Chapter 1239 - 305: Campaign Against Chu (Part 3)

Chapter 1239: Chapter 305: Campaign Against Chu (Part 3)

The officials, who were all former imperial examination graduates, laughed as they began distributing red sashes,

and more than half of the ministers, already infected by this generous atmosphere, unhesitatingly removed the white cloth they wore and replaced it with red sashes.

Yan State,

regardless of the financial situation or the state of the treasury,

you cannot deny that,

Yan State now is truly the greatest power in the East!

For eight hundred years, the iron cavalry of Yan has defended the East from the barbarians, cultivating a confident and unyielding backbone;

and ever since the current Emperor ascended the throne, the series of triumphant victories in foreign wars has brought the honor and pride of the Yan people to a peak.

Thus are the common people,

and naturally, the officials are even more so!

In fact, joining the court and becoming an official, to leave one’s name in the historical annals, the simplest way is... to advocate for war.

There are also some ministers who clearly know that this matter is not so simple.

Some high-level officials had already caught wind of the impending national war, and then the Third Prince was thus assassinated, with the assassination occurring shortly after the Third Prince was just released from the pavilion at the heart of the lake.

Really,

what a coincidence?

But when Zhao Jiulang took the red sash handed to him by Ji Chengjue and draped it on, outside the palace gates, all the ministers had changed into the red sashes.

The encouragement of the examination officials,

the added push from the princes,

and the decisive confirmation from the current Prime Minister,

left no alternative path outside the palace gates for the ministers.

Either willing or with some hesitation, they all changed into red silk, turning the national mourning into a "celebration" instantly.

Everyone was talking with smiles, some even singing folk songs of the Yan region, though somewhat forced, it created a lively atmosphere.

Ji Chengfeng stood silently behind Ji Chengjue, knowing that all of this was arranged by his sixth brother.

Hu Zhengfang, after all, was the official aide of his sixth brother.

If it were in the past, Ji Chengfeng would have surely felt impassioned as well, though he hadn’t been close with the Third Prince since childhood; precisely because of his nature, the Third Prince wasn’t close to any of his brothers.

But even so, they were brothers after all;

and, like the Eldest Prince, Ji Chengfeng had a military background and naturally wished to seek battle to gain the opportunity for military experience.

But now,

but at this moment,

Ji Chengfeng could not muster up excitement.

He suddenly felt that this sixth brother before him was like a vulture, feasting on the flesh of the brother’s corpse right in front of him instead of mourning.

Ji Chengfeng grew fearful,

previously,

he didn’t feel,

he naively believed that he wasn’t bad either and that he still had a chance to vie for that position.

Even after the downfall of the Sanshi Deng Family, Ji Chengfeng still felt confident, thinking he could bide his time and wait for his opportunity.

But now,

he realized the gap between himself and this brother before him was tremendously vast.

The cruelty and ruthlessness of his father, using his own son as an excuse for war, had already chilled Ji Chengfeng to the core;

but this brother of his seemed to be just like their father, willing to exploit any value from even blood relatives.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three loud cracks of the whip,

and the palace gates opened.

All the ministers in red silk stepped into the palace gates.

On the Mugwort white brick floor inside the palace, a striking stream of red flowed.

Ji Chengfeng subconsciously followed Ji Chengjue’s steps inside, and then he saw the Crown Prince standing there.

The Crown Prince, still as lean as ever, stood there, seemingly waiting for both brothers.

No,

to be precise, 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

waiting for the sixth brother, with nothing to do with himself.

Ji Chengjue stepped up to the Crown Prince and paid his respects.

The Crown Prince stood there, without responding, merely saying blandly,

"A grand move."

"Moreover," Ji Chengjue said, "now, at the West Zhi Gate, the people should be gathering."

The Chu dispatched assassins, attempting to murder His Majesty, and the Third Prince heroically gave his life to save the Emperor, dying under the assassin’s blade.

The cruelty of the Chu and the filial purity of the Third Prince, using these as themes, were being passionately spread by the students in teahouses, the marketplace, and in the Imperial Academy, making the matter known to all in Yanjing City.

And the anger of the Yan people was ignited instantly.

The Yan people, too proud.

Their iron cavalry has suppressed the barbarians for a century, forcing the young prince of the barbarian Royal Court to bow low and respectfully address them as elders;

their arms crushed the Qian people, tens of thousands of iron cavalry rode south, drinking by the Bian River, adding a new metallic melody to the flourishing of the imperial capital;

the renowned iron cavalry of the Three Jin, thought to be unmatched in prowess, was thoroughly routed by the Yan cavalry; the rampaging wild people were also completely driven away!

At Jade Plate City, along the Wang River, the blood of forty thousand Chu Blue Luan soldiers nourished the victorious zeal of the Yan people!

Yan State, the Yan Court, the people of Yan,

have grown accustomed to moving from one victory to another,

the inertia of victory like a wheel,

if always victorious,

who would detest war?

"You did very well," the Crown Prince said.

The Crown Prince knew that behind many of the businesses in the capital was this sixth brother before him.

"It was father’s arrangement, mourning set aside for ten days, just to find the culprit before holding the funeral."

Ten days,

were more than enough for the wind to blow back and forth several times.

In truth, it wasn’t only Ji Chengjue’s own people who acted, the Spy Bureau’s people were involved too.

Then, outside the palace gates, another group emerged, clad in ancestral armor, led by the Chief of Clan Affairs, entering from another palace gate to converge here.