Li Xiong, born of a warrior background, lacked Fan Changsheng’s imagination and outright rejected, saying, "Impossible! Confucius avoided speaking of prodigies, force, chaos, and spirits... no, what I mean is there’s no Divine Power in this world, nor is there..."

Li Xiong painfully closed his mouth, "Prime Minister, pretend I said nothing."

How should he inform the superstitious Prime Minister of the Immortal Daoist that he doesn’t believe in ghosts or spirits at all?

Fan Changsheng, however, remained composed and seemingly didn’t mind the emperor’s remarks, steadfastly asserting, "Humans are too insignificant within the universe, human abilities are limited, and knowledge is likewise limited; Your Majesty, it’s not incorrect to judge the lack of supernatural phenomena through personal knowledge and experience, yet it isn’t wrong either for me to conclude there are supernatural phenomena based on my expertise."

Isn’t he still wrong then?

Li Xiong murmured inwardly, after all, when it comes to knowledge and experience, Fan Changsheng surpasses him by half a century.

Fan Changsheng firmly believed Zhao Hanzhang possessed supernatural attributes and thus requested Li Xiong to pay attention to Zhao Xin.

Li Xiong agreed, taking heed of Zhao Xin and his entourage, whether or not due to supernatural reasons.

Once Li Xiong issued the instructions, Fan Changsheng was about to take his leave when Li Xiong hurriedly stopped him, expressing solemnly, "Prime Minister, I wish to establish a Crown Prince."

Fan Changsheng, after a brief pause, grasped the situation; they had already decided to retreat, so it was imperative to establish a Crown Prince before forming a formal alliance, lest Emperor Cheng becomes King Cheng, and setting a successor wouldn’t be solely up to Li Xiong.

If the Jin State becomes the suzerain state, Zhao Hanzhang has the right to partake in the succession establishment for Cheng Country; if she is dissatisfied with Li Xiong’s choice, she’ll always find various excuses to refuse, then interfere in the successor’s selection. Fan Changsheng could already envision, should she take advantage of this to weaken Cheng Country, what kind of chaotic storms the Cheng Country Imperial Family would stir.

Especially, Li Xiong’s chosen successor was somewhat unique.

Fan Changsheng asked sternly, "Has Your Majesty already made up your mind?"

Li Xiong nodded earnestly, "I have long wished for this, initially intending to wait until the Shu lands are more stable and the children more mature. But now, waiting is no longer an option."

Fan Changsheng then bowed, "I, as per Your Majesty’s command!"

Thus, at the court assembly the following day, Li Xiong formally proposed establishing his nephew Li Ban as the Crown Prince.

Upon hearing, the courtiers collectively submitted memorials advising against it, arguing Li Xiong has many sons, hence shouldn’t select a successor from nephews, and should pass the Crown Prince position to his sons, or chaos would ensue in the dynasty’s future.

Li Xiong disregarded them, insisting on establishing Li Ban, "I initially didn’t aspire for royal lineage, but a great turmoil befell, amidst widespread devastation and suffering, which compelled a unified uprising, and everyone elected me to a rank surpassing princes, this merit belonged to the late emperor."

Li Xiong posthumously honored his father as an emperor after self-proclaiming as emperor.

"My elder brother was of legitimate bloodline, deserving of inheriting the grand throne, he was wise and discerning, magnificent and admirable, birthed into this world inherently bearing divine command, yet significant affairs were nearing accomplishment when he fell on the battlefield," Li Xiong lamented, "Li Ban possesses outstanding talent, gentle temperament, demonstrating filial piety and scholarly traits, inheriting his father’s virtues, he’ll surely become a great leader."

Such were the words he spoke, but the courtiers didn’t think this idea was wise, especially Li Xiang and Situ Wangda, who kneeled and knocked their heads audibly on the ground, "Your Majesty be cautious, the late King established Crown Prince to prevent usurpation and power seizure; previous lessons from Wu Zi and Song Xuan Gong exist, no matter how nephew resembles a son, how is he comparable to a real son? We earnestly plead Your Majesty to ponder deeply!"

But Li Xiong had already contemplated thoroughly and persisted in his plan, leaving the courtiers incapable of opposing him, merely watching as he issued the decree.

When Zhao Xin, stationed at the post station, heard the news, he stood stiffly holding a teacup for ages, regaining his senses, he gazed down at the tea in his hand, lamenting, "Why is King Cheng so muddled? Given the precedence of Zhuan Zhu assassinating Wang Liao, hasn’t he read the ’Strategies of the Warring States’? Could it be that the courtiers haven’t read it either?"

The guard, striving to recall, then spoke, "Envoy, I’ve just learned up to the ninety-eighth character, and haven’t read the ’Strategies of the Warring States’, but I roughly understand why King Cheng established a nephew instead of his son."

Zhao Xin: "Why?"

"Because all his sons are too despicable," under Zhao Xin’s gaze, the guard quickly corrected, "I mean too bad."

"You may be unaware, but since King Cheng became emperor, the Li Family members have been exceedingly fierce; they rampantly tyrannize the city, especially his sons, indulging in luxury, it is rumored that King Cheng eats only four dishes and one soup per meal, immensely frugal, yet his sons feast on assorted delicacies daily, parading pompously, heedless to any control."

"But Li Ban is different, he has a gentle disposition, treats people kindly, patronizingly respects scholars, standing as the most reputed among all Li’s descendants."

Accompanying Zhao Hanzhang, accustomed to her false pretenses, Zhao Xin initially suspected, "Is he pretending?"

The trusted aide shook his head, "It doesn’t seem pretense because he genuinely is kind-hearted."

"The territories they occupy, families like Fan Family, Zhujia, Li Family have seized plentiful lands, and due to wars and famines, civilians lose lands, he thus proposed equal distribution of land, ensuring each family has fields for cultivation," the trusted aide stated, "I investigated; Shu differs from our Central Plains, here amidst mountainous lands and limited arable lands, both aristocrats and civilians value land far beyond the norm in Central Plains; hence, due to land reallocation, he offended many, yet persisted, reportedly achieving good results."

"Also, as a result, Li Ban’s popularity is immensely high among civilians."

Zhao Xin respectfully held him in reverence, this figure could rival their Great General.

Zhao Hanzhang, always glib-tongued, well, no, she’s sweet-mouthed but hard-hearted, um, not exactly accurate, anyhow smooth on the surface but truly kind inside, this concern for the people does resemble hers.

However, he remained doubtful, "This won’t work, King Cheng’s sons being exceedingly vicious, how could they willingly let Li Ban occupy the Crown Prince position? Hence, the calamity roots of Shu Kingdom are already sown."

Zhao Xin couldn’t suppress his delight; having no beard, he simply rubbed his chin, smiling contently, "Once King Cheng meets his end, it will be time for Great Jin to reclaim Shu lands."

By then, whether it remains Great Jin remains uncertain.

Zhao Xin rejoiced gleefully.

The trusted aide was baffled, "Why? Is it not good to choose Li Ban? He is outstanding, whereas the other princes are notably bad."

Zhao Xin explained to him, "Though their morals are wicked, ascending the throne brings the constraint of official oversight, a dynasty’s downfall requires time; perhaps before they exhaust Shu kingdom, they succumb themselves, allowing their descendants to rise?"

"But if the Crown Prince position is granted to Li Ban, these scoundrels won’t accept, upon King Cheng’s death they will vie for power, collapsing the dynasty instantly."

Observing the trusted aide being perplexed still, Zhao Xin directly stated, "Heard of the story of Zhuan Zhu assassinating Wang Liao?"

The trusted aide directly shook his head.

"During Spring and Autumn, Wu Kingdom had King Zhu Fan deeming his brothers wiser than his sons, thus passing the throne to his brother, he had three brothers, initially passing the throne to elder brother Yu Ji, upon Yu Ji’s death, passing it to second brother Yu Mei, and following Yu Mei’s demise aiming to pass to youngest brother Jizi Zha, yet Jizi Zha refused, fleeing, thus Wu Kingdom allowed Yu Mei’s son Liao to ascend; Zhu Fan’s son Guang reckoned it should be Jizi Zha, whereas if to be passed to sons, it ought to be him, the direct son of Zhu Fan."

"Thus sending an assassin Zhuan Zhu to kill Wang Liao, seizing the throne, fomenting chaos in Wu Kingdom," Zhao Xin remarked, "Prince Guang boasted patience and virtue enduring two eras, do you think King Cheng’s sons possess such patience and virtue?"

The trusted aide dumbfoundedly shook his head.

Zhao Xin contentedly stated, "There it is, calamity has beset Shu Kingdom, no further actions are necessary from us."