Chapter 23 (1/2)

XXIII Undercurrent

The tension in the court is at an all-tih

I lean to the side of the throne and squint at the scene below me

A young soldier plastered with blood is kneeling in thewith his head on the floor

The celebrations haven’t yet ended in the capital when songs of bereavehout the frontiers

Just last night, Lupine Blood Mounts suddenly appeared to the west of South Hill Pass Thirty thousand Yan cavalry came like a sandstorm and washed the Rui camp away

Yuwen Yuan was personally leading the forceful attack and clashed swords with General Zhou Zhenluan and the troops defending the west route throughout the whole night all the way until the fourth watch the followingin rivers and the corpses piled into mountains

At the fifth watch, the Yan broke through the Rui base camp and General Zhou died in battle for the country

Over half of the forty thousandthe west route were slain and the ones ouldn’t surrender were buried alive

Once the west route was left unguarded, the County of Ning Yuan laid completely naked before the Yan troops I property, co any commoner that showed the tiniest amount of defiance The once prosperous border county has becoht

South Hill Pass lays fully exposed to the Yan Great Rui is cornered

The Yan proclaimed that they shall flatten the Rui capital, ride into the Middle Plains and cleanse Great Rui with blood within ten days

Out of forty thousand men, only this Captain of Yu Wu here in the court escaped froht to report back to the capital

He didn’t even change out of his bloody ar the atrocities of the Yan ar man weeps as he spits with venom

There is not one official who is not la falls to the floor and starts to wail in the court to the point of fainting The other officials all fall to their knees, crying, i to save our nation’s pride

I shut htly to restrain myself

General Zhou—an ie of the bearded dauntless and valiant warrior flashes through my mind

The captain abruptly kos and urges, “Your Majesty, General Zhou sacrificed his life for the country; forty thousandterrorized Are we to stand by and take this shame?!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!”

Everyone kos and the hall fills with sorrow Pei Yuan’s father crawls forth and pleads “Our country is in danger now and we are on the brink of collapsing Now that it is a life-or-death situation, I beseech not to defend our walls but to fight to the death!”

I open lance at what lies before me

The country is in danger We are on the brink of collapsing It is definitely a life-or-death situation

As I’, “General Pei, you are of round Certainly you know that a battle is not fought ords alone”

I pull a slimpse back towards her “It appears that You have a plan in mind, Your Graciousness”

Behind ons is a thin yellow veil and a curtain of fancy beads The eh

She speaks again “You have only just taken the throne, Your Majesty Military decisions are not to be made so hastily”

I fall silent

I could not do anything even if I wanted to in this situation I’ve only just ascended and I don’t have enough support I’ the ier’s seal to be effective

I’ve had enough of this kind of life—and I’ve only done this for one day!

Unknowingly, I’ve been balling upto a respectful expression “So frorace of defeat lying down?”

“Your Majesty, General Zhou died for our country Such glorious deeds should be announced to the world Also, the soldiers who sacrificed themselves should be compensated That is the most important as of now,” she explains steadily “As for the ht have a history in the army, but,” she pauses on purpose, “it would be best not to push it”

I feel rage burning within but I do hts on our next steps?” I squeeze through clipped lips

“Oh, but I am just a woman It would be wise to ask Your subjects, Your Majesty”

I let out a silent scoff and look back to my subjects in the hall They all have their heads up but their eyes are jumpy From where I sit, I see them in neat rows but there is no liveliness at all—they all look exhausted I’m somewhat upset: at this critical tiic as the backbones of the governo on like this!

As I scan across the rows of people, h-ranking officials and nobility stray off elsewhere In the end, I stop at one person I clear , as the Marshal of Fu Guo, what are your thoughts on the war?”

Hearing this, Heng Ziyu steps forward and gets on his knees dutifully “In reply to Your Majesty, I will serve the country in whatever way Your Majesty sees fit,” he responds calmly

That stuffs everything I had back down my throat

Every decree, no matter trivial or ier and be sta the buck to me

“And the rest of you?” I try not to sound enraged

Silence takes over the hall in an instant, so much so that I can almost hear their hurried breaths Inhale Exhale It’s so quiet that time almost seems to freeze solid Finally, Xie Yun shuffles forth and kneels down after glancing around

Although I already knohat he wants to say, I still ask, “Yes, Minister Xie?”

He kos before proceeding “Your Majesty, the court sky-gazer has studied the stars and referenced the books He has discovered that the skies to the north of our court have lost their auspice The only way to preserve our state is to relocate to the south”

After he finishes, it’s so quiet I could hear a pin drop I glare at hi

To think he would actually say that out loud

As for the others’ reactions, it was only expected South Hill Pass isn’t going to hold for er; the Yan are about to break into the capital There is nothing on the agenda and everyone is on the edge of their seats At times like this, the best option would be to run away

I sigh in my mind I suppose I can’t blame them It’s only natural for humans to fear death and they’re not only worried for their own lives but also for their families, from the elders to the children, and their future

My guess is that they think the capital is going to fall without a doubt and if we don’t relocate then the end result et their positions and their salary, even if half of the kingdom would be lost

I’ them with a cold look

I think back to how anguished they were just no they wanted to fight I wonder howsubjects are all packed up and ready to go, and are just waiting for the royal decree for relocation

The more I delve into it, the more pathetically funny it becomes

Was I being too hopeful in thinking I could stop a tidal ith nothing but my oer?

And howme now, the emperor, to see whether I would relocate in fear or defend our land?

I cover , “I would like to see how many support the relocation”

Everyone raises their head at my words Xie Yun looks shocked for a nize me

I flash a soft sitated, so we should not be hasty to decide I shall discuss it further with the eer and make a decision then”

All the officials lower their heads once hbours

I nod to the blue-ranked attendant beside ed-out voice “Dismissed!”

No one et up and leave

Soon after, two decrees are made and announced in the capital

One: Styling General Zhou as Marquis Wu Wei and giving him a duke’s burial

Two: Pro each soldier who died in battle by three ranks and coold to his family

I’ soldiers in white carry a coffin into the capital A single, long file of depressing white snakes through the city The young warriors are not crying but their eyes are red and swollen A gust of histles past,the funeral banner flap

Actually, I should see General Zhou off even though he was never nice to ave me the stick once when I was under his co

“Your Majesty?” A blue-ranked attendant steps forth cautiously “It is quite windy here Perhaps it would be best to return to the palace?”

I inquire as though I haven’t heard him, “Has Liao Tianyi arrived yet?” The attendant answers that he is waiting in Qian Yuan Hall I take one last look before leaving

I enter Qian Yuan Hall to see Master Liao kneeling properly on the ground He quickly bohen he catches sight of me I stare at him from the center seat

When I finally had tis that happened in twenty years, I realised Master Liao had always been a part of everything When I first went to themy memory, he was a private tutor of the household When I was imprisoned in enemy territory, he used his martial skills to co he has done and said since coful

He is still kneeling, unflustered He sure got all the formalities down

I finally break the silence “Just who are you, Liao Tianyi?!”

His shoulders quiver but he quickly regains his composure “As You can see Your Majesty, I a in Minister Han’s household”

I chuckle and walk down fro in front of hi for this day for more than a decade, haven’t you?”

Hearing this, he raises his head He doesn’t look one bit shocked, instead he’s grinning “Precisely, Your Majesty”

I look down and chuckle at ain when I look back up and speaks in a voice so quiet I can barely hear “I was once a secret strategist for Duke Zhao Rui I changed my name and identity and took care of the duke’s son after His Lordshi+p’s defeat”

‘Once upon a ti in on ain’

‘Because there werein the world you can’t get over’

I hear the words of comfort that he once said to me I see I see, nohat his despair had been and what his importanthim for the first time

I just feel tired all of a sudden Too tired to even vocalize the words on the tip of ue For twelve years I’ve been the idiot asn’t aware of anything

“Oh, is that so” I plop onto the ground and look at hi Hai just to visit family either”

He nods

The County of Feng Hai in the north was once the enfeoffment of Duke Zhao Rui More than seven-tenth of Great Rui’s reat a the duke’s defeat and theof the arh the duke has died, a portion of his forces still remain and may even be on the rise The court has sent people to deal with it but they never saw any results

“Your Majesty, His Lordshi+pto die for the duke” Master Liao’s eyes shi+ne with excitement “In the capital as well-”

“Save it” I cut him off with a raised arm “We can talk about that later I…” I freeze I used the normal ‘I’ when I had been all proper and said ‘I’ in the court Then I burst out laughing—I guess I’m not a proper emperor after all

I shake et entle sh he has turned back into that kind and affectionate tutor again

We sit down face to face and I ask for his advice like I usually do

“Do You knohat thecurrently is, Your Majesty?”

I fidget with my clothes “Of course I do I only have the title of an eer still has the control of the court, only now she’s e” Master Liao purses his lips I flash a lazy sive me that look I wanna build up my oer, too, but where could I possibly start?”

He draws his slender fingers across the table, s slyly “Secret forces aside, You still have plenty at hand ready to utilize”

He dabs soer fixedly Then I look up to clash with his ht have been an onlooker all this ti, and twenty thousand of his men are still at South Hill Pass He would not just leave them behind”

It’s as if a spark has been lit in my brain I listen on “However, he is a very cautious man, very wary of others You et the upper hand”