Chapter 115, Chapter 8: Sword in Sheath, Lantern

In the twentieth year of Jianxing, the imperial decree arrived, and Liu Jun was conferred the title of Duke of Zhongshan. He was granted the privilege of not having his name when paying homage, and was allowed to wear a sword and shoes in the palace. He was also granted the Nine Bestowments, established the State of Zhongshan, and set its capital at Weichang. He controlled nine counties in Jizhou and Yanzhou, with a fief of 20,000 households.

Everyone waited for Liu Jun's reaction. To everyone's surprise, unlike Emperor Wen of Wei who declined three times, Liu Jun readily accepted all the gifts except for the Nine Bestowments and the privilege of wearing a sword and shoes in the palace. He then built the Zhongshan Temple and the ancestral temple in Weichang and appointed officials such as the Minister and the Attendant.

This whole thing is exactly the same as what Emperor Wu of Wei and Emperor Wen of Jin did back then. Everyone in the world is wondering if Liu Jun is going to rebel.

What's even more alarming is that while the Han dynasty had its loyal defenders and the Wei dynasty had its three rebellions in Huainan, the Jin dynasty today, apart from Jiangdong and the Murong Xianbei, has no one speaking up. Even Liangzhou, which has always prided itself on its unwavering loyalty to Jin, has turned a deaf ear because it is related to Liu Jun by marriage.

Even more remarkably, many people directly submitted memorials to congratulate Liu Jun, and some close associates like Liu Dan openly requested that Liu Yong be made heir apparent and the other sons be made marquises.

Sima Ye, as always, readily agreed to everything, just as he had done every day on the throne for the past twenty years.

At this very moment, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Su Jun of Jiangdong kidnapped Sima Yan, and the entire Jiangdong region rebelled under the pretext of purging corrupt officials and eliminating powerful ministers.

The world was in an uproar. Li Xiong of Cheng Han also took advantage of the chaos and issued a proclamation, openly declaring that Liu Jun was Wang Mang and Cao Cao, and calling on all the lords of the world to attack Liu Jun and return power to the emperor.

Liu Jun remained calm and continued to consolidate the northern border defenses and win over the hearts of the people. In particular, the areas of Jizhou and Yanzhou were now inhabited by both Han and non-Han peoples, and governing them was quite a task. He had no time to deal with these clowns.

However, it was an opportunity for his sons to gain experience. So Liu Jun ordered his eldest son Liu Liang to go south to suppress Su Jun's rebellion, ordered his heir Liu Yong to return to the capital first, ordered his third son Liu Qin to go to the Hanzhong area to intimidate Li Xiong, and sent the rest of the Liu family, except for Liu Yuan who continued to follow him, to go out and help him make contributions.

It wasn't until the spring of the twenty-first year of Jianxing, when the situation in the northern border was completely stabilized and all of Shi Hong's remaining followers were executed, that Liu Jun led his troops back to the capital.

To show his favor, the emperor personally went to Luoyang to welcome the army and planned to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple again.

Although Liu Jun had already arrived in Luoyang, he did not enter the city. Instead, he detoured to Mangshan, where Wen Qiao had set up a villa. He often invited friends to come and have private conversations. If there were no other distinguished guests, it would become the base for the two brothers to plot their schemes.

"Although I sent people to inquire, I always felt that there was something strange about the news in the palace," Liu Jun said slowly, looking at the rain pattering on the green bamboo outside the curtain. "It is said that His Majesty is as usual and there is nothing unusual about him."

Wen Qiao poured him some tea. "He's not an ignorant child. This day was expected. If he makes a fuss, then he'll have wasted his twenty years as emperor."

Liu Jun frowned, "But if he does nothing, wouldn't he have wasted twenty years as emperor? Unless..."

Wen Qiao looked at him with a half-smile.

“Unless he had planned this all along, and I just overlooked it.” Liu Jun leaned against the armrest, listening to the pattering rain, feeling inexplicably agitated. “I was too overconfident this time, but I still can’t figure out what he’s up to.”

“We have been friends since childhood, and we have a relationship as ruler and subject. We have also been each other’s bedmates for more than ten years. If our lord cannot understand this, how can we, his officials, possibly comprehend it?” Wen Qiao said confidently. “Our lord should have his own guesses.”

Liu Jun looked down at the tea soup, "I once thought he would use it against me regarding my offspring..."

"Oh?" Wen Qiao looked unsurprised.

“I once suspected that he might try to sow discord among the eldest sons,” Liu Jun said thoughtfully. “This time, I brought all of them brothers to the battlefield to guard against those with ulterior motives. But now it seems that his closeness to Bi De (Liu Liang) may just be a smokescreen.”

Wen Qiao lowered his voice and asked, "When do you plan to make your move?"

Liu Jun did not intend to hide it from him. "After taking over Shu and becoming king, I estimate that there will definitely be a rebellion by the Sima clan. After suppressing the rebellion, we can then do what Yao and Shun did."

The events of Yao and Shun mentioned here do not refer to the implementation of virtuous rule by emperors, but rather to the abdication of power by Wang Mang and Emperor Wen of Wei.

Wen Qiao pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you been keeping an eye on things at the palace lately?"

“All news from the palace, from the empresses and concubines to the eunuchs, no matter how small, even if a beauty ordered a eunuch to buy a bolt of silk at noon, it would be placed on the desk of the governor’s office that evening, and Yin Xiaocheng would bring a special person to sort it out,” Liu Jun said in a deep voice. “You and I have known His Majesty for many years. Although he looks weak, he is by no means a person who will be easily subdued, and he will certainly not relinquish the throne peacefully.”

"Whether it's a prophecy or an auspicious omen, our lord still needs to boost our morale," Wen Qiao kindly reminded him. "For example, after we take over Shu, we can go to Liu Bei's tomb to offer sacrifices."

Liu Jun smiled and said, "I have indeed planned to have the court posthumously honor Emperor Zhaolie of Han and his successor. Since they are legitimate members of the Han imperial family and truly turned the tide and restored the tripartite division of the country, their lineage should be recognized. There is no reason to let those Xiongnu and other barbarians rebel against the Heavenly Stems and consider themselves Han."

Upon hearing this, not only was Wen Qiao surprised, but he himself was also filled with mixed feelings. The Jin dynasty succeeded the Cao Wei dynasty, and among the Three Kingdoms, Wei had always been considered the legitimate dynasty. Now, he had forcibly added Liu Bei to the list. He wondered how Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen would view him, a loyal subject of the Han dynasty, in the afterlife.

"What if His Majesty does not agree?" Wen Qiao asked pointedly.

Liu Jun placed the cup back on the table and then gripped the Flying View Sword at his waist. "His Majesty is ill and unable to attend to state affairs. The Duke of Zhongshan will act as regent."

He sighed and said softly, "No matter how much of this world I conquered, this empire nominally belongs to the Sima family, so it can still be considered a usurpation. I will take good care of him and his consorts. In addition, I will allow him to adopt a son of the Sima clan to continue the family line, ensuring his lifelong peace and prosperity."

"That would be the best, of course," Wen Qiao sighed.

"Whether it's the duty between ruler and subject or the affection between lovers, it's all my fault towards him, so I will treat him well." Liu Jun said earnestly, "As my brother-in-law knows, I always keep my word and never speak falsehoods."

Wen Qiao stared at him intently, then shook his head with a wry smile, got up to fetch pen and ink, and said, “Alright! I will now draft the edict posthumously conferring the title of Emperor Zhaolie of Han.”

The two discussed for a long time. When Liu Jun took his leave, the moon had set and the stars were sparse. Lu Jing looked at him cautiously, "Return to the shogunate or the palace?"

In the past, when Liu Jun returned victorious from battle, he would usually go directly to the palace to meet the emperor. However, things are different now. This time, he has been granted the Nine Bestowments and the title of Duke. Even if he were to meet the emperor, it would probably be an embarrassing situation.

Liu Jun clearly shared the same idea. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Alright, let's go back to the headquarters first. The tributes we collected earlier will be presented first thing tomorrow morning, and then I will meet with the ministers together."

After boarding the carriage, Liu Jun said, "I estimate that we will be presenting the prisoners to the temple in a couple of days. This period is very important. I must keep a close eye on the inner and outer palaces."