Chapter 474 - Are You Creating an Example?
Chapter 474 of "After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times" introduces new challenges: Zhao Ming: "My father was the first to disapprove, and the other elder members are... Keep following!
Zhao Ming: "My father was the first to disapprove, and the other elder members are also very displeased with him."With Zhao Song leading, the other elders will surely follow suit and oppose him firmly; Zhao Jiâs desire to become the Clan Leader is impossible.
If Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Erlang were unsuccessful and needed to rely on the clanâs goodwill, the elder members, except for the Fifth Uncle, might turn a blind eye to Zhao Jiâs past mistakes, even if uncomfortable, they would endure them;
But now Zhao Hanzhang is the most promising descendant of the Zhao Family, even Zhao Erlang has risen along with her. The news of Zhao Erlang being appointed as the Prefectural Governor of Nanyang Country just arrived the other day, and the clan members were so astonished their mouths were wide enough to swallow an egg.
So, fearing Zhao Hanzhangâs authority, the elder members will suppress Zhao Ji from becoming Clan Leader, not to mention they already disapproved of him.
Zhao Ji can use tactics to compete for the title with the main branch, even suppress the main branch; these actions seem not significant in the eyes of the elder members, but he should not have discarded Zhao Changyuâs coffin and the main branchâs descendants.
Just this one mistake is enough for the elder members not to let him inherit the position of Clan Leader.
As a Clan Leader, lacking the filial spirit and legacy of ancestors; and lacking the benevolence and foresight to nurture the clanâs descendants, the elder members would have to lose their minds to choose him as Clan Leader.
A Clan Leaderâs character will decide the rise or fall of the family.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hanzhang looked up at Zhao Ming, lightly tapping her knee with her finger, "Uncle Ming, do you also favor the First Son as Clan Leader?"
Zhao Ming raised his eyelids to glance at her, leisurely picked up a wine pot and poured himself a cup, sipping as he said, "Thatâs your elder brother."
Zhao Hanzhang remained silent.
Zhao Ming didnât need her to respond and continued, "Do you want to be Clan Leader? Thatâs even harder than wanting to be Yu State Governor. Not to mention anything else, even if my father loves you dearly, he wouldnât agree."
Zhao Ming drank up the wine from his cup, put down the cup, and looked at her, saying, "I wouldnât either."
Zhao Hanzhang: "...Uncle Ming has misunderstood. I would have to be utterly senseless to even consider becoming Clan Leader. Besides, I am destined to marry out, Fu Tinghan and I are a marriage, not a residence arrangement."
She leaned her body, placed her arm on the table, and gazed at Zhao Ming with a soft smile, speaking quietly, "I mean, Elder Brother probably wouldnât make a suitable Clan Leader, far less than Uncle Ming, so Uncle..."
"Stop talking nonsense," Zhao Mingâs face darkened, and he said coldly, "The position of Clan Leader is only passed on to the main branch. This is our Zhao Familyâs ancestral teaching and cannot be changed!"
"Uncle shares the same lineage as my ancestors, was also from the main line. Only our branch is the main line, hence we have always inherited the position of Family Head, so..."
Zhao Ming looked at her sternly, "That was four generations ago, if you count from here, itâs not much nor little, just the fifth generation. If you really count this way, your Seventh Ancestor could come and compete for this Clan Leader position."
Zhao Hanzhang thought of her dear Seventh Ancestor, shivered involuntarily, "Choosing Clan Leader should prioritize virtue and ability..."
"No, it should prioritize the main line," Zhao Ming said with a solemn face, eyes deeply looking at her, "Third Lady, if virtue and ability were the criteria for deciding Clan Leader position, then whenever thereâs a need to change the Clan Leader position, the family might fall into endless internal conflict. Ancestral teachings are summarized from blood and tears, you must not disobey."
Zhao Hanzhang did not expect the biggest resistance to nominating Zhao Ming as Clan Leader didnât come from the Fifth Uncle, but from Zhao Ming himself.
She sighed and nodded, "Alright, letâs put this issue aside for now, I think Uncle Ancestor must live long, talking about these matters now is too soon."
Zhao Ming pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Zhao Hanzhang herself didnât anticipate one day sheâd pray to heaven for Zhao Zhongyu to live longer. She summarized her psychological activities and couldnât help but complain to Fu Tinghan, "This is surely picking the tallest among the dwarfs, sigh, the second house truly gets worse with each generation."
Fu Tinghan couldnât quite comprehend the persistence of this era, "Why must it be the main line, Uncle Ming clearly is more suitable to be Clan Leader."
"Because of the phrase âfollowing precedentsâ," Zhao Hanzhang said, "If starting from Zhao Ming there is a precedent, later branches, even lesser branches, as long as they are dissatisfied with the Clan Leader, can use this precedent to challenge the main line, compete for the position of Clan Leader."
She sighed, "I am aware of this hidden danger, but...Zhao Ming truly is too suitable to be Clan Leader. Now that Zhao Zhongyu holds the Clan Leader position, he thinks of the clan, still capable of retreat, but once Zhao Ji and Zhao Yi ascend, with their disposition and intellect, do you think we can live harmoniously?"
Fu Tinghan wasnât familiar with those two, only met them a few times, but those few encounters were enough for Fu Tinghan to recognize their capability and mindset. Plus, in the past two years, Zhao Hanzhang occasionally dealt with them, Fu Tinghan directly shook his head, "They most likely would die at your hands."
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her gaze and said, "Other family disciples who commit crimes can be killed, but if I kill the Clan Leader of the Zhao Family, even if the clan doesnât turn against me, our relationship would be hard to revert to the past. Yet to endure their foolishness, bringing troubles to me, is not acceptable."
"So, the best way is to change the Clan Leader," Zhao Hanzhang sighed again, "Zhao Ming truly is the most suitable candidate."
Fu Tinghan always struggled with handling complex relationships compared to Zhao Hanzhang, so regarding this matter, he found it hard to offer her advice, and could only stay by her side doing arithmetic to accompany her.
Zhao Hanzhang propped her chin in thought, her mind already extending the consequences of various choices to a hundred years later. If thereâs no more reasonable excuse, choosing Zhao Ming as Clan Leader indeed brings later troubles to the Zhao Family, especially becoming increasingly serious as time passes.
For the present, itâs certainly good, but being a Clan Leader requires considering the present, a hundred years, or even hundreds of years later.
Yet from Zhao Hanzhangâs perspective, actually, thereâs no need to worry too much. A hundred years, several hundred years, even a thousand years later, after several migrations of the clan, it has long branched out, even to the point where the influence of clan forces is minimized. Eventually reaching a stage of knowing national law without awareness of clan law, by then, the impact of this matter on clan succession will be reduced to an insignificant level. Fresh chapters posted on ????????????????????¡????????????????¡????????????
There is even a hint of rebellion in her heart, thinking let Zhao Ming become Clan Leader, so what? Thereâs already various struggles in clan succession, now just one more choice of competition.
As Zhao Hanzhang was feeling rebellious, Zhao Ming leisurely came along, clearly unsettled in his heart as well, always contemplating, finally offering an excellent idea for Zhao Hanzhang, "Arrange a marriage for Erlang, choose a wise lady to marry him, and have children quickly, taught by you. If youâre unavailable, hand them to me."
"As long as the child turns eight, not like Erlang, he may inherit the Clan Leader position."
Zhao Hanzhang: "...Uncle Ming, Erlang hasnât even turned thirteen yet."
This is practically destroying the nationâs flowers.