Chapter 18: Sovereign and Subject, Elder and Youth

Inside the Wende Palace.

Two guards stood before a doorway, their presence imposing. Han Zhong hurried over and knelt directly at the threshold.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant has returned."

From within came a voice, aged and raspy. "Enter!"

"Yes!"

Han Zhong bowed as he entered, then knelt before a desk. Yang Wu, Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, looked immensely frail as he leaned back in a chair, swaying gently to and fro.

Han Zhong knelt on the floor once more. "Your Majesty, General Yang says that regardless of the past, the present, or the future, his choice remains unchanged. He says his blade is meant only for enemy chieftains, not for his own people."

"Sigh..."

Yang Wu let out a sigh, then revealed a trace of a smile. "But if he were to change his mind so easily, he would not be Yang Zhan."

"I have allowed him to live until this day, and the world believes I fear his glorious military achievements and his influence within the ranks, or perhaps the Divine Martial Army and the Prince of Wu in the north. Ha... what a joke. A man kept within the walls of Tiandu City—if I wanted him dead, could he live even a moment longer?"

Han Zhong knelt on the ground, silent.

Suddenly, Yang Wu asked, "Han Zhong, do you believe he is loyal?"

Han Zhong’s expression grew stern. "Yang Zhan shows neither respect nor reverence for Your Majesty; naturally, he has no loyalty!"

"No, he has loyalty. He is loyal to Great Xia, not to me!"

Yang Wu finished, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery. "Searching throughout the entire dynasty, he is the only one who suits my taste, yet he refuses to dance alongside me. Can you believe that the boy actually looks down on me?"

Hearing this, Han Zhong could not help but press himself against the floor, his heart trembling.

Yang Wu continued to speak to himself: "If not for me, could he have become the commander of the Divine Martial Army? Could he have become the God of War of Great Xia? Could he have become the uncrowned king of Beiji?"

"Yet, he refuses to do my bidding. Does he think he is the Emperor? He holds the world in his heart, but am I merely acting for my own sake?"

Cold sweat beaded on Han Zhong’s forehead; he shivered uncontrollably.

Yang Wu glanced at the trembling Han Zhong, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. "It is precisely because there are too many people like you that I have come to appreciate that boy even more!"

With that, Yang Wu’s tone turned cold. "Immediately, bring Yang Zhan to see me!"

Han Zhong was startled and looked up. "Now?"

"Yes, right now!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

Han Zhong stood up and backed out. Once outside, he wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling as if he had just escaped death.

Yang Wu remained in his rocking chair, swaying slowly. Before long, he fell asleep.

It was the Hour of the Rabbit (5:00 AM).

***

Yang Zhan had arrived.

"Your Majesty, General Yang is here."

Yang Wu opened his eyes, and his aged gaze seemed to brighten significantly. "Let him in. Everyone else, withdraw!"

Han Zhong, standing outside, asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, the guards should stay..."

"Get out!"

Yang Wu uttered only a single word. Han Zhong and the guards outside retreated in haste.

Yang Zhan had not expected the Emperor to summon him at such an hour. He walked inside, looked at the Emperor sitting in the rocking chair, and smiled. "Your Majesty, three years have passed, and you have grown much older."

"Sigh, time spares no one."

As he spoke, Yang Wu attempted to sit up. Yang Zhan stepped forward and helped him up with his own hands.

Yang Wu looked at Yang Zhan, who was now inches away. "You lad, offering flattery again?"

"Merely out of respect for an elder."

"Ha, so in your eyes, I am just an old man, is that it?"

Yang Zhan smiled. "You said it yourself—don't treat you as an Emperor, but as an elder."

"Haha... you rascal, you don't remember what you should, but you remember what you shouldn't."

Yang Zhan chuckled. "How could that be? I remember everything."

Yang Wu stood up and reached out his hand. "Come, help me to the window. Let us watch the sunrise!"

"Very well."

Yang Zhan supported Yang Wu by the arm; it felt thin and withered. He frowned slightly. "Old man, your health is not good."

"At my age, what can you expect? When I led the campaign myself, I was wounded at the source by that old brute, the Barbarian Emperor. To have lasted this many years is an achievement in itself. Fortunately, you avenged me."

Speaking of this, Yang Wu looked quite satisfied. They stood before the window. The sky was not yet bright, and the sun had not yet risen.

"Go, in that cabinet over there, there is good wine. Fetch it!"

Yang Zhan followed the direction Yang Wu pointed, walked over, opened the cabinet, and took out a jug of wine. He shook it; it was half full.

"Is this the dregs you’ve been sneaking sips of?"

Yang Wu shot him a glare. "Just drink it and stop asking so many questions."

"Fine, you’re the boss—who else but the Emperor could be?"

***

"Then why don't you take the throne?"

Anyone else would have been terrified to death by such a remark, but Yang Zhan merely rolled his eyes at Yang Wu. "I’m not your son. Even if you were willing, others would not be!"

Yang Wu widened his old eyes. "You rascal, you dare say such things?"

"Since you’re going to squeeze the life out of me anyway, what do I have to be afraid of?"

With that, Yang Zhan pulled off the seal and tilted his head back to drink. *Gulp, gulp...*

Watching Yang Zhan drink so boldly, Yang Wu retorted, "Aren't you afraid I’ve poisoned it?"

"The world says you are narrow-minded, but I know better. You are old, but your spirit remains. You have no need for such base tricks."

Yang Wu reached out and took the wine back. "Can you stop talking nonsense and keep me company?"

Then, Yang Wu tipped his head back and took a few bold gulps himself. Unfortunately, being old, he started coughing violently after a few mouthfuls.

"I’m telling you, old man, if you can’t handle it, don't pretend. Isn't it exhausting?"

"I am fine!" Yang Wu’s face was flushed red from coughing.

Yang Zhan held the wine jug and looked toward the distant horizon, where the sky was gradually turning a pale white. Yang Wu looked over as well.

Suddenly, Yang Wu said, "Do you remember the first time we met?"

"I remember. You nearly had me executed!"

"I just said, 'Where did this greenhorn come from, daring to be so disrespectful to me!'"

As he spoke, Yang Wu’s gaze seemed to drift away, as if returning to over a decade ago. He said slowly, "Do you remember what you told me back then? You said if you were given command of the troops, you could make the Barbarian Kingdom fear to cross our borders for ten years."

"Yes, and I achieved it!"

"And what did I say to you?"

"You said, 'What is the point of that?' You said that only by destroying the Barbarian Kingdom could the Great Xia Dynasty eliminate this external threat. Even if they don't dare to invade for ten years, what about after? Now there is you, perhaps later there will be others, but if one day there is no one left to resist the Barbarian Kingdom, then will the people of my Great Xia still be safe? Can my Yang family's empire remain peaceful?"

As Yang Zhan spoke, he frowned. The conflict had begun back then.

Yang Wu’s aged face was filled with solemnity. "Later, I told you: if the Prince of Wu were to die, I could reclaim his fiefdom and grant it all to you. I would make you the Prince of the Northern Frontier, holding authority over the entire Northern Territory. With your own control over coin, grain, and soldiers, you would be self-sufficient and free to advance or retreat without worry!"

"With other great armies guarding the northeast and the Fenglin Kingdom posing no threat, you could have unleashed your strength to push our borders further north, seizing the vast pastures of the Barbarian Kingdom. Then, they would never again be a thorn in the side of Great Xia!"

Yang Wu turned his head, his old eyes still sharp, burning as he stared at Yang Zhan.

"Was my plan for the Great Xia Dynasty wrong?"