Zhao Xin reported this great news to Zhao Hanzhang.
When Luoyang received the message, Ji Yuan and the other court officials were all stunned. Even Changning, who rarely spoke in court, congratulated Zhao Hanzhang in advance. “The General may expect the lands of Shu.”
However, Zhao Hanzhang’s heart was calm as still water. “Has everyone considered that Li Xiong might live very long, perhaps surviving another thirty years?”
Ji Yuan thought: …Do emperors generally live that long?
Moreover, Li Xiong came from a military background and had seen plenty of battles. Wouldn’t he have injuries and ailments?
At this thought, Ji Yuan suddenly looked sharply at Zhao Hanzhang, asking nervously, “The weather has been cold lately, how are the General’s old injuries?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “…I’m fine. Although I think Li Xiong will live long, I don’t think I’ll die young either. Master Ji need not worry excessively.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. All their current glory was tied to Zhao Hanzhang. She still had no heir, and if anything happened to her, the realm would surely fall into chaos again.
The Zhao clan… had no one who could completely take over her position of power.
As for Fu Tinghan…
Even though husband and wife were one body, after fully understanding Fu Tinghan, those under Zhao Hanzhang’s command did not believe he could replace her. Leaving aside everything else, in terms of ruthlessness alone, he fell far short of her.
If one’s heart was not ruthless enough and one’s actions not decisive enough, sooner or later one would fall into the same predicament as the Shu Kingdom now faced.
Ming Yu hinted, “General, the Shu Kingdom’s downfall lies precisely in Li Xiong and Fan Changsheng being too upright.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded in deep agreement, then after a moment reacted, saying with a righteous expression, “One cannot speak thus. Uprightness is a beautiful virtue. The root of this disaster lies with Li Xiong’s sons. If they had hearts of humility and yielding, then the Shu Kingdom’s troubles could have been avoided.”
The assembled officials thought: …These words are quite far from upright. Anyone with half a brain would know that Li Xiong’s several sons could not possibly have such breadth of mind.
Zhao Hanzhang was broad-minded, benevolent, and upright. Back when Duke Zhao passed over Zhao Erlang to give the family business to his niece to inherit, didn’t she also harbor resentment and dissatisfaction?
If someone as ambitious and magnificent as Zhao Hanzhang could not escape this common failing, how much less could Li Xiong’s foolish sons?
Good, now everyone could rest easy. In the future, she definitely would not make the same mistake as Li Xiong.
History had already deviated, yet it also seemed unchanged. Their characters still determined what they would do.
It was just that some who failed in history succeeded here; some who succeeded in history failed here. Thus history’s trajectory began to deviate, rushing toward an unknown road.
At this moment, Fan Changsheng stood at the peak of West Mountain, gazing up at the starry sky. After a long while, he exhaled and murmured, “Placing oneself in mortal danger brings life afterward. The vital energy is like bean sprouts beneath a stone, even stronger than what I saw before. My choice was right, it was right.”
As if still uneasy, Fan Changsheng took out his turtle shell divination tools and began calculating bit by bit. After casting three times and arranging the results, he carefully counted on his fingers for a long time. His complexion grew paler and paler, but his eyes became increasingly bright. “The realm returns to peace, the realm returns to peace. Heaven shows mercy—our China finally has another great sovereign!”
Although Li Xiong’s edict had been issued, the matter had not subsided. Officials continued to submit memorials without pause, hoping the emperor would rescind his decree.
Li Xiong’s several sons also ran to the palace three times a day, even restraining their tempers somewhat. Recently they had been particularly filial, hoping he would see their redeeming qualities and then withdraw the edict.
Li Ban also went to the palace, though he went to decline. However, his reason for declining was not that he was unfit for the position and should yield to his cousins, but rather that he believed his third uncle was still young and there was no need to establish a crown prince so early.
When Li Xiang and the other ministers saw this, they became even more unwilling to have Li Ban as crown prince. If someone else did such things, it might be hypocrisy, and they would not feel so pained.
But Li Ban was truly naive—he refused this way because he truly believed it this way.
So in Li Ban’s heart, his uncle and father were the same, and he and his cousins were the same. Naturally, him inheriting his uncle’s foundation and his cousins inheriting their fathers’ foundations were also the same.
From the bottom of his heart, he felt he was just like his uncle’s own son.
Li Xiang wept uncontrollably and ran wildly all the way to West Mountain, kneeling before the Daoist temple begging to see Fan Changsheng.
The Daoist priests blocked him, saying, “Please return, Imperial Censor Li. The temple master has just entered fasting and seclusion. He is not receiving visitors these days.”
Li Xiang cried out, “You are not only the master of Changsheng Temple, but also the kingdom’s Prime Minister! Now the kingdom faces disaster—you cannot ignore it!”
The Daoist priests were at a loss. No matter how they tried to persuade him, it was useless. Li Xiang just knelt prostrate on the ground crying loudly.
He cried from noon until afternoon, until his voice was nearly hoarse.
Fan Changsheng felt pity in his heart and finally had someone let him in. Upon meeting, before Li Xiang could speak, he said, “In summer a violent rainstorm comes, river embankments break, good fields are washed away, the people suffer great calamity with no harvest at all. Yet once they pass through this difficulty, the following years bring favorable weather and abundant harvests.”
“Spring and autumn tend toward drought. One spring year has little rain, the people barely manage to farm, the harvest decreases. Another year, even less spring rain. Yet another year, even less spring rain. By the third year, no rain at all.” Fan Changsheng gazed at Li Xiang with compassionate eyes and asked, “Between these two calamities, which is heavier for the common people?”
Li Xiang was momentarily stunned, then understood. He was comparing Li Ban’s accession to the throne versus those princes’ accession using these disasters as metaphors. After pondering for a moment, he said in a hoarse voice, “The former—in one night the state and family are destroyed, cities fall and people perish. The latter still allows time for adjustment.”
Fan Changsheng sighed, “You only mention cities, states, and kingdoms, not the people within them…”
“This is not the first time His Majesty has hinted at this before me. I have always refused as my main response. But do you know why I suddenly changed my mind?”
In a flash of insight, Li Xiang thought of Zhao Xin at the postal station, of Zhao Hanzhang in Luoyang. His face paled slightly as he asked, “Is the Prime Minister’s reason… Zhao Hanzhang?”
Fan Changsheng did not answer directly, but said, “General, when we first became a refugee army, wasn’t it precisely because the people were suffering that we wanted to save them?”
Before becoming Imperial Censor, Li Xiang had been a general in the refugee army. After Li Xiong established the kingdom, due to administrative chaos, Fan Changsheng suggested organizing a complete court system, and Li Xiang was kept in the court as Imperial Censor.
But if there was warfare, he would still don armor and take the field.
Fan Changsheng’s address of “General” instantly transported him back to those years of bloodshed and exposure to cold and hunger.
That time had not passed so long ago. The sensation of blades cutting into flesh, the panic of starvation—these still lingered in his heart. With just a thought, they would resurface immediately.
Yes, at the very beginning, hadn’t they just wanted to lead the common people to survival?
There was no desire for power and position, only the wish that the refugees would no longer suffer the hardships of displacement, famine, and war.
Between Li Ban and Li Xiong’s sons—if Li Ban could establish himself and quell the troubles that might arise from his accession, then Chengguo would only experience brief chaos for a period, with some deaths, and that would be all.
For example, those princes and the people who supported them behind the scenes.
If Li Ban could not establish himself and Li Xiong’s sons brought chaos to Chengguo, then Zhao Hanzhang would have ample reason to send troops into Chengguo.
At that time, the Shu region might no longer have Chengguo. It might once again become a province of China.
If it were under Zhao Hanzhang’s rule, given her current tolerance and benevolence, Li Xiang thought about it and actually felt it wouldn’t be bad.
He opened his mouth to look at the Prime Minister, opening and closing his mouth several times without being able to speak.
—