Chapter 2002: Chapter 1793: Both Are Sons of Heaven of Han – The Fatuous Emperor and Liu Xie
Although the Han Empire is strong, other empires cannot be underestimated either. In the upcoming era, it won’t be a time where a single person can dominate. Even if the bright moon hangs high in the sky, perhaps the stars will still shine brilliantly. Every source of power in this era is extremely important.
This is also why Chen Xi and others began striving to cultivate the next generation. After all, even Chen Xi himself is unsure if he can ensure the logistics line of the Han Empire once it sets forth on its conquest. Chen Xi is not worried about the combat power of the Han Empire; in this era, the Han Empire is not weak.
To ensure the logistics line for future conquest, Chen Xi has to try various approaches. After all, historically, not a single empire has truly ruled over a homeland exceeding thirty million square kilometers.
What Chen Xi needs to do now is not only occupy this basic territory exceeding thirty million square kilometers but also rule it based on this benchmark, striving to expand the radiating influence of the Han Cultural Circle centered on it.
These tasks are things that predecessors have never done, so occasionally Chen Xi has to exaggerate and say there’s no road ahead; I need to cut open a path to ideals with a horizontal sword.
However, before that, there is one person whom Chen Xi has always been unable to avoid, and that is Emperor Liu Xie. This person has a very clear impact on the entire world, and he is also a very troublesome person.
How to deal with this person, Chen Xi has never had a definite and clear method, and from the beginning until now, the approach Chen Xi has considered has changed multiple times.
Monarchial constitutionalism, in this era, is completely ridiculous, lacking fundamental basis. Not to mention, the emperor wouldn’t agree, and neither would the ministers.
The cabinet system could be considered, though dealing with endless arguments is a particularly frustrating aspect of it, and there’s also another very troublesome aspect, which is how to handle the Son of Heaven — primarily, things like regicide depend on how cleanly it’s done.
After all, if pushed to the point where there’s no other path, when the time comes, even before Chen Xi makes a move, others like Liu Ye will come up with other ways to depose the emperor.
In Chen Xi’s view, the methods of these people are too crude, too direct. Although Liu Xie is incompetent, he’s still the emperor. Forcing the other party to step down may not be beneficial. Instead, it’s better for some matters to be understood by the emperor himself.
In Chang’an, at the Yue Cavalry Colonel’s Office, Zhongg Ji watched the dance in front of him with a cold expression, showing no sign of joy, not even managing a forced smile.
If before Fuu Wan’s death, Zhongg Ji faced difficult situations — even if his friend’s entire family was executed — he could still smile and compose poetry, even inviting maids to continue reveling. But after that day, he lost this ability forever.
He remembers that time, when he first schemed with Xun Shuang, Xun Youi, Hee Yong, Wux Qiong, Zheng Tai, Zhou Bi, and others to assassinate Dong Zhuo. However, the plan was discovered early by Li Ru. Zhou Bi and Wux Qiong were executed on the spot, while Hee Yong and Zheng Tai were imprisoned, and Hee Yong committed suicide in prison shortly afterward.
Although Dong Zhuo suspected Xun Youi, Xun Youi successfully fooled Dong Zhuo with his consistently dull and sluggish performance, and when Dong Zhuo left, Xun Youi made a quick escape.
When Dong Zhuo found Zhongg Ji, Zhongg Ji was indulging with maids. Dong Zhuo joined him, and Li Ru observed for a long time, ultimately concluding that there seemed to be no issues, so Zhongg Ji was promoted to Attendant.
Yet, as Zhongg Ji was being promoted, he continued plotting against Dong Zhuo with Wang Yun, employing somewhat underhanded tactics. But one must admit, Dong Zhuo, who had lost his mind at the time, was indeed fooled, naturally leading to his death. Zhongg Ji was promoted to Changshui Colonel.
Afterward, when Li Jue killed Wang Yun, Zhongg Ji continued his unbothered demeanor, eating and drinking without a care. Li Jue estimated that Zhongg Ji was likely unrelated to the previous incident and, in order to calm the masses, promoted him to Yue Cavalry Colonel.
Later, Zhongg Ji commenced his plotting against Li Jue. However, before he could topple Li Jue, Cao Cao arrived. As a firm supporter of the emperor, naturally, Zhongg Ji embraced the emperor. Nevertheless, his attitude of solemnity during collaborations, followed by a careless demeanor, annoyed Dong Cheng, Wu Shuo, and others due to his lack of grief when comrades perished.
This is why, despite being considered close to the emperor, Zhongg Ji’s official rank is very low. Others, regardless of actual power, all hold considerable official positions, whereas Zhongg Ji’s rank is relatively low, only slightly above the Two Thousand Bushels rank.
In fact, Zhongg Ji himself understands that with his current attitude, if he were ever to successfully help the emperor seize power one day, they probably would start infighting, and he might be the first to be eliminated. However, given his low rank and limited power, even after being eliminated, he could live a life of wealth.
Thus, Zhongg Ji doesn’t care much about these external matters. They’ve risked their lives for the Han Dynasty, doing things potentially wiping out entire clans. They’re not seeking fame and fortune — if he were, there are actually many other things more worthwhile.
Wang Yun’s death left Zhongg Ji in a state of despondency for a long time. During that period, he occasionally gazed at the maids’ dances with a sense of daze. But after spending quite some time, he managed to adjust from it. After all, the emperor is young, with Liu Xie still being a twelve-year-old child, he cannot be held to high standards.
But Zhongg Ji knew, he clearly remembers that Emperor Ling ascended the throne at the age of ten, chosen by the outer relatives. The Dou family joined forces with Grand Tutor Chen Fan to control the court, and the Dou family seized almost all military power of the Han Dynasty. Grand Tutor Chen Fan dismissed many ministers, replacing them with civil officials from the first Party Proscription.
The situation then was so severe that any decree by Emperor Ling couldn’t leave the Inner Palace. However, less than nine months later, young Emperor Ling, at under eleven years of age, decisively killed both factions using eunuchs, annihilating both the outer relatives and Chen Fan’s faction entirely. To display benevolence, the surviving members of both factions were exiled to Jiaozhou.
Thus, Emperor Ling successfully reclaimed all worldly power into his own hands and maintained it until his death. The empire’s power never strayed from Emperor Ling’s hands, and if it weren’t for later financial struggles, even selling official positions temporarily failed to resolve the fiscal issues, the collapse of the Han Dynasty might have been delayed.
The eleven, oh, twelve-year-old Liu Xie could not even utter a word when Wang Yun bravely faced death. Oh, Son of Heaven, where is your courage?
Zhongg Ji tried to comfort himself, eventually adjusting from it, as the emperor is only twelve years old, having experienced too little, hence lacking such valor. Yet, the events of the past few days finally made Zhongg Ji realize.
