Chapter 15: Return to Luoyang: Liu Zhuang Seeks Counsel

The wheel of history rolls ever forward, never pausing for any man.

——Not even the Emperor can stop it.

When the state mourning ended;

and when Liu Xiu was given his posthumous title,

that Emperor, who once illuminated an era, had vanished utterly from the mortal world, and his age had finally turned its final page.

Luoyang.

It was now the second year of Yongping.

After nearly twenty years, a Gu clan disciple had finally received the Emperor's imperial edict, preparing to re-enter the political heart of Han.

Yet the Gu clan of today was no longer what it once was; the Emperor's edict stirred not a ripple.

It was simply different now.

With the deaths of Gu Xiao and Liu Xiu, the Gu clan was no longer the towering presence it once was, one that all others could only look up to.

Times change, and Gu Xiao's prestige would only dwindle further.

Without influence in court, it was impossible for the Gu clan to maintain its former radiant glory.

Of course, the most crucial factor was Emperor Liu Zhuang's attitude.

Unlike Liu Xiu's character entirely.

From the moment he ascended the throne, Liu Zhuang fully revealed his differences, delivering a profound shock to every minister of Han.

He restored the ceremonial robe and crown system abolished since Qin times.

His coronet, robes, jade pendants, and carriage all followed ancient forms.

These rites, recorded in ancient texts, were even unfamiliar to the ministers.

And this was not all—Liu Zhuang soon demonstrated formidable political acumen.

He first appointed Deng Yu, the foremost living meritocrat, as Grand Tutor.

He then appointed the imperial clansman Liu Cang as General of the Chariots and Cavalry.

After settling the meritocrats and imperial clansmen, he immediately launched large-scale personnel reshuffles.

After all, he had been Crown Prince for over a decade.

And Liu Zhuang had been gifted since childhood; Liu Xiu often consulted him on state affairs, and later even involved him directly in military matters.

He already had his own faction and understood the entire Han court inside and out.

The saying "One emperor, one set of ministers" was vividly realized in the Yongping era.

Yet beneath this wave of personnel changes, ministers keenly sensed Liu Zhuang's governing nature.

——He was suppressing the maternal relatives!

Just this one point was enough to make ministers no longer regard the Gu clan with any regard.

Though the Gu clan differed from traditional maternal relatives,

as long as the Emperor held this attitude, the Gu clan was doomed to never rise again in the new reign.

Because Gu Kang's wife was Liu Li!

Though a brother-in-law, he was still a maternal relative!

Gu Yi, of course, understood all this perfectly.

Regarding Emperor Liu Zhuang,

though rarely mentioned in modern society, Gu Yi knew his character well.

Leaving aside his achievements, his greatest trait was clear:

Guard against maternal relatives!

Throughout Ming Emperor's life, he never promoted a single maternal relative.

But Liu Xiu had publicly declared this—Gu Yi could not defy the Emperor's face.

Fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

The Gu clan's "imperial favor" under Liu Xiu inevitably carried a future cost.

Moreover, in Gu Yi's view, marrying a princess was far preferable to marrying a daughter into the imperial family.

Since it could not be avoided, he would minimize the risk.

This move might mean the Gu clan would not be heavily utilized under Liu Zhuang.

But barring unforeseen circumstances, even if the Gu clan was not favored, its bottom line would remain secure.

After all, the Gu clan's roots were too shallow; one fall from grace could plunge them straight to the abyss.

This was a form of safeguard.

Moreover, Gu Yi did not believe Liu Zhuang would harshly suppress the Gu clan.

——The Gu clan of today was not like ordinary maternal relatives.

The Gu clan rose from commoner status.

Liu Xiu had once used the Gu clan to suppress the meritocrat faction, forcing them to surrender their power peacefully.

And the Gu clan's current population and depth of heritage were still far from matching the great clans of the day.

The world today was utterly different from the Former Han period.

Back then, those who had fought alongside Liu Bang were mostly fellow villagers and old comrades, mostly commoners or low-ranking officials.

But what of Han today?

Almost every meritocrat was born into a great clan, each with their own political stance behind them.

Only the Gu clan was different.

For an Emperor like Liu Zhuang, this was a major advantage.

And events unfolded exactly as Gu Yi had anticipated.

Liu Zhuang truly summoned the Gu family.

A caravan stretching dozens of meters moved slowly along the official road.

The carts carried no wealth, but rather the Gu family's latest improved curved-yoke plow.

Over these years, Gu Kang had never abandoned his efforts to improve farming tools.

And because he understood farming matters thoroughly.

After several rounds of improvements, the current curved-yoke plow had utterly surpassed the prevailing straight-yoke plow in practicality.

This was what Liu Zhuang's edict required Gu Kang to bring.

Moreover, Gu Kang wished to use this opportunity to probe the Son of Heaven's future governance direction.

This was extremely crucial for him.

Though he had remained in Julu all along, over these years he had continuously monitored the political situation at court; Liu Zhuang's series of actions after ascending the throne were sufficient to reveal his differences from Liu Xiu's character.

Whether in civil administration or military rule.

As a man whose political acumen reached ninety points.

Gu Kang would not miss any opportunity.

Everyone under heaven could see that the Emperor disliked maternal relatives.

How could he possibly fail to see it?

Gu Kang was well aware that this might be the Gu family's only chance in this reign.

If they failed to seize it, even if they did not sink into obscurity, the Gu family's prestige would rapidly decline.

The Gu family's foundation in the hearts of the people was already insufficient.

If they truly wished to lay the foundation for eternal glory, they must have successive generations of talented individuals press forward until the Gu name became common knowledge among the common folk—that would be the first step toward success.

Precisely because of this.

Gu Kang brought only Gu Cheng with him on this journey.

Since Gu Xiao's death, he had shouldered the entire Gu family, and he knew his two younger siblings' abilities all too well.

They could maintain the status quo, but lacked the ability to achieve great accomplishments.

The world now offered no "founding merit" for them to earn; they could reach the pinnacle only through their own efforts.

Only the elite could restore the Gu family's prestige across the land.

This was Gu Kang's goal for this journey!

They pressed forward.

Facing the prospect of re-entering Luoyang, the two brothers' reactions were starkly different.

Gu Kang had always remained calm.

It was hard to discern what he was thinking from his expression.

His temperament had always been steady and composed; no matter the circumstance, he remained unfazed.

As for Gu Cheng, he resembled most contemporary generals—the closer he got to Luoyang, the more agitated he became.

He had held back too long!!!

No general would lose his desire to achieve glory.

Gu Cheng was no exception!

He had always admired ancient famed generals and longed to one day achieve similar feats, adding bricks and tiles to the Gu family's eternal foundation.

The two brothers rode at the front.

Seeing Gu Kang's stern face, Gu Cheng could not help but speak: "Brother, you need not worry."

"With our talents, how could we fail to gain the Emperor's favor?"

Although Gu Cheng's political acumen surpassed Gu Xiao's,

compared to Gu Kang, he was clearly outshone.

Gu Kang had been continuously contemplating what the Gu family should do if this journey failed to win the Emperor's favor.

A gradual reduction in their fief was certain.

The title of Marquis of Guanchun might not even be retained.

If the Emperor emphasized education, the Gu family's current foundation might allow another genius to emerge and revive their fortunes.

But all of this was fraught with uncertainty.

Gu Kang was a pragmatist; he wished to secure every possibility for the entire family.

Even if this reign was destined to yield no success, he would not let the family suffer greatly.

But this was inevitably a problem unsolvable in the short term.

At least, before meeting Liu Zhuang, the Son of Heaven, the Gu family's future remained uncertain.

Luoyang.

When Gu Kang and Gu Cheng stepped once more into this magnificent city, their expressions were complex.

As the current political center of Han, Luoyang had changed drastically since their last visit.

Gu Cheng was relatively untroubled.

After all, he had once come to Luoyang to report Gu Xiao's death.

For Gu Kang, however, it was entirely different; since leaving Luoyang with Gu Xiao, he had known Luoyang only through hearsay.

He had imagined countless times the scene of returning to Luoyang.

Now, it had truly come to pass.

As childhood memories slowly surfaced in his mind, even his composed nature could not remain unmoved.

For this return of the Gu family, Liu Zhuang still granted full face to the Marquis of Guanjun.

Though not matching Gu Xiao's former peak.

The Yishi Sect sent a ceremonial official to greet them and ordered Gu Kang and Gu Cheng to proceed directly to the imperial palace to meet him.

In this era, this was a great honor.

Moreover, Liu Zhuang had clearly prepared for this meeting, dismissing the ministers who had been deliberating in the Nangong, leaving only their usual guards.

And Gu Yi had not guessed wrongly.

Liu Zhuang's reason for summoning the Gu family indeed stemmed from the Gu family's unique distinction among the great clans.

But it was not limited to that.

The greatest reason was that Liu Xiu, before his death, had told him that both of the Gu family's sons possessed talent and could be heavily relied upon.

This was Liu Xiu's ability as an Emperor to recognize talent.

He had mentioned it to Liu Zhuang more than once.

At the very beginning of his ascension, Liu Zhuang had actually paid little heed to it.

Because he was well aware of Wang Mang's chaotic rule, he held deep suspicions toward maternal relatives.

But when he heard that Gu Kang frequently ventured into the fields and improved agricultural tools, causing the grain output of Julu Commandery to rise steadily, he finally decided to meet the current generation of Gu family heirs.

Perhaps this was also the greatest pleasure of this game.

The idle move Gu Yi had made to earn achievement points had unexpectedly become the key move that broke the Gu family's deadlock.

This was something even he had not anticipated.

Nangong.

Though he had long suspected it, when Liu Zhuang saw Gu Kang again, he could not help but freeze.

Because he often ventured deep into the fields to test farming tools.

Compared to most Confucian scholars today, Gu Kang's skin was noticeably darker, nearly matching the sun-browned complexion of Gu Cheng, the martial man who trained constantly.

This completely surpassed Liu Zhuang's expectations.

For an instant, Liu Zhuang's gaze softened slightly.

Indeed, Gu Kang, this pragmatist, perfectly matched Liu Zhuang's expectations for his ministers!

"Your servant, bows before Your Majesty!"

Gu Kang did not lose focus due to Liu Zhuang's momentary surprise, but bowed with solemn sincerity.

At the same time, Gu Cheng completely suppressed his usual flamboyance and stood silently behind Gu Kang, following suit in his bow.

"Jishi, Zhenyu," Liu Zhuang called them by their courtesy names, "Why must you two be so formal with me?"

"There are no outsiders here. The late Emperor never addressed Xiao Gong with such formality in private."

"Please, be seated."

Hearing the Emperor address them by their courtesy names, Gu Cheng's tense expression eased slightly.

The Emperor directly addressing a minister by their courtesy name.

This had always been a sign of closeness.

But Gu Kang remained composed; after bowing again solemnly to Liu Zhuang, he walked to his seat and sat down.

Liu Zhuang watched Gu Kang intently, his expression growing increasingly complex.

"I have long heard that Jishi frequently concerns himself with the hardships of farmers."

"Now I see, the rumors are true."

He remarked with emotion.

At these words, before Gu Kang could speak, the relaxed Gu Cheng immediately smiled and said, "Naturally. Your Majesty may not know, but my elder brother's understanding of agriculture is no less than that of a farmer."

"The fields he has personally cultivated these past years even yield more than those of experienced farmers."

"Oh? Truly so?" Liu Zhuang's interest deepened as he turned to Gu Kang and asked, "Jishi, do you have any unique methods?"

"I heard you improved the plow—its effect far surpasses the long straight-yoke plow. Did you bring it with you?"

Here it comes!

Gu Kang understood: this seemingly casual conversation was in fact the Emperor testing his abilities.

It could directly determine the future status of the Gu family.

Yet his expression remained calm; he bowed to Liu Zhuang and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought the curved-yoke plow with me—it is currently outside the palace."

"Quickly fetch it," Liu Zhuang said, still very interested, and gave immediate orders.

Meanwhile, Gu Kang began explaining his reforms in agriculture.

"Your Majesty, since childhood, I have accompanied my father into the fields, observing farming practices, and thus I do have some knowledge of agriculture."

"The foundation of farming is the land."

"Today, the people across our Great Han all understand the importance of fertilizing the soil."

"Their methods vary—manure, ash from plants and wood, oil residue—each has its merits."

"Building on this, I have made several improvements—for example, adding river mud or pond mud enhances the effect further."

Gu Kang's expertise in agriculture was profound.

Though he had not yet fully mastered all the experience left by Gu Yi, his level far surpassed that of his contemporaries.

In short, such knowledge normally required generations to gradually accumulate.

But Gu Kang had accelerated it!

As Gu Kang spoke, the curved-yoke plow was brought in.

Gu Kang did not pause; using the plow, he explained its subtleties to Liu Zhuang in detail—how it saved physical effort, and how its advantages compared to the current long straight-yoke plow.

Liu Zhuang was completely captivated by Gu Kang's explanation.

Perhaps influenced by Liu Xiu, he was equally devoted to the affairs of the common people.

Now seeing Gu Kang bring up a grand plan concerning the people's livelihood,

how could he not take it seriously?

Gu Kang's steady and resolute character ensured he would not be overawed by the occasion; he laid everything out with perfect clarity.

The more he listened, the more complex Liu Zhuang's expression became.

Though the present Gu clan could no longer compare to its peak,

the fact that a man of Gu Kang's standing understood farming so thoroughly was enough to show how exceptional he was.

He remained silent throughout, and only after Gu Kang finished did Liu Zhuang finally heave a long sigh and say: "Were it not for the late Emperor, I fear I would have lost a great talent for governing the world."

"From this, one can see—"

"I fall far short of the late Emperor."

His expression was full of emotion.

Faced with the Emperor's such self-deprecating words, even Gu Cheng was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

But Liu Zhuang did not mind; in an instant his expression returned to normal, and he looked at Gu Kang intently and asked again: "Jishi, I ask you once more."

"Given the present state of our great Han—"

"how should the realm be governed?"

Having confirmed that Gu Kang truly had talent, the next step was to determine his upper limits!

Clearly, that was precisely what Liu Zhuang meant.

Hearing this, Gu Kang's expression did not change, but he did not answer Liu Zhuang directly either. Instead, he bowed once more to Liu Zhuang, and only then began to speak:

"May I dare to ask Your Majesty in what manner you wish to govern the realm?"

Gu Kang was a man whose moral bottom line was highly flexible; if he had one unwavering principle, it was probably to keep the Gu clan great for generations to come.

Determining the Emperor's intent before giving his answer showed his confidence.

Small Small Yugu Kang's reply, Liu Zhuang was quite taken aback. After a moment of silence, his gaze grew sharp, and he said with striking force:

"I shall complete the late Emperor's great enterprise of Zhongyuan!"

The great enterprise of Zhongyuan was the grand ambition Liu Xiu had expressed after the Feng and Shan sacrifices;

—to restore the national strength of the Former Han under Emperor Xiaowen;

to pacify the Western Regions and settle the Xiongnu;

to lay down an everlasting foundation for the great Han!

Gu Kang instantly understood Liu Zhuang's thinking, and at last his expression shifted.

When a capable minister meets a mediocre lord, the story has always ended in regret.

That had always been Gu Kang's worry.

If one is to establish a great enterprise, one cannot afford to meet a mediocre lord.

When Liu Zhuang uttered those words, the great stone that had been hanging in Gu Kang's heart finally began to settle down.

——————

"In the second year of Yongping, third month, the Emperor summoned the Gu clan to audience and consulted Kang on policy.

Kang answered with composure, his words were pertinent and to the point, his reasoning orderly and clear.

The Emperor, hearing this, expressed astonishment and admiration, and thereupon sat knee-to-knee with Kang in earnest conversation, which lasted until dusk before they rested."

—Book of the Later Han, Biography of Emperor Xiaoming

(End of this chapter)