Chapter 540: No Food to Eat!

Li Guo had also come to Yidu County seat, arriving together with the other high-ranking Shun army leaders who had stayed behind at the Tiger Fang Mountain main camp: the Marquis of Huai, Liu Xiyao; the Left Assistant, Niu Jinxing; the Grand Military Advisor, Song Xiance; and several others. None of them knew that Li Zicheng had already become the late emperor; they had only received Li Laiheng's urgent report saying that Li Zicheng had been struck by a stray arrow while fighting the Zhu brigand at Tangjia Mountain, injuring the sole of his foot and making it inconvenient for him to move about, and that he needed to rest and recuperate in Yidu for some days.

Because Li Zicheng liked to be at the front lines and was always moving about the battlefield, it was perfectly normal for him to take a cut or an arrow wound now and then. So Li Guo, Liu Xiyao, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and the others suspected nothing. Upon receiving the news and Li Zicheng's verbal instructions, they left Tiger Fang Mountain together and hurried to the heavily guarded Shilipu post station near Yidu County seat, thirty li away.

They were met by Li Laiheng, Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and Gu Junen — the order of their names also being the order in which they stood. Seeing this arrangement, Li Guo was taken aback. Was this not a complete disregard for rank? What status did Li Laiheng have? How could he stand in front of two marquises? And Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu were behaving with deference, walking behind Li Laiheng as if they were his subordinates?

Could it be that my uncle has adopted Laiheng as his son? The thought made Li Guo uncomfortable — Li Zicheng was two years younger than him, yet senior in generation; he was his uncle. If Li Zicheng had taken Li Laiheng as a son, then Li Laiheng would have risen a generation and become Li Guo's cousin-brother!

A son advancing to become a brother — just thinking about it made him squirm!

Besides, Li Zicheng was still young, not yet past the age of fathering sons, and he was so diligent in his efforts. If by chance he succeeded and produced a son of his own, what would become of Li Laiheng then?

A son of one's own was naturally better... If Li Zicheng had a son of his own, what would happen to Li Laiheng? Then it would no longer be a question of whether he could become the Shun Taizong, but whether he could even stay alive!

So Li Zicheng had sounded Li Guo out several times, saying he wanted a son like Laiheng to care for him in old age and see him off, but Li Guo never relented. He just told Li Zicheng to make the effort himself — if you won't put in the effort yourself and keep thinking of relying on others, how is that acceptable!

But today's arrangement... Could it be that Li Zicheng had gone behind his back and already adopted that brat Laiheng?

The more Li Guo thought about it, the more anxious he grew. He looked again at Li Laiheng, who wore an expression caught between tears and laughter. What was this about?

"Laiheng," Li Guo glanced at his son, "where are you standing? Let the Marquis of Ru and the Marquis of Ze stand in front!"

Li Laiheng shook his head. He could not stand that way anymore...

He stepped forward a few paces until he was before Li Guo, then dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed once. Only then did he rise and lean close to Li Guo, saying in a low voice, "Dada, E-ye is gone..."

"What are you saying?" Li Guo was baffled. "Your ye died long ago!"

In Li Zicheng's generation there were three brothers. Li Guo's father was the eldest, Li Zicheng was the second, and there was also a third named Li Zijing, who was a mere bit player in Li Zicheng's organization. Historically, Li Guo had propped him up as a puppet emperor for a few days, after which he vanished without a trace. As things stood now, this Li Zijing was still enjoying himself in Xiangjing, and no one had any thought of dragging him out to take the blame — the Shun dynasty still held plenty of territory, army morale was still decent, and the throne was far from worthless.

Li Laiheng shook his head and lowered his voice: "Not my own ye, my new ye... that is, your adoptive father, Ada!"

What? What did he mean?

Li Guo was even more confused. What did he mean? How had he suddenly acquired an adoptive father? I'm already past forty, and a marquis at that — I don't need anyone to support me. How could an adoptive father appear out of thin air?

"Marquis of Bo, this is no place to talk. Let us go inside and discuss it."

"Yes, yes, come with me quickly..."

"Marquis of Bo, please come in."

Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and Gu Junen, seeing that Li Guo and his son were completely at a loss, simply half-dragged and half-pulled Li Guo into the post station.

Liu Xiyao, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and the others who had come with Li Guo also sensed that something was wrong when they saw this scene.

Could it be that something had happened to His Imperial Majesty Li Zicheng?

The three exchanged glances, none of them speaking, and simply followed inside the post station.

By this time the stench of salted fish was gone from the post station. Li Laiheng had ordered men to find a fine coffin in Yidu County seat, placed Li Zicheng inside, and sealed the coffin lid tight, so there was no longer any need for salted fish to mask the smell.

Still in a heavily guarded room, Li Guo, Liu Xiyao, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and the others beheld Li Zicheng's coffin.

"His, His Imperial Majesty..."

Li Guo pointed at the coffin, unable to get his words out.

"Dada, E-ye is gone. He was struck down by a firelock at Tangjia Mountain, and now he lies resting inside the coffin... Would you like to see him?"

"See him? Of course I must see him!" Li Guo stamped his foot. Then suddenly he sensed something wrong and turned to look at Li Laiheng. "What did you just say? What did you call His Imperial Majesty?"

"I called him yeye — that is, grandfather..."

"Grandfather?" Li Guo's eyes bulged, and he pointed a finger at his own nose. "Then how am I supposed to address His Imperial Majesty?"

"As Imperial Father, of course..."

Imperial Father!?

Li Guo truly did not know what to say. He had watched Li Zicheng grow up... and now, wonderful — Li Zicheng had become his father.

How was he supposed to put it? I watched my Imperial Father grow up?

Liu Xiyao, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance were even more dumbfounded. How much time had passed? Li Zicheng had become the late emperor, and on top of that he had adopted Li Guo as his son... Wait, that wasn't right! When had he adopted Li Guo?

Liu Xiyao was a veteran of the Shun army, one of the nine founding marquises. Although he no longer held much real power, his seniority remained, so he spoke up and asked, "When did His Imperial Majesty adopt the Marquis of Bo as his son?"

"It was after leaving the battlefield at Tangjia Mountain," Gu Junen sighed. "His Imperial Majesty was struck in the abdomen by a lead ball and knew he would not recover, so he summoned me, the Marquis of Ru, and the Marquis of Ze to hear his verbal decree... He adopted the Marquis of Bo as his son, named him Crown Prince, and named the Marquis of Bo's heir as Grandson-Heir. He also ordered the Marquis of Ze to hold the western part of Jingzhou Prefecture, the Marquis of Ru to hold Xiangjing and Yunyang, the Marquis of Mian to hold Hanzhong, and the Marquis of Ci to hold Gongchang. And he commanded Luo Hu and Gao Yigong to abandon Guanzhong, march through Hanzhong down into Sichuan, and together with His Highness the Crown Prince take Sichuan as the foundation of the Shun!"

What he was now reciting was the posthumous edict that he, Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and Li Laiheng had worked out together.

In reality, it was a settlement plan designed to look after the interests of every faction!

The Shun dynasty had nine founding marquises, but after these past two or three years, only five still remained on the stage with troops and power in hand: the Marquis of Bo, Li Guo; the Marquis of Ru, Liu Zongmin; the Marquis of Ze, Tian Jianxiu; the Marquis of Mian, Yuan Zongdi; and the Marquis of Ci, Liu Fangliang.

Now that Li Zicheng was dead and had left no son, Li Guo, the eldest nephew, was the most suitable successor. But Li Guo could not take all for himself; he had to look after the interests of the other four marquises who held armies in their hands.

How to look after them?

By dividing up territory and troops, of course!

The four relatively defensible territories — western Jingzhou Prefecture, Xiangyang and Yunyang, Hanzhong, and southern Gongchang Prefecture — were all to be distributed among the four marquises, each of whom would take his own veteran camp troops to garrison his allotted territory.

And Li Guo, the Shun Taizong, would take his own army and the army he inherited from Li Zicheng and enter Sichuan...

Before the coffin of Li Zicheng, who was pretending to still be alive, Li Guo remained silent, his gaze slowly passing over the faces of the two marquises, Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu.

In his heart he understood that with Li Zicheng dead, the Shun forces might very well fall apart. That Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu were willing to "take a share" and continue as marquises of the Shun was already the height of loyalty and generosity.

If he refused and insisted on things being as they were when Li Zicheng was alive — heh heh — it might well end in internal strife!

His gaze shifted to Li Laiheng. This Grandson-Heir had always dreamed of becoming the "Shun Taizong," and now his wish had finally come true!

Li Guo asked, "Laiheng, have you calculated how many men we can still bring into Sichuan?"

"I have. The troops now gathered in western Jingzhou Prefecture number about sixty thousand. The Marquis of Ru and the Marquis of Ze will each take fifteen thousand, leaving us with thirty thousand." Li Laiheng said, "In addition, Gao Yigong and Luo Hu still have about thirty thousand troops under their command, who can march south through Hanzhong. In this way we can take Sichuan with an army of sixty thousand — our chances of victory are still quite good."