HCT – Chapter 166 How About Returning to Southern Qin

To be honest, Chengjiao was already smart enough.

One hundred characters! A full one hundred characters! Not only could he read them, he could write them too!

Zhu Xiang watched as Chengjiao tightly gripped the brush, trying his best to sit upright despite his limp body, writing large characters on the paper. His heart nearly melted.

He couldn’t help but recall how cute Ying Zheng had been when he was little.

“When Zheng’er was little, he would grip the brush tightly and try to write on bamboo slips. But the slips were too narrow, and his hand would tremble — just like that, the whole slip would be ruined.”

“Zheng’er had a bad temper. He would snap the bamboo slip in frustration, roll on the chair a few times, then start writing again.”

“Xue often said Zheng’er ate so much because he moved too much — he couldn’t even sit still when writing…”

Zhu Xiang gently bumped Ying Zheng’s head, reminiscing about his days taking care of his nephew.

Qin King Zichu looked at the Crown Prince of Qin, who seemed like he was about to breathe fire from his nostrils, and said, “He still has a bad temper now.”

Zhu Xiang replied kindly, “A strong temper is a good thing. When someone has something on their mind, they should let it out — it makes them feel better and live longer. Bottling things up only makes you sick.”

Qin King Zichu feigned disdain and said, “A ruler should keep joy and anger in his heart. My royal father was good at that — and he lived a long life.”

Zhu Xiang was momentarily stunned, then pushed Ying Zheng’s head aside. “I can’t even refute that!”

Qin King Zichu burst out laughing.

“Uncle! You’re not allowed to tell others about my childhood!” Ying Zheng said angrily.

Zhu Xiang replied, “How could I tell outsiders? There are no outsiders here.”

Ying Zheng: “……”

Lin Zhi smirked and said, “Zheng’er, we all watched you grow up. What’s the point of hiding it? Even if Zhu Xiang doesn’t say it, we still remember.”

Ying Zheng: “……”

He silently stood up straight and stopped using his head to nudge his uncle.

Fine. It was true.

Everyone here had watched him grow up. How annoying!

Qin King Zichu watched his usually arrogant son be humbled and felt extremely satisfied.

But Ying Zheng didn’t want his father to be satisfied. In a sulky tone, he said, “Father, you should let Uncle and me return to Wu Commandery.”

Qin King Zichu replied irritably, “You’re the Crown Prince and won’t stay in Xianyang. If something happens to me, do you plan to lead an army back to reclaim Xianyang?”

Ying Zheng answered without hesitation, “Sure.”

Qin King Zichu picked up a wooden paperweight and flung it at Ying Zheng. Zhu Xiang quickly reached out and caught it, then placed it back on Qin King Zichu’s desk.

“Go after the mourning period ends. You’ll leave in the second month of next year,” Qin King Zichu said. “I really don’t get why you love running around so much.”

Cai Ze sighed inwardly. You don’t know why Zheng’er loves to run around, but you still indulge him?

Ying Zheng said, “The skills needed to sit firmly on the throne — I’ll know them even without learning. But what happens beyond the palace gates… once I become ruler, I might never get the chance to learn again. So while Father is still here, I must hurry and see the furthest corners from Xianyang Palace.”

He glanced at his uncle.

This way of thinking had gradually developed after spending time with Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang always told him that a ruler stands high above, and to the common people, he might as well be a god in the heavens.

But this nation stands on the foundation built by its common people. If the ruler cannot see them, the taller the state stands, the more unstable it becomes.

Perhaps a ruler might try to look down from above — but he is too high up, and the people too far below. Even if he looks, he can’t see anything real. That’s why rulers who’ve endured hardships and been in touch with the lower classes in their youth are more likely to become wise and virtuous.

Like how King Wuling of Zhao returned two pitiful, neglected hostages from other states back to their homes to become kings — one became King Zhaoxiang of Qin, the other became King Zhaowang of Yan.

Besides, Ying Zheng was someone with a very strong desire for power. Though Qin King Zichu treated him well, he always felt restrained. It was more enjoyable following his uncle and acting as the governor of a commandery.

Being governor of a commandery still made him the top authority there. It was far from Xianyang and no different from having a fiefdom — he could act freely.

Qin King Zichu, after spending some time with Ying Zheng, had more or less figured out his character.

With the domineering nature in Ying Zheng’s bones, if he stayed by Qin King Zichu’s side too long, even with Zhu Xiang mediating, they would eventually clash.

Two tigers can’t share one mountain. Might as well send this young cub off to a vast forest far away and let him rule and dominate out of sight.

As long as Zhu Xiang was around, no matter how ambitious Ying Zheng got, he wouldn’t develop any ideas about the throne.

Qin King Zichu knew his own health very well. He probably wouldn’t have any more children. Even if he did, and even if he one day grew jealous of Ying Zheng in his old age — he was still the King of Qin. He wouldn’t do anything that would harm Qin.

Only Ying Zheng’s succession was in the best interest of Qin. This had already been decided as far back as the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. Just like how, back when his lord father was still the Crown Prince, it was already determined that he would be the third King of Qin.

“After Zheng’er and I leave, you must take care of your health,” Zhu Xiang began to nag. “Don’t let it be that the moment I walk out the door, you start staying up all night…”

Qin King Zichu covered his ears. “Alright, alright. It’s only September. There’s still plenty of time before you leave.”

Lin Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. Cai Ze also broke into a smile.

Every time they saw Zhu Xiang nagging Qin King Zichu, it made them think how hard it would be to treat Qin King Zichu as a serious Qin king.

Come to think of it, Zhu Xiang was just as naggy with the previous two Qin kings too? Oh well, then it’s not Qin King Zichu’s fault—it’s clearly a Zhu Xiang problem.

After Wang Jian took control of the three passes of Zhiyuan, he didn’t continue advancing. Instead, he calmly focused on fortifying the passes and repairing the military outposts.

These large-scale passes were often accompanied by small towns. Soldiers needed some commerce even while stationed, so in times of peace, many merchants passed through the forts.

After Wang Jian seized the area, he immediately reopened the markets and welcomed merchants to continue trading.

The Jianghan Plain had been developed early and was relatively wealthy, with many merchants.

Qin merchants also liked to sail down the Han River, do business in the Jianghan Plain, and then travel through the three passes of Zhiyuan into Chu.

Qin had previously banned trade with Chu under the pretext that Chu had interfered in the succession dispute and participated in the assassination attempt on Crown Prince Zichu.

Once Qin King Zichu saw the turmoil erupting in Chu, he “granted favor to the world.” Not only did he issue a series of generous policies to treat the royal clan well and calm the court—still nervous after the assassination attempt—he also reinstated civil exchanges between Qin and Chu.

Wang Jian, therefore, simply guarded the three passes and collected tolls, quietly raising his troops.

When he had served as a deputy under Li Mu, he had learned many of Li Mu’s methods for maintaining and raising troops, and now it was the perfect time to apply them.

Otherwise, if Li Mu’s army could be self-sufficient in battle while he constantly begged the Qin king for funds and provisions, it would really make him look incompetent.

Wang Jian was already mentally comparing himself to Li Mu.

After Wang Jian took the three passes of Zhiyuan, Li Mu also halted his military operations.

In this campaign, he hadn’t seized much land for Qin—just a few cities on the north bank of the Yangtze—but no one dared say he had achieved nothing.

The capable generals saw a glimpse of Li Mu’s true intentions and slapped their thighs, lamenting how foolish the King of Zhao was for giving such a general to the Qin King.

The less capable couldn’t see Li Mu’s strategy at all, so they just blindly praised him. Either way, everyone knew that if Li Mu entered battle, it must be for a reason—so just sing his praises.

As for Wang Jian’s battle, his intentions were clear enough. No need to overhype it.

As soon as the King of Chu and the leaders of the Jingzhao faction received news of the loss at the three passes of Zhiyuan, they immediately raised white flags.

They had originally hoped to fight a few more battles, force a reluctant victor, and then negotiate for a larger share of benefits. But now, with both sides equally matched, if they negotiated at this point, neither side would gain an advantage.

But the situation no longer allowed them to take things slow. Even if the King of Chu was still hesitating about whether to stop, the kings of Wei, Han, Zhao, Yan, and Qi had already sent envoys urging Chu to cease the civil war.

Not only that, but they had also dispatched a joint army to station at Chu’s borders, making it clear that if Chu continued its internal strife, they would attack.

Lord Lian was also stationed at the Chu border.

After completely eliminating the Zhou royal family, he had originally planned to return to Xianyang to pay respects to the new Qin King. But Qin King Zichu issued an edict instructing him to lead 50,000 troops to continue farming the land at the Chu border, and that he didn’t need to return.

Lord Lian thought it over and accepted. After all, he didn’t really want to go back and face the Qin King he had once beaten up. Too awkward.

Back when Qin King Zichu worked as a bookkeeper under Zhu Xiang, he was often led astray by Lin Zhi and Zhu Xiang, doing things that would drive any elder crazy. Lin Xiangru had a good temper and usually just scolded them. But Lord Lian had a fiery temper—he would just kick each of them hard, sending the three youngsters rolling all over the ground.

With arms crossed and a stern face, Lord Lian thought to himself: he had once kicked the Qin King into the dirt. What other general of his generation could claim that?

Even Bai Qi couldn’t do that.

“Haven’t even competed with Bai Qi, and now Li Mu and Wang Jian are on the rise,” Lord Lian thought about the battle reports from Li Mu and Wang Jian and gave a bitter smile. “Lord Lian is old… Lord Lian is old indeed, sigh.”

Behind him, the old retainer Lian Yuan also smiled bitterly.

He too felt that the general had aged and ought to return to Xianyang to retire.

After securing many cities in Han’s territory for Qin, and wiping out the Eastern Zhou’s puppet ruler, the general had done more than enough for Qin. He should be able to return and enjoy a peaceful retirement.

But the general just refused to yield to age and insisted on staying on the battlefield.

As for the Qin King—couldn’t he issue an edict for the general to return?

“Even though Lord Lian is old, he is still more than a match for the petty fools of the Six States.” After Lord Lian finished sighing, he dropped his arms and said, “Hmph, trying to intimidate me? Let’s go give them a scare in return!”

Lian Yuan sighed. “Yes, General.”

In the eleventh month of that year, Lord Lian launched a night raid, launching a surprise attack on the Five-State Allied Army stationed at the Chu border. He captured and killed nearly ten thousand enemies, forcing their encampment to retreat five hundred li. They no longer dared to look west toward the Qin border.

Originally, when the allied army was trying to intimidate Chu, they had also provoked Qin—deliberately camping near Lord Lian’s base and frequently harassing him.

The generals from Wei, Qi, Han, and Yan all expressed amazement: the old general Lord Lian was still so fierce. The main general of Zhao, however, remained silent, and the morale of the Zhao army dropped sharply.

Though Lord Lian had left Zhao nearly a decade ago, and most of the common folk had been replaced by a new generation, the people of Zhao still passed down tales of his glory and injustice by word of mouth.

Many young Zhao soldiers had grown up on stories of Lord Lian. Now that they faced him on the battlefield, their feelings were complicated beyond words.

Zhao’s guardian god, Lord Xinping, had now been Qin’s Lord Xinping for almost ten years.

Lord Lian saw the Zhao banners fluttering and grew wistful for a moment, then turned his horse back to camp without much emotion.

“What are you looking at? Keep staring, I dare you! Let’s see if you still dare after this,” Lord Lian muttered. “Send all the prisoners to South Qin to farm. Zhu Xiang and Zheng’er should be heading to South Qin soon, right? I wonder if he received the craftsmen I sent him. South Qin’s a good place. I heard that venomous woman became king? Better they get to South Qin early before she starts making trouble for Zhu Xiang and Zheng’er.”

“The queen wants me to see her?” Ying Zheng put down the scroll in his hands and looked coldly at the palace servant who had delivered the message.

The palace servant kept his head bowed. Perhaps it was too hot in the hall, as beads of sweat as large as beans kept dripping down his face.

“Both my father and my uncle have repeatedly warned me not to meet her in private,” Ying Zheng said slowly as he rose and straightened his sleeves.

The palace servant immediately dropped to his knees, pressing his face to the floor: “This servant will inform the Queen that the Crown Prince is too busy with affairs of state to attend.”

Ying Zheng flicked his neatly arranged sleeves and clasped his hands behind his back: “No need. Lead the way.”