Although Shen Yang did not raise the matter of resignation and retirement again, he sat there in a daze. No one knew what he was thinking for a time. Everyone worried that the Qin Wen affair had struck him too hard, and they all looked toward Yang Zhitang to see what his opinion on this matter was.

Du Chongtao’s wife, Old Princess Deqing, served in the Internal Attendants Office, so he found it inconvenient to say much.

“Following the Grand Empress Dowager’s edict in this matter would also be acceptable.”

The Internal Attendants Office was currently mainly managed by Yang En along with imperial clan elders and imperial clan matrons. Yang Zhitang had already received enough shocks today and could not think things through too carefully for the moment. But between ministers and the imperial clan, he naturally inclined toward the imperial clan and would not oppose strengthening the imperial clan’s authority.

And if Grand Empress Dowager Changxin could sever relations with Tangyi, even if she became slightly more forceful, he would not particularly mind.

Besides, no matter how forceful Grand Empress Dowager Changxin became, could she be more forceful than the Huang family would be after Prince Fu succeeded to the throne?

Yang Zhitang did not want others to dwell on this matter and changed the subject.

“What is more urgent at present is to clarify whether Han Qian truly went to Heluo and to understand what the Liang Emperor’s true intent is in requesting Han Qian to lead troops into Heluo.”

Everyone had received enough internal shocks today, but none compared to the impact of this news whose truth was difficult to discern.

“Is it possible that the Liang Emperor truly is gravely ill, while his eldest son Prince Luo was also poisoned, and with powerful enemies surrounding Heluo, he had no choice but to entrust his heir to Tangyi?” Zhang Chao asked hesitantly.

“If it were merely accepting the Liang Emperor’s entrustment to protect his young heir, why would Han Qian need to expose the strength the Chishan Association has hidden over these years, and why assemble these forces in Tangyi and Donghu?” Zheng Yu shook his head, feeling there were still too many suspicious points in the entire affair. “I believe Han Daoming’s words are not credible.”

“The Liang Emperor’s critical illness and entrustment of his heir may not be false, but Han Qian may not be content with just that—perhaps he harbors even greater ambitions?” Du Chongtao said with furrowed brow.

He naturally would not believe it was merely a simple entrustment of an heir. As a Great Chu veteran general who had commanded troops for many years and was even once renowned alongside Li Yu and others in his early years, he trusted more in analysis and judgment of military intelligence and basic strategic conditions.

Currently, aside from part of Tangyi’s navy and Chishan Association forces assembled on the southern front, Tangyi’s truly elite infantry main forces were all deployed on the northern front or northwestern flank.

Beyond the nearly twenty thousand elite troops that directly entered Heluo, how many dependent household surplus males Kong Xirong’s forces could conscript from Deng and Jun provinces was actually unknown—certainly not the twelve thousand that Tangyi had exaggerated. But Du Chongtao could confirm that at least twenty thousand men were elite forces transferred from within Huaixi.

There was also the point that Grand Empress Dowager Changxin had mentioned in Changxin Palace’s great hall.

Zhou Bingwu, Zhang Xiang, and Zhao Zhen commanded over eighty thousand troops north of Xiang, Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan had over thirty thousand elite combat troops in Chu Province, while they could most quickly assemble sixty or seventy thousand troops near the capital region.

Under such circumstances, he found it very difficult to believe that Han Qian at this time truly harbored any covetous designs on Jinling.

Even if Han Daoming’s words absolutely could not be believed lightly, aside from “the Liang Emperor’s critical illness,” Du Chongtao could see no other suitable explanation for the current situation. But if he had to say Han Daoming was concealing something, he felt that Han Qian personally commanding troops into Heluo indicated impure motives.

Only this could explain why Tangyi would go to such lengths to conceal the truth, yet not hesitate to expose all Chishan Association forces while assembling them in Tangyi, Donghu, Xichuan, and other places.

Put plainly, he was worried that Jinling and Chu Province would hold him back.

Du Chongtao’s words immediately plunged everyone into contemplation, all unable to help considering the possibility of this speculation and the subsequent consequences and impact on Great Chu.

At this moment, Yang En furrowed his brow and pondered hesitantly: “What if the so-called entrustment by the Liang Emperor means thoroughly handing Heluo over to Han Qian, even having Liang’s generals and officials directly establish Han Qian as their new sovereign?”

“How is that possible?” Du Chongtao instinctively shook his head to reject Yang En’s speculation, pondering aloud. “Zhu Yu has three living sons. What reason would the Liang Emperor have not to establish his own son but instead establish an outsider? And with Liang’s renowned ministers and veteran generals all present, what reason would they have not to establish Zhu Yu’s son but instead welcome an outsider?”

Zheng Yu, Zhang Chao, Zheng Chang, and others also shook their heads, feeling Yang En’s speculation was too outlandish.

“May I ask Marquis Yang why you say this?”

Zhou Qinian, standing among the Personnel Ministry and Internal Attendants Office officials along with Zhang Xian and others, could not help stepping forward to ask.

Both Du Chongtao’s and Yang En’s speculations could explain the current situation, but the impact on subsequent developments would be vastly different.

If, as Du Chongtao envisioned, the Liang Emperor merely intended a conventional entrustment of his heir but Han Qian harbored treacherous ambitions to seize power, even if Han Qian succeeded by chance, under military pressure from the Mengwu and Eastern Liang forces, he could not possibly establish a foothold in Heluo and ultimately could only gain hundreds of thousands more troops and civilians before fleeing back to Huaixi in panic.

Such a situation would not be too bad for Jinling—in fact, they would still need Tangyi to continue holding the northern front to resist the Mengwu’s southern invasion.

If it were as Yang En envisioned, that would be rather ominous for Jinling.

Even though Zhou Qinian also felt what Yang En said was unlikely, he still could not help asking one more question.

“Compared to Marquis Yang’s speculation, at this time Han Qian should be even less likely to arbitrarily harbor treacherous ambitions to seize Heluo,” Shen Yang, who had been silent for a long time, now said in a hoarse voice.

Shen Yang was disheartened, but that did not mean his basic judgment was gone.

Both Yang En’s and Du Chongtao’s speculations were quite outlandish, but if forced to choose between these two speculations, Shen Yang was more inclined to accept Yang En’s.

Hearing Shen Yang say this, Zhou Qinian was also alarmed and could not help thinking: they could all imagine what the consequences would be if Han Qian treacherously seized Heluo at this time—how could Han Qian himself not think of it?

But was the truth really as Yang En said?

Yang En sighed lightly and said: “Having lost Yong Province and Bian, Liang has become a remnant state. If what Han Daoming said about Zhu Yu’s grave illness and Prince Liang Luo Zhu Zhen’s poisoning is true, after Zhu Yu’s death, Heluo will be difficult to defend alone, and his choices are not many. And if he merely wants to entrust his heir to Han Qian, even wanting to temporarily entrust remnant Liang’s military and governmental affairs to Han Qian’s command, he must be able to imagine possible outcomes: First, Han Qian fails to hold Heluo and remnant Liang forces flee south, inevitably merging into Heluo. Second, Han Qian holds Heluo and returns governance to his young son after he matures. Third, Han Qian usurps his position. For Han Qian, even if he harbors ambitions to usurp, he would not choose to act hastily at this time. After securing Heluo, he would have more time to win over and divide Liang’s former officials. As for Liang Emperor Zhu Yu, if he truly intended for Han Qian to eventually return governance to his son, then when sending envoys to see Han Qian, he should also have sent envoys to Jinling to have us check and balance Han Qian’s ambitions… In my humble opinion regarding current matters, the Liang Emperor is a sovereign of his generation. His fortune may be poor, but his scheming is beyond what ordinary people can fathom—we cannot view him as an ordinary person. Perhaps he has already calculated that even temporarily having Han Qian command Heluo’s military and governmental affairs cannot resolve the discord between Tangyi and Heluo, and thus cannot fundamentally resolve the crisis facing remnant Liang. Therefore he conceived the idea of having remnant Liang’s generals and officials establish Han Qian, combining both forces to resist the barbarian invaders. This should also be why Han Qian has gone to such lengths this past month to conceal his true purpose in leading troops to Heluo.”

“How could Liang’s generals and officials willingly establish Han Qian? You must know that Tangyi’s new systems contradict remnant Liang’s old systems in far too many ways…” Zhang Chao still felt it impossible and questioned.

“In the previous Hehuai battles, Gu Qian, Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, Lei Jiuyuan, and other remnant Liang generals and officials all received Tangyi’s favor, and these individuals are not the type to cling stubbornly to old ways,” Yang En said. “If I were a Liang general or official, with the Liang Emperor critically ill and Prince Luo unlikely to survive, establishing Han Qian would be the most realistic choice. As for new systems versus old regulations—petty people might be troubled by such things, but truly speaking, isn’t surviving more important? Could Gu Qian, Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, and Lei Jiuyuan possibly think that submitting to the Mengwu or Eastern Liang forces would yield better results?”

“Whether it is or not, send three people separately to see Han Daoming, Yun Puzi, and Qin Wen,” Du Chongtao said decisively, somewhat persuaded by Yang En. “If it truly is as Marquis Yang speculates, we test them with this speculation—the three of them cannot possibly reveal not a single trace…”

Shen Yang nodded gravely and said to Grand Empress Dowager Changxin: “I beseech the Grand Empress Dowager to issue an edict for people to go see Han Daoming, Yun Puzi, and Qin Wen…”

Qing Yang sat dazed behind the imperial desk.

At this moment she already believed Yang En’s speculation, because only this could explain why Han Qian, clearly knowing she would choose to sever ties with Tangyi, would still go to such lengths to have people teach her how to seize the initiative through the Internal Attendants Office.

If Yang En’s speculation was true, it meant Huaixi would also merge into Western Liang, making Western Liang’s territory directly face Jinling across the river—a situation no one in Jinling wanted to see.

And if both sides did not hesitate to meet with armed conflict, how would the situation evolve?

With Tangyi assembling tens of thousands of naval forces in Donghu and Tangyi, the court’s directly controlled forces—the Imperial Guards, Right Dragon Martial Army, and Left Brave Cavalry Army—could only firmly defend the capital region and the middle Yangtze southern bank areas of Xuan, Chi, and Su on both flanks. But after merging with Tangyi, Western Liang’s strategic focus would necessarily be on the northern front defending against the Mengwu and Eastern Liang forces. At this time, if the court wanted to recapture Huaixi, aside from having Chu Province forces attack Huaixi from the eastern flank, they could also deploy the Pacification Army to attack Deng, Jun, Huaixi, and other places from the western flank.

However, this situation was absolutely not one she wished to see.

Aside from Chu Province forces being personally commanded by Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan, if they were to order the Pacification Army to attack Huaixi from the western flank at this time, it would necessarily be led mainly by the Right Brave Cavalry Army stationed at Suiyang and Fancheng. And the Right Brave Cavalry Army and its Commander-in-Chief Zhao Zhen were Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan’s direct forces.

If ultimately it was Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan’s direct forces that defeated and occupied Huaixi—was this a situation she wanted to see?

Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Du Chongtao, and others had not dared lightly discuss deposing and establishing before, mainly because they worried Han Qian would take advantage. But if they saw that after Tangyi and Heluo merged, Han Qian had no choice but to place his military focus on the northern front to defend against the Mengwu, they would certainly not be so worried anymore.

At that point, if they wanted to recapture Huai—whether for the sake of having justified cause or to争取 the full support of Jiangdong gentry clans for military action—they might directly drive Bin’er from the throne!

Thinking this, chills ran up Qing Yang’s spine. She sat there dazed. At the moment she could only follow Yang En and Shen Yang’s tone and have them select three mature and capable imperial clan elders from the Internal Attendants Office to separately seek out Han Daoming, Yun Puzi, and Qin Wen to probe their attitudes.

Honestly, as long as their thinking was not disrupted and returned to normal tracks, even the most impossible and outlandish speculations would uncover more traces.

The people sent out to probe returned to Chongwen Hall very quickly. Yang En and Du Chongtao questioned them in detail about the specifics of probing the three men’s attitudes. The facts indeed did not allow for optimism.

Everyone exchanged glances as they sat in the great hall, listening to the early spring cold wind howling over the roof.

Listening to Shen Yang, Yang En, Yang Zhitang, and Du Chongtao sitting at the front of the hall discussing various countermeasures, Qing Yang also felt vexed and troubled. She said: “Much of this remains speculation, but aside from having Right Dragon Martial Army Commander-in-Chief, Marquis Xin’an Yang Fan transfer one army division north from Run Province to strengthen Yang Province’s defense west of Tangyi, other matters should perhaps not be acted upon rashly for now—what do you ministers think?”

“Although we should not act rashly, aside from the capital region, Suiyang, Fancheng, as well as Chu Province, Xinyang, and other places must all prepare for the worst,” Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Yang En, Du Chongtao, and others insisted.

They had all been toyed with by Tangyi for over a month. Even if they were unwilling to tear off all pretense, at this time they necessarily had to prepare for tearing off all pretense.

Otherwise, could they really wait until news of Liang’s generals and officials establishing Han Qian as their new sovereign spread throughout the world, watching helplessly as Han Qian carved this crucial stronghold of Huaixi from Great Chu’s territory and merged it into Western Liang?

Seeing everyone insisting, and seeing that vile servant Huang E made no sound, Qing Yang would not go against so many people’s will. She said: “Then let you ministers quickly draft detailed proposals to submit to me and Grand Empress Dowager Mingcheng for decision…”

After the procession returned to Changxin Palace and she had settled Bin’er to sleep in the inner hall, Qing Yang personally confirmed all doors and windows were securely closed from the inside before walking back to the sleeping chamber, exhausted.

Suddenly seeing a familiar figure standing at the sleeping chamber door, Qing Yang’s beautiful brows furrowed in anger. She stared coldly at that elderly palace attendant and signaled for those around her to withdraw first.

“Following the Grand Empress Dowager’s instructions, seven troublesome servants in the palace have all gone to Minister Zhang and Minister Jiang to guard the late Emperor’s mausoleum. This old servant came especially to inform the Grand Empress Dowager and will also leave the city for the Imperial Mausoleum tomorrow,” the elderly palace attendant said, bowing as he entered the sleeping chamber.

“Are there truly only seven of your people in the palace?” Qing Yang asked coldly.

“The Grand Empress Dowager has already issued an edict for the Internal Attendants Office to remove everyone with any connection to Tangyi from the palace and court. What does the Grand Empress Dowager still have difficulty feeling at ease about?” the elderly palace attendant asked in return.

“What is your name? How is it I have no impression of you before? If you had not come forward voluntarily this time, even if the Internal Attendants Office truly investigated internal and external court attendants with Tangyi connections, they might not necessarily have detected your existence, would they?” Qing Yang stared at the elderly palace attendant and asked.

Honestly, over the past six months she had also secretly watched for people in the palace who might have connections to Tangyi. As one of the two palace grand empress dowagers, she could also access various confidential documents. But this elderly palace eunuch had never appeared in her field of vision—from existing materials, there seemed to be no evidence of even half a connection between him and Tangyi.

“This old servant truly could not be counted as belonging to Marquis Han before, but from now on, both Heluo and Tangyi will establish Marquis Han as their new sovereign, so this old servant has become Marquis Han’s man—if the Internal Attendants Office merely investigates along the line of connections to Tangyi, it truly may not necessarily detect this old servant’s existence,” the elderly palace attendant said with a smile.

“You are a dormant tiger of the Chengtian Bureau?” Qing Yang drew in a sharp breath, staring at this unremarkable, trembling sixty-some-year-old eunuch. She had not expected he was actually a Liang secret agent lurking in Jinling.

And that Han Qian this time had not had more easily exposed people contact her but instead had this old eunuch come forward—this undoubtedly proved that the merger of Heluo and Tangyi had long been progressing.

“This old servant will not disturb the Grand Empress Dowager’s rest. Tomorrow I will go to the Imperial Mausoleum myself and will not come to trouble the Grand Empress Dowager again,” the old eunuch bowed and was about to take his leave.

“You said that from now on both Heluo and Tangyi will establish Han Qian as their new sovereign—does this mean Han Qian has already ascended the throne in Luoyang?” Qing Yang could not help asking.

“At dawn today, carrier pigeons brought letters from Luoyang back to Jinling. Marquis Han arrived in Luoyang nine days ago. Four days ago, our Emperor performed the abdication ceremony in Luoyang, and Marquis Han has already formally become sovereign of Great Liang—yesterday our Emperor unfortunately passed away from illness at Qianxi Temple in Longmen Mountain…” The elderly palace eunuch wiped away two streams of turbid tears that flowed unbidden, standing in the lamplight. “Speaking of which, this old servant and the Grand Empress Dowager could be considered old acquaintances. This old servant and my elder brother Lei Jiuyuan were minor eunuchs in the Eastern Capital’s Divine Mausoleum Bureau in early years. The Eastern Capital’s centuries of prosperity were all destroyed in war, and barely one in ten of over a million inhabitants survived. This old servant and my brother became disheartened and lived farming and studying in the Taolin mountains. When His Majesty was stationed in Luoyang, this old servant and my brother entered His Majesty’s service. My brother managed Chengtian Bureau affairs for His Majesty, while this old servant yearned for Jiangnan’s prosperity and has lived these years cultivating body and mind within Great Chu’s palace…”

“What exactly does Han Qian intend to do?” Qing Yang asked.

“Rather than asking what Marquis Han intends to do, you should ask what our Emperor intended to do,” the old eunuch said. “Nine of ten things Minister Han just said in Chongwen Hall were true and one false. Prime Minister Shen and Prince Shou have generally guessed at the truth, but there is still one point they absolutely did not anticipate—perhaps it will take another five or six days before the news can be verified.”

“Which point did they not anticipate?” Qing Yang asked hesitantly.

“Prince Luo is currently in Shangluo. Not only was he not poisoned, on the contrary his health is fine. It was our Emperor who determined that only Marquis Han could turn the tide of the Hehuai situation, which led to this astounding decision…” the old eunuch said.

“…” Qing Yang stood there stunned, thinking to herself that even if all the court officials racked their brains, they would not imagine that Prince Liang Luo Zhu Zhen was currently safe and sound, would they? Yet at the moment she could not confirm whether what the old eunuch said was true.

“Our Emperor did not establish Prince Luo but instead had generals and officials welcome Marquis Han to rule Heluo. Does the Grand Empress Dowager still worry that Marquis Han harbors unspeakable ambitions?” the old eunuch continued asking. “Does the Grand Empress Dowager still not understand that Marquis Han and the Grand Empress Dowager have never been enemies all along?”

Qing Yang thought wistfully for a moment, but the next moment her voice turned cold again as she said: “I fear that when circumstances reach that point, Han Qian will also be unable to help himself, won’t he?”

“But circumstances have not yet reached that point, have they?” the old eunuch said with a smile. “This old servant boldly asks the Grand Empress Dowager: would you feel more at ease with Marquis Han defending Heluo and Huaixi, or with Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan gaining Huaixi and connecting the two Huai regions with Jingxiang into one body—which would allow the Grand Empress Dowager to feel more at ease in Great Chu’s imperial palace?”

“I can tolerate you remaining in the palace, but exactly how many more of your people are there in Great Chu’s imperial palace? I want to see a list—if the Internal Attendants Office discovers you have concealed anything, at that time do not blame me for being cruel and ruthless,” Qing Yang said coldly.

“Being a dormant tiger is a very lonely thing. Truly not many in this world can persist for so many years. Moreover, Great Chu’s imperial palace has experienced major upheavals many times over these years, and old acquaintances have withered away miserably. Currently in the palace, only this old servant Lei Cheng is a former colleague from the Chengtian Bureau.”

The old eunuch looked at the candlelight on the desk and said with a distant voice.

“However, outside the palace, Prince Consort Cai Chen, who married Emperor Tianyou’s Princess Imperial in those years—in early years his father Cai Zhihuan was ordered by Emperor Tianyou to be executed along with his entire clan, and only Cai Chen was spared death because he was Princess Imperial’s consort. Even after being abducted to Shou Province by the rebel empress, he disdained the rebel empress and the Xu family but was willing to serve our Emperor…”

Cai Chen was Emperor Tianyou’s brother-in-law. Two years ago during the Liang-Chu treaty, he and various imperial clan descendants returned directly south to Jinling from Shou Province.

Jinling suspected that among this group of imperial clan descendants there would inevitably be some bought by Xu Mingzhen. Qing Yang had not expected that Cai Chen had actually long been bought by Liang and had been secretly hiding in Shou Province watching Xu Mingzhen’s every move. Afterward, because he returned south with the imperial clan, he lurked in Jinling and even served in the Internal Attendants Office as an imperial clan elder.

The Cai family had been implicated in a treason case years ago, with the entire household executed or exiled. At that time, many court princes and ministers, including the Xu family, Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan, Prince Shou Yang Zhitang, and others, had all chosen to kick them when they were down. Qing Yang had even been thinking of first having Cai Chen primarily responsible for investigating Tangyi’s former officials, then later having him supervise court and country officials.

Who could have thought he would be problematic?

“Aside from Cai Chen, how many more hidden agents does the Chengtian Bureau have concealed in the imperial city?” Qing Yang asked, suppressing her inner shock.

Lei Cheng said: “Among those who returned south with Emperor Tianyou’s grandson Yang Fen this time, there are two minor eunuchs also willing to serve our Emperor. Aside from this, because Tangyi and Heluo have only just begun merging, this old servant does not know at this time whether Tangyi’s Secret Bureau will have left some people by the Grand Empress Dowager’s side. However, after this purge by the Internal Attendants Office, even if there are still people from Tangyi’s Secret Bureau, there certainly cannot be many left. After a period of time, once the situation stabilizes, the Grand Empress Dowager could write a secret letter personally inquiring about this matter with our Great Liang’s new sovereign…”

“Once the situation stabilizes? How can this situation stabilize? Even if I am unwilling to rashly initiate military action, I am but a woman of the inner chambers with not a single trustworthy person around me. My very survival is precarious—what words I speak could truly carry weight?” Qing Yang said with a distant sigh.

“Our Emperor having generals and officials establish Marquis Han as the new sovereign is absolutely not to create military disaster in Jianghuai. All the various arrangements are also to strenuously avoid this situation from occurring. The Grand Empress Dowager need only guide the momentum,” Lei Cheng said.

“Can Liang follow Shu’s example and submit to Great Chu as a vassal?” Qing Yang stared at Lei Cheng and asked.

“If the Grand Empress Dowager is determined to promote this matter, how could it not be done?” Lei Cheng said.

Qing Yang pondered for a moment before saying resolutely: “Among those who returned south with Imperial Grandson Yang Fen, find an opportunity to place those two minor eunuchs in Mingcheng Palace to watch that vile servant’s every move for me! You and Cai Chen will remain by my side from now on. But any contact whatsoever with Han Qian’s side must be made known to me. I will also arrange for people to serve you…”

“This servant obeys the Grand Empress Dowager’s edict—if the Grand Empress Dowager needs this old servant and Cai Chen, we will be here. Whichever day the Grand Empress Dowager finds this old servant and Cai Chen troublesome, we know our place and will absolutely not become obstacles to the Grand Empress Dowager,” Lei Cheng bowed and left the sleeping chamber, disappearing into the night with its howling cold wind…