Chapter 240: This Must Enter the History Books!
Chapter 240: This Must Enter the History Books!
Chen Changsheng didn’t explain it to him. Instead, he asked: “Back then, a Human Emperor acted disrespectfully before me and even drew his sword to kill me. He hadn’t expected one sword strike to sever thirty percent of the National Fortune.”
Zhao Zhen absolutely refused to believe it. “If you truly had such power,” he said, “why would you hide away at a mountain shrine like this?”
Chen Changsheng answered. “I enjoy it.”
“It is my opinion,” said Zhao Zhen, “that you have simply run out of tricks.”
Zhao Zhen snorted coldly. Then he suddenly twitched his arm.
A short sword dropped into his palm.
“You said one sword-strike could sever National Fortune?”
Zhao Zhen considered his words and said: “How about I test that statement?”
As he spoke, he aimed the blade in his hand at Chen Changsheng’s throat.
Chen Changsheng walked towards the sword instead of backing away, stopping only when the tip was a hairsbreadth away.
But when Zhao Zhen looked into his eyes, a sudden urge to retreat welled inside him.
He had no clue where this urge came from, but instinct made him lower his sword.
Chen Changsheng questioned him: “Why did you put it down?”
Zhao Zhen remained silent. Deep down, he felt uneasy. He couldn’t grasp why he’d relented – it conflicted with his usual domineering nature.
He breathed out and asked: “I once read something bizarre about the Jing Era in old history books. Later, I heard tales of the Sword Immortal of Peachblossom, and the Xuan Tian Daoist priest spoke of a certain Mr. Chen…”
“Tell me, O King,” he pressed. “Do immortals truly exist in this world?”
Chen Changsheng regarded him. “Haven’t you already seen proof with your own eyes?”
Zhao Zhen paused. That day at the execution ground, he witnessed the peachblossom sword technique firsthand. He had truly seen it.
Yet he kept questioning himself whether immortals truly existed.
Deep down, he knew the answer. But he much preferred to believe they didn’t exist.
Chen Changsheng stated: “Countless emperors throughout history bowed to the Path of Immortality. For a Human Emperor, such thoughts are not strange at all.”
Zhao Zhen sneered: “Has anyone actually succeeded?”
“Emperor Jing obsessed half his life over immortality,” said Chen Changsheng. “But he nearly got poisoned to death by that Xuan Tian Daoist priest. The Founding Emperor of Xiang lost himself into witchcraft. After days of taking elixirs, he died in agony. This so-called immortality quest for emperors is just a path to death.”
Regarding this point, Zhao Zhen had never wavered.
Chen Changsheng asked him: “Since this is your view, then why come asking me?”
“I am the Prince of Xiang,” declared Zhao Zhen. “My heart belongs to the realm. Thus, I know seeking eternal life guarantees death. But as a normal man, I am selfish too. I need to know, is it possible or not?”
Chen Changsheng seemed slightly surprised. “Differentiating selfish desire from duty to the realm? Truly worthy of a king. In that case, whether immortals exist matters little.”
“Why does it matter little?” Zhao Zhen stared at him.
Chen Changsheng said: “If they do exist, would your selfish ambition truly outweigh Heaven itself?”
Zhao Zhen thought long and hard before shaking his head. Then abruptly, he changed his mind. “If some Immortal Fate were within easy reach,” he said, “I would reach out too.”
Though his personal ambition existed, it still placed the realm above all.
“A man like you,” said Chen Changsheng, “would make a powerful ruler indeed.”
“Why should it be a man like me?” challenged Zhao Zhen. “Why not me?”
Chen Changsheng sighed. “Because the world is too chaotic right now.”
He paused, then explained: “The troubles within Da Xiang likely have no way back now. Waves of Rebel Armies will continue rising. Even a lifetime may not be enough to suppress them all.”
Zhao Zhen nodded: “Your view echoes my Brother Lu’s. ‘Rule with compassion’?”
He shook his head. “Is a rebellious heart truly something transformed by kindness alone?”
“Compassion alone is undoubtedly insufficient,” Chen Changsheng explained. “But rebellion absolutely ties into people’s daily lives.”
“The people’s livelihood…” Zhao Zhen echoed thoughtfully.
Chen Changsheng continued: “Once when traveling through Tongtian River, I discussed the Xiang people and Jing people with a governor from the Jing Era. The position of the Jing people was far lower. The new water governor planned to open the floodgates while the residents remained trapped inside merely to avoid trouble himself.”
“Thousands of Jing lives,” he concluded, “became nothing but idle talk. That truly was a mistake.”
Zhao Zhen snorted. “Those thousands weren’t drowned… they joined the Rebel Army! Considering that outcome, they deserved death. Sparing them only led to regret.”
“Moreover,” he argued, “would treating them with kindness have prevented the rebellion?”
“Of course not.”
Chen Changsheng clarified: “It is simply a difference in standpoint. If Da Xiang were destroyed, you too would fight to restore your kingdom. Neither is inherently right or wrong. Victor reigns; vanquished perishes.”
Zhao Zhen loudly exclaimed: “Yes! Precisely! Victor reigns; vanquished perishes!”
Chen Changsheng offered perspective: “Viewed differently, if the government hadn’t been so harsh, the Rebel Army in Tongshun Prefecture would never have gained momentum so swiftly, much less rallied such widespread support.”
Zhao Zhen maintained: “Those rebels crawl everywhere. If they couldn’t recruit from the Jing people, they’d turn elsewhere. Conflict was bound to ignite regardless.”
“I, Zhao Zhen,” he declared boldly, “fear nothing. I only worry no one dares challenge me!”
Chen Changsheng acknowledged: “Truly ambitious.”
Zhao Zhen straightened his back proudly. “Kind policies or firm rules… what does it matter? The realm desperately needed someone like me! Once I wipe away these lingering stains of Jing, my blade will point towards Western Xiao!”
“With the lands unified, let the entire realm curse me ruthless and unkind!” His voice echoed. “Even the history books must record one fact: I, Zhao Zhen, achieved unity!”
A fierce wind suddenly swept through, whipping Zhao Zhen’s robes.
Full of lofty ambition, this ruler past his middle years never once abandoned his grand vision.
People called him ruthless. People labeled him unjust. People claimed he made a poor emperor. Yet Zhao Zhen didn’t care. A unified realm under his dominion was what he truly wanted.
Watching his silhouette, Chen Changsheng glimpsed for an instant the figure history would remember.
This Prince of Xiang possessed a uniquely formidable spirit.
“Well?” Zhao Zhen faced him. “Do I count as a powerful ruler?”
Chen Changsheng breathed deeply. “Should true unification occur… it wouldn’t be such a terrible outcome.”
“You possess powers of calculation, do you not?”
Zhao Zhen challenged him: “If you’re truly as formidable as Brother Lu claims, shouldn’t the entire pattern of the realm lie within your grasp?”
Chen Changsheng answered simply: “Perhaps,” he mused. “But knowing everything in advance removes all fun.”
Zhao Zhen shook his head again. “You spin empty words even now.”
“Call them empty words if you must.”
Chen Changsheng chuckled faintly. He dismissed Zhao Zhen’s criticism – stubbornness defined this man.
“A united realm…”
Chen Changsheng murmured the phrase quietly. He shook his head with wry amusement.
His gaze drifted towards Shang Lu kneeling before the grave mound.
Compared to Zhao Zhen…
Shang Lu seemed somewhat green around the gills.
Still, how would events unfold after this ruler of Xiang and this future king learned each other’s identities?