His eldest son, Zhang Shi, although capable, is soft-hearted, lacks ruthlessness, and loves enjoyment—after he dies, can he really hold Xiliang?
His gaze swept over Zhang Mao, Wang Rong, Meng Chang and the others, and he said to himself inwardly that with them around, it would most likely be possible.
But there would definitely be turmoil in the middle.
If someone else were the emperor, then the turmoil would only be internal to Xiliang, but... not with Zhao Hanzhang.
She would definitely use this to step into Xiliang, and then the Zhang Family’s future would become unpredictable. Zhang Shi was not someone who could read the situation and act accordingly.
Only his second son, Zhang Mao, could bend and stretch, and could survive under Zhao Hanzhang’s hand.
After finishing the documents requesting the conferral of Princely Heir, Zhang Gui quietly instructed Zhang Mao and his trusted aides, "After I die, Cheng Xun must personally submit a memorial requesting Your Majesty’s appointment. Strive to enter the Capital City to report on your duties once every two years. You must remember: the Zhang Family is not the Zhang Family of Xiliang, but the Zhang Family of Xiliang of Hua Country. Xiliang is the court’s Xiliang, it is Your Majesty’s Xiliang."
He was not trying to oppose Zhao Hanzhang; he wanted lasting peace and stability in Xiliang, and the Zhang Family’s line to endure for a hundred generations.
Zhang Mao accepted with tears in his eyes.
Zhang Gui’s trusted aides had even less objection.
Compared to Zhang Shi, they actually trusted Zhang Mao more.
Before Zhang Gui’s stroke, Zhang Shi would disappear every now and then; only Zhang Mao remained by his side. His talent and martial skill were acknowledged by everyone.
He had only one problem, which was that he still had no son—but... he had a daughter.
The crowd exchanged glances. The emperor was also a woman. Zhang Mao’s daughter was only eight; there was still time. If they started teaching her now, it would still be in time.
Among the people present, the most baffled one was Zhang Mao himself. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock; at this moment his head was full of one thing: when Elder Brother comes back, how am I supposed to explain this to him?
After the talk, Zhang Gui became more energetic. He said, "I must live to see Your Majesty give birth to a eldest son, and to see An Xun return. Bring the medicine."
Zhang Mao came back to himself, scrambled up from the ground, and hurried to fetch the medicine.
Zhao Hanzhang received the documents from Xiliang at the end of the sixth month. Ji Yuan and the other ministers all advised Zhao Hanzhang to refuse. "Zhang Shi is the legitimate eldest son; the position of Heir of Xiliang should be inherited by him."
But when she thought of those absurd things Zhang Shi did in history, Zhao Hanzhang very much wanted to agree to Zhang Gui’s request. However, when she lowered her head and glanced at her own belly, Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes flickered slightly. She nodded and said, "You all go draft a formal reply."
Besides the official memorial, Zhang Gui also wrote a secret letter to Zhao Hanzhang, in which he explained in detail his reasons for choosing Zhang Mao.
Zhao Hanzhang could strongly empathize, so she wrote him back, hinting that: your considerations are very reasonable, but the system of the legitimate eldest son is fundamental. If I lightly agree to your establishing the second son as Princely Heir, I fear the officials will think and speculate too much.
Ji Yuan, who went to draft the reply, was unaware of Zhao Hanzhang’s private maneuvering. Their impression of Zhang Shi was all quite good; they believed Zhao Hanzhang’s impression of Zhang Shi should also be very good—after all, when she ascended the throne the two had enjoyed a long, pleasant talk, and she had even entrusted him with such a major task as the mission to the Western Regions.
Ji Yuan frowned slightly. "Still no news of the Western Regions mission?"
"None. I went to Taozhu Gong’s residence to inquire just two days ago; the trade caravan he sent out also hasn’t sent back any word."
Ji Yuan sighed. "The Silk Road remains unopened still because our Hua Country’s military strength is not strong enough."
The officials nodded in deep agreement, feeling that development was still necessary and that things were still not enough.
Zhang Gui had long known it would not be so smooth, but he hadn’t expected Zhao Hanzhang to reply to his secret letter in this way.
It seemed she too had seen that Zhang Shi was not a good heir—she simply could not openly support him because of the system of the legitimate eldest son.
Zhang Gui became even more certain that his choice was not wrong: he had not chosen the wrong heir, nor had he chosen the wrong sovereign.
Since Zhao Hanzhang also wished to select a better King of Xiliang for Xiliang, it was clear she genuinely wanted to lead Xiliang forward together with her.
So Zhang Gui grew excited and even more spirited. Within the space of a month he exchanged letters with Zhao Hanzhang four times, which even made Zhang Mao look askance.
"Father, we have a radio too."
It had been sent over by Zhao Hanzhang two years earlier, along with a team of communications Soldiers and engineers, so for some information it was unnecessary to send it overland.
But Zhang Gui insisted, "It’s not appropriate for my private words with Your Majesty to go through the radio."
Yet he had frequently used the radio to apply for establishing Zhang Mao as Princely Heir, bombarding them with both memorials and telegraph messages, which made the Central Secretariat and the Ministry of Supervision extremely irritable.
Not until mid-seventh month, when the cotton began to be harvested, did Zhang Gui submit his eighth memorial requesting the conferral of Princely Heir. This time he played the tragic card. By his reckoning, Zhang Shi had been in the Western Regions for two years, and had been out of contact for one year and eight months. He truly could not imagine what had happened to him, nor did he dare to.
But his illness was chronic and grave; clearly he could no longer wait for him to come back. For the sake of Xiliang’s stability, he again asked the emperor to agree to establishing Zhang Mao as Princely Heir.
He附送ed his pulse condition and the medicines he was taking, and he also invited a painter to draw his portrait and send it to the Capital City, to tell the emperor and the officials that he was now skin and bones, and even getting out of bed was difficult.
Ever since his stroke in the Second Year of Yongjia until now, his health had always been poor. To have held on until the Second Year of Yuanzhen was already a miracle. He felt he did not have many days left to live and again pleaded for the emperor’s consent.
In the letter he wept, saying, "If it were possible, this minister would naturally wish for the throne to be inherited by my eldest son, An Xun. But his life and death are unknown today. For the long-term plan of Xiliang, my second son, Cheng Xun, is the best choice."
The letter that arrived was covered in tear stains. After reading it, Zhao Hanzhang wept in public, moved by Zhang Gui’s heartfelt love as a father and his sincere devotion to Xiliang, and then had Zhao Ming read it aloud once to all the officials in the hall.
After Zhao Ming finished reading, he couldn’t help but sigh. The officials also sighed, and at last they no longer obstructed Zhang Gui’s request to establish his second son as Princely Heir.
Zhao Hanzhang then issued a decree, establishing Zhang Mao as Heir of Xiliang.
After court was dismissed and the officials withdrew, some officials whispered among themselves, "I had thought Your Majesty held some grudge against Xiliang; I didn’t expect her to agree just like that."
"Isn’t that good?"
The official fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "It’s quite good. Since Your Majesty treats Xiliang generously, she will treat us generously in the future as well."
"It’s just a pity that Zhang Shi is not in Xiliang. If he came back alive, what would become of Xiliang?" Hopefully by then there would not be brothers turning on each other and Xiliang falling into chaos.
"This must also be what Your Majesty and Ji Shizhong and the others are worried about, which is why they were so slow to agree. But... Governor Zhang is seriously ill and can no longer hold out. Who told Zhang Shi not to be in Xiliang right now?"
"Ai~"
"Ai~"
Everyone was feeling sorry for Zhang Shi; only Zhao Hanzhang was rejoicing for the people and officialdom of Xiliang. "Zhang Shi is quite a good person; he’s just not suited to be a local official—especially not a State Governor, the parent-official of a whole province."
Fu Tinghan ladled her some soup and asked, "Still no news of him?"
At this, Zhao Hanzhang grew troubled and shook her head. "No. We don’t even know on which part of the route something happened. They clearly took a radio with them, but no matter how we try to make contact, we can’t reach them."
"I suspect the radio has long since fallen out of their hands. How great a crisis must that be?" Zhao Hanzhang frowned. "No wonder the people we sent afterward also haven’t been able to make contact with them."
Fu Tinghan looked at her expression and asked, "You want to send troops to the Western Regions?"
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her head and glanced at her belly, then nodded. "We’ll wait a bit longer. Once I give birth to her, I’ll send people to make a trip to the Western Regions."
Her eyes were slightly cold, carrying that familiar sharpness he knew so well. "The mission is so difficult precisely because the Silk Road is not open, isn’t it? Since that’s the case, I’ll just open it by force!"

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