Chapter 140: The Secret of the Copper Coins

When Emperor Yang of Sui bestowed a third-rank official salary upon Li Dong, the grand generals, princes, and high-ranking ministers present were deeply dissatisfied.

They had spent their entire lives in close attendance upon the emperor, yet after working until their beards turned white, they had only attained the third, second, or first rank. Li Dong was merely a lowly garrison soldier; although he had displayed reckless bravery in attacking Liaodong City and had boosted morale, and certainly deserved merit, he did not warrant such a meteoric rise straight to the third rank.

Sui Emperor Yang understood what was on their minds. Sweeping his gaze across the gathering, he stood tall, radiating an aura that could conquer rivers and mountains, and declared, "War is a giant iron furnace. It forges true gold and silver, but it also casts out scrap metal. Just as some people stand out in war, others plunge into hell. War is an opportunity—a test of destiny, a test of vision! It all depends on whether you have the courage to seize it! Seize the opportunity, and to My great delight, you shall rise step by step like lotus flowers blooming underfoot, soaring straight to the heavens."

At that moment, a man stood up from the assembly, performed a bow, and announced, "This humble official has a petition to present!"

"Speak!" Emperor Yang was right in the middle of his passionate discourse and was greatly displeased at being interrupted. Recognizing the speaker as Liu Shilong, the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat, he had no choice but to show him some courtesy, so he smiled and bade him present his case.

"This humble official believes that what Your Majesty has said is entirely correct!" Liu Shilong began. "War is indeed a giant iron furnace, and everyone present here occupies a place in the imperial court precisely because of their meritorious service in following the dragon. Who among us has not fought through bloody battles all their lives, braving showers of spears and a rain of arrows, facing death nine times out of ten before finally receiving rewards? To promote someone to the third rank simply for the conquest of a single, insignificant city in the Liaodong campaign will chill the hearts of all officials! This humble official believes this move is inappropriate and begs Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"Wrong! Terribly wrong, absurdly wrong, utter nonsense!" Emperor Yang had been smiling as he listened to Liu Shilong. The moment he finished, the imperial countenance flew into a rage. "Chill the hearts of the officials? Who feels their heart chilled? Step forward and let Me have a look!" With a majestic glare, he swept his eyes across the officials seated around the table. Every single one of them lowered his head. Not a soul dared to step forward.

Only then did Emperor Yang continue, "My bestowing this reward upon Dang Yuqian is not meant to chill your hearts, but to inspire you, to prompt you to summon the courage you showed in the past. Fight bravely, with the spirit to uproot mountains and rivers, and swiftly conquer Goguryeo!"

"Whoever feels their heart chilled is gravely wrong, absurdly wrong! If you cannot even guess My intentions, what use are you to Me? Anyone who dares to step forward, regardless of who he is, will be summarily expelled from the court and never employed again!"

Yuwen Shu rose from his seat, bowed deeply to Emperor Yang, and said, "This subject also has a petition to present!"

"Speak!" Emperor Yang barked, his remaining anger not yet fully spent.

"This subject believes that what Your Majesty has said is entirely correct! Goguryeo lies at the northernmost reaches of the Great Sui territory. It is June now, and the weather is warm. By early September, the weather will turn cold. How can the soldiers of the Great Sui endure the cold wearing only their summer garments? By then, their hands and feet will chap and crack, rendering them unable to fight due to freezing and starvation! We must muster great courage to fight a quick battle and force a swift resolution; we can drag this out no longer!"

Although Yuwen Shu was simply flattering Emperor Yang—desperately searching for reasons and evidence from another angle to cover for whatever Emperor Yang said—it had to be admitted that his vision was exceptionally sharp, seeing much further ahead than ordinary people.

Yuwen Shu's words indeed greatly pleased the emperor's heart, and Emperor Yang realized that his previous remarks had been too generalized and failed to hit the crucial point.

So, softening his tone, Emperor Yang said, "Listen. Did you all hear that? Old General Yuwen's words suit My intentions precisely! If you cannot even foresee what will happen two months from now, how can you vainly hope to pierce the schemes of the enemy on the battlefield? Except for Dang Yuqian and Old General Yuwen, all generals present shall have their salaries docked for one year!"

Yuwen Shu sat back down, feeling immensely proud. Since all the other generals had their salaries docked while he was spared, didn't that make him appear vastly superior to them?

Seeing that such a massive chaos had erupted simply because he was wearing one of Emperor Yang's garments, and that every general was now penalized with a year's salary, Li Dong could not help feeling a sense of worry. Since he would frequently be entering and leaving Emperor Yang's side in the future, it would be best to maintain good relations with all the generals and ease the tension.

Therefore, Li Dong asked Emperor Yang to mitigate the punishment, pointing out that since this was a critical moment for employing personnel, they should not overly provoke conflicts with the various generals.

Emperor Yang waved his hand repeatedly and snapped, "My mind is made up, say no more!"

After receiving his investiture, Li Dong stood in attendance by Emperor Yang's side. Feeling the copper coins hidden inside his tunic, he felt a slight trace of tension.

Quietly, Li Dong said to Emperor Yang, "Your Majesty, this humble official has another item, and I wonder if Your Majesty might be interested in taking a look at it. This can also boost the morale of the generals present; docking salaries is not the only way."

Surprised, Emperor Yang hurriedly asked, "What item? Let Me see it!"

Li Dong reached into his tunic, took out ten of the twenty special copper coins, handed them to Emperor Yang, and whispered softly, "Divination!" With that, he stepped back nonchalantly. He kept the remaining ten coins, planning to use them when a critical moment arose, which was why he had not given all of them to Emperor Yang.

When Emperor Yang took the ten specially crafted copper coins and saw that both sides were inscribed with "Daye Tongbao," a flash of light suddenly crossed his mind, and he instantly understood Li Dong's painstaking efforts.

Emperor Yang stood up and announced in a ringing voice, "Out of regard for Dang Yuqian's intercession, I will give you all one more chance. Behold――" Cupping the ten copper coins in his palm, Emperor Yang personally made a quick tour around the gathering, letting everyone present catch a glimpse of the coins, before shouting:

"The ancients frequently used divination to foretell good and ill fortune, life and death, destiny, and the future. I shall use these ten coins to cast a divination. If the inscribed sides all face upward, it proves that our Great Sui campaign to conquer Liaodong will achieve complete victory, and everyone's salary penalty will be reduced to just one month. If half of the upward-facing coins show inscriptions and the other half show designs, it signifies that victory and defeat will be evenly matched, and the generals' salary penalties will be halved to six months. If all the coins land with the design sides facing upward, it means the northern expedition will end in failure, and you shall all harbor no resentment for a one-year salary penalty!"

With a casual toss, he scattered the coins onto the ground. They rolled for a moment before coming to a complete stop.

The assembled princes, ministers, and generals stretched out their necks to look, and what they saw was astonishing: all ten copper coins were neatly lying with their inscribed sides facing upward!

Everyone was instantly electrified. This meant not only that the northern expedition would be an overwhelming success, but also that they would escape the one-year salary penalty. A single month's salary was nothing more than a drizzle; the bribes collected from casually duped local officials were far greater than an entire month's official stipend!

Emperor Yang knew all too well the trick behind those coins. With characters stamped on both the front and the back, how could they not all land face-up? Inwardly, he laughed endlessly, though on the surface he maintained a stern expression. Fearing that the trick might be exposed after letting everyone inspect them, he quickly swept the coins up from the floor.

As soon as Yuwen Shu saw that all ten coins had landed face-up, he was ecstatic. "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Tremendous congratulations, Your Majesty! This is the will of Heaven! Heaven has decreed a great victory for this northern expedition! This is the fortune of Your Majesty, the blessing of the state, and the joy of all officials!"

At this, everyone rejoiced. Their spirits soared, their blood surged, and they eagerly rubbed their palms together, raring to go.

Heaven had ordained the victory of the Great Sui; they no longer needed to worry about Goguryeo resorting to underhanded schemes to trap the Sui soldiers. They must unite wholeheartedly with the Emperor, fight courageously, and capture all the cities of Goguryeo in one fell swoop to repay the boundless grace of the throne!

Seeing the excited expressions of all the ministers and generals, Emperor Yang laughed inwardly, surmising: *Were these copper coins minted long ago? Was Yuqian prepared all along? Oh, oh, oh, I understand now.*

*General Lai mentioned that he was originally just a blacksmith, and making such trinkets would be second nature to a blacksmith, requiring no great effort. As for the long sword he used during the siege—which seemed to harbor the light of the sun and was brilliantly radiant—it also appeared to be a top-tier piece of equipment. I must take a look at what fine weaponry a mere blacksmith forged for himself.*

"Dang Yuqian, bring your long sword for Me to see!" Emperor Yang commanded sternly.

No one was permitted to bring weapons into the presence of the emperor unless they were his personal bodyguards. Even the bodyguards were subjected to strict scrutiny and repeated screenings to ensure their character was flawless before being selected.

As a newly appointed imperial body guard of the Thousand-Bull Guard, Li Dong had naturally left his fake sword outside his tent. At once, someone fetched Li Dong's counterfeit blade and presented it into Emperor Yang's hands.

Li Dong broke out in a cold sweat. This was a fake sword; if any flaws were discovered, it would constitute the crime of deceiving the sovereign. Everything he had just gained would be stripped away, and he might even lose his head. In his heart, he prayed that Emperor Yang would not be so sharp-witted as to spot any flaws in the counterfeit sword.