Chapter 30: Ups and Downs (8)

It was deep at night, yet the mansion of Lady Guo was brightly lit as if it were day. A group of young gentlemen were enjoying tea and chatting in the main hall, in high spirits.
“This afternoon, Brother Hui really broadened our horizons.”
Zhang Yanji couldn’t stop smiling when the topic came up. Brother Kuo had intended to teach Pei Hui the art of throwing darts, but to his surprise, the young master failed to hit a single target all afternoon and even accidentally injured a servant standing by the dart pot, causing the poor guy to tremble in pain. After that incident, Pei Hui remained sullen for the whole day, refusing to mention darts at all.
“How can this be my fault? The bamboo darts used for throwing darts are pre-treated with their tips removed, but the mansion didn’t have any. It was my first time practicing, and I used ordinary arrows—how could I control the aim properly…”
“Oh, so it seems that servant was careless and ran into Brother Pei’s arrow?”
Seeing Pei Hui say such things, Zhang Yanji retorted sarcastically. Though Zhang was a young master from a prominent family, he hated it when others relied on their status to get ahead.
“Brother Zhang, I’m sorry. Is that not enough?”
Pei Hui had said those words out of face-saving, and now, embarrassed by Zhang Yanji’s remarks, he quickly apologized repeatedly.
“Brother Hui, it’s your turn to place the pieces.”
Li Kuo nodded at Pei Hui, signaling him to move first.
“Brother Kuo, ignore him—just capture his big dragon!” (Note 1)
Zhang Yanji, refusing to let go of his advantage, snapped angrily.
“Enough, enough! Look at your temper!”
Seeing Pei Hui’s red face, Li Kuo shook his head and smiled bitterly.
After thinking for a moment, Pei Hui placed a black piece in the upper right corner of the board, trying to create a new battlefield.
“If that’s really the case, Brother Hui…”
Li Kuo smiled and gently picked up a piece, placing it in the lower right corner where black and white pieces clashed. Instantly, the white pieces formed a line, perfectly blocking the black pieces’ path.
“Ah!”
Pei Hui exclaimed in shock. Li Kuo had captured the big dragon he had painstakingly built. Although he wasn’t completely defeated from a strategic standpoint, the situation was already lost. It would be extremely difficult for the black pieces to turn things around.
“Seventh Brother, I… I just…”
Pei Hui’s face was now red all the way to the base of his neck as he stammered, unable to speak. If his poor shooting skills were due to his background, then losing even his strongest skill—chess—to Li Kuo was truly hard to justify.

Seeming to understand what the young man was thinking, Li Kuo smiled and said, “Brother Hui is highly skilled at chess; surely he knows the rules better than I do. In a game between two players, it’s all about strategic planning—every moment can affect the outcome. One careless move can lead to total defeat.”
“Qi Lang is right. Life is like a game of chess. Though we may not always be the ones to laugh last, we still need to strive.”
Putting a piece of pine nut crisp in his mouth, Zhou Wucui added with narrowed eyes.
“Eighth Brother, I was just thinking about the spear-throwing competition. Hui didn’t use…”
Li Kuo shook his head. “Since you didn’t mean to do it, don’t worry about it. Didn’t you ask someone to buy ointment for that boy? Have them apply it to him later. We should look forward, not let one thing hold us back.”
“Mm.”
Pei Hui nodded and took a sip of the clear tea.
“Madam is back! Young Master Hui, madam is back!”
Fu Bo shouted as he entered the room, nodding repeatedly at Pei Hui.
“Mother is back!”
Pei Hui finally saw his savior and quickly stood up, holding his teacup as he stepped forward.
Before he could reach the door, Lady Guo entered the hall, her silk sleeves swaying gently.
“Mother, please have some tea!”
Pei Hui eagerly presented a bowl of clear tea to Yang Huahua.
“You’re thoughtful, Hui.”
Lady Guo took the tea and drank it in one gulp, then turned to Li Kuo with a smile. “Brother Kuo is truly obedient. You waited just as long as I asked.”
“Madam!”
Li Kuo bowed to Yang Huahua and quickly stepped back. For some reason, he felt that her gaze toward him carried a strange kind of expectation.
“The young masters from the Zhang and Zhou families are here too. Good, then I’ll invite you all for late-night snacks tonight.”
Yang Huahua seemed in high spirits and began to tease the young men.
“Mother, how did today’s spear-throwing competition go?”
Although not very skilled at shooting, Pei Hui still wanted to join in the fun and leaned close to Yang Huahua to ask.
Yang Huahua patted her son’s hand and slowly explained, “It’s a pity you didn’t come with me today. Though the spear-throwing competition isn’t as exciting as real archery, it was still quite remarkable. First, your brother Xuan took part and hit six targets in a row. Unfortunately, he used too much force on the seventh attempt and missed.”
She took a sip of tea and continued, “Next was the imperial censor Lu Zhonglun. Well…”
“Mother, I don’t know any of these people. Just tell the important parts.”
Pei Hui impatiently shook her mother’s arm, urging her on.
“Mm, then I’ll skip to the later parts!”

Yang Huahua nodded affectionately and said, “Prince Guangping, seeing no one else able to hit the ninth pot, asked His Majesty for permission to take his turn. Of course, the young prince was flawless, hitting all nine arrows.”
“That’s great!”
Pei Hui waved his fists excitedly. In his mind, among the royal family members, only Prince Guangping was the most valiant, and he was the most admirable young talent besides Li Kuo. “So did Prince Guangping win first place?”
“You ungrateful wretch!”
Yang Huahua tapped her finger on her son’s forehead. “Have you forgotten your fourth aunt? She’s a master archer trained by your brother Kuo. Though Prince Guangping is brave, he only hit nine arrows. But as soon as your fourth aunt stepped in, she hit all ten pots!”
Pei Hui shrugged dismissively. “I think the prince intentionally gave way to your fourth aunt. Otherwise, why would he hit all nine arrows but miss the last one?”
“How smart of you!”
Yang Huahua sighed, utterly helpless with this spoiled child.
“Brother Kuo, I heard from His Majesty that he plans to reward you generously.”
Yang Huahua sipped her tea and turned to speak softly.
“It’s a great honor from His Majesty. But I’ve already been appointed as the military commander of Shule…”
Li Kuo bowed toward the north, his tone tinged with confusion.
“What an idiot!”
Yang Huahua sighed. “The last reward was for the battle in Longyou, but this one is because of your fourth sister. Last time it was for public service; this time, it’s personal. His Majesty doesn’t want outsiders to say that the emperor himself is seeking favors from his subjects!”
“His Majesty truly has a broad mind.”
Li Kuo nodded, suddenly understanding.
“Sigh, I really don’t know how someone like you could become a military commander—you can’t even guess what your superiors are thinking.”
Yang Huahua felt a hint of concern. With the deceitful politics in the court, could such a naive person truly climb to the top smoothly?
“But His Majesty does like honest generals like you. Maybe you’ve gotten a great deal.”
Not wanting to dampen the boy’s enthusiasm too much, Yang Huahua casually picked up some twigs and lit them for him as a glimmer of hope.
“I wonder if His Majesty will mention the reassignment of the generals in Longyou today. Since I’ve been appointed as the military commander of Shule, I should go to the Ministry of War to get the official documents…”
Li Kuo was very concerned about this and tried to gauge the emperor’s intentions through Yang Huahua. After all, he needed enough time to gather evidence of Gao Xiuyan’s collusion with Tubo to give justice to the fallen soldiers of the Tongwu Camp.
“What? You mean the time to take up the post?”
Yang Huahua stared at Li Kuo in disbelief, stunned for several seconds.

“Hehe, hehe.”
Yang Huahua covered her mouth and laughed, “Brother Kuo, you’re really amusing. Do you really think that just because the Emperor appointed you as the military governor of Shule, you have to take up the post right away?”
“It seems I need to give you a good lesson. Otherwise, this so-called military governor of Shule might end up heading to Anxi alone in no time.”
Yang Huahua shook her head. “Every few years, the Emperor reassigns the troops and generals in various regions to prevent any governor from amassing too much power. Since the Emperor ascended the throne, aside from that barbarian An Lushan, no governor has served more than five years. Although you joined the army through the Divine Strategy Army in Chang’an, your origin is traced back to Longyou. You scored great merits in the Battle of Hehuang. The Emperor didn’t want you to become a trusted subordinate of Geshu Han, so he transferred you from Longyou to Anxi.”
“As for the time to take up the post, as long as the Emperor hasn’t issued an order and the Ministry of War hasn’t pressed you, you can delay it as long as you like. hasn’t Prince Qing been serving as the Grand Protector of Anxi since the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era? Surely he doesn’t have to go to Anxi himself to take up the post?” (Note 2)
Yang Huahua took a sip of green tea to moisten her throat. “Although you hold the actual position of military governor of Shule, you definitely need to rest after such a major battle. Since the Emperor isn’t pressing you, why rush? Are you so disgusted by the fragrances in Chang’an that you want to go to the desolate mountains to fight against barbarians?”
“Thank you for your advice, madam. I just want to know the exact time so I can prepare in advance.”
He had only mentioned it casually, but it led to Yang Huahua’s long explanation, leaving the young man with a headache.
“What preparations? You’d better think about how to deal with the crisis at hand!”
Yang Huahua shook her head. “Don’t be fooled by your current high position and the Emperor’s favor. The court is full of uncertainties. One moment you might be a duke, and the next, you could face death and the destruction of your family. That old scoundrel Li Linfu already sees you as an eyesore and a thorn in his side. If you don’t make plans now, you’ll eventually be killed by him!”
Note 1: A “big dragon” refers to a group of pieces in chess that are not yet secure and may be attacked or threatened by the opponent.
Note 2: In the early Tang Dynasty, the position in charge of Anxi was the Grand Protector of Anxi. Compared to the earlier Grand Protectors, the status of the military governor of Anxi was actually quite low, as they only served as deputy grand protectors. In later periods, the title of Grand Protector of Anxi was often just a nominal position held by high-ranking officials with no real power.