Chapter 622: The Gambler

"Master, you've really done me harm."

That day, after the banquet ended, on the way out of the palace, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, master and disciple, rode in the same carriage. Once they were clear of the palace halls, Hu Hai dropped all formalities. Like a ruffian youth from the marketplace, he sat sprawled out carelessly and began to grumble at Zhao Gao across from him:

"Master told me to speak honestly, with no need to hide anything. So when the Emperor asked what I wished to do after my capping ceremony and leaving the palace, I said I desired wealth, rank, and pleasure, to roam freely among mountains and rivers, and wished to do nothing at all. Yet I ended up being soundly rebuked by my Imperial Father, who said I lacked ambition... Prefect of the Office for Imperial Carriages, how could you harm your own disciple like this!"

Though it was a complaint, the tone of his speech showed that their relationship was extremely close.

Zhao Gao laughed. "How can you say I harmed you? Those words, did they not come straight from Your Highness's heart?"

Those words were indeed not taught by Zhao Gao, but were Hu Hai's true thoughts. This prince was only eighteen years old. As the youngest son, he had enjoyed every luxury since childhood and was quite doted upon by Qin Shi Huang, allowed to remain by his father's side. He had thus become the closest of all the princes to the Emperor.

Over all these years, he had watched his Imperial Father toil tirelessly at government affairs, laboring as hard as sage kings Yao and Yu. Yet when the great enterprise of unifying the realm was accomplished, his father faced the torment of illness and suffered from the brevity of life, beginning to seek elixirs and immortals, yearning bitterly, only to return disappointed time and again.

Hu Hai took all this in. Brilliant and mighty as his Imperial Father was, he ought to have been enjoying all the benefits of the realm, yet he was entangled by these multifarious burdens and could not extricate himself.

Once, after getting drunk, he confided to Zhao Gao:

"If I were Emperor, I would certainly not be like this. I would simply travel, sightsee, and amuse myself. As for governing the realm, wouldn't it suffice to leave it to the Chancellor, the Imperial Secretary, the Commandant of Justice, and the hundred officials?"

The man who ought to be the most powerful and free in the realm instead seemed to wear shackles, trudging forward, living like a prisoner. Hu Hai found this deeply perplexing.

Although afterward Hu Hai denied ever saying such words, the thought that "life is short, one should seize the moment for pleasure" had already taken root in the young boy's heart.

But as a member of the imperial clan, bearing responsibilities, such thoughts were to be kept in the heart and absolutely never spoken aloud. Hu Hai had only confided them to Zhao Gao, whom he trusted absolutely—yet Zhao Gao had encouraged him to speak them out!

"What His Majesty loves about Your Highness is precisely this genuine nature! If you were always lamenting the state of the world and worrying about the nation and its people, how would you differ from the Eldest Prince?"

Hu Hai trusted Zhao Gao without doubt, so today he boldly spoke his mind, only to be rebuked. His dejection was easy to imagine.

"That was no rebuke—it was clearly affection."

Zhao Gao shook his head, however. He had a different interpretation of Qin Shi Huang's reprimand of Hu Hai.

"If Your Highness's words had truly angered His Majesty, why then would His Majesty say that when he tours the lands of Yan this summer to escape the heat at Jieshi Palace, he will bring Your Highness along to broaden your knowledge and see the world?"

In the ten years since Qin Shi Huang had taken the title of Emperor, he had undertaken four inspection tours, covering Zhao, Chu, Qi, Wei, and Han—only the land of Yan remained unvisited. At today's banquet, he had decided that after summer began, he would tour Guangyang, Yuyang, and Youbeiping. One reason was to urge Fusu and Heifu on in their eastern maritime campaign; the other was his lingering obsession with seeking immortals at sea. With no results in Qi, he wished to see the Jieshi Palace built by King Zhao of Yan.

In the past, Hu Hai had been too young, and Qin Shi Huang had not taken him on tours. But this time was different—Hu Hai was the only prince named to accompany him, a sign of the utmost favor.

Only then did Hu Hai believe Zhao Gao's words, and his gloom turned to laughter!

What son does not wish to receive his father's praise and appreciation? Even Hu Hai, who genuinely wished to be a wastrel and live out his days in happiness, was no exception...

What was more, he would also get to accompany the Emperor on a tour.

A look of yearning appeared in Hu Hai's eyes. "This time, following my Imperial Father on a northern tour, I, this prince, will finally not be confined to this tiny corner of Xianyang."

Zhao Gao, playing to his interests, described it vividly: "The scenery of Yan and Zhao is quite magnificent. Handan and Luoyang are also places of scenic beauty and elegance. Especially Handan—the women there are renowned among the feudal lords. They love to play the zither, dance with long sleeves, and tread in pointed slippers, teasing with their eyes and entangling with their hearts. They wander among the houses of the rich and noble, offering flattery and currying favor, hoping only to be taken into the rear palaces of lords or enfeoffed nobles and enjoy splendor. A prince like Your Highness, adorned with sword and cap, with a retinue of chariots and riders, clearly looks either rich or noble at a glance, and will surely be ardently pursued by the women of Handan!"

The kind of women a dissolute young noble liked most were precisely these. Hu Hai listened, entranced. For all the wealth and ease of princes and royal grandsons like them, the laws and ordinances were strict; they could not wander about without cause, let alone bully men and violate women. In his eighteen years, Hu Hai had at most gone on hunts or escaped the summer heat, running about in Shanglin Park or Mount Ganquan. The rest of the time, he rarely traveled far.

By this point, Hu Hai had come to regard the day's events as Zhao Gao's achievement and said happily:

"I knew it—Master would never deceive Hu Hai!"

After parting from Hu Hai, Zhao Gao sat in his carriage heading home, sinking into deep thought.

Qin Shi Huang's health was worsening day by day. His tall frame had begun to weaken, and all manner of symptoms were arriving in droves. Especially after falling gravely ill following an assassination attempt the year before last, the imperial constitution had grown worse and worse. This was a closely guarded secret; ordinary court officials knew nothing of it and could only guess from the reduced number of court assemblies. But as a close attendant, Zhao Gao was perfectly clear in his mind.

"His Majesty... likely has no more than a few years left to live..."

The day when the tree falls and the monkeys scatter could arrive at any moment. As a clever man, Zhao Gao was quietly making preparations for his own future.

As the disciple the Emperor had assigned to him, Hu Hai was Zhao Gao's finest choice!

At present, Qin had no crown prince, and Fusu had been dispatched far away. Under these circumstances, to say the various princes had no designs on the throne was impossible. Even Hu Hai, who wholeheartedly wished to be a wastrel, had said to Zhao Gao when drunk, "If I were Emperor..."

But some coveted the throne out of greed for its supreme power, that feeling of holding the realm in one's grasp. Hu Hai, however, was different—what he coveted was the peace of mind that came with enjoying life from a position of eminence.

Therefore, although Zhao Gao favored Hu Hai, he did not directly push him into the contest for succession, vying for the limelight at every turn. Instead, he chose the most secure path:

Clever and quick-witted, law-abiding, filial, yet utterly uninterested in becoming Emperor...

"Isn't that exactly how the youngest son should be?"

Zhao Gao revealed a smile. Like Heifu, though born of lowly status, he was studious and self-strengthening. From illiterate to a master calligrapher had taken him a full twenty years!

Zhao Gao was also quite well-read in legal codes and historical texts. He knew that throughout history, although succession was mostly "install the son of the principal wife if there is one; if not, install the eldest," there were truly countless cases where the eldest son, especially a commoner-born eldest son, failed to inherit.

Duke Xian of Jin, Duke Huan of Qi, King Wuling of Zhao—all were great rulers of their generation, either revitalizing their states or founding hegemonic enterprises. Yet in their later years, after women whispered in their ears upon the pillow, they seemed suddenly to grow muddled, disliking their eldest sons and doting on the youngest, ultimately leading to setting aside the elder to install the younger.

But in Zhao Gao's view, this could not be entirely blamed on women. At root, it was because the supreme power of a sovereign cannot be shared with another...

A ruler took many consorts very early on, and correspondingly, his eldest son also arrived especially early. The age gap between father and son would not be too great—in some cases, only a dozen or so years. Often, before the sovereign had declined, the eldest son was already in his prime and beginning to involve himself in government affairs...

This would make the sovereign extremely uncomfortable. He would see every action of his eldest son as a calculated scheme to win hearts. In particular, a prince who liked to contradict his father and propose differing policies would be seen as impatient, eager to take a seat on that imperial couch...

Estrangement and discord between father and son would then be difficult to avoid.

And Qin Shi Huang and Fusu had long been estranged for many years. Father and son differed too greatly on how to govern the realm. Every exchange ended in argument and forceful remonstration, parting on bad terms.

The Emperor had simply kicked Fusu far away—on one hand to let him gain experience and learn something of the world's hardships, and on the other, to gain some peace and quiet for his own ears.

By contrast, the youngest son, Hu Hai, apart from when Qin Shi Huang examined him on legal codes, never once initiated discussion of government affairs. The Emperor, for his part, had no excessive expectations of Hu Hai.

He resembled Qin Shi Huang in his youth—fond of play yet able to study diligently, his character free-spirited and forthright, not contending for power, not scheming for the throne, his filial piety toward his Imperial Father coming from the heart rather than from ulterior motives...

This was the image Zhao Gao had crafted for Hu Hai. Would the Emperor not dote on such a youngest son?

This was only the first step in the struggle for succession. It could not be accomplished overnight, but it allowed one to remain constantly by the sovereign's side. Once the situation shifted, there would be an opportunity to advance further!

Unlike Heifu, who had to deliberate deeply on every matter and lay long-term plans before acting, Zhao Gao was a gambler, enamored with those fleeting, transient opportunities!

He struck fast, accurately, and ruthlessly. Never mind staking a thousand gold pieces—even if he had to wager his own life, Zhao Gao would not so much as blink.

Including two years ago, in that chaotic assassination attempt, when in a flash of lightning and spark of flint, Zhao Gao had risked his life to cripple one of his hands, thereby exchanging it for the Emperor's unreserved trust!

"In the next great wager, what I gamble for will be a lifetime of power, wealth, and rank!"

Stroking his left arm, which hung limp and powerless after being broken, Zhao Gao revealed a smile.

"I only wonder—who will be the one across the gambling table?"

In the fifth month of the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, just as the Emperor's health had slightly improved and he was preparing to take Prince Hu Hai and a host of officials on a new round of tours, good news arrived from the south:

"To Your Majesty's glory!"

Chancellor Li Si presented a military report from Lingnan.

"General Tu Sui has fought bitterly for months and has slain the Lord of Western Ou. The Ou people have been routed. Reports of victory pour in from Eastern Ou, Minyue, and Nanyue. Within the year, the Baiyue will surely be pacified!"

PS: Only one chapter today.

(End of chapter)