Great Xia Kingdom, the royal capital, Tianlan City.

Chu Yang was very depressed, so depressed that he was about to go crazy.

He never expected that the current situation would become so complicated.

Why? Because his beloved fourth brother, Chu Sheng, who had always doted on him since childhood, had returned once again.

A total of 40,000 soldiers and horses were deployed on the border of Daxia (10,000 of whom were recruited by Qingyang City Lord Lu Zhantian), showing signs of a comeback.

This is the third time Chu Sheng has launched a struggle for the throne; it seems like it will never end.

Moreover, this time it seemed different from the past. These troops, which appeared out of nowhere, were well-equipped, all wearing Xuan-rank armor.

Based on the calculation that a set of Xuan-grade armor is worth 30,000 low-grade spirit stones, just equipping 40,000 people would cost at least 100,000 high-grade spirit stones. Where did Chu Sheng get so much money?

(The truth is that these Xuan-rank armors are covered with spirit crystals taken from the Seven-Colored Saint Monarch Rock area, and the cost is only one thousand spirit stones per piece.)

Facing such a heavily armed army, Chu Yang experienced for the first time the meaning of the four words "worried and helpless".

In reality, the Great Xia still has an army of 600,000 on paper.

However, in reality, there were less than 400,000 troops, not even counting deserters and issues such as morale. Chu Yang himself was unsure of the actual number of troops he could mobilize.

Moreover, the struggle for the throne cost a lot of money, which led to the country's poverty and soaring prices, making it difficult for the people to survive.

In addition, the severe fiscal deficit has led to Chu Yang not even receiving military funding for three months, and there is already widespread discontent among the troops.

If we don't get any more foreign aid, this battle might really be over.

So, on the one hand, Chu Yang continued to ask for help from the Ziyuan Empire, and on the other hand, he kept making big promises to his soldiers, promising them something after victory in the war.

However, now even Chu Yang’s own palace is struggling financially, so who would believe your unrealistic promise?

Today, Chu Yang just received a battle report from the front lines: when the Southern Army arrived at the three border defense lines, tens of thousands of soldiers fired three arrows in unison before abandoning the city and fleeing.

Chu Sheng entered the territory of Xia State without bloodshed and established a stronghold.

This forced Chu Yang to bite the bullet and summon the wealthy families in the city to the palace, intending to have them "contribute their utmost efforts to the patriotic cause."

However, what Chu Sheng didn't know was that since he ascended the throne, he had been able to sustain intensive farming for three consecutive years, which had scared the rich and powerful families in the city.

In addition, this man's behavior after taking office was almost abstract, not to mention his public affair with the concubines left by his father.

Inviting officials to admire the former empress dowager's reclining body, and frequently depicting people as being torn to pieces, are just some of the anthropomorphic actions employed.

Everyone in the city, from the civil and military officials to the common people, had long believed that this guy was obviously Wang Weiheng on Twitter - too many leaves were flying.

Therefore, all the wealthy families in the Great Xia Kingdom began to resist Chu Yang's rule, but because they had soldiers, they endured the oppression silently for the time being.

However, at this very moment, the Southern Region Court of Justice took the opportunity to infiltrate the organization and privately extended a warm invitation to wealthy families within the Great Xia territory to immigrate and settle in Luoyang.

As a result, savvy wealthy families had already quietly transferred all their assets, along with their families' connections, to the Southern Region through the Public Trial Association's network of contacts.

Even now, the top families in Tianlan City, along with the scholars and talents within the Xia Kingdom, and even some ordinary people, have already gone to Luoyang in the Southern Region to seek refuge with Su Yunying.

But Chu Yang was not aware of all this.

After waiting for three whole hours and seeing the still empty hall, he finally broke down.

"Where are they?! Are they no longer listening to my orders?"

"I kindly invited them to a banquet to serve the country, so why don't they come to see me!"

"I, the King, will exterminate their entire clan! I will send their wives and daughters to the Ministry of Education!"

However, after the impotent rage subsided, the problem remained unresolved.

If the issue of military spending is not resolved, Chu Sheng is very likely to seize the throne through a counterattack.

By then, based on his understanding of his brother, he would definitely not give himself any chance to survive.

Chu Yang became increasingly anxious and angry the more he thought about it.

My fourth brother loved me so much, why didn't he just commit suicide to be with me? What happened to our family bond?

At this moment, he was filled with endless resentment towards Chu Yang, his hypocritical brother, and believed that everything was caused by Chu Yang's unwillingness to sacrifice his life.

Report!

A eunuch tremblingly walked into the hall, took one look at Chu Yang, whose face was dark, and immediately knelt on the ground, gasping for breath.

"What's wrong? Tell me! Have any supplies been sent from the Ziyuan Empire?"

The eunuch whispered, "Your Majesty, the Ziyuan Empire announced ten days ago that it was withdrawing from the Fourteen Kingdoms Alliance, and said... and said..."

"say what!?"

Upon hearing that the Ziyuan Empire had withdrawn from the Fourteen Kingdoms Alliance, Chu Yang was immediately shocked.

The eunuch mustered his courage and said, "The Ziyuan Empire says that the king murdered the monarch and seized the throne first."

Having insulted my late mother, you are unworthy to lead a fourteen-nation alliance and are ashamed to be associated with us.

"brute!"

Chu Yang was furious and slapped the eunuch on the head, killing him instantly.

"Zhao Jie! You wicked ruler, you break your promise!"

Just as he was about to utter a few more curses, another urgent report arrived.

"Gaoyang Pass has fallen!"

Upon seeing the urgent report, Chu Yang was immediately alarmed.

Gaoyang Pass is the gateway to the capital, and the 30,000 troops stationed there are all his trusted confidants. No matter how difficult the situation, he has never shortchanged them a single penny of military supplies.

It broke in just one day?

"Tell me, how did Gaoyang City, which is as solid as a rock, with walls nine zhang high and protected by a sixth-grade barrier, fall?"

The messenger replied, "Your Majesty, the enemy has breached the upper reaches of the East River and diverted water into the pass, turning Gaoyang Pass into a swamp."

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