"Have you ever wondered why the Eastern Yi people were repeatedly defeated in the wars with your father?" I continued my merciless questioning. "Do you really think it's because the Chou people are better warriors? Or that Chou weapons are necessarily more advanced and superior than those of the Yi people?" Kuo seemed to be steadied somewhat by this: "Perhaps tyrants are simply better at warfare! Beyond that, I really don't know.
"Neither is true!" I firmly denied. "You know, just like there is no unified Chou State, the Eastern Yi territory is divided into many different tribes, each selecting their own chieftain. But what you don't know is that these chieftains, either in person or through envoys, come to our Chou State every year to obtain financial support from the King of Chou. They use this money and propaganda to buy votes from their tribespeople to win elections!" I said with a cold smile: "You might think their tribespeople hate us Chou people as ancestral enemies, but in reality, it's just a tactic, a means to gain support."
Kuo objected: "That can't be true. As far as I know, the Yi people themselves are divided into two factions—one advocating war against us Chou people, and the other advocating peace. The ongoing wars between Chou and Yi over the past decade are precisely because the Yi people elected warlike chieftains. It couldn't possibly involve the kind of secret collusion you're describing."
"Is that so? But if you viewed them all as clever strategists, you might reach entirely different conclusions. For instance, in any state, there must be two factions—one being the old Yi king who advocates peace with Chou. So for the new Yi king to differentiate himself and attract more votes, he must appear tough against Chou. It's a strategy, like two sides of a coin. However, even when showing their aggressive side, they might not actually seek complete enmity with Chou. It's often just talk—if you asked them to actually invade Chou territory like the barbarian Rong tribes from the west, the Eastern Yi people absolutely wouldn't dare! They only dare to speak, not to act."
This is an ancient Chinese philosophical mystery: some things can only be done but not spoken of, while others can only be spoken of but not done. The Eastern Yi have had conflicts with Chou for over a hundred years, but their toughness often remains merely verbal. In reality, the Duke of Qi and Duke of Lu in the easternmost Chou territories have been encroaching on Eastern Yi lands every year, yet the King of Chou never promotes such unjust aggression to his own people.
Kuo did not understand these things. He countered: "But look, does anyone dare to contradict our King of Chou? No. Yet the various tribal chieftains of Eastern Yi dare to publicly debate policies among themselves, even arguing with the King of Eastern Yi. That's why I think Eastern Yi is better than our state."
Hearing this, I laughed heartily: "Do you really think the contradictions publicly displayed by those chieftains are genuine conflicts? An older friend of mine from Eastern Yi told me that the arguments between Yi chieftains are often just performances staged for their voters. They can beat each other bloody over an issue in the morning, then sit together at a roadside stall eating barbecue in the evening, joking with each other: 'Your punch this morning was quite accurate—nearly killed me! Next time, miss a little, don't be so precise.'"
Kuo was astonished hearing such a story for the first time, his eyes wide: "Are you saying that these people who publicly oppose and quarrel with each other, like the dove faction and hawk faction regarding Chou, are actually working together, like... like... like a deep state?" Kuo became so excited that he started to stutter. "I fear it goes even further! Perhaps those chieftains who publicly oppose the deep state are actually its closest allies, because by opposing the deep state, they can accomplish what the deep state wants to do but cannot or dares not do itself!"
Kuo seemed to understand my meaning. These dirty performances were nothing but ugly tricks by the chieftains to deceive their tribespeople. Behind their tough exterior was the disguise of a hypocritical villain.
I continued: "That uncle from Eastern Yi told us that during their war with Chou, many Eastern Yi chieftains secretly provided intelligence to the King of Chou, hoping Chou would help eliminate the tribes they despised, thereby partitioning those Eastern Yi tribal territories with Chou." I paused here: "But, Kuo, haven't you ever considered a question? Eastern Yi is such a weak state that the King of Chou wouldn't even need to deploy his own troops—just mobilizing the forces of the Duke of Qi and Duke of Lu would be enough to completely eliminate and conquer it. Yet generations of Chou kings have never done so. Do you know why?"
Kuo shook his head and said: "I've never thought about this question! But it is indeed a good one. Eastern Yi has been repeatedly defeated by us Lu people—they should have been completely eliminated long ago!" The alcohol was affecting Kuo now, and he swayed as he spoke: "Though I don't like the ritual of Chou, I still have an ambitious heart—to completely conquer Eastern Yi and turn it into Chou territory!"
"It will never happen!" I smiled, calmly shattering Kuo's fantasy, and continued: "Because Eastern Yi is a chess piece. The King of Chou can use this barbaric state to threaten the Duke of Qi and Duke of Lu at the border, depleting their forces and limiting their development. If Eastern Yi were truly destroyed, the distant King of Chou would be unable to directly rule Eastern Yi territory and would have to enfeoff it to the Duke of Qi and Duke of Lu. At that point, would these greatly expanded dukes still obey the King of Chou's commands, paying annual tribute and gifts? Or would they aspire to become new kings themselves?"
Kuo nodded and said, "No wonder! So from this perspective, my father's expedition against Eastern Yi over my affairs is also a kind of silent dissatisfaction with the royal house." I replied: "Yes, and this time he also publicly opposed the King of Chou's expedition against the Western Rong." Kuo laughed loudly: "Thinking of this makes me happy! That day, the King of Chou was initially full of vigor, but after his war plan was refuted by my father, he couldn't say a word in response and could only change the subject!" I also smiled and said: "Indeed, from this perspective, our Chou State isn't just the domain of one king, but rather a form of elite politics, or perhaps republican politics. Just as several nobles joining forces could overthrow the King of Chou—this is aristocratic republicanism, a kind of elite democracy, I suppose. In fact, in today's Chou State, many major administrative matters require the dukes to reach consensus before implementation."
Kuo waved his hand dismissively: "I don't think this is democracy—it's monopoly, with the aristocrats monopolizing politics." He took a large gulp of wine, "You know? That day when I was sword dancing, I was thinking that someday I would avenge my sister. With sword in hand, I was contemplating whether there might be an opportunity to assassinate the King of Chou. Lost in these thoughts, I mistook my brother for the king, causing that embarrassment! Truly, hatred clouded my judgment, nearly causing me to err again! What a huge joke in the end!" I shook my hand, saying: "That's all in the past, nobody minds anymore."
The autumn chill was rising over the Chou Plateau. As we two young men drank and talked, another two cups of wine went down, making us increasingly dizzy and increasingly uninhibited in our speech. Kuo leaned close to my ear and whispered: "One day, I will kill the King of Chou to avenge my sister." I laughed and said: "Big talk! You can't do it! His spies are everywhere, his guards within three steps of him at all times—how could you get close? Your sword would break before you even approached him!" He laughed heartily: "If I can't kill him, I'll kill his son. That Gongsheng is also a bastard!" I punched his head hard: "You fool! Do you want the witch doctor to feed you medicine again? Think of practical matters—that young lady Qingyao you just met isn't bad, you should treat her well!" He said, "I know, I know, she's also my sister."
At some point, snores arose around the table. Kuo had fallen asleep. I was also becoming drowsy and fell into a slumber with my head on the table. When I was awakened by noise, it was already very late. Neon lights were dazzling, and someone whispered in my ear: "Young master, wake up to see the lanterns!"
*Before we end: I'm thrilled that my collections have reached 5 for the first time! As a new author, I'm deeply grateful to all my readers, and I hope you'll feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or comments about my story. I wish to interact with all my readers and collectively shape the development of the plot. I also hope you can vote for me with power stones to support me (new author) and help more people discover my work! Finally, thank you to all my readers. Your collections, votes, and support are what motivate me to continue updating.*