After leaving the Governor's Residence, An Zike lowered his voice and said, "Du Daren 1 , I think Madam Yun is very well-versed in...
After leaving the Governor's Residence, An Zike lowered his voice and said, "Du Daren1, I think Madam Yun is very well-versed in governmental affairs. She seems to have experience in this area." Despite facing objections from Du Guoxing, Madam Yun remained composed — only someone brimming with confidence could have maintained such composure.
Du Guoxing responded, "Let's watch a bit more before deciding!" It wasn't that Du Guoxing distrusted Yuxi; he just believed that women acted on emotion and appointed people based on personal feelings. Besides, women confined within the inner quarters lacked long-range vision. Right now, Du Guoxing could only hope that, should Han Shi prove unsuitable, Yun Qing would agree not to allow her to stick her hand into state affairs2 again.
By contrast, Feng Dajun and the others had no such worries. It wasn't because they trusted Yuxi's abilities, but because they trusted Yun Qing's judgment. They also believed that Yun Qing was not someone ruled by emotions. Since he was willing to let Han Shi handle this matter, it meant she was capable. Of course, Yuxi's past performance also made them have confidence in her skills.
After lunch, Yuxi said to Yun Qing, "I want to appoint Fu Minglang as the prefect of Lanzhou City. What do you think, He Rui?"
Yun Qing was not very supportive. "Fu Minglang is capable, but I worry that he'll cause us trouble in the future." The reason he entrusted heavy responsibilities to people like Du Guoxing and An Zike was not only because they were talented and reputable, but also because their families were all based in the northwest. Therefore, they wouldn't dare betray him. Fu Minglang, however, had no such constraints. If, one day, he gained control of Lanzhou City and incited the people to revolt, for example, it would cause huge problems.
Yuxi shook her head. "There's no need to worry about that. As long as commoners have enough to eat and wear, they won't revolt. Besides, the prefect and the tongpan3 are both northwesterners. If Fu Minglang makes any move, they'll discover it quickly. "People only rebel when they can no longer survive. When life was going well, no one would deliver themselves to death4.
Yun Qing thought for a moment, then nodded his agreement. "You decide this matter." If Fu Minglang truly showed signs of rebellion, Yun Qing could eliminate him; it would only be somewhat troublesome.
Yuxi had another idea: "I want to establish a Supervisory Office. Its function would be equivalent to that of the Censorate—specifically responsible for investigating officials' dereliction of duty and illegal behaviour." Here, Yuxi used the word I, not we. Although it was only a single-character difference, the distinction was significant.
Yun Qing asked, "Why not just call it the Censorate?"
Yuxi naturally had her reasons. "The Censorate is something only an Imperial Court has. If we name ours the Censorate, the Imperial Court will surely think we intend to seize the realm." Everyone already knew they were rebels, but thanks to the memorial that Yun Qing had submitted, their relationship with the Imperial Court had temporarily eased. However, if they made such a move now, the situation would be entirely different.
Yun Qing felt there wasn't much difference. "If the Emperor pacifies the rebellion in Liaodong, he'll turn around and deal with us." If Yan Wushuang won, then nothing more needed to be said.
Yuxi remembered the assassination attempt on her and said, "He Rui, regarding last year's assassination attempt, I suspect Yan Wushuang was the mastermind behind it."
Yun Qing's expression turned grave. "Why do you suspect him?" If Yuxi suspected Yan Wushuang, she certainly had her reasons.
Yuxi chose to bring this up now because she had her considerations. In the current struggle between Yan Wushuang and the Emperor, she believed Yan Wushuang had the greater chance of winning. If he did win, he would certainly try every possible way to win Yun Qing over. If, at that time, Yan Wushuang invoked the banner of righteousness5, given Yun Qing's temperament, it would be difficult to say whether he would not waver. And she absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.
Yuxi explained, "If I had died, you would have rebelled in a fit of rage. In that state, there's a ninety per cent chance the rebellion would have failed. Even if it had failed, though, it would still have drained the Imperial Court of a huge amount of troops and funds. Had Yan Wushuang then rebelled under those conditions, he would have achieved twice the result with half the effort."
Now Yun Qing understood. "So you're saying Yan Wushuang wanted to be the profitable fisherman6?"
Yuxi nodded. "More or less. But Yan Wushuang didn't expect me to survive my catastrophe, nor did he expect our uprising to gain Heaven's favour and go far more smoothly than expected." By 'heaven's favour', Yuxi meant that the weather had been perfect throughout the campaign and only began to rain and snow after they captured the city. If that wasn't divine help, what was?
Upon hearing the phrase 'heaven's favour', Yun Qing ruffled Yuxi's hair and said, "Surely the heavens knew what you wanted, so they took special care of us." Although Yun Qing wasn't superstitious, this campaign had indeed received special favour from Heaven.
Yuxi accepted the compliment with pleasure.
After discussing official matters, the couple moved on to personal ones. Yuxi said, "Tan Tuo had previously wanted to marry his daughter to Xu Wu, but I refused."
Yun Qing also understood the matter of Tan Tuo's daughter. He replied casually, "If you refused, then so be it. Just find a suitable match for Xu Wu in Haocheng. At his age, marriage should indeed be put on the agenda." Everyone else was already married—only Xu Wu remained.
Yuxi was actually quite curious and asked, "Is it true that Xu Wu is unmarried simply because he hasn't met the right person yet?" After all, Xu Wu had said that he only needed someone who was good at managing the household and had a good temperament — requirements that weren't particularly demanding, and which he could easily have found in Yu City. Yet he had never even discussed a match. Yuxi always felt there was some hidden reason behind it.
This question really stumped Yun Qing. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I'm not sure either. But if you find him a well-educated, sensible, and good-looking girl, you definitely won't go wrong."
Yuxi chuckled softly. "If we want someone well-educated, sensible, and beautiful, we'll have to look among official families." This kind of phenomenon existed in the capital: civil officials generally wouldn't marry their daughters off to military commanders who fought on the battlefield. Of course, that was in times of peace—under current circumstances, those families were probably more than eager!
Yun Qing remarked, "You can handle this as you see fit."
Yuxi was in the mood to chat. "I'm swamped right now and have no time to go look at other people's daughters. When Madam Feng and Madam Yuan arrive in Haocheng, I'll ask them to have a look around first. Then I'll do a final check and give my final approval – how does that sound?" She now needed to quickly familiarise herself with state affairs and learn the related procedures. She didn't have time to host banquets and inspect all the eligible young ladies of Haocheng herself.
Yun Qing laughed. "No matter what, a few more days won't make a difference." Xu Wu had been single for over twenty years—waiting a few more months wouldn't hurt.
The couple were still talking when someone came in from outside to report that Du Guoxing had requested an audience. Yuxi tugged at Yun Qing's hand and said, "Let me go." When she saw him preparing to accompany her, she shook her head. She felt that she would eventually have to take this step and decided today was the day.
Yun Qing wasn't very willing to agree.
Yuxi smiled and explained, "I need to establish my authority while you're still in Haocheng to back me. Then, when you're not here, they'll still respect me."
Yun Qing chuckled helplessly, stroked Yuxi's cheek, and reminded her, "If Du Guoxing gives you a hard time, don't hide it from me—I'll stand up for you."
Yuxi laughed wryly. "Du Guoxing isn't a fool—how would he dare make things difficult for me?" At most, Du Guoxing might cause her trouble with administrative matters. But Yuxi wasn't worried; she had her own ways of dealing with it.
Du Guoxing had come to report a very troublesome matter to Yun Qing. Seeing that it was Yuxi who had come instead, he felt his heart sink slightly as he disclosed, "Madam, we've just received word that three people have starved to death in Fu County."
Yuxi frowned. "It's already the fifth month, and Fu County has plenty of resources, with plenty of forests and farmland. Even just picking wild greens and berries should be enough to stay alive. How could anyone starve to death? Is there some other cause?" If it had been winter, early spring, or late autumn, she might have believed it. But starving to death at this time of year was practically absurd.
Du Guoxing said, "Madam, that family of four consisted of a widow and her two children. The widow wasn't in good health and had recently become bedridden. The older of the two children is only five..." In such circumstances, even if the mountains were full of wild plants and fruits, they had no means of gathering them.
Yuxi asked, "How did the woman's husband die?" Upon hearing that he had died of illness rather than in battle, she felt greatly relieved.
Du Guoxing thought that Yuxi would ask him how to resolve the issue. However, after waiting a while, she only asked how much grain the local government still had. He replied, "The government granaries are basically empty. All the grain confiscated from raids has been sent to the army."
After a moment of silence, Yuxi asked, "In this situation, what solution do you propose, Du Daren1?"
Du Guoxing answered, "Even the most capable woman cannot cook without rice7. Unless we divert a portion of the army's grain, nothing else will work. But I already suggested this to the General earlier, and he refused."
Yuxi frowned and asked, "Why did the General refuse?" Yun Qing wasn't the kind of cold-hearted man who could watch people die.
Du Guoxing shook his head. "I'm not sure either." Yun Qing had rejected his proposal at the time, without giving a reason.
After hesitating for a moment, Yuxi said, "If the government granaries still have any grain left, use it to help those most in need. As for the rest, we'll find another way." Everything had its priorities. Since Yun Qing hadn't agreed to releasing military grain, he must have had a good reason. She would not tear down Yun Qing's stage8.
Du Guoxing was slightly disappointed. He had hoped that Yuxi would promise to persuade Yun Qing to release some of the army's grain. Given how highly Yun Qing valued Han Shi, he might well have agreed to it.
Yuxi stated, "The Northwest has vast land and few people, but the soil is poor. We're encouraging people to open new fields and to reduce taxes. If the weather is favourable, there will be no problem with the harvest. However, if a drought occurs, a whole year of hard work will be wasted."
Du Guoxing did not dare meet Yuxi's gaze, lowering his gaze as he said, "Drought is a natural disaster. There's nothing we can do about it."
Yuxi's expression turned cold. "The Northwest lacks water. The most urgent task is to build irrigation channels. This way, even if a drought occurs, as long as the channels are adequate, we won't lose the entire year's harvest." She was referring to irrigation ditches specifically, not large-scale waterworks.
Du Guoxing suddenly lifted his head and looked at Yuxi.
Yuxi calmly warned him, "Prefect Du, this is the first and also the last time." If it happened again, he would be kicked out—but she didn't need to say it; Du Guoxing would understand.
Footnotes Full List
- 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors
- "插手政务 (chā shǒu zhèng wù)" — metaphorical; "to stick one's hand into state affairs," meaning to interfere or meddle.
- 通判 tōngpàn: local magistrates
- "送死 (sòngsǐ)" — literally 'go deliver oneself to death', a metaphor/slang for doing something obviously fatal.
- "打出大义的名头 (dǎ chū dà yì de míng tóu)" — idiomatic/metaphoric: "raise the banner of righteousness," meaning claim moral legitimacy.
- 渔翁得利 (yú wēng dé lì) is a Chinese idiom from the proverb 鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利 (yù bàng xiāng zhēng， yú wēng dé lì/when a snipe and a clam grapple, the fisherman profits). It means 'to profit from others' conflict' or 'reap third-party advantage'.
- 巧妇难为无米之炊 (qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī) is a classic Chinese idiom (成语 chéngyǔ) used to express that even the most capable person cannot succeed without the necessary basic resources or materials.
- The phrase 拆台 (chāi tái/to dismantle the stage) is an idiom that means to intentionally disrupt or sabotage someone's plans, ruin their reputation, or embarrass them publicly, often by exposing their faults or undermining their authority when they are "on stage" (i.e., in a position of authority or giving a performance).
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