Chapter 171: Guo Wei's Final Instructions

（ps: Brothers, the new book is out, titled 《Water Margin: I Became Lu Qian, I Bring Lin Chong to Rebel》, everyone please support, the perfect attendance for November is already hopeless, I never expected the competition of Water Margin fanfic to be so fierce!!! ）

Later Zhou, first year of Manifest Virtue, winter.

In Kaifeng City, the first snow of this winter began to fall.

Inside the imperial palace, everything was pure white.

The air was filled with a strong scent of medicinal decoction.

The founding emperor of Later Zhou, Guo Wei, had reached the end of his life.

He lay on the dragon bed, his complexion withered, his breathing faint.

Once a warlord who could split steles and rocks, whose aura swallowed mountains and rivers, he now could not withstand the erosion of time.

By his side knelt Empress Chai, and his adopted son, the current heir apparent, Prince Jin Guo Rong.

Empress Chai had already been reduced to a weeping wreck.

Guo Rong, however, held back his grief, his eyes bloodshot, tightly gripping Guo Wei's hand, which was as thin as firewood.

"Father..." Guo Rong's voice was hoarse to an extreme.

"Rong'er..." Guo Wei slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze lingering on Guo Rong's face for a long time.

"Don't cry." He exerted his last bit of strength, squeezing out a smile: "Everyone must die. In my life, from an unknown soldier to today's Son of Heaven, it was worth it."

"The only thing I cannot let go of is the realm of Great Zhou."

His gaze became sharp, as if experiencing a final burst of clarity.

"Rong'er, come here; I have a few words to say to you alone."

Empress Chai and the surrounding eunuchs and palace maids, understanding, wiped their tears and withdrew.

In the sleeping palace, only the father and son remained.

"Cough cough..." Guo Wei coughed violently a few times, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Guo Rong quickly took a handkerchief and wiped it for him.

"Father, don't speak; rest well."

"No." Guo Wei shook his head, knowing his time was short: "If I don't say it now, I won't get another chance."

He took a few breaths and continued: "In my life, my greatest regret is killing Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao... not regretting killing them, but regretting... killing them too late, killing them foolishly."

"If I had been as decisive as you are now back then, your several older brothers would not have died miserably."

Guo Wei's eyes revealed endless sorrow and regret.

That is his eternal pain.

"Father, it's all in the past." Guo Rong comforted.

"Cannot get over it." Guo Wei shook his head: "I want you to remember this lesson. When dealing with arrogant soldiers who hold military power, you must never be soft-hearted! Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish! When it's time to kill, you must kill! Otherwise, they will turn around and kill you!"

"My son, I remember." Guo Rong nodded heavily.

"Moreover..." Guo Wei's gaze turned toward the window, toward South of the River, "Wang Family."

Hearing those two words, Guo Rong's heart tightened sharply.

"The Wang Family is the biggest variable in this world." Guo Wei's voice became somewhat vague: "They are rich enough to rival a nation, their strength unfathomable. They can help you or destroy you."

"Initially, I accepted their goodwill and placed you as heir apparent out of necessity. For I knew only you could suppress those arrogant soldiers and continue the Zhou dynasty's mandate."

"These past years, you have done well. You conquered southern cities, reorganized military affairs, and both court and populace have been convinced of you. I am greatly relieved."

"But, Rong'er, you must also remember: the Wang Family's current friendliness toward us is because a stable Zhongyuan benefits their business."

"But if one day our interests clash with theirs, they will not hesitate to stab us in the back."

"Therefore, regarding the Wang Family, you may employ them, even heavily rely on them, but you must never fully trust them, nor let them grasp too much power."

"Just a Wang Hao." Guo Wei's breathing grew ever more ragged: "He is already clever enough to frighten me. You must keep him by your side, constantly on guard. Absolutely do not let him touch the Zhou dynasty's core military power and financial authority."

"Father..." Guo Rong didn't know what to say.

He knew his father's words made sense.

The art of imperial rule is essentially balance and suspicion.

But in his heart, he had already regarded Wang Hao as his most trusted confidant and right-hand man.

These past years, without Wang Hao, he could not possibly have stood so firmly.

"I know you and Wang Hao are close privately." Guo Wei seemed to see through his thoughts: "I am not telling you to act against him now. I merely remind you that an emperor is a lonely sovereign; you cannot, and must not, place complete trust in anyone."

"Water can carry a boat, yet also capsize it. The Wang Family's great ship can carry you, riding wind and waves; it can also easily overturn you in the waves."

"What you must do is learn to steer it, not be steered by it."

Having said this, Guo Wei seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

He panted violently, his gaze beginning to scatter.

"I... can't go on..."

"Bring the Heirloom Jade Seal..."

Guo Rong, tears in his eyes, took from the hidden compartment at the head of the bed that jade seal symbolizing supreme authority under heaven.

Guo Wei, with his last ounce of strength, grasped Guo Rong's hand and placed the jade seal in his palm.

"Rong'er... this realm... I entrust it to you..."

"Don't... let me down..."

"Don't... let down the people of this realm..."

As his words fell, his hand went limp and dropped.

A generation's warlord, Later Zhou Grand Ancestor Guo Wei, passed away.

"Father—!"

Guo Rong's mournful cry echoed throughout the imperial palace.

……

That day, Guo Rong, with tears in his eyes, ascended the throne before the spirit of Guo Wei.

Era Name Change, Xian De.

History records him as the Later Zhou Emperor Shizong.

He stood on the high vermilion steps, receiving the court's congratulations from civil and military officials.

His gaze swept over the officials kneeling below.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the young man standing among the civil officials, wearing the uniform of the Chief Secretary of Prince Jin's mansion.

Wang Hao.

Their eyes met.

Wang Hao's gaze, as always, was calm and humble.

But Guo Rong's heart, in an instant, became exceedingly complex.

He recalled his father emperor's dying instructions.

"An emperor is a lonely, solitary one."

"One cannot place complete trust in anyone."

Guo Rong slowly withdrew his gaze, his heart already resolved.

He knew that the honeymoon period between him and the Wang Family, between him and Wang Hao, had ended.

From the moment of his ascension, besides cooperation, a layer of sovereign-minister suspicion and probing had been added between them.

And the first thing he must do is to remove Wang Hao from his innermost circle of power.