Fu Xiong had not declared his position in person, instead having his legitimate son Fu Jian convey it to Fu Chang. This was no slippery maneuver. Quite the contrary: he was telling everyone that not only would he continue to recognize Fu Chang's position should anything happen to his elder brother, but he himself was also prepared to sacrifice his life for the entire Fu Clan's Di power bloc.
At the very least, he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself to keep Fu Chang alive.
His elder brother Fu Jian was therefore very pleased.
But soon, perhaps because he had drunk a few cups too many, this Di emperor, who had already acquired the bad habit of growing melancholy over the times, turned his attention elsewhere as they were about to part. He took his younger brother's hand and addressed him earnestly, though his words tumbled out incoherently:
"Xiong, Yuan Cai, by rights, if Huan Wen really crosses the river tomorrow, I shouldn't tell you how to fight. But you just mentioned two years ago, and I truly don't want to take Jing's hand again as I did then and say, 'You die north of the river, I die south of it, and we shall not meet in the Yellow Springs.' Promise me that if our chances of victory tomorrow fall below twenty or thirty percent, you'll stop fighting...
"Times have changed. There aren't many of us old brothers from Fangtou left. Preserve your useful life and protect your nephew's inheritance... the more difficult things become, the more we need a pillar to hold up the roof, a renowned general of our age whom no one dares underestimate, leading a force fit for battle and keeping watch over Chang'an, guarding against those wolves and dogs.
"I know neither you nor