When Shi Le was sixty years old, although his hair was half-white, and he had injuries and illnesses, due to years of martial arts practice, he was still a strong and healthy person. This year, Shi Le went to the capital to report for duty and attend the rare event of the Supreme Emperor's abdication and the enthronement of the new emperor.
Towards Emperor Zhao Hanzhang (soon to be the Supreme Emperor), Shi Le became increasingly convinced and respectful. In his younger years, he was arrogant and rebellious, and there were not many rulers in the world whom he admired, with Liu Yuan being one of them. Emperor Jin, hehe, the Sima family never produced a man of character. After several confrontations with Zhao Hanzhang, although he called her "Empress Zhao" disdainfully, in his heart, he deeply feared Zhao Hanzhang. During the time when Zhao Hanzhang's foolish brother chased him, and later when he personally confronted Zhao Hanzhang, although Shi Le injured Zhao Hanzhang, he himself was injured even more severely. "My life is over!" But who knew a devastating locust plague would save his life! Shi Le had no doubt that if not for this locust plague, he would certainly have died at Zhao Hanzhang's hands.
As Zhao Hanzhang reigned longer, Shi Le no longer harbored any thoughts of contending with Zhao Hanzhang. Shi Le thought to himself, "I really lack ambition, only thinking of ranking a bit higher among the military generals." However, the Empress had many talented people around her: in civil affairs, there was Ji Yuan and Ming Yu; locally, there was Wang Dao; and recently, Xie An had emerged. Among the military generals, there were those like Beigong Chun, whom he could never defeat, and Prince Qin (who didn't seem so foolish anymore after getting married). Zu Ti was both a civil and military talent, deeply trusted by the Empress. There were also people from the Zhao family like Zhao Shen and Zhao Zheng, and a group of female officials like Fan Ying... Alas, the more he calculated, the more uncertain he became! That day, after meeting with the Empress, Shi Le was emotionally stirred, tossing and turning at night, he had a dream.
The next morning, sweating profusely, Shi Le went barefoot to see Zhang Bin,
holding Zhang Bin's hand to recount his dream. In the dream, although he became emperor, the territory under his rule was only a part of the northern Yellow River region, less than a quarter of the current Hua Country. The lives of the people under his rule went without saying; it was no different from the chaotic times of previous dynasties. (Unlike now, even in remote villages, villagers have peaceful faces and light in their eyes, and the vast majority can recognize some simple characters. When they talk about the emperor, many households have long-life plaques for the Empress, praying for her longevity.) In the dream, he died at sixty, and his second son Shi Hong succeeded him, but all power was in Shi Hu's hands. Shi Hong lived only to twenty-two, and a year after succeeding the throne, was forced to abdicate in favor of Shi Hu, and was soon killed. Shi Hu even massacred his wives, concubines, children, and grandchildren. In reality, that nephew died shortly after the Empress's prophecy. Thinking of the life in the dream, Shi Le was certain that this was the year of his death.
Upon hearing Shi Le's dream, Zhang Bin hurriedly said, "General, although the dream is absurd, it must not be spoken of again; it should remain between you and me. The Supreme Emperor wants to build a Merit Pavilion; does the General know what rank you might hold?" Hearing this, Shi Le no longer dwelled on the dream. Although he was not an emperor, he now had many descendants, and he knew he lacked knowledge, so he set a family rule: to select daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law from among female officials, if qualified female officials were unavailable, then from outstanding female students. Women who were illiterate were absolutely not allowed into the Shi family. The Shi family is now a scholarly family. Now at sixty, his portrait was about to enter the Merit Pavilion, and after the Supreme Emperor's time, his statue would also stand on either side of his tomb path. Having been a regional lord in life and his name recorded in history after death, what more could he ask for in this life?