Lady Wang was so angry that she fell ill and lay in bed for half a month before recovering. Zhao Changyu initially tried to console her, "Why be so upset? It’s just a plum tree."
But seeing her cry at the mere mention of the plum tree, he changed his tone, "The tree’s been cut down, but if you really love eating plums, the stump is still there. I’ll think of a way to see if it can be salvaged. If it grows back, you’ll have plums to eat again in a few years."
Lady Wang cried even more sorrowfully.
She knew how much her husband loved that plum tree. He was a miserly man who loved making money. The entire garden was filled with peonies and peach blossoms in spring, roses and lotuses in summer, chrysanthemums and various fruits in autumn, and plum blossoms along with lotus roots in winter. Even his mother’s favorite orchids were not spared; everything that could be sold was sold, except this plum tree, which he never sold.
They ate the plums themselves, shared them with family, and the surpluses were dried for winter consumption.
Such a good tree was cut down by her own brother.
Lady Wang felt not only guilty but also deeply pained, feeling she had let her husband down.
Seeing he couldn’t console her, Zhao Changyu invited renowned doctors for her and entertained her with stories from the outside world to cheer her up.
Alas, who could understand? Not only was the plum tree cut down, but inviting renown doctors, prescribing medicines, and tending to her illness must have cost a fortune.
He charged all these expenses to his brother-in-law’s account, and though he said nothing publicly, he gave the steward a strict order that his brother-in-law was not to be allowed in the house anymore.
As long as he showed up, the doors were to be shut tightly, keeping the danger out.
He also realized there were too few servants in the household to fend off any danger.
This time it was just his brother-in-law with only the intention of a plum tree. But what if next time it’s some treacherous ministers or political enemies?
If they came with swords, what could the old, weak, women, and children in the house possibly do?
Thus, Zhao Changyu, known for upholding the law and keeping a clean reputation, extended his reach for the first time, beginning to consider cultivating a private army.
A private army, also known as private soldiers.
This was illegal but common among aristocratic families of the time.
The Zhao Family had none.
Because before Zhao Changyu, the Zhao Family was impoverished; they couldn’t even afford many servants, let alone a private army. His mother and grandmother did the housework themselves, with only one or two old servants to help wash clothes and do rough work.
But now Zhao Changyu had money, and he had several trade caravans, which provided a basis for a guard team, although it hadn’t developed into a private army.
After this incident, Zhao Changyu began to have ideas. To protect his family and clan, some military force was necessary.
So he started seeking ways to cultivate a private army for the Zhao Family.
He was a very strategic and intelligent man. He pondered what kind of private army he needed and, once decided, aimed to develop it towards that goal.
Because the emperor refused to replace the Crown Prince, a few days ago, the Crown Prince’s tutor Wei Guan got drunk. During archery practice at the school grounds, an arrow whizzed past the Crown Prince’s neck, nearly killing him. Consequently, Wei Guan was suspended and confined for reflection.
Wei Guan claimed he was drunk and mistook his aim due to blurred vision, but those with insight knew that Wei Guan sincerely wanted to kill the Crown Prince.
If the Crown Prince truly ascended, this country would be nearly doomed.
Not to mention the numerous Sima family princes and aristocratic ministers, who would respect a fool?
Would everyone not take advantage to gain benefits from a fool on the throne?
And without the ability to discern, the fool would lead the nation into chaos.
Fortunately, the Crown Princess Consort Jia was wise.
Yet, her brilliance could both lead to triumph and potentially cause downfall.
Though Zhao Changyu had seen her only a few times, he discerned her ambition and temperament. If the country fell into her hands, even if stabilized for a period, it would only accumulate internal conflicts.
Then it would depend on her and the court and the Imperial Family’s struggle to see who could gain the upper hand.
Now all one could hope for was the Imperial Grandson growing up quickly and the emperor living a little longer. Then perhaps the impending calamity could be avoided by having the Imperial Grandson govern.
Such was the plan, but Zhao Changyu had to prepare for an alternative scenario, and the private army was for this preparation.
Zhao Changyu thought about the Xiongnu and tribes recuperating in the north and decided his private army must combine stillness and dynamism, needing both infantry’s defensive capability and cavalry’s mobility.
Should the second scenario occur, leaving Luoyang quickly and returning home would be necessary.
Ultimately, Xiping was his hometown and his stronghold; returning there was best.
If Xiping were to be his stronghold, then it needed development.
With this in mind, Zhao Changyu devised a grand plan. During his wife’s half-months recovery, he created a ten-point development plan for the Zhao Family’s future, compiling a thick stack of planning documents.
After rethinking, he summarized the plans into two letters, sending one to Zhao Zhongyu, who was far away, and one to his cousin Zhao Song in Xiping.
Zhao Song was the most valued among his many cousins. Though not very bright, much like Zhao Zhongyu, he was relatively clever among the Zhao Family’s descendants.
Most importantly, he valued loyalty and had the ability to execute.
With Zhao Changyu staying in Luoyang and Zhao Zhongyu away, only Zhao Song could be entrusted with Xiping.
Zhao Changyu decided to start constructing Zhao’s Fortress.
He aimed to gradually build tall walls around Zhao Family Village, encompassing most of the farmland, and construct watchtowers, transforming Zhao Family Village into an impregnable fortress.
Should the country plunge into chaos, they could retreat to Xiping and fight alongside their clansmen from the fortress, preserving themselves.
This required an enormous amount of manpower and resources.
Zhao Changyu didn’t have enough money yet, so he still needed to earn more.
Simultaneously, the private army’s development would be in two parts: one stationed in Xiping to specifically protect Zhao’s Fortress; the other in Luoyang, loyal only to Zhao Changyu, and the Zhao Family’s direct line. In case of any accident, their mission was to protect the direct line of the Zhao Family, escorting them back to Xiping.
Zhao Changyu began to observe the warriors in Luoyang and the surrounding area and also paid attention to the vagrants drifting into Luoyang and the orphans and street children seen everywhere.
He decided to train the private army in three stages, step by step, to turn them into the most loyal guards.
He was still young and felt he had ample time to prepare.
He believed he still had thirty or forty years to live—a span of forty years was enough for three generations of private soldiers, with the second generation becoming loyal servants, let alone the third generation.
Therefore, he was full of confidence, hoping the emperor could also live another twenty or thirty years.
But who could have predicted the emperor would die so soon and so suddenly? He was only fifty-five, and suddenly he just died of illness.
Zhao Changyu later pondered deeply and concluded that Emperor Wu, a man skilled in martial arts, died because he indulged too much in his later years.
Truly, only by exercising restraint and observing propriety, focusing on health, can one live long.
Alas.
But if he had to die, he died; yet before dying, to divide power and lands of the Crown Prince among those princes and dukes only fueled their ambitions.
It would have been better to directly replace the Crown Prince. Indeed, the old tend to be muddle-headed, Zhao Changyu noted this conclusion in his mind, always reminding himself to avoid repeating the mistakes of the former emperor.

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