Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Liu Wenji did not agree to cooperate with the Southern Barbarians immediately.

He first settled the envoys down, placing them in his private residence. He prevaricated, telling them he needed a few days to consider.

The envoy sneered, knowing that Liu Wenji wanted to wait and see the battle reports before making a final decision. As a Southern Barbarian, he instinctively looked down on the military strength of the Great Wei. How could the Southern Barbarians lose to the Great Wei on the battlefield? If this Eunuch Liu wanted to watch, then let him watch.

Over the following days, the battle reports streaming into Chang'an were all related to the two battlefields. The Hexi battlefield was where the Great Wei's main forces were stationed; they had been guarding against neighboring nomadic tribes for years, and the elite troops were always at the ready.

The Southern Barbarians had not managed to gain any advantage on the Hexi battlefield in the short term.

For many years, due to the advantageous terrain, the Hexi battlefield had been the main theater of war between the Great Wei and the surrounding nomadic tribes. In previous years, when the Great Wei went to war with the Wu Barbarians, the battlefield was also in Hexi. This time, although the Great Wei had caught wind of the changes in the Southern Barbarians' situation through Yang Sanlang’s intelligence, the court still believed that if the Southern Barbarians wanted to attack the Great Wei, the main battlefield would still be Hexi.

Even now, apart from Liu Wenji, who had developed suspicions after speaking with the Southern Barbarian envoy, no one else in the Great Wei realized that this time, the Southern Barbarians had concentrated their main force on the Jiannan battlefield.

The Great Wei only had the Longyou Circuit and the Jiannan Circuit bordering the Southern Barbarians. The Longyou Circuit had advantageous terrain, while the Jiannan terrain was steep and dangerous... Who would ignore the Hexi region to fixate on Jiannan?

Unless the Southern Barbarians' goal in this war was to obtain Jiannan itself.

Jiannan had previously bordered the Wu Barbarians, and the Wu Barbarians had suffered quite a few losses in Jiannan when fighting the Great Wei. After the Wu Barbarians returned to the Southern Barbarians, King Ale had set his sights on the heart of Jiannan. He knew that if he had Jiannan, it would be difficult for the Southern Barbarians to storm into the pass—into the truly prosperous regions of the Great Wei.

Only by turning Jiannan into their own... would it be much easier to wage war against the Great Wei in the future.

Naturally, Hexi was also important. If they obtained Hexi, broke through the Yumen Pass, and marched directly across the vast plains, they could go straight to take Chang'an and capture the Great Wei Emperor alive... the benefits would be the same.

King Ale of the Southern Barbarians was ambitious this time, mobilizing all the forces in his country. He claimed to have an army of 400,000, divided into two forces; whichever battlefield saw a breakthrough first would be the one he supported with his main force.

The battle reports were circulated daily among the officials in Chang'an. With the war looming, the Ministry of War became a hot spot. It wasn't just Chancellor Liu who was constantly urging them for updates; even Liu Wenji asked the Ministry of War for reports three times a day, putting the Minister of War under immense pressure.

What put him under even more pressure was the fact that the results in the reports were not good.

King Ale was personally overseeing the battle, determined to take Jiannan in one fell swoop. Trouble had started at the Jiannan border first, and for days on end, the reports from Jiannan were all about defeat, leaving Chancellor Liu’s face as black as a cooking pot, his mood somber all day. Among the constant defeats, there were occasionally a few minor victories, which caught everyone’s attention—

During the court conference, the eunuchs and the scholars stopped arguing and sat down together to study the military situation.

Chancellor Liu looked at the "wins" mentioned in the reports, deep in thought: "Whose troops were they? Promote the generals who won these few battles, grant them titles and ranks, and send them to the main battlefield!"

The Minister of War wiped his sweat, feeling very awkward: "Those few victories were just luck; they cannot be taken as the norm..."

Chancellor Liu asked: "Whose troops were they?"

The Minister looked left and right, evading the question: "Although we have suffered losses for the moment, our army’s supplies are ample..."

Chancellor Liu repeated: "Whose troops were they?"

Liu Wenji chuckled from the side, his tone sarcastic: "Minister Luo, if the Ministry of War is so incompetent, do you plan to use the lives of the soldiers to fill the gaps on the battlefield? Even if the supplies are ample, they will eventually run out. Furthermore, there are other things in the Great Wei that need money. Is the Ministry of Revenue supposed to supply the Ministry of War entirely?

"As far as I know, reports came in from Hebei two days ago that an earthquake occurred, and quite a few people died. The rainy season has arrived; this year, floods in Huainan and Jiangnan have breached the dikes, drowning many houses, and the local government offices have been washed away by the water.

"Not to mention the distant matters, let's talk about what's close. The halls in the palace are leaking because they are old. Two days ago, a few rooms in Consort Xian's palace collapsed, crushing several palace maids and eunuchs to death. Even the First Prince was frightened and sent to stay with other consorts. The palace needs money for renovations, too. Today, it only crushed a few maids, but if it crushes Consort Xian or His Majesty tomorrow... that would be hard to say.

"Then there is His Majesty's desire to tour the country from Chang'an, which the Secretariat has been refusing to approve. His Majesty hasn't been happy these past two days.

"You see, item after item, all require silver from the Ministry of Revenue. Even if the war is urgent, it wouldn't hurt to push our affairs back a little. But if the war situation is tight and we keep pouring resources into it without seeing results, that seems meaningless, doesn't it?"

The officials from the Ministry of War glared at him.

Chancellor Liu turned to Liu Wenji, his tone cold: "In that case, do you have any advice, Eunuch Liu? Perhaps you possess world-shaking talent and have unique insights into the war?"

Liu Wenji smiled: "I wouldn't dare. If the war effort is weak, the commander should be removed. I just think that if the Minister of War cannot handle this office, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let someone else take over. Otherwise... if the Great Wei really cannot win this war, seeking peace wouldn't be bad either."

For a moment, an uproar broke out among the scholars, and they were plunged into a new round of infighting.

All the ministers began to argue about this matter. Amidst the chaos, only a director from the Ministry of Rites, Wei Shu of the Wei family, remained quiet, not saying a word.

Wei Shu watched them argue with profound calmness. He looked thoughtful as he observed the scholarly faction led by Chancellor Liu; he watched how the noble families and the commoner scholars were actually joining forces to attack the eunuchs. He then looked at Liu Wenji; Liu Wenji's words had been sharp and fast.

Wei Shu’s eyelashes flickered slightly; he lowered his eyes and unconsciously rubbed the wooden armrest: There was a look of anxiety in Liu Wenji’s eyes.

What was he anxious about?

What was it that would be too late?

Could it be that Liu Wenji desperately hoped that the Great Wei would win this battle?

Wei Shu frowned, feeling that this did not resemble the Liu Wenji he knew. Of course, he had only spoken to Liu Wenji a few times in total, and that was when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. So much time had passed, and Liu Wenji had changed so much that Wei Shu no longer recognized this person at all.

However, there was one person who would know Liu Wenji better than he did.

Wei Shu decided to go back and write a letter to Yan Shang, informing him of Liu Wenji’s abnormality and asking if Yan Shang could figure anything out—

That day's court conference ended with the Minister of War resigning in anger. Liu Wenji didn't even blink as he pushed Lord Zhao, a powerful figure from the Zhao family who had a very close relationship with him, into the position of Minister of War. The scholars had no choice; they couldn't just stand by and watch the Great Wei seek peace.

But the scholar faction were the ones losing the battles, and the Great Eunuch Liu Wenji held onto the issue tightly, insisting that someone must be held responsible.

Glancing at that Lord Zhao, who only followed Liu Wenji's lead, Chancellor Liu couldn't even bring himself to look twice and walked away, flicking his sleeves.

After leaving the palace and calming down a bit, Chancellor Liu asked a eunuch behind him: "What has His Majesty been doing these past two days?"

The eunuch lowered his head: "His Majesty is worried about the war. He went to the imperial tombs to pay respects to the ancestors, and upon returning, he has been staying in his palace for days, eating vegetarian food and praying for the Great Wei."

Chancellor Liu immediately sneered—the Emperor who didn't even attend the court conferences said he was eating vegetarian food and praying for the Great Wei; who would believe that?

But Chancellor Liu waved his hand in annoyance, thinking that as long as the Emperor stayed in the palace and didn't cause trouble, he could do whatever he wanted.

As Chancellor Liu stepped down from the platform, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned to ask the Minister of War, but as he looked back, the officials were scattered in small groups, all dressed in solemn official robes—purple and vermillion—with imposing auras. Chancellor Liu remembered that the Minister of War had just resigned and was no longer among these officials.

Standing on the platform, although it was full of people, Chancellor Liu suddenly felt a sense of emptiness, feeling as if there was no one around him.

An official asked with concern: "Is the Chancellor feeling unwell?"

Chancellor Liu came back to his senses: "I'm just getting old, my mind wandered."

The official acted as if he hadn't seen the fatigue in Chancellor Liu's eyes for that brief moment, only saying: "Chancellor, take care of your health; we all rely on you."

Chancellor Liu nodded. He asked the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War who happened to be walking over: "Just now, your Minister did not say who exactly won those few battles. He was being hesitant; what is the reason for that?"

The Vice Minister looked back carefully at the Hall of Supreme Harmony behind them and whispered: "There is no other reason; it is because that person is guilty of treason, and His Majesty is watching, so it is not easy for us to promote him—it is Yang Silang, Yang Si."

Chancellor Liu went silent; he understood the reason immediately—the Emperor was narrow-minded and was afraid that he would be uncomfortable seeing someone who had followed the Crown Prince in treason receive amnesty.

Chancellor Liu sighed. He planned to write a letter to Yan Shang upon returning and leave the matter of Yang Silang for Yan Shang to handle.

His steps as he descended the stairs were unsteady, his back bending more and more. Perhaps he was truly getting old; he had been suffering from insomnia frequently lately and often felt tired... He thought that when this war ended, it would be time for him to resign. But by then, he would need to have Yan Suchen transferred back to Chang'an.

Among his several students, Yan Suchen was still the one he trusted the most. It was not that the political methods of his other students were inferior to Yan Shang's, but rather that Yan Shang, while deeply mired in politics, was able to maintain his own rare principles. When the time came, his students and the noble families like the Liu family would support Yan Shang together, and if Yan Shang could suppress the eunuchs, Chancellor Liu could leave with peace of mind.

He was old, and it was time for him to enjoy his twilight years.

Once he resigned, he would leave Chang'an and go live with his favorite little granddaughter and her husband. The year before last, his little granddaughter had given birth to a great-grandson, whom he had never even met... Thinking of Liu Ruozhu, whom he had raised himself, a look of gentleness appeared in Chancellor Liu’s eyes.

At the same time, there was also much worry.

Because his granddaughter's husband was now serving in Hexi, Liu Ruozhu had followed her husband there. Now that the war in Hexi was intense, personal letters had to make way for military intelligence... Chancellor Liu hadn't been in contact with his granddaughter for a long time.

He was very worried about them.

But he was the Chancellor of the Great Wei. The Emperor was incompetent, and the Chancellor governed—he could not let his personal feelings override national affairs.

Only in the dead of night, when everything was quiet, did he pray that his granddaughter and her family would safely weather the crisis—

The Four Prefectures of Hexi were the four most important checkpoints in Hexi. As soon as the war started, the entire Longyou region entered a state of war. Because Longyou had bordered foreign countries for years, military officers had always held significant influence there. When the Southern Barbarians attacked Longyou, all the civilian official groups in Longyou yielded to the military officers.

Military officers fought the war, and civilian officials relocated the people; this was a highly skilled, well-coordinated cooperation that had developed in Longyou over so many years.

Liu Ruozhu’s husband, Lin Dao, was one such civilian official.

When the area under his jurisdiction was engulfed by the flames of war, he worked with other officials to move the common people into the pass. The people were unwilling to leave their ancestral land, reluctant to part with their homes and grain, which required officials to forcefully drive them out. In Lin Dao's case, as soon as he and Liu Ruozhu discovered that the situation was dire, they had already had their household maids and servants take their young son and flee toward the pass.

Liu Ruozhu could not leave.

Because, compared to ordinary people, she also had to preserve those precious books and cultural artifacts that had been collected over many years and rescued from various countries.

Those scrolls and classics were treasures left behind by the millennia. If they were consumed by the flames of war, everything would be gone. After Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao had spent years collecting and preserving these classics in Hexi, how could they bear to abandon them?

Therefore, they could only flee with those two cartloads of hidden books. Along the way, when they encountered commoners, the couple helped them as they could. Although they occasionally ran into the flames of war and lost some books, it was already much better than losing them all.

The topography of Longyou was varied, featuring both vast deserts and fertile plains.

In the afternoon, Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao hid behind a sand dune. After eating some dry rations, they and the commoners rested on the leeward side. Lin Dao’s brows were knit together as he looked at the carts of books they were transporting.

Liu Ruozhu took his hand, and he looked at his wife. Liu Ruozhu said softly: "My husband, don't worry. With my grandfather in the court, he will certainly not watch Hexi fall into the hands of the Southern Barbarians. As long as we reach the foot of the Qin Mountains, we will be safe. We will surely be able to preserve these books."

Lin Dao said: "If it's too late, you take the books and the people and flee. The Southern Barbarians also need to negotiate with the Hexi officials; I will buy you time."

Liu Ruozhu was stunned.

She looked at him without blinking, her eyes shining like the starry night, with fragmented stars flowing within them.

She said: "Are you afraid that Hexi will fall into the hands of the Southern Barbarians? No, that won't happen. The central government will not abandon Hexi... My grandfather will not abandon Hexi."

Lin Dao hugged her shoulders and said: "I am just speaking of 'what if.' We must prepare for the worst... Hexi is so important, how could the central government let it go? I am only afraid of the 'what if'."

Liu Ruozhu said with tears in her eyes: "There is no 'what if.' Even if there were, I would not abandon my husband and flee alone. I will be with my husband."

Lin Dao reprimanded: "How absurd! You have always been sensible; why do you ignore the gravity of the situation at such a time? If you stay with me, who will take care of these people, who will take care of the books we worked so hard to save and spent so much effort buying, who will take care of our children? Ruozhu, don't be childish."

Liu Ruozhu turned her face away to look at the undulating sand dunes. With tear-mists clinging to her eyelashes, she said softly: "My husband, it is not calculated like that. If things truly become that dire... I will prepare everything with my husband, and arrange it all well. But I will not leave my husband and walk away alone.

"It is not a matter of having no choice, but rather that in this world, the person who will accompany me for my entire life is truly only my husband. A human life cannot be reincarnated, and the regrets of missed opportunities cannot be mended. Since we share the same ambitions, it is only natural that we should live and die together."

Lin Dao looked down at her. He laughed for a moment, feeling that they were overthinking it. He held her hand back and was just about to say something when a commoner suddenly shouted: "The enemy is coming! Prefect, Young Lady, the enemy is coming—I see the banners of the Southern Barbarians!"

The expressions of Lin Dao and Liu Ruozhu changed simultaneously, and they immediately shouted for everyone to get up: "Quick, everyone, lie down and hide—there is a lot of sand and wind here. We are not soldiers, so they may not take much notice of us. Everyone, hide well, do not go out!"

And looking at the two large carts of books following them, the couple gritted their teeth and abandoned the books—leaving it to fate.

The Southern Barbarians were illiterate; they didn't know the Great Wei's script, nor did they disdain to learn it. These books were useless to them; they probably wouldn't be interested in them, and at most, they would toss a few books away...

Abandoning a few books to save everyone’s lives was already a good outcome—

The night wind blew through the window, pushing it open a crack, and the cool breeze startled the young man who was hunched over his desk.

Deep in the night in Lingnan, Yan Shang was suddenly startled awake by the wind. As he looked up, he met the eyes of Mu Wanyao, who was standing beside him with a candle, looking down at him. Yan Shang pulled his shoulders together, discovering that an outer garment had been draped over his shoulders.

Feeling that it was not good for him to work so hard and cause Mu Wanyao to worry, he looked at her with embarrassment and asked: "What’s wrong?"

Mu Wanyao suppressed her concern for him. Ever since the war began, Yan Shang couldn't sleep; he had to wait for news from Chang'an every day. She sometimes felt bitter inside, thinking that if he was this concerned, he might as well go straight back to Chang'an... She blamed Lingnan for being too remote and for the messages traveling so slowly.

Mu Wanyao said softly: "A letter came from Chang'an; I brought it to you."

Yan Shang’s spirit lifted, and the anxiety between his brows eased slightly.

Setting down the candle, Mu Wanyao sat beside him, holding several letters. The couple opened them together. There were letters written by various ministers in the court, some from Chancellor Liu, and some from Wei Shu.

Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao learned of the current situation from the ministers' letters, and both of their moods soured. They hadn't expected that the war would be met with frequent setbacks and that after so many years, the Great Wei would still be militarily weak the moment it confronted the Southern Barbarians. Afterward, the couple read Chancellor Liu's letter, which included battle reports mentioning the few victories won by Yang Silang.

Mu Wanyao: "If there is someone who can fight, they should be promoted. What is the central government hesitating about?"

Yan Shang said calmly: "Probably worrying about His Majesty's mood."

Mu Wanyao paused and scoffed.

The two then read Wei Shu's letter. Mu Wanyao didn't make much of it, but Yan Shang stared at the passage where Wei Shu mentioned Liu Wenji’s unusual behavior, reading it over and over again.

Mu Wanyao was studying Chancellor Liu's letter, contemplating that if the central government couldn't manage Yang Silang and was writing to Yan Shang, could Yan Shang manage the strategy for the Jiannan battlefield?

Yan Shang suddenly said: "I am afraid Liu Wenji has dealings with the Southern Barbarians."

The candle flame popped, and Mu Wanyao jerked her face up.

Mu Wanyao: "You cannot guess things without evidence; it won't do."

Yan Shang: "Years ago, Liu Wenji privately killed Luo Xiu. Luo Xiu was a member of the Wu Barbarian envoy delegation. I discovered that a court official was exchanging Great Wei intelligence with Luo Xiu, and later I found that the person might have been Liu Wenji. But afterward... I was imprisoned, and I couldn't push the matter further. I warned Liu Wenji to be careful back then, but if Juyuan's judgment is correct, then Liu Wenji has a problem."

Mu Wanyao’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

She said: "Your imprisonment... even if it was caused by your own recklessness as a young man, now that I think about it, it may not have been without Liu Wenji pushing from behind."

Yan Shang went silent.

After several years, as they unraveled the threads, certain political factors that had been hidden deep underground and never noticed surfaced, showing their ugly faces and mocking the two.

And once there was a trace, more traces emerged.

Mu Wanyao gritted her teeth: "He truly is a scoundrel!"

Yan Shang did not wish to dwell on the prison incident from those years; he sighed and stopped talking about it. But the two became solemn. If they discovered that Liu Wenji had a problem, then the way they interfered in Chang'an would need to be readjusted...

Mu Wanyao picked up a letter from the desk; it had a map drawn on it, which was of the Jiannan region. The various attack routes and troop strengths of Jiannan were clearly marked by Yan Shang. This highly detailed strategic map was clearly intended for Chang'an.

Mu Wanyao mocked Yan Shang: "You are a civilian official; is it appropriate for you to command others in war?"

Yan Shang rubbed his brow and said: "It is not that I want to command; it was attached to a letter that Sanlang asked Xiaozhou to write to me two days ago. I was just copying it for the central government..."

He paused: "But it cannot be used now."

If there were people in the court who were not their own, this map would harm the Great Wei. Although it wasn't certain whether Liu Wenji had betrayed the Great Wei... however, it was better to be careful.

Yan Shang spread the letter out again and began to write down some random battle commands... It didn't matter if he gave commands randomly; his main role was to state his position, to urge Chang'an to fight, and to prompt the Ministry of War to push the war forward.

Seeing Yan Shang busy again, Mu Wanyao did not say any more. She pressed gently on his lean shoulders, then stood up, closed the door, and went out. Leaning against the door of the study, Mu Wanyao listened to the scratching sound of the wolf-hair brush inside. She thought that Yan Shang had participated in the military exercises in Chang'an with Yang Silang years ago. Yan Shang couldn't fight himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't command others to fight.

Fang Tong was carrying a lantern and saw that the Princess had been standing in the cold frost for too long. The Princess had a weak constitution, and he feared that she would fall ill from standing too long, so he came up to remind her to return to her room.

Fang Tong took a look at the shadow of the young man cast on the window: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will watch Er-lang and not let him pull an all-nighter."

Mu Wanyao waved her hand, signaling that that was not what she was thinking about. She said: "Tomorrow, I will prepare some calming medicine for our little Yan Er, so he can have a good day of sleep."

Fang Tong was speechless.

Mu Wanyao ordered thoughtfully: "Fang Tong, after our little Yan Er is asleep tomorrow, you take your husband’s official seal and summon the Guangzhou Jiedushi to see me. No... not just Guangzhou, have all the Jiedushi of Lingnan come to see me.

"Tell them that Lingnan is going to start military exercises to guard against external threats."

Fang Tong was immediately nervous: "Why? Will the Southern Barbarians attack Lingnan? Do they have that many troops?"

Mu Wanyao curled her lips: "They claim to have an army of 400,000, but I estimate that excluding the old, weak, sick, and disabled, the remaining true combat strength is only about 300,000. 300,000 troops, and they are split into two forces... as long as the Great Wei holds on, they will be the ones who lose. They have been in war for years and have already hollowed themselves out, which is why they desperately need this war. But as long as this war drags on for a long time, the Great Wei will be the winner.

"If they don't want to take risks, they shouldn't dare to open up another battlefield. Even if it is Meng Zaishi, he cannot withstand such a division of troops. I am having Lingnan hold military exercises not because I fear them invading Lingnan... I am afraid that there are people in the court who are not our own and will refuse to send troops to Jiannan and Hexi.

"It is better to prepare early."

Fang Tong suddenly said: "Lord Zhao has now become the Minister of War, and Zhao Wuniang, Zhao Lingfei, is in Jiannan. Doesn't Lord Zhao care about his own daughter? Could we lobby Lord Zhao?"

A light shone in Mu Wanyao’s eyes, and she looked at Fang Tong approvingly: "Then let Wuniang do the lobbying!"——

In the imperial palace in Chang'an City, the Emperor was at death's door. Because the entire country was in a state of war, almost all of his former luxuries had been revoked. He didn't know when this war would end, and he could no longer bear it.

Liu Wenji came to pay his respects to the Emperor; he was originally there to report on the war, but the Emperor pulled him aside and complained incessantly about Chancellor Liu’s stubbornness.

The Emperor was dissatisfied: "It's not that I don't care about the war! My fasting was all to pray for blessings, yet I was lectured by that old man, telling me to believe less in supernatural things. That old bastard, sooner or later I will control the court and make the court listen to me!"

Liu Wenji cast a cool glance at the Emperor.

The Emperor complained again, saying that the war had emptied the national treasury and that his own palace was leaking rain at night, and there was no money for repairs.

Liu Wenji watched him for a long time, thinking to himself, we are actually helping this kind of emperor?

It was so ironic.

Liu Wenji suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the Southern Barbarian envoys actually came to the Great Wei wanting to negotiate peace. I felt that with the war currently underway, we should not negotiate with the envoys, so I suppressed the matter."

The Emperor was startled, and seeing Liu Wenji about to kneel and plead guilty, he hurriedly said: "I know, you were afraid that Chancellor Liu and those people would talk about you, right? They refused to negotiate, so you didn't dare to bring it up. You have been wronged!"

The Emperor asked: "What are their conditions for peace?"

Liu Wenji: "They want Jiannan."

The Emperor was stunned, not expecting the Southern Barbarians to be so ambitious. He immediately cursed their wolf-like ambition, their wishful thinking, that they actually dared to want the Great Wei's territory. Seeing the Emperor so agitated, Liu Wenji thought he had misjudged this emperor.

Sure enough, after the Emperor finished cursing, he said: "Jiannan cannot be given to them."

Liu Wenji lowered his head and agreed.

Who would have thought that the Emperor would change the subject: "Jiannan can only be partially ceded to them. Places like Yizhou absolutely cannot be given. Yangzhou is the first, Yizhou is the second; such a rich place like Yizhou absolutely cannot be given. But apart from Yizhou, most of the other parts of Jiannan are poor and desolate, so giving them away is fine. Anyway, those savages of the Southern Barbarians don't know any better; it’s fine to fool them."

Liu Wenji examined this Emperor.

At first, he had wanted to support a piece of trash to be emperor, but it was only today that he truly realized this piece of trash was actually a piece of trash who knew everything but still didn't care. Even he himself had hesitated about whether to give away Jiannan, yet the Emperor simply didn't want to give away the rich parts.

Such a person is a sovereign.