Jinting Han people

Chapter 303 The Crown Prince's Strategy
As before, the Crown Prince's message was delivered via a messenger. However, this time it wasn't Gou Xi who arrived, but a mid-level military officer named Wang Jing. He came to the General of the Suppression of Bandits' residence under the pretext of receiving his salary. After handing over the dozen or so cartloads of millet to Xi Jian for counting, he took the list to Liu Xian for his stamp. Then, taking this opportunity, he handed Liu Xian a piece of yellow silk.

Just like last time, the yellow silk was in the very familiar handwriting of the Crown Prince, instructing him to find a way to meet Jiang Tong at the horse market by the evening of the next day.

Liu Xian thought to himself: It's finally here.

Having been preoccupied with Chen Shou's funeral arrangements, Liu Xian had been quite free. The next day, he again used the excuse of repairing Chen Shou's tomb to request leave from his residence. Nearly half a year had passed since the assassination attempt, and Liu Xian had been in charge of the Eastern Palace Guard for almost half a year. Since nothing had happened, the attention from various factions had diminished considerably. Even so, Liu Xian still made sure he wasn't being followed by anyone before heading alone to the horse market.

Jiang Tong had been waiting at the horse market for a long time. After the two met at the agreed location, Jiang Tong ordered two trusted men to carry out a large bamboo basket that could easily hold a person, and let Liu Xian sit inside. Then the basket was loaded onto a cart and mixed with the vegetables and grains purchased from the horse market, and they returned to the East Palace gate.

Because the Eastern Palace housed nearly ten thousand people requiring daily meals, and the Crown Prince had a fondness for slaughtering cattle and sheep, the palace needed to procure supplies daily. The soldiers were quite accustomed to this, and an extra bamboo basket among them was inconspicuous and no one would bother to check it. Thus, Liu Xian sneaked into the Eastern Palace unnoticed.

When Liu Xian emerged from the bamboo basket, he was already in the West Hall, which was the harem of the Eastern Palace. Only maids and the Crown Prince's concubines lived there; they had no contact with the outside world. Even if a palace maid saw Liu Xian, she wouldn't know how he got in or what his request was.

Crown Prince Sima Yu was in a pavilion in the West Palace, looking out the window at the scenery below. When Liu Xian came upstairs, he closed the window, sat back down by the brazier, and a relieved expression appeared on his tired face. He said with a smile:

"Liu Xian, I heard you've had some trouble at home lately. I asked you to come over. Is that alright?"

Liu Xian replied, "Your Highness, some things did happen, but everything that needed to be done has been done, so it's nothing serious."

Sima Yu nodded and sighed, "That's good, that's good. I don't have many people I can trust, but you are one of a kind. I can only trouble you!"

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Liu Xian understood the implication and asked, "Your Highness, are your preparations truly thorough?"

Sima Yu picked up a jade pendant, turning it over and over in his right hand while his left hand clenched into a fist. After a moment of silence, Sima Yu replied:

"There is no such thing as perfect preparation in the world. To be honest, I only have a 40% chance of winning right now."

"I've gathered a group of people under my control, but I recruited them by borrowing their power, and some were coerced or lured. Now that I've brought them onto this ship, I have no choice but to grit my teeth and move forward. In the end, I might have to rely on you to keep things in check."

“I originally wanted more time to gather more people, at least to select a few truly loyal ones. But now, my mother can no longer hold back and is about to fight back.”

After a long wait, the Empress finally made her move. She had been frequently transferring officials in the Eastern Palace who supported the Crown Prince. For example, Liu Bian, the Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince, and Pei Quan, the Crown Prince's Chamberlain, were being sent to official posts outside the capital one after another. Her purpose was self-evident: to first cut off Sima Yu's support and leave him with no one to rely on.

However, this approach only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. Firstly, there are too many supporters of the Crown Prince, and the Empress cannot possibly reassign them all. Secondly, too many officials appointed to positions related to the Crown Prince cannot be sent out to other regions; otherwise, if the prefectures and counties are filled with supporters of the Crown Prince, who would heed the Empress's edicts?
However, the Crown Prince had to treat this matter with caution, because his desire to regain power was purely based on an air of unwavering determination. If this air of determination weakened and aroused suspicion among his subordinates, not only would a coup be impossible, but he might not even be able to continue his previous dissolute lifestyle, and he would soon face a complete collapse of his supporters.

Sima Yu put down the jade pendant in his hand and sighed to Liu Xian, "There's nothing we can do. Since the Empress is not peaceful, we must respond. So you should know why I called you here."

Liu Xian knew, of course, that this was the very plan he had previously offered to Sima Yu. He slowly said, "Then we can only establish our authority through killing. Your Highness summoned me back, probably because you want me to kill again."

"Yes," Sima Yu said. "We must take a very tough stance and kill one of my mother's trusted confidants to make her back down, and also to boost the morale of my men."

He then asked Liu Xian, "If I were to kill someone from the Empress Dowager's faction, who do you think would be the most suitable to kill?"

Liu Xian instinctively wanted to answer Jia Mi, but reason told him that it was absolutely impossible. Jia Mi was the patriarch of the Pingyang Jia clan and the current first duke of the Western Jin Dynasty. If he were assassinated, the political implications would be immeasurable.

If Sima Yu does this, it will likely cause other dukes and noble families to feel sorry for each other. Those who originally supported the empress will support her even more, and those who were originally bystanders or in support of the crown prince may also turn to the empress.

Similarly, assassination would be an inappropriate method to use against Shi Chong, Zhang Hua, Pei Wei, and Wang Jun. Shi Chong, Pei Wei, and Wang Jun were all heads of the eight prominent families, so their positions were unquestionable. Zhang Hua, however, was the foremost figure from a humble background in his time. Regardless of how despicable his sycophancy towards the empress might be, he had still risen to the position of prime minister from a commoner's origin—a position unprecedented in the history of the Jin dynasty. Assassinating him would undoubtedly have extremely negative consequences.

So it seems that only one suitable candidate remains.

Liu Xian said to Sima Yu, "I'm afraid the only option is to kill Jia Sifan (Jia Mo)."

Sima Yu nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with Liu Xian's assessment. He muttered to himself as he analyzed, "Yes, that's right. Although the Jia family of Pingyang is powerful and deeply rooted, Jia Changyuan is an unwise man, and the Empress often acts rashly. Only Jia Shizhong can usually restrain them."

"No matter how much the Empress trusts Zhang Hua and Pei Wei, they are not surnamed Jia after all, so there is still a layer between them. As long as we kill him, the Empress and Jia Mi will most likely make a fool of themselves and lose public support, which will give us a chance to succeed."

"But the problem is, if my memory serves me right, Minister Jia usually lives a secluded life and rarely goes out. Apart from court assemblies, he rarely goes out. Although he doesn't have many guards, killing him would probably not be an easy task."

Liu Xian chuckled and said, "Your Highness, how to kill Jia Mo is not something you need to worry about. The biggest problem is how to handle the aftermath after you kill him."

Seeing Liu Xian's confident expression, Sima Yu relaxed slightly. Knowing Liu Xian wanted to know his plans, he sat down opposite him and whispered, "I'll give you a month. If you can find a way to get rid of Jia Mo, I'll pressure Pei Wei to tell the Empress to quickly relinquish power and abdicate." "If the wicked Empress abdicates then, nothing will happen, and I might even spare her life. Ha, but that's clearly wishful thinking."

“She’s the kind of person who probably won’t admit defeat. So I’ll send someone to the Court of Justice to report and publicly accuse Jia Mi of treason. As far as I know, Jia Mi has created a lot of auspicious omens and divine artifacts over the years, most of which are piled up in the Golden Valley Garden. There are also some wicked people among his retainers. The evidence that he is plotting to usurp the throne is conclusive. As long as we take him down, and then summon Lord Yanfu (Le Guang), Lord Ziya (Liu Song), and my father-in-law, they are all famous scholars among the gentry. Once the evidence is presented to the public, and they spread it widely, the people will surely be on our side.”

"However, Jia Mi and the Empress are both impetuous people. If Jia Mo doesn't stop them, they will surely resort to desperate measures and lead their troops into a bloody battle. We may have to fight a major war. The solution is simple: split our forces into two groups. You will lead your three thousand men directly to the Golden Valley Garden to capture Jia Mi and gather evidence. I will lead the Imperial Guards who are lying in ambush to the Cloud Dragon Gate to confront them and ensure that the Imperial Guards do not act rashly. Finally, I will contact the princes. By then, the situation will be urgent, and they will be unable to remain neutral and will have no choice but to support me first."

"In this way, the great undertaking can be accomplished."

At this point, Sima Yu emphasized to Liu Xian, "What I'm most worried about now is the attitude of the princes. As you know, the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows. If I inform them of the plan in advance, the Prince of Zhao and the Prince of Qi will definitely betray me completely. The Prince of Huainan might not, but he has a strong personality and acts rashly, so he might take the opportunity to make things worse."

"Therefore, this assassination attempt was carried out secretly, without revealing it to anyone except Jiang Tong. You must also keep your mouth shut and not contact Gou Xi, Sun Xiu, or the King of Huainan's assassins as before."

"Of course, I know that their help was indispensable in your previous successes. But now, I have no one to send you. At most, you can talk to Lu Ji and give me a date for the operation, and I will try to help you enter and leave the city freely. Other than that, you can only rely on yourself."

"So, Liu Xian, can you do it?"

Liu Xian remained silent for a long time. To be honest, Sima Yu's request was indeed extremely difficult. No helpers, no spies, yet he had to ensure secrecy, kill the target with a single blow, and also consider how to escape. These conditions were far too demanding, making the assassination far more difficult than before. But Liu Xian had no choice. Just as Sima Yu had many people he couldn't trust yet still fought to the death, he too had to rely on himself.

He nodded to Sima Yu and said, "Your Highness, I understand. I will make the arrangements myself. You can wait for my news."

"However, just in case, I would like to offer you a suggestion."

"Oh?" This turn of events surprised Sima Yu. In his view, his plan was already perfect and there was no possibility of improvement. He asked curiously, "Tell me, what is your suggestion?"

Liu Xian considered carefully before saying, "Since you are worried about the princes, I think we should kill one more person to prevent future troubles."

"Potential problems? Who are the potential problems? You're not talking about assassinating some prince, are you?"

“Of course not,” Liu Xian advised. “I think Sun Xiu should be executed.”

Sima Yu was somewhat puzzled. He leaned back slightly and asked, "Sun Xiu, the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Zhao? Why did you kill him? I know you have a personal grudge against him. Alas, I don't like him either, but don't let a small matter cause a big loss and push the Prince of Zhao to the Empress's side."

Liu Xian said, "I made this suggestion not out of personal vendetta! Your Highness, Sun Xiu is greedy and shameless. He is a snake that can swallow an elephant! He is willing to defy the world to gain power! When he was in Guanzhong, he dared to replace generals and claim credit before the decisive battle. He has deserted in battle several times and defected on the spot. He is certainly capable of such things!"

"As for King Zhao, you don't need to worry. Although he trusts Sun Xiu, King Zhao himself doesn't have much of his own opinion. He does whatever his advisors say, and he's just a puppet in the officialdom. Without Sun Xiu, as long as no one else speaks up for Sun Xiu, he will be at a loss. As long as you make arrangements in advance, he will not only not openly join the Empress Dowager's faction, but will also have a closer relationship with you."

"But as long as Sun Xiu is alive, anything can happen. The situation is already very complicated, and a slight misstep could lead to total defeat. If you want to succeed, you must reduce these uncontrollable variables. And Sun Xiu is the most difficult variable to guard against in Luoyang. I hope you can promise me that you will let me set a trap to get rid of Sun Xiu before we start the uprising."

Sima Yu remained silent for a moment, warmed his hands over the brazier, and finally replied, "Alright, I promise you. As long as you can get rid of Sun Xiu, I will also clean up the mess for you. But time is of the essence. After killing Jia Mo, it will be December. I plan to make my move in December. If you don't have a suitable opportunity, I won't wait for you."

This was enough for Liu Xian. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted from his heart, and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Then I will not disturb the Crown Prince any longer. Farewell."

"Wait a minute!"

Sima Yu called him back, took a pot of wine from the table with his left hand and a cup of wine with his right, gently filled it, and handed it to Liu Xian, saying:
"I know that this plan is extremely risky. If anything goes wrong, we may have to meet again in the afterlife."

"Regardless of success or failure, it is a great joy to have someone in this world to whom you can entrust your life. There are not many people in this world whom I admire, but Liu Xian, you are one of them."

"Come! Drink this cup of wine, let's follow the example of the ancients and use strong liquor to send us off on our journey!"

Sima Yu handed the wine cup to Liu Xian, then filled his own cup. A rare smile appeared on his young face. He held the cup with both hands, clinked it with Liu Xian's, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"Farewell! I hope that when we meet again, it won't be in this women's den. We'll meet again then in the Taiji Hall of Luoyang Palace."

After saying this, Sima Yu waved his hand, beckoning Jiang Tong, who was outside the door, to come in and arrange for Liu Xian to enter the bamboo basket and secretly smuggle the goods out of the Eastern Palace again.

Inside the swaying bamboo basket, Liu Xian closed his eyes and began to meditate. He knew that he absolutely could not fail this time.

(End of this chapter)