Hearing his son’s words, the Liang Emperor was so furious he directly grabbed the memorials from his desk and hurled them at the Third Prince, who was so frightened he kowtowed repeatedly: “Father Emperor, forgive this son! Father Emperor, forgive this son!”
“You’re worse than an animal, you dog! Qiheng was your own younger brother! He died miserably at the Jin forces! Miserably! Yet you tell me to endure humiliation! I cannot endure such humiliation! I must have revenge!” The Liang Emperor was filled with rage and fury. Speaking to this point, he couldn’t help but choke up and cry bitterly, tears flowing like broken strings. “My poor Heng’er, it wasn’t enough that he was pierced by ten thousand arrows – when he died… his head was separated from his body, not even leaving behind a complete corpse! Yet you… Want me to swallow this anger! Settle the score another day! When will another day be?! Are you waiting until after you ascend the throne to take revenge?! Once you ascend, you’ll probably have thrown your brother beyond the ninth heaven! You’ll take revenge?! You think I don’t know what kind of creature you are!”
Speaking thus, the Emperor grabbed the incense burner beside him and hurled it at the Third Prince.
The Third Prince was corpulent and couldn’t dodge in time, taking the full force of the Liang Emperor’s thrown incense burner, immediately becoming bloodied: “Father Emperor, calm your anger! Your son has no such intention! Your son has never coveted the throne! Please, Father Emperor, see clearly!”
“Your Majesty, calm your anger!”
“Please, Your Majesty, calm your anger!”
In the great hall, court officials knelt everywhere.
The Liang Emperor wiped his tears with his sleeve, stood up still looking furious, glaring with wide eyes as he surveyed the court officials kowtowing throughout the hall: “If any of you want to speak to me about peace negotiations! Then have Jin… bring the heads of that Liu Hong and that County Princess Gaoyi before me! Otherwise, don’t even mention it!”
The great hall fell silent as death.
The Liang Emperor swept his sleeves and departed. The Third Prince knelt trembling in the great hall, blood flowing everywhere, not daring to rise.
Zhao Sheng looked up, wanting to ask the Liang Emperor whether he could go on campaign, but seeing the Liang Emperor’s expression, he forcibly swallowed his words.
Only after the Emperor left did the old Prime Minister hurry forward to help the Third Prince up. Other court officials pulled out handkerchiefs to give to the Third Prince, loudly calling for imperial physicians to come treat him.
The Third Prince, who had always been weak and fearful of the Liang Emperor, pressed the handkerchief against his bleeding forehead. Though his body was still trembling, he didn’t shed the fearful tears of previous days. Instead, suppressing the sob in his throat, he humbly and politely thanked the officials. Taking advantage of the time before the imperial physician arrived, he also comforted Zhao Sheng, saying he would enter the palace again to petition, and if the Father Emperor was determined to fight… he would certainly recommend Zhao Sheng again.
Zhao Sheng bowed deeply to thank the Third Prince.
The Third Prince looked at the gloomy sky outside the great hall and said, “I wonder if our secret negotiations with Jin have obtained the formula for treating the epidemic. If we can get the formula back quickly, Great Liang still has a chance of victory. If this drags on… Great Liang’s population cannot sustain it!”
Though the Third Prince was not as clever as his fourth brother Wei Qiheng, and was dull and wooden, he understood… the principle that the people are the foundation of the state, and with a solid foundation, the state is secure. Yet his Father Emperor… this ruler of a nation, had gone mad from Wei Qiheng’s death, so mad he didn’t even care about the Kingdom.
Though thinking this was unfilial, if at this time… Father Emperor passed away, even if it wasn’t him… If another brother ascended the throne, as long as they could humble themselves and first seek peace with Jin, first obtain the medicine to treat the people, and to preserve the nation, only then could they plan revenge in the future.
“His Majesty… is so obsessed with the Fourth Prince’s death,” the Minister of Revenue, standing beside the Third Prince, shook his head.
The Third Prince, covering his forehead with the handkerchief, immediately reddened his eyes: “Father Emperor is so obsessed with Fourth Brother’s death entirely because… of the words Fourth Brother had someone bring back.”
The Third Prince wasn’t blaming Wei Qiheng for sending word back before his death, but those words had pierced the Liang Emperor’s heart too deeply.
Wei Qiheng had his personal guard relay to the Liang Emperor that he had originally wanted to properly obey Father Emperor’s words and be a good prince, to become a good crown prince in the future. He was someone who didn’t love studying and didn’t want any crown prince position, but he didn’t want to see Father Emperor disappointed, so… he had recently been working hard to listen to his tutors explain those obscure and difficult history books! To learn how to be a good crown prince. He said he had never been a good son because his mother died early, and Father Emperor had always held him in the palm of his hand, nurturing his fearless and reckless personality! Only when he saw that Father Emperor’s hair had turned white and his back had become hunched did he suddenly awaken, wanting to be a good son, a good son Father Emperor could be proud of. Who knew it would be too late! If he had known earlier… that life was so brief, he definitely wouldn’t have wandered around playing everywhere, would have stayed by Father Emperor’s side, serving him, sharing in Father Emperor’s governmental burdens. He said in the next life he would still be Father Emperor’s son, and would be an obedient child who wouldn’t worry Father Emperor, properly serving and repaying Father Emperor.
These words were agony to the Liang Emperor, nearly costing him his life…
Wei Qiheng had requested to go to Jin for peace talks because he had matured, because he saw his father’s hardships and wanted to share his father’s burdens. But just as he had begun to mature, he died miserably under enemy blades – how could the Liang Emperor not hate?
Above Han City, where dark clouds rolled and fierce winds raged, there was suddenly a bright flash, thunder shook people, followed immediately by pelting rain, and heaven and earth instantly darkened.
After the Third Prince was bandaged, he gathered courage to enter the palace and again requested an audience with the Emperor.
That night, the Emperor issued an edict for Zhao Sheng to lead the Zhao family army to the front lines for reinforcement.
Lightning tore across the sky. Zhao Sheng, clad in armor and riding a fine horse, galloped at the very front, leading masses of black-armored soldiers advancing through the rain.
The Zhao character battle flags snapped loudly in the heavy rain. His eyes were resolute and calm – this time he was determined to strike down that God of Death of Jin, Princess Zhenguo, from her horse, to comfort the spirits of his younger brother and General Xun in heaven.
May my grandfather, father, younger brother, and General Xun’s spirits in heaven protect him and grant him victory at the first battle.
·
In the seventeenth year of Xuanjia, on the first day of the ninth month, Great Yan’s Second Prince Murong Ping and Great General Xie Xun led two routes of troops, splitting into two paths to respectively capture Guanjiu and Pingliu, gradually approaching Wei’s capital, Changcheng. Wei’s Emperor personally led troops in an imperial campaign, determined to annihilate the Yan forces invading Wei.
In the seventeenth year of Xuanjia, on the twelfth day of the ninth month, Zhao Sheng, having reached Qingxi Mountain Pass, knew that in the tug-of-war between Jin and Liang at Qingxi Mountain, with the pass changing hands several times, Jin forces must be exhausted. He launched a lightning-fast surprise attack on Jin forces. With Liang’s army morale high, Liu Hong saw that confrontation wouldn’t work and ordered a strategic retreat for safety, withdrawing outside Qingxi Mountain Pass gates.
Bai Jinzhi, her arm wrapped in fine cotton cloth soaked half-transparent with blood, stood before the wooden platform in the large tent, looking down at the fierce rain splashing as it hit the ground, then looking up at the sky where dark clouds rolled, feeling as if the heavens had been torn open. The rain was getting heavier, and she wondered where her eldest sister had traveled to by now.
“Fourth Miss, the medicine has been cooling for quite a while and can be taken now…” Ji Langhua carried a medicine bowl to Bai Jinzhi’s side. Seeing Bai Jinzhi take the medicine bowl, she continued, “The rain is heavy and the wind is cold. Fourth Miss should enter the tent to rest…”