Chapter 188: Consort Kin

The letter's content was concise and to the point, yet sensational — truly startling to the elder Lady Fu. It was addressed to Zhang Qianzhao, the Pacification Commissioner of the Later Shu's Northern Field Headquarters, and the sender was none other than Li Shouzhen, Military Governor of Hezhong in the Great Han. He claimed that the Great Han's harsh governance harmed the people, that the Liu clan lacked virtue and did not deserve to hold the realm, and that he intended to raise troops at Puzhou, agreeing with Zhang Qianzhao to seize Guanzhong by surprise, rendezvous at Jingzhao, and then march east to destroy the Great Han together...

And looking at the date of dispatch — the twenty-eighth day of the first month, the day after Liu Zhiyuan's death. It was likely that Zhang Qianzhao's decision to lead his army out through Sanguan Pass again and fight a bitter battle against Wang Jun was also influenced by this letter from Li Shouzhen. It was just unexpected that Wang Jun led the Han army so fiercely that before Li Shouzhen could make any move, Zhang Qianzhao had already been crushed.

Wang Jun, upon receiving this letter, felt the matter was of grave importance. He submitted a secret memorial specifically on it, and attached a letter of his own giving a detailed explanation, and presented it to Liu Chengyou.

The palace eunuchs attending before the throne had already been dismissed.

"His Majesty only today issued a clear edict granting him favor and rewards, and even giving his son official rank through shadow privilege — yet he had long harbored treacherous intentions! To send this rebellious letter on the very day of national mourning — how dare he? Truly the heart of a jackal and fox!" As the Empress of the Great Han, the elder Lady Fu naturally sat on Liu Chengyou's side, and immediately expressed her fierce condemnation of Li Shouzhen with indignation.

"That Li Shouzhen had disloyal intentions, I have long known. I just didn't expect him to be so unable to contain himself." Liu Chengyou appeared quite composed.

In his memory, much of this period of history might be vague, but he did recall fragments about Li Shouzhen's rebellion. Moreover, it was precisely the alliance of the Three Rebellions led by Li Shouzhen that forced the Later Han court to exhaust itself suppressing them, which in turn fattened up Guo Wei.

Sensing Liu Chengyou's quiet tone, the elder Lady Fu's moth-like brows furrowed slightly. While observing Liu Chengyou's expression, there was a trace of lingering fear in her demeanor. After all, not long ago she had nearly become Li Shouzhen's daughter-in-law. How could she fail to understand the implications of that connection? She had been married to Liu Chengyou for less than a month, and he was quite fond of her — but the elder Lady Fu would not presume that she truly carried much weight in Liu Chengyou's heart.

At this moment, she was somewhat concerned that Liu Chengyou might harbor some misunderstanding toward her and the Fu clan because of "past matters." The heart of a sovereign is unfathomable — the elder Lady Fu, well-versed in history and literature, naturally understood this principle.

"The late emperor drove out the Khitan and stabilized the state; the realm's allegiance was already settled. Though His Majesty has only recently ascended the throne, he is gifted with extraordinary talent, intelligent and wise, and is supported by the assembled officials. The court holds strong troops and dominates the Central Plains. How dare Li Shouzhen speak of rebellion with merely a corner of territory?" Taking a deep breath, the elder Lady Fu spoke in a low voice, with a hint of doubt in her tone.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou turned his head to look at her and said in a surprisingly playful tone: "Did I not forcibly take away the daughter-in-law he had his eye on?"

Liu Chengyou said it lightly, but upon hearing his words, the elder Lady Fu's expression changed dramatically. She reacted strongly, rising directly and walking to before the throne. Under Liu Chengyou's astonished gaze, she bent down and performed a grand bow, prostrating herself.

"What is the Empress doing this for?" Liu Chengyou asked.

"Your Majesty!" Even her form of address had changed. The elder Lady Fu looked boldly at Liu Chengyou, her jade-like countenance grave as she said: "I have been married to Your Majesty for but a short time, yet I know my womanly virtues, keep to my proper place, and devote my heart wholly to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty harbors suspicion over past matters, I accept this guilt without complaint!"

Seeing Lady Fu react so intensely, Liu Chengyou quickly rose, stepped around the desk, and personally helped her up: "The Empress speaks too gravely. How could I have any other intention? It was merely a jest. If I harbored suspicion, would I have shown you the letter? My tolerance is not so small."

Liu Chengyou's words could also be read in reverse — if he had no suspicion, why show her the letter? Of course, Liu Chengyou was truly just making an observation. As for what Empress Fu might think, that was beyond his control.

Hearing his explanation, the elder Lady Fu stood up with his support, still frowning at him: "Your Majesty is the sovereign of the realm. Such jests should be spoken sparingly!"

Liu Chengyou spread his hands and looked at the elder Lady Fu, saying: "This matter is my fault. I am the Emperor — and an Emperor does not readily admit fault!"

Seeing this, the elder Lady Fu's jade-like countenance finally softened. She looked at Liu Chengyou and couldn't help but lower her head slightly, seeming a bit apprehensive. This was the first time she had shown her fiery temperament before Liu Chengyou, and he found it quite novel.

"This passage is not to be recorded!" Liu Chengyou turned his head and said sternly to the old man recording behind the curtain.

"Yes!" The man acknowledged verbally, yet his hand continued writing furiously without pause.

The Diarist was named Jia Wei, a crusty old codger who had once served as Secretariat Drafter and Supervising Secretary of the Later Jin. He was diligent in writing, skilled in record-keeping, and possessed great historiographical talent — he had participated in the compilation of the *Old Book of Tang*. This man had an unyielding personality and a sharp tongue. Liu Chengyou had been dissatisfied with the previous Diarist, and Feng Dao had recommended this Jia Wei. From experience, this man was worthy of being called a "Grand Historian." However, the feeling of having every word and action recorded was truly unpleasant.

"You're still writing?"

"Your servant has been ordered to stop writing." Jia Wei finally put down his brush, though from the look of him, he had clearly already finished recording.

Seeing the exchange between Liu Chengyou and Jia Wei, the elder Lady Fu couldn't help but be amused and broke into a smile.

The atmosphere returned to normal, and they sat down again. Unable to hold back, the elder Lady Fu asked: "This fierce brute secretly harbors treacherous intentions. How does His Majesty plan to deal with this matter?"

"The Great Han needs to sheathe its swords for now, and the people need to recuperate!" One sentence made Liu Chengyou's stance clear.

Lady Fu nodded but obediently did not press further. Liu Chengyou then said to her seriously: "This matter requires my careful handling. It must not be leaked."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty." The elder Lady Fu's reply was soft, but her tone was convincing.

As for Li Shouzhen, Liu Chengyou naturally could not let him off — he merely needed to endure for a time. Liu Zhiyuan had killed Du Chongwei as the chicken to scare the monkeys, and so all the military governors in the realm were at peace. Liu Chengyou also needed a chicken — and this chicken had jumped out on its own, handing him a pretext. The war against Shu didn't count; it hadn't fully borne Liu Chengyou's stamp yet.

It wouldn't take long — just endure until the summer grain ripened and the Great Han's food shortage eased.

On the other hand, Liu Chengyou also didn't want to fall into someone else's trap. According to Wang Jun's report, the secret letter was found in the command tent of the Shu army's commander-in-chief Zhang Qianzhao, placed right on his command desk, as if deliberately left for someone to discover. Wang Jun analyzed that Zhang Qianzhao intended to use this letter to lure the court into attacking Hezhong internally, thereby relieving the pressure on the Later Shu after their defeat at Fengxiang.

Liu Chengyou had considered it — the possibility was quite high.

"By the way, your elder brother Zhaoxin hasn't entered official service yet, has he?" Liu Chengyou suddenly asked.

The elder Lady Fu was briefly startled, then quickly realized what was happening, and replied: "My elder brother is still at home, attending to our parents."

Hearing this answer, Liu Chengyou said directly: "The court is precisely in need of talent. I wish to summon him to the capital to serve the state — he may be an official or a general, either is fine."

"Selecting the worthy and elevating the capable is a matter for Your Majesty and the assembled ministers of the court. As a woman, I should not interject. I only ask that there be no rumors of 'appointing by personal favor'..." The elder Lady Fu replied calmly, but Liu Chengyou could sense a trace of pleasure in her tone.

Not to mention how close the siblings were — the mere fact that Liu Chengyou brought it up unprompted was enough to show his regard for Lady Fu.

Of course, a small part of Liu Chengyou's reasoning was indeed for the elder Lady Fu — just a small part. More importantly, Liu Chengyou needed to introduce a new force of consort kin to balance the existing power — and as for which power — it might sound unfilial to say — his maternal clan's.

Empress Dowager Li had seven brothers. Aside from those who died early, the rest all held high office and wielded great power in the Eastern Capital. Uncle Li Hongxin was Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Infantry — second only to Shi Hongzhao and Liu Xin; Uncle Li Hongjian was Commander-in-Chief of the Inner Palace, with Liu Chengyou having placed the three imperial army units — the Konghe, the Neidianzhi, and the Sanyuan — under his command; Uncle Li Hongwei was Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry; even the most useless youngest uncle, Li Ye, was Commissioner of the Wude Office, controlling part of the palace gate affairs...

Counting them up, Shi Hongzhao and Liu Xin might hold great power, but compared to the Li clan, they seemed to amount to little. Of course, it was also true that the several uncles were of mediocre ability and didn't seem to harbor ambitions, which allowed Liu Chengyou some ease — but the precautions that needed to be taken, Liu Chengyou certainly would not omit.

The situation of the Li uncles occupying high positions in the imperial army was something Liu Chengyou planned to resolve along with the imperial army reforms. But before that, Liu Chengyou intended to bring the power of the Fu clan into the Eastern Capital — after all, as a military family of generations, the clan had no shortage of talent.

Beyond that, Liu Chengyou also planned to summon another brother-in-law to the Eastern Capital. Fu Zhaoxin might not be famous in history, but Gao Huaide was renowned far and wide. With the connection through Lady Gao, there was no reason not to summon him to the Eastern Capital and entrust him with important duties.

On the sixteenth day of the second month of the first year of Qianyou, Liu Chengyou issued another edict, saying: "I, a person of insignificant worth, am placed above the princes and lords. I fear my virtue is insufficient, and I am restless in self-reflection. How can I provide lavishly for myself when my moral influence has not yet reached the people, or fail to exercise restraint when my Way has not yet matched the ancients? Rather than waste resources and burden the people, it is better to be frugal and restrain myself. From this day forth, all that the palace requires for clothing and adornment shall be reduced; tributes of rare curiosities and exquisite crafts shall be halted. The various prefectures of the realm shall reduce and eliminate their former tributes of delicacies and fine foods." (This passage is an excerpt.)

This was almost a follow-up supplement to the "crystal kuai" — sliced raw fish — that the Empress had presented the previous night.