59Chapter 59: The Turmoil Subsides, and the Honor and Favor Reaches the Top
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It was the twelfth lunar month, and heavy snow continued to drift down from the sky, falling slowly, making everything seem as ordinary as possible.
On the city wall of Liang Kingdom, numerous soldiers in armor looked sharply at the many armies of the Seven Kingdoms below. Boulders and rolling logs were continuously thrown down from the city wall, preventing the soldiers of the Seven Kingdoms from gathering in one place and then climbing the wall.
If one soldier managed to climb the city wall, a second, then a third would follow. Once numerous soldiers began to gather, the city wall would likely be breached.
Below the city wall, lights shone brightly.
The King of Wu sat on horseback, his face flickering with a gloomy expression. He had never expected the Prince of Liang to resist so desperately, holding their Seven Kingdoms army here for two or three months!
During this time, Liang Kingdom's soldiers were nearly all used up, yet the Prince of Liang still showed no signs of retreating!
The strangest thing was that not only did the Prince of Liang not order a retreat, but the Prince of Liang's Heir also held firm. He had previously sent four or five letters, all of which were returned. During this time, the Prince of Liang's Heir even ascended the city wall, standing for a long time amidst the bloody chaos, further inspiring these soldiers.
This was also the main reason why Liang Kingdom was able to delay their large army with the strength of a single kingdom.
Of course, a more important reason was that Liang Kingdom's power was inherently strong—this place was the fief specially chosen for Liu Wu by the former Dou Empress, now Empress Dowager Dou, so it was naturally much stronger than the lands of these miscellaneous Barbarians.
However, this had become the Prince of Liang's "death warrant."
"Bah—"
Liu Bi, the King of Wu, spat, a ruthless smile on his face: "I don't know what that brat Liu Wu is thinking, to help Liu Qi so wholeheartedly!"
He gritted his teeth, almost crushing them, his entire body radiating displeasure.
"If it weren't for this brat delaying us, we would probably have already reached Chang'an by now and purged the emperor's corrupt officials!"
The King Jiaodong, who was beside him, sighed silently.
"Now the imperial army has gathered. I heard that the leaders are Chen Qing, a descendant of the Guandu Chen Clan, and Zhou Yafu, the son of the Marquis of Jiang, as generals. I haven't heard of any powerful deeds from Zhou Yafu, but..."
The King Jiaodong looked at the King of Wu and said, "Chen Qing is a descendant of that person..."
As if afraid of being overheard, he quietly leaned closer to the King of Wu and said, "I once heard that the Chen Clan lineage is naturally blessed with immense strength, and that person's strength might have been passed down to this descendant."
"If Chen Qing has even three-tenths of the Guandu Marquis's bravery... I'm afraid... you and I will die without a burial place."
His words were broken, filled with whispers. This action was a decision made out of helplessness, after all... in the King Jiaodong's view, if this news were heard by the soldiers, it would likely cause a mutiny.
He was not talking about the current Guandu Marquis, but the first Guandu Marquis!
That brave and valiant person, the greatest of all time, the fierce man who could single-handedly kill Xiang Yu!
How many such people could there be in this world?
If the Guandu Marquis were still alive, or if someone from the Guandu Chen Clan had clearly inherited the Guandu Marquis's bravery, then the Rebellion of the Seven Princes might not have erupted.
The King of Wu frowned and pondered upon hearing this, subconsciously considering the matter.
But since things had come to this, what else could he do?
So he gritted his teeth and said, "This Chen Qing was previously unknown, and now he suddenly appears. He is probably using the name of the Guandu Marquis to intimidate you and me! How could the Guandu Marquis's bravery reappear?"
He gazed into the distance, his heart heavy and nervous: "Quickly relay my command: the army must breach the city tonight!"
"We cannot delay any longer!"
.... .....
Meanwhile, inside the city.
The Prince of Liang's Heir looked at the letter in his hand, burned it with the candle flame in front of him, and then exhaled softly.
What was written in the letter was very simple.
It stated that imperial reinforcements were already on their way, and it specifically emphasized Chen Qing's bravery—saying that Chen Qing had inherited the mighty strength of the Guandu Marquis and could wield the Overlord Halberd.
This one detail alone greatly reassured the Prince of Liang's Heir.
He looked wistfully at the distant desk, where many political memorials lay. His face was filled with prolonged sorrow: "Father always felt he could reach that imperial throne."
"But how could he forget that this throne belongs to His Majesty, and His Majesty is not without heirs like Emperor Hui was back then?"
"How could he possibly obey the Empress Dowager's words and pass it on to him?"
The Prince of Liang's Heir pressed his forehead, his brows showing a hint of sighing.
A few days ago, his father, in order to keep him in the city to defend against the Seven Kingdoms army, wrote him a letter promising him the position of "Crown Prince," saying that when he inherited the throne, he would make him Crown Prince, and then he would become the next emperor.
At that time, the Prince of Liang's Heir only found it laughable.
He defended this city not for this ridiculous promise, but because he did not want the Seven Kingdoms army to approach Chang'an and plunge the Great Han Empire into war again.
How was the current situation different from when the Grand Ancestor, Xiang Yu, and others entered Guanzhong back then?
If the King of Wu and others succeeded, the world would truly be in chaos, just like during the end of the Qin Dynasty!
Therefore, he had defended this place.
After a brief thought, he lowered his head again and began writing a memorial, one that would be directly submitted to Emperor Jing.
The Prince of Liang's Heir knew that the moment his old father harbored the thought of inheriting the throne, his family had already become a thorn in Emperor Jing's side.
He had to actively save himself.
.... .....
In the third year of Emperor Jing's reign, the war continued. Although Liang Kingdom's capital was breached, the Seven Kingdoms army was firmly held back.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yafu and Chen Qing's soldiers had already approached Liang Kingdom. Despite the exhaustion of their soldiers from rapid marches, they were in much better condition compared to the Seven Kingdoms' soldiers, as they were a regular army.
Prime Minister Chen Yun mobilized grain and soldiers behind them, which somewhat alleviated their fatigue.
However, the King of Wu and the Seven Kingdoms army were not so fortunate. Their soldiers were mostly exhausted, and some even harassed the common people under their rule along the way.
In the third month of the third year of Emperor Jing's reign, the soldiers of the Seven Kingdoms clashed with Zhou Yafu and Chen Qing's soldiers. Under Chen Qing's leadership, the Rebellion of the Seven Princes was quelled in just over a month, bringing peace to the world.
.... ....
In the tenth month of the third year of Emperor Jing's reign.
The great army returned to the capital. Emperor Jing summoned Chen Qing and Zhou Yafu and, due to their merits, enfeoffed each of them as marquises.
The Emperor's edict enfeoffed Chen Qing as "Qing Marquis," with an income of three thousand five hundred households. Zhou Yafu was enfeoffed as Tiao Marquis.
From then on, the second great clan of the Han Dynasty with two marquises, the "Zhou" family, began its slow rise, while the first clan with two marquises... had already developed into a family with three marquises.
Among many additional enfeoffments, the current Guandu Chen Clan had already grown into a formidable power.
Guandu Marquis, with an income of fifty thousand households; Wen Marquis, with an income of eight thousand households; Qing Marquis, with an income of three thousand five hundred households.