Chapter 108 The Making of a Tyrant, A Lucky Koi Saves the World

One month later.

The war in the northern border region ended in utter defeat.

The veteran general temporarily appointed by the emperor was no match for Sikong Ming and his barbarian cavalry, and suffered repeated defeats.

Half of the Great Chu kingdom fell into enemy hands.

Rumors spread throughout the capital, and public resentment was boiling over.

At that very moment, an even more astonishing piece of news ignited the entire Great Chu.

Emperor Chu Heng was found dead in his palace late at night, poisoned by a strange poison called "Qianji".

At the scene, only one jade pendant belonging to the Third Prince Chu Huaijin was found.

The evidence is irrefutable!

Crown Prince Chu Chongyun was furious and ordered that the Third Prince Chu Huaijin and his mother, Consort De, and their entire family be imprisoned in the imperial prison and executed by slow slicing for the crime of regicide.

However, on the eve of his execution, the Third Prince left a blood-written letter in prison, accusing Crown Prince Chu Chongyun and the Imperial Preceptor Xuanjizi of being responsible for everything!

It was those two who poisoned my father and then framed him!

The government and the public were shocked, and the truth remained elusive.

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince are fighting like dogs, their mouths churning.

At this very moment when the Great Chu royal family was in the most chaos and the fate of the nation was at its most precarious.

Someone no one expected stepped forward.

Sikong Ming, the young marquis of the Suiyuan Marquis's mansion, who has always presented himself as a gentle and refined gentleman and is deeply loved by civil officials, publicly revealed his true identity in the court!

He was none other than Chu Xuanji, the second prince who, according to legend, died young due to his frail health twenty years ago!

Holding the late emperor's edict and royal tokens, he claimed that he was sent out of the palace to escape persecution and lived in anonymity.

Now that the country is in peril and treacherous officials are in power, he, as a prince, has no choice but to step forward and set things right!

The entire court was stunned by this earth-shattering reversal.

After the former dynasty's remnants and the elders of the imperial clan verified the tokens, they confirmed Sikong Ming's identity.

The third prince, who murdered the emperor, has been brought to justice.

The crown prince, accused of being the mastermind behind the scenes, was unable to defend himself and was deposed by the angry members of the royal family and officials, and imprisoned in the deep palace.

Eldest brother, third brother, fourth brother... one by one, the princes either died, were deposed, or were demoted to commoners.

Looking across the entire royal family, the only one qualified and capable of inheriting the throne is the newly returned Second Prince, Chu Xuanji!

Thus, with everyone's tacit approval, Sikong Ming, no, it should be said that Chu Xuanji, naturally ascended to the throne he had always dreamed of.

He became the new emperor of the Great Chu Kingdom.

On his first day on the throne, he swiftly announced that the rebel leader Sikong Ming (who was himself) in the northern frontier had been killed by divine retribution, and the barbarian tribes had been defeated.

At the same time, he issued an edict accusing Mu Fang, the Duke of Protector of the State who was under house arrest, of having long harbored rebellious intentions and secretly colluding with the rebel army in the northern frontier, and of being the culprits behind the great defeat in the northern frontier.

An imperial edict was sent swiftly to the northern frontier, ordering the new commander-in-chief to annihilate the forces of Chu Chongjin and Mu Fang (the Xuanjia Army) who were "entrenched" there.

He wanted to completely nail these two major threats to the pillar of shame for treason.

Having done all this, Chu Xuanji sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the officials prostrate at his feet, and felt an unprecedented sense of pleasure welling up in his heart.

He won.

From this day forward, the world belongs to him.

However, he did not notice that the sea of ​​national fortune clouds above the palace, which had originally only shown rust-colored edges, had now turned into a shocking dark red in large swaths.

An even bigger storm is brewing.

...

Northern Frontier, Xuanjia Army Camp.

Chu Chongjin put down the report in his hand, which detailed the changes in the capital over the past month.

"He finally couldn't sit still any longer." Chu Chongjin's tone was calm and even.

Xiao Beichen, who was standing to the side, was already jumping up and down in anger.

"Damn it! That Sikong Ming is a real scoundrel! He's putting on a show for himself and then trying to pin the blame for regicide and treason on us! Your Highness, let's rebel!"

Yan Ziche waved his feather fan, a knowing look on his face.

"The time has come."

Chu Chongjin slowly got up, walked outside the command tent, and looked at the vast northern frontier.

"Pass on my orders."

"I, Chu Chongjin, hereby sever all ties with the false emperor Chu Xuanji!"

"The Mu Clan's Xuanjia Army shall, from this moment forward, change its flag and banner, and be called the 'Jingnan Army'!"

"A Proclamation to the World: The false emperor murdered his father and brother, and acted perversely, causing turmoil in the country and suffering to the people. I, Chu Chongjin, have raised an army to quell the rebellion, vowing to purge the court of corrupt officials, punish the traitors, and restore a bright and just world to our Great Chu!"

At a single command, the battle flags of the Xuanjia Army fluttered in the wind!

The soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, raised their arms and shouted, their voices shaking the heavens!

"Jingnan! Jingnan! Jingnan!"

Their families, their roots, are all in the Great Chu.

More than anyone else, they hoped that the person sitting on the dragon throne would be a wise ruler.

The actions of the false emperor Chu Xuanji had already thoroughly disappointed them.

Chu Chongjin's uprising ignited the last hope in their hearts.

...

Chu Xuanji's path to becoming a tyrant came faster than anyone imagined.

After ascending the throne, he completely dropped his pretense.

In order to consolidate his imperial power, he carried out a large-scale purge of the court. Any official who had supported Chu Chongjin and Mu Fang's remarks, regardless of whether they were right or wrong, was dismissed, had their property confiscated, and was exiled.

In order to raise funds to fight against Chu Chongjin's Jingnan Army, he increased taxes and conscripted laborers, causing widespread suffering and resentment among the people.

In just a few months, the once gentle and refined "Sikong Ming" transformed into a capricious, suspicious, and ruthless tyrant.

The people began to miss the Ninth Prince, who, despite being under house arrest, always cared deeply about the safety of the capital.

After much deliberation, they still felt that the Ninth Prince, Chu Chongjin, was more suitable to be the emperor.

On the other hand, Chu Chongjin's Jingnan Army and Chu Xuanji's imperial army formed a stark contrast.

When they occupied the northern frontier, instead of burning, killing, and looting, they opened granaries to distribute food and appease the displaced people.

Facing his former enemy—the barbarian tribes of the northern frontier—Chu Chongjin did not pursue their extermination. Instead, he sent people to negotiate and explain the advantages and disadvantages to them.

When the barbarian leader learned that the "Sikong Ming" who had once cooperated with them was now the Emperor of Great Chu sitting on the dragon throne, and that he had turned his back on them, he was furious.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chu Chongjin proposed that as long as they submitted, not only would their past transgressions be forgiven, but the border trade would also be opened, allowing them to exchange cattle and sheep for the grain and ironware they desperately needed.

The barbarian leader was impressed by Chu Chongjin's demeanor and foresight. After much deliberation, he finally chose to surrender.

With this, the entire northern frontier came under Chu Chongjin's control.

He now possessed the true strength to rival Chu Xuanji.

Meanwhile, at the residence of Princess Anguo.

Mu Yu was squatting by the lotus pond, her little hand in the water, looking very serious as if she were having a "meeting".

"Little Red, Little Gold, Little Black, listen up!"

"Many places outside are experiencing drought recently, and many small fish are dying of thirst. Are you worried?"

The koi in the pond wagged their tails in a human-like manner.

"So, we have to go and save them!"

A determined light shone in Mu Yu's eyes.

Since Chu Chongjin raised his army, her Lucky Carp and Auspicious Clouds Record has issued a new mission—[Saving the World and Bringing Peace to the People].

The mission requires you to assist the true dragon amidst the chaos, save the people, and accumulate national fortune.

During this time, she sensed through the water veins the various natural and man-made disasters caused by Chu Xuanji's tyranny and wars throughout the Great Chu.

Drought, floods, plague...

To her, through her keen eye of destiny, these were all wisps of dark gray "sickness energy".

What she had to do was purify these "pathogenic factors".

She cannot command the wind and rain yet, but she can mobilize blessings to nourish parched lands and purify polluted water sources through underground water veins.

This is a massive undertaking that consumes enormous resources.

But whenever she saw the Fortune Pond rise again because it had saved the people, and whenever she saw the progress bar for rebuilding the Dragon Gate in her sea of ​​consciousness moving forward little by little, she felt that it was all worth it.

Just as she was focused on "saving the world," an uninvited guest came to her door.

Former Imperial Preceptor, Linglan.

He didn't die in the mass grave!

He looked utterly wretched, radiating an aura of decay and resentment, but his eyes held a venom more intense than ever before.

“Little Koi…” he chuckled hoarsely as he stepped out of the shadows, “We meet again.”

"You destroyed my ghost army, you destroyed my king, you destroyed all my hard work..."

"Today, I will tear out your tendons, peel off your skin, and turn you into my puppet! I will make you my slave for all eternity!"