"No, Zhao Hanzhang is very courteous," Liu Yi paused, still unable to hold back his true thoughts, "Father, I think she is a person of great talent and virtue. In battle, she leads by example, and in governance, she cares for the people. To fight against her would probably require twice the military strength to win, and even then, it’s difficult to govern the conquered land."
Liu Yi continued, "Books say that for such a person, respecting her and winning her over is better than suppressing her."
Liu Yuan sighed and said, "How could I not know? Sadly, I am already old, and she is too young. If it had been a few years earlier, we might have served in the sa court and there could have been a chance, but now... it is already your era."
Liu Yi imdiately said, "Father, you are in your pri, why speak so despondently?"
Liu Yuan shook his head and said, "I am old. This winter has been especially hard to endure; as soon as the weather turns cold, I feel the chill in my bones. It will take two more months for the weather to warm, and I don’t even know if I will see that day. Even if I make it through this winter, I don’t know if I can survive the next."
For elderly people, sumr and winter are the hardest to endure, and especially so in winter. This year is truly cold for Liu Yuan.
The deep bond between Liu Yi and his father brought tears to his eyes as he heard his father’s words, and he beca sorrowful, "Father..."
Liu Yuan reached out to hold his hand, gently patting it, "Xiao Qi, among your brothers, you are the most wise and pure-hearted. In the future, you must beco a virtuous king of our Han Kingdom, support your eldest brother, and take good care of your mother..."
As he spoke, a hint of sadness appeared in Liu Yuan’s eyes. In truth, Liu Yi was the heir he was most satisfied with, but unfortunately, he was too pure-hearted and still very young. If only he were a bit more ruthless, or if his health were a bit better, allowing him to live a few more years to see him mature, handing the Han Kingdom to him would be the best outco.
But Liu Yuan already felt his health declining day by day, and Liu Yi was still young and could not grow strong in a year or two. To prevent chaos in the Han Kingdom, he could only suppress this thought in his heart.
Thinking of Crown Prince Liu He, Liu Yuan’s heart ached. He forced a stiff smile and said, "Your eldest brother is gullible, you must pay close attention and not let malicious people co near him; advise him often."
Liu Yi nodded repeatedly.
Liu Yuan: "Your fourth brother is highly skilled in martial arts and holds high prestige in the army, but his temperant is not as broad as yours. If you and your brothers have a conflict in the future, rember to be careful and don’t confront him directly. Let the ministers in court convey ssages for you; that leaves room for maneuver."
Liu Yi nodded vigorously.
Liu Yuan advised again, "If your eldest brother and fourth brother have a misunderstanding, rember to diate between them and never start any military conflicts."
"Shi Le, although ambitious, values loyalty and righteousness. Your eldest brother is the Crown Prince I have chosen. As long as he ascends the throne, Shi Le, even if he doesn’t fully obey him, will not make things difficult for him. It would be different if it were soone else." He sighed and said, "The Five Generals and your fourth brother look down on Shi Le, but in my view, whether in martial skills or governance, they do not surpass Shi Le. If it weren’t for Gou Xi dispersing his troops, he would never have co to rely on ."
"Though he is of slave origin, he values credibility greatly. As long as our Han Kingdom remains stable, he has no excuse to turn against us. In this regard, he is very much like Zhao Hanzhang," Liu Yuan solemnly remarked, "So you must show him respect and also respect your eldest brother."
Liu Yi agreed. He hesitated for a mont before asking, "Father, can I be friends with Zhao Hanzhang?"
Liu Yuan smiled, "Of course you can. If you can genuinely win her friendship, Father would have more peace of mind, even if I were to die now."
If one day the Hu people Liu Family were to truly reach a point of no return, perhaps with the friendship Liu Yi cultivated, there might be a thread of hope to seek help from Zhao Hanzhang.
With his father’s approval, Liu Yi beca emboldened. The next day, he eagerly went to his uncle Shan Jin to ask for grass seeds.
While Shan Jin instructed his servants to prepare, he curiously asked, "This is sothing a servant could handle; why do you need to personally inquire?"
Before Liu Yi could answer, he asked again, "Have you acquired a new pasture? Have you sent soone to check if it’s suitable for planting? Don’t be like your brothers and turn good fertile land into pasture; it’s such a waste."
Liu Yi replied with an honest smile, "It’s not for to grow pasture grass. It’s for a friend of mine; she wants to enclose a new pasture. I’ve checked it out—mostly dry land, but there’s also a water source, and the terrain is flat. Once spring arrives, sowing grass seeds and two spring rains should allow them to grow. The fertile land is separated for planting and not used for grazing."
Shan Jin let out a sigh of relief, then complained to Liu Yi, "A few days ago, the Tuoba Tribe sent troops to fence off over three hundred mu of our land in Hexi. The wheat there hasn’t even turned green yet. From what I gather, they plan to enclose it for grazing horses. Once the snow lts and the wheat turns green, they’ll start grazing. I wanted to speak to His Majesty, but since you were in the Zhao Family Army’s hands, General Tuoba didn’t intend to negotiate for your ransom, so I dared not speak out. Now that you’re back, please help speak to His Majesty and plead for his intervention to have the Tuoba Tribe return the land to us."
"And also the people. They enclosed the land and took our people, thirty-eight households, nearly a hundred individuals. They are skilled farrs taken to be slaves by the Tuoba Tribe—such a waste of talent."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yi pursed his lips and agreed.
But he did not go to Liu Yuan; instead, he sought out General Tuoba himself.
Though General Tuoba was displeased, he still returned the land and people to the Di Clan.
He looked down on Shan Jin, and even sowhat disregarded Empress Shan, but he could not dismiss Liu Yi. Of Liu Yuan’s sons, Liu Yi was the most favored, even more so than the Crown Prince.
Now that the Crown Prince had Liu Cong as a formidable rival, he didn’t want to add Liu Yi as an adversary.
General Tuoba could see that although Liu Yi was favored and intelligent, his extensive reading seed to have dulled his ambition for power.
He did not want to provoke that ambition in Liu Yi.
After returning for two days, Liu Yi helped his uncle retrieve the seized land and people, and also collected two carts of high-quality grass seeds. On the third day, he personally led the people to deliver them to Zhao Hanzhang at the Zhao Family Army.
But as soon as he was out of the city gates, he was surrounded by palace guards.
Having gone through much trouble to bring him back, how could Liu Yuan allow Liu Yi to return to the Zhao Family Army Camp?
Even if he said Zhao Hanzhang didn’t restrict his freedom and treated him well during those four days, Liu Yuan couldn’t agree to let him go again.
He could make friends through correspondence or by sending gifts, but he couldn’t go personally.
With no choice, Liu Yi had to halt at the city gates, eventually letting his guard take the gift to Zhao Hanzhang while he watched the convoy disappear into the distance with a sorrowful expression.
Though he had only been back in the city for two days, he suddenly found himself missing Zhao Hanzhang a bit.
He felt that many people here couldn’t understand his thoughts—not even his uncle. He didn’t agree with the Xiongnu Five Tribes enclosing land for grazing, but he also didn’t agree with his uncle’s disdain for the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu looked down on the Di Clan, while the Di Clan despised the actions of the Xiongnu. But he was both of Xiongnu descent and had the blood of the Di Clan. Why couldn’t the two tribes respect each other?
And the Han people, Xianbei, Qiang Clan, and Jie Clan—wouldn’t it be better if everyone respected each other equally?
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