The thousand-year-old family began with King Wu's conquest of King Zhou.

Chapter 12 Zhang Zhao's Death

Ten days later, Zhang Zhao returned to the Liang Kingdom under the protection of armored soldiers.

The state of Liang has changed a lot. Although he is the Marquis of Liang, he has never been to the state of Liang.

Over the course of more than a decade, the Liang Kingdom expanded from a single city to a territory encompassing four cities.

The State of Liang was located on the southwestern edge of the Zhou Dynasty's royal domain, in the southern part of the western section of the Guanzhong Plain, and served as the southwestern gateway to the Zhou capital, Haojing.

Its area roughly encompasses the southern part of Chencang and Yongcheng, and the northern part of Taibai County in later times, with its core area around Sanguan.

Since the Great Zhou currently controls the mountainous areas primarily through point-to-point and line-to-line control, the Liang Kingdom's actual controlled territory is only 80-120 square kilometers.

Surrounded by the Qinling and Longshan Mountains, the area of ​​flat river valleys suitable for concentrated farming and residence was very limited, resulting in a long and narrow territory for the Liang Kingdom.

After all, the main responsibility of the Liang Kingdom was to guard the western gate of the capital and keep an eye on the southwestern kingdoms.

To the north of Liang State was the fiefdom of Duke Shao, Zhao State, and the territory of Yan was managed by his son Ke.

Liangyi is located on a plateau about 30 li north of Sanguan, backed by the Qinling Mountains and facing the Wei River. The terrain is flat, the soil is fertile, and the water source is abundant.

Initially, it was just a settlement-type town. After more than ten years of development, it had earthen walls and became barely presentable.

Sanyi was developed by Sanlin and is located about fifteen miles south of Sanguan, in a flat valley in the Qinling Mountains.

Surrounded by mountains on all sides, with a small alluvial plain in the middle, the climate is mild but the land is limited, making it the third largest city in the Liang Kingdom.

The second largest city was Jiangcheng, located on the alluvial plain of the Wei River. This area not only had fertile land and convenient irrigation, but was also the main grain-producing area of ​​the Liang Kingdom.

Compared to these three cities, Quanqiu, which borders the Quanrong to the west, is relatively desolate. Of course, this Quanqiu is not the same as the Quanrong.

The Quanqiu City of Liang State was not the same as the Quanqiu City of Qin State. The Quanqiu City of Liang State was originally just a mountain stronghold of the Quanrong people. After Zhang Ke led his people to conquer it, they built a camp there and named it Quanqiu City.

Quanqiu is the westernmost military stronghold of the Liang Kingdom, close to the area where the Quanrong people were active. It has a strategic location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the land is barren and not suitable for large-scale farming. It is a military outpost that is stationed there year-round, with most of the Liang Kingdom's troops stationed there.

News of Zhang Zhao's return to Liang spread like wildfire. As soon as he arrived outside Liangyi City, he found Zhang Ke and his clansmen already there to welcome him.

Zhang Ke stood at the front, wearing a faded dark robe, and looked at the old man sitting on the oxcart, his eyes filled with tears.

The old man had white hair and a gaunt face. He wore a worn-out blue robe with dust covering his shoulders.

"Brother, brother, you're finally back... Do you know how long I've waited for you...?"

Zhang Zhao looked down at his cousin, whose hair had turned completely white, reached out, and patted his head. "Ke, you're getting old too."

Zhang Ke raised his head, tears streaming down his face: "My brother has grown old too." The two brothers embraced and wept bitterly.

Zhang Chengsi stood at the back of the crowd, with several children beside him, looking at the old man, but he couldn't bring himself to take a step.

Twenty-five years of longing have turned into an insurmountable mountain.

He stood there, like a tree with its roots firmly planted, unable to move.

Until Si Hao walked out of the crowd, step by step towards the oxcart, towards the person she had waited for for twenty-one years.

She walked slowly, stopped in front of the oxcart, looked at Zhang Zhao, and without crying, simply reached out and gently touched his face, as if to confirm whether this person was real.

"My husband, you're back."

Zhang Zhao held her hand. Her hand was rough, thin, and covered with calluses and cracks. These hands had raised his son and supported his family.

"Madam, I'm back." His tears finally fell, silently sliding down his cheeks.

Si laughed, and as she laughed, tears fell from her eyes. She hugged Zhang Zhao tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, he would leave again and make her wait another twenty years.

"Father, who is that? Why is Grandmother crying while holding him?"

At this moment, a child at Zhang Chengsi's feet tugged at his clothes, pointed at Zhang Zhao with his little finger, and asked in confusion.

The child was about four or five years old, with two small buns, a round face, big eyes, and a childish voice.

Zhang Chengsi glanced down at him, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"That's your grandfather," he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and unlike his own.

"Grandfather?" The child tilted his head, thought for a moment, "But Father, isn't Grandfather in heaven? You said last time that Grandfather was watching over us from heaven."

Zhang Chengsi's eyes immediately reddened.

He did say that.

Every New Year's Eve, his mother would place a pair of empty bowls and chopsticks in the ancestral temple, saying they were for his father. He asked his mother, "Father isn't coming back, why put them there?"

The mother said that the father would see it. Later, he had a child, and the child asked him, "Where is the grandfather?"

He said that his grandfather is watching over them from heaven.

He said this with resentment in his heart.

He resented his father for refusing to come back, for leaving him with his mother, and for his father having the world and the emperor in his heart but never his mother and him.

But at that moment, his father stood before him, his hair white and his face travel-worn, being held by his mother and crying like a child. The mountain in his heart suddenly collapsed.

He knelt down, picked up the child, and walked towards his father.

The child's name was Zhang Buyi, and he was Zhang Chengsi's first son.

The name was chosen by Si Hao, meaning "without doubt or doubt," hoping that the child would never have any doubts in the future.

At this moment, Zhang Chengsi's eyes were full of doubt.

He didn't understand why his father had to come back at this time, why he hadn't waited for him to be ready, and why God wanted him to see his father so old.

In my hazy memory, my father's figure was so upright.

"Without a doubt, call him grandfather." Zhang Chengsi handed the child over.

Zhang Buyi leaned on his father's shoulder, looked at the unfamiliar old man in front of him, and timidly called out, "Grandfather."

Zhang Zhao reached out to touch the child's face, but stopped halfway through.

His hands were trembling. Twenty-one years ago, when he left Haojing, Chengsi was only five years old. He looked at him timidly and called out "Father".

He patted Chengsi's head and said, "Father will come back," and then left.

That promise to "come back" made him wait twenty-one years. Now that his adopted children can all call him grandfather, he has finally returned.

"Good child." Zhang Zhao's voice choked with emotion as he finally touched that little face.

Sihao stood to the side, watching her husband touch his grandson's face and her son standing beside her with red eyes, and suddenly smiled.

She laughed and laughed, but then tears fell again. She had waited twenty-one years for this day.

She thought she wouldn't live to see this day, that all she would receive was a death notice, a coffin, and a cold memorial tablet. But fate intervened and brought him back alive.

She stepped forward, taking Zhang Zhao's hand with one hand and Zhang Chengsi's hand with the other.

"Let's go home."

Zhang Chengsi carried the child and walked in front. Si Hao supported Zhang Zhao and walked behind, while Zhang Ke followed, constantly wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

The Liang officials followed at a distance, not daring to approach and disturb them.

……

When Zhang Zhao returned home, he learned that Zhang Chengsi had married a woman from the local Zhao family. The two were very loving and had one son and two daughters.

When Zhang Chengsi was fourteen years old, Zhang Zhao handed over the military and political affairs of the Liang Kingdom to him completely.

After Zhang Chengsi took over, he appointed himself as the Grand Chancellor, in charge of all government affairs. He appointed Zhang Ke as the Minister of Rites, his wife's younger brother Zhao Jianzhi as the Military Advisor, and three respected elders of the clan as Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector.

His maternal uncle, Si Hua, was the Minister of Justice, and his cousin, Zhang Chengke (Zhang Ke's son), was the Minister of Works.

Zhang Zhao sat in the room, listening to his son explain in detail, but his gaze fell on the few pairs of small shoes in the corner.

The soles of the shoes are made of hemp thread, with dense and solid stitches, clearly demonstrating excellent craftsmanship.

He suddenly remembered that Chengsi wore shoes like these when he was a child.

At that time, he was in Fengyi, leaving early and returning late every day, and rarely saw his son.

Occasionally, when she returned early, she would see Cheng Si taking his first steps in the courtyard, wearing a pair of new shoes, while Si Hao squatted down beside him, clapping her hands in encouragement.

He stood at the door for a long time but didn't go in, afraid of disturbing them.

Now, those small feet have grown into large feet capable of traversing the mountains and rivers of Liang, and his grandson is now wearing shoes with the same stitches.

A generation, a generation, a generation's shoes.

"My children, it is your father who has wronged you."

Zhang Zhao sighed deeply and patted Zhang Chengsi on the shoulder heavily.

Zhang Chengsi shook his head, but tears streamed down his face.

The father and son sat facing each other in silence, the candlelight flickering gently in the night breeze, casting long, long shadows of their two silent figures.

Half a month later, Zhang Zhao offered sacrifices to his ancestors at the Liang State ancestral temple and submitted a memorial to the emperor, passing on the title of Marquis of Liang to Zhang Chengsi.

After that, he poured all his energy into writing a book, because he knew his time was running out. Two years, or three years, who knows.

He wrote about things that Ji Dan had proposed but had no time to implement, and he couldn't let them just disappear.

A year later, Zhang Zhao finished writing it and named it Zhou Gongyuan Gui.

The Yuan Gui is a large tortoise used for divination. It was named Zhou Gong Yuan Gui because it implies the meaning of learning from and taking heed of others' mistakes.

After a year, the book was finally completed. It consists of twelve volumes, covering everything he and Ji Dan discussed, from "Governance" to "Military Use," from "Shepherding the People" to "Accepting Advice," and from "The Great Proclamation" to "Rites and Music."

Just two months after completing the "Zhou Gong Yuan Gui" (The Tortoise Shell of the Duke of Zhou), news came from Haojing that the emperor would hold the "Qiyang Sou" (The Hunt at Qiyang), summoning all the feudal lords of the land to participate.

This was a large-scale hunting and sacrificial activity that only the emperor could hold. Because it was held on the sunny side of Mount Qi, it was called "Qiyang Hunt".

However, Zhang Zhao didn't go; he didn't have the energy to go either.

As the Marquis of Liang, Zhang Chengsi naturally had to go. However, he did not know that this trip would mean he would not even see his father one last time.

……

Zhang Zhao's health deteriorated day by day. He coughed up blood, suffered from tinnitus, and couldn't sleep for nights on end.

He forbade Sihao from telling Chengsi that the child was busy and that he shouldn't be distracted.

But Sihao still told him, because Zhang Chengsi came to pay his respects every day, and his father's health could not be hidden from him.

After the start of spring, Zhang Zhao's condition suddenly improved. He was able to get out of bed and walk around, drink a whole bowl of porridge, and even sit in the yard for an entire afternoon, watching his grandson Bu Yi chase after butterflies.

Si Hao was overjoyed, thinking his illness was cured. Zhang Chengsi was also overjoyed, thinking his father could stay with them for a few more years.

Only Zhang Zhao knew that this was a final burst of light before death. When the lamp oil is almost gone, it always shines a little brighter in its last moments.

One sunny day in March, Zhang Chengsi set off to participate in the "Qiyang Search". Zhang Zhao had his mat moved to the courtyard so he could bask in the sun.

The locust tree had sprouted new buds, tender and green, swaying gently in the spring breeze. He leaned back on the mat, his eyes closed, the sunlight warm on his face.

"No doubt," he called out.

Zhang Buyi peeked out from behind the locust tree, holding a dragonfly in his hand. "Grandfather, did you call me?"

"Come, come to your grandfather."

Zhang Buyi ran over, leaned over the edge of the mat, and held the dragonfly up to Zhang Zhao: "Grandfather, look, I caught it!"

Zhang Zhao opened his eyes and looked at the dragonfly, its wings shimmering in the sunlight. He then looked at his grandson, with a round face and big eyes, exactly like his father when he was a child.

"No doubt about it, your father also liked to catch dragonflies when he was a child." Zhang Zhao's voice was very soft. "Back then in Fengyi, there was a locust tree in the yard, much smaller than this one. Your father was chasing dragonflies, and he fell down and scraped his knee. He cried for a long time."

Zhang Buyi was so engrossed in listening that he didn't even notice the dragonfly flying away from his hand.

"And then?"

"Later," Zhang Zhao smiled, "your grandmother applied medicine to him and put a piece of cloth on it, and he ran after it again."

Zhang Buyi chuckled, and Zhang Zhao laughed too. But as they laughed, they suddenly started coughing.

Zhang Buyi was terrified and turned to run to call the adults, but Zhang Zhao grabbed his hand and shook his head. "It's alright, Grandfather is alright."

Si Hao came out of the house carrying a bowl of medicine. She squatted down and fed Zhang Zhao the medicine spoonful by spoonful.

The medicine was very bitter. Zhang Zhao frowned, but didn't say anything and drank it all down.

"Husband, are you feeling better today?"

"Much better." Zhang Zhao held her hand, which was rough, thin, and covered with calluses and cracks.

"Madam, I have wronged you in this lifetime."

Si Hao shook her head.

"Son will be back soon," Zhang Zhao said softly.

"We're already on our way back to Liang," Si Hao replied softly, tears silently streaming down her face.

"I've made you work so hard your whole life, don't hold a grudge against me," Zhang Zhao said softly, stroking his wife's face.

Si Hao already knew that these were Zhang Zhao's dying words. She didn't say anything, but buried her face in his palm, tears falling drop by drop, wetting his withered fingers.

"My husband, I have no complaints. From the day I married you, I have never complained." Her voice was muffled, as if it came from a great distance. "How could I possibly complain about you?"

"That's good, that's good..." Zhang Zhao forced an awkward smile, turned to look at Zhang Buyi chasing butterflies in the yard, and softly said, "I'm leaving now." His arm went limp, and he suddenly fell to the ground.

Si Hao sat on the ground, tightly holding Zhang Zhao's withered hands, tears silently streaming down her face.

She didn't cry out loud, afraid of disturbing him.

He's tired, let him sleep.

Sleep, my husband, sleep. When you wake up, you won't have to walk anymore, you won't be tired anymore, you won't have to worry anymore.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"When Wen Zhao died, he was buried at Biyuan, leaving behind the *Yuan Gui*, the beginning of Confucianism. Gentlemen revere the sage Zhou Gong, and Wen Zhao is their progenitor." — *Shangshu·Yuan Gui*