"Thud, thud, thud!"
Earth-shaking hoofbeats seemed to make the ground itself tremble. Amid billowing dust, a troop of riders galloped along, clad in Leather Armour, with blades, spears, bows, and crossbows hanging at their horses' flanks. One glance marked them as imperial troops.
The riders entered Chang'an City and headed straight for the Zongzheng Office. Their leader leaped from his horse and called out, "We have come from the Huainan Kingdom. His Highness has passed away. We have come to Chang'an on the Queen's orders to report his death."
Startled, the guard hurried inside to report. Once the party received permission to enter the Zongzheng Office, Zongzheng Liu Cheng hastened into the courtyard. Before the messenger could even speak, he asked urgently, "Has the King of Huainan truly passed away?"
Liu Cheng could hardly be blamed for his urgency. This King of Huainan was probably the oldest member of the Liu imperial clan alive. After Liu Bang quelled the rebellion of Ying Bu, King of Huainan, he had enfeoffed his elder brother with the Huainan Kingdom.
As it turned out, the man truly had a knack for living. He had actually outlasted Liu Bang, Lü Zhi, and Liu Ying. Liu Bang's other brothers had all passed away long ago, and the various kingdoms were ruled by second- or even third-generation Feudal Lords. Only the Huainan Kingdom still had its first-generation ruler.
Back then, Ying Bu had relied on the Huainan Kingdom to rebel. Though he had overestimated himself like a mantis raising its forelegs against a chariot, it still showed just how formidable the Huainan Kingdom's strength was.
For Liu Cheng to serve as Zongzheng, a key post among the Nine Ministers, under such powerful figures as Lü Zhi and Luo Xin, his allegiance was easy to imagine.
In fact,