Chapter 7

The impact of this battle was truly unimaginable.

It was not just the Guanzhong region.

Even Liu Yong in the Guandong region was utterly defeated by Gai Yan, and all of Guandong fell under Liu Xiu's control.

One could say that, at present, Liu Xiu had only two territories left to conquer: Wei Xiao and the Sichuan region under Gong Sun Shu.

Yet the most critical matter in the current situation was not this.

It was that Liu Xiu had obtained the Imperial Seal and the seven-foot sword left behind by Emperor Gao Zu, Liu Bang.

The significance of these two items to Liu Xiu was immense.

With these two objects, combined with Liu Xiu's current power,

he had already positioned himself as the legitimate heir.

Indeed, Liu Xiu acted in accordance with the judgment of most people in this era.

He sent letters to Wei Xiao and Gong Sun Shu.

Seeking to persuade them to surrender.

After all, with his current strength, any clear-eyed observer could see that Liu Xiu's unification was now unstoppable.

Alone, Wei Xiao and Gong Sun Shu

were no more than ants trying to shake a tree.

Gu Yi did not involve himself deeply in these matters.

Gu Xiao's achievements were already great enough, and after years of warfare, his age had grown considerable.

For the sake of family continuity,

Gu Xiao must marry and father children.

Population was the Top Priority of family succession.

Only by securing the foundation of family continuity could the family's influence expand endlessly.

This was the problem Gu Yi had to confront.

There was no choice—Gu Xiao's younger siblings had already been brought to Luoyang.

But these four had no hope of becoming accomplished; all attention must turn to the next generation.

Since the pacification of Guanzhong, Gu Yi had subtly steered Gu Xiao toward inaction, no longer urging him to rush for merit as he once had.

And regarding this sudden change,

Liu Xiu felt no displeasure—on the contrary, he was delighted.

Gu Xiao's merits were truly too great.

Especially in this campaign to unify Guanzhong.

Gu Xiao could be said to have earned the Primary Merit in this campaign; such a merit, one that could lay the foundation for the empire, deserved no small reward.

Gu Xiao was now Grand Marshal.

If he continued gaining merit like this, he would eventually reach a point where no further reward could be given.

Now that Gu Xiao was gradually stepping back,

how could he not be pleased?

Liu Xiu, as Emperor, differed from other founding emperors.

His political acumen was strong; naturally, he understood this.

When he heard Gu Xiao intended to marry, he even personally selected several suitable brides from Hebei and bestowed the marriage himself.

This was an immense honor.

Liu Xiu, now regarded as the Lord of All Under Heaven, had personally arranged the marriage.

Such an event was worthy of being recorded in history.

Especially on the day of Gu Xiao's wedding, Liu Xiu, as Emperor, attended in person to demonstrate his favor toward this Great Merit holder.

He even brought a wedding gift.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this closely.

He could roughly guess Liu Xiu's purpose in doing so.

Clearly, he was building momentum for Gu Xiao.

Gu Xiao had been enfeoffed in Hebei; given his humble origins, even as a Great Merit holder,

it was still exceedingly difficult for him to fully establish himself there—or to suppress the great Hebei clans on Liu Xiu's behalf.

Only by continuously building momentum for Gu Xiao

and offering him support could the plan proceed smoothly.

Gu Yi had carefully examined the brides Liu Xiu had chosen for Gu Xiao; most belonged to minor clans in Hebei.

Support one group, suppress another, balance the situation.

This was the art of imperial rule.

"Zhanhong."

"You have fought alongside me for years. I long ago married; now that you marry, my heart is at ease."

At the wedding banquet, Liu Xiu sat on the main seat, smiling as he spoke to Gu Xiao.

Gu Xiao, too, was radiant with joy.

As a commoner turned warrior, all this was truly glorious for his ancestors.

No, it was not even enough to say it glorified his ancestors;

—it was the founding of a new lineage.

Forget the Gu family—throughout history, how many had ever received a marriage bestowed personally by the Emperor, and then had the Emperor come in person to celebrate?

How could a brute like Gu Xiao not be excited?

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty."

Gu Xiao raised his cup, face glowing red, and drank with Liu Xiu.

In the face of a brute like Gu Xiao, Liu Xiu showed no imperial arrogance; he was in perfect harmony with everyone present.

"Zhanhong must work even harder."

Putting down his cup, Liu Xiu casually scanned the room, then fixed his gaze once more on Gu Xiao: "Hurry up and sire more heirs."

"I'm hoping my heir might one day marry into your family."

Liu Xiu's tone was utterly calm.

Yet this casual remark left everyone present stunned.

Marry?

Marry the Emperor?

This…

Everyone was shocked; the several Hebei clans hoping to marry into Gu's family could barely contain their wild joy.

Liu Xiu had only one heir.

That was Crown Prince Liu Qiang.

Though he had not yet been formally named Crown Prince, as the eldest son, it was virtually certain.

If one could truly marry into Liu Qiang's line…

Should Liu Qiang one day be named Crown Prince, and if he were to sire offspring…

Then… it was unimaginable.

The other ministers were likewise stunned, silently pondering the implications of Liu Xiu's words.

Only Gu Xiao, the brute, showed no concern—he felt only greater honor, and immediately rose to bow to Liu Xiu with forceful clarity:

"Your Majesty, rest assured—this general will spare no effort!"

Seeing this, Liu Xiu paused, then broke into a genuine smile.

He burst out laughing.

Gu Yi watched silently, feeling utterly speechless.

Spare no effort to have children?

His own Laozu was truly… a pure, unthinking brute.

Fortunately, it was Liu Xiu.

Had it been any other founding emperor, he might have taken Gu Xiao's words as a bid for power—and possibly ordered his purge later.

Gu Yi felt only helplessness, and grew more alert once more.

As Liu Xiu's power grew ever greater…

He had to begin paying attention.

He could no longer afford to be as careless as before.

The political wisdom of founding emperors was beyond imagining.

Gu Yi naturally understood Liu Xiu would never allow Liu Qiang to marry into the Gu clan.

Liu Qiang was the son of Guo Shengtong.

He already had the backing of the great Hebei clans.

Liu Xiu, the Emperor, was the kind of man who would depose an Empress for political balance—even if a marriage alliance were possible, it would never involve Guo Shengtong's son.

Moreover, Gu Yi was certain.

Liu Xiu would never let his son marry a woman from the Gu clan.

Founding meritorious ministers held status but no power.

That was Liu Xiu's bottom line.

He would never open that door himself—even if a marriage occurred, it would be at most a princess dowried into the Gu family.

The purpose, naturally, was to use the Gu clan—about to take root in Hebei—as a counterweight in politics.

Or perhaps he meant to seize this opportunity to further elevate the Gu clan's prestige.

Gu Yi did not dwell on this.

History had already changed: Gu Xiao's emergence had accelerated Liu Xiu's conquest of Hebei and unification of Guanzhong.

No one could say what the future held.

No need to agonize over it.

As Liu Xiu lifted his cup again, everyone resumed drinking.

But the atmosphere was now entirely different from before.

Everyone seemed affected by Liu Xiu's words.

Yet Liu Xiu paid it no mind, continuing to drink with the others.

The entire wedding banquet ended under this strange, unspoken tension.

When the guests departed…

The slightly drunk Gu Xiao was led off to the bridal chamber.

Then, Gu Yi felt his vision go black; when his sight returned…

The night had passed.

In the days that followed, Gu Xiao no longer roamed as freely as before—he rarely left his quarters.

To the outside world, this…

It was exactly as he said—he was truly giving it his all.

But in truth, it was not so.

Leaving aside other things, as a modern man, how could Gu Yi not know the harms of indulgence?

Gu Xiao was originally a war general.

In this era, such war generals inevitably had some internal injuries.

Now, Gu Xiao was the pillar of the Gu family; Gu Yi had to watch over Gu Xiao's health, so he had been quietly influencing his habits.

And such peaceful days did not last long.

The situation once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

Facing Liu Xiu's letter urging surrender.

Wei Ao and Gong Sunshu both refused.

In truth, Gong Sunshu's refusal was not unexpected for Liu Xiu and others.

After all, Gong Sunshu had truly declared himself Emperor.

No one would easily give up power they held, let alone the position of Emperor.

Moreover, Gong Sunshu was stationed in Shu, a land easy to defend and hard to attack; naturally, he would not surrender easily.

But Wei Ao's refusal was truly beyond his expectations.

Wei Ao had sent his own son to Luoyang, and he must have known that Liu Xiu's power was now unstoppable—yet he still refused to submit.

For a moment, the fires of war seemed ready to reignite.

Upon hearing this news, all the officers immediately begged to fight.

Each one, like tigers spotting prey, wanted to be the first to devour it.

Gu Xiao's example stood before them.

That kind of honor, no one did not desire.

But this time, Liu Xiu did not act impulsively—he held back all the officers.

Now, he truly saw the entire realm as his own.

After the Guanzhong region was fully pacified, he had already disbanded many troops; he had no wish to lightly restart warfare.

He sent another letter to Wei Ao.

In it, he clearly outlined the disparity in strength between both sides, analyzed all advantages and disadvantages, and tried to persuade Wei Ao to surrender.

But as expected.

Wei Ao refused again.

And this time, Wei Ao did something extremely outrageous.

He actually submitted himself to Gong Sunshu.

Gong Sunshu appointed Wei Ao as Prince of Shuanning and sent him reinforcements.

Wei Ao personally led thirty thousand infantry and cavalry to attack Anding Commandery, aiming to seize Guanzhong!

This time, Liu Xiu was enraged!

Gong Sunshu already held Shu and Hanzhong; now, united with Wei Ao, if they could take Guanzhong, they could replicate the Qin's conquest of the Six States or Liu Bang's seizure of the realm!

The fires of war flared again.

Though Gu Xiao had gradually withdrawn, Liu Xiu's camp still had countless great generals.

Liu Xiu instantly made his judgment.

He dispatched Feng Yi and Ji Zun to confront Wei Ao.

And the outcome was unsurprising.

Feng Yi and Ji Zun defeated Wei Ao in succession, advancing into Longyou, aiming to destroy Wei Ao in one decisive battle.

But Longyou was not easy terrain to fight in.

Long Mountain stood there; Han troops could only attack uphill, while Wei Ao's forces could roll down with the slope.

The result was obvious.

——The Han army suffered a great defeat.

But casualties were not severe; Wei Ao's army could only win by using the terrain.

As soon as he chased them out, Feng Yi and Ji Zun would counterattack.

For a time, both sides were locked in stalemate.

But under these circumstances,

the Han army's grain supply grew increasingly difficult.

Luoyang.

When Gu Xiao hurried into the palace, the atmosphere inside the hall was especially Heavy Outside.

"Your Majesty, Longyou and Shu are both easy to defend and hard to attack."

"If we launch a direct assault,"

"our casualties will be incalculable. The realm is already weary; to mobilize now risks disaster!"

Someone in the hall was earnestly speaking these words.

And Liu Xiu sat motionless upon the Dragon Throne.

When he saw Gu Xiao enter, he immediately rose to his feet, and his stern expression softened slightly.

"Zhanhong!"

"Come quickly!"

Before Gu Xiao could bow, Liu Xiu rose and walked straight to Gu Xiao's side, grabbed his arm without a word, and pulled him to the map.

"Zhanhong, look here — how is the terrain of this place?"

Liu Xiu's gaze was unusually sharp as he pointed toward the land of Longyou.

This is a raid in the making, isn't it?

Although he had gradually withdrawn from the front in recent days,

withdrawing did not mean retiring — he still knew the current state of the realm.

Gu Yi immediately understood Liu Xiu's meaning and promptly controlled Gu Xiao to say, "A place easy to defend but hard to attack."

"But it also has a flaw."

Gu Yi naturally would not choose to evade.

After all, Liu Xiu's meaning could be said to have already called him out by name.

Evading any further would not look good.

And Gu Xiao himself also had the heart to fight again — he was a born war general, how could he stay cooped up at home?

Hearing these words, a light instantly flashed in Liu Xiu's eyes.

"Excellent!"

"Worthy of being the foremost general under My command!"

"Your thoughts align perfectly with Mine!"

Liu Xiu looked at Gu Xiao with burning eyes and said solemnly, "Zhanhong, whatever ideas you have, speak them all."

"Your Majesty."

Gu Yi immediately cupped his fist toward Liu Xiu, then stepped forward, pointed at the map, and said, "Now Wei Xiao is leading all his elite troops to stalemate with our Han army."

"The current situation is just like the Zhao-Han of those years."

"His interior must be empty!"

Gu Yi pointed at a spot on the map: "If we can secretly lead a large force through Fanxu and Huizhong, we can strike straight at Lueyang."

"And threaten Jixian."

"Under such circumstances, Wei Xiao will surely panic and rush back to relieve Lueyang."

"As long as we can seize the chance and attack from both front and rear,"

"The great enterprise can be accomplished!"

The light in Liu Xiu's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and on his long-stern face a smile once again appeared.

"Good!"

"Zhanhong!"

He spoke again very directly, staring fixedly at Gu Xiao as he asked, "Are you willing to lead the troops there?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured!"

Gu Xiao answered without the slightest hesitation, "The seeds have already been sown — what is there to fear?"

"This general will surely accomplish this matter!!!"

Looking at the Gu Xiao before him, the smile on Liu Xiu's face grew ever more brilliant, and he even directly took Gu Xiao's hand.

"Good!"

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(End of this chapter)