He snorted coldly, then his expression changed from contempt to ferocity as he said coldly: “He thinks himself clever, wanting to stay in Shangjing to help that Qi Er – you’d better get him back quickly. Tell him plainly that I am determined to kill Qi Jingchen, and no one can save his life!”
Upon hearing these words, Han Shousong was shocked and alarmed!
He had indeed already known that Han Shouye was colluding with Northern Wei, wanting to secretly use the Wei people’s hands to kill Qi Jingchen. This naturally suited the Wei people’s intentions as well – why wouldn’t they agree? That Buddha Bathing Festival fire had been a means to deceive people.
But listening to Han Shouye’s tone… could it be that Qi Jingchen wasn’t dead yet?
Han Shousong frowned tightly and pressed further: “What does this mean? Could it be he’s not dead yet?”
Han Shouye gave another cold snort, and the light in his eyes dimmed as well.
Assassination was something these high-ranking people had done many times, so they naturally knew the tricks of the trade. A great fire that burned away all remains – such methods often harbored ulterior motives to deceive heaven and cross the sea. Han Shouye was undertaking great affairs that couldn’t tolerate the slightest uncertainty. Unless he saw Qi Jingchen’s corpse with his own eyes, he would never believe he was already dead.
He could now even assert that Qi Jingchen wasn’t dead yet. As for the reasons behind this, either that dog Emperor of Wei was greedy – after receiving his benefits, he had secretly preserved Qi Jingchen’s life wanting to make further deals with Great Liang, or Qi Jingchen himself had discovered the plot beforehand and found a way to hide and preserve his life.
Though Han Shouye now held overwhelming power, his influence was ultimately all in Jiangzuo. Shangjing was far away in another country, beyond his reach. If Qi Jingchen kept hiding in Northern Wei, he truly had no way to deal with him. But as soon as he showed himself and returned to Jiangzuo, Han Shouye was certain he could take his life.
Qi Jingchen had to die.
Speaking of it, though Qi Ying and Han Shouye had indeed had some unpleasant conflicts over official matters in the past, they weren’t really to the point of calling for blood and killing. The reason Han Shouye was so urgently moved to murderous intent this time had its roots not in Qi Ying himself.
But in their Majesty – Xiao Ziheng.
Though Han Shouye was crude by nature, he was absolutely no fool. He could see that the new monarch was not a good sort. Though half of Han family blood flowed in his veins, his heart held no sentiment for the Han family – what he valued most was monopolizing great power. In the past decade, he and his father had consecutively brought down the Shen and Qi families. Though he appeared harmonious with Han Shouye on the surface, secretly he wanted to seize the military power in his hands.
That Qi Jingchen was now a废人, at most nothing more than His Majesty’s hunting dog. His Majesty gave him the empty title of Left Chancellor, but actually used him as a target, having him everywhere restrict the Han and Fu families.
But even so, Han Shouye still had to admit that Qi Jingchen was Qi Jingchen. The great reputation the vast lands north and south of the river had given him was not false – he truly deserved it. Even though he had now fallen to such circumstances, he still had the ability to cultivate civil and military officials from commoner backgrounds, bit by bit fragmenting the power controlled by noble families. Take Pei Jian, that minor colonel from Shicheng ten years ago – he had been forcibly elevated by Qi Jingchen to the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry. Even their Qi family’s collateral branches had many inserted into the military by him, with several successively appointed as Lieutenant Generals.
The civil officials need not even be mentioned – Li Wei, the top scholar of Qinghua’s seventeenth year, was Qi Jingchen’s student. He had been transferred out of Jiankang a few years ago, and they thought he was already a discarded chess piece. Who would have thought that it was precisely he who persisted with the new policies that Qi Yun and Zhang Deci had been unable to fully implement back then. After a few years passed and results were seen, Qi Jingchen recommended him back to Jiankang to serve in the Imperial Secretariat. Now he was already counted among the Emperor’s close ministers, often obstructing and troubling the Fu family.
This new Left Chancellor could be considered thoroughly an isolated minister – among all the high-ranking officials of noble birth throughout the court, not one remained on good terms with him. Though everyone maintained superficial harmony, privately not one didn’t speak ill of him. Conversely, his reputation among scholars and commoners was extremely good. Impoverished candidates throughout the realm called him the exemplar of Jiangzuo’s civil governance – but what use was this? Jiangzuo was ultimately the world of noble families. Having offended the powerful and noble, Qi Jingchen was already isolated and helpless. Those rootless commoners could hardly make any waves – at most they could shout a few times and win their teacher an useless clean reputation.
Utterly worthless.
But even so, Han Shouye still had to kill him – because he had already developed treasonous intentions.
Han Shouye was already tired of the suffocating days of being cautious and keeping his tail between his legs. Rather than living daily in fear under a moody and unpredictable emperor whose joy and anger were hard to discern, constantly struggling with the frighteningly calculating Qi Jingchen, it would be better to simply overturn this chessboard and establish a new dynasty – he wanted to drive Xiao Ziheng from the imperial throne and let this land of Jiangzuo change its surname!
The noble families had been tolerant for too long, which was why the imperial house dared to repeatedly overstep and take advantage. If they didn’t fight back, everything would be finished. Han Shouye considered himself the person closest to that position – he held real command over three hundred thousand troops, plus his students and faction members, controlling fully two-thirds of Great Liang’s military strength. What did he have to fear? He only needed to steel his heart and he could accomplish the deed!
His only fear was Qi Jingchen.
Han Shouye knew that though Xiao Ziheng and his Empress had some cleverness, they were just petty scheming and calculations that couldn’t reach great heights. The only one who truly had strategy and could ruin his affairs was Qi Jingchen alone. If Han Shouye wanted to overturn heaven, he had to turn Qi Jingchen into yellow earth and white bones, or he would definitely not let him succeed.
However, after the Qi family’s downfall, His Majesty’s attitude toward Qi Ying had undergone a tremendous transformation. Originally, Xiao Ziheng had wished daily for Qi Ying’s swift death, but now he feared his death – afraid there would be no more capable person to handle affairs for him. So he sent people daily to protect Qi Jingchen’s safety. Combined with the Privy Council’s own power, no one could get near Qi Ying. To kill him, it absolutely couldn’t be done in Jiankang – they had to wait for him to leave Jiangzuo.
Han Shouye had waited countless days, finally waiting for the marriage alliance to arrive.
Everyone knew that Sixth Princess Xiao Ziyu had always been infatuated with this Qi Er. Unfortunately, fate was cruel and human affairs complex – she ultimately couldn’t have her wish and had to marry far away to Shangjing for the peace of both nations. How could her heart be comfortable? Han Shouye seized the opportunity and sent his Lady Yan into the palace to accompany the Princess in conversation. On the surface it was casual chat between women, but secretly Lady Yan followed Han Shouye’s arrangements, constantly encouraging Xiao Ziyu to petition His Majesty to let her beloved personally escort her in marriage. The two could spend the journey together, fulfilling a romantic dream she’d held since youth.
This Sixth Princess indeed couldn’t resist such encouragement. Upon hearing these words, she immediately wavered. Lady Yan’s front foot had barely left the palace gate when Xiao Ziyu’s back foot rushed to His Majesty’s imperial study. She cried, made scenes, and threatened suicide, insisting that Qi Jingchen personally serve as envoy to escort her marriage. She said if His Majesty didn’t permit this, she would wait until reaching Shangjing to kill herself before the Wei Emperor, thoroughly destroying the hard-won peace between the two nations. This gave her imperial brother an enormous headache.
Xiao Ziheng had no way to deal with this sister of his, and the Empress Dowager also pitied this daughter. She knew how much suffering her daughter had endured over this affair with Qi Ying, and always wanted to give her some fulfillment in her heart. So she also pleaded before the Emperor. No matter how strong Xiao Ziheng’s resolve, he couldn’t withstand his mother and sister’s simultaneous pestering. After several days of entanglement back and forth, he finally agreed.
This finally gave Han Shouye his opportunity.
Qi Jingchen had left Jiankang and stepped into Shangjing’s territory, which meant he had lost Xiao Ziheng and the Privy Council’s protection. As long as Han Shouye could gain the Wei Emperor’s support, it would be easy to take Qi Jingchen’s life, clearing the last obstacle for his great undertaking.
He quickly sent people to secretly contact the Wei Emperor.
The Wei people had suffered countless losses on the battlefield because of Qi Ying, so naturally they wanted to eliminate him even more. They hit it off immediately with Han Shouye. Only Han Shouye hadn’t expected that Qi Er could escape from such a deadly situation – just how capable was he! And where exactly was he hiding now!
Han Shouye had already decided that as soon as he confirmed Qi Ying’s death, he would immediately begin executing the plan he had long arranged – forcing the palace, killing the Son of Heaven, changing dynasties. He had already planted spies around Xiao Ziheng and even bought off Su Ping, ensuring that any of his actions were under his own watchful eyes. He absolutely couldn’t have any actions Han Shouye didn’t know about, including secret talks, including troop movements – every detail, large and small, was completely grasped by Han Shouye. Han Shouye was already certain that as long as Qi Jingchen wasn’t secretly obstructing and coordinating with His Majesty from within, he would definitely succeed in one stroke and become the new master of these beautiful mountains and rivers!
Now all variables rested with Qi Jingchen. He had to confirm he was already dead. If the Wei people were playing tricks on him, that was fine too – he could kill him with his own hands. He wanted to see the person alive or the corpse dead; not even the slightest accident would be allowed!
Once Han Shouye’s mind was set, his voice became even colder and more severe. He said to Han Shousong: “I’ll handle killing him myself. What you need to do is call your son back and not let him get involved and disrupt my plans – I’ll say the ugly words first: if Zhongheng really wants to be foolish and oppose me for the sake of an outsider, I will definitely not hesitate to kill him along with the rest!”
Faced with such a momentous matter as rebellion, even someone as crude as Han Shouye couldn’t help but put his mind to serious work. Han Feichi was still lingering in Shangjing refusing to leave. On the surface he claimed it was to find Qi Ying’s remains, but Han Shouye suspected even more that he was in league with Qi Ying. He knew Qi Ying wasn’t dead, and staying there was to help him and pass messages for him!
Rebellion was a great crime punishable by execution of nine generations of kin. Facing life and death, Han Shouye had to be even more cautious. He would absolutely not allow anyone to ruin his affairs, even his own nephew – if he could think clearly and obediently return to Jiangzuo to stay out of the matter, that would be best. If not… then he shouldn’t blame his uncle for being ruthless.
Han Shousong saw the layers of murderous intent that flashed through Han Shouye’s eyes at that moment, and his brow was already furrowed as tightly as possible.
He grabbed Han Shouye’s arm and stared at him fixedly, saying: “I know what you want to do, but have you really thought it through? Setting aside whether you can successfully force the palace, even if you really kill His Majesty, can you guarantee you’ll definitely sit steadily on the throne? Will the Fu family willingly bow and submit to our clan? A thousand threads, ten thousand complications! We can’t accomplish it!”
His words were weighty sentence by sentence, precise word by word, while Han Shouye’s attitude was even more resolute than his brother’s.
He shook off Han Shousong’s grasp with one motion, then immediately grabbed the other’s arm in return, lowering his upper body until he was almost touching Han Shousong.
“If we don’t succeed, we’ll die as martyrs,” Han Shouye’s hands were trembling slightly, but his eyes already showed the aspect of a tiger or wolf. “Why did the Shen and Qi families fall? Because they were tolerant and retreated! The imperial house’s blade has already fallen. That Xiao Ziheng is no good seed – once we surrender without resistance, the outcome will be following in those two families’ footsteps, or even worse!”
Every word carried blood, every sound contained killing intent.
This was also… burning boats and bridges, staking everything on one throw.
Han Shousong looked into his brother’s eyes, cold sweat already pouring down like rain.
Author’s Note: General Han flies bravely forward, and when things go wrong he’ll bear it himself (sigh, actually I personally think his reasoning doesn’t have any major problems) (And wishing everyone Happy New Year once more! Great fortune in the Year of the Ox!)