Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 10: Father and Son Conspire Together

  After returning home, Liu Yan called Liu Zhang to the study. Looking at his five-year-old son, Liu Yan didn't know what to say. He didn't think it was a good idea to rely on Liu Hong at this time! You know, Liu Hong is now just a puppet and only seventeen years old, who knows when he will "die suddenly"? It's not uncommon for Han dynasty emperors to die suddenly! Now, under Liu Zhang's instigation, Liu Yan has gotten on the wrong boat!

  Looking at Liu Yan sitting there, his face turned blue and red, Liu Zhang knew he was regretful about what happened in the palace today. In fact, Liu Zhang didn't know that Liu Hong's current situation was unknown to him, but he knew even more clearly that if nothing unexpected happened, Liu Hong would be on the throne for at least another 15 years! During these 15 years, although Liu Hong had been worn down and lost his ambition, becoming a greedy and lustful ruler who relied on eunuchs to grasp imperial power. Now surrendering was like sending charcoal in the snow, as long as he gained Liu Hong's trust, he could gain the greatest benefit. It's just that Liu Hong valued Liu Yan's face, if he couldn't persuade Liu Yan, no matter how well Liu Zhang performed, it would all be in vain!

  "Is Father worried about the affairs of the palace?" Liu Zhang waited for a while, but Liu Yan still didn't speak. He had no choice but to open his mouth and say: "In fact, even if Father doesn't surrender to Your Majesty, in other people's eyes, Father is also Your Majesty's person, because we are relatives of the Han imperial family!"

  "This!" Liu Yan was shocked in his heart, he had always known about drilling, but forgot the most fundamental thing. However, Liu Yan did not think that this was the best time to surrender to the emperor, he smiled and said: "Although it is a good idea, now the imperial court's power is all in Cao Jie's hands, if we surrender to Your Majesty, but are hated by Cao Jie, what should we do?"

  "If Cao Jie suppresses us, that would be better!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Father is just a Zongzheng, although the Zongzheng is one of the nine ministers, with a prominent position, but without real power. If Cao Jie suppresses Father, as long as he doesn't harm Father's life, loses some face, later Your Majesty will help us get it back! As for my child, he is just a five-year-old naughty boy, even if he is talented and clever, Cao Jie won't take him to heart. At most, he will instigate outsiders to humiliate the child, as long as the guards around the child are strong, I guarantee that Cao Jie will not get any benefit!"

  "So we're going against Cao Jie now?" Liu Yan didn't notice at all that the one standing in front of him was a five-year-old child, and he actually opened his mouth to ask Liu Zhang for advice!

  "Dare I ask, Father, why must we oppose Cao Jie?" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "We are imperial relatives, not external relatives! It's not our place to oppose the eunuchs. Cao Jie inviting Father to the capital is just trying to curry favor with the Liu family. Now that Father has attached himself to the Emperor, it's best to maintain a distant relationship with Cao Jie. To put it bluntly, no matter who the eunuchs are fighting with, as long as we remain neutral and focus on doing our job well, when the time comes, we'll have both sides trying to win us over and the Emperor supporting us from within - isn't that a perfect situation?"

  "But if Your Majesty is like Emperor Zhao or Emperor Shang, what then?" Liu Yan was not foolish either; he could hear that the emperor was a crucial part of Liu Zhang's plan.

  "Father, rest assured!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "I dare not say that Your Majesty will live for a hundred years, but at least ten or twenty years are still to be lived. After all, Cao Jie is not Liang Ji or Duan Wu, even if he plots against the Emperor, he cannot usurp the throne! On the contrary, Cao Jie will definitely ensure the Emperor's safety for the sake of his family. Because he has a favor from the Emperor, as long as he doesn't let the Emperor feel annoyed, whatever he asks the Emperor will be granted! If he harms the Emperor and replaces him with another one, it would be completely useless for Cao Jie! So, the more Your Majesty favors Father, the more Cao Jie wants to get along with Father. If Cao Jie really harms the Emperor, we'll have to choose another person from the imperial family to succeed, who knows, maybe even I will have a chance!"

  Liu Yan's mind was in turmoil, he really didn't think that he hadn't even reached the level of a five-year-old child, and his own son was so intelligent to this extent, it also made him feel unbelievable. However, after all, he was his own son, Liu Yan had been very fond of him since he was born, and even when others said he was deaf and dumb, he didn't change. Now that his son was intelligent, Liu Yan felt greatly comforted, he stroked his beard and smiled: "I have a successor, I don't need to worry about the future anymore!"

  "Father, in a place like Luoyang, you can't be at ease!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "It's not obvious now, but when the emperor has absolute power, we will inevitably be envied by others. At that time, even if they can't openly overthrow us, they can still secretly plot against us! Take Emperor Wu's time, for example - everyone says that Huo Qubing died from contracting a plague, but is it really so easy to contract a plague? We must be cautious in all things!"

  Liu Zhang's words made Liu Yan somewhat speechless. But Liu Zhang wasn't wrong, many old foxes in the political arena weren't brought down by their enemies, but died at the hands of petty thieves and assassins. Liu Zhang's words made Liu Yan think that he should consider his personal guard problem! After thinking for a moment, Liu Yan said: "I have over ten guards with exceptional martial skills, how about I assign a few to you?"

  "Absolutely not!" Liu Zhang said sternly: "In the current situation, fathers are more important than children! If there is no father, the child will be a rootless duckweed! It's better to recruit a few more bodyguards for the child, preferably from the military! Anyway, in the future, Your Majesty will definitely let the child take command of the army and will need some trusted followers! The father can also buy an estate outside the city and raise some boys under the age of ten. These boys will also be the child's foundation!"

  "Good is good! However, it's hard to find someone with exceptional martial arts skills!" Liu Yan said somewhat helplessly: "Just the few guards in my hands are old men left behind by your grandfather, and those young people are the children of the old men, our family's hereditary slaves! Unfortunately, they are also getting worse with each generation!"

  "Father is wrong!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "I'm looking for a guard, not a house slave! These guards will be my top generals in the future. As long as I explain clearly, those with high martial arts skills but unable to stand out will flock to me like birds. You should know that the promotion path of the Great Han has been controlled by the aristocratic families for a long time. If there is no one in the court, even if Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu, were alive, he would not be able to become a general!"

  "So it seems that my son must have taken a liking to someone?" Liu Yan knew through over ten days of interaction that Liu Zhang usually liked to plan before acting, and since he wanted to choose a bodyguard, he must have heard something.

  "It's still my father who understands me!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "I heard that in Jingzhou, Changsha, there is a brave general with outstanding martial arts skills, proficient in archery and horse riding, and has the ability to shoot accurately from a hundred paces. However, he comes from a humble background and is currently either a military officer or a captain. There's also someone named Yan Yan, who is a descendant of the Yan family from Western Shu. Although they are not a prominent aristocratic family, they are not a small household either. I just don't know if he has taken office or not."

  Liu Yan burst out laughing and said, "Alright! I'll immediately send a letter to Jingzhou. A small military officer like him shouldn't dare to go against me. However, Yan Yan is a bit more troublesome, after all, he's from a noble family!"

  "It doesn't matter, as long as Huang Zhong comes, it's settled!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "When I return to the palace, I'll ask His Majesty for a few more guards. I'm sure there won't be any fake ones among the guards in His Majesty's hands, right?" Anyway, after Liu Yan went to Shu, Yan Yan still had to follow him, so Liu Zhang wasn't anxious at all. But Huang Zhong couldn't let it go, a general who was over 60 years old and could fight evenly with Guan Yu in his prime, how powerful must he have been when he was young?

  Suddenly, Liu Zhang thought of something and said: "Father, when you send the letter, if Huang Zhong doesn't come because he has something to attend to, tell him that if he comes to Luoyang, we'll take care of his family's affairs!" It turned out that Liu Zhang remembered that Huang Zhong had lost his son in middle age, and his son had been ill for a long time before dying. If Huang Zhong's son was now ill, he might not come even if invited!

  Although Liu Yan was somewhat perplexed by his son's words, he decided to trust his son's judgment based on his current behavior. Besides, now that Liu Zhang had become the emperor, as long as it wasn't an excessive request, the emperor shouldn't refuse! After discussing with each other, the father and son duo reached a decision just in time for dinner. Liu Yan knew his son's habits, so he didn't keep him any longer to avoid starving him, after all, children need to eat to grow up. Isn't there an old saying that goes like this: A half-grown child can eat his father out of house and home!