Chapter 558: Yuan, If You Won’t Save My Brother, I Will

Chapter 558 -305: Yuan, If You Won’t Save My Brother, I Will

The Grandmaster, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector all wondered if their old eyes and muddled minds were failing them.

To hear such explosive news from the Emperor…

Something like this was unprecedented!

‘Then again, it wasn’t completely unheard of. Wasn’t the War God Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty captured alive once?’

The thugs who had taken over the mountains of Qian City had mistaken Crown Prince Gu Biao for some wealthy local squire.

Crown Prince Gu Biao had been traveling with great discretion, not wearing any official robes.

With a team of bodyguards following him, he looked like he came from a prominent family.

After all, kidnapping a rich squire was far more profitable than robbing common folk on the road.

As the Emperor spoke of this, he slammed his hand on the desk in anger.

The dignified Crown Prince of the Empire, captured by a gang of thugs.

This was a complete loss of face for the Court.

A writing brush on the desk jumped from the impact and rolled onto the floor.

The old eunuch silently picked up the fallen brush and placed it back on the desk.

The Three Dukes cupped their hands and said, “His Majesty the Emperor, your health is paramount. Please, do not be angry!”

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang’s chest heaved as he cursed:

“How could I not be furious?”

“Is Qian City still a city of the Divine Ling Empire or not?”

“These stubborn bandits, colluding with corrupt officials, dared to plot against the Crown Prince!”

“I have decided to send troops to suppress Qian City and annihilate the rebels!”

…

The more Emperor Gu Yuanzhang spoke, the more agitated he became, losing all trace of his earlier frailty.

The three old officials were still kneeling on the floor.

The Grandmaster, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector were collectively known as the “Three Dukes,” first-rank great officials of the Court.

In his fury, the Emperor had not even told these three old men to sit.

He hadn’t even let them stand!

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang cursed freely in front of the Three Dukes.

As he vented the fire pent up in his chest, the Emperor’s deathly pale complexion turned a healthy red.

Chinese medicine had it right: it’s bad for your health to hold in your anger.

“You three, stop kneeling there. Get up and speak.”

The Emperor waved his hand, signaling a few Little Eunuchs to help the Three Dukes to their feet.

The Grand Protector said, “In this old official’s opinion, the bandit plague in Qian City must be eliminated. We could dispatch Duke Xin to carry out the Suppression.”

Duke Xin, Tang He, was already in his sixties and had retired to his hometown to live out his years a few years prior.

However, war had broken out between the Divine Ling Empire and Wa Country.

With a single imperial edict, Emperor Gu Yuanzhang had once again made the sexagenarian don his Battle Armor.

By this time, few of the founding Meritorious Officials remained.

Even Marquis Yongchang, Lan Yu, of the younger generation, had already been executed by the Emperor.

The Grand Preceptor stroked his beard, turned slightly, and said, “That will not do, that will not do. Duke Xin is currently in Qilu Province.”

At his advanced age, Duke Xin could not cross the sea to personally lead the battle.

Instead, he was stationed in Qilu Province, commanding an army of over one hundred thousand from the rear as they contended with Wa Country.

This was also a critical moment for the Court’s military campaign to annihilate Wa Country.

Two-thirds of Wa Country’s territory had already been conquered by the soldiers of the Divine Ling Empire.

The Grand Preceptor continued, “To fatigue our troops by raiding a distant enemy is ill-advised. Our army would be exhausted, while the enemy lies in wait, well-prepared. This would be untenable. Furthermore, the rebels are certain to learn of our approach during such a long march.”

The Grand Preceptor was certainly a learned man, spouting classical prose at the drop of a hat.

His meaning was roughly: tiring the army with a surprise attack on a distant foe was unheard of; the enemy would be well-rested and waiting, which would likely be disastrous; and on such a long march, the rebels were bound to find out.

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang was terribly impatient. The Grand Preceptor was just mincing words.

The Emperor said, “Speak plainly!”

Chastened by the Emperor’s rebuke, the Grand Preceptor fell silent.

He stopped stroking his beard and uttering archaic phrases, and just stood there blankly.

The Grand Protector picked up the conversation, saying, “Your Majesty, in my opinion, the fief of the King of Chu is only a few hundred miles from Qian City. If the King of Chu were to lead his army in a surprise attack, it would surely have a miraculous effect!”

The King of Chu, Gu Zhen, was the Emperor’s sixth son. He was naturally intelligent, brave, and cunning, with considerable military talent.

In his early years, the King of Chu had performed admirably, leading his troops to pacify the barbarians.

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang gave it a moment’s thought and realized the Grand Protector had a point.

Without further hesitation, the Emperor turned to the old eunuch and said, “Draft a decree. Order the King of Chu to lead his forces to Qian City and rescue his older brother within ten days.”

Hearing this, the Grand Preceptor grew anxious and quickly cried out, “Your Majesty, you absolutely must not!”

“My mind is made up! I will severely punish anyone who tries to stop me!” Emperor Gu Yuanzhang said, furious.

The Grand Preceptor dropped to his knees with a THUD and pleaded, “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still in the rebels’ hands! You must not rashly send troops!”

‘The Grand Preceptor only remembered the Crown Prince now? What was he doing earlier?’

Just moments ago, when the Emperor was flying into a rage,

the Three Dukes had wanted to persuade him otherwise.

But His Majesty was autocratic and had immediately decided to send troops to crush the rebellion.

Therefore, the Three Dukes had no choice but to discuss with the Emperor who should be sent to suppress the rebels.

Even if they were to use military force, shouldn’t they rescue the Crown Prince first?

‘So,’ the Grand Preceptor now thought, ‘shouldn’t we be discussing how to rescue the Crown Prince?’

Instead of just ordering the King of Chu to lead an army to suppress the rebels.

It seemed the order of operations was backward.

‘What if these rebels, left with no way out, decide to harm the Crown Prince?’

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang looked down at the kneeling Grand Preceptor and said with disdain:

“I refuse to believe this gang of rebels would dare to murder the Crown Prince.

Are they not afraid of me exterminating their nine generations of kin?”

If this band of rebels were left with a way out, perhaps they wouldn’t risk mutual destruction.

How to put it? The whole situation was just thorny.

It’s like with human traffickers. They abduct children from ordinary families.

They sell them off in the mountains or to wealthy households for a hefty sum.

If those traffickers know they’ll get the death penalty when caught, they’re far more likely to take desperate measures, ensuring everyone goes down together.