“Your Inferior General pays respects to the chancellor!” Chun Xu knelt on the ground, still using his former title. He could only console himself that he was kneeling before Great Yu’s chancellor, not the ruler of the Great Zhen Royal Court in Dan Prefecture.
“Why cling so stubbornly to a form of address? Chun Xu, I do not want to waste words with you either. During this period, you may train as usual, and I will not deliberately restrain you!
“Of course, you may also take this opportunity to escape and see whether I have what it takes to capture you and bring you back!”
Hearing Li Zhen’s words, Chun Xu raised his head and stared in shock at the person seated in the hall.
They could still train?
He had assumed that after coming here, they would probably be treated like prisoners, but this...
Li Zhen waved his hand. After saluting, the guards turned and left the military tent!
“You are a soldier. I do not want to waste my breath trying to persuade you. The wager is already in effect, so we will proceed accordingly.
“But ultimately, you and I came from the same place. It is simply that I could no longer remain there!” Li Zhen said indifferently.
“Chancellor, that is not the case. Your Majesty...”
Chun Xu spoke excitedly. Seeing Li Zhen in this state, he felt that he might still be able to persuade him.
“Chun Xu, you do not understand. I treated Shao Xuji like a blood brother and taught him everything I knew without reservation. For these five years, I devoted myself heart and soul!
“But as time passed, his suspicion of me grew heavier and heavier. I formed no factions, pursued no private interests, and gave my all to assisting him in office!
“But what was the result? The officials in the imperial court slandered me, and I was demoted from office? Do you think I cared about that trifling official position?
“What I wanted was a heart—a heart capable of treating others with sincerity!
“The emperor is the ruler of all under heaven, but only when someone supports him. Without that support, he is nothing!
“I do not want to discuss right and wrong with you. In short, just stay here peacefully and watch!”
“When people from Great Yu come, I will personally send you away. But if ten days pass and no one from Great Yu comes...
“Then you will submit to me. From this day forth, we will share honor and disgrace!”
Li Zhen’s sincere words made Chun Xu feel somewhat moved.
However, he quickly shook those thoughts from his mind.
The ruler is the subject’s guiding principle, the father is the son’s guiding principle, and the husband is the wife’s guiding principle! The Three Bonds and Five Constants were deeply rooted in him.
Even if the ruler and father were truly in the wrong, subjects and sons still had to follow that wrong.
“I dare not agree with the chancellor’s opinion, but I must still thank the chancellor for giving these children a chance to live!” Chun Xu bowed deeply.
As for escaping, he decided to forget it. He was not leading a single person, but ten thousand. Besides, even if they genuinely were not being guarded, there were still ordinary sentries.
He would not do something that amounted to seeking his own death.
As for submitting to Li Zhen, he believed that Great Yu could never abandon them, so the matter was not worth discussing.
“Rise, Chun Xu. You should have heard of my deeds. Apart from misjudging Shao Xuji, I have never been wrong about anything!
“Train your men properly. If anyone refuses to honor the wager when the time comes, you should know what happened to the Yuwen Clan!”
When Li Zhen mentioned the Yuwen Clan, Chun Xu’s body trembled slightly.
At the beginning of the imperial court, the Yuwen Clan had controlled many officials and even contended with the emperor!
In the end, Li Zhen had thrown them into an oil cauldron!
Three generations of the Yuwen Clan...
That cauldron still stood outside the Imperial Palace gates to warn the civil and military officials!
“Your Inferior General understands!”
Chun Xu hurriedly agreed. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. In recent years, the imperial court had been peaceful, and everyone had already forgotten that Li Zhen had once been given the title of poison strategist!
“Then withdraw. Someone, hand him over to Shuoyan Hexu!”
After Li Zhen finished speaking, someone outside entered and led Chun Xu away from the military tent!
After dealing with Chun Xu, Li Zhen sent people to spread the news that he had established a royal court, annihilated the Xunfeng Tribe in a single battle, and captured Ten Thousand Black Cavalry as prisoners of war.
Keep a low profile as a person, but make a high-profile show of your deeds!
Now, he should also let all of Dan Prefecture know that Li Zhen had already become a powerful force in the region.
The news soon spread throughout Dan Prefecture, at a speed that left people dumbfounded.
At first, none of the tribes believed it.
They thought Li Zhen was deceiving them.
But when scouts from many tribes arrived at the Xunfeng Tribe and saw corpses strewn across the ground...
..
Capital City.
In the imperial court, the civil and military officials stood in two orderly rows.
Thud!
Seated upon the imperial throne, Shao Xuji swept everything from the desk. “Useless! You are all useless!
“With Li Zhen gone, this is how you handle his duties for me? If there is flooding, control the flooding!
“Great Yu’s national treasury is overflowing. How can you not even deal with a mere flood? Tell me, why is this happening!”
Shao Xuji roared furiously throughout the main palace hall, his face twisted with rage.
He felt utterly frantic.
Ever since Li Zhen left, governing the realm seemed to have become completely different in difficulty from before.
There were more and more matters requiring his decisions, so many that Shao Xuji no longer had time to visit the imperial harem.
Every day, the officials chased after him relentlessly.
At first, the feeling of having the final say in everything had indeed been exhilarating.
But later, he grew increasingly irritable.
If he had handled these matters with ease, it would have been fine. Yet many of them left him completely without a clue.
Everything was a complete mess.
Especially now, with flooding in Nanning Prefecture and countless civilians suffering losses.
Not a single minister in the entire imperial court could go to Nanning Prefecture to provide disaster relief!
Was this not a slap in the face?
“Your Majesty, you absolutely must not become angry. It will harm your imperial health...”
The newly appointed chancellor Xu Feijie had not yet finished speaking.
When a memorial was flung directly into his face.
“I do not want to see you again! Get out! Strip him of his official position!”
Shao Xuji’s fury made all the ministers sigh inwardly.
How much time had passed? He had already replaced his sixth chancellor.
The current Shao Xuji was moody and unpredictable, and quite a few officials had already been executed.
They sorely missed Li Zhen!
“Report—”
“An urgent yellow-scroll report from Northern Cold Pass, covering one hundred thousand li!”
The drawn-out shout resounded through the main palace hall.
A military report sealed with a yellow scroll was the highest grade among border pass reports. It went directly to the emperor, and no one else could open it without authorization.
Shao Xuxue’s brows drew together slightly.
It had been many years since an urgent report of this level had appeared.
“Open it and read it!”
Shao Xuji sat on the dragon throne with a frown, his expression gloomy.
Why did these matters keep coming one after another?
They were endless.
His heart was filled with irritation.
The palace eunuch beside Shao Xuji accepted the military report, then broke its seal under everyone’s watchful eyes.
The instant the little eunuch saw its contents, his pupils contracted and his lips began trembling with fear.
“Damn useless slave, read it at once!”
Shao Xuji cursed furiously.
The little eunuch shuddered, then hurriedly said, “Xuan Yue, black cavalry commander of Northern Cold Pass, reports that traces of Li Zhen were discovered. Troops were led into Dan Prefecture to search for him. Upon locating him, it was found that Li Zhen had subdued the Shuoyan Tribe, one of the Six Tribes of Dan Prefecture, and reorganized it into... into the Great Zhen Royal Court.
“This man harbors sinister intentions and has concealed his strength. His cultivation has reached above the fifth rank, and he commands tens of thousands of Elite cavalry.
“He also possesses mysterious heavy armored cavalry, each capable of holding off a hundred men!
“He is extraordinarily brutal. He carried out a blood massacre against the Xunfeng Tribe, leaving no survivors. Your Inferior General arrived with his men and engaged him in a bloody battle, fighting without retreat. However, the disparity in strength was too great. Your Inferior General exhausted all his strength to flee back, but Ten Thousand Black Cavalry were surrounded by him.
“Your Majesty, please issue an imperial decree ordering the Commander of Northern Cold Pass to lead troops in coordination with the Black Cavalry to suppress the traitor Li Zhen. Respectfully submitted for Your Majesty’s review!”
When the little eunuch’s final word fell, the main palace hall filled with the sound of countless people drawing in sharp breaths.
Countless people widened their eyes, their expressions filled with terror.
Shao Xuxue walked over and snatched the military report away, reading it word by word.
After scanning it, her hand went slack, and the military report fell to the ground.
How! Could! This! Be!
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