Chapter 128: The Revolt of the Various Liu: North and South Stand Divided

The great expedition suffered a crushing defeat, and the imperial throne was left vacant.

The impact on the current Great Han was utterly fatal.

The court had already been losing its grip over the four quarters as the situation grew increasingly turbulent.

Now that this had happened as well, the outcome was already sealed.

—The realm plunged into great chaos.

The situation changed far faster than anyone could have imagined.

The ministers who had originally supported Liu Chang still hoped to adopt a son from the imperial clan and give him to Liu Chang.

To inherit Liu Chang's throne.

But such a thing was destined to be nothing more than a fool's dream.

The restless hearts of the four quarters would not give them the chance, and the feudal kings—who themselves clung to the throne—would not pass up this opportunity either.

Human hearts are born to contend.

With such a chance laid before them, who could possibly be willing to let it go?

Beginning with the official clans of the four regions, they all threw their support behind the local feudal kings.

Hoping to claim a share of the Merit that came with following a new dragon to power.

The four regions' uprisings broke out one after another the moment this news spread.

The common people utterly despaired of the Great Han.

They refused to acknowledge the fall of the Gu clan emperor.

This chain of events had already stripped them of any last glimmer of hope.

Amid all this, the Gu clan drew the attention of others.

Whether it was the ministers who wished to stabilize the Great Han's situation,

Or the ambitious feudal kings of the four regions—

To all of these people, the importance of the Gu clan was beyond imagination.

So long as they gained the Gu clan's recognition,

The aid that would bring them was unimaginable.

For although the people of the realm had given up on the Han court, they still placed their hopes in the Gu clan.

To gain the Gu clan's recognition

Was to gain the trust of the common folk.

This point was absolutely critical.

Countless letters were sent to Julu, and some even came in person to pay their respects.

Some appealed to righteousness; others to profit.

Every conceivable tactic was employed.

All in pursuit of the Gu clan's support.

But how could Gu Xuan allow the clan's younger generation to step into the world at such a time?

The age of great chaos had arrived—

Any single choice could implicate the rise or fall of the entire clan.

If the clan's younger generation were men of outstanding talent, it would be another matter.

But as things stood, the younger generation was mediocre, and the best course was to continue keeping to themselves.

Though this move might cause the Gu clan's influence to wane once more, it would safeguard the clan's entire lineage.

That was what mattered most to him as the clan head.

Gu Yi likewise had no intention of making a move.

In truth, for him, if he were to spend all his current achievement points now, he might truly be able to forge another outstanding talent.

To prop up the Great Han court as it teetered on the brink of collapse.

But such a move would be of no help either to the Gu clan or to the Nine Provinces.

It might even backfire.

By then, the younger generation's potential would surely be even more constrained.

And mediocre offspring could only bring him so many achievement points in the end. Once he had burned through what he had now, and as the points came in ever more slowly, the Gu clan would inevitably grow weaker and weaker.

Judging by this alone, the cost far outweighed the gain.

It also concerned the entire Nine Provinces.

Ever since Gu Chen swept the realm and supported Liu Bei to restore the Yan-Han, the current Great Han's dynasty had lasted over six hundred years.

A dynasty of such length had completely surpassed the original course of history.

Though on the surface it might seem to matter little,

In truth it had already wrought great changes upon the entire Nine Provinces—one could see this plainly from the fact that today's chaos across the realm was all centered on the Liu clan.

The Nine Provinces had already undergone tremendous change.

The influence of the Golden Blade Prophecy far exceeded that of the original history, and for the Nine Provinces as a whole this was absolutely not a good thing.

What is the greatest trait of the Huaxia people from ancient times to the present?

—To resist!

To rise up and struggle against oppression and injustice, to cry out in the depths of despair, "Are kings, marquises, generals, and ministers born to noble blood?"

But if the Han were propped up once more, what would that become?

Would the Gu clan still be the clan that serves the Nine Provinces?

Would they not become, in effect, sinners against history?

These were all realities Gu Yi had to consider.

——Shenzhou sinks, Huaxia bleeds.

For this heavy history, Gu Yi could sit idle and let his clan's descendants revive the Yan Han to prevent it.

This was fate's doing.

The personalities of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and others had already sealed the course of events; he could not interfere.

But this time—he would not intervene!

The Gu clan's prosperity needs no single dynasty.

Now the Gu clan has already undergone sufficient change; future generations still have many opportunities.

He would not let his clan become a sinner capable of affecting the Nine Provinces.

To this end, Gu Yi even used the Spirit-Link Jade to deepen Gu Xuan's clan's desire for seclusion.

Such an act might be self-destruction for other clans.

But for the current Gu clan, it was different!

As for whether this war would lead to Shenzhou sinking, Gu Yi was utterly unconcerned.

Because the Gu clan was no longer the same.

Even if the Gu clan did not take part in this war,

it could still exert tremendous influence through accumulated prestige!

The Gu clan's stance left everyone feeling utterly despondent.

This undoubtedly intensified the chaos.

But who could blame the Gu clan?

Liu Chang's insults toward the Gu clan had long spread across the land; it was Emperor Liu Chang himself who severed the ties between the Liu clan and the Gu clan.

Entering through Xia Men—

This was an insult to any clan in the land, let alone the Gu clan.

Now the Gu clan has withdrawn into seclusion.

To everyone's eyes, this was the court reaping what it sowed!

It would only make people angrier toward the court!

But all must move forward; though the land had fallen into total chaos and completely slipped from the court's control, the imperial throne could not remain vacant forever.

Finally—

Under the push of a group of ministers, they adopted a boy from Liu Chang's brothers and made him Emperor.

They changed the era name to "Shao Tong."

Meaning "to continue the great legacy of the former Emperor."

But who cared about such things?

In the first year of Shao Tong, as news of the Son of Heaven's ascension spread,

immediately, various feudal lords raised their banners, launching the Jingnan Rebellion under the pretext that "Liu Chang disrespected ancestral teachings and broke his oaths."

The news spread—

Feudal lords across the land rose one after another.

For all of them, this was an unprecedented opportunity.

And these feudal lords all enjoyed support from local powers!

Under the control of Gu Chen and two enlightened emperors, the aristocratic clans' development had been suppressed during those years.

But with the shifting situation of the Han, they now had a chance to rise again.

Even if they could no longer match their former strength.

Yet their combined power was still formidable!

In the first year of Shao Tong, July;

Prince of Chu, Liu Yan, led twenty thousand troops straight toward Luoyang.

He was a descendant of Liu Li, the third son of Liu Bei, and flew the banner of Liu Bei's ancestral teachings.

His momentum was unprecedented.

At the same time, Prince of Zhao, Liu Dan; Prince of Hanning, Liu Fu; Prince of Wu, Liu Hui; Prince of Zhangling, Liu Ji; and other feudal lords launched their moves in succession.

Among them were certainly puppets.

But who cared about these?

As long as he bore the Liu surname, it was enough—he had the right to compete!

And these men were also shrewd; each claimed to follow the teachings of the Middle Ancestor, and before mobilizing, they even offered sacrifices to the Han's former emperors and Gu Chen and others.

The Four Seas boiled!

Across the entire land, only Julu remained still—all others moved.

Faced with these fierce feudal lords, the weakened court could hardly resist.

In the second year of Shao Tong, April;

The Eight Passes of Luoyang fell one after another; the northern and southern garrisons of Luoyang had no will to fight.

After a crushing defeat,

they all became routed troops.

Since General Huan Gu Sheng trained the Luoyang Central Army, this was its most disastrous battle.

They had always been the Han's elite.

When had they ever routed without fighting?

But now things were different—the true elite had been buried with Liu Chang in Lingnan.

And what remained—

Had been greatly affected by the wrath of all under heaven.

In June, Liu Yan breached Luoyang.

The Shao Tong Emperor abdicated.

The young emperor, who had reigned for only two years and understood nothing, ultimately bore all the blame for Liu Chang.

And those ministers who had supported Liu Chang finally received the price they deserved.

The transfer of power has always been cruel.

There is no mercy here; only blood can forge a path fit for an emperor.

Liu Yan was still immature.

Faced with the position that represented everything, he lost all capacity to resist.

Then—

He ascended the throne.

But how could he possibly hold onto the emperor's position?

Which of the regional kings would watch idly?

Once you walk this path, you must see it through to the end.

Otherwise, you face weakening and elimination.

All four regional kings refused to recognize Liu Yan's imperial title and continued attacking Luoyang.

Liu Yan's actions had unmistakably made him the target of all the kings; at this moment, whoever sat on that throne must face everything.

If he were a true emperor—

He would have carved his way out of it!

But Liu Yan was clearly not.

Just months after his ascension, he could no longer withstand the kings' assaults.

His attempts at recruitment and other tactics proved utterly useless.

Luoyang fell again.

Liu Yan fled Luoyang with the Imperial Seal, hoping to rise again, but there was no such opportunity.

He was ultimately defeated by Prince Liu Fu of Hanning and perished in Guanzhong.

The Imperial Seal once again fell into the hands of Prince Liu Fu of Hanning.

The Han dynasty did not end.

Prince Liu Fu of Hanning, having learned from Liu Yan's mistakes, did not proclaim himself emperor but sought to install a puppet emperor.

Yet he too became the target of the other kings.

The entire realm was drenched in blood and chaos.

Desire is like a boulder rolling down Gaoshan; once every ambition rose together—

Stopping it became the dream of a fool.

The entire realm had changed.

Around the Liu clan, all under heaven employed every means possible.

One day a king rises in triumph, wielding Chixiao Sword and the Imperial Seal, radiant with pride; the next, he dies in the mountains and wilds.

One falls, another takes the stage.

Compared to the last upheaval, this one was vastly different.

No heroes rose from the four corners.

What existed was only the great war centered on the Liu clan.

This seemed like a regression of the Nine Provinces;

Yet at the same time, it was also the Nine Provinces' moment of transformation.

The Gu family had never participated in any of the struggles.

And the regional kings—

Also tacitly avoided the Gu family.

No one wished to avoid the Gu family; compared to the regional kings of old, these Liu clan kings feared the Gu family even more.

Offending the Gu family meant abandoning everything.

This was something everyone knew full well.

The Gu family still maintained its base in Julu.

No—

Not only Julu, but also Lingnan and the Gu family's branches across the four directions did the same.

This was the legend of the Gu family.

Though the Gu family had many branches, whether main line or offshoot, they were always one family.

Such a relationship was exceedingly rare.

Only a family like the Gu family, which had risen to glory and remained so ever since, could possibly achieve it.

The current state of the realm was also a trial for the Gu family.

Though the Gu family would not yet be affected by the chaos,

As long as the Gu family never emerged into the world,

Its influence would rapidly decline over time.

For the Gu clan's disciples,

This was indeed a great matter; no one wished to betray all that the ancestors had left to the Gu clan.

Gu Yi had long been watching the state of the realm.

Watching the feudal lords of the realm contend in all four directions.

Regarding all of this,

His heart was equally complex.

The realm had come to accept the Liu clan as its master—a consensus so deeply rooted that this could hardly be called a good thing.

He could only choose to wait.

Whether for his family or for the Nine Provinces, he could not act at this moment.

All of this must await the true hero's emergence.

Only then could the shackles formed over the Nine Provinces through centuries of development be utterly shattered.

Only then could new vitality be brought to the Nine Provinces.

Yet he had still used the Spirit-Link Jade to plant a different idea in Gu Xuan's heart.

This was the marvel of a Grade Earth artifact.

It allowed Gu Yi to indirectly control key events without direct manipulation, merely by consuming Achievement Points.

Though it did require a certain cost in Achievement Points,

It was well worth it.

—He would make Gu Xuan establish a rule: no feudal lord of the realm may slaughter to the point of utter devastation!

For anyone else, this would be impossible.

But the Gu clan was different!

No Liu clan feudal lord could win the hearts of the realm without the Gu clan's favor!

This had begun since Gu Xiao's time.

All that the Gu clan's ancestors had done to lay the foundation for the Gu clan!

This act—

Would bind the Gu clan irrevocably to the rise and fall of the Nine Provinces, freeing it from ties to any single dynasty.

The news spread instantly.

Upon hearing Gu Xuan's announcement, the Liu clan feudal lords across the realm reacted differently.

Some were furious,

resenting the Gu clan for standing idle, refusing to aid them, and now imposing restrictions.

Others sighed in awe.

Yet despite their differing attitudes, under the current circumstances, once the first feudal lord publicly agreed, all others followed suit.

An invisible shackle settled over the Nine Provinces, setting a lower limit on this conflict.

Iron steeds shattered, rusted swords sunk in sand;

Time rushed like water, one generation replaced another.

In this great age where waves wash away heroes;

As time passed, heroes gradually rose.

They eliminated the weak;

Gradually ending this endless chaos.

Amid these battles and annexations, the Central Plains slowly formed two great feudal powers, north and south.

The southern sovereign—

Was Liu Yu, the twenty-second-generation descendant of Liu Jiao, younger brother of Gao Zu Liu Bang.

The northern sovereign—

Was Liu He, descendant of Liu Xun, sixth son of Emperor Xiaoren Liu Shan.

It was these two who successively swallowed the other feudal lords.

And stood opposed, north and south.

(End of Chapter)