Chapter 222

Chapter 222

The Jiang, An, Pan, and Wu families had readily followed Han Zhang's people, but even many days after safely leaving Haizhou, they still hadn't fully processed the news that Han Zhang was planning to rebel.

Even Eunuch Pan, who had long been in collusion with Han Zhang, wore a dazed and fearful expression, his mind in a daze.

His feelings now were much the same as Jiang Wencheng's:

Lord Han, didn't we agree to install the young prince on the throne? How could you decide to take the throne yourself?!

Pan Taining and Wu Xuelin, however, took it the best—neither felt any lingering fear, only excitement and thrill.

"No wonder, no wonder when I first met Brother Han, I felt he had an awe-inspiring presence and extraordinary martial prowess—clearly not one to remain in a pond. So my brother truly has the bearing of a great emperor!"

"Good on you, Brother Han! The Yunyang affair still makes my blood boil—Brother Han, with such unwavering loyalty and advocacy for the people, ended up exiled a thousand li away... With a court like that, if not now, when do we rebel? Brother Han's actions truly follow heaven's will!"

"Brother Wu, remember Brother Han said we were geniuses blessed by heaven, destined for great things? Once we reach the frontier, we need to show what we've got and follow Brother Han to make a big splash—we can't embarrass Brother Han!"

Pan Taining and Wu Xuelin got more and more excited as they talked, as if they could already see themselves in armor, commanding troops and strategizing in their glorious future.

They had originally had some doubts about their own abilities, thinking Han Zhang had just been stringing them along with empty praise, but now those doubts had completely vanished into thin air.

If Brother Han could rebel, how could anything he said be a lie?

They were the "rebel generals" Han Zhang had carefully selected, gold panned from the waves!

Otherwise, with their reputations back then, why would Brother Han have been willing to call them brothers? He must have seen their great talent!

The Pan family: "..."

The Wu family: "..."

When will these two idiots ever get some self-awareness?

Did Han Zhang really take a liking to you? He clearly had his eye on the families behind you, Pan the fool, Wu the fool!

Everyone else was worried sick.

Of them all, Shen Qingquan was the most anxious.

Though he had offered timely help when the Han family was in trouble, and the fact that Han Zhang sent someone to evacuate him now showed that Shen Qinglan still had some brotherly feelings for him.

But as a biological brother, he knew his second brother's nature all too well—one who repaid kindness with kindness and grudges with grudges.

He would remember the favor of helping in his time of need, but he definitely wouldn't forget the grudge from when he stole the marriage match!

He had hurt his second brother so badly back then—if Han Zhang really succeeded in rebelling and became emperor, and Second Brother became the Emperor Consort... what would he do?

Shen Qingquan was now sick with regret. He couldn't help grabbing Shen Qingyue's arm, crying and begging for help:

"Big Sister, tell me, what should I do? If Han Qinzhang really... really succeeds, and Second Brother becomes the Emperor Consort, what if he holds a grudge about what happened back then and comes after me?"

"Back then he could whip me—will he strip me of my rank and make me a commoner later?"

"Big Sister, I don't want to be a commoner, to go through hardship... I'd... I'd rather just die, wuwu."

He had been pampered and spoiled since he was little, raised in silk and fine food—he couldn't take hardship, not even a bit.

Shen Qingyue: "..."

She naturally knew what her second brother was like, so she couldn't guarantee that Lan Geer wouldn't bring up old grudges and deal with the fifth brother once he made it big.

But seeing the fifth brother cry so pitifully, she couldn't bring herself to pour cold water on him, so in the end she had to go against her conscience and comfort him:

"He won't! Second Brother may hold grudges, but he has the kindest heart. As long as you properly apologize to him and say plenty of nice things to sweet-talk him."

"It's not like it's some mortal grudge or anything—at worst, he'll make you grovel and serve him for the rest of your life. He definitely won't go so far as to strip you of your rank and make you a commoner—that would be too cruel."

Shen Qingquan, who had been jealous of his second brother since he was little: "..."

Making him grovel before his second brother for the rest of his life? That was no different from killing him.

Han Zhang had actually rebelled, and Second Brother would likely become the Emperor Consort—why did his second brother have such good luck?

Could Second Brother really be that "blessed with great fortune" person the fortune-teller talked about? Otherwise, how did he always turn bad luck into good?

Shen Qingquan sobbed and bit his handkerchief, his envy and jealousy clawing at his heart and liver.

Afraid his brother would suffer, but even more afraid his brother would drive a Range Rover—that was him!

Too bad...

No matter how much Shen Qingquan clawed at his heart and liver, Han Zhang's rise was like splitting bamboo—swift and unstoppable.

Once he confirmed that all his friends and family were safe, Han Zhang completely stopped hiding his ambitions and stepped forward to issue a public declaration of war.

The gist of the declaration was: He refused to recognize the current Haizhou court!

Because the False Emperor (the Crown Prince) had abandoned the state and its people in their hour of crisis, abandoning the capital's people to fire and water, and he, Han Zhang, loved the people as his own children and carried the world in his heart, so he disdained to be associated with such a man!

Therefore, he would posthumously confer the title of Emperor Gonglie upon the Former Crown Prince, support Zhao Yongchang, the orphaned heir of Emperor Gonglie, as the new emperor, and style himself Prince Regent of Zhongxing and Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies!

The reason Han Zhang didn't directly claim the throne was also simple.

First, it seized the moral high ground—attacking the Haizhou court in the image of a national savior faced far less resistance than doing so as a rebel;

Because the common people were ignorant and easily manipulated by public opinion, and having a banner of righteousness could reduce a lot of trouble.

Second, it made it easier to win people over, making the old dynasty's civil and military officials more willing to defect, freeing them from the psychological burden of being "twice-serving ministers."

Because in ancient times, people valued moral backbone—hadn't you seen how the Kong family, every time a new dynasty came, would kneel and grovel while covering themselves with the fig leaf of "preserving the sage's bloodline, compelled by necessity"?

Build high walls, stockpile grain, and be slow to claim the title of king.

Delaying claiming the emperor's title by a few days could avoid a lot of trouble—why wouldn't you do it?

As for whether Zhao Yongchang might later use his "new emperor" status to stir up trouble... that was definitely impossible.

After all, the soldiers were his, the grain was his, and the weapons were his as well.

If, under those circumstances, he could still let that blockhead Zhao Yongchang steal the peach, then he might as well not sit on that throne at all!

...

Han Zhang was in the south, happily conferring titles—posthumously honoring the Former Crown Prince, installing the new emperor, and granting himself titles with great gusto.

The southern people he had saved, along with the capital's residents, were naturally overjoyed and happily rallied behind him.

But when the news reached Haizhou, the Crown Prince—oh, no, the new emperor of Haizhou now—and the old ministers of the Zhao State exploded.

"What 'Gonglie Emperor'? What right does that scoundrel Han Qinzhang have to posthumously confer a title on the Former Crown Prince? And he dares to use 'Gonglie' as the posthumous title!"

"'Lie' has always referred to those who died for their cause before completing their work. The Former Crown Prince died after his failed coup attempt. By using this title, isn't Han the traitor clearly implying that the Former Crown Prince's death was caused by the late Emperor, and subtly insinuating that the late Emperor's claim to the throne was illegitimate?"

"He's already directly calling our emperor a 'False Emperor'. Would he ever recognize us as the legitimate side?"

"Shut up! Is this about legitimacy right now? This is about Han Qinzhang having the ambition of a Cao Cao—a usurper who wielded power behind a puppet emperor! What he's doing now is no different from Cao Cao using the emperor as a hostage to command the lords!"

The common folk didn't grasp politics, but how could these ministers not see through it?

Han Zhang's move was simply to sidestep being ganged up on for declaring himself emperor, openly wielding imperial power under the guise of "Regent," paving the way for his eventual takeover of the throne.

"Worthless! A bunch of good-for-nothing fools!"

The New Emperor of Haizhou was so furious his face turned ashen, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at the trembling old ministers below the hall, his voice trembling with rage and dread:

"Han Qinzhang is already at our doorstep, handing out titles of emperor and king left and right over there. What does he take me for? A fish on his cutting board? You all talk eloquently enough during your daily court sessions, but now you can't even fart out a single word!"

"I want solutions, not to listen to you squabbling over trivial details like a bunch of fishwives in the market. Now, get me a plan this instant!"

But at these words, the ministers fell silent as if their mouths had been sewn shut.

For a long moment, no one said a word.

So how the hell were they supposed to handle this?

Negotiate peace? With Han Zhang's stubborn streak and the ambition he'd just shown, why would he ever give up such a winning position to accept terms?

Send troops to suppress him? Never mind how many soldiers Haizhou could even scrape together, how could they possibly campaign against Han Zhang—who had crushed the Qi army with conscripted slave soldiers and had those terrifying mystery weapons at his disposal?

The power gap was just too huge.

Honestly, a lot of the ministers were already mulling over surrender.

But that was obviously out of the question—especially for the ministers from the great clans, whose faces were now just as pale as the New Emperor of Haizhou's.

Because word from the front said that in every city Han Zhang took, his first move was to purge the local aristocratic clans and the merchants who'd grown rich off exploitation.

They really didn't dare bet on getting any kind of good outcome if they fell into Han Zhang's hands!

So in the end, an old minister from one of the great clans stepped forward with a proposal:

"Your Majesty, Han the traitor's ambition is as clear as Sima Zhao's—everyone knows that schemer's game. Your old servant has three proposals that might resolve the current crisis. Please weigh them, Your Majesty."

"First, pull the firewood out from under the pot. Your Majesty should immediately issue an edict posthumously honoring the Former Crown Prince as 'Ai Taizi' (the Mourned Crown Prince), making damn sure Han the traitor doesn't get to hog the moral high ground."

"Second, use someone else's knife to do the killing. As the saying goes, you can't fight off four hands with just two fists. If we can secretly ally with the Qi State and hit him from both north and south in a coordinated pincer, then even if Han the traitor's got Xiang Yu's guts and better weapons, he can't hold out against a two-front war."

"Third, tear him apart from the inside. Throw enough money around, and you'll always find brave men willing to take it. Han the traitor hasn't been on top for long; his foundation's shaky. As long as we dangle high titles and fat rewards, how can we worry that nobody under his command will bite?"

"When he's got trouble brewing inside and enemies closing in from outside, even if we can't wipe him out in one go, we'll definitely cripple his forces so he can't march east anymore."

Finally, the old minister from the great clan gritted his teeth and added: "If Your Majesty decides to march, your old servant will personally cover all the grain and supplies!"

Their clans had gotten high-yield sweet potatoes from Han Zhang back in the day, and the grain they'd hoarded was more than enough to keep an army fed for a long campaign.

"..."

The New Emperor of Haizhou mulled it over after hearing this.

The first and third ideas were solid, but teaming up with the Qi State was a gamble—screw it up, and you're basically inviting a wolf into the house. And if word got out, they'd definitely lose the people's support all over again.

But... at this point, there really wasn't any better option.

Without the Qi State's help, with Haizhou's current army, there was no way in hell they could stop Han Zhang's iron cavalry. Those mystery weapons he had were just too damn powerful.

Whether to throw the southern folk back into the fires of war, or end up a conquered king...

For a New Emperor of Haizhou who'd already thrown his people under the bus once, was there even a choice?

He only hesitated for a beat.

Just one beat of hesitation, then he nodded hard and gave the cold order:

"Go with this plan. Also, send a squad of death warriors across the northern border. By any means necessary, they're to 'invite' Shen Qinglan here for me."

"Back then, Han Qinzhang defied the emperor's authority for Shen Qinglan, and the whole world sang their praises as a devoted couple. Let's see which one he picks—the beauty or the throne—"

"If he picks the beauty, he betrays the brothers who risked their necks rebelling with him, and breaks the hearts of everyone under heaven;"

"If he picks the throne, then his so-called reputation for loyalty and righteousness becomes a worldwide joke!"

Han Zhang dared to push him this far, to steal his Zhao family throne.

Even if he went down in the history books with his name dragged through the mud, he'd never let that bastard have a clean win!