Chapter Seventy Everyone's Thoughts

  The Empress Dowager did not speak for a long time, only sighing deeply. Unconsciously, her most beloved son had also turned gray at the temples. Time is hastening old age!

  If it weren't for Zhao Wuling Wang's sudden intervention, the one sitting on the throne and giving orders would definitely be him. But unfortunately, Zhao Wuling Wang just happened to intervene! In order to prevent Wuling Wang from making Li Gongzi the king, he had to take a step forward to listen to politics behind the curtain. To comfort his beloved son, he also made an oath of brotherly succession in front of the group of ministers.

  Now, thirty-four years have passed. The original idea of power transition has not been realized, but the two harmonious brothers are about to become enemies. The eldest son who got the throne is dissatisfied that he was not given all the power, and the second son who lost the throne is dissatisfied that his promise was not kept. Even though they still appear to be filial on the surface, Empress Dowager Sheng actually knows that her two sons are both resentful of her in their hearts. Was she wrong? She is an empress dowager, but more importantly, a mother, and she does not want her brothers to fight each other.

  "Emperor Wang is forty-eight this year, isn't he?" Empress Xuan sighed as she spoke.

  "The Empress Dowager remembers accurately." Gongzi Shi said respectfully.

  "Yes! In this life, I have given birth to you three brothers. I remember your birthdays and even more so your ages! Jie is the eldest, now 52 years old. Rui is the youngest, but also 43 years old already. And I am even older, time spares no one!"

  "The empress smiled. The empress's body has always been robust, and in my opinion, she will definitely live to be a hundred years old, with good fortune added every day." The young master comforted her with a smile.

  "I don't care about living to be a hundred, what I wish for is that you three brothers get along harmoniously, with the elder brother being friendly and the younger brother being respectful. This is more important than anything else!" Empress Dowager Sheng said from her heart.

  "My son remembers the teachings of his mother." Gongzi Shizheng replied with a straight face. But in his heart, he was telling himself that as long as his brother Wang followed their mother's oath and let him succeed to the throne, he would wait patiently. Otherwise, don't blame him for being ruthless and unrighteous.

  "When it comes to the crown prince," Empress Dowager Xuan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Logically speaking, the throne should have been yours. This is a debt that I owe you, and I've wronged you. However, your older brother is currently in his prime and has committed no errors, so it wouldn't be right to depose him. You two are both my sons, and as a mother, it pains me to think of either one of you being hurt. In my opinion, let's just drag this matter out for now! As for the King of Qin, I'll try to sound him out again."

  "Empress Dowager, this time Qin and Chu formed an alliance, the king's brother said that he would definitely send the crown prince as a hostage, so what about the position of the crown prince?" Gongzi Shi still hesitantly reminded, wanting to get a statement from the empress dowager.

  "I'll go and tell the King of Qin. It's not necessary to send the crown prince as a hostage for an alliance with Chu State. I think the King of Chu wouldn't want his only beloved son to be sent far away to Xianyang either?" Empress Dowager Xiang said firmly.

  "Empress Dowager!" Prince Shi wanted to express a different opinion. The Empress Dowager had been dragging her feet on the matter of the heir apparent, and Prince Shi was really unwilling to wait any longer. He must know who the Empress Dowager would ultimately support.

  "I'm tired, you may withdraw!" The Empress turned around.

  "Mother!" Gongzi Shi shouted with a heart-wrenching cry.

  "Let's go!" The empress's tone became somewhat stiff.

  The young master left without any reaction after seeing his mother, with only red eyes. However, he didn't notice that Empress Xuan had already turned around and was crying profusely.

  "Foolish child, foolish child! What are you suffering for again!" Empress Xuan turned around, gazing at the back of Gongzi Shi, and sighed quietly.

  Later at the same location, the King of Qin also had a conversation with Empress Dowager Xuan that was similar in content. However, the King of Qin expressed himself more tactfully and skillfully.

  The King of Qin did not directly state his intention to establish a crown prince, but instead asked in the same tone as usual about the protocol for exchanging hostages after the alliance between Qin and Chu. After probing that Queen Dowager Xuan was resolute in her unwillingness to establish a crown prince at present, the King of Qin also did not insist, and immediately shifted his inquiry to ask who should be sent as a hostage. In the end, the two agreed to send their eldest son Zhu as a hostage, but without granting him the status of crown prince.

  The King of Qin walked away with a satisfied heart. Although he did not succeed in making his eldest son, Zhu, the crown prince as he had wished, he also prevented Gongzi Shi from having any further ambitions to establish himself as the rightful heir. More importantly, through the Queen Mother's neutral attitude, the King of Qin felt that his own authority would become increasingly dominant in future matters. Without the support of the Queen Mother, Gongzi Shi's hopes of rising to power were nothing but a dream. As long as he did not encounter any unexpected events, the throne would be safely passed down to his descendants.

  The Crown Prince was also satisfied. He is now very certain that the Empress Dowager no longer supports him, unless his brother, the King, dies suddenly, he will never have a chance to rise again. The King must be very happy now! Unbeknownst to him, he has been manipulated by others, and sending his eldest son Zhu as a hostage is likely to be throwing a sheep into the tiger's den, from which there is no escape! Who will laugh last, who will die in whose hands, is still uncertain.

  The next day at the court meeting, King Qin calmly told his ministers: after consulting with Empress Dowager Lao, it was decided to temporarily not establish a crown prince and wait for the right opportunity to gather the ministers to discuss this matter. However, in order to show that the state of Qin attaches great importance to its relationship with Chu, it was decided to send his eldest son Zhu as a hostage.

  All the officials let out a sigh of relief. At least for now, Qin Guo doesn't have to worry about falling into internal strife again. The neutral faction that had been hesitant to take sides was actively offering suggestions and strategies at the subsequent court meeting, coming up with many ideas to restore peace and stability in Guanzhong as soon as possible.

  The days passed one by one, and when the hostages from Qin and Chu were about to depart, it was already more than ten days later. Unexpectedly, the State of Chu did not send the Crown Prince Xiong Wan as a hostage, but instead sent Xiong Huan, the eldest son of Yang Wen Jun. The reason was somewhat unbelievable but was "true", that the Crown Prince Xiong Wan had suddenly fallen ill with a "serious disease" a few days before departure and was bedridden. Including the royal physician of Qin, all believed that the Crown Prince Xiong Wan could not withstand the long journey, and King Chu also personally wrote a letter to apologize to King Qin. Under these circumstances, the State of Qin had no choice but to magnanimously accept this established fact.

  Korea, Xinzheng, Taizi Fu.

  The Crown Prince and Fan Yi finally met again after three months. As soon as they sat down, the first glance at each other revealed that both were exhausted but radiant with energy, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "My lord has traveled far and wide for the sake of Great Korea, truly putting himself through great hardships." After laughing, the crown prince changed his expression, stood up, and made a deep bow.

  If it weren't for Fan Yu rushing to Xianyang and stirring up the situation in Guanzhong, I might still be trapped in Yique today! Who would have thought of such glory today?

  "I am ashamed and dare not accept. I originally thought that we could borrow the troops of Yigong to delay for a few more days, but unexpectedly Bai Qi's military strategy is so divine, which made our plan to exhaust Qin state with Yigong for a long time come to nothing. This is my fault! The prince should be careful of this child in the future, he will be the great enemy of our Han state!" Fan Yu sighed and turned his body sideways without accepting the courtesy.

  "The gentleman has done enough! Now that Korea has recovered the three hundred miles of land east of Pingyang and Jianchi, the situation has greatly improved. Wei and Zhao have also recovered more than half of the two counties of Hedong and Hexi. If Qin dares to come out of Hangu Pass, it will surely be attacked by our three-country coalition forces."

  "The prince should not be too careless, I heard on the road that Qin and Chu have formed an alliance, so Han is still facing threats from two sides. Next, we should focus on development and try not to get involved in the wars among other states, so as not to waste our national strength." Fan Yu said with a serious tone. The prince is after all young, and as his subject, he needs to remind him at all times.

  "The gentleman's words are deeply etched in my mind. However, sir, you are unaware that the alliance between Qin and Chu is merely a superficial union!" The crown prince suddenly dropped a bombshell.

  "What did the prince mean by this?" Fan Jie was somewhat puzzled. Was Qin and Chu's alliance still a fake one after all?

  The Crown Prince immediately told Fan Yu about the matter of Chu sending a secret envoy to Xinyang. At present, only three people in Korea (King of Han, Crown Prince Ran and Prime Minister Zhang Ping) know that Chu is not really allied with Qin, but actually wants to be friendly with Han, Zhao and Wei. If the Chu army marches north to the border in the future, it will have no intention of invading, but rather to fool Qin.

  Fan Yi pondered for a moment before saying, "Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, I think we should still be on guard against the threat from the south and beware of Chu State's false appearances hiding their true intentions."

  The prince nodded in agreement. The two then talked about their experiences along the way, each sighing in admiration. In the conversation, Prince Yan told Fan Yi about his recruitment of talents, and Fan Yi deeply agreed with him, saying that a big sea does not reject small rivers, only then can it become great. Nowadays, Korea needs people with aspirations, as long as they have a special skill, they should not be rejected. Now that Prince Yan has not yet taken the throne, he needs to take advantage of this time to vigorously cultivate his own confidants. Only then will there be no shortage of usable people when the reform comes.

  Two men talked all night by candlelight, yet they did not think that another wise minister was already on his way to surrender.