up immediately, he said, “As long as Wei Gonggong and Wan Meiren don’t know the development inside the Yanjia Ge, we could use the stupid trick from guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits [see end note] – wonder move.”
Everybody’s spirit was greatly aroused.
Because Wei Gonggong went away after sowing the seed, naturally he would come back to harvest the fruits. When he took control of Tang Jian’s army, he had to rush back immediately, recover the dragon tally, and then falsely pass on the imperial edict. This way, the military power in Chang’an would theoretically fall into Li Yuanji’s hands.
This moment Li Fan came to report, they found the little eunuch’s dead body in the small dormitory connected to the bedroom palace. Their suspicion of Wei Gonggong and Bai Qing’er the-plum-tree-withers-in-the-place-of-the-peach-tree ruse [substituting one thing for another] was finally confirmed.
Li Shimin asked Li Fan, “When did Fuhuang instruct you he would get out of bed?”
Li Fan replied respectfully, “Before Wei Gonggong finally left, he instructed not to disturb Huangshang before dawn.”
Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, “That should do it! Wei Gonggong will come back before dawn to receive his death.”
Li Shimin ordered, “Act immediately, everyone must cooperate well with each other.”
Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Duan Zhixuan, Li Fan, and Xiao Rang accepted the order and left.
He then said to Hou Junji, “Junji, go and find out everything that happened tonight related to Fuhuang, and then come back and report it immediately.”
Hou Junji took the order and left.
When everyone applauded Li Shimin’s caution, Li Shimin continued, “There are still four things left. Only after figuring them out will I dare to say how much our odds of success is.”
Xu Ziling and the others had a strange feeling. After pulling Li Yuan back from the gates of hell, Li Shimin seemed to recover his heroic display of mighty disposition of the Battle of Luoyang. Not only he had a hundred-percent confidence, his every movement, each word, each sentence, all had a card-up-his-sleeve, through-careful-consideration-without-missing-anything – flavor. It could clearly be seen that finally, he, due to the unraveling of the matter that gnawed at his mind of the betrayal of his family – recovered the peak state of returning to the battlefield, commanding with certainty, scheming without omitting any strategy. Not only he no longer rebelled against his family, but he saved the family. Kou Zhong’s prophecy became a reality.
Xu Ziling looked up to the sky to see the time of day, and said, “I would like to hear the details!”
Li Shimin spoke in a heavy voice, “If Fuhuang was unfortunate enough to die [jiabeng – this term is specifically used to refer to the death of a king or emperor] because of Bai Yaonu, and Wei Gonggong came back just like that, wouldn’t all suspicions fall onto him? Besides, Bai Yaonu’s track is nowhere to be found, plus Wei Gonggong was the person who visited Fuhuang repeatedly last night, it would be even more difficult to avoid responsibility. Even if Yuanji is in a position of power, it will still be difficult to cover up for Wei Gonggong.”
Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “I figured it out!”
Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, “What did you figure out?”
Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, “What I figured out is why the demonic school people must sneak into the palace via the secret passage. Their target is not only to plot against Qin Wang‘s zunweng [honorable father], but also to kill and burn, and shift the blame on us. The more chaotic the situation, the more favorable it is for Yuanji who grasps the military power. When they found out that Li Fazhu died [jiabeng] on the bed, Yuanji will have an even more serious reason to command all army units in the whole city to clean up all those who opposed him in one fell swoop, and then Wei Gonggong will read out the fake posthumous edict [of former emperor], so that he could ascend to the imperial throne in a way that justifies the use of the term [idiom: perfectly legitimate]. At that time, certainly Qin Wang and Jiancheng are both no longer in the world of the living. Even if the people below have doubts, Yuanji is in a position of power, he could singlehandedly cover the sky, plus he obtains the support of the demonic school and the Tujue, who would dare to rebel?”
Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, “How dangerous! Tang Jian’s changing of the guards just gave Lin Shihong’s men the opportunity to sneak into the palace. Fortunately, we rushed one step ahead plus we sealed the tunnel, so that they could not even eat our trailing dust. Clearly there is indeed a ruler in the unseen world of spirits [i.e. divine providence].”
Hou Xibai laughed and said, “Lin Shihong’s wonder troops are left outside the city, even though the tunnels were open, they are still ‘the will is there, but not the strength’ [idiom from Confucian Analects].”
Ba Fenghan said, “Without Lin Shihong’s wonder troops, there are still demonic school’s martial art masters, combined with hiding-inside Wanwan, they could still achieve their goal.”
Kou Zhong sighed and said, “This move is really awesome; are there any other problems?”
Li Shimin said, “The second matter is the secret passage’s current situation, whether the exit of the Yin Mansion is open or closed.”
Xu Ziling said, “It should still be closed. When Wei Gonggong and Wanwan found that their people did not sneak in to cooperate as agreed, while the changing of the guards was reported to be completed, no one could enter or leave the tunnel anymore, he naturally would not dare to open the tunnel exit.”
Li Shimin said, “The third question is whether or not Wanwan is still in Yanjia Gong?”
It should be noted that Tang Jian used 15,000 men to lay out a defense at the Taiji Palace in place of the Imperial Guards. Their military strength was ten times that of the original Imperial Guards, they could completely isolate Yanjia Gong from the outside world. Anybody wanted to leave Yanjia Gong, the only way to go was to force their way out. If Wanwan had not left with Wei Gonggong, then certainly she was still hanging around in the palace.
Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “It’s really interesting! Anybody interested in betting with me? I bet she is still stuck inside the palace, with no room to advance or to retreat.”
Li Shimin laughed calmly said, “I’m afraid no one will know clearly that even losing, they still have to bet against you, LaoGe. In the end, did Yuanji have control of Xuanwu Gate?”
Kou Zhong was examining the surrounding grounds, he said to Wang Xuanshu, “On the personal guards’ side, no need to make any changes, so as not to cause any suspicion to that old fellow surnamed Wei. Xuanshu, you lead the brothers to find a favorable place to ambush around the bedroom palace, use mainly crossbows and powerful arrows. This time, we want to wipe out the enemy as much as possible, not to leave half a living mouth, no need to talk about his granny’s Jianghu rules.”
Only after Wang Xuanshu received the order and left that Kou Zhong answered Li Shimin’s previous question, saying, “I dare to guarantee that the Xuanwu Gate is still firmly in Chang He’s hands, besides, the Dragon Tally is still in our hands.”
Li Shimin cheerfully said, “Now we have a general understanding of the whole situation. As long as we can establish contact with the Yeting Palace, Liu Hongji’s city defenders, and Chang He’s Xuanwu Gate’s imperial guards, we could coordinate outside and inside offensives, Tang Jian’s army will no longer be a concern, so much so that we could even resolve the crisis with no blood on the men’s swords.”
Hou Xibai said, “As long as we can return to the secret passage, everything can be solved like bamboo splits when it meets the knife’s edge.”
Kou Zhong vigorously patted Xu Ziling on the shoulder, laughed aloud and said, “In the world, only one person has this ability.”
Everyone’s eyes were focused on Xu Ziling.
Xu Ziling just took off his military uniform, revealing the nightwalker attire underneath. He smiled and said, “This is called unwilling to pass on one’s responsibilities. I will try with all my strength. I hope I won’t see saber light and sword shadow in the palace.”
Li Shimin was obviously in a good mood, letting out a long laughter, he said, “Ziling going down the arena, you will surely win instant success.”
End note:
Guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits: idiom, meaning to wait idly for opportunities / to trust to chance rather than to show initiative.
Background story (from zhidao.baidu.com):
In the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer in the State of Song was one day working in the fields when he saw a rabbit running so fast that it bumped into a tree stump accidentally and break its neck.
The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, ‘I needn’t work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump.’
So from then on he gave up farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for rabbits to come and run into it.
Moral of the story: This idiom satirizes those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need.