Chapter 680: Chapter 679: Despised
The struggle for the throne back in those days was not only fierce but, due to the evenly matched sides, the casualties and losses were quite similar. Even though Emperor Jin’s faction was considered to have a slight advantage over the others, there was no guarantee of certain victory.
In such a situation, the battle became particularly intense. Even with the bravery and skill in battle of General Cao and Lu Qing’s father, who slew countless enemies, the prolonged mutual exhaustion was not a viable long-term strategy.
At such a critical juncture, Zhao Bi presented a proposal.
He believed that the Fan Country has always had the ability to use poison and is known for producing various strange poisonous herbs. This was a perfect time to utilize them. Although the late Emperor had restricted them from using many overly sinister poisons, due to the present urgent circumstances, extreme measures had to be considered.
Zhao Bi believed that Fan Country seemed to lean naturally towards aligning with the militarily stronger Emperor Jin. Cleverly using Fan Country’s ability to employ poison would be akin to possessing a powerful weapon that the other factions could not match.
He suggested that Fan Country should be encouraged to leverage their skills in poisons to achieve merit, thus providing proof of allegiance to Emperor Jin. In this way, Fan Country would undoubtedly do their utmost, employing every means possible to assist Emperor Jin in annihilating enemy forces.
Once the situation was secured and victory was assured, then one could suppress Fan Country harshly for their sinister use of poison, strictly controlling their people and their poisons, ensuring they couldn’t rise again or collaborate with others to pose a threat to Jin Country.
Zhao Bi called this plan "leveraging power with power, killing two birds with one stone," believing it would not only help them quickly emerge victorious from the fierce battle and secure an absolute advantage but also eliminate a potential future thorn.
However, his proposal was strongly opposed by Lu Qing’s grandfather and father, as the Lu Family had an entirely different viewpoint from Zhao Bi.
They believed that the late Emperor’s restrictions on Fan Country’s poisons were correct and should not be broken for any reason. If they allowed Fan Country to make an exception under the guise of demonstrating loyalty, in the future, they would inevitably find other reasons to make exceptions again, and eventually, the precedent would be unstoppable.
Moreover, if Fan Country demonstrated loyalty with poison use and later was "discarded after the grind" by Emperor Jin under the same pretext, what would the other vassal states under the four seas think? Who would still wholeheartedly follow the Upper Country in the future?
It was likely that the other vassal states would secretly ponder, worrying that Fan Country’s fate today could be their own tomorrow.
Once such a rift forms between the ruler and his ministers, achieving peace in the world would become difficult, inevitably leading to many problems.
Furthermore, the people of Fan Country were innocent. For many years, they had strictly prohibited anyone from using those sinister and malevolent poisons, as they too wanted to live peaceful lives.
To exploit and frame a group of innocent people this way was never the conduct of a real gentleman. Even if successful, it would lose the hearts of the people, bringing disdain from everyone in the world.
Thus, both sides argued vehemently in front of Emperor Jin over this matter. Ultimately, Emperor Jin accepted the Lu Family’s perspective, realizing that although the plan could produce an unexpected victory, it ultimately lacked the fairness and integrity, appearing overly unscrupulous and yielding little benefit. But considering Zhao Bi’s intent for the greater picture, they decided to not bring up this matter again.
After hitting a wall in the face of Emperor Jin, Zhao Bi naturally refrained from mentioning it again, but not mentioning it didn’t mean he wasn’t entertaining other thoughts in private.
Convinced that his plan was the most intelligent approach, he would not give up easily due to such an obstacle.
On the surface, Zhao Bi never spoke of matters concerning Fan Country, but secretly, he colluded with a faction in Fan Country highly skilled in using poisons, engaging in many covert actions that couldn’t be publicly disclosed. However, these indeed significantly helped Emperor Jin in eliminating dissenters, crushing rebel forces and other factions. Since no evidence of wrongdoing was found from outsiders, these were naturally turned into merits and commendations.
Although there were persistent rumors, without tangible mistakes being caught, they remained mere private gossip, unable to really affect Zhao Bi, who continued to be a favored minister praised for his achievements in front of Emperor Jin.
Not everything unknown to the outside world was unknown to the Lu Family.
The Lu Family had their own means of understanding some of Zhao Bi’s actions. Considering the greater situation, they chose not to disclose the scant evidence they had, as after all, with the empire’s fate undecided, any matter that could shake Emperor Jin’s rule should be avoided as much as possible.
Thus, Lu Qing’s grandfather privately approached Zhao Bi, urging him to desist in time and avoid compounding his errors. As long as he refrained, acknowledged his wrongdoings and didn’t repeat them, the past could be overlooked for the sake of the greater cause. But if he persisted in error, they would not allow Zhao Bi to do anything potentially threatening Emperor Jin’s future grand achievements.
Zhao Bi was startled that his clandestine actions were known to the Lu Family. Despite his shock, he displayed cooperation and showed a facade of genuinely wanting to reform.
For a long time afterward, the Lu Family detected no excessive actions from Zhao Bi, assuming he had indeed repented and thus stopped pursuing the matter. They even kept their promise, mentioning nothing to Emperor Jin, refraining from causing any complaints.
But having engaged in something improper and being caught by colleagues of superior standing, Zhao Bi constantly felt guilty. Outwardly calm and composed, internally he trembled with anxiety every day, fearing Lu Qing’s grandfather might break his promise as he had and expose his past unsavory dealings with Fan Country.
Time and again, Zhao Bi found no signs of his greatest fear materializing. At a loss to understand the Lu Family’s intentions, in this torment, Emperor Jin finally seized grand achievements, quelling other powers seeking to usurp the throne. Now only a few minor obstacles remained before he could ascend the throne securely. Seeing the grand vision coming to fruition, the loyal followers of Emperor Jin were naturally filled with joy.
In such circumstances, Zhao Bi’s emotions became even more complex.
On one hand, the grand achievement was nearing completion, and he, among Emperor Jin’s followers, had significant merit. Probably only the Lu Family, related to Emperor Jin by blood, could rival him.
At this moment, the "small tail" Zhao Bi felt the Lu Family held became a source of endless sleepless nights and anxiety for him.
