Luo Xin was deeply worried about the current emperor. That was the conclusion Luo Yi drew from what Luo Xin had said.
For he had set aside the gradual extension of imperial favor in favor of violent warfare. This could only mean he feared that the successors who came afterward would lack the ability to carry on his unfinished work.
Luo Xin said softly, "His Majesty is exceptionally intelligent. In him, I saw the bearing of the ancient Sage Kings.
"But Emperor Xiaohui's early death disrupted my plans. Are life and death, fortune and calamity really things that men can control?
"In years past, our ancestor Duke Xuan served as regent, yet a splendid situation was destroyed in a single day by Duke Xuan's passing and King Yi's sudden death.
"I am deeply worried that such an unforeseen event might befall us. Matters have their degrees of importance and urgency, and curbing the vassal kingdoms is the most important of all. It cannot be left for the emperor to worry over. He calls me his uncle, so he is my nephew. Since it can be resolved in our time, I must bring it to an end with my own hands."
Luo Yi fell somewhat silent. The Luo Clan possessed far too much knowledge of history. Throughout history, there had been far too many things that people thought could wait, only for them never to succeed afterward. Each generation should do its own work, but only if the previous generation could not do it!
"Since you have made up your mind, I imagine you have everything arranged?"
Luo Xin turned his head slightly to look southeast of Chang'an. His gaze seemed to cross lofty mountains and the Great Rivers before finally settling on the lands of the vassal kingdoms.
"These Lords