Chapter 309 - 93: Planning

Chapter 309: Chapter 93: Planning

She was like a stubborn child, determined to declare a winner and a loser.

She wasn’t wrong. She would die, but she would have no regrets.

But him? He had schemed and prepared for half his life. If he died and his son died, he would have nothing left.

In that, he had truly lost.

The King of Zhongshan looked at the young woman and smiled faintly.

The dead silence in the hall was broken at that moment as the generals and guards erupted in an uproar.

"My Prince, don’t listen to her nonsense."

"It doesn’t matter how many personal soldiers she has, they can’t do anything to my Zhongshan Commandery!"

"Take Empress Chu to the front lines! If they want to attack the city, they’ll have to go through her first!"

It was never so easy for a captive to simply die. There were a thousand ways to torture and humiliate someone—

But the King of Zhongshan didn’t let them say any more. He raised a hand to silence them, then looked at Chu Zhao and sighed heavily.

"Chu Zhao," he said. "What is it you truly want?"

Chu Zhao said lightly, "Withdraw your troops and end this war. You will remain a Prince, but the Princely Heir, Xiao Xun, must enter the Capital City as a hostage."

The King of Zhongshan’s brow furrowed. "Chu Zhao," he said coldly, "that’s not what you said before."

Before, she had spoken of bestowing the golden seal and granting him the power of a Feudal Lord.

Now, not only was the golden seal and the power of a Feudal Lord off the table, but he also had to send his Princely Heir as a hostage.

Chu Zhao smiled. "My Prince, your previous agreement would have been a win for us both. But if you agree now, it will be because you have lost."

And losing, naturally, comes with a price.

"As for the Princely Heir," Chu Zhao continued, "you didn’t say before that you didn’t care about this son. Now that I know your true feelings, I think it’s best to have the Princely Heir stay in the Capital City. It will prevent him from hearing rumors that might drive a wedge between you. I would hate to see a father and son turn against each other."

The King of Zhongshan sneered, "The Empress is truly so thoughtful."

Chu Zhao looked at him. "This way, both of us can live. I will continue to be the Empress, and you will continue to be a Prince."

The King of Zhongshan roared with laughter, then abruptly stopped.

"Empress, you speak too soon," he said, looking at the young woman. "You are brave, Empress, but you are still only the Empress. You alone don’t call the shots in this world. At this point, even if I were willing to back down, others would not let me."

Chu Zhao understood what he meant. Although the King of Zhongshan’s army marched under the banner of "seeking forgiveness from the Emperor" and hadn’t explicitly declared rebellion, his ambitions were plain for all to see. How could the court possibly let him off?

Besides, there was still Xie Yanfang in the world.

...

...

Xie Yanfang reined in his horse on a barren hill and looked ahead.

Before him lay a city and a vast wilderness. Banners flew from the city walls, and military camps dotted the wilderness—the main encampment of the Capital Soldiers.

Soldiers on horseback were galloping toward them, with the main generals leading the charge.

"We welcome Your Majesty!" they shouted, one after another.

Behind them, the city gates were also opening, and countless commoners poured out. Even from a distance, where faces were blurred and words were indistinct, he could feel the overwhelming joy.

"The Emperor is here—"

"Welcome, Your Majesty—"

Xiao Yu, sitting on the horse in front of Xie Yanfang, looked up at him. Although they had received such welcomes everywhere along their journey, his eyes still lit up as if it were the first time.

"Uncle," he said. "The people are really happy to see me."

He had been the Crown Prince’s eldest son, the Emperor’s eldest grandson, coddled and cherished in the palace. Everyone protected and revered him, but he had never felt the love of the common people.

It was a feeling unlike any he had ever known.

"It’s because you came to them in their time of danger," Xie Yanfang said. "The people can truly feel Your Majesty’s care. At this moment, even though you are only a seven-year-old child, you have become the true Emperor in their hearts."

Xiao Yu nodded. "I will definitely be a good Emperor."

Xie Yanfang patted Xiao Yu’s shoulder. "Your Majesty, remember this moment. Keep the love and respect of the people forever in your heart."

’It doesn’t matter whether he becomes a good Emperor or not.’

’As long as he remembers this moment, feels the might of an Emperor, experiences the power of an Emperor, and develops the heart of an Emperor, he will also develop the ambition of an Emperor.’

’Only then will the Xiao Emperor know who is working tirelessly to secure his throne. Only then will he be on guard against those who wish to take away his imperial power—people like Deng Yi, and people like—’

Xie Yanfang lowered his gaze.

The child in his arms looked up again.

"Uncle," Xiao Yu asked, "why doesn’t it seem as tense as I expected?"

Although he had never been on a battlefield, he had charged through the chaos of that one night, and the atmosphere of a life-or-death struggle was etched into his heart.

Here, soldiers were everywhere, their formations as dense as a forest. The atmosphere was tense, but it didn’t have the stench of death.

Xie Yanfang’s brow furrowed slightly. "You’re right. Something is off about the situation."

They had already received reports on the road that the two armies were in a standoff, with war on the verge of breaking out. But aside from a few small-scale skirmishes at the beginning, there had been no fight to the death.

The reports from the last few days were especially telling. The King of Zhongshan’s army had taken a defensive posture, as if they were waiting for something.

’Waiting for reinforcements?’

Xiao Xun had slain three Announcement Officers and used the pretext of entering the capital to have an audience with the Emperor, building up momentum. To stop now would be to lose that momentum—not a wise move.

"The traitors must have heard that Your Majesty is leading the campaign personally and are too afraid to advance!" an official declared loudly.

His words immediately drew a chorus of agreement. The commoners, held back while kowtowing on all sides, couldn’t help but weep. That’s right—if not for this, they would all be corpses by now.

"Your Majesty leads the campaign and is invincible!" countless people shouted as they knelt on the ground.

Xiao Yu couldn’t help but look up at Xie Yanfang. "Uncle, is it true? Has that traitor Xiao Xun admitted defeat?"

A child might believe that an Emperor’s might is invincible, but Xie Yanfang certainly didn’t.

"The traitor is certainly afraid," Xie Yanfang said in a low voice. "But if he were truly surrendering, he would have bound himself and come out of the city to welcome Your Majesty."

Xiao Yu nodded. "I understand. That traitor must be plotting something." He tightened his grip on the reins, his young face grim. "No matter what he’s planning, I am not afraid."

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily. "Exactly. Your Majesty has no reason to be afraid. You will only make them afraid. Come, follow me—"

With that, Xie Yanfang spurred his horse and galloped forward.

The soldiers and officials didn’t have time to react.

"Your Majesty?"

"Mr. Xie, where are you going?"

"The palace in the city has already been prepared—"

...

...

The thunderous sound of footsteps echoed through the streets and along the city walls, but it still couldn’t drown out the shouts from outside the city.

Outside, it sounded as if a massive army was shouting in unison.

"His Majesty has arrived in person!"

"Xiao Xun, come out at once to greet His Majesty!"

"Xiao Xun, you boasted that you wanted to see the Emperor! To spare you the hardship of a long journey to beg for forgiveness, His Majesty has come to you!"

"Xiao Xun, His Majesty is right here at the front line! If you have grievances, come and voice them! If you have complaints, come and air them!"

"Xiao Xun, His Majesty is seven years old and dares to come see you! You dared to kill court officials and lead troops to threaten the palace—do you not dare to face him on the battlefield!"

A general on the city wall gazed into the distance, watching the figures before the enemy formation. A sea of Dragon Flags surrounded a single rider. The man on the horse wore no armor, only plain robes, his black hair flowing. He held a long saber, looking as striking as the bright moon in the night sky. In front of him sat a child. The little boy was dressed in a Dragon Robe and also held up a long saber—

Although they had never seen the Xiao Emperor and couldn’t make out his face, there was no mistaking him.

"That must be Xie Yanfang," another general said in a low voice. "Only he would be capable and daring enough to bring the Xiao Emperor here."

"If we could just kill that child with one arrow—" another general couldn’t help but raise his crossbow, only to lower it with regret.

Xie Yanfang wouldn’t actually let the Xiao Emperor get within their firing range.

"So what if the Emperor is here?" someone said coldly. "He can’t magically create soldiers from beans. We have enough troops to fight them."

At the mention of a fight, everyone’s gaze turned to the main general.

"Why hasn’t the Princely Heir given the order yet?" they asked.

Logically, they should have attacked long ago. If they had charged a few days earlier, the Xiao Emperor might have turned back to the capital midway and never even made it here.

The main general withdrew his gaze and said, "The Princely Heir has his own plans."

Hearing this, the generals didn’t dare ask any more questions. But they exchanged a glance; something had definitely happened to the Princely Heir.

The main general, either too preoccupied to notice their expressions or simply too tired to bother with pretenses, summoned his personal soldiers and ordered, "Report to the Prince at once."