In the twenty-fifth year of Jingyuan, Zhu Yushen set out to campaign in Beiping. From that point on, for over two years, Liu Chaoming had never exchanged letters with him again.
But at this very moment, when he saw Zhu Yushen—who was supposedly “afflicted with dementia,” unable to recognize people or remember things—sit up calmly from his bed and composed, calling him “Liu Yun,” there was not a trace of surprise in his heart.
Their twelve-year pact had penetrated to his very marrow. He never believed Zhu Yushen would allow himself to sink into despondency and lose his will.
He had never believed it.
Liu Chaoming brightened the lamplight slightly and got straight to the point: “First, about tonight—Shen Qingyue ordered Fang Xu to thoroughly examine Your Highness’s dementia. Has Your Highness already prepared a response?”
Zhu Yushen replied, “Yes, I hid medicine in my back molar.”
It was the kind of drug that numbed bones and weakened sinews.
He had anticipated that after returning to the capital, Shen Qingyue would test him. When he fell into the water, he bit through the pill hidden in his back molar, making his pulse weak and feeble, just like someone who had been ill for a long time.
Liu Chaoming said, “Good. Since Shen Qingyue can’t find anything, then at dawn today, he should leave the capital for Wuchang Prefecture. However,” he paused, turning to retrieve a game board and containers from the cabinet, placing the board on the square table, “even if Shen Qingyue leaves the palace, the situation is still very unfavorable for us.”
“There are two reasons it’s unfavorable. First, Your Highness has already been trapped in the capital. Once Zhu Nanxian returns to the capital, your life or death will depend on his whim. Second, Your Highness is in the capital, but the army is in the northern frontier—distant water cannot quench an immediate thirst.”
“Therefore, we only have two paths before us.”
“First, I help Your Highness leave the palace and return to Beiping. If Zhu Nanxian issues an edict to reduce the feudal domains, Your Highness can take the opportunity to raise troops under the banner of ‘purging the emperor’s side.’ Second, although the situation is unfavorable, with Shen Qingyue leaving the capital and Zhu Nanxian still on his return journey, these three months are already the best opportunity. We only need to deal with one person, the most troublesome one—Su Shiyu. If we can first bring down Su Shiyu and grasp power in our hands, we’ll have leverage to deal with Zhu Nanxian.”
To put Liu Yun’s words plainly, the former favored military revolt, while the latter favored political maneuvering.
Throughout history, coups to seize power have never been more than military revolt and political strategy—the two complementing each other, alternating in primary and supporting roles.
Simply put, military revolt means direct confrontation—whoever has the harder fist wins. Political strategy, on the other hand, relies primarily on scheming—one must calculate timing accurately and win people’s hearts.
A realm obtained through military revolt and other hard power may be brutal, but the authority is stable. After gaining the realm, the difficulty lies in the word “govern.” A realm obtained primarily through political manipulation may involve less bloodshed, but requires advancing step by step. Even after gaining the realm, besides “governing,” there’s also difficulty in the word “submission.”
Take, for example, Wang Mang of the Western Han Dynasty who usurped power. Many in the court and countryside refused to submit, forming an anti-Mang tide among the people. He was ultimately attacked by the Greenwood Army in Chang’an, and the Xin Dynasty fell.
Zhu Yushen thought about Liu Chaoming’s words for a moment and said, “Military revolt causes too much bloodshed and too great a sacrifice. Moreover, if I raise troops, what will you do? If you remain in the palace, Zhu Nanxian won’t spare you. Although the second path is dangerous, it’s worth attempting. This was already a gamble to begin with—we might as well stake everything on it.”
Liu Chaoming nodded. “Alright.”
“Since we’ve decided to take the second path, then from today until the end of November when Zhu Nanxian returns to the capital, there are only one hundred days total. All changes must be completed within these hundred days.”
“First, let’s look at our opponents.” He turned around, his eyes dark and heavy as he gazed at the board on the table. He picked up the container and placed down three white stones. “Zhu Nanxian, Shen Qingyue, Su Shiyu.”
He took out a black stone and held it up. “This is Zhu Lin, our leverage. He has already tied down Shen Qingyue.”
He then placed the black stone next to the piece representing Shen Xi, moving both pieces together off the board.
“Now look at Zhu Nanxian and Su Shiyu.”
Liu Chaoming reached into the container and took out a white stone. “Zhu Nanxian has command over all military forces in the realm. This is his greatest leverage.” He took out a second white stone. “He is the legitimate ruler, the rightful emperor. This is his other leverage, and also the most troublesome for us.”
“As for Su Shiyu, she holds evidence from the Annan trading case.”
In the blink of an eye, besides the two white stones representing Zhu Nanxian and Su Shiyu on the board, three more were added around them, representing military authority, legitimate claim, and the Annan trading case.
“Then look at us.” Liu Chaoming picked up another container and placed down two black stones. “This is Your Highness and myself.”
Then he placed down another piece. “And in our hands, besides knowing Su Shiyu’s background, we have nothing else.”
Five white stones, three black stones—the situation was completely one-sided.
Zhu Yushen stared intently at the board. After a while, he said, “That’s not right.” He reached out and removed the black stone representing Su Jin’s background. “She is the descendant of Premier Xie, someone Old Imperial Censor Meng wants to protect. You won’t use her background to scheme against her, so this black stone doesn’t belong to us.”
Only two black stones remained—him and him.
Zhu Yushen said, “Since we are ‘unarmed,’ we might as well see what the opponent has, borrow their strength, and turn defense into offense.”
He pointed to the white stone representing Zhu Nanxian. “In this game, Thirteen is the core, but he has one fatal weakness.”
Zhu Yushen pushed the white stone representing Su Jin to a position parallel with Zhu Nanxian, then tapped it with his knuckles. “Su Shiyu.”
“It can be said that without Su Shiyu, Thirteen would never have reached his current position.”
“He has always detested power struggles and only wished to be a general on the frontier. He might have had an awakening after the Zhaojue Temple incident, but such an awakening was merely a sense of guilt from realizing things too late. Without Su Shiyu, he wouldn’t have chosen to establish his domain. Without establishing his domain, how would he have had the Nanchang army to contest with Zhu Zhaowei?”
“He gained the realm because of Su Shiyu. Therefore, as long as we turn Su Shiyu into our leverage, we can use this to deal with Thirteen.”
Projected onto the board, more directly put, it meant turning this white stone representing Su Jin into a black stone.
Liu Chaoming said, “There are three points to dealing with Su Shiyu.”
“First, she is a powerful minister. If we want to bring her down, we first need a case of sufficient weight. We can’t use the ‘ministerial disaster,’ so among existing cases, it can only be the Annan merchant case.”
Regarding the Annan merchant case, Liu Chaoming knew all the details. Combined with some seemingly plausible evidence from when Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhaowei investigated Su Jin’s background, woven together with the late emperor as witness, people would have no choice but to believe.
“Second, block all information.” Liu Chaoming pointed to “Shen Xi” and “Zhu Nanxian.” “Su Shiyu’s influence is deeply rooted throughout the court and countryside. Once the matter breaks out, even if I can make an example of someone to deter others and use the late emperor’s name to suppress dissent, there’s no guarantee they won’t secretly seek help from Zhu Nanxian and Shen Qingyue. If Zhu Nanxian returns to the palace early, or if Shen Qingyue turns back midway, all our efforts will come to nothing.”
Zhu Yushen said, “Information generally travels two routes: first, military urgent dispatches; second, the Office of Transmission. Although the other ministries and bureaus have their own channels, they can’t escape the surveillance of these two offices. However, Su Shiyu is different. Her power is too great—her people will always find ways to send out her messages.”
“Yes.” Liu Chaoming nodded. “But currently, the Left Commissioner of the Office of Transmission is Zhou Ping. This person has had a ten-year relationship with Su Shiyu and has earned her deep trust. Everyone in the court knows this. Using him to temporarily cut off information for several days should be no problem. As for military urgent dispatches, Minister of War Chen Jinsheng is Your Highness’s man. As for Right Vice Minister He Xian, I will make an example of him.”
Liu Chaoming frowned as he reached this point. “The troublesome part is the third point.”
“Su Shiyu won’t let herself be slaughtered. Even if I use ‘evidence and witnesses’ to apprehend her, she definitely won’t submit. Civil officials don’t have command authority, but the Golden Guard has been secretly protecting her. Although I have the Brocade Guard, if both sides reach a stalemate, she still won’t fall into our hands.”
“Therefore, there’s only one method—seize the person first, then create momentum. And we can’t arrest her openly—it must be unexpected, impossible to guard against.”
In other words, trap Su Jin first, then present the charges and evidence against her.
If civil officials question this, invoke the late emperor’s name and use the “evidence” from when Zhu Jingyuan investigated Su Jin’s background to suppress them. If the imperial guard, especially the Golden Guard, questions this—first, they’ll be concerned for Su Jin’s safety and won’t dare act too harshly; second, Liu Chaoming is apprehending someone with “legitimate reasons,” so they have no justification and can only send urgent dispatches to Zhu Nanxian on his return journey for orders. But with information blocked, the urgent dispatches won’t receive an immediate response.
Zhu Yushen also frowned in deep thought for a moment. “Su Shiyu is exceptionally intelligent. You’re right—how to catch her off guard is indeed the most troublesome part.”
Liu Chaoming said, “Allow me to think carefully about this matter.”
He picked up two black stones and replaced the two white stones for “Annan merchant case” and “Su Shiyu.” “Today is the twentieth of August. By the tenth of September, I will definitely have Su Shiyu trapped.”
Zhu Yushen nodded. “Good. I entrust this matter to you.”
He looked at the board again.
The situation was much better than before—three white, four black.
Among the black stones, besides Zhu Yushen and Liu Chaoming, the other two represented the Annan merchant case to bring down Su Jin, and Su Jin herself.
However, with only these four black stones, their chances of victory were still not great.
Zhu Yushen pondered for a long while, then took a black stone from the container and replaced the white stone next to “Zhu Nanxian” that symbolized “command over all military forces.” “Since everything must be settled within these hundred days, then within these hundred days, I have a way to disperse the military authority in Zhu Nanxian’s hands.”
He didn’t specify how he would disperse it, but Liu Chaoming knew this was the purpose of the one hundred thousand taels of silver that had “gone missing” in the Annan merchant case.
Zhu Yushen picked up another black stone and placed it next to the white stone representing “legitimate claim.” He spoke concisely: “Zhu Shiqi is in my hands.”
Two years ago, before Zhu Nanxian set out on his campaign, to train Zhu Min’er, he had assigned him to the Anqing Prefecture garrison. In the second year of Jin’an, Gong Quan consolidated reinforcements to campaign in the northwest. Zhu Min’er followed the army north, but because this battle was too important, fearing he might cause trouble, he didn’t reach Liangzhou Guard but remained in Qiongzhou, between the northwest and Beiping.
The Regional Military Commissioner of Qiongzhou Guard was actually Zhu Yushen’s man. Therefore, with just one word from Zhu Yushen, Zhu Min’er could be detained.
According to Da Sui ancestral law, “If there are legitimate sons, establish a legitimate son; if there are no legitimate sons, establish the eldest.” As long as these two legitimate sons, Thirteen and Seventeen, were gone, counting from the top down—Zhu Minda and the Second Prince had already perished, Zhu Jiyou had been demoted to commoner status—Zhu Yushen, fourth in line, would be the eldest son and thus legitimate.
As the two white stones for “military authority” and “legitimate claim” were replaced by black stones, only one solitary white stone representing “Zhu Nanxian” remained on the board.
Zhu Yushen looked at this single white stone. After a long while, he suddenly smiled. “I don’t know why, but I’m reminded of Prince Fusu.”
Long ago, when the King of Qin died, he passed the throne to his eldest son Fusu. The treacherous minister Zhao Gao concealed the death, forged an edict ordering the death of Prince Fusu and General Meng Tian, intending to put Huhai on the throne. Fusu had always been benevolent and filial, obeying his father’s words without question. Upon receiving the forged edict, despite Meng Tian’s earnest attempts to dissuade him, he still committed suicide.
A thousand years ago, that forged scheme staked everything on Prince Fusu’s single word: “filial piety.”
A thousand years later, today, this chess game staked everything on Zhu Nanxian’s single word toward Su Shiyu: “affection.”
If he was willing to return for her, to give up his life for her and hand over this realm, then this white stone representing Zhu Nanxian would ultimately be devoured by the black stones surrounding him.
If he wasn’t willing—
Zhu Yushen picked up the container filled with white stones and poured them out. “If Thirteen isn’t willing to return for Su Shiyu, but instead turns back to Nanchang or returns to the northwest to gather troops, then our hundred-day chess game is merely a cornered beast’s struggle that will ultimately collapse.”
Liu Chaoming said, “Your Highness only thought of Prince Fusu, but didn’t think of Emperor Taizong of Tang and Fang Xuanling?”
Without Fang Xuanling’s advice to “honor the deeds of the Duke of Zhou, apply the rites of maintaining filial piety—those who act for the state don’t concern themselves with trifles,” where would the Xuanwu Gate Incident and the later Zhenguan Prosperity have come from?
Power struggles have never been a smooth road. Whether scheming or usurping, it’s all a life-and-death gamble.
The sky was already turning watery blue. After Liu Chaoming finished speaking, he silently cleared away the board and bowed to Zhu Yushen. “Time waits for no one. This subject takes his leave first.”
Just as he reached the door, Zhu Yushen suddenly called out, “Liu Yun.”
Then he took a piece of broken jade from his sleeve. “Thank you.”
Twelve years—this broken jade was the last fragment of the jade token.
The warm jade reflected the lamplight and the colors of breaking dawn, casting a gentle glow that calmed the heart.
Looking at it, Liu Chaoming somehow thought of how this jade token had originally been a pair, and the other one had been given by Liu Xuzhi to Su Shiyu.
“That’s not necessary,” Liu Chaoming said.
What would be the use of taking it back?
Besides, since the day Zhu Yushen set out on his campaign over two years ago, he had already established his own stance. Once he took his position, he would hold it firm. Even without this jade token, he would still help him.
Zhu Yushen looked at Liu Chaoming and didn’t withdraw his hand. “No, a promise is a promise. This prince doesn’t care what you do in the future, what choices you make, or how you view this prince. But this prince won’t use the jade token to bind you anymore. Since you’ve fulfilled the four promises, the object should return to its rightful owner.”
Liu Chaoming stood silently for a moment, then took the jade in his hand and quietly said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
He tucked the broken jade into his sleeve and was about to leave when suddenly footsteps sounded outside.
The medical official guarding the door said, “Lord Su, why have you come at this hour?”