HCT – Chapter 145 The Stick in Zhu Xiang’s Hand

When Qin attacked Qianzhong Commandery, one of the armies had come down from Shu Commandery, taking a roundabout route through the borderlands of modern-day Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan to reach Qianzhong. The commander of that force was Zhang Ruo, who was then serving as the Governor of Shu.

That military route still existed.

Traveling upstream from Yunmeng Marsh and through the Three Gorges to reach Chengdu was not easy, but the route was passable—otherwise, Du Fu wouldn’t have written that boats from Suzhou and Hangzhou filled the ports of Chengdu.

Still, Zhu Xiang found it too slow. Even though reason told him that Zichu should be fine, he was anxious and desperate to see Zichu with his own eyes to confirm his safety. So he set off over land, changing horses at every relay station as if delivering a top-priority military dispatch. Aside from resting at night, he barely stopped—even eating on horseback.

In just half a month, thanks to the sacrifice of several poor exhausted horses, Zhu Xiang arrived in Chengdu.

He only hoped the overworked steeds left behind were doing alright.

Clutching the royal token of the King of Qin, Zhu Xiang charged straight into Chengdu City on horseback, nearly scaring the gate guards out of their wits—they thought some major crisis had occurred.

Li Bing, determined to keep an eye on Zichu, had purposely not gone to the construction site that day.

Upon hearing that someone had ridden into the city bearing the King’s token, he was so alarmed he didn’t even have time to put on his official robe before rushing to receive them.

Zhu Xiang, having ridden all day and collapsed from exhaustion each night, hadn’t had time to wash. His beard was scruffy, and his head of white hair had turned greasy and gray with dirt. Li Bing didn’t recognize him at first glance.

Zhu Xiang flung the token at Li Bing, who had intercepted him at the entrance of the governor’s residence, and was about to step inside when Li Bing stopped him, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“This is not the royal token of the King of Qin!”

Zhu Xiang halted mid-step, confused. “Huh?”

At his words, the guards at the governor’s residence instantly tensed.

“An assassin?!” one of them shouted.

Swords were drawn, and Zhu Xiang was surrounded.

But Zhu Xiang was unfazed. He leaned in to look at the token in Li Bing’s hand. “How could it not be? Li Bing, are your eyes going bad?”

Li Bing: “……”

He sheathed his sword and waved at the guards. “Stand down.”

The guards, still gripping their weapons, looked baffled.

Li Bing looked helpless. “Zhu Xiang?”

Zhu Xiang said, “It’s me. Didn’t recognize me? Can’t you tell from my white hair?”

Li Bing replied, “Your hair’s so filthy, how could anyone tell it’s white?” He finally let out a breath of relief. He, too, had thought this was an assassin impersonating a royal envoy. “This token is from the late king!”

Zhu Xiang took the token from his hand, examined it closely, then rummaged through his clothes. “Oh, I grabbed the wrong one. Here.”

Li Bing accepted the new token Zhu Xiang handed over. “This one’s real… Why are you still carrying the late king’s token?”

Zhu Xiang sheepishly said, “I keep it as a good luck charm.”

Li Bing was speechless.

Keeping the late king’s token as a good luck charm—only you would think of that. Thank goodness I stopped you in time. You almost got yourself executed!

Hearing the conversation between the two, the guards finally sheathed their swords.

Zhu Xiang? Could it be Lord Changping himself? Lord Changping has returned to Shu Commandery?!

The guards stared with eyes wide as bronze bells.

“Is Xia Tong in the governor’s residence?” Zhu Xiang strode forward quickly. “Where is he? Lead the way.”

As he led him, Li Bing said, “Do you even know what state you’re in? Go wash up before seeing the Crown Prince.”

Zhu Xiang said, “I’ll beat him up first, then wash.”

Li Bing reminded him, “He is the Crown Prince, after all.”

Zhu Xiang replied, “After I beat him, I’ll go plead guilty to His Majesty. I trust once I do, His Majesty will let me beat him again.”

Li Bing put on a concerned face. “Don’t go too far. He was actually injured.”

Zhu Xiang paused. “He was really hurt? How badly?”

Li Bing replied, “Not badly. The arrow just grazed his shoulder, and he’s long since recovered. But a few days ago, he snuck off to Ba Commandery, got worn out from the journey, and caught a mild illness.”

Zhu Xiang sneered. “Is he better now?”

Li Bing nodded. “He’s completely recovered—no issues at all.”

Zhu Xiang resumed walking. “Good.”

“Xia Tong! Get out here and face death!” Zhu Xiang shouted as he arrived at the small courtyard where Zichu was staying.

That small courtyard was the same one Zhu Xiang and the young Ying Zheng had once stayed in. The door was half open, and through it, one could see someone inside the small pavilion in the courtyard playing the zither.

Zhu Xiang lifted his leg and kicked the door open hard.

The figure playing the zither jumped up and bolted in the opposite direction.

Zhu Xiang charged after him. “Why are you running? If you’re bold enough to get yourself assassinated, you’d better be bold enough to take a hit from me!”

Fresh out of a bath, his long hair loose, clad in flowing robes with a white fur cloak draped over his shoulders, Zichu looked like a banished immortal—but he was now fleeing in disgrace, lifting his robe hem and sprinting around the pavilion.

“What do you mean ‘bold enough to get assassinated’! I didn’t stab myself!” Zichu yelled while running.

Zhu Xiang scoffed, “If you were more careful, would you have been ambushed? And how did you even get injured? Knowing how cautious you are, I don’t buy it. Stop right there!”

While running, Zichu shouted back, “It was an accident! Even horses can misstep. What’s so strange about me making one miscalculation?”

“Oh really? Then why are you running?”

Zichu replied, “Because you’re holding that stick!”

Zhu Xiang said, “It’s not a stick—it’s wrapped in cotton cloth. It won’t hurt. Stop running!”

Zichu cursed, “Exactly! That’s why I’m running!”

If Zhu Xiang had drawn a sword, Zichu wouldn’t have fled—he knew Zhu Xiang wouldn’t dare use it seriously. But that stick? Zhu Xiang was definitely going to hit him!

Back in Xianyang, every time they sparred, Zhu Xiang would bring that stick out. It was padded so he could actually land blows without doing real harm.

Li Bing stood at the courtyard gate for a while. When he realized Zhu Xiang really did intend to beat the Crown Prince, he hesitated over whether to intervene—then quietly turned and left, shutting the door behind him.

He dismissed the guards. “Zhu Xiang and the Crown Prince are sparring. All of you, return to your duties.”

The Crown Prince’s guards: “……”

They looked at the head of the Crown Prince’s guards. Were they… really being dismissed?

The head guard poked his head around curiously.

Li Bing said expressionlessly, “You still want to watch?”

The head guard chuckled awkwardly.

This head guard was also a noble from Qin and aspired to become one of the Crown Prince’s trusted aides. But he hadn’t followed the Crown Prince for long and hadn’t had much contact with Zhu Xiang. So seeing Zhu Xiang beat up the Crown Prince today, he couldn’t resist trying to sneak a peek.

“Disperse. You didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anything, understand?” the head guard said.

The Crown Prince’s guards looked at each other, then at the tightly shut courtyard door, and listened to the thuds from inside that clearly indicated someone was being beaten up. Silently, they left.

Li Bing did not leave.

He waited until the noise inside subsided, then pushed open the door and entered. He saw Crown Prince Zichu wielding a sword, sparring with Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang had tossed aside the stick he had wrapped with cotton and was now using a sword to duel Zichu.

The two of them fought seriously and seemed evenly matched.

Judging by this, Crown Prince Zichu hadn’t been beaten too badly—at least he still had the strength to spar with Zhu Xiang.

When he saw Li Bing enter, Zhu Xiang tossed his sword aside and said, “Got any hot water? My body and hair are unbearably itchy.”

He lowered his head, sniffed himself, then complained, “I stink worse than after a whole day in the fields.”

Zichu sheathed his sword with a look of disgust. “Filthy.”

Zhu Xiang sneered, crouched down, dug up a lump of mud from the ground, and lunged at Zichu.

Zichu yelled in horror, “Get lost!”

But Zhu Xiang had already tackled him and smeared all the mud onto his head.

He burst into laughter. “Hahahahahaha!”

Zichu, fuming, kicked him. “Did you let a dog live out your years instead of you? Even Zheng’er isn’t as childish as you!”

Zhu Xiang grinned and said, “When Lin Li came to see me, the first thing he did was throw mud at me. It’s a greeting ritual between friends.”

Zichu cursed, “You actually learned that from Lin Li?!”

Zhu Xiang turned to Li Bing and asked, “Want to join in with a lump of your own?”

Li Bing immediately backed out of the courtyard, using his expression alone to firmly reject this so-called greeting custom between friends.

Zhu Xiang laughed even louder.

Zichu cursed a few more times, then couldn’t help but smile too. “Didn’t you say you were feeling gross? Go take a bath already.”

Zhu Xiang called out, “Li Bing, help me get a change of clothes! I didn’t bring any!”

Li Bing’s voice came from outside the courtyard: “Okay.”

Zhu Xiang threw an arm around Zichu’s shoulders and headed for the bathhouse with him. Zichu kept squirming the entire way, protesting about how bad he smelled.

Watching the two of them walk off shoulder-to-shoulder, bickering like real brothers, Li Bing couldn’t help but chuckle and sigh.

“Zhu Xiang really hasn’t changed a bit,” Li Bing said with a smile. “I wonder if Zheng’er has changed much. He probably has… he should be tying his hair up now, right?”

Zhu Xiang had to scrub off several layers of mud before getting into the bath.

When he couldn’t reach his back, he asked the Crown Prince of Qin to scrub it for him.

Zichu nearly peeled his skin off in the process, making Zhu Xiang curse that he was getting revenge.

Zichu pointed to the bruises on his body left by the cotton-wrapped stick and cursed him right back.

When Li Bing came to deliver the clothes, he sighed again. These two couldn’t even bathe quietly.

After the bath, both Zichu and Zhu Xiang changed clothes and finally returned to their “double celestial” state.

While drying his hair, Zhu Xiang said, “You nearly scared me to death.”

Zichu replied, “I didn’t expect Father to actually spread news that I was seriously injured.”

To help their hair dry faster, Li Bing lit several stoves and placed them around them.

Though autumn was approaching and the weather wasn’t hot, Zichu had opened his robe, exposing red marks on his shoulder.

Zhu Xiang glanced at the red marks and said, “Those marks… Xia Tong, did you make them yourself?”

Zichu didn’t hide it. “How did you know?”

Zhu Xiang scolded with a laugh, “Just look at the angle! How could an arrow leave a slanted upward mark? What, did you fall back dramatically as the arrow came at you?”

Zichu said with a straight face, “Of course I did. The moment I saw the arrow, I fell backward.”

Zhu Xiang spat, “Pah!”

Zichu looked down at the red mark on his shoulder. “It’s that obvious?”

Zhu Xiang said, “Of course. You better take care of it—apply some herbal salve to avoid scarring. Don’t let His Majesty see it. He might think you’re really hurt.”

Zichu touched the mark silently and nodded.

Zhu Xiang kept drying his hair.

After a moment of silence between them, when Zhu Xiang’s hair was no longer dripping, he finally said, “You forced His Majesty to take action. If he falls ill from heartbreak… will you regret it?”

Zichu asked, “If I say I won’t regret it, will you be disappointed?”

Zhu Xiang replied honestly, “I don’t know.”

Zichu gave a bitter smile.

After another silence, Zichu asked, “If I said I never considered the possibility that Father might get sick from this, would you believe me?”

Zhu Xiang said, “I believe you.”

Another stretch of silence passed.

Zichu sighed deeply. “At first, I thought I wouldn’t regret it. But now… I truly do.”

Zhu Xiang said, “Honestly, even if you didn’t regret it, I probably wouldn’t be too disappointed. Because that’s how struggles for the throne go. If His Majesty hadn’t moved against Zixi, you would’ve taken action anyway. But I believe you really do regret it.”

He gave a bitter smile. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have waited here for me.”

Zichu said, “What does waiting for you in Chengdu have to do with whether I regret it or not?”

Zhu Xiang replied, “If you truly had no regrets, you’d have followed the original plan and gone to Nan Commandery. The fact that you didn’t dare come see me is proof enough of your remorse.”

Zichu was stunned, then awkwardly turned his head to the side.

Zhu Xiang uncovered the secret thoughts that Zichu hadn’t dared to admit to himself. In fact, even before Zhu Xiang pointed them out, Zichu had deliberately avoided facing them.

But there was no need to hide anything in front of Zhu Xiang.

“Yes,” Zichu said with difficulty, laying bare his feelings. “I didn’t know how to face you. You have deep feelings for the King. Zheng’er… Zheng’er too, I suppose.”

Zhu Xiang replied, “You’re not entirely without feelings for His Majesty either. Though the bond between you may not be as close as that of an ordinary father and son, if something were to happen to him because of this incident, you’d regret it. Have you written to His Majesty?”

“I did,” Zichu said. “I wrote to him as soon as I learned he asked me to pretend I was gravely injured.”

“What was his reply?” Zhu Xiang asked.

“He just told me to take care of myself.”

“Then it’s fine,” Zhu Xiang said calmly. “Right now, what matters most is completing the task His Majesty entrusted to us and returning triumphantly to see him.”

After a short pause, he added gently, “Don’t be too upset. You were passive in this matter. The one who made a move was Zixi. No matter what you did, he would have tried to assassinate you. You merely exposed the lie of brotherly affection. This isn’t your fault.”

Zichu gave a bitter smile, holding his forehead. “I didn’t think you’d be the one to comfort me.”

“You were the one attacked,” Zhu Xiang said. “All you did was make the situation public. You’re the victim. Should we blame the victim for not staying silent?”

Zichu felt a lot lighter at that. “That does sound like something you’d say.”

When he had first heard the King of Qin might be ill, Zichu had been deeply alarmed.

Though his feelings toward the King weren’t especially strong, they weren’t nonexistent. More importantly, he knew Zhu Xiang and Zheng’er cared deeply for the King. Zichu was afraid they would blame him upon learning what happened.

But now, it was Zhu Xiang who was reassuring him, reminding him that Zixi was the one who attacked, and it was Zixi’s actions that distressed and sickened the King—not Zichu’s refusal to conceal the attack.

Was Zichu supposed to be blamed for not hiding the assassination attempt? That didn’t make sense.

Zhu Xiang knew that Zichu truly felt guilty, which proved that the assassination had indeed been initiated by Zixi and that Zichu wasn’t falsely accusing him.

That was enough for Zhu Xiang.

He changed the subject and started talking about Ying Zheng’s growth in Wu Commandery and the new farmland laws Lin Zhi planned to implement there.

“Once Qin unifies the world,” Zhu Xiang said, “I suggest making military merit ranks and granted lands hereditary, even if the holder doesn’t die in battle. That might ease public resentment when the military merit system eventually breaks down. Actually, we could start introducing this gradually. If we wait until unification, the changes might be too sudden and cause problems.”

Zichu thought for a moment. “No, we should wait until Qin unifies the world. When that happens, many new laws will be issued. The common people will already be unsettled, and resentment will build. Making merit titles hereditary will be seen as a benevolent gift, which can help pacify some of that unrest.”

Zhu Xiang considered that, then nodded. “You’re right.”

Zichu continued, “Right now, we should focus on unifying axle widths, written language, and weights and measures. When I left Xianyang this time, I investigated in Ba and Shu Commanderies. There’s a lot of public discontent over these reforms, but because Qin’s laws are harsh, the dissent hasn’t reached Xianyang yet. If we wait until unification to implement them all at once, it could cause serious chaos.”

He reported the findings of his investigation.

“Unifying script, axle widths, and weights and measures sounds simple—just a few decrees,” he said. “But among the common people, it’s stirred up more resistance than expected.”

At first, Zichu had assumed it was just rebellious elements resisting Qin for the sake of it. But after a deeper investigation, he realized that wasn’t the case.

Many of the opponents were just regular people—not traitors.

Unifying the script meant scholars who had studied the characters of other states would have to start from scratch.

Unifying axle widths meant families who already owned carts would have to scrap them and buy new ones—a huge financial loss.

Unifying weights and measures disrupted everyday life for people who had relied on their local systems for generations.

“Every kind of trade and farming depends on weights and measures,” Zichu said. “Changing them suddenly has caused enormous losses and inconvenience for merchants and farmers. Without Qin’s soldiers keeping order, there might’ve already been uprisings.”

“There have already been uprisings, haven’t there?” Zhu Xiang asked.

Zichu sighed. “Some minor unrest.”

“In Ba Commandery?” Zhu Xiang asked.

Zichu nodded.

Ba had always been a land of tribes and mountain folk, with their own established systems. The sudden changes angered the local aristocrats, leading to outbreaks of unrest.

“These reforms can be rolled out alongside the new farmland laws,” Zhu Xiang said.

“You mean, use the new standards to assign land by household, gradually helping people adjust?” Zichu asked.

“And taxation,” Zhu Xiang added. “We don’t need to strictly enforce the new standards in daily transactions yet, but if land allotments and taxes use the new measures, the people will slowly adapt.”

“As for the script,” Zhu Xiang said with a grin, “as long as the government only uses Qin’s characters in official documents, those who want to serve the state will naturally adapt. Scholars study and train to make names for themselves—if the monarch doesn’t see them, it’s pointless. Once His Majesty holds a few more open exams and recruits talents broadly, the Qin script will spread quickly.”

“And what about axle widths?” Zichu asked.

“Maybe we could guide local aristocrats to adopt them by offering rewards?” Zhu Xiang suggested.

Zichu considered this. “When local governors build good relations with local powers, they could gift them Qin-standard carts in a personal capacity?”

“Exactly,” Zhu Xiang said. “The King and Crown Prince could give them too.”

Once local elites received carts from the powerful, they’d naturally show them off in public—eventually creating a trend for Qin-standard vehicles.

Soon, people might replace their old carts voluntarily, without the need for compulsion.

The only ones using carts were local elites. The commoners weren’t really affected by axle width unification. If the elites were willing to switch, there’d be no major obstacle.

“Commanding people doesn’t work as well as rewarding them. I’ve learned that,” Zichu said with a smile. “With that kind of thinking, you’d make an excellent Chancellor. Pity you’re too lazy to even attend court.”

Zhu Xiang, tying back his half-dried hair, said, “We only live once. Why waste it seeking out exhaustion? Isn’t that foolish?”

Zichu burst into laughter. “Is this coming from the hard-working Zhu Xiang who toils in the fields? If anyone’s not idle, it’s you.”

“Commoners suffer more than I do. And among the nobles—does anyone work harder than Xiang Tong or His Majesty? I’ve heard the King hasn’t slept peacefully since taking the throne. I really worry for your future.”

He added teasingly, “Xiang Tong, if you really get too tired, why not pass the throne to Zheng’er early?”

Zichu chuckled and shook his head. “You know me too well.”

Zhu Xiang sighed. “Enough of that. What’s your take on splitting up Chu? I’m guessing that once I leave Wu, Lin Zhi will personally go to Chu.”

Zichu gasped. “Is he insane?”

Zhu Xiang shrugged. “Isn’t he always?”

Zichu: “…”

He couldn’t even deny it.

Some of Lin Zhi’s actions really were borderline madness. But things always ended up going his way, which made people overlook the craziness behind them.

“With Lu Buwei there, why risk it? What if something happens to him?” Zichu said—only to catch Zhu Xiang’s mocking expression. He snapped, “Aren’t you also the one who ran off to the wild southern lands to farm?”

Zhu Xiang: “…”

The two stared at each other for a moment, then simultaneously looked away.

Neither was in a position to criticize the other.

“Only Cai Ze is actually cautious,” Zichu said with an awkward sigh.

Zhu Xiang snorted. “Cautious? Did you forget how he used political schemes back in the day?”

Zichu recalled: Cai Ze had personally gone to Zhao to drive a wedge between their factions—and later led Yan troops alongside Li Mu to crush the northern nomads.

Zichu asked, “Do we even have anyone in our group who doesn’t like taking risks?”

Zhu Xiang thought for a moment. “Li Mu doesn’t count. He never charges ahead himself—he leads large armies.”

Zichu was speechless again.

So of this whole band of non-blood brothers, the one who led soldiers in war was actually the least reckless?

“Let’s change the subject again,” Zichu said. “Tell me about Zheng’er. How tall is he now?”

Zhu Xiang smirked. “Almost taller than you, Xiang Tong the shortie.”

“Shut it! I’m not short!” Zichu snapped.

“Wanna compare heights?” Zhu Xiang challenged with a cold laugh.

Li Bing walked in with a tray of fruit, intending to ask if they were going out for dinner or if Zhu Xiang planned to cook.

Instead, he saw the two of them fighting again.

He was exasperated.

How old were these two? Younger than Zheng’er?

Was this really the future King and his Prime Minister? He was starting to lose hope.

“Stop it already, come eat,” Li Bing sighed, trying to break them up. “When are you leaving for Wu?”

Please leave. Soon.

He had missed Zhu Xiang dearly—but after watching him brawl with the Crown Prince, the sentiment vanished.

Even as Zhu Xiang’s friend, he couldn’t help but feel that seeing Zhu Xiang wrestle with the future ruler of Qin spelled disaster.

Zhu Xiang and Zichu glanced at each other and replied in unison: “We’re heading to Ba Commandery first.”

Li Bing’s face instantly darkened.