diymy Chapter 3 - You didn't expect that, did you? I've unlocked the entire map!
Chapter 3 - You didn't expect that, did you? I've unlocked the entire map!
The person who was laughing was the Prime Minister of the Great Chu.
Cheng Xiao knew him; after the old emperor fell seriously ill, his power not only reached its peak, but he was also the biggest advocate of surrender.
As expected, the Prime Minister was the first to step forward.
He first looked Cheng Xiao up and down with a slightly mocking expression. Cheng Xiao was thin and dressed only in white.
Then, bowing respectfully to Chu Ning, he advised, "Your Highness, with the nation in peril, have you perhaps lost your mind due to extreme anxiety? This old minister heard that you braved the snow to seek immortality in the mountains, and I thought you could bring back some extraordinary being, but... all you brought back was this sickly person who can barely stand?"
The Prime Minister wasn't the only one to refute the argument; the Grand Marshal, who was in charge of the army, also stepped forward.
He didn't even bother to pretend, angrily rebuking, "A dying man dares to presume to save the Great Chu?"
Besides these two, the civil and military officials under them were all opportunists and also joined in the gossip.
They were afraid of choosing the wrong side.
Faced with the ridicule of the entire court, Chu Ning trembled with anger.
These people not only advocated surrendering to the Great Zhou, but also mocked the hope that she had finally obtained!
She took a sudden step forward, blocking Cheng Xiao's path.
"Shut up! Three days ago, when the Great Zhou army besieged the city, it was a battle formation diagram bestowed by our teacher that allowed the defending general to decisively defeat the Great Zhou's 50,000 elite vanguard troops with only 3,000 remaining soldiers! The power of the formation diagram has already been reported from the front lines. How dare you disrespect our teacher with such extraordinary abilities!"
Chu Ning glared at the assembled officials, his voice ringing out.
Countless people have said she was stupid and useless, but she never refuted them. This time, however, it's different.
Upon hearing this, the assembled officials were slightly taken aback.
The princess, who is usually dignified and virtuous, has never been like this before.
But then, the Grand Marshal let out an even louder burst of wild laughter.
He pointed at Cheng Xiao and scoffed.
"Your Highness, you've been utterly deceived! That victory at the front was nothing more than a desperate last stand by the defending soldiers. Even if the battle formation diagram were real, look at him, on the verge of death. Could he possibly have drawn such a divinely inspired formation? It's utterly absurd!"
As the person in charge of the army, his evaluation of this matter naturally carried special weight.
The Prime Minister echoed, "Moreover, that great victory not only failed to save Great Chu, but also thoroughly enraged the commander of Great Zhou! Now, hundreds of thousands of Great Zhou's main forces are pressing in. Can a mere battle formation diagram stop Great Zhou's all-out attack? Your Highness, by worshipping this charlatan as a god, are you going to risk the lives of the entire city to vent Great Zhou's anger?"
"We implore Your Majesty to issue an order to immediately have this charlatan beaten to death with clubs!" Led by the Prime Minister, dozens of court officials knelt down in unison.
The implication of forcing the emperor to abdicate couldn't be clearer.
The officials, both civil and military, were all talking at once, and Chu Ning, who was not good with words, didn't know how to refute them.
She looked up at her father, but after those words, he closed his eyes again.
Chu Ning knew that these people had long been terrified by the Great Zhou, but he never expected that they would dare to be so presumptuous in front of his father!
Just as she was wondering what to do, that cold hand landed on her shoulder once again.
The teacher's hands always seemed cold.
"Cough cough..."
A weak cough was heard.
Cheng Xiao walked past Chu Ning and slowly walked to the center of the main hall.
He looked at the King of Chu lying on the dragon bed, his deep eyes still calm.
Cheng Xiao understood the King of Chu's meaning; he was simply using these ministers to test him, to see if he was as amazing as the legends suggested.
He didn't look at the indignant ministers, but stared directly at the prime minister who was leading the coup.
"Your Excellency, at three quarters past midnight last night, how was the quality of the fifty thousand taels of gold that the Great Zhou envoy delivered to your residence?" Cheng Xiao asked calmly, his voice indifferent.
Upon hearing this, all the noise in the hall ceased.
The prime minister's cold smile froze abruptly, and his pupils contracted sharply.
However, he quickly regained his composure and defended himself: "Don't make false accusations! I am innocent, how could you..."
"The gold is hidden in a dry well under the artificial hill in the backyard of the Prime Minister's residence."
Cheng Xiao completely ignored his explanation.
Nothing in this world can escape his divine sense; everything is transparent to him.
"As for your letter of surrender, which was secretly exchanged with the commander of the Great Zhou, and the copy of the city defense map of the Great Chu capital, they are currently sewn into the inner lining of the left side of your court robe."
When Cheng Xiao uttered his first words, the Prime Minister wanted to argue, but when he uttered the next sentence, he was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.
Because only he knew that what the young man in front of him said was absolutely true, even including details that only he knew.
This can no longer be explained by simply having a perfect plan.
Cheng Xiao ignored the distraught prime minister and turned to the military officers led by the Grand Marshal.
"Lord Sima, the reason why the food supplies on the front line of Great Chu were cut off was not because Great Zhou had a brilliant plan, but because you secretly leaked the food transport route in order to exchange for the hereditary title of your illegitimate son in the north. Your secret letter is currently lying on the desk of the vanguard general of Great Zhou."
The entire court was so shocked that they couldn't utter a word. They stared in horror at the pale-faced young man in the center of the hall, as if they were seeing a ghost or a god.
Faced with the questions, he didn't roar, didn't get angry, and didn't even raise his eyelids.
But every word he uttered was exceptionally deadly.
The King of Chu was breathing heavily on his dragon bed, and finally opened his cloudy eyes.
"Search!" King Chu issued the decree.
Two imperial guards immediately rushed forward and roughly tore open the prime minister's court robes.
The magnificent robes tore apart, and a sheepskin surrender document bearing the seal of the Great Zhou Dynasty fell onto the gold bricks in front of the entire court.
"Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us! I only resorted to this desperate measure for the sake of Great Chu!" The Prime Minister and the Grand Marshal were no longer arrogant as before.
He kowtowed frantically like a stray dog until his head bled.
The hall was completely silent. The ministers who had just been echoing him were now all prostrate on the ground, trembling, not daring to even breathe.
The way they looked at Cheng Xiao had changed from seeing him as a sickly swindler to seeing him as a god who held the power of life and death.
Chu Ning stood there dumbfounded, the shock in her heart beyond words.
"Good...good!" King Chu suddenly burst into laughter on the dragon bed.
He suddenly pushed away the eunuch who was helping him up and miraculously sat up straight.
"Drag these two traitors out... tear them apart by chariots and execute their entire families!" The King of Chu's voice was hoarse, but he still retained the majesty of an emperor.
Then, he turned to look at Cheng Xiao.
"Sir, you are truly talented... Ning'er did not deceive me; Heaven has indeed not destroyed my Great Chu!"
The King of Chu struggled to reach out his hand towards Cheng Xiao, his voice echoing throughout the entire hall:
"By my decree! From this day forward, I hereby appoint Mr. Chengxiao as the Grand Preceptor of the Great Chu! He shall be granted the Emperor's Sword, and shall not bow before the court, nor mention his name in courtly homage! Throughout the court, all who see the Grand Preceptor shall regard me as myself!"
These words shocked the assembled officials, but no one dared to utter a word of objection.
After all, those who had just tried to stop them had already been dragged out and beheaded.
The King of Chu, supporting himself, continued issuing the decree: "He will be granted a fief of ten thousand households and a stipend of a thousand gold pieces! The entire treasury and military forces of the Great Chu shall be at the sole discretion of the Grand Preceptor; no one shall disobey!"
He threw the last bit of the Great Chu's resources, even the emperor's supreme power, at Cheng Xiao without reservation.
Cheng Xiao listened quietly to this astonishing and extraordinary favor.
He showed no sign of fear or gratitude.
Cheng Xiao simply nodded slightly, his expression extremely calm.
"Your subject obeys."