Jinting Han people

Chapter 116: Choice (4k)

Although Lu Ji did not explicitly say what would happen, Liu Xian already felt that a storm was coming and was quite frightened.

Liu Xian knew that Lu Ji was not the kind of person who would make random, alarmist statements. As a retainer of Jia Mi, he had already done his utmost to reveal a little about the prevailing trends. To say more would have been contrary to his principles and ethics.

Moreover, things have developed to this point, and just pointing out a direction is enough for Liu Xian to understand many things.

Although Sima Wei was apparently in a very powerful position and was the recognized leader in the anti-Yang coup, if we analyze it, it is not difficult to find that Empress Jia was the real planner.

The reason why Sima Wei was able to successfully launch a coup and gain so much support in Luoyang was certainly related to his previous efforts and the fact that Yang Jun himself was unpopular, but the most important thing was still the coordination of Empress Jia.

The best example of this was the secret meeting at Wang Cui's wedding banquet. There were quite a few people there whom Liu Xian had never met before, and the person behind them was not even in Luoyang. Yet, by chance, they were all seated together, and that secret meeting was precisely presided over by Jia Mi.

As for the unexpected incident on the night of the coup, Yang Ji was able to bypass the martial law of 5,000 imperial guards and kill his way from the west of the city to the Eastern Palace. Although there were many people who could have done this, he was able to do it so smoothly and seamlessly that no one noticed it beforehand. Apart from Empress Jia, there was probably no one else who could have done this.

After knowing the mastermind, the reason is not difficult to guess. Empress Jia's hostility towards the prince is well known. If it were not for Sima Yan's protection, Sima Yi would probably not have been born.

Sima Yi's existence now fundamentally hindered Empress Jia's future power grab. If she could use the Three Yangs to take advantage of the chaos and get rid of the crown prince, whether she raised another crown prince herself or adopted one from a side branch, Empress Jia would be able to ensure long-term control of the government.

Although the intention to eliminate the prince has failed, it is not a big deal. Empress Jia did not leave any handle and just regarded it as an attempt that could not be held accountable.

In the absence of evidence and support, Sima Yi could not have turned against the Queen, as this would have made him branded as unfilial.

Fortunately, the same thing happened to Empress Jia. She couldn't bear the consequences of publicly breaking with the Crown Prince. If she missed this opportunity, there might not be another one. Her most important political strategy now was to continue to expand her influence on the court. To put it more bluntly, it was how to curb Sima Wei's influence, which was consistent with Lu Ji's warning.

Judging from the current political situation, Sima Wei was in a very bad situation. Empress Jia had brought Sima Liang in from the local area, and Sima Liang used rewards to check and balance Sima Wei. Although the method was crude, the effect was indeed significant. Sima Liang successfully dismantled a large number of Sima Wei's supporters, while also winning over a large number of elderly people to become his own supporters.

When it comes to the intrigues in officialdom, Sima Wei is young and energetic, while the old men are slick and worldly-wise, so it is basically impossible for Sima Wei to win.

Liu Xian easily got the answer. But it was obvious to anyone with a discerning eye, and not enough for Lu Ji to issue a warning. The only explanation was that there was probably another coup d'état going on, a coup against Sima Wei.

As for what the losers of the coup would end up being, the Three Yangs had already given a bloody answer with their own corpses.

Thinking of the tragic situation described by Liu Kun, Liu Xian was horrified. He began to carefully consider his relationship with Sima Wei and whether he should continue to serve Sima Wei.

Originally, this was not a problem. Liu Xian and Sima Wei had known each other for five years and had always had a good relationship. Sima Wei had helped Liu Xian, and Liu Xian had reciprocated by giving him advice. Even if he encountered some difficulties, Liu Xian had no reason to separate from him.

But after the coup, Liu Xian had to have doubts about this.

After not seeing him for over a year, Sima Wei had changed so drastically. Liu Xian hadn't expected Sima Wei to be so murderous and ruthless. He had killed thousands of people in one fell swoop, implicating many innocent people, which made Liu Xian quite disgusted.

Furthermore, was it true that Sima Wei hadn't noticed Empress Jia's plot against Sima Yi? As the initiator of the entire coup, he couldn't have hidden many things from him. He benefited from Sima Yi's death and might even have welcomed it. Therefore, Liu Xian had reason to suspect that Sima Wei had deliberately kept the information from him.

Sima Wei might have become a completely ruthless politician, so Liu Xian had to be on guard.

That night, Liu Xian and his wife, A'Luo, were the only ones in the bedroom. A'Luo removed the splint from Liu Xian's right arm and applied ointment. Following the doctor's instructions, A'Luo cleaned Liu Xian's wound and rubbed medicated wine on his skin, causing it to turn red and hot. Then, she applied dark green herbs and pressed them all over, securing the splint.

Then Ah Luo asked Liu Xian, "Bi Ji, are you feeling better?"

Liu Xian smiled and said, "I didn't use any force, so how can I know if it's okay? But it definitely doesn't hurt that much anymore."

Ah Luo rolled her eyes at him, then sighed and said, "Didn't the East Palace's medical department tell you that you can't do heavy work with this hand for the next two to three years? If you want to wield a sword as vigorously as before, it will probably take at least five or six years!"

Liu Xian actually didn't care about all this. He was still thinking about Lu Ji's warning, weighing the situation Sima Wei might encounter, and what he should do next.

He suddenly asked his wife, "A Luo, what do you think of His Highness the Prince of Chu?"

Ah Luo gave her husband a puzzled look, then continued to tighten the bandage on his splint and said, "What's wrong? Why are you asking this out of the blue?"

Liu Xian explained, "It suddenly occurred to me that the image of His Royal Highness the King of Chu in my eyes might be completely different from the image of the King of Chu in everyone else's eyes. Tell me what you think."

After finishing the bandage and tying a flower knot, Ah Luo sat down beside Liu Xian, pondered for a moment, and said, "He's a good man, isn't he? He's always very caring towards his friends, especially you, my husband. You offended Jia Mi, and he saved you from disaster. It's truly rare!"

Liu Xian nodded. For A'Luo, evaluating Sima Wei was actually evaluating whether he was a good superior. From this perspective, Sima Wei was indeed impeccable.

But this is not enough. This is not the answer Liu Xian wants. He wants to evaluate Sima Wei from a broader perspective.

So after changing the medicine, he did not rest as usual, but went out for a walk, thinking as he walked.

Unconsciously, he walked to the kitchen and saw the maid Ah Chun boiling water. He stopped, called her name, and asked, "Ah Chun?"

"Sir?"

"What do you think of His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu now?"

"This..." Ah Chun tilted his head slightly and thought for a moment, "He's a little careless, but he cares about the people."

"Oh? Don't you think he's indiscriminate and cruel? He's killed thousands of people this month."

"What's the big deal about killing people? People die every moment in this world. A heavy snowstorm or an earthquake is enough to kill thousands of poor people. And those who the King of Chu killed were all powerful and wealthy people who sucked people's blood. He didn't kill people just for himself. He distributed the manors and fields left by those powerful people to the poor, and returned all the slaves to civilians. He has done so much, what else can you ask for?"

Liu Xian nodded. He hadn't expected that Ah Chun, who usually looked so simple, actually had such a distinct love-hate relationship in her heart, but this was the answer Liu Xian needed. After thinking for a moment, he continued walking in the courtyard. This time, he passed the stable and saw Zhu Fu adding wheat and beans to the trough, while Fanyu Ma lowered his head and munched on the food.

Since they had met, Liu Xian asked Zhu Fu again, "Uncle Zhu, I have something to ask you. What do you think of the King of Chu now?"

“…” Zhu Fu was a little surprised, not knowing why Liu Xian asked this.

"I'm thinking, am I continuing to follow the King of Chu for petty reasons or for the greater good? Uncle Zhu, you've been my elder for so many years. Please give me some advice today."

Zhu Fu's eyes were solemn when he heard this. He carefully replied, "This is your own business. How can I be as smart as you..."

"Being smart is useless. I just can't make up my mind. It's really hard to choose! I don't agree with the King of Chu's approach, and I don't believe he can get a good result. But I don't want to be an ungrateful villain."

"So you consider the King of Chu a friend, then just do what friends should do, isn't that enough?"

When Liu Xian heard this, he smiled in realization. He nodded to Zhu Fu, and then walked back to the bedroom alone. A'Luo was already asleep in the bedroom. There was a candle lit on the table, and the flickering candlelight made his figure sway constantly on the wall.

"Friend..." Liu Xian muttered a few words for a long while, trying to clear his mind. "Yeah, no matter how he sees me, at least I should be worthy of the word friend..." Liu Xian finally made up his mind.

No matter what, Sima Wei has not done anything wrong to me so far, so I shouldn't be suspicious of him.

Once you figure this out, many problems will no longer be problems.

During the Yang Jun Rebellion, Liu Xian had personally experienced that a chaotic situation does not allow people to pay attention to trivial matters and greater justice. In fact, staying alive is more important than anything else. If you die, you will lose everything.

But Liu Xian still wanted to be the kind of person he always admired, someone who valued integrity. His teacher had said that without integrity, the world would be a hell. Even if he couldn't uphold justice in the world, he couldn't violate the basic integrity of a friend.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Sima Wei's political situation is indeed deteriorating rapidly, but there is still hope for improvement.

Sima Wei still has military power at the moment, although many of his wings have been weakened. For example, Meng Guan has been recruited into the palace and he has to serve Sima Yi. Wang Cui is also working in the Secretariat. The only people Sima Wei can rely on are Qi Sheng, Gongsun Hong and Li Zhao.

But military power is military power. Since Sima Wei was the first to overthrow Yang, no one could erase his contribution or seize his power.

He just needs to wait. Sima Wei is only twenty years old this year. He is much younger than Yang Jun, Sima Liang and others. As long as he can endure and work hard, time will help him become the winner.

What Liu Xian fears most now is that Sima Wei can't stand Sima Liang's suppression and is determined to fight them to the end. Then he might fall into the enemy's trap and lose everything in the end.

So Liu Xian wanted to persuade Sima Wei and pull him off this dangerous path.

Thinking of this, Liu Xian gradually let go, blew out the candle, and fell asleep.

Before falling asleep, Liu Xian was still thinking. Continuing to help Sima Wei wasn't the wisest decision, but it was indeed the one he could live with a clear conscience. Living in this world, being able to live with a clear conscience was already a rare feat...

The next morning, after Liu Xian had breakfast, he tidied his clothes and asked Zhu Fu to drive the ox cart to the Northern Army camp outside the city.

It was already summer, and even though it was only noon, the sunlight was already so bright that even the gauze curtains could not block it out. Liu Xian took the opportunity to look at the streets and people along the way.

It's strange to say, after the brutal coup and massacre, the city of Luoyang was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere, but the suburbs of Luoyang were completely the opposite. The people's smiles did not decrease, and there were more caravans coming and going. The sounds of hawking along the way were as endless as the chirping of orioles, and there were some children strolling and playing on the road, making everything seem peaceful and leisurely.

Did something good happen? Seeing this, Liu Xian stopped and asked passers-by.

A passerby said, "His Royal Highness the King of Chu is now reorganizing his army and has ordered all guards around the capital to stop setting up checkpoints without permission!"

Liu Xian was shocked when he heard this. For ordinary merchants and ordinary people, the checkpoints were a burden. Every time they went back and forth, they would be robbed by the soldiers guarding the checkpoints. Without being squeezed out of money, they could not move forward.

But checkpoints are like the meat filling in a pancake to the soldiers. With checkpoints, their days are full of fun; without checkpoints, life is boring.

However, Sima Wei actually ordered the abolition of the Northern Army's checkpoints. This did benefit the people, but it would undoubtedly offend a large number of people in the army.

Unexpectedly, before the conversation was over, a passerby said, "Yesterday, His Royal Highness the King of Chu issued another order to eliminate the banditry around the capital. In one day, they arrested over two hundred people. It's shocking! There are so many bandits in the capital. I didn't even know it existed!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian smiled bitterly. The banditry in the capital was not just any ordinary banditry. They were bandits with backgrounds.

Not only did Shi Chong maintain a large number of assassins in the Jingu Garden to rob Mount Mang, but Liu Xian, after years of experience in officialdom, also learned a great deal about the rest of the situation. It turned out that virtually all the dukes and marquises in Luoyang maintained assassins, and at least half of them had committed murders. When Sima Wei talked about eliminating banditry, weren't these the very people he was targeting?

What happened to Sima Wei? Although Liu Xian knew before that Sima Wei was an extremely competitive person who was unwilling to admit defeat, the fighting spirit he showed now still made Liu Xian feel incredible.

Because this can no longer be described as competitive, it is more like showing the sword to the whole Luoyang, vowing to compete with those who betrayed him.

This behavior is extremely naive politically, and can even be said to be unacceptable.

But looking at the birdsong, flowers, laughter and joy along the way, Liu Xian fell silent again.

Sima Wei's actions were actually what Liu Xian had always wanted to do. What was wrong with being harsh on the powerful and letting the people live and work in peace?
Before last night, Liu Xian had thought that Sima Wei had changed the most. But after witnessing Sima Wei's actions, Liu Xian suddenly realized that Sima Wei wasn't the only one who had changed. He himself had also changed, becoming more adept at compromise and concessions.

This realization left Liu Xian momentarily dazed. Time and choices quietly transformed a person's form. The me of yesterday and the me of tomorrow seemed to be two different people. And what about this choice? How would it determine his fate?
Liu Xian fell into deep thought and was unable to make sense for a moment.

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(End of this chapter)