CHAPTER 467: CHAPTER 461: NO SUCCESSOR

Zhao Hanzhang only learned about it after receiving a letter from her Fifth Uncle. His suggestion was that if Zhao Zhongyu’s illness was truly severe, the clan needed to send someone to the Capital City to discuss the succession of the next Clan Leader.

Fifth Uncle was not keen on having Zhao Ji inherit the position of Clan Leader, as he didn’t think much of him.

But now there were only two branches left of the direct line: Zhao Ji’s branch and Zhao Hanzhang’s branch. If it wasn’t Zhao Ji, then Zhao Erlang was also unsuitable, and since Zhao Hanzhang was a woman, even if for a fleeting moment Fifth Uncle wanted Zhao Hanzhang to take the position, he quickly suppressed such a delusion. Therefore, after careful consideration, his opinion was to bypass Zhao Ji and make Zhao Dalang the Clan Leader directly.

However, Zhao Hanzhang also did not think highly of Zhao Dalang. Unlike Fifth Uncle, who was fixated on having the direct line inherit the position of Clan Leader, Zhao Hanzhang was much bolder. She felt that Zhao Ming was the most suitable choice.

But after some internal calculations, she believed Zhao Zhongyu would survive this illness, so she did not mention it.

Zhao Zhongyu was indeed gravely ill. Although the Emperor expressed belief in him and trust in the Zhao Family, he also began to suspect that the Zhao Family wanted to dominate Yu State, and there were continuous attacks on him in court.

Most of these were from Prince East Sea’s people, who still resented being defeated in collaboration between Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi; the rest were Zhao Zhongyu’s political adversaries.

Zhao Zhongyu was now the Chief of Staff. If he were to be dismissed, there would be many ready to step up to fill that vacancy.

Plus, with Prince East Sea watching like a tiger, several times Zhao Zhongyu suspected that Prince East Sea wanted to get rid of him. Coupled with the worries about his family and clan, this left Zhao Zhongyu with many concerns. Unknowingly, he caught a cold wind that directly caused him to fall ill.

His illness came suddenly, and for a time, Zhao Ji thought he wouldn’t make it, so he had no choice but to write to Xiping to report it.

If something were to happen to Zhao Zhongyu, the family would have to quickly prepare for the succession of the next Clan Leader.

Zhao Ji had never considered the possibility that he might not be the next Clan Leader, but he was still anxious. He could feel that his uncle didn’t particularly like him, and the elders in the clan all listened to his uncle. If he became the Clan Leader, he feared it would be difficult to command them.

So he hoped Zhao Zhongyu could leave some more words, preferably in front of the clan members.

Amidst these concerns, Zhao Zhongyu tenaciously pulled through and began to recover.

And during his recovery, various news from Yu State came in.

The people who had always been trapped in Luoyang City finally couldn’t bear the hunger any longer. After the fifteenth, as the weather began to warm, they took their families and left Luoyang City, heading step by step toward Yu State.

The distance from Luoyang City to Yu State wasn’t far. They didn’t expect to reach Ru Nan County; they just needed to enter the borders of Yu State, where Zhao Hanzhang’s policies reached.

They wanted to survive!

Luoyang City, already desolate, became even more cold and silent.

Although the Emperor did not leave the palace, he also felt this lifelessness and was even less willing to stay in Luoyang. He continuously challenged Prince East Sea, wanting to move the capital away.

Zhao Zhongyu, who had just recovered a little, was once again forced into their struggle, because this time the place where the Emperor wanted to move the capital was Cangyuan City, as once proposed by Gou Xi.

Cangyuan City was near Chen County. Previously, it was controlled by Inspector He, with Gou Xi occasionally visiting. But now, it was entirely in Zhao Hanzhang’s hands.

Gou Xi could no longer casually visit there.

If the Emperor truly relocated the capital to Cangyuan City, then the tasks for the great noble families in Yu State would increase manifold.

And the two largest noble families in Yu State were the Zhao Family and the Xun Family.

Zhao Zhongyu was forced into this and fell ill again.

Although he fell ill again, this time it was much milder. He simply rested on his bed under the covers, drank his medicine on time, ate when hungry, and drank when thirsty.

Zhao Ji was anxious for two days and had to initiate a conversation, "Father, the Emperor has once again sent a eunuch to see you."

Zhao Ji was about to lie down and wait for someone to come in, but hurriedly said, "I have already sent him away, but Father, we cannot always avoid this."

He asked, "Since you said the Emperor is different now and might gain the upper hand, why don’t you support the Emperor’s plan to move the capital?"

"If the capital moves to Cangyuan, it won’t be very far from our Xiping, and currently Yu State is under our Zhao Family’s control. Our military power isn’t much less than Prince East Sea’s."

Zhao Zhongyu frowned and told him, "You should not be involved in court politics in the future."

Zhao Ji was a bit annoyed, "Father!"

Zhao Zhongyu said displeased, "It’s not that simple. The Emperor might have twenty thousand soldiers now, but in front of Prince East Sea, this number is insignificant. Yu State has just stabilized, and Hanzhang hasn’t had the chance to firmly establish her position. If the capital is moved now, her plans will be disrupted, and the Zhao Family will still just be the Xiping Zhao Family, not the Yu State Zhao Family."

He continued, "Not to mention Prince East Sea and Gou Xi, if the Emperor moves the capital to Cangyuan, would the two of them not bring their troops to station in Cangyuan?"

"Cangyuan is right next to Chen County, and Hanzhang is, after all, a woman in terms of identity and age. At that time, she would be at the mercy of the court ministers." Zhao Zhongyu said, "It’s a big difference between having the court present and not having the court. Could she really resort to fighting in the presence of the Emperor, Prince East Sea, and Gou Xi?"

"Since her identity is limited, the family should find someone to replace her; she can step back into the background..."

Zhao Zhongyu stared at him until he could no longer speak.

He asked faintly, "Are you trying to force the Third Lady to marry?"

Zhao Ji responded, "Father, when did I ever have such intentions?"

Zhao Zhongyu replied, "Given her relationship with you, wouldn’t she see through your schemes? Even if it’s necessary to push someone to the forefront, there’s still Second Son and Fu Tinghan."

He continued, "She will eventually marry, and isn’t Fu Tinghan closer to her than you or I?"

Zhao Ji was somewhat angered, "She is now relying entirely on our Zhao Family."

Zhao Zhongyu was somewhat disheartened by his words. He wasn’t afraid of Zhao Ji being ruthless, but feared his ruthless foolishness.

He could not even control the clan now, knowing that the clan had nearly been split in two, with most of the clan members leaning towards Zhao Hanzhang.

And why did she gain such support?

Naturally, it was because she had the capability.

There were still as many people in the Zhao Family, but previously no one had commanded military power, and those military achievements—were they achieved by the clan members for her?

Zhao Zhongyu remembered the letter Zhao Song wrote to him not long ago.

He glanced at Zhao Ji, recalling how Zhao Song unceremoniously denied him in the letter, considering him unworthy and incapable of leading the clan.

He would rather pass over him and give the clan leadership to the still underage Zhao Dalang than to the already titled Zhao Ji.

Zhao Zhongyu’s heart filled with a sudden sadness, a sense of posterity breaking down—it was in this instant that he finally understood his brother’s helplessness and anxiety from the past.

Zhao Ji was as such, and Zhao Dalang wasn’t much better, with the direct line only having one almost illiterate Zhao Erlang besides them.

Zhao Zhongyu couldn’t help but shed tears, realizing that all the intelligence and beauty in the direct line were concentrated in Zhao Hanzhang alone. Unfortunately, she was a woman. If she were a man, his brother wouldn’t have needed to worry so much, and he wouldn’t be in such a dilemma today.