Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 447 - 255: Ten-Year Plan

Chapter 447: Chapter 255: Ten-Year Plan

Chuge’s first thought was naturally that of the possibility of assassinating the emperor.

After all, in the first phase, he had successfully plotted the murder of Emperor Yingzong of Qi and, by flipping the table with this move, he directly cleared the level.

No matter how you look at it, Emperor Gaozong’s vulnerability to assassination was definitely no less than that of his elder brother.

If he could kill Emperor Gaozong of Qi, then even if the instance failed because of this, Chuge would accept it.

At the least, it would be as if he had aired a grievance on behalf of General Han Fuyue.

However, after carefully considering the matter, Chuge realized that the chances of success were too low.

This matter had to be approached from two angles: Li Hao and Emperor Gaozong of Qi.

From Li Hao’s perspective, he had not yet reached the level of dominance over the court and country.

Although in later history, Qin Huizhi held sway over the court and country and could falsely accuse Han Fuyue of crimes and even led Emperor Gaozong to always carry a dagger when ascending the throne to guard against him, ravaging the entire political system of the Qi Dynasty...

At this moment, Chuge did not possess such power.

The real historical rise of Qin Huizhi to absolute power wasn’t achieved overnight; it went through several stages.

He rose again because he could connect with Wanyan Chang and establish peace negotiations.

And although there are opinions that Qin Huizhi plotted to execute Han first and report later, ultimately, Emperor Gaozong had long harbored the idea of killing Han Fuyue, so Qin Huizhi’s actions not only served his own selfish interests but also catered to Emperor Gaozong’s will, thus under Emperor Gaozong’s shelter, he remained safe and sound.

Then there is the peace negotiation with the Jin where the agreement stated, "Prime Ministers shall not be removed without cause."

Effectively, this meant that Emperor Gaozong of Qi hardly dared to remove Qin Huizhi from his post for any reason, guilty or not. Even if Qin Huizhi was truly guilty, Emperor Gaozong dared not judge him.

So, Qin Huizhi’s decade-long monopoly on power and his sway over the court and country was ultimately because he had the support of Jin behind him, reliant on him to wreak havoc on Qi’s government affairs.

However, at this point, the Li Hao that Chuge played had only recently been restored to the position of chancellor.

First off, he didn’t intend to kill General Han Fuyue, which meant that his actions were not in alignment with the emperor’s.

Secondly, he hadn’t secured the clause in the peace negotiation that Jin wouldn’t allow the Prime Minister to be removed without cause; in other words, Jin was not backing him at this time.

The emperor had already made up his mind to kill General Han Fuyue and negotiate with Jin.

While the Li Hao that Chuge played, as chancellor, might play the double game or think of ways to prevent the emperor’s orders from leaving the palace, the end result was still inevitable capture by the emperor.

Because as a chancellor at this time, his power foundation wasn’t solid, whereas Emperor Gaozong was the undisputed rightful heir to the throne.

The political power of the two was not even on the same level.

So, assassination then?

The chances of success were also extremely low.

Previously, Chuge and Li Hongyun had been able to assassinate successfully because Emperor Yingzong went crazy and tried to escape from the palace. Along the way, his protection weakened, allowing Li Hongyun to take advantage with a sudden firecracker gun.

But Emperor Gaozong of Qi had already experienced a mutiny by this time and took his own safety very seriously. He stayed hidden deep inside the palace, on high alert.

Although Chuge played the role of chancellor Li Hao, he was also subject to repeated searches before entering the palace. Coupled with the lack of coordination from other players, he could hardly imagine any possibility of successful assassination.

So, this matter fell into a dead cycle.

Assassination wouldn’t work, so he could only engage in political struggle.

But for political struggles, his power wasn’t enough.

To have sufficient power, he first needed to secure Jin’s support for "Prime Ministers shall not be removed without cause," and to get this support, he first had to betray his country and kill General Han Fuyue.

Wasn’t this just going around in a big circle and winding right back?

If Chuge really did falsely accuse General Han Fuyue, whatever he did afterward, he would not be able to wash himself clean again.

Because in this era, General Han Fuyue was the only Divine General who could pacify the world, irreplaceable.

While the current situation seemed almost trapped in an unsolvable vicious cycle, Chuge did not give up because of it.

He didn’t even consider using the feature to ask for guidance from heroic spirits.

Because he knew that asking those historical heroic spirits might not be effective. Many things might be better solved by using his own intellect.

After some thought, Chuge finally made up his mind.

He prepared twelve golden decrees to recall General Han Fuyue.

...

In April, General Han Fuyue and other generals were transferred away from the military and assigned to serve at the Imperial Secretariat in the capital.

In May, the pro-peace faction in the court slandered General Han Fuyue for "delaying without progress," demanding the removal of Han Fuyue’s deputy marshal position at the Privy Council.

In August, Han Fuyue was dismissed and sent back to his old residence to be idle.

In October, the pro-peace faction falsely charged General Han Fuyue with rebellion, and he was thrown into the Ministry of Justice’s prison at Fengbo Pavilion.

In November, the peace negotiation between Qi and Jin was reached: Qi became a vassal to Jin, ceding all lands north of the Huai River to Jin Country and paying an annual tribute of two hundred fifty thousand taels of silver and two hundred fifty thousand bolts of silk.

In December, Li Hao issued a false imperial decree to kill General Han Fuyue, and Emperor Gaozong posthumously authorized the act.

Whether it was Qin Huizhi who issued a false imperial order to kill General Han Fuyue, or if Qin Huizhi really received a secret decree from Emperor Gaozong to murder Han Fuyue, this matter has become difficult to verify. But no matter which scenario it was, it does not change the nature of the affair.

Emperor Gaozong and Qin Huizhi conspired seamlessly, regardless of who did what first, whether Qin Huizhi claimed it was by imperial decree, or Emperor Gaozong claimed Qin Huizhi acted on a false decree; they simply tried every possible way to shift the blame onto the other to carry less of the burden themselves.