Jinting Han people

All of this reversed so quickly, so swiftly, as if it were child's play, that Sima Yue could not believe it at all. He looked at the blade in front of his neck, then at his subordinates kneeling in unison, utterly unable to accept it: twenty years of forbearance and lurking, twenty years of conspiracy and scheming, corpses piled up everywhere, rivers of blood flowing, and in the end, this was the result?
Where had he gone wrong? With Sima Yue's intelligence, he quickly realized the answer: he hadn't anticipated that Liu Xian would actually relinquish the supreme power that was so close at hand, instead transferring it to someone else, leading to a massive misjudgment. But how could this be? It was an insult to power! Power is strength, and in this cruel and real world, only strength can determine everything!
Therefore, faced with such a predicament, Sima Yue's deep-seated frustration turned into verbal contempt. He said to Liu Xian, half self-deprecatingly and half sarcastically, "Grand Commandant, I have lost, but I did not lose because I underestimated you, but because I overestimated you. You actually gave up the power of the court and chose to take another path."

"Oh? Sikong noticed?" Liu Xian shrugged.

"You're going to Shu to restore your kingdom, aren't you?" Sima Yue snorted twice, feigning regret, "Grand Commandant, you're giving up your good position as regent of the court to go to a dead end like Shu, hoping to revive your kingdom from the ashes. Isn't that ridiculous?"

“Is it ridiculous?” Liu Xian neither denied nor admitted it. He simply said, “Sikong’s defeat was due to one thing: you do not understand the principle of trust and righteousness.”

Sima Yue sneered, "You want to talk to me about morality? That's just a weak person's self-comforting rhetoric. True power has always come only from authority."

“You’re right, but where did the Sima family’s power come from? Was it from Emperor Xuan’s decades of lying low and enduring? If so, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Liu Xian had pondered this question countless times, and he firmly believed that he had grasped the underlying principles. Therefore, he stated: "The reason people chose Emperor Xuan was precisely because of his integrity. Emperor Xuan established military farms and stored grain north of the Yangtze River, managed water conservancy and opened canals in Guanzhong, greatly reformed the extravagant practices of the court, reduced taxes and levies, spared the people from war, and brought peace to the border regions. He won the trust of the people through his tangible perseverance and achievements."

"But... he betrayed that trust." Facing Sima Yue again, Liu Xian shook his head slightly and said with emotion, "And you, Sikong, have never earned that trust, so how can you say you betrayed it?"

While violence is indeed the foundation of rule, people often forget that individual violence can never overcome collective violence, and that only trust and righteousness can truly unite a group in the long run. For centuries, the ancient sayings "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world" and "He who follows the right path gains abundant support, while he who strays from it finds little" have all illustrated this principle. However, people's memories of suffering are always more profound than those of happiness, leading to a far greater abuse of violence than adherence to trust.

However, time always moves forward, and people should always strive to do better than their predecessors, not worse. Dwelling on past suffering brings no hope, whether for a nation, a country, or an individual; in the end, it only harms oneself.

Sima Yue was speechless. He stared at Liu Xian, his heart filled with a mix of emotions: regret, resentment, anger, and frustration. In the end, only one thought remained: This was all just a matter of the victor taking all! He should have killed him long ago! If it weren't for him, if it weren't for him, how could he have lost?

But his story, which had only just begun, had already ended.

Liu Xian walked past the armored soldiers prostrate on the ground, strode to the courtyard, opened the gate, and saw a vast crowd of people and torches before him. Without a word, the Donghai King's followers outside the courtyard threw down their weapons and surrendered, while the refugees surrounding the courtyard cheered wildly, their shouts echoing like a wildfire. Liu Xian stood amidst this chaos, like a single reed in a reed bed, but everyone's eyes were fixed on him.

He continued walking until he reached the Yellow Dragon Banner. Sima Zhong, Sima Fan, and Yang Xianrong were there, along with Zu Ti, Meng He, Ji Shao, Shan Gai, Gu Rong, and others. In front of them were Sima Lue, the Prince of Gaomi, Ma Mo, the CEO of Pingchang, and other followers of Sima Yue, all of whom were bound and gagged.

When Liu Xian knelt on one knee, the city had already returned to silence. He clasped his hands in a salute to Sima Zhong and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Donghai has colluded with the Prince of Gaomi and others to plot a rebellion. We have both witnesses and physical evidence. We request Your Majesty's judgment."

Yang Xianrong had already instructed him on how to answer on the way here. Sima Zhong said with a serious expression, "Please, Grand Commandant, investigate this matter immediately and punish the perpetrator severely."

Zu Ti handed the Zhangwu Sword back to Liu Xian, saying, "Returning it to its rightful owner." Liu Xian nodded, then drew his sword, turned around, and faced all his subordinates, officials, soldiers, and the surrounding refugees. He said loudly, "This is an extraordinary situation. Before the great battle, I have been ordered by the Emperor to handle this matter with full authority. Please bear witness to this."

At this point, he walked back a dozen steps and said to Mao Bao, who had followed him, "Bring the King of the East Sea up."

Sima Yue had already been captured and brought up bound with ropes, but he remained standing and refused to kneel. When he was brought up, his crown had been knocked off, revealing his uneven black and white hair.

Liu Xian didn't hold back either, kicking Sima Yue in the knee. Sima Yue nearly lost his footing, but he stubbornly refused to kneel. However, two soldiers beside him held his arms and forcibly pressed him to the ground. One of them grabbed the Prince of Donghai's hair, straightening his neck.

Liu Xian pressed the blade of his sword against Sima Yue's neck and asked, "Does Sikong have anything else to say?"

Surrounded by tens of thousands of onlookers, Sima Yue still tried to struggle, shouting, "Liu Xian, how dare you kill a high-ranking official of the state without any interrogation or torture! Is this the integrity you speak of?"

This was an attempt to buy time, so that he could launch a counterattack after Zhang Fang's army had attacked.

Liu Xian, of course, wouldn't give him that chance, and chuckled, "Isn't it Sikong who's causing chaos in the world?"

At this point, Sima Yue knew he had no chance of survival. He continued to struggle and shout, "Liu Xian! Be smug! I'm just going first! In a few hours, you'll be going to die with me anyway!"

"Ha!" Liu Xian exclaimed loudly, "Then let's make things clear to the countless wronged souls in the Yellow Springs!"

With that, Liu Xian swung his sword down, and Sima Yue only had time to cry out "Ah!" before blood splattered from his neck and his head was severed from his body. His head rolled a few times on the ground before finally settling in front of Liu Xian. It was a face tinged with resentment and fear, his eyes filled with hatred for Liu Xian, but in just two breaths, the last glimmer of light vanished from his eyes.

This was the only member of the Sima clan that Liu Xian personally killed in his entire life.

At that moment, Liu Xian felt no joy, for it all came too late. Even if he killed Sima Yue with his own hands, the dead would not be brought back to life, the suffering of the chaotic world would not end, the intrigues and power struggles would still occur, and the swords and blades would still thirst for warm blood. In fact, in a very short time, he would soon be facing the next cruel challenge.

But has nothing really changed? Liu Xian glanced around. Although the cold wind was howling, it couldn't hide the joy of those around him.

As far as the eye could see, Sima Zhong was grinning foolishly; Yang Xianrong's eyes were glistening with tears; Meng He and others wore expressions of admiration and awe, while most of the high officials were too afraid to raise their heads; but many more, soldiers and refugees alike, were looking up at him, cheering for his victory. Liu Xian knew that this was not because they worshipped him, but because they believed in hope and placed their hopes for survival on him.

Over the past few years, although he had won time and time again, he had also become a messenger of war time and time again. This time, however, he could finally give them some explanation, and also give some explanation to the dead. Thinking of this, Liu Xian felt some comfort and finally felt a little relieved.

The only pity is that at this moment, many of the people Liu Xian wanted to witness were not by his side. They were either scattered to the four winds or had already passed away. He really wanted them to see it!
Perhaps they are still with me. Liu Xian thought again, it's time to keep moving forward.

Liu Xian ordered that Sima Yue's head be displayed on the city wall as a warning to others. He did not immediately punish the remaining followers of the Prince of Donghai. All the officials and ministers involved were detained. The remaining soldiers, as Liu Xian had promised beforehand, were scattered among their respective units to prepare for the final battle.

Less than half an hour had passed since Sima Yue's prediction of the Western Army's attack, and the troops quickly resumed their busy work. No one had expected such a tumultuous night before the decisive battle. After paying their respects to Sima Zhong and Yang Xianrong, the rest of the people under the yellow dragon banner dispersed, leaving only Zu Ti and Liu Xian. After exchanging glances for a while, the two walked towards the western city wall. Liu Xian, gripping his sword, sighed as he walked, "Shizhi, you should have told me your true intentions before you acted."

Zu Ti laughed and said, "What's the point of revealing this? Your acting skills aren't good anyway, you'd ruin the performance if you told me beforehand."

"Does it really have to be this risky?"

"Of course! If you didn't take the risk, how would I get any credit? Without credit, how could I secure this position of regent?" Zu Ti said frankly. After this incident, he had not only quelled the rebellion but also saved the lives of most of the officers and soldiers, which would greatly enhance his prestige. This made the originally abrupt appointment of the regent position seem perfectly justified.

Liu Xian smiled and shook his head, then asked, "When did you meet the King of the East Sea?"

"Right after the Jingu Garden was robbed, I was busy trying to appear cultured back then, right? We met at a literary gathering."

"So early?" Liu Xian recalled that there was such a thing.

"The King of the East Sea likes to play dirty tricks, so our relationship was just so-so in the early years. It was only after I got you out of prison that he started to treat me differently. From then on, we worked together. I helped him gather information, and he helped me with money and effort. Otherwise, do you think I managed to scrape together the 20,000 gold coins you owed?"

"So that's how it is." Liu Xian nodded, not saying much more. So, Zu Ti joined the Qi King's camp under the instigation of the King of Donghai. No wonder Sima Jiong's reforms to reorganize the court failed at every turn, with none of them succeeding. It turns out he was riddled with holes.

As for what happened afterward, although there might still be many secrets, Liu Xian didn't inquire further. Firstly, everything was in the past, and there was no point in pursuing it further. Secondly, he had no right to criticize Zu Ti; the two of them had not followed the same path, and Zu Ti had never been his subject. Zu Ti had already done more than enough to help him.

He only talked about the aftermath of today's events, saying, "Shizhi, although the King of Donghai is dead, have we captured all his accomplices?"

Zu Ti shook his head and said, "His cronies are all over the world. Wang Yan is still in Ye City, Dong Ying Gong (Sima Teng) is still in Bingzhou, and Wang Jun is in Youzhou. These are just the ones in the open. There are countless more in the shadows. How can we possibly catch them all?"

"I'm referring, of course, to the henchmen in the city."

At this moment, the two walked to the city wall again. Liu Xian surveyed the busy soldiers around him and said to Zu Ti, "Although I have not known Sima Yue as long as you have, I can tell that such a cautious and prudent person always leaves himself a way out in case of failure. This time, he miscalculated by underestimating your counterattack. Some of his methods may not have been used, but I cannot be careless."

Zu Ti fell silent; this was indeed a major problem. The Western Army's offensive was imminent, and if any of Sima Yue's undetected followers remained and caused trouble within the city, it would still pose a significant threat.

However, getting Zu Ti to name names was extremely difficult. After all, the Donghai Prince's mansion wasn't particularly large on the surface. And almost everyone in the court and among the common people had connections with Sima Yue, which couldn't be used as evidence. As for how many secret agents Sima Yue had, no one but himself could say for sure. This made it impossible for people to find Sima Yue's cronies without a usable standard.

Zu Ti chose to act today precisely because of this. Only when Sima Yue had planned his move carefully and mobilized his forces on a large scale could Zu Ti seize the opportunity to determine who the true henchmen of the King of Donghai were and then eliminate them all. However, now that Liu Xian had suggested that Sima Yue might have other tricks up his sleeve besides those already known, Zu Ti was powerless to act against them.

Seeing that he had no solution, Liu Xian wasn't worried, because Liu Kun and others were already urgently interrogating him about the matter. With so many close associates, there was bound to be one or two people who knew the truth.

After waiting for a while, Liu Xian looked towards the earthen hill to the west and could vaguely see the torches of the Western Expeditionary Army behind it. It seemed that the Western Expeditionary Army was making its final preparations and could launch an attack at any moment.

Only then did someone rush over; it was Ruan Fang from the Grand Commandant's office. His face was pale, and as soon as he regained his footing, he reported to Liu Xian, "Grand Commandant, Pan Tao has confessed! The Prince of Donghai's backup plan is Gou Xi! Pan Tao said that long ago, the Prince of Donghai valued Gou Xi's military talent and secretly became sworn brothers with him. The Prince of Donghai had planned this coup long ago, saying that if the coup in the city didn't go smoothly, he would use Gou Xi to flee south!"

It was Gou Xi! Liu Xian and Zu Ti exchanged a glance, both surprised and finding it reasonable. Although Gou Xi had joined the Qi Prince's household early on, he entered officialdom through the recommendation of the Donghai Prince. However, so much time had passed that it was enough for people to forget about it.

Right now, Gou Xi is stationed at the south gate with a thousand soldiers, ready to open the gates to meet the enemy at any time. But the enemy is about to launch an attack. What should they do?
After a moment's thought, Zu Ti immediately said to Liu Xian, "I'll lead some men to sneak over and take him out tonight, what do you think?"

“Impossible.” Liu Xian shook his head slightly and refused, “Gou Xi is a meticulous and resourceful man. Now that Sima Yue has been exposed, he couldn’t possibly be careless.”

"Then what if we use an imperial edict, saying that there are important matters to discuss with him?"

"That's impossible. At this point, using an imperial edict would be making a mountain out of a molehill and would only alert the enemy."

After Zu Ti proposed several solutions, they were all rejected by Liu Xian.

This is truly a thorny problem, not because of a lack of solutions, but because time is extremely tight. The Western army is about to attack, and in such a short time, it is almost impossible to peacefully deal with Gou Xi. But if we fight the Westerners with such a weakness, and the reinforcements from the east are too late to react and come to our aid, wouldn't defeat be inevitable?
Liu Xian's mind raced. Having witnessed Sima Yue's methods, his thinking had been broadened. Since things weren't working on the battlefield, could he resolve this crisis through methods outside of the battlefield?

The soldiers and refugees in the city are already suffering too much; there is no need to add more unnecessary casualties. Although Zhang Fang is an unprecedentedly ferocious beast, he is ultimately a smart man. Looking at his overall strategy, it is not a pointless killing; it is possible that he will restrain his claws.

The only problem is that there might be some risk. But everything has its risks. Liu Xian weighed the pros and cons and believed that the chances of success for this method were 80-90%, which was already quite high. At most, he would suffer some physical pain. On the other hand, the chances of winning by confronting the enemy head-on were only about 50-50%, which was actually riskier.

After a moment's thought, Liu Xian quickly made up his mind. He said to Zu Ti, "Shizhi, go and keep an eye on Gou Xi, and tell him not to make any rash moves. Leave the rest to me!"

"What are you planning to do?" Zu Ti asked.

A slight smile appeared on Liu Xian's lips as he slowly said, "I intend to take one last risk and negotiate peace with Zhang Fang." (End of Chapter)