Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

"Kong Rong?"

Liu Bian's eyes flickered slightly.

In that instant, many memories surfaced in my mind as if pulled by a thread: the boy who shared pears, the scholar engaging in refined conversation, the sharp and incisive writing, and... that life that had come to an end.

He showed no surprise whatsoever; instead, he smiled slightly.

"I've heard of him for a long time."

As soon as Liu Bian finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall did not immediately become lively.

Kong Rong looked up at Liu Bian, but did not speak immediately. Instead, he glanced around the hall.

Wang Ming was about to reprimand him, but Liu Bian raised his hand to stop him.

Kong Rong, also known as Kong Wenju, died largely because of his mouth in his previous life.

Judging from Kong Rong's behavior, Liu Bian knew that this man's words were probably not pleasant to hear.

Finally, just as Yang Ci was about to speak, Kong Rong bowed slightly and said:

"Your Highness, I have come here not to seek official position, nor to seek fame."

"The purpose is to negotiate an alliance."

Wang Ming's eyelids twitched.

Yang Ci lowered his eyes slightly, as if he had expected this statement.

Liu Bian gently placed the pen on the table: "The son of the Chancellor of Beihai has come to the Eastern Palace to discuss the alliance."

"If this gets out, it will become a joke in Luoyang's taverns tomorrow."

Kong Rong, however, did not continue to beat around the bush; his tone carried the sharp edge characteristic of a scholar:

"Since Your Highness dared to hand over the Tongsheng Society and rename it the Tianshang Society; and dared to openly overturn the verdict in court—"

"Your Majesty, I knew that your ambitions were far-reaching and that what you wanted was not just trade routes."

He paused, then lowered his voice:

"And then there's the path of human nature."

Liu Bian retorted, "Whom do you represent?"

"A clear stream."

"Scholar-officials".

As soon as those words were spoken, the lights in the hall flickered.

Kong Rong continued:

"I have been studying at Lord Yang's residence for the past few years and serving by his side."

"His Highness gave the woodblock printing method to the Yang family, and many old books in Luoyang were reprinted, which is known to all scholars in the world. This is not only a blessing for the Yang family, but also a blessing for the entire line of scholars to breathe a sigh of relief."

"At that time, I knew that this prince of the Eastern Palace was not only intelligent."

"Moreover... someone willing to shake the roots."

Yang Ci finally raised his eyes and glanced at Kong Rong—a glance that wasn't exactly approval, but rather permission: continue.

Kong Rong took a deep breath, as if he were moving stones that had been weighing on his heart for many years:

"During the chaos of the Partisan Proscription, the scholar-officials suffered greatly."

"His family was sealed off, his name was tarnished, he could not be recommended for officialdom, and he had no way to enter officialdom."

"They are not afraid of poverty or hardship, but they are afraid that even the cleanest reputation can be condemned by a single word."

He looked up at Liu Bian, his eyes sharp and piercing:

"Your Highness, Qingliu does not want a pardon."

"What the 'pure stream' needs is—rules."

"We need a set of rules that will prevent us from being held hostage by others."

Liu Bian shifted his gaze from Kong Rong to Yang Ci, then back to Kong Rong, and suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question:

"You've come to me because you think I can change the rules?"

"Then what makes you so confident in me?"

Kong Rong opened his mouth:

"Because His Highness held the 'path to wealth' in his own hands and then handed it over to His Majesty."

"Only those who know when to advance and when to retreat dare to talk about rules."

"Qingliu also understands that if he wants to survive, he cannot just wait, nor can he just guess."

"We need someone who can both win and win."

The hall fell silent.

Liu Bian sighed softly:

"Wenju, this is not negotiation."

"You're placing a bet."

The only response Liu Bian received was Kong Rong's piercing gaze.

Liu Bian then changed his tone:

Kong Rong answered quickly, as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times in his mind:

"name."

"Pen."

"people."

"Qingliu can write Your Highness's righteous thoughts into national law, and make the Crown Prince's examination into a national examination."

"It can also shield His Highness from the gossip of the eunuchs and relatives of the empress, and change the word 'forming a faction' to 'establishing a system' for His Highness."

"More importantly—if Your Highness is willing to lift the ban on the partisans, the Qingliu faction is willing to serve as your banner and erect a sign of 'Your Highness can be trusted by the Crown Prince' among the scholars."

Wang Ming's heart pounded, and he instinctively tried to back away.

That's an overstatement.

It's also dangerous.

Liu Bian, however, remained unmoved. Instead, he raised his hand to stop Wang Ming and said:

"How do you want me to help you?"

Kong Rong lowered his voice and moved closer:

"Remove the shackles of the party."

"Give scholars a way out."

"I do not seek immediate action, for I know that this matter affects the lives of too many people in the palace."

"But Your Highness needs a definite answer: can Your Highness promise me that you will lift the ban on the partisans?"

Yang Ci's breathing paused almost imperceptibly for a moment.

This is to tie the entire Shilin and the Crown Prince together.

Liu Bian did not answer immediately.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the two characters "Jizhou" on the table, as if he were weighing another, larger game of chess.

Two years, just two years, just one sentence: "If Heaven wills, Heaven shall rise." The chaos of the Party Prohibitions will be resolved in an instant.

Having pondered this, Liu Bian looked up at Kong Rong:

"I can give you one sentence."

"But before that, do me a small favor."

Kong Rong's expression hardened: "Your Highness, please speak."

Liu Bian raised his hand and took a thin piece of paper from beside the table. The paper contained only a few lines of text, but it wasn't an article; instead, it listed names and numbers:

"This is the unusual circulation of 'talisman paper' and 'sulfur' in the twelve wards of Luoyang over the past three months."

"Go back and tell the Qingliu group."

"If anyone truly wants to lift the ban on the party, they should not rush to write a petition to Heaven."

"First, find out where all these things ended up."

Kong Rong stared at the paper:

"Your Highness wants to use Qingliu's eyes to see where the knife is."

Liu Bian remained noncommittal.

After a moment of silence, Kong Rong solemnly accepted the paper and bowed deeply:

"Your subject understands."

"I will give His Highness a reply on this matter within three days."

Liu Bian finally smiled:

"good!"

"Since you dare to place a bet, I'll give you a piece of advice."

He looked up at Kong Rong and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Within three years."

"The persecution of political parties will surely be lifted."

Kong Rong's pupils contracted slightly.

He could tell—this wasn't the boast of a young man.

This is the phrase "making a move".

He had only half a percent confidence in his heart, but now the phrase "it will definitely be solved" had forced out another half of his anger.

With the remaining four and a half minutes, he suddenly didn't want to waste any more time with "doubt".

He was willing to trade "with" for it.

Kong Rong bowed again, his voice more steady than when he arrived:

"Your Highness, I believe you to some extent."

"The remaining five points—I would like to stake on Your Highness's actions."

Yang Ci finally let out a soft breath, as if a stone that had been pressing on his chest had been lifted off his chest.

Liu Bian rose and returned the greeting:

"Then let's start from today—"

"Qingliu and Donggong each go their own way, but the path they walk is in the same direction."

Yang Ci looked at the boy, whose face still showed signs of immaturity, but whose eyes revealed a firm determination.

He suddenly remembered what Kong Rong had said to him when he was at the Yang residence—

"Everything this Crown Prince has done since entering the palace."

Others only say he is "brilliant as a young man", but I see "paving the way for the world".

"Grand Commandant, what do we scholars fear most? It's not eunuchs, nor foreign invaders, but the fact that after a lifetime of studying the classics, we discover that they can only decorate our family's reputation—they can't save people."

"Your Highness has done a great service by taking the book down from the lintel and putting it back into the world."

Yang Ci remained silent for a long time at that time:

"But...doing this will surely be seen as forming a faction. If the Qingliu faction and the Crown Prince are linked, the people will say—"

"Forming a party? What kind of party? Is it a party driven by self-interest, or a party that claims to 'establish a system to save the people'?"

Kong Rong suddenly stood up and flicked his robe.

"Grand Commandant, I respect the good reputation of your Yang family for three generations. But if a good reputation is only used to avoid disaster, it is just an empty reputation."

"If today I can exchange a good reputation for a path, and for the lives of ten thousand more people, then that will last for a thousand years."

-

Thinking of this, the last trace of hesitation in Yang Ci's eyes disappeared.

He slowly raised his hand and bowed solemnly:

"Mrs. Yang, I am willing to walk in this direction together."

Kong Rong also bowed solemnly again: "Your subject will certainly not fail in your trust."

Liu Bian nodded and gestured for Wang Ming to see the guest out.

The curtain fell, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Only the lamplight and the rustling of paper remained inside the Chengde Hall.

No one saw that outside the East Palace, a pair of eyes watched Yang Ci and Kong Rong's departing figures disappear into the darkness.