Taking another sip, Wang Cang Hai continued with determination, “I will do everything in my power to prevent this catastrophe.”
“How can you stop Prince Xu from rebelling?” Wan San asked, incredulous.
With a slightly drunken glaze over his eyes, Wang Cang Hai spoke softly but firmly. “To rebel, one needs soldiers and provisions. I will cut off his supply lines from both ends. And when the time is right, I will meet Zhu Gao personally and persuade him to abandon his futile ambitions.”
Wan San thought for a moment before offering advice. “Cang Hai, such covert actions are too dangerous. Why not directly advise His Majesty to take precautions against Prince Xu?”
At these words, Wang Cang Hai’s eyes turned red, and his voice grew somber. “Brother San, the gravest mistake of my first twenty years of life was warning Zhu Wen of celestial omens, urging him to guard against his uncle, Zhu Di, to prevent rebellion.”
“What?” Wan San gasped. “You foresaw the current emperor’s… the coup to ‘cleanse the emperor’s court’?”
Wang Cang Hai, flushed with drink, spoke with tearful eyes, his voice heavy with emotion:
“I shared a brotherly bond with the late Emperor Zhu Wen. We confided in each other without reserve. Four and a half years ago, I observed the heavens and foretold that ten years later, Zhu Di would rebel, usurp the throne, and steal Zhu Wen’s empire. I was only fifteen at the time and far too impetuous. In the early hours, I rushed into the palace to reveal Zhu Wen’s fate.
For three days, we deliberated in secret within the Ji Qing Palace, strategizing. On one hand, we planned to weaken the military and political powers of all vassal kings, particularly Zhu Di. On the other, we sought to strengthen Zhu Wen’s direct control over the imperial army.
Over the next six months, Zhu Wen issued consecutive decrees: installing left and right civilian ministers in the vassal states to curtail political power, stripping the Zhu clan’s princes of their hereditary military commands, and revoking their control over their territories. He then appointed me as Deputy Commander of the Five City Battalion Guards, accelerating my military studies and troop training.
Six months later, I had formed a small but capable force of Silver Armored Soldiers. Zhu Wen then dispatched me to the East Sea to suppress pirates and bandits, honing our combat skills in real battles. Who in the court would have guessed? The Silver Armored Soldiers weren’t private troops of the Wang family; they were an imperial guard trained to protect Zhu Wen.”
Wan San reflected on their first meeting in the East Sea. Back then, the 16-year-old Wang Cang Hai carried a perpetually heavy expression, as if no victory could lift the weight pressing on his heart.
Wang Cang Hai drank another cup of wine before continuing:
“I was too naive, too arrogant. Heavenly omens aren’t so easily altered. All we did only accelerated the fulfillment of the prophecy, hastening Zhu Di’s rebellion and catching Zhu Wen and me off guard...”
At this, Wang Cang Hai’s voice faltered. He could not continue.
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