After Dong Zhuo's death, the Han domain remained remarkably peaceful. Emperor Liu Xie took the reins of governance. This Son of Heaven had been on the throne for many years, yet this was the first time his own edicts were issued.
Everyone was curious about Liu Xie's governing style. After observing for a period, Fan Li summed it up in five words: gentle nourishment without a sound.
The Han court, after suffering Dong Zhuo's tyrannical rule for years, was like a frail, gravely ill patient. Any aggressive treatment or harsh medicine would not work for its recovery.
It could not withstand major upheaval, only gentle and gradual soothing of its wounds. And this was precisely Liu Xie's approach.
He took the lead in wearing plain clothing and eating simple vegetarian meals, minimizing court expenses as much as possible. Seeing this, the officials all followed suit. Thus, the depleted Han national treasury no longer seemed so destitute.
Dong Zhuo had seized much private wealth, so Liu Xie ordered the Grand Tutor's mansion searched, dividing the recovered assets into two portions. All resources related to cultivation were used to reward meritorious officers and console the families of casualties.
Ordinary wealth like gold and silver was returned to the people entirely.
Liu Xie also issued edicts encouraging agriculture, reducing taxes and labor service, and promoting water conservation projects. Most provinces within the Han finally had a chance to recuperate after Dong Zhuo's death.
The only region still restive was Liangzhou. Liangzhou, also known as Xiliang.
In the Battle of Chang'an, with Dong Zhuo's death, Xiliang's main forces were annihilated.
However, locally in Liangzhou there remained several factions led by the Han and Ma clans who originally followed Dong Zhuo's orders.
If Dong Zhuo could be considered a traitorous villain, then Liangzhou was the rebels' very nest. So when news of Dong Zhuo's death reached Liangzhou, the Han, Ma and other factions became extremely restless. Rebellion could break out at any moment.
Fan Li was quite curious how Liu Xie planned to handle this hot potato of Liangzhou.
Would he absorb them? Or launch a punitive expedition to eliminate the rebels?
Truth be told, with Liu Xie's current power, he would likely succeed no matter his choice.
The only question was: how many more lives would the Han have to sacrifice?
The answer was soon revealed. Liu Xie ordered a coffin prepared, filled with Dong Zhuo's former clothing, and wrote a personal letter which the Feathered Forest Guards delivered to Liangzhou.
In the letter, Liu Xie did not boast, only calmly recounting Dong Zhuo's failed rebellion from start to end. He praised the various Liangzhou tribes for remaining peaceful instead of joining the insurrection.
Finally, Liu Xie bestowed hereditary noble titles upon the tribal leaders and permitted their soldiers to remain garrisoned in Liangzhou.
Both the carrot and the stick.
So when the Feathered Forest Guards returned to Chang'an to report, they also brought pledges of allegiance jointly signed by all the Liangzhou tribal leaders.
Victory without bloodshed.
"Excellent strategy," Fan Li praised after Princess Chang Le finished recounting the events.
"From this, we can see that seemingly disengaged individuals are not necessarily lacking in ability, but may simply have lacked an appropriate stage to showcase their talents. I originally thought the Han Emperor was merely ordinary, but never imagined he was a figure of national restoration."
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After Fan Li finished speaking, the princess suddenly broke into a fit of giggles.
"You dare to slander my royal father in front of me?"
"This counts as slander?" Fan Li rolled his eyes at the princess. His gaze drifted down towards her slightly bulging stomach.
That secret Pure Land technique really was something! The Princess was faking her pregnancy, even going so far as to make her belly swell.
"The Imperial Physicians couldn't even detect it was fake?" Fan Li couldn't help but remark. "Besides the Devouring Demon Art and faking pregnancy, what other devious techniques does your Brahma Sound Pure Land practice? Did you learn them all?"
Hearing this, the princess giggled again.
"What's so funny?" Fan Li said in annoyance. "After ten months of 'pregnancy', when nothing emerges, how do you plan to explain it? Tell him the story of Nezha?"
“Ha ha ha ha!” The princess only continued laughing merrily. "Fan Li, will you be afraid? My father has only shown such tolerance towards you because of the child in my womb. Just a few days ago, my father said that if not for sparing his future grandson from being fatherless at birth, he truly wished to eliminate this plague upon my husband Xiang Ning."
A chill ran down Fan Li's spine. Good lord! What unforgivable crimes had he committed for Liu Xie to put him on the same level as Dong Zhuo the villain?
"There are many types of ministers," Fan Li retorted unhappily. "But all ministers love to bully the emperor."
This was likely a hurdle Liu Xie could never overcome in his heart. The fact that he could tolerate not taking action against Fan Li showed how much he doted on Princess Chang Le and the 'child' in her womb.
Fan Li could never get the upper hand when dealing with the Princess of Lasting Joy.
He gave up and closed his mouth. Damn it, silence was the best strategy tonight.
The Princess also suppressed her smile, an uncharacteristic hint of solemnity appearing on her beautiful face. "My father...his time is not long."
"What?!" Fan Li exclaimed in shock, breaking the silence mere seconds after resolving to stay quiet. "But didn't he successfully cross into the Great Vehicle realm after battling Dong Zhuo? Advancing to a higher level should extend his longevity, so how could his time be short?"
The princess lowered her gaze, a trace of sorrow in her voice. "Perhaps you are right. My father only has an ordinary mortal's form. The price he paid to reach the Great Vehicle realm was his entire remaining longevity. This is no secret technique, only an instinctive exchange he made upon entering a certain spiritual state. The ways of heaven are vast and unknowable. Who among cultivators can claim true omniscience?"
A solitary teardrop, rarely seen, rolled down the Princess's cheek. She was crying?
This was the first time Fan Li had witnessed true emotion on Chang Le's face, rather than her usual enchanting yet feigned coquettishness.
"The lifespan my father gained by reaching Great Vehicle...is only enough for another hundred days."
A hundred days?! Fan Li's heart skipped a beat. He had already been kept in Chang'an for two full months. In other words, the Han Emperor had little over a month remaining before his demise.
"He..." Fan Li's throat felt dry, so he coughed lightly before continuing. "If he only has a hundred days left, what meaning is there in him governing so diligently?"
Liu Xie had no sons. Could his most outstanding daughter secure the throne as the first empress regnant of the Han?
Images of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan flashed through Fan Li's mind as he shook his head.
Impossible. Moreover, Chang Le herself had said she had no interest in the Han throne.
Whether establishing her own dynasty or taking over Chu would be far better options for her ambitions. In other words, was the Han's ancestral heritage truly at an end?
"Reducing labor service and taxes, returning wealth to the people. My father's diligent governance for these last hundred days is merely a small recompense for the suffering of the Han commoners over these bitter years.
My father also admits that his recompense is utterly insignificant compared to the people's suffering."
Fan Li was stunned. Such words could actually come from an emperor's lips?
In his knowledge spanning past and present lives, he could not recall a single ruler whose dying thoughts centered on allowing the common people to live better lives.
Cruel tyrants oppressing the masses was nothing new. Even for enlightened sage-rulers, using the imperial examinations to trap scholars in an ivory tower, forcing peasants into lifelong bondage to the fields through taxes and labor - as long as they did not rebel, that was enough.
A ruler who truly loved the people as Liu Xie did was unprecedented...