Vol 10 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Chapter 9

VOLUME 10 CHAPTER 9: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS THE CALM AFTER THE BATTLE OF FAN CITY (9)

Meng De POV

“Well then, what does Lord Cao Cao plan to do next?” The Son of Heaven asked.

This was one of the few times that the Son of Heaven was showing interest towards battles and I wondered if he felt that it was serious given my exchange with a royal relative earlier or if he was just going with the flow. Whatever the case, I had to reply him and this would serve as a reply to the rest of Court as well.

“Son of Heaven, this loss only serves to delay us as the southern campaign’s success hinges upon using overwhelming force to take whole cities and states. Mere trickery employed in Xinye will not help to defend against our might which greatly exceeds that of our foes. Moreover, the south is divided like a tray of scattered sand and we will defeat them all easily in 1 go. This loss was but an anomaly and we will most definitely take Xinye and continue on to take all of Jing state soon.”

“Un un un.” The Son of Heaven nodded 3 times and looked at me for a while before s.h.i.+fting his gaze to Ben Chu, “General Yuan, do you agree with Imperial Chancellor Cao’s a.s.sessment?”

“Your retainer agrees naturally.” Ben Chu said as she raised her head and saluted the Son of Heaven and paused before adding, “But your retainer has another matter to implore the Son of Heaven to give his attention to.”

“Un? What is it?” The Son of Heaven asked while I already knew what she was going to say.

“Son of Heaven, the battle at Xinye may have been lost but Lu Xiang and Lu Kuang, who were generals in this battle, fought valiantly and died in combat. They have been buried in Fan city, far away from their hometown, and can never return to rest in their homes. For their loyal service, I beseech the Son of Heaven to give recognition for their efforts, loyalty and dedication, and grant them posthumous rewards.” Ben Chu said and saluted and bowed deeply.

To think that the cold, aloof and arrogant Ben Chu would put aside her pride to ask for a commendation for her deceased retainers. But this is the Ben Chu that I am familiar with.

“Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang huh… I’ve never really heard of them before.” The Son of Heaven muttered but then quickly returned to her usual expression as he said, “Alright, since they’re so fantastic, then grant them some things.”

What a casual fellow, I thought but continued to feign humility in front of him

“Thank you, Son of Heaven, for your boundless kindness.” Ben Chu seemed to be happy as she bowed before him once more.

“Well then, Imperial Chancellor Cao, I’ll leave this to you. I can’t remember anything about t.i.tles after all.

“Yes.”

Yes, this is how the Son of Heaven is like usually. No deviations there. I had guessed that he would say this and this made my salute a little sloppy, like how I usually saluted the Son of Heaven when I spoke with him.

“Well then, that should be it right?” The Son of Heaven asked as he swept his gaze across all of us. It was clear that he was itching to dismiss us but just then, a wave of tiredness a.s.saulted him and his mouth opened wide. When he saw this, the eunuch attendant hurried forward to cover his mouth.

“Haa~” But while he could cover the view, the eunuch attendant could not cover the sound and a lazy yawn could be heard in the palace hall. It does not take a genius to guess that he cannot wait to go and take a nap after this.

Though the Son of Heaven is still really young and does not know much at all, he is candid and does not care much for trifles. This is the one thing tha

t I like about him and the one thing which keeps me from hating him.

“Court is dis–”

“Ah, Son of Heaven.” I said as I took a step forward and saluted him when an idea sprang to mind, interrupting the eunuch attendant who had already gotten the signal to dismiss Court from the Son of Heaven.

“Un? Does the Imperial Chancellor have any other business?” The Son of Heaven asked lethargically as he eyelids began to droop, “Is it about the defeat?”

“No, it isn’t.” I shook my head. What I wanted to ask was very simple. In fact, it was in bad taste even.

“What I want to ask is related to the southern campaign. We will undoubtedly be fighting Liu Biao and his forces to the death and so Liu Biao himself might not be left with an intact corpse at the end. If this should come to pa.s.s, I hope for the Son of Heaven to not punish me for this.”