Chapter 24: Execution to the Tenth Degree

With their minds in turmoil, Liu Bang and Zhang Liang returned once again to Lu Xuan’s room.

They had prepared a hot meal and soup. Lu Xuan, feeling hungry, began to gulp down the broth. Once he had eaten his fill, Lu Xuan’s mood was visibly brightened. He revealed a smile and said, "Let's see, over half a month has passed, hasn't it? I should be able to recover in about two more months, right?"

In truth, Lu Xuan felt that the time he had spent blind had been quite fulfilling. The eyes are the windows to the soul; many who lose their sight fall into depression, and some even contemplate self-harm or suicide. This stems from the difficulty of managing their own daily lives, finding existence dull and monotonous, and feeling as though life has lost its meaning.

Yet, none of this had manifested in him. He had a mute young woman attending to him, ensuring his daily needs were met. Uncle Fang and Uncle Ji visited every day to chat about the internal affairs of the dynasty, and he was making various preparations for his future arrival at the Fengtian Palace. Coupled with the hope of a prosperous life in the capital, Lu Xuan had the motivation to keep going and was filled with optimism for the future. He felt quite satisfied with his life. Of course, the primary reason was that he had encountered such kind-hearted people.

"It is indeed almost recovered," Liu Bang said, forcing a smile. His heart was complicated, even filled with self-reproach. The day Lu Xuan regained his sight would be the day of his death. They could see that Lu Xuan was full of anticipation for the future, but what awaited him was despair. All of this stemmed from their own ruthlessness. However, if they did not do this, they would risk the future will of the emperor and the trajectory of the dynasty being steered by someone from a later age. They dared not take that risk.

Liu Bang was, after all, an emperor who had weathered many storms. His benevolence and self-reproach quickly dissipated, and his composure returned. He said slowly, "Mr. Lu, you mentioned earlier that the Fourth Prince, the Prince of Yan, would inherit the throne in the future. How was he after he ascended?"

"I believe that since the Prince of Yan loved martial arts from a young age, after he ascended..." As Liu Bang was asking, Zhang Liang suddenly interrupted. He took over the conversation: "This is what I was just discussing with Old Ji. My thought is that since the Prince of Yan loved war and fighting from his youth, and he obtained the throne by raising an army and inciting rebellion, his character must lean more toward the martial than the scholarly. Wouldn't he become an emperor who exhausted the nation's strength through constant warfare?"

After saying this, Zhang Liang glanced at Liu Bang. Only then did Liu Bang realize he had misspoken—or rather, it wasn't that he said something wrong, but that these words should not have come from him. In the roles he and Zhang Liang were playing, Zhang Liang was the one versed in history, while he was not supposed to be. This meant that the deduction—"The Prince of Yan became emperor through force, so he might exhaust the nation's strength through warfare"—was not something his "Uncle Ji" persona should have been able to infer. It would have been much more reasonable for "Uncle Fang" to have made that connection and asked the question.

Indeed, the Marquis of Liu was truly clever. If a slip-up occurred and allowed Lu Xuan to become suspicious, that would be bad.

"The term 'exhausting the nation through constant warfare' is not really appropriate for the Yongle Emperor," Lu Xuan mused. To exhaust the nation through war meant being extremely bellicose, causing the country to decline through endless military campaigns. Clearly, the Yongle Emperor was not such a man. He thought for a moment and said, "In fact, the Yongle Emperor was an emperor who could fight on horseback and govern on foot; his achievements in both civil and military affairs were quite outstanding. Later generations even ranked him among the ten greatest emperors in history."

"Oh, right. After the Prince of Yan ascended, the era name was Yongle. The reason we call him the Yongle Emperor is out of respect from us, the people of the future."

"Because in our era, there are no so-called 'dynasties,' 'emperors,' or 'imperial power.' The people are the masters of their own destiny. In the eyes of later generations, there isn't really any inherent 'respect' for emperors in our daily speech. However, an emperor who has true merit and whose civil and military achievements benefited later generations is worthy of respect. From that, you can see the capability of the Prince of Yan."

As Lu Xuan spoke, Liu Bang and Zhang Liang were stunned. Zhang Liang was composed, but Liu Bang subconsciously found it hard to believe. Did his fourth son really have such great ability? He didn't look like the material for an emperor. He had four sons, and he thought that Liu Fei, Liu Ying, and Liu Ruyi could all govern well if they became emperors, but he never expected the fourth one to be so capable. It seemed his offspring were truly endowed with good character, just like their father.

"No, that's not right." Suddenly, Liu Bang recalled something: Lu Xuan had previously said that the reason he passed the throne to the Imperial Grandson was that his other sons were not only incapable but also cruel. However, there had been so much information at the time that he had been more concerned with other matters and had forgotten. Now, it suddenly came back to him.

Still, Liu Bang didn't take it to heart. He could just find an opportunity to deal with it later. For an emperor like him, the most important things remained the quality and capability of his heir and future successors.

"In any case, the Yongle Emperor was indeed a good emperor. You don't need to know too much, because since I have come to this world and reached the capital, history may very well change. It is even possible that the Prince of Yan will not become emperor at all."

Lu Xuan said to the two men. He felt quite conflicted about this. In the early years of Zhu Yunwen’s reign, if the policy of weakening the feudal lords hadn't been implemented, his civil administration would not have been too bad, and Zhu Di was also very capable. How would the future change under his intervention? It was almost certain that as long as he could cure Zhu Biao, the throne would remain with Zhu Biao's line. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang might make other arrangements for Zhu Di. But that was not for him to worry about.

"Indeed," Liu Bang nodded. Lu Xuan's arrival had changed the future trajectory of the Han Dynasty. Given his character, since his fourth son had the ability to command troops, he would just let him be responsible for training the army and attacking the Xiongnu.

As for the throne? He did not want to pass it to Liu Heng. This concerned the system of primogeniture; if this system was not clearly established in the early days of the dynasty, things would fall into chaos. Let’s put it this way: if he made Liu Heng the crown prince, or followed his initial thought of making Liu Ruyi the heir, the system of primogeniture would lose all meaning. Anyone could cite past history and harbor thoughts of supporting other princes.

Besides, since his fourth son, Liu Heng, was adept at both civil and military affairs, couldn't he just ask Lu Xuan what Liu Heng did in the future and then have Liu Ying do those things? As a younger brother, shouldn't he give the good things to his older brother? If he wouldn't, he wouldn't blame his father for using a bamboo whip on him!

Liu Bang already had a preliminary plan in mind. At the same time, he thought that it would be best to find a way to make the future Liu Ying exert a certain degree of control over Liu Heng. It would be best to have some leverage. Only then could he ensure that Liu Heng would not rebel and try to become emperor. But Liu Heng was still too young; what kind of leverage could he have?

Attempting to probe further, Liu Bang asked, "This Yongle Emperor, is it possible he never did a single wrong thing in his life?" If there were errors, perhaps they could be utilized. Of course, Liu Bang was only asking in passing and didn't hold much hope; those events were far too distant.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan suddenly thought of something. Wrong things? There was indeed one. He let out a sigh: "Actually, there was one thing the Yongle Emperor did wrong."

"The 'execution of the ten clans'—a tragedy unprecedented in history and throughout the ages—was something the Yongle Emperor created."