In the third year of Zhaowu, Gu Zheng once felt he had grown old.
"Father, are you really... not going to fight anymore?"
At the dining table, Gu Zheng held Tuan in one arm while feeding him with the other. Gu Mingliu and Yu Fan, the married couple, had their eyes fixed on Tuan. Gu Mingzhu, sitting nearby, just kept her head down, eating her rice with gusto. Only Gu Mingning seemed restless.
Hearing this, Gu Zheng's hand holding the spoon paused. "Nowadays, Great Qi doesn't need wars. Even if it did, I no longer have the strength to fight."
A general in his twilight years—this was a reality he had spent two years coming to accept.
In truth, he had felt his energy waning during the campaign against Great Yue. Had it not been for the Princess's tactical formations, every battle would have been exceedingly difficult.
"Father, you're not old at all."
Gu Mingning lowered his head sadly. Ever since he could remember, he knew his father was Great Qi's most formidable general. Every time his father lifted him high overhead, he was overjoyed.
Yet even such a father had conceded to age.
Gu Zheng kissed Tuan, handed him to Yu Fan, and then turned a serious gaze to Gu Mingning. "Your father was born in a chaotic era, fought many battles, and earned many merits. For you and Yu Fan in the future, earning military honors will be difficult, but this is a good thing for the common people."
It's just that in times of peace, it is the military commanders who fall silent.
"Although the Emperor and the Grand Emperor trust the Gu family greatly, we must not become presumptuous. I will use this opportunity to formally return the Gu family's military authority to the Emperor." Gu Zheng sighed. "Mingning, from now on, there will no longer be a 'Gu Family Army'."
After all, they were his old comrades who had followed him for many years. Gu Zheng's voice was full of sorrow.
"Father, don't be so sad." Gu Mingzhu suddenly looked up, a grain of rice accidentally stuck to the corner of her mouth. "From now on, all the soldiers of the realm will be the 'Song Family Army'. We're still one family."
Gu Mingzhu's words instantly lightened the previously solemn atmosphere.
"Our Mingzhu is the best, eat and sleep, sleep and eat." Gu Mingning reached out and flicked Gu Mingzhu's forehead. "Carefree and without worries."
"That's not true! I want to be a female general. Though there may be no external enemies, there are internal troubles. Wherever I am needed, I am willing to go."
Gu Mingzhu clenched her fist. The Princess said she was the bravest Mingzhu, unafraid of difficulties!
"Good. Then from now on, our Gu family will resolve the internal troubles for the Emperor."
Gu Zheng also smiled. With children like these, what more could one ask for?
......
Several days later.
Gu Zheng finally managed to catch Song Yu.
Standing outside the Zichen Hall, Gu Zheng sighed inwardly. Since the Emperor ascended the throne, he was as elusive as a dragon, even harder to meet than when he was in the Prince of Qin's mansion.
"General Gu, please come in quickly."
Entering the Zichen Hall, Gu Zheng looked at the several extra desks inside and his mouth twitched slightly.
He supposed these were the desks for the Princess and Third Young Master Shen. The Emperor certainly knew how to enjoy himself.
"General Gu, what matter brings you to seek an audience with Us?"
Song Yu had just returned from a trip and was sprawled out on the dragon throne. Sometimes Song Yu even felt that inspecting the people's conditions was more tiring than holding court!
"Your Majesty, today this subject has come to return the Tiger Tally."
Clatter. Song Yu, lying unsteadily, slipped and fell to the floor.
"This Tiger Tally commands the Gu Family Army. Why would the General return it to Us?"
Faced with Song Yu's question, Gu Zheng began to doubt his own understanding of the world.
What kind of emperor asks such a question?
"All the soldiers of the realm are Your Majesty's soldiers. Now that the land is unified, the Gu family can no longer hold military authority. Otherwise, it will surely invite criticism and pose a threat to the state."
"And also, this subject... this subject also no longer has the strength to fight."
Gu Zheng forced himself to speak. His original sorrowful mood had diminished somewhat. Why did it feel like he was forcing the Tiger Tally upon the Emperor?
Was this a joke?
Then he saw Song Yu slowly get up, sit back on the dragon throne, and look at Gu Zheng with an inscrutable depth in his gaze. "As long as this Tiger Tally remains in your hands, Gu Zheng, it will never pose a threat to the state."
"General Gu has fought so many battles for Great Qi, bearing countless old injuries large and small. If We were to take back this Tiger Tally now, that would truly chill people's hearts."
Song Yu walked up to Gu Zheng and revealed a smile Gu Zheng would never forget in his lifetime:
"The General has grown old, but he is still the General."
Gu Zheng campaigned far and wide, Gu Mingning guarded the northern deserts, and the Gu family spent little time together.
Yet to receive such trust from the sovereign made everything worthwhile.
Gu Zheng knelt down, his forehead touching the ground. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Then, I must ask Your Majesty to reclaim the Tiger Tally without fail after this subject's death."
Song Yu personally helped Gu Zheng up, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness:
"General Gu, Great Qi does not fear subjects whose merits overshadow their lord."
Only an incompetent ruler would worry about his general's prestige surpassing his own.
Would he, Song Yu, be an incompetent man?
......
"Did the Emperor truly say that to you?"
In the imperial garden, two old men held fishing rods in nearly identical postures. Both had failed to catch a fish for quite a while.
"Absolutely true."
Gu Zheng's eyes reddened. "Grand Emperor, when His Majesty spoke those words, this subject immediately wanted to take up the sword again and fight on the battlefield once more, repaying His Majesty with blood."
"That scoundrel does have some of Our former bearing."
Emperor Yuanyou nodded with satisfaction. "You, just set your mind at ease and hand the Gu Family Army over to Mingning. That lad is even more fierce than you were in your youth. And Mingzhu—some time ago, she went to the military camp and took down three soldiers. She might truly inherit your legacy."
"Just don't forget to come to the imperial garden often to keep Us company fishing."
Emperor Yuanyou was thoroughly pleased with Song Yu's actions, but he was stubborn, unwilling to praise Song Yu to his face. So, he sent the fish he had spent three days catching to the Zichen Hall.
"What is this thing? Throw it back where it came from."
With that one sentence from Song Yu, Emperor Yuanyou's three days of work were wasted, leaving him so angry he stumbled over his words.
After accepting his age, Gu Zheng entered the palace more and more frequently. The two old men spent their days either loitering in front of Song Shihuan or launching surprise inspections at the military camp.
As for why they didn't fish, it was because Emperor Yuanyou, upon seeing Song Shihuan catch six fish in just fifteen minutes on her first try, was utterly defeated.
He threw away all his fishing gear.
One day, Emperor Yuanyou and Gu Zheng left the palace again.
Watching the valiant and spirited soldiers in the military camp, the two men seemed to see their younger selves riding horses and wielding swords.
"What did We entrust to you when We first appointed the Crown Prince? Do you remember?"
Gu Zheng's hair had turned white very quickly in recent years, showing his age. "I remember."
"Your Majesty instructed this subject that if one day the Prince of Qin encountered mortal danger, I was to retrieve the imperial decree hidden behind the plaque."
Gu Zheng's eyes were full of warmth. "This subject promised Your Majesty that unless I died, the Prince of Qin would remain safe and sound."
That was why, back when Song Ling controlled the Ministry of War, he never accepted the olive branch Song Ling extended.
Because he, Gu Zheng.
From beginning to end, the command he received was to protect the Prince of Qin.
