Chapter 62: Murder Beneath the Calm

Outside the great hall, the daylight was dim, and heavy clouds hung low, as if unable to bear the invisible, crushing weight pressing down upon the city of Chengdu. The ministers filed out one by one, rarely speaking to one another. Even their eye contact was fraught with caution and dread. After hastily bidding farewell, they each boarded their carriages to return to their estates, the sound of the wheels grinding against the bluestone pavement carrying a particularly oppressive tone.

Qiao Zhou’s carriage rolled back to his residence in silence. The carriage curtains hung low, shutting out the external light and seeming to seal off the pervasive stench of blood and stern martial law that hung over the entire city.

Yet, his hunched body trembled slightly within the shadows of the carriage cabin. This was not due to his advanced age, but rather stemmed from a profound sense of powerlessness and grief-stricken fury that threatened to tear him apart.

Returning to his estate—which likewise felt empty and desolate—an elderly servant hurried forward. Seeing Qiao Zhou’s ashen complexion, the servant dared not speak much and merely served him in silence. Qiao Zhou waved everyone away and stepped into his study alone.

He did not immediately seize a brush to write furiously, as outsiders might have guessed; instead, he sat rigidly by the window, gazing at an ancient tree in the courtyard whose leaves were beginning to wither, remaining silent for a long time.

His silence was not a resignation to fate; it was the dead calm before the storm.

Liu Chen’s new policies were like a rope, tightening relentlessly around Qiao Zhou’s neck. He knew that Liu Chen was not sparing his life now because the Prince lacked the desire to kill him, but rather because of Qiao Zhou’s reputation and the absence of definitive evidence.

Yet once Liu Chen firmly established his footing in Yizhou and the revitalized Han dynasty regained its momentum, his opponent would undoubtedly have him killed.

"Liu Chen, you have forced my hand."

A hint of murderous intent flashed across Qiao Zhou’s aged countenance.

A few days later, several seemingly ordinary domestic servants and distant relatives quietly left Chengdu, heading toward various commanderies and counties throughout Shu, carrying messages from Qiao Zhou concerning "inquiring after elders of the clan" and "discussing classical doctrines."

What they carried, however, was by no means mere verbal messages. These were the most covert yet resolute instructions issued by Qiao Zhou, leveraging his reputation and influence among the literati of Yizhou: resist, delay, collude in secret, and under no circumstances hand over the centuries-old foundations of their clans. Such harsh decrees could not possibly endure for long. Only by standing united could they weather this crisis, preserve their strength, and await the turning of the tides.

He did not explicitly voice opposition to Liu Chen, but every single word was pushing Liu Chen into direct antagonism with all the aristocratic and powerful clans. He knew full well that complete silence equated to pleading guilty, while fierce rebellion was tantamount to suicide. Only through this seemingly submissive inaction—and even the covert instigation of local "disturbances"—could that newly swung, bloody sword strike against cotton, ultimately rolling its edge or even snapping in two.

Meanwhile, inside the Prince of Qin’s manor, the atmosphere was vastly different. The candles burned brightly, armored guards stood at attention, and the air was thick with the scent of iron and blood.

Liu Chen had removed the princely robes he wore during the imperial court assembly, changing into a scholar’s robe convenient for movement. He stood before a massive map of the Shu-Han territories, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s.

"After returning to his estate, Qiao Zhou has not stepped outside?" Liu Chen’s voice was cold and detached, devoid of any discernible emotion.

Behind him, General Zhang Chun of the Brocade-Clad Guards bowed deeply, his figure seemingly completely melting into the shadows as he replied in a low voice, "Reporting to Your Highness, precisely so. Our men surround the estate on all sides, and no unusual visitors have been observed coming or going. However, starting three days ago, seven individuals within his household left the capital under various pretexts, heading in different directions toward commanderies where large clans gather. Our men have split up to follow them."

"A seasoned schemer working for the state naturally would not leave behind explicit evidence himself. You won't find anything by investigating directly." A cold, cynical curve touched the corner of Liu Chen’s mouth as he sneered, "He thinks that by hiding behind the scenes and relying on a few sighs and whispered words, he can shake my father’s determination or disrupt what this Prince intends to accomplish?"

He spun around abruptly, his burning gaze fixed squarely on Zhang Chun: "Zhang Chun!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"From this moment on, double the establishment of the Brocade-Clad Guards! No, triple it! All the funds and manpower required shall be given priority allocation. Open your eyes wide and prick up your ears for this Prince! Not just in Chengdu, but in every single commandery and county in Yizhou, I want to know who every prominent family meets every day, what they say, and even what they eat! Especially those who appear law-abiding and placid but actually have past ties to Qiao Zhou!"

Liu Chen’s expression was dark as night.

Thanks to the rebellion led by Xu You and others, Liu Chen had confiscated all their family properties. The accumulations of decades, even centuries, of aristocratic wealth had filled Liu Chen’s coffers to overflowing, giving him the financial means to expand the Brocade-Clad Guards.

"Understood!" A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Chun’s eyes as he accepted the command without a moment’s hesitation. The expansion of power was precisely what men of his ilk craved.

"And another thing." Liu Chen walked over to his desk, picked up an official tally, tossed it to Zhang Chun, and said sternly, "Transmit an 800-li expedited dispatch: order General of the Left Guard Jiang Wei, General of the Right Guard Deng Ai, General of the Left Xiaowei Liao Hua, General of the Right Xiaowei Luo Xi, General of the Left Wuwei Huo Yi, General of the Left Weiwei Zhang Yi, General of the Right Weiwei Yan Yu, and General of the Left Tunwei Zhuge Zhan to raise the alert level of their respective armies. They are to closely monitor the movements within and around their garrisoned commanderies and counties. The moment any aristocratic clan is discovered daring to gather private troops, defy imperial edicts, or even instigate popular revolts..."

He paused briefly, his voice resolute and laden with chilling murderous intent: "There is no need to ask for instructions. With the force of a thunderbolt, dispatch troops immediately to suppress them! Execute the ringleaders without pardon! Annihilate their accomplices to the last man! Confiscate all concealed populations, farmlands, and properties for the public use, to be converted into military provisions!"

"Tell them this is war! A war that concerns whether the Han can concentrate its strength to launch a Northern Expedition to the Central Plains! Indulgence toward internal elements is cruelty toward the external foe! Neither I nor His Majesty will tolerate any seed of internal rebellion!"

"As for their losses, once the Central Plains are recovered, this Prince will not be stingy with rewards. What great benefits can one hope to gain by obsessing over one’s own tiny plot of land at a time like this?"

Zhang Chun caught the tally and strode away rapidly, the sound of his horse's hooves quickly vanishing into the night.

Liu Chen turned his gaze back to the map, resting his finger heavily upon Chengdu before slowly tracing it across the entirety of Yizhou.

The storm had already descended. Qiao Zhou’s despair and tactical cunning were quietly converging underground into a dark undercurrent. In response, Liu Chen offered a sharper gaze, a more massive surveillance network, and an army whose arrows were already nocked and waiting to be loosed.

The imperial court in Chengdu temporarily regained its icy calm, but across the vast expanse of Yizhou, invisible gunpowder smoke began to permeate the air.

A colossal game of chess, straddling court politics and local rebellion, slowly unfurled with the transmission of the imperial edicts, the quiet movements of Qiao Zhou’s disciples and former subordinates, the covert lurking of the Brocade-Clad Guards, and the sharpening of weapons by the border generals.

Qiao Zhou and the others likely never imagined that Liu Chen’s counterattack would be so tyrannical and so bloody.

And all of this was triggered by a single piece of secret intelligence Liu Chen had received.

Zhong Hui had already returned to Chang'an, and he harbored ambitions of carving out an independent domain.

Liu Chen knew that turbulence was coming to the north, which provided him with a prime opportunity to purge and reorganize the internal apparatus of the Great Han.