At this time, most of Zhao Hanzhang’s army was deployed elsewhere, and she had even transferred some troops from Yuzhou. If the Emperor became suspicious of her and Gou Xi took the opportunity to send troops, Yuzhou would be in danger. Zhao Zhongyu said urgently, “Does Your Majesty wish to remain in Yuncheng forever? Luoyang is Jin’s capital city. Yuncheng is only Your Majesty’s temporary residence. Once Sizhou is stabilized, we must return to Luoyang.”
He lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the Emperor could hear, “Once Sizhou is entirely in our hands, Zhao Hanzhang will definitely respectfully invite Your Majesty back to Luoyang. That is the land where dragons arise, that is where Your Majesty should be.”
The Emperor was stunned, then fell into contemplation.
He swallowed and asked, “Minister Zhao wants me to return to Luoyang?”
Zhao Zhongyu asked in return, “Does Your Majesty not wish to return to Luoyang? Zhao Hanzhang is currently governing Luoyang. The famine in Luoyang has already been alleviated. Once Sizhou is recovered, given time, Luoyang will surely restore its former prosperity. That is the center of all under heaven, that is where Your Majesty should be.”
He continued, “Yuncheng is a remote small city, merely Your Majesty’s temporary residence.”
Did the Emperor want to return to Luoyang?
Of course he did.
He was born in Luoyang, grew up in Luoyang, and had witnessed both Luoyang’s prosperity and decline.
How could the small city of Yuncheng compare to Luoyang? To say nothing of distant matters, just the palace itself was incomparably inferior to Luoyang’s.
Where he currently lived was called the imperial palace, but it was actually the former Inspector’s Office modified. It had no imposing palace walls, no spacious palace halls, and couldn’t even compare to Gou Xi’s Great General’s Manor. How could he not want to return to Luoyang?
The Emperor stared fixedly at Zhao Zhongyu and asked, “Does Minister Zhao truly wish for me to relocate back to Luoyang?”
Zhao Zhongyu said with complete certainty, “Inspector Zhao and the Xiping Zhao clan remember my elder brother’s teachings, remain loyal to the sovereign and love the country, and would never dare to disobey.”
Whether the Emperor believed this or not was unclear, but he let out a long breath and personally descended from the dragon throne to help up Zhao Zhongyu, who had bowed deeply. “I trust Minister Zhao, and I trust Inspector Zhao as well.”
Zhao Zhongyu’s eyes reddened with emotion as he said to the Emperor, “The current priority is still to mediate the conflict between Wang Jun and Liu Kun, to make them stop attacking each other. Once Hanzhang conquers Sizhou and clears the obstacles, Your Majesty can relocate the capital back to Luoyang. At that time, with just one command from Your Majesty, we can attack from north and south, completely recover the lost territories, and Jin’s revival will rest entirely upon Your Majesty.”
The Emperor listened with boiling blood, his face flushed red. He nodded emphatically, “Good! The state and its altars depend on Minister Zhao and Inspector Zhao.”
Zhao Zhongyu accepted with a solemn expression.
He bowed and withdrew, his back straight as he returned to the Zhao residence. Just as he entered the main gate, he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
His attendant quickly reached out to support him and was startled, “Great Master, why are your hands so ice-cold?”
Zhao Zhongyu’s hands trembled slightly as they gripped his attendant’s arm. On this cold day, his back was already soaked through. He shook his head and said, “It’s nothing. Please ask Mr. Tan to come see me.”
The attendant acknowledged and sent someone to fetch Tan Zhong while he helped Zhao Zhongyu return to his room first.
As soon as Zhao Zhongyu left, the smile fell from the Emperor’s face. He lowered his eyes in contemplation.
Eunuch Zhou Neijian carefully changed a cup of tea for the Emperor.
The Emperor returned to his senses, his gaze falling on the tea. He asked Zhou Neijian, “What do you think—is what Zhao Zhongyu said true or false? Does Zhao Hanzhang truly have no rebellious intent?”
Zhou Neijian thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, “This servant doesn’t understand Inspector Zhao and doesn’t know whether she has rebellious intent. However, I do know that the Great General grows more arrogant by the day. If he’s not controlled soon, he’ll likely become a second Prince Donghai. When that time comes, Your Majesty’s days will be difficult again.”
The Emperor fell silent. His heart began a tug-of-war, pulled to extremes between trusting and not trusting Zhao Hanzhang. Finally, he decided to respond to her with cautious suspicion.
He now had military power. If Zhao Hanzhang invited him back to Luoyang, he wouldn’t be powerless—he could negotiate with Zhao Hanzhang.
At this time, the Emperor hadn’t yet realized that jumping between choices of powerful ministers to depend on was actually a path to rapidly accumulate power.
Think about it—a year ago he had nothing in his hands. By choosing Gou Xi, within a year he had two armies, with another in Chang’an under Fu Zhi’s command.
In comparison, Gou Xi, whom he had chosen, had lost much.
Of course, Gou Xi himself hadn’t noticed this, which is why he was angry—very angry.
He quickly returned to the Great General’s Manor and immediately demanded to see the people Liu Kun had sent to give him gifts.
As soon as they were brought forward, he had them seized, with long blades held to their necks. “Speak! Did your Inspector collude with Zhao Hanzhang long ago and specifically send you here to deceive me?”
Those with blades at their necks: “…”
How could they tell him that their inspector wasn’t Liu Kun, but Zhao Hanzhang?
Only a fool would reveal such confidential information. Those with blades at their necks hurriedly indicated that their inspector was sincere about befriending the Great General. “We don’t know why the General suspects our inspector?”
Gou Xi’s expression was iron-dark as he said, “Using the excuse of helping Liu Kun, Zhao Hanzhang sent troops to Hedong Jun and Fengyi Jun, nearly occupying all of Sizhou. Do you dare say Liu Kun wasn’t aware?”
Whether Liu Kun knew or not, they didn’t know, but they truly were unaware!
Several people shook their heads repeatedly, looking completely bewildered and frightened.
Gou Xi slowly withdrew his blade. “It seems Liu Kun didn’t know either. This means Zhao Hanzhang calculated even Liu Kun into her schemes. She previously submitted a memorial to His Majesty strongly recommending Liu Kun as Jizhou Inspector. Now it appears it was merely an expedient measure. In her heart, she may not truly approve of Liu Kun as Jizhou Inspector.”
If these visitors were truly Liu Kun’s people, after such intimidation and hearing such words, they would surely complain to Liu Kun about Zhao Hanzhang.
But those currently kneeling on the ground trembling were all Zhao Hanzhang’s people!
While sweating profusely, they nodded, thinking the Great General’s words were not without reason.
Gou Xi looked down at them and said, “Even if Liu Kun was unaware, I have suffered losses because of him. I’ll give you one hour to get out of Yuncheng. If you’re still lingering in the city after one hour, I’ll have your heads removed and sent back to Liu Kun.”
Gou Xi had always been harsh in dealing with people. No one doubted his words, so several people scrambled and crawled out of the General’s Manor. They didn’t even have time to inquire about what had actually happened, nor did they dare go to the Zhao residence to find Zhao Zhongyu. They ran back to the inn, rolled up their bundles, and fled toward the city gates.
Once outside the city, they didn’t dare linger either, running directly toward Luoyang.
Waaah, so terrifying! If they didn’t run faster, what if Gou Xi became suspicious of their identities and sent troops to behead them?
Gou Xi, meanwhile, was so angry he paced in circles on the spot. Originally, regarding who should be Jizhou Inspector, he had been undecided—either person would do.
Because he didn’t particularly like Wang Jun’s character, and Liu Kun had sent him valuable gifts, deep down Gou Xi was inclined toward Liu Kun.
He just couldn’t immediately agree because he had also received gifts from Wang Jun.
Who knew that Liu Kun had such close dealings with Zhao Hanzhang, having reached some agreement behind his back that actually led Zhao Hanzhang to send troops to contain the Xiongnu for him.
Gou Xi decided he would support Wang Jun as Jizhou Inspector.
—