Liu Xiu vaguely sensed the situation developing incorrectly, but he was temporarily powerless to reverse it. He also recognized their strength was far from sufficient – otherwise he could have completely promoted his elder brother as emperor instead of falling into such a passive situation. From this point, Liu Xiu no longer concealed his talents. In the Battle of Kunyang, he defeated the Xin dynasty’s 420,000-strong army with only 10,000 men, shocking the world.
This great Kunyang victory, where few defeated many and weak overcame strong, changed the power balance between government forces and rebel armies. Liu Xiu, who created this result, made everyone view him with new respect. Meanwhile, Liu Yan captured Wancheng, heavily defended by the Xin regime, then had Emperor Gengshi move the capital to Wancheng.
“Your elder brother is in danger,” Zhu’er pronounced after hearing this news.
Liu Xiu’s face was iron-blue. This was the first time he and his elder brother had acted separately – he handled Kunyang’s defense while his elder brother attacked Wancheng. They’d planned to coordinate and support each other, but his elder brother hadn’t changed his habit of showing his edge. Now being second only to the emperor and above ten thousand others would surely invite hostility from various Green Forest Army interest groups.
“Well… how will you decide?” Zhu’er asked with interest.
Liu Xiu answered almost without hesitation: “I’ll go to Wancheng immediately.”
Zhu’er raised her eyebrows with some surprise: “You just defended Kunyang – won’t you stabilize military morale?”
Liu Xiu moved the abacus beads in his hands and replied lightly: “You once said that sacrifice brings gain. In my heart, elder brother is the one I’ll never sacrifice.”
Zhu’er was slightly stunned by his matter-of-fact attitude and resonant words.
In the concept of masters she’d encountered in her previous life, everything could be sacrificed, including beloved women, one’s own wealth, relatives and friends… even herself who had helped them…
Zhu’er knew Liu Xiu must clearly understand that as long as Liu Yan existed, there was no room for Liu Xiu’s advancement. Liu Yan was naturally someone who attracted everyone’s attention – Liu Xiu could only live in his shadow. Wasn’t he tempted at all? Could he still maintain his original heart unchanged?
Yet she, who had always been with Liu Xiu, could confirm he spoke the truth with absolutely no pretense.
Looking at the martial and handsome Liu Xiu, Zhu’er suddenly felt he was very reliable, possessing a trustworthy temperament. What kind of woman could possess such a man of both literary and martial accomplishments, graceful as jade?
Zhu’er’s heart was in turmoil. The sprout long hidden in her heart began emerging like bamboo shoots after rain, catching her off guard.
But she had no time to think carefully – devastating news arrived instantly.
When Liu Xiu learned his elder brother Liu Yan had been killed, he was completely stunned. He could accept his elder brother dying wrapped in a horse hide on the battlefield, but absolutely couldn’t accept such a result of being stabbed in the back by his own people. What disobedience to imperial orders? He absolutely didn’t believe it!
Zhu’er half-reclined on the couch, closed the book in her hands, and mocked: “Foolish. ‘When birds are gone, good bows are stored; when rabbits are dead, hunting dogs are cooked’ – that’s correct, but the birds aren’t exhausted and rabbits aren’t dead yet! That Liu Xuan is truly too stupid.” And acted too quickly. Zhu’er looked at Liu Xiu’s packed luggage – he was about to depart for Wancheng.
Liu Xiu gripped his temples tightly, forcing his grief-stricken mind to think. He had indeed overestimated Liu Xuan, thinking he would use his elder brother to conquer the world before settling accounts, so he hadn’t been too guarded. He hadn’t expected the other party to act so quickly. Wasn’t he afraid of chilling his subordinates’ hearts?
“What do you plan to do? Incite your subordinates to break from Emperor Gengshi and go it alone?” Zhu’er narrowed her almond eyes, looking at Liu Xiu’s handsome profile thoughtfully. In the blink of an eye, she’d been by this man’s side for twelve years, and he’d grown from a green youth into an upstanding man. For some reason, Zhu’er suddenly became distracted – Liu Xiu was already twenty-eight this year, yet still had no woman by his side…
Liu Xiu lowered his head, furrowing his brow and murmuring: “I need to… think carefully…”
Zhu’er again suppressed the wild thoughts in her mind – this wasn’t a good time.
Liu Xiu ultimately chose to dissemble.
He immediately returned to Wancheng, voluntarily giving up his army and distancing himself from Liu Yan. He showed no grief for his brother’s death, no intention of mourning his elder brother, spending his days drinking and making merry without participating in government affairs. He even claimed the Kunyang victory was all his subordinates’ achievement and actively declared: “As an official I should become Imperial Guard Commander; for a wife I should get Yin Lihua.”
Imperial Guard Commander ranked among the Nine Ministers as supreme commander defending the capital. Liu Xiu expressed his ambitions went no further. Yin Lihua was a famous beauty from Xinye – Liu Xiu publicly expressed his admiration.
But no one could understand the bitter feelings when he spoke these words.
Sacrifice and gain – only through sacrifice could there be gain. In other words, to obtain something, one must sacrifice something.
He’d understood this principle clearly at sixteen, just never expected to comprehend it this way.
Zhu’er watched all his actions, knowing that though he drank and acted wildly outside, at home he never touched meat or alcohol. Every day when he woke, his pillow was stained with tears. That woman named Yin Lihua naturally had beauty, but what Liu Xiu valued was her illustrious family background.
The Yin clan descended from the famous Spring and Autumn minister Guan Zhong. At the end of Qin and beginning of Han, the Yin family moved their entire clan to Xinye. Moreover, the Yin clan was not only nobly born but also the wealthiest local magnates, their status and property almost comparable to enfeoffed princes.
Zhu’er knew Liu Xiu was finding himself a patron. Though Liu Xiu was Liu Bang’s ninth-generation descendant, he had no foundation – ultimately just a farmer.
Indeed, even one’s marriage could be used as a bargaining chip in transactions.
Zhu’er sighed silently, both secretly praising herself for cultivating another supreme merchant while feeling melancholy regret.
In this world, there truly was no having both fish and bear’s paw. But this Yin Lihua would probably also become a political sacrifice…
“Reluctant to leave?” If Liu Xiu hadn’t been busy seeking marriage, seeing this scene would surely shock him greatly. Because appearing in his room was that young stall owner from years ago. Twelve years had passed, yet his appearance hadn’t changed a bit from that day.
“What’s there to be reluctant about?” Zhu’er lazily yawned. “I taught him how to become a perfect merchant – sacrifice what you have and exchange it for more valuable things. Anything can be traded, including one’s relatives, marriage, life…”
Zhu’er’s remaining words weren’t spoken.
If this continued, would he, like her previous two masters, eventually trade her away too when circumstances demanded?
Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to see him marry and have children…
The stall owner reached out to pick up the abacus, weighing it in his hands a few times before smiling: “Tell me, if I took you to trade with him for the Imperial Seal He Shi Bi, do you think he’d make the exchange?”
Zhu’er glanced at him and snorted: “Better not try – I don’t want to know the answer…”
“Actually, you already have the answer in your heart, don’t you?” The stall owner smiled faintly, tucked the abacus into his robes, and gracefully pushed open the door to leave.
In the sixth month of Gengshi Year One, Liu Xiu married Yin Lihua.
In the ninth month of Gengshi Year One, Liu Xiu sent Yin Lihua back to Xinye and went alone to Luoyang, planning to recover the Hebei region.
In the first month of Gengshi Year Two, to ally with the True Ding King, just six months after marrying Yin Lihua, Liu Xiu sent a letter divorcing his wife to concubine status and married the True Ding Guo clan noble daughter Guo Shengtong.
In Gengshi Year Three, 25 CE, Liu Xiu, now commanding millions across multiple provinces, ascended the throne with his generals’ support at Qianqiu Pavilion south of Yecheng in Hebei. He changed the era name to Jianwu Year One, still using “Han” as the dynasty name, historically called Later Han or Eastern Han.
Thus began the great drama of the Eastern Han dynasty…
Year 2012 CE
“Wait, so this abacus actually belonged to Emperor Guangwu of Han?” The doctor was shocked, his long rabbit ears twitching back and forth. “And there’s a peerless beauty sleeping inside? You’re willing to bury even this?”
Is the emphasis actually on the latter sentence? The owner smiled lightly: “It’s fine – she’s been sleeping for two thousand years anyway. Continuing to sleep underground makes no difference.” After the formation was broken, digging her up would be fine. Moreover, in these two thousand years Zhu’er hadn’t awakened once – the owner was quite curious to throw her away and see if she could still wake up.
“…” The doctor unwillingly flapped his long ears and snorted: “Speaking of which, this Liu Xiu guy was really incredible! Becoming emperor in just a few years, and after ascending the throne, he neither executed nor reduced any meritorious officials – his mastery of balance was superb! Seems Zhu’er taught him well – using merchant wisdom to be emperor. Tsk tsk! This is an inspirational novel!”
The owner ignored the doctor’s excited rambling, just raised an eyebrow and glanced at the iPad hidden behind the rabbit plushie, its screen showing Liu Xiu’s biography.
The doctor coughed twice, turned off the iPad behind him, stuck the stylus in his plushie’s belly pouch, and casually changed the subject: “But thinking about it, owner, you took advantage of Liu Xiu! Later silently taking away his beloved abacus – that’s bullying, right?”
The owner wiped each abacus bead clean and said lightly: “I followed Zhu’er’s will – she wanted to leave, so I took her away. As for Liu Xiu, I left several taels of gold that should equal his jin cuo dao’s value – he won’t lose out.”
“…” The doctor could imagine that when Liu Xiu searched everywhere for the settling pearl and found those taels of gold, his expression must have been quite spectacular.
The owner gently stroked that immovable settling pearl, lost in thought.
Actually, both he and Zhu’er knew the answer to that question from years ago.
Forget the Imperial Seal He Shi Bi – even the throne, Liu Xiu would have traded for it.
But what meaning did that have?
Zhu’er ultimately couldn’t accompany him to old age, couldn’t bear children for him – they were destined for different paths…
The owner lowered his eyelids and sighed deeply: “Choices…”