Three days later, the news of Zhao Mang's death reached the capital of Chu.
As soon as the news came out, it was like dropping cold water into a boiling oil pan, and the court of the Great Chu instantly exploded.
The ministers were panicked and talked about it a lot.
After the initial shock, there was a torrent of questioning and condemnation.
The military discipline was lax, he was arrogant and underestimated the enemy, and instead of thinking about fighting the enemy, he drank and indulged himself, and kept singing girls, which led to the defeat. These labels were put on Zhao Mang one by one, causing him to be criticized.
Immediately, another senior official took the conversation a step further: "Zhao Mang is undoubtedly guilty of a thousand deaths, but for appointing such a mediocre person who advocated for the start of war, doesn't he have any responsibility?"
Although this statement did not explicitly point to something, many eyes were already drifting towards Chu Lang.
Many people were whispering in private:
"Yes, the Second Prince failed to supervise his personnel and cannot escape the blame!"
"Causing Da Chu to suffer such a loss, alas..."
Soon, a general could no longer tolerate this and impeached Chu Lang: "Your Majesty, I have heard that Zhao Mang once promised the Second Prince before the expedition that he would capture three cities of Daqin within ten days. The Second Prince not only believed his boast, but also allocated a large amount of food, fodder and military equipment from the Ministry of Revenue. Now he has ended up like this. I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Second Prince's misuse of personnel and stop the war against Daqin to reassure the people."
All the ministers echoed the sentiment, and for a while, voices impeaching Chu Lang rose and fell in the hall.
Chu Lang was once again thrust into the spotlight. All those voices he had previously suppressed with his power erupted at this moment.
Chu Lang stood aside, his face as pale as paper, his hands clenched into fists, but he couldn't say a word.
He never imagined that Zhao Mang was so useless. Not only did he fail to capture the city, he also lost his life, making him the target of public criticism.
The King of Chu looked at him, his eyes full of disappointment and anger, but he knew that it was not appropriate to punish him at the moment.
"I have been informed of this matter. Chu Lang failed to supervise his personnel. He will be fined one year's salary and confined to the Prince's residence to reflect on his mistakes."
"As for the war against Great Qin, put it on hold for now. Send an envoy to the border to deliver a message and discuss peace with the Crown Prince of Great Qin."
In the end, the war came to a temporary end with Zhao Mang's death and Chu Lang being punished.
After the morning court was over, Chu Lang returned to the prince's residence in a daze. As soon as he entered the study, he saw Gu Yanran hurriedly walking in, her face full of panic.
"Your Highness, Zhao Mang is dead, and the court is still negotiating peace. Are we...are we finished?"
Chu Lang waved his hands irritably, his tone filled with anger: "Enough! This king is already fed up! Who would have thought that Zhao Mang, that idiot, was so useless that he couldn't even stop the Qin Dynasty's night raid!"
"What's the point of saying this now!"
Gu Yanran stepped forward, a glint of cruelty flashing in her eyes. "Your Highness, we can't wait any longer! Zhao Mang's army has been defeated, the court is constantly criticizing you, and His Majesty is starting to regain power. If we wait any longer, our plans will be ruined!"
A sinister glint flashed in Chu Lang's eyes: "So what do you want?"
With Zhao Mang's death, he lost one more bargaining chip to seize the throne.
Gu Yanran gritted her teeth and persuaded him: "Your Highness, now is an extraordinary time, and we must resort to extraordinary measures."
She stared intently into Chu Lang's sinister eyes. "Instead of risking a rebellion and bearing the infamy of patricide and usurpation, why not... find a more legitimate way?"
Chu Lang frowned: "Legitimate?"
"yes!"
Gu Yanran raised her head and spoke word by word, "Now that we have lost our military power, forcing our way into the palace is definitely not an option. But what if—what if His Majesty voluntarily writes a decree of abdication and passes the throne to me, the 'Crown Princess'?"
"Is the throne passed to you?"
Chu Lang's eyes erupted with anger and sarcasm: "You, a piece of shit who's been fucked to pieces, dare you covet the throne of the Empress of Great Chu?"
Gu Yanran's face turned pale, and a mouthful of blood got stuck in her throat and almost couldn't come up.
She stared at Chu Lang's face, closed her eyes tightly, reminded herself to stay calm, and finally suppressed the impulse in her heart.
Now, we can't kill him.
Gu Yanran suppressed her anger, put on a smile again, and continued to persuade: "Your Highness, why don't you listen to me first."
"This is just the first step. With this face, I am the legitimate crown prince. If I inherit, there will be the least resistance and it will be the best way to appease the court officials and the people of the world. Xie Yunqi's side may also be able to stabilize temporarily."
"And then?" Chu Lang asked coldly, his hand already on the hilt of the sword.
Gu Yanran's face showed an expression of confidence. "Then, I can hold off on ascending the throne for the time being, but I can use my status as the empress to personally go to the border of the Great Qin State to negotiate. Qin Yuan is deeply in love with Chu Qingluan, and this is my biggest bargaining chip. With Chu Qingluan's face, I have at least a 70% chance of convincing him. Then, without having to sacrifice a single soldier, I can resolve the border crisis."
Chu Lang frowned, thinking about the second half of her sentence.
Seeing that he was starting to waver, Gu Yanran struck while the iron was hot, "Your Highness, I'm not trying to covet the throne of Great Chu. Once this is accomplished, I will write a decree of abdication and pass the throne to you, a legitimate royal descendant. That way, you'll gain real power while avoiding the stigma of usurping the throne. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
Chu Lang's brows were furrowed, the wariness in his eyes still remained, but his hand on the hilt of the sword loosened a little.
Gu Yanran's words certainly made sense, but the main reason was that he had no soldiers at the moment, and if he tried to usurp the throne and force someone to abdicate, he would probably end up dead without a burial place.
If he instead appointed Gu Yanran, the "Crown Princess," to succeed him, and assisted her, gaining real power, he would be able to hold the emperor hostage and control the other princes. Gu Yanran would be nothing more than a puppet in his hands.
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