Chapter 1558: The Farewell

The autumn breeze gently caressed the earth, and even the trees along the main road to the Eastern Capital carried a touch more desolation; branches and leaves swayed softly, but what was bleak was never the soulless trees and greenery, but rather the mood of men.

Though it was autumn, with clear winds and light clouds, the lingering summer heat still raged on; perhaps only the locust groves by the roadside, their leaves quietly tinged with pale yellow, proved that autumn had indeed arrived.

By the roadside, a considerable procession waited in silence, with little noise around it, making the sounds of horses and livestock all the more distinct.

The carriages and horses numbered over a hundred; apart from the attendants, there were no fewer than four full companies of fully equipped guards, and several dragon banners flying high, openly proclaiming the noble status of their master.

In a spacious carriage at the center of the procession, through the side window, a pair of lively, adorable eyes gazed toward the long pavilion on the left side of the road—this was Liu Wenyuan, the eldest grandson of the Great Han.

At this moment, Liu Wenyuan rested his chin on the window ledge, somewhat bored, seemingly just waiting for the journey to begin. A grandson of the emperor, living in noble mansions and coming and going within the deep palace, he was always full of curiosity about the outside world, wanting to see more of its different scenery.

Prince of Qin, Liu Xu, had been ordered to guard the northeastern frontier, and his entire family had been permitted to accompany him, for who knew how long it would be before they could return.

Inside the long pavilion, it seemed rather empty; guards and attendants stood silently around the perimeter. In the pavilion itself, there were only two people—Crown Prince Liu Yang and Prince of Qin Liu Xu—accompanied by a jug of wine and two cups.

Liu Xu was the eldest son of the Emperor, and Liu Yang, as Crown Prince, coming to see him off was only proper. Yet, as the brothers conversed, cups of warm wine going down one after another, behind the cordial and harmonious facade, both Liu Yang and Liu Xu could not help but reveal a trace of estrangement in their eyes that could not be hidden no matter how hard they tried.

"The turmoil in the northeast has persisted for several years now, posing grave threats to the stability of Liaodong and the northern defenses of the Great Han. These years, Father has been deeply worried about this—something you must surely know as well, Eldest Brother.

As sons and ministers, being unable to share Father's burdens fills me with deep shame. If given the chance, I too would like to make the journey myself, to resolve this scourge of the northeast for the court and restore peace to that region..." Liu Yang took a sip of wine and spoke softly.

Liu Xu's expression appeared very calm as he drank in response: "The Crown Prince is the sovereign's heir, bearing the heavy responsibility of overseeing the state. You must take a broad and farsighted view, attending to every aspect—how could you devote excessive energy to a matter of one corner of the northeast? Sitting in the capital and commanding the overall situation is what you ought to do."

Hearing this, the corner of Liu Yang's mouth twitched slightly. He took another drink of wine and said with feeling: "In the past, I too served at the Liaodong field headquarters and have some understanding of the local conditions.

Though the Khitan's rule has collapsed and the Great Han has recovered the entire territory of Liaodong, with the imperial army advancing directly to Huanglong Prefecture, what was left behind is a scene of utter devastation.

To this day, remnants of Khitan power, the Shiwei, the various Jurchen tribes and states, and the native tribes of the region—all manner of groups dwell scattered among them, their forces tangled and the situation complex, to the point where they must now be eliminated.

Regarding policy toward the northeast, the court has discussed it many times. Father has now reached a conclusion: take advantage of their mutual attacks and internal attrition to weaken their strength, seek opportunities to advance troops, pacify public order, and suppress those who refuse to submit.

However, this is no easy task, nor can it be accomplished overnight. Eldest Brother, on this journey, a heavy responsibility rests upon your shoulders!"

"That Father could entrust such a weighty task to me is already a source of gratitude. I can only devote myself wholly to it, serve with utmost loyalty, seek no fame or merit, and only pray that I do not fail the trust placed in me!" The faint fragrance of the wine stimulated his palate; Liu Xu's gaze was clear, his tone calm as ever.

Clearly, Emperor Liu's arrangement of sending imperial princes to guard the frontiers—placing Liu Xu, Liu Xi, and Liu Fang, these three princes long seasoned by experience, on the three northern frontiers—was not meant to temper them, but carried political intent.

Each of them bore important missions: to address the current problems of public order and stability along the Great Han's various frontiers through thorough pacification and reform, to spread the kingly way, to promote sinicization, and to consolidate the Great Han's rule over all its frontiers.

The conditions on the three frontiers may have differed, and the situations they faced varied, but the basic principles and direction were the same. Liu Xi and Liu Fang were responsible for the naturalization of the various peoples along the frontiers of Mobei, Shanyang, Yulin, and Hexi, sitting in authority over their regions in the capacity of imperial princes, assisting the senior military and civil officials of those localities in continuing the work.

By comparison, the situation in the northeast was more complex and more primitive. After all, in the central, western, and northern prefectures, over these years, however slow the progress, the court had already established initial governance and achieved basic influence.

As for the northeast, even by this eleventh year of Kaibao, the Great Han's armies and defenses extended only as far as Huanglong Prefecture. Beyond Huanglong Prefecture, governance could not even be called loose control—a single unruly Shiwei tribe was enough to illustrate the problem.

Therefore, whether Liu Xu could accomplish his mission in the northeast, and to what degree, was entirely unpredictable and exceedingly difficult!

"Eldest Brother's generosity and loyalty are admirable—I pay my respects here!" In the pavilion, Liu Yang raised his cup with both hands in salute.

To this, Liu Xu replied with equal solemnity: "All for the rivers and mountains of the Great Han, for the long-term peace and stability of the state!"

"Well said!" Liu Yang remarked: "I deeply admire it!"

After another drink, Liu Yang picked up the wine jug, his hand hovering steadily in the air; the trickling sound of pouring wine reached his ears until it faded into the air.

Watching the jug empty of wine, Liu Yang's face froze for a moment, then quickly broke into a slight smile. He set down the jug, raised his cup again, and said to Liu Xu: "The wine is spent; this younger brother offers this cup to see Eldest Brother off on your journey. The road ahead is long and distant—take the utmost care!"

Liu Xu likewise raised his half-filled cup, his expression turning serious, and drank it to the dregs. The not-quite-cool breeze blew gently, striving to dispel the lingering heat of early autumn that filled the long pavilion. In this farewell, for the first time, the brothers' gazes truly met, and in that moment, time itself seemed to stand still.

After a long while, Liu Xu rose and bowed deeply: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is busy with state affairs—please return to the palace. Your servant takes his leave here!"

"Take care!" Liu Yang raised his sleeve and returned the bow.

As Liu Xu boarded his princely carriage, the procession slowly began to move, turning from the side road onto the smooth highway, growing gradually more distant. Under the autumn sun, those dragon banners flying high gleamed brilliantly.

Liu Yang stood in the long pavilion for a long time, his gaze still calm, though a hint of complexity gradually emerged in his expression. After a moment, his two attendants, Murong Defeng and Ma Huaiyu, walked in and saluted together.

"Your Highness!" Murong Defeng called softly.

"They've all gone..." Liu Yang let out a long sigh.

Liu Xu was the last person he had personally seen off; Liu Fang and Liu Xi had already left the capital one after another, each heading to their destinations. The conversations with his three brothers had differed in content, but had mostly consisted of words of encouragement and formal pleasantries.

Yet even in conversation with the most generous and upright Prince of Zhao, Liu Fang, the harmony and closeness that had once existed between brothers was nowhere to be found. Everyone seemed to have begun hiding themselves; beneath every face there seemed to be another face. The princes and brothers were like this—and was Liu Yang himself any different?

If one were to speak of the greatest threat to Liu Yang's position as Crown Prince, it was unquestionably these three brothers who had been enfeoffed as princes. And Emperor Liu's sending them to guard the various frontiers was, without a doubt, highly advantageous to Liu Yang—in the capital, absolutely no one would retain the conditions or qualifications to challenge or assail his position as Crown Prince.

And as the three princes remained away from the capital for long, the prestige and influence they had accumulated over the years would fade with the passage of time. As for the threat and concern that the three princes might build achievements and cultivate power on the frontiers, then return to the capital to seize the throne—to Liu Yang, that was truly nothing to worry about.

For the unified empire of the Great Han, as the legitimate Crown Prince, once one held the great righteousness of the center, absolute advantage was already secured. Moreover, guarding the frontier was not enfeoffment; given the Great Han's highly centralized political ecology, with central authority penetrating deeply into local military and civil affairs—especially in the strong vigilance and control over the army—the three princes, once at the frontiers, could hardly pose much of a threat.

Under such circumstances, Liu Yang ought to have felt joy, yet he could not smile at all. It was not that Liu Yang was pedantic or overly kind, prone to melancholy—it was simply that his heart, too, had grown somewhat weary.

The matter of imperial princes guarding the frontiers was not a whim of Emperor Liu's. As early as after the Kaibao Northern Expedition, word had already spread of it, but in the intervening years, Emperor Liu had never formally raised it—he had even given the three princes real authority, keeping them in the ministries and agencies, employing them heavily, as if he had abandoned the idea entirely.

Yet when the rumor suddenly became reality, Liu Yang, as the greatest beneficiary, could not help but wonder why Emperor Liu had so abruptly put this decision into practice.

That the princes were idle and indulgent, that he feared they would sink into decadence and corruption, and so sent them to the frontiers to be tempered—such a reason, Liu Yang clearly did not believe, at least not that it was the whole story. Inevitably, Liu Yang's thoughts turned to the uproar over the petition drum case three months prior.

Later, Liu Yang came to understand: if even he could sense the undercurrents behind it, then with Emperor Liu's sagacity and his many eyes and ears, how could he possibly have remained unaware? Indeed, the specific details behind it all might already have been investigated thoroughly.

And if it was for this reason that Emperor Liu had been moved to make his decision, then Liu Yang could not help but feel a heavy pressure from this show of concern on Emperor Liu's part.

Moreover, judging from the three princes dispatched, whoever had secretly driven that earlier uproar must surely be among the three. As for who it was—at this point, Liu Yang had utterly lost any desire to continue investigating...