Chapter 33: The Grand Deal

"Four years ago, you were the one behind the scenes pulling the strings to get Su Zizhan to critique figures of the day, causing such a stir across the city!"

Li Chang'an felt honored. That people still remembered such old news from years ago was quite gratifying, and he nodded with a smile.

"And the 'Top Ten Courtesans' selection that had all the young masters of the capital at each other's throats and turned everything into a chaotic mess—that was you too, wasn't it?"

He had only provided the idea for that; in reality, it was the descendants of Li Zhongjin, Li Maoran and his circle, who had executed it. However, he had no intention of arguing, so he nodded again.

"In the Northwest's Zhong'e, there's a man named Cao Rixiu. Military reports say he crossed the border more than thirty times in just over two years. It seems that idea came from you as well."

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm just a friend of little Cao; the affairs in the Northwest have nothing to do with me!" This time, Li Chang'an did not concede.

Wang Pang stared curiously at Li Chang'an’s face. It was clean and fair, showing no signs of having weathered the harsh winds of the Northwest.

"Why did you come back? We could have achieved great things and earned titles together. With your abilities, it wouldn't have been impossible, would it?"

Li Chang'an shifted on his stool. The summer heat was making his back itch.

*To think he actually dug up my past. What is this kid Wang Pang up to?* Being targeted like this was a truly uncomfortable feeling.

"Go on, what else do you want to ask?"

Wang Pang paced around Li Chang'an, circling him once. Returning to face him, he stroked his chin, brow furrowed in thought.

"You feigned a quarrel with your family and then split from them at the Kaifeng Prefecture. After that, you played the mystic to inflate your reputation. Later, you started a school for cooks, though it didn't make any money. You collaborated with the Qian family's Qian Weiming to write a few articles, and it looks like you have no intention of taking the imperial examinations... Hmm! Tsk tsk... Zizhan, can you guess it?"

The prompt was passed to Su Shi, and he felt he couldn't leave it unanswered.

"Chang'an just cannot stand the solitude; he is fond of excitement, that is all. Please convey to Prime Minister Wang that from today on, I will keep him under tighter rein. There will be no more trouble."

Wang Pang smiled helplessly and shook his head.

*He thinks to himself: Su Shi, no matter how clever you are, aren't you still being played by him over and over? If this Li Chang'an could be honest, the Yellow River would run clear.*

Li Chang'an asked provocatively, "Is that all?"

Wang Pang’s internal pride would not allow him to believe that the national debt was induced by Li Chang'an, so he nodded.

Seeing that Wang Pang had finished, Sima Kang regained his spirit and pointed at Li Chang'an. "If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll hang myself in this room right now!"

He was utterly devastated. Even if he threw away this wretched position of 'President,' he had already offended all the powerful elites while aiming for the jinshi examination next year—all of which he blamed on Li Chang'an.

"Gongxiu, I thought you were a righteous hero who wielded his sword for justice. What's wrong? Can't you handle a little grievance?"

He sent a flattering remark his way, which made Sima Kang roll his eyes in frustration.

"An imperial censor is supposed to stand on the side of justice and act as an enemy to all that is unjust. Today, if you just admit that you lack the courage to lead the world, I will admit my fault. I will even post notices throughout the city declaring that I intentionally lured you into a trap just to make you bear the public's scorn."

Sima Kang glared, his teeth grinding audibly, his chest heaving violently, like a tiger ready to tear someone apart.

"You..."

"I can make a deal with Prime Minister Sima. If we succeed, I guarantee that after you die, I will have you enshrined in the Hall of Illustrious Merits!"

Before Li Chang'an could even finish his sentence, all three people in the room felt their heads spin, their blood pressure soaring to the limit.

The Hall of Illustrious Merits—the place that commemorated the twenty-four meritorious officials?

Wasn't that equivalent to being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Su Shi, confident that his *Nine Reflections* already made his path to becoming a sage or ancestor imminent, managed to suppress his emotions. But the two men in front of him—one nineteen, one twenty-five, both without any real achievements—couldn't handle it at all.

For scholars, the four disciplines of self-cultivation, family management, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world, when mastered, lead to a lifetime of wealth and rank. To do it exceptionally well means to be remembered in history. Only with heaven’s own luck can one become a sage, a teacher for all generations.

If they didn't know Su Shi, they would have just dismissed it as twenty-one-year-old Li Chang'an spouting nonsense. But they had already read his *Nine Reflections* and his collection of policy essays from the past three years.

Su Zizhan was a sage in the making, already destined for the history books.

Was Li Chang'an playing them? And what if he wasn't? *Thump-thump, thump-thump*—the hearts of the two men felt as if they were leaping right out of their throats.

Sima Kang closed his eyes and recited a mantra of clarity several times, finally managing not to lose his composure.

"Fine. If you are deceiving me..."

"If I deceive you, I'll hang you myself! You're a grown man, hurry back and report to the Prime Minister. I didn't prepare lunch for you!"

Sima Kang stood up, straightened his clothes, bowed, and bid farewell to Su Shi and Wang Pang.

Once he was gone, Li Chang'an let out a chuckle, which nearly scared the soul out of Wang Pang.

*Wait,* he thought, *you weren't actually bluffing just now, were you?*

"Sigh..." Li Chang'an sighed, grabbed a teapot, felt its temperature, and drained half of it in one go.

"Brother Yuanze, what is it that you want?"

Hearing the question, Wang Pang blurted out, "A plan for military reorganization. Scholar Lü said you wrote a proposal and even discussed it with the generals in the Northwest. That is what I want."

Li Chang'an shook his head. "I am asking you, Wang Pang—what does Wang Yuanze want?"

"To spend your whole life as the shadow of a great sage, the son of a Prime Minister, an attendant lecturer before the throne, and the sixth-ranked talent in Bianjing?"

Su Shi felt a twinge of jealousy; his younger brother had such an exciting experience, while he had missed out due to his period of mourning. *Alas, such is fate.*

But he was even more puzzled. Why would Li Chang'an be thinking about military reorganization? Wasn't he someone who only liked to stir up trouble, playing games of shock and confrontation with other young masters?

Wang Pang fell silent for a long time after the question.

His right hand rubbed his thumb ring so hard it made a squeaking sound, and it looked as if his skin was about to break.

What were his own dreams? It seemed no one had ever cared. In this life, he seemed to exist only to prove that his father was a sage.

What did he want? Of course, he wanted his father to fulfill his wishes and become a great, universally revered sage.

But was this really him? Was this the version of him that had lived for twenty-five years after stripping away his status and worldly concerns?

"Think about it slowly. What the Prime Minister seeks is not impossible to achieve, but I must warn you first: throughout history, the only powerful minister who reorganized the military and lived to tell the tale was Huo Guang."

*Clack... screech...* Wang Pang’s stool slid far across the floor.

"No, is there no foolproof method?" He sounded anxious.

"There is a deal. If Prime Minister Ouyang takes charge of the Kaifeng Prefecture, and the 'Big-faced' one presides over the office and manages the six bureaus... if the Prime Minister can agree to that, I have a way to cut military expenditures by twenty million strings of cash."

Su Shi stood up and hurriedly stopped Li Chang'an. *Are you trying to get us killed?* Discussing the appointment and dismissal of court ministers in private like this—did they think the court was their own backyard? If spies from the Imperial City Guard heard this, they would all be exiled to the remote military frontiers.

"Yuanze, don't listen to his gibberish. It must be the heat getting to his brain. You should head back; I’ll call a physician to look at him."

With that, he began to shoo Wang Pang out. He had no choice; his younger brother was going mad, and if he wasn't careful, they would all end up together in exile in Zhanzhou in the South.

"A gentleman's word is his bond!"

Wang Pang knew it wasn't the time for details, so he exchanged a meaningful look and bowed his way out.

Su Shi opened the window, looked left and right, then closed it again. He carefully inspected the ceiling, and finding no flaws, finally regained his breath.

"Li Chang'an, if you can't explain this clearly, you and I are not finished!"