Chapter 34: Changgong

Gao Shaode’s lips trembled, but in the end, he did not say that Lan Jing should not have resisted.

He was still young, and while his nature was cold and ruthless, he was not yet so shameless as to claim that Lan Jing deserved to die unconditionally.

Hearing this story for the first time, he swallowed hard and asked, "And then?"

"And then, while our Great Uncle was discussing with his ministers how to accept the abdication of the former Wei, Lan Jing broke into the room with his six accomplices and assassinated... The incident was sudden, and the court fell into chaos. But our Imperial Father remained calm in the face of danger, made a swift decision, directed the guards to capture Lan Jing, avenged our Great Uncle, and brought the situation under control. In the end, seeing that the mandate of heaven had not departed from our Gao family, the Emperor of Wei felt ashamed and entrusted the state and the throne to our Imperial Father."

"When the servants knelt and bowed, no one could see their expressions. Conversely, had our Great Uncle treated Lan Jing well in the beginning, how could the Lan Jing incident have occurred? And how could we enjoy our nobility today?"

Gao Shaode remained silent, his brother’s words echoing in his heart, every syllable carved into his mind.

He suddenly asked, "Big Brother often visits the North Palace for banquets, yet you never let the Prince of Hejian go there. Is this the reason?"

Gao Yin nodded. "The North Palace is the very place where our Great Uncle met his end. He is the Prince of Hejian’s father; how could a son seek pleasure in the place where his father was martyred?"

Immediately, Gao Yin sighed, "If not for the Lan Jing incident, the one sitting here speaking today would be the Prince of Hejian."

Although the Prince of Hejian, Gao Xiaowan, was the third son of Gao Cheng, he was the eldest son born of the Empress Jingde, Yuan Zhonghua. Had Gao Cheng successfully usurped the Wei throne, Gao Xiaowan would have been the Crown Prince.

Gao Yin turned back and tapped his fourth younger brother, Shaoren, on the head.

Gao Xiaowan’s fourth younger brother was named Gao Xiaowan, but his courtesy name was more famous: Gao Changgong.

Shaoren was his own fourth younger brother, so Gao Changgong should have been in Shaoren’s position.

However, the current Gao Xiaowan was neither Gao Changgong nor the Prince of Lanling. He had not yet reached the age of capping and was merely a Tongzhi Sanqi Shilang (a minor court official).

Ironically, Gao Xiaowan became the Prince of Lanling only after Gao Yan launched a coup, seized power from Gao Yin, and elevated Gao Changgong to a princely rank to win over various factions.

Gao Changgong was born in the third year of the Xinghe era of the Eastern Wei. Counting it up, he was now eighteen.

He, along with Duan Shao and Hulü Guang, were known to later generations as the "Three Heroes of Northern Qi." Gao Changgong was worthy of the title. Five years later, the great general of the Zhou state, Yang Zhong, would join forces with the Mukan Qaghan of the Turks to descend from Hengzhou and attack Northern Qi, heading straight for Jinyang.

This Yang Zhong had a son the same age as Gao Changgong named Yang Jian, who would become Emperor Wen of Sui.

This Mukan Qaghan had a daughter who was the Empress of Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong.

In that battle, the Qi Emperor, Gao Zhan, had originally intended to flee east with his attendants. Later, Gao Wei’s choice to run away was no original invention; it was simply that Gao Zhan’s genes were too potent, his instinct to flee etched into his DNA.

But the Prince of Zhaojun, Gao Rui, and the Prince of Hejian, Gao Xiaowan, reined in Gao Zhan’s horse, just as Hulü Jin had once held back Gao Huan—though the latter did so to let the Grand Chancellor regroup, while the former did so to prevent the Son of Heaven from abandoning his army.

Gao Xiaowan requested that the army be placed under Gao Rui’s command, and Gao Zhan agreed, ordering the Six Armies to follow Gao Rui’s directives, with the Inspector of Bingzhou, Duan Shao, in overall command.

This reflected the awkward situation of the Qi state. The imperial power of Northern Qi was weak, and military authority had slipped entirely into the hands of the Xianbei nobility. The Gao clan princes had aligned with them; if Gao Zhan did not delegate power, they would refuse to fight, bargaining with the Emperor before the battle even began.

Gao Yan and Gao Zhan finally tasted the bitter fruit of the coup they had launched, which had backfired on imperial authority.

Later, Gao Zhan climbed the northern wall of Jinyang. The army was in such perfect formation that it even made the Turks complain to the Zhou: "You said the Qi state was in chaos, so we came to conquer them. Yet now, there is iron in the eyes of the Qi men; how can we stand against them!"

Gao Changgong also participated in this battle, and under the command of Gao Rui and Duan Shao, the Qi army soundly defeated the Zhou forces.

Six years later, Duan Shao, Hulü Guang, and Gao Changgong together led 50,000 men at Mount Mang to shatter the Northern Zhou’s army of 100,000. Northern Zhou suffered countless casualties, with many falling into rivers and ravines, and the Great General Wang Xiong was killed in battle.

Gao Changgong’s fame soared after this victory, and to commemorate his exploits, the soldiers composed the "Prince of Lanling Enters the Battle" song.

But afterward, Gao Changgong would fall under the suspicion of Gao Wei.

At a banquet, Gao Wei once warned Gao Changgong: "You went too deep into the enemy lines on the battlefield; if you had suffered a defeat, you would have had regrets beyond remedy."

Gao Changgong replied, "It was a family matter, and I became carried away without thinking."

Gao Wei suspected him for calling state affairs a "family matter" and began to harbor deep hatred for him.

Of course, Gao Zhan and his son Gao Wei hated many people. Gao Rui was suspected and murdered by Gao Zhan’s empress; Gao Xiaowan was killed after Gao Zhan broke both his legs; and Gao Changgong was poisoned by Gao Wei.

In realistic terms, Gao Zhan and his son were purging the princes within the Gao clan who could replace them, hoping to prevent the "Qianming Incident" from recurring. Yet, it was Gao Zhan himself who had single-handedly created this vicious cycle of power in the Qi state.

In such an environment, even the most outstanding generals would be buried or murdered. Gao Yin absolutely did not want such things to happen.

Among the pearls of the Great Qi, he had to at least save Gao Changgong.

Gao Changgong currently had no military merits, and only Gao Yin knew of his peerless military talent. He would be the one to recognize his potential.

Even if Gao Changgong wanted to launch a coup in the future, few would respond, because although he was the son of Emperor Wuxiang, Gao Cheng, he was a concubine’s son; legally, he had no claim to inherit Gao Cheng’s power unless he pushed his second brother, Gao Xiaowan, onto the throne.

Not to mention that after Gao Yang, it was his own turn; even if he were gone, Gao Yan and Gao Zhan were still waiting in line. The descendants of Shenwu had not yet finished their turn, and it would not reach Gao Changgong.

And if he could manage Gao Yan and Gao Zhan yet still fail to control Gao Xiaowan and Gao Changgong, then he deserved to be overthrown.

Besides, given Gao Changgong’s personality—willing to wait for death while sick, drinking poison without a word of defense—it was hard to say he had any ambition at all.

Therefore, Gao Changgong could be safely employed.

Suddenly, a report came from the palace: the Emperor invited the Crown Prince to the North Palace for a banquet.

The three younger brothers wanted to go with Gao Yin, but the attendant said the Emperor only summoned the Crown Prince. The brothers reluctantly let go of their brother’s hands, only cheering up after Gao Yin promised to take them out of the palace to play next time.

Sitting in his carriage, Gao Yin instructed his second brother, "Shaode, take them back."

"Understood, Brother."

Shaode and the younger brothers bowed in farewell. Gao Yin nodded, had the items wrapped up, and headed for the North Palace.

Upon arriving at the North Palace, before he even alighted, he heard the sound of Western Regions music. Gao Yin asked the attendant, "Are the Sogdians playing?"

The attendant was about to speak when he saw people being carried out of the palace—men and women, all pierced with arrows, their terrified faces already drained of life. The guards wrapped them in thick cloth, yet drops of blood still fell onto the stone steps, blooming like plum blossoms.

Seeing the Crown Prince, the guards looked apologetic. It was not that they did not know they could wrap the bodies in cloth, but those were the arrows shot by the Son of Heaven; they dared not pull them out, and wrapping them might break the arrows, so they could only place the cloth beneath the bodies.

Gao Yin’s expression was heavy. He ordered the items to be brought along and hurried into the North Palace.

As the attendant announced his arrival, the crowd involuntarily looked toward the palace gate, awaiting Gao Yin. Without realizing it, the ministers had come to view the Crown Prince as their savior.

Just as Gao Yin stepped into the palace gate, an arrow flew toward him, embedding itself deeply into the door, the fletching vibrating in a blur.

"Oops!"

Then came Gao Yang’s voice: "I missed!"

A dancer in front of Gao Yin quickly knelt down, trembling; the arrow had been aimed exactly at her.

Gao Yang rubbed his chin, thinking, "Forget it. It must be heaven’s will that I didn't hit you. You may leave."

He looked at the ministers: "I am the Son of Heaven; I have that authority, do I not?"

The ministers chimed in, praising Gao Yang’s benevolence. The dancer felt as if she had been granted a pardon and left on trembling legs, while the next dancer replaced her, her face ashen.

Gao Yang drew his bow again, aiming at the performers below: "Come now, perform well for me! If there is the slightest mistake, it will cost someone their life!"