Jinting Han people

Having escaped the intrigues of Luoyang and ended his long and arduous journey, Liu Xian's life slowed down at an incredible pace after settling in Zhengding.

Perhaps Hebei truly possesses a magical quality, capable of calming the mind; or perhaps it's because the Later Party has completely declined, and Sun Xiu is too busy with political infighting to attend to matters northward; whatever the reason, for the first time since entering officialdom, Liu Xian has been relieved of immense pressure, feeling utterly unrestrained and free. This led him to not accomplish anything significant for the first two days, but instead to sleep soundly for no apparent reason, and his entire being was more radiant than ever before.

The same was true on this day. When Liu Xian opened his eyes on the couch, he saw the morning sunlight shining through the apricot grove and the eaves of the window, shimmering like waves before his eyes. He sat up and saw that the outside world was golden, bright and cheerful. A gentle breeze blew into the swaying curtains, brushing against his hair, making him feel relaxed and without any weariness.

"Biji, what time is it?"

A'Luo mumbled something and turned over, still a little sleepy. This went against her usual habits. Although A'Luo came from a respectable family, she had been in the Anle Duke's mansion for many years and had long since learned to be diligent and thrifty in managing the household. She would often get up after dawn to take care of the household affairs and handle all kinds of matters in an orderly manner. Thanks to her, the Anle Duke's mansion's land holdings had more than doubled in recent years, largely due to her efforts.

However, the wife's excessive sleepiness at this time was not because there was nothing to do in Zhen Ding, but for other reasons.

It turned out that A'Luo's discomfort along the way wasn't due to a change in environment, but rather because she was pregnant. A'Luo had no prior experience with this and couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, so Liu Xian was also unaware. It wasn't until they arrived in Zhengding and were examined by the royal physicians that they realized it was a misunderstanding. Sima Yi quickly arranged for two maids to come to Liu Xian and also borrowed an elderly woman with midwifery experience to help.

This news brought immense joy to the couple. They had been married for thirteen years, but had spent very little time together, having actually only been together for four years. By the time Liu Xian returned from Guanzhong, A'Luo was already older and had been disheartened, thinking she would never have children again. Unexpectedly, her wish came true. Therefore, A'Luo put aside everything else and focused entirely on her pregnancy.

Liu Xian thought to himself that he was blessed with children as soon as he escaped, which was probably the will of Heaven! If it was a boy, he would name him Liu Xing, meaning to revive; if it was a girl, he would name her Liu Lingyou, meaning to be blessed by Heaven.

But that's a story for later. Liu Xian comforted his wife and said, "It's nothing serious, you should rest."

Then he carefully got up, changed into a light robe, wrapped his hair in a turban, and quickly left the bedroom. Breakfast was ready, and Li Sheng and Zhuge Yan were already sitting and drinking porridge. Seeing Liu Xian approach, Li Sheng took out a letter from his pocket. "It's from Luoyang," Li Sheng said.

Liu Xian took a bowl of millet porridge with his left hand and simultaneously raised his right hand to take the letter. Upon opening it, he saw that it was from Fu Chang. This was an agreement Li Sheng had made with him before leaving Luoyang: once the turmoil in Luoyang subsided, he would send the latest information to Zhengding, so that Liu Xian would not lose contact with Luoyang.

This letter was written in mid-April of the first year of Yongkang, about half a month after I received the letter.

Fu Chang's letter was very long because of the great changes in Luoyang and the long period of correspondence, so he had to write more, totaling about a thousand words.

He began by recounting the current situation of the General's Mansion.

Upon learning of Liu Xian's escape, Sun Xiu was furious. However, being a shrewd man, he initially attempted to seal off the Anle Duke's residence and the General of the Vanquishing Bandits' residence, trying to extract confessions from his subordinates and family members. But considering Liu Xian's political influence and Sima Yi's subsequent memorial, Sun Xiu, as a seasoned politician, decided against convicting Liu Xian. Thus, things unfolded as Liu Xian had optimistically predicted; his family and relatives were not significantly affected, and Fu Chang reassured Liu Xian not to worry excessively.

Then he began to talk about the political changes that had occurred recently.

The coup that night was remarkably successful. Caught completely off guard, the princes wiped out the Empress Dowager's faction. The core members of the faction, including the Empress, Pei Wei, Zhang Hua, Jia Mi, and Shi Chong, were naturally eliminated. Even her henchmen, such as Dong Meng, Sun Lü, Han Shou, and Zhao Can, as well as scholars like Pan Yue, Du Bin, and Guo Zhang who regularly championed Jia Mi, and those with past grudges against Sun Xiu in Guanzhong, such as Ouyang Jian, Xie Xi, and Xie Jie, were all imprisoned.

The once-popular Twenty-Four Friends of Jin Valley fell apart overnight.

However, opinions differed widely on how to deal with these people. The princes raised an army under the pretext of avenging the crown prince, but in reality, some of the empress dowager's faction did not openly support the removal of the crown prince, such as Pei Wei and Zhang Hua. Pei Wei, in particular, had once been very close to the deposed crown prince, Sima Yu. Whether to deal with these people leniently was a key point of contention in the court.

Sun Xiu's attitude was very direct: all members of the Empress Dowager's faction were guilty. However, according to the Eight Deliberations, those born into noble or high-ranking families were only considered criminals, while those not born into noble or high-ranking families were to have their entire families exterminated.

Then, swiftly and decisively, on the fourth day after the coup, he ordered that all prisoners, except the Empress, be tied with straw ropes and dragged to Qilijian to be beheaded as a warning to the public. After the news spread, many people from Luoyang, filled with hatred for the Empress's faction, came to watch. Even though the weather was gloomy and seemed about to rain, the banks of the canal were still packed with people.

In his letter, Fu Chang wrote that when Jia Mi was dragged up, there was a cheer from the crowd, and many people clapped and cheered as the executioner's blade swung down. This was because Jia Mi had been running rampant in Luoyang for more than ten years, and now that he had received his just deserts, people felt a sense of relief.

But as the beheadings continued, many young children were also grabbed by the collar and dragged onto the execution platform. The executioners carried them up quickly, one in each hand, as if lifting chicks. These toddlers, lying prostrate on the ground, bewildered and helpless, were grabbed by the hair by the executioners, their heads severed with short knives and thrown to the ground. The sight of this horrific scene sent a chill down everyone's spine.

The killing continued, with prisoners being hacked down in rows. The slaughter began at dawn and continued until the afternoon. The piled-up corpses numbered in the thousands, lying on the sand as far as the eye could see.

After each row of people was killed, someone would wash the blood off the execution platform with water. But by the end, the platform was still stained with a layer of blood that couldn't be washed away, and the stench of blood on the ground was so strong it was almost unbearable. The Luoyang people who were watching had never been on a battlefield, and they couldn't bear the sight. They dispersed halfway through the killing.

This truly made everyone remember Sun Xiu, showing them what decisiveness and ruthlessness meant. They privately discussed, "When the Empress killed the Three Yangs and the Prince of Chu, was she really this cruel? Probably not."

Empress Jia Nanfeng, as people say, had already been deposed and imprisoned in Jinyong City. The day after her faction was slaughtered, she too was given a cup of poisoned wine and died silently. According to the palace servants in Jinyong City, when the deposed empress first arrived, she acted like a mad dog, only calming down after her limbs were broken. Then, like a pig being slaughtered, they forcibly pressed her to the ground, pried open her mouth, and poured the poisoned wine down her throat. But whether this is true or not remains unknown.

The above describes the handling of the Empress Dowager's faction, followed by the rewards for the coup, which is what Liu Xian was truly concerned about.

Sun Xiu first issued an imperial edict granting a general amnesty, and then began bestowing titles and rewards upon the King of Zhao and his son, as well as Sun Xiu himself:
Zhao Wang Sima Lun was recognized as the key figure in the coup, and was appointed as the Imperial Envoy, Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of the Interior and Exterior, Chancellor, and Attendant-in-Ordinary, just like Emperor Xuan of Jin assisted Wei. He commanded 10,000 soldiers under his command.
At the same time, he appointed his son Sima Fu as the Palace Attendant-in-Waiting, giving him control of the palace guards;
The second son, Sima Fu, was appointed General of the Vanguard and enfeoffed as the Prince of Jiyang.

Sima Qian, the third son, was appointed as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate and enfeoffed as the Prince of Ruyin.

Sima Xu, the fourth son, was appointed as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Bacheng.
Sun Xiu himself was appointed as the Grand Secretary and enfeoffed as the Duke of Taishan.

The rewards Sun Xiu offered to the King of Zhao were quite generous, granting him nominal regency power. Sima Fu, as the Grand Secretary, was one of the three commanders of the Imperial Guards, and together with Sima Qian, the King of Zhao effectively controlled half of the Jin army in Luoyang. Furthermore, Sun Xiu's promotion to Grand Secretary meant he would draft all imperial edicts, effectively making him the prime minister. With these appointments, the King of Zhao's ambition to usurp the throne was unmistakable.

Then came the bestowal of titles and rewards upon members of the imperial family:

Sima Zang, son of the deposed Crown Prince Sima Yu, was appointed as the Imperial Grandson; Sima Yun, Prince of Huainan, was appointed as General of the Cavalry, granted the authority to establish his own government, and concurrently served as the Commander of the Central Guard.

Sima Tong, the Prince of Liang, was appointed Grand Chancellor and concurrently served as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, with his fiefdom increased by 20,000 households.
Sima Jiong, the Prince of Qi, was appointed General Who Pacifies the East and stationed in Xuchang, overseeing all military affairs in Yan and Yu provinces.
Sima Yue, the Prince of Donghai, was appointed as a Chamberlain and concurrently served as the Director of the Secretariat.
Sima Yao, the Prince of Dong'an, who had been deposed by the Empress Dowager's faction, was reinstated as Minister of the Imperial Clan Court.
Ma Xin, the commander of the Southern Central Army, was stationed in Xinye.

Ma Cui of Guangling Company was appointed as Left General and concurrently served as Attendant Gentleman of the Palace.
Sima Wei, the Prince of Yiyang, was appointed as a Gentleman-in-Attendance.

Compared to the generous rewards he bestowed upon himself, this particular reward for members of the imperial clan was far more significant. To demonstrate Zhao Wang's status as the head of the imperial clan, he first supported the crown prince, then reinstated many princes who had been sidelined by the empress dowager's faction, while also retaining many virtuous princes who were in power alongside the empress dowager's faction. In this way, Zhao Wang's influence within the imperial clan greatly increased, but he held back on rewarding truly loyal ministers who deserved such recognition.

The appointment of the Prince of Huainan is the most intriguing, while the Princes of Qi and Liang both received real benefits. However, Sima Yun's rewards were merely titles: General of the Cavalry was a nominal position without real power, as was Grand Master of the Three Departments. The only useful appointment was Commander of the Central Guard, but he was not the highest leader of the Imperial Guards.

It's not hard to understand Sun Xiu's intentions; the rise of the Prince of Zhao threatened Sima Yun's position. It's worth noting that there had been calls for Sima Yun to become the Crown Prince. Now, it seems, just as Liu Xian predicted, that Sun Xiu's next step was to target Sima Yun, thus directly escalating the conflict between the two.

But what surprised Liu Xian the most was the appointment of Sima Yue, the Prince of Donghai. He was promoted to the position of Director of the Imperial Secretariat, which was Sun Xiu's deputy. This was hard for Liu Xian to understand: he had never seen him contribute to the Zhao King's faction before. Why was he being given such an important position?

The final part of the letter was a commendation of those who had made contributions after the fall of the dynasty:
Sun Qi, the General Who Pacifies the South, was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry and granted the title of Grand General of the Three Excellencies.
Meng Guan, the Duke of Shanggu, was appointed as General Who Pacifies the South and sent to garrison Wancheng, overseeing all military affairs in Jingzhou.
Zhang Lin, Marquis of Guannei, was granted the title of Duke of Jiyin and appointed General of the Guards;

Wang Jun, formerly the General of the Eastern Central Army, was transferred to the position of General of Ningbei and Governor of Qingzhou.
Sima Ya, the Palace Inspector, was appointed General of the Garrison, and Mo Yuan was appointed General of the Vanguard.
The three commanders, Lü He, Xu Chao, and Shi Yi, were respectively the General of the Vanguard, the General of the Right Army, and the General Who Destroys the Enemy.
He also appointed Li Zhong, the prefect of Pingyang, and Xun Zu, the prefect of Xingyang, as the left and right chief secretaries, Wang Kan and Liu Mo as the left and right military advisors, Shu Xi as the secretary, Xun Song and Lu Ji as the left and right military advisors, and the brothers Liu Kun and Liu Yu as the assistant officers.

Ji Shao, the Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, was appointed Attendant Gentleman of the Palace; Le Guang, the Governor of Henan, was promoted to Minister of Personnel and then Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Liu Qiao, the Marquis of Guanzhong, was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Palace…

Because the list was too long, Fu Chang didn't record it all, only including some people Liu Xian had connections with. This list could also be considered an official confirmation from Sun Xiu, indicating just how many people had joined his secret backroom group.

Seeing so many familiar names listed, Liu Xian felt a mix of emotions. He felt the disappointment of parting ways with his friends, but also the relief that they had achieved their goals. Perhaps, as Zu Ti said, ultimately, people can only walk their own paths. Showing no mercy on the battlefield is the best respect one can show to a friend.

After reading the letter and finishing his breakfast, Liu Xian immediately took the letter to see Sima Yi and explained it to him:
“Your Highness, the King of Zhao’s wolfish ambitions are obvious. You can now take the first step in preparing to punish him.”

After carefully examining the letter, Sima Yi asked in return, "What is the first step of preparation?"

Liu Xian said, “Such a formidable bandit cannot be wiped out by one person alone. At this time, we must raise the banner of loyalty to the emperor, gather righteous people from all over the land, and especially contact the princes. As the son of Emperor Wu, how could you not be victorious in leading a mighty army to punish these mortal traitors?”

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi pulled a letter from the table beside him and said with a smile, "It seems that great minds think alike! Here, take a look at this letter."

Liu Xian took the letter, opened it, and found that it was from the Prince of Chengdu in Ye City. He said that he had important matters to discuss with Sima Yi and would send someone to make contact.

Although Sima Ying did not specify, the purpose of sending a message at this crucial time can be inferred.

It seems there is a wise person among the King of Chengdu who shares the same thoughts as Liu Xian.

"The person should arrive in two or three days. Let us see what kind of person my sixteenth brother has sent."

Liu Xian readily agreed. Upon returning to his study, he immediately wrote a letter. He replied to Fu Chang that everything was going smoothly on his end and there was no need to worry. He further instructed him to remain neutral and not to get too involved in politics, as Luoyang could become unrest at any time, and safety was the top priority. He also told him to inform him immediately of any news.

The next morning, as he rolled up the letter and was about to seal it, a warrior lifted the curtain and entered. He was dressed in military uniform, with a leather belt around his waist, and his boots were covered in mud, indicating that he had just been hunting.

Ignoring all etiquette, he hurriedly said to Liu Xian, "Lord Liu, His Highness has invited you to the south of the city. He said that distinguished guests have arrived from the south and he must personally greet them. You must also be there!"

"Oh?" Liu Xian looked up and saw it was Shangguan Si. After sealing the letter, he immediately changed into his court robes and boots for receiving guests. As he dressed, he thought, "Wasn't it supposed to take two or three days?"
He himself took Fan Yu's horse and then had Zhuge Yan ride alongside him until they reached the city gate. At this time, the summer sun had already broken through the eastern clouds, illuminating the vast, boundless green plain. Lush wheat seedlings grew on the fields, swaying in the wind to form waves of wheat, smooth and inviting like silk. In another month, this wheat would be ready for harvest, and the fragrance of green wheat would permeate the air, bringing a sense of pleasant joy.

As they approached Sima Yi, the approaching riders from the south were clearly visible in the distance. From afar, they could see more than forty imposing knights guarding the front, followed by a simply decorated carriage.

Sima Yi was not surrounded by many people at this time, but they were all key members of the Prince's household. However, most of them were dressed in hunting attire, not in formal welcoming clothes, which seemed rather strange. Clearly, they had originally planned to go hunting but did not expect their guests to arrive so early, and had to greet them at the last minute.

Upon seeing Liu Xian arrive, Sima Yi said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I never expected to be caught off guard like this!"

Liu Xian asked, "Who is this person? Has His Highness received any news?"

Sima Yi exclaimed, "The newcomer is no ordinary person; he is the Crouching Dragon of Hebei!"

"Sleeping Dragon?" Upon hearing these two words, Liu Xian's spirits lifted. He thought to himself: This is an extremely rare honor. With Zhuge Liang's brilliant achievements preceding him, who else would dare to call themselves Sleeping Dragon?

Soon, the caravan arrived before them. Surrounded by knights, a middle-aged scholar stepped down from the carriage. He straightened his clothes, revealed a warm smile, and bowed to Sima Yi, saying:

"I am Lu Zhi, and I have come to pay my respects to His Highness the Prince of Changshan on the orders of the Prince of Chengdu." (End of Chapter)