Chapter 361: The Truth of That Year
The empress bestowed a pair of blood jade bracelets and said with a smile, “These were passed down to me by the Empress Dowager, and I am passing them on to you.”
Shen Xingnong took them. The jade bracelets were translucent and flawless, with the inner patterns vaguely forming a dragon and phoenix! The Empress Dowager bestowed them to the empress, and the empress passed them on to her. Everyone present understood the implied meaning. Shen Xingnong smiled and expressed her gratitude, “Thank you, Mother Empress.”
The empress smiled and said, “Alright, go offer tea to your uncle and aunt!”
Marquis Changping was the Empress’s brother. The Marquis Changping’s family was full of loyal and valiant individuals. Now, only his elder brother and eldest son remained; everyone else had perished in that great war. Such loyal and righteous people were naturally worthy of the tea offered by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Thus, Shen Xingnong and Chu Tiankuo offered tea to the two of them.
After the tea ceremony, it was time for the midday meal. After the family had finished their meal, the emperor had to return to the Imperial Study to handle government affairs. Chu Tiankuo and Shen Xingnong stayed in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility to chat with the empress and Marquis Changping.
Chu Tiankuo asked impatiently, “Uncle, what exactly happened back then? How did you avoid being beheaded?”
He remembered personally collecting their corpses back then.
Marquis Changping then explained everything in detail to Chu Tiankuo.
It turned out that there were traitors within the Changping Army back then, and not just one.
One of them was a deputy general deeply trusted by the old Marquis. He leaked military secrets and the formations designed by Old Master Tang to the Zhao Kingdom, which led to the Zhao army breaking through Old Master Tang’s formations and capturing the Chu Kingdom’s cities.
The old Marquis Changping had previously captured a rebellious deputy general from the army, thinking that there were no more traitors in the army. He didn’t expect that his most trusted deputy general would also betray him.
During the great battle between the two armies, the old Marquis, along with his trusted confidants and Old Master Tang, devised a plan to recapture the lost cities. Unexpectedly, someone still secretly informed the Zhao army of the tactics and the method to break through the formations set up by Old Master Tang on Snow Mountain.
The Zhao army used this information to their advantage and set up formations within formations on Snow Mountain, luring the Changping Army deep into the mountain.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were trapped within the modified formations designed by Old Master Tang, eventually freezing or starving to death in the icy wilderness.
“Back then, the Changping Army lost two cities in a row and was eventually trapped in the icy wilderness. Someone presented evidence at the morning court session, accusing Father of colluding with the Zhao army and betraying the country. The handwriting on those letters was identical to Father’s, and the evidence was conclusive. The Emperor had no choice but to order the raiding of Marquis Changping’s residence.”
“At that time, all evidence pointed to Father’s betrayal, but the Emperor believed us. To lure out the person behind it all, he secretly arranged for death row prisoners to be beheaded in our place and had me secretly train troops and rebuild the Changping Army.”
The old Marquis Changping was getting old, and that battle was the last one he intended to fight. From then on, his children and grandchildren would inherit his will and safeguard the Chu Kingdom’s territory.
In every previous battle, the old Marquis had always led the Heir Apparent of Marquis Changping （now the current Marquis Changping） and his eldest grandson into battle. He would also bring along either his second or third son.
For every battle, either the second or third son would always remain in the capital to defend it. Firstly, this was to prevent the possibility of all the male members of the family going to war and leaving no descendants. Secondly, having someone remain in the capital could also reassure the Emperor, preventing him from worrying about them rebelling on the battlefield.
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However, this time was the old Marquis’s retirement battle. The second and third sons had never accompanied their father to the battlefield together. The wife of the Heir Apparent was about to give birth, so the two of them proposed that this time, the Heir Apparent of Marquis Changping （now the current Marquis Changping） and his son would stay in the capital to defend it, while they would go to the battlefield with their father and their two sons to fight the enemy.
Marquis Changping had been following the old Marquis Changping onto the battlefield since he was eight years old. Over the years, he had never missed a single battle and was already capable of taking charge independently.
The old Marquis also wanted to take the opportunity of his last battle to teach his second and third sons more, so he brought them and their sons to the battlefield. He didn’t expect that this time it would cost them their lives.
For the past seven years, Marquis Changping had been holding back his anger, wanting to avenge his father and brothers. He had forged a Changping Army of one hundred thousand cavalrymen, thinking that he would join forces with his nephew to avenge his father, brothers, and nephews.
He didn’t expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would be so capable, achieving victory with fewer troops and single-handedly avenging his father and brother while making the Zhao Kingdom pay a heavy price.
For the next ten years, the Zhao Kingdom would definitely not have the ability to invade the Chu Kingdom again.
Marquis Changping sighed as he reminisced, “However, this battle with the Zhao Kingdom has greatly weakened the Chu Kingdom’s strength. The Changping Army’s catastrophic defeat has also shown the Emperor that many treacherous villains have infiltrated the army. Prime Minister Li’s influence in the court has also spread throughout the country, causing many virtuous and capable individuals to be harmed. The extent of the harm is so great that it endangers the country’s foundation. The Emperor has asked Minister Lin, Old Master Tang, and other ministers to conceal their identities and secretly cultivate talent for the Chu Kingdom.”
“Your mother’s situation was also part of the Emperor’s plan. Demoting your mother to the Cold Palace and angering you was actually to protect you and your mother.”
Chu Tiankuo had already figured this out. He also knew that the Emperor had secretly sent people to protect him in the past.
However, after he shook them off multiple times, they stopped coming.
The empress then said, “All these years, your father has been having the same dream. In the dream, the Changping Army falls for the enemy’s trick and is trapped on Snow Mountain. Someone in the court submits a memorial accusing the Changping Army of betrayal, leading to the loss of several cities. The memorial claims that the Changping Army’s entrapment on Snow Mountain is actually a defection to the Zhao Kingdom. The Emperor doesn’t believe it and sends your uncle with a hundred thousand troops to rescue them. As a result, they too are trapped on Snow Mountain, with no news of their whereabouts! Later, you also lead a hundred thousand troops to rescue them but are shot to death by enemy arrows in the chaos of battle. Because your grandfather’s Changping Army was indeed trapped on Snow Mountain, and the dream felt so real, your father didn’t dare to gamble. He didn’t dare to gamble with the lives of two hundred thousand soldiers, nor with yours and your uncle’s lives, nor with the fate of the Chu Kingdom. After all, if the dream came true, the Chu Kingdom would lose its bravest and most skilled generals and three hundred thousand troops. This would truly endanger the country! That’s why he surrendered to the Zhao Kingdom, paying annual tribute and enduring humiliation for many years.”
Marquis Changping added, “Not only that, the late Emperor deeply trusted Prime Minister Li. As Prime Minister for two reigns, Prime Minister Li has many disciples. He controlled the imperial examinations for many years during the late Emperor’s reign. Any individual with even a little bit of ability or talent would be recruited by Prime Minister Li’s people, resulting in many officials in the court, including many local officials, being Prime Minister Li’s people.”
“There are too many corrupt officials throughout the country, colluding with each other. Disasters are rampant, the national treasury is empty, and there are no capable people in the court, nor is there any money to handle affairs. The Emperor came up with a strategy. He had Minister Lin repeatedly contradict him, pretending to be disillusioned with the court, and then resign to become the headmaster of an academy. The purpose of this was to recruit capable individuals for the Emperor one step ahead. When the time came for them to take the imperial examinations and achieve high rankings, they would pretend to be recruited by Prime Minister Li and be assigned official positions by Prime Minister Li’s people. The Emperor would then take the opportunity to promote them, gradually replacing the forces cultivated by Prime Minister Li. The Emperor has been planning for many years, waiting for the Crown Prince to grow up so that he can inherit a peaceful and prosperous country.”
