HCT – Chapter 69 Lord Pingyuan’s Tears of Laughter

The King of Zhao lifted his head, and a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.

But soon, that hopeful light dimmed, replaced by a deep, melancholy sorrow.

He said mournfully, “Uncle… aside from having Lord Lian and General Li bring troops into Handan, is there truly no other way?”

Zhao Sheng gripped his cane tightly, saying nothing.

The King of Zhao asked again, “Uncle, you once had three thousand retainers—can’t they help me now?”

In the Warring States period, nobles’ retainers were essentially private soldiers. In power struggles, nobles often led their retainers into armed conflict.

A noble with fiefs and thousands of retainers could essentially become a minor sovereign within the kingdom. Back then, when Lord Mengchang became a threat, he simply took his followers and returned to his fief, no longer subject to any single state’s rule.

Although the Warring States were known as Seven States, in reality there were many smaller nations orbiting these powers. But now, in the late Warring States period, the situation had changed—except for the King of Chu, who still struggled to control his old nobility, most lords’ power had been greatly curtailed. Even if Zhao Sheng returned to his fief, he could not become another Lord Mengchang.

The King of Zhao asked again, and only then did Zhao Sheng finally speak:

“After Zhu Xiang left, most of my retainers also left me. The ones who remain… are not enough to help you.”

He was not lying.

Most people who became nobles’ retainers did not intend to spend their entire lives serving others. It was much like the Wei and Jin dynasties, where one needed to serve a powerful clan before gaining office. These retainers hoped to use the opportunity to enter the court and make a name for themselves.

Even if they couldn’t enter the court, if the noble they followed wielded great power, serving him was nearly equivalent to holding office.

Zhao Sheng’s 3,000 retainers were no exception.

After Zhu Xiang entered Qin, some of Zhao Sheng’s retainers grew disillusioned with Zhao, and left him, no longer wishing to serve the state. Others simply left because Zhao Sheng had distanced himself from politics, and was no longer influential—much like when Lian Po was recalled from Changping, and people flocked back to him due to his restored power.

Of course, there were always those loyal few who followed their lords regardless of power or position. Zhao Sheng had a few such men, but his brother-in-law, Lord Xinling, was famous for being surrounded by retainers who would never abandon him.

Lord Xinling treated his retainers with sincere equality and respect, and most of them were willing to die for him.

That’s why the King of Qin had already begun planting seeds of discord between Lord Xinling and the King of Wei—quietly, subtly.

When the time was right, either he or his successor would cultivate those seeds and drive the wedge in fully.

Many of Qin’s ruses and stratagems took advantage of already existing doubts—but many others involved planting seeds early.

Otherwise, no matter how foolish the kings of the other six states might be, the success rate of Qin’s ruses couldn’t possibly be this high.

It was only because the old King of Qin had a long enough life that Qin was able to establish such a powerful “division and subversion apparatus.”

After Zhao Sheng and Zhao Bao were partially sidelined and partially disheartened, they left Handan and returned to their fiefs. Qin took this opportunity to gently stir the pot, and the newly empowered royal clan members in court aggressively escalated efforts to suppress and exclude Zhao Sheng and Zhao Bao.

Now, not only had the two of them completely lost their political influence in court, but even their retainers had mostly left them. Their residences were desolate and empty. Even if they returned to Handan now, the King of Zhao could no longer rely on them to regain power.

The King of Zhao remained kneeling on the ground, his eyes hollow and lifeless.

The Seven States, having emerged from feudal lords competing for supremacy, were founded upon clan power, and naturally bound by the shackles of their clans. It wasn’t until successive reforms strengthened central authority that this began to change.

Take Qin, for example, the most successful in reforming: since the reign of Duke Xian of Qin, aside from the premature death of King Wu of Qin and the brief intervention of King Wuling of Zhao, the Qin royal succession had generally proceeded smoothly. In contrast, the other states constantly suffered from succession disputes.

Since Zhao split from the Jin state, three out of seven of Zhao’s kings had engaged in power struggles with the royal clan during their rise to the throne.

The first major autonomous decision the current King of Zhao made after assuming power was launching the Battle of Changping. The failure of that war, along with Zhu Xiang’s defection to Qin, greatly damaged the king’s prestige, and his grip on power also began to slip.

But back then, the King of Zhao was unaware.

Living his entire life in the palace, the King of Zhao believed false reports, like the one claiming potatoes could be grown in winter. When he ordered winter cultivation of potatoes, he had already fallen into the trap set by the royal clan.

Even the King of Yan’s invasion of Zhao carried the fingerprints of these noble conspirators.

Yan did not have the strength to fully conquer Zhao. If Zhao lost, the conspirators would petition other states for aid, offer a few cities to Yan, and the King of Yan would likely agree to withdraw. That way, they could remain as the untouchable elite of Zhao.

The royal clan thought they could use this crisis to force the king to abdicate and take the throne themselves. The powerful nobles believed they could use this opportunity to puppet the king, or perhaps even replicate the Tian clan’s usurpation of Qi or the partition of Jin by three houses.

Unfortunately for them, Lian Po ruined their plan.

Not being able to seize land from the starving commoners was a small matter—this was why they truly hated Lian Po.

Still, they used the opportunity to force Lian Po out of court, temporarily leaving the King of Zhao isolated.

The royal clan members who wanted to be king and the nobles who wanted to install a puppet king were once enemies, but now, because of Lian Po, they had briefly united to marginalize the King of Zhao.

As long as they could, in the king’s name, force Lian Po—the hero who defeated Yan—or Li Mu—the general who repelled the Xiongnu—to leave or die, the king’s reputation would sink even further, and they could slowly advance their plans.

Only then would they turn on each other.

This, however, was not the work of Qin’s stratagems.

Qin merely recognized their intentions early, and offered a little financial assistance—a trivial nudge.

There was nothing wrong with the King of Zhao’s intelligence. He simply lacked experience.

In history, the Battle of Handan was supposed to forge and refine him. Even being partially stripped of power could have helped him grow. And this was not unfamiliar terrain like war or the commoners—it was the court intrigue he knew all too well.

That’s why the King of Zhao quickly realized his situation, and what he needed to do.

No matter how bad Lian Po’s reputation was, the King of Zhao had to grant him power and status second only to his own, in order to preserve both himself and the state of Zhao.

Once Lian Po grew old and ill, Li Mu could naturally inherit Lian Po’s position as Chancellor.

No—Lian Po’s reputation was too tarnished. Directly naming him Chancellor might cause problems. It would be better to summon his uncle, Lord Pingyuan, back to Handan and have him serve as Chancellor, using his former reputation to stabilize the throne.

This decision truly was the best possible choice right now. But who could have known that Qin’s strategy of sowing discord this time was not aimed at dividing monarch and minister, but at undermining Lord Pingyuan’s reputation, driving a wedge between him and his own followers?

Indeed, Lord Pingyuan entered the royal palace, but without his retainers, he was as powerless as the King of Zhao. Even if he held the king’s decrees, the court would accuse him of forgery, dismissing his authority entirely.

“Uncle summoned Lord Lian and General Li,” said the King of Zhao, fists clenched tightly on his knees. “They might be executed as traitors.”

“They were close friends of Duke Zhu Xiang. They already hold a grudge against me. I believe they place Zhao above all and are willing to come save me. But others don’t believe that. If the king accuses them of treason, the world will not take their side.”

“They can’t bring the Zhao army with them—only their own retainers. Meanwhile, the court can mobilize Handan’s garrison to resist them.”

“If that happens, Zhao will fall into chaos again.”

The King of Zhao closed his eyes, tears streaming down from the corners.

“Lian Po sacrificed his reputation to save Zhao… and now it’s about to fall into chaos once more.”

He bowed again—this time slowly, as if something weighed heavily on his back, forcing his body to gradually lower to the ground.

“Uncle… don’t tell Lord Lian and General Li about this,” the king said, his voice trembling. “Zhao hasn’t even had a moment to breathe. If chaos breaks out again, it might really collapse and fragment.”

Zhao Sheng dropped his cane, knelt on the ground, and broke down sobbing before the king.

The King of Zhao said, “Even if a different member of the royal clan becomes king, Zhao is still Zhao. The ancestral rites will not be broken. But if civil war breaks out…”

His voice choked, and he couldn’t finish.

The king dismissed the eunuch attendants, but one stayed quietly at the bedside, watching everything closely. Though he would report every word and movement of the uncle and nephew to his master, even he was moved, eyes brimming with tears.

Zhao Sheng sobbed and said, “I have news: the King of Qin wants to exchange cities for Lian Po and Li Mu.”

The King of Zhao was stunned. Then he collapsed to the ground, laughing—a laughter that turned to tears and left him breathless: “Good! Good! I’ll give them to him! I, your king, will give them to him! Hahahahaha!”

The King of Zhao didn’t even know why he was laughing, but he laughed until he couldn’t breathe, laughed until he collapsed face-first on the floor, crying and laughing like a madman.

Zhao Sheng helped him up and said, “I will stay in Handan and do everything I can to help you.”

The King of Zhao shook his head. “Leave, Uncle. As long as you’re alive, they won’t go too far. If you’re trapped in Handan, then I truly have no hope left. Go now—while they still don’t dare act against you, go quickly.”

Zhao Sheng asked, “Should I take Zhao Yan with me?”

The King of Zhao shook his head again. “No need. If they can’t reach consensus, they will definitely support my son as the next king. That’s another way to avoid civil war. Go, Uncle. If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

Zhao Sheng wept once more, then took up his cane and left the palace.

He still decided to go find Lian Po and Li Mu.

Even though the King of Zhao was right—bringing troops into Handan might cause civil war—with the reputation of Zhao Sheng and Zhao Bao as backing, and with Lian Po and Li Mu’s own renown, perhaps the people would support them. Maybe civil war was exactly what Zhao needed to break through its crisis.

But as soon as he left the palace, familiar faces blocked his path and invited him into a carriage.

Zhao Sheng silently stared at the people before him.

They included his nephews, cousins, all of them members of his clan.

“The King of Zhao is incompetent,” they said. “Isn’t it better for Zhao to have a new king? We hope you will continue to support the new King of Zhao.”

Zhao Sheng didn’t respond. He only gave a bitter laugh and collapsed to the ground.

Sitting there, he asked, “What about Zhao Bao? You’ve detained him too, haven’t you?”

They said, “Lord Pingyang is waiting for Lord Pingyuan.”

Zhao Sheng smiled and said, “So, you’ve detained him as well. You haven’t harmed him, have you?”

They quickly replied, “Of course not! We wouldn’t dare harm Lord Pingyang. Please, come reunite with him. As long as Lian Po and Li Mu leave Zhao, we’ll immediately release both of you to return to your fiefs.”

Zhao Sheng laughed again—just like the King of Zhao, he collapsed to the ground, laughing through tears, laughing like a madman.