Chapter 65 Brilliant, simply brilliant!

"The Weis and the Dus of the southern city tower a thousand feet into the sky."

This proverb is by no means a mere legend, nor is it an empty hyperbole. Since the Western Han dynasty, it has been widely circulated among the gentry and commoners of the Guanzhong region. It is a vivid description of the political and social standing of the Wei and Du clans, whose ancestral homes lay just south of Chang'an city, placing them in close proximity to the imperial palace and the highest echelons of imperial power.

Ever since the Han dynasty, both great families had flourished amidst culture and refinement, rising to prominence through their mastery of the Confucian classics and the Dao of governance. Their long-standing tradition of valuing propriety and scholarship was established from that very era. Sons and younger members of the clans either commanded armies to repel enemies and participated in core state affairs, governed prefectures and counties to pacify and soothe the populace, or held the highest ministerial offices to counsel and guide the empire. Both their civil and military branches flourished, and their influence weighed heavily upon the Guanzhong region.

In the Du Mansion of Xinfeng.

Du Lianzhong sat upright in the main hall, one hand stroking the magnificent beard beneath his jaw, while the index finger of his other hand tapped lightly upon the armrest before him in deep concentration.

His eldest son, Du Huaigong, sat in the lower seat. Clad in brocade robes and a jade belt, he possessed a striking and talented appearance. Though he held a teacup in his hand, his mind was somewhat distracted, and he sat there in a daze.

Another capable and sharp-witted elder in his fifties stood respectfully with his hands folded in the center of the hall, softly reporting newly received intelligence.

"His Highness the Prince of Wu has already posted notices at the city gates. He stated that, in recognition of the great efforts made by the gentry and scholars of Xinfeng in rescuing disaster victims, he has petitioned for an imperial decree to erect a stone tablet by the banks of the Wei River. He has invited Kong Yingda, the great Confucian scholar of our age, to wield the brush. Three days from now, the names and meritorious deeds of all those who contributed will be compiled into a volume and engraved upon the stone tablet."

The elder spoke with a modulated tone, his narrative exceptionally clear.

Hearing this, Du Lianzhong slightly opened his eyes, furrowed his brow, and seemed to murmur to himself, "What is the meaning of this move?"

Du Huaigong chimed in, "It must be that Li Ke, the Prince of Wu, is failing in his fundraising efforts. Seeing himself far surpassed by His Highness the Prince of Wei, he is panicked and desperate. He wants to use this method to encourage the wealthy households in the city to donate eagerly. Hmph, how naive of him. Even if there are genuinely vain people who love fame and wish to use this opportunity to have their names recorded on the tablet, it will still be just a drop in the bucket. Those in the city with established fortunes have already secretly communicated and allied with the Prince of Wei, sharing a common breath and branch; they will never show their faces for this. As for the rest, even if they have the desire, they lack the means and cannot spare much money and grain!"

The standing elder also agreed, "The Young Master's words are wise. This must be a helpless maneuver by the Prince of Wu, and Your Honor need not pay it any mind."

Du Lianzhong, however, remained silent. He closed his eyes once more and pondered carefully.

After a long while, he let out a slight sigh and praised, "Truly brilliant!"

Brilliant?

Du Huaigong and the elder looked at each other in blank dismay, utterly failing to understand.

Du Lianzhong glanced at his bewildered son and sighed inwardly. This eldest son possessed top-tier intelligence and talent, yet his temperament was far too frivolous, and he was rash and impetuous when facing matters. He was恐怕 not the fine timber needed to sustain the family legacy.

Though their branch of the family was the primary lineage of the Du clan, the Dus were nonetheless a sprawling tree with complex branches and a massive household. Even among kinsmen, secret struggles and hidden daggers were the norm, with competition outweighing familial affection. A moment of carelessness could lead to being swallowed whole, flesh and bone.

It seemed he could only pin his hopes on his future in-laws to safeguard the glory and wealth of his own branch. As for scaling even greater heights and progressing further, that was likely an extravagant dream...

With these thoughts in mind, he nevertheless offered his son unremitting guidance, patiently explaining, "The Prince of Wu's action may seem like a mere desperate measure of encouragement, but it actually conceals profound machinations. It forces people to willingly walk right into his trap."

Seeing that his son still wore a blank expression, entirely missing the profound meaning within, he had no choice but to continue, "Let me ask you, for this fundraising campaign by the Prince of Wu, how much did our Du family contribute?"

Du Huaigong scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "A few hundred strings of cash, I suppose?" With that, he looked uncertainly at the steward standing in the hall.

The steward, who managed the Du household, naturally knew all about such income and expenses, and replied, "It was two hundred strings of cash."

"Ah... That is indeed a bit low," Du Huaigong remarked. Even though they belonged to a different faction, the other party was, after all, an exalted imperial prince. For the Du family to produce such a meager sum was truly rather disgraceful. As far as the Prince of Wu was concerned, giving this little was worse than giving nothing at all—it was a direct slap to the face!

Du Lianzhong grew even more disappointed with this son, who knew only of chasing courtesans and engaging in cockfighting and dog racing all day long. His tone turned stern as he scolded, "Stop wasting your days in idle pursuits! This household does not belong to me alone. When I die, what will you rely on to uphold the family facade?"

Du Huaigong was not particularly afraid of his father and said with a grin, "Aren't you still here? Besides, now that we have secured the backing of the Prince of Wei, once you pass away a hundred years from now, we too will have the merit of aiding a sovereign's rise. Securing the title of a duke will be effortless, and generation after generation will enjoy endless prosperity. What is there to worry about?"

Du Lianzhong raged, "You scoundrel! Do you think our Du family has been able to multiply down to this day, standing tall and unshaken even through dynastic changes, because of so-called imperial favor?"

Du Huaigong asked in surprise, "Isn't that the case?"

Du Lianzhong snorted, glaring at his son with a look of utter disappointment in his failure to improve: "What our Du family relies upon is poetry and books, our reputation! Through study one comes to understand principles, and a good reputation can be passed down through generations! Have you ever wondered why past monarchs never dared to touch the Du family? It is because the moment anyone touches our Du family, it would trigger turmoil throughout Guanzhong and cause countless commoners to harbor disloyal thoughts! Why do the commoners lean toward our Du family? Because our Du family has a stellar reputation: we do not increase taxes in prosperous years, and we donate money and grain in times of disaster! As long as our Du family exists, whenever the commoners face any of the three calamities or five adversities, they have a place to seek help and a path to survival! If the Du family is gone, whom will they turn to?"

He spoke these words rapidly and urgently, taking a heavy breath before continuing, "His Majesty said a fine thing: water can float a boat, but it can also capsize it. This saying applies not only to monarchs and countries, but even more so to a family. Throughout generations, our Du family has never committed a single unconscionable evil deed against the common people! That is why countless once-flourishing families have fallen, yet our Du family still stands! Now, do you understand the Prince of Wu's true intention?"

Du Huaigong blinked, and comprehension quickly dawned upon him. He was no fool; on the contrary, he was exceedingly clever, but he simply refused to exert the effort to ponder such trivial matters. With that spare time, he would rather go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to share some wine with a popular courtesan...

Thinking it through back and forth, he clicked his tongue in amazement and blurted out, "This—this is utterly sinister!"

Seeing that his son understood, Du Lianzhong was quite gratified. Although this son's temperament was somewhat frivolous, there was still room for cultivation; he was not a complete waste...

"If our Du family's contribution of two hundred strings of cash is written like that upon a stone tablet, how will the people of the entire city view us? There are tens of thousands of disaster victims, countless numbers of starving and freezing dead, yet when the imperial court called upon wealthy households to donate grain for disaster relief, the Du family gave only two hundred strings of cash? This is behaving without benevolence despite possessing wealth! The reputation of the Du family would be utterly ruined! Not only that, but this stone tablet is erected by imperial decree. As long as the Great Tang does not fall, this tablet must stand there forever, and no one would dare touch it! By then, wouldn't our Du family be reviled for ten thousand generations? This is simply too vicious! How could the Prince of Wu conceive of such a ruthless trick?"

The more Du Huaigong spoke, the more agitated and indignant he became.

If things came to this, wouldn't the Du family be completely branded with the crimes of "possessing wealth without benevolence" and "inhuman cold-heartedness"? Wouldn't the reputation painstakingly accumulated by generations be destroyed in a single stroke?

The steward was also dumbfounded. Who would have thought that erecting a simple stone could hide such profound and subtle traps?

He hurriedly asked, "There are still three days left, shouldn't we... donate a bit more?"

Du Huaigong also snapped to his senses. "That's right, there are still three days! Donate, donate quickly! That..." At this point, he abruptly recalled another matter.

The Du family had made a prior agreement with the faction of the Prince of Wei: under no circumstances were they to support the Prince of Wu, Li Ke. They were supposed to let Li Ke suffer a crushing defeat in Xinfeng, returning in failure and completely severing his ambitions to contend for the crown!

If they were to donate money and grain now, wouldn't that offend Li Tai, the Prince of Wei?

To donate was wrong, and not to donate was equally wrong. This was a difficult predicament...

Du Lianzhong glanced at his son and said calmly, "Our support for the Prince of Wei is merely a precaution for a rainy day. Although the position of the crown prince has its variables, the ultimate destiny of the realm rests entirely in the emperor's heart. Who can say for certain that the Prince of Wei will definitely ascend to the throne? Go and make arrangements immediately, and sound out the movements of the other families. I guarantee you, those families will also be making donations. Since donation is inevitable, don't be petty. Donate enough to secure first place for us, so that the name of our Du family is engraved at the very top of the stone tablet!"

Du Huaigong hastily accepted the order.

No wonder his father had said at the very beginning that the Prince of Wu's strategy would compel people to walk willingly into his trap. Not only did they have to donate, but they had to fight to donate—who wouldn't want their family's name engraved at the very top of the stone tablet for future generations to revere?

This was an honor that no amount of money could buy!

This trick... tsk tsk tsk, brilliant, truly fucking brilliant...