The thunder and lightning added to Chu Fan's supreme majesty, and also reflected the complex emotions of the Lu family and others under the city wall. Their faces were filled with resentment and their contempt for Chu Fan was beyond words.
Cao Mengde and other important court officials loyal to Wei stood under the city wall, their eyes looking at Chu Fan who was standing high above them, their eyes full of satisfaction and approval.
The young emperor, Chu Fan, dressed in a dragon robe and a crown, stood tall and his gaze resolute, like an unshakable mountain, radiating the majesty and dignity of an emperor. His presence not only reassured the common people but also deterred powerful officials from overstepping their bounds.
Throughout history, the benevolence of emperors has often been misunderstood as weakness. If Chu Fan wishes to become an unrivaled emperor, he must understand that if an emperor merely exercises benevolence but lacks the necessary authority and decisiveness, this will only fuel the ambitions of powerful officials and inspire rebellion.
The ministers could now clearly see Chu Fan using Lei Li's strategies and tactics to skillfully deal with the Lü family and other opposing forces. This scene made Cao Mengde and the other dignitaries present very satisfied. They believed that Chu Fan displayed the wisdom and decisiveness of an emperor, and his behavior fully met the standards of a qualified monarch.
The Lu family, once a powerful family, felt extremely humiliated and dissatisfied with their current situation surrounded by the city guards. They had once been powerful figures in the State of Wei, but now they were prisoners under the walls of the State of Chu. This disparity was difficult for them to accept.
What made them even more dissatisfied was that the State of Wei seemed to no longer accept them. Their former friends, such as Qin Hui, no longer accepted them, the humble people they once looked down upon now took their place, and the once weak little emperor now dared to close the door to them.
They even called in the city guards to surround them. This feeling of abandonment, like a piercing ice blade in the cold wind, deeply stung their hearts. They finally realized that the moment they abandoned Wei, Wei had also abandoned them.
However, Chu Fan ignored these emotional fluctuations. He stood atop the city wall, his gaze piercing, surveying everything below. He completely ignored the dissatisfaction and anger of the Lu family and others.
Chu Fan waited on the city wall for an hour but received no news of the victims rioting or the city guards committing misconduct. He felt extremely disappointed.
Looking at the Lu family and others surrounded by the city guards below the city wall, Chu Fan no longer had the heart to waste time here. It was already late at night and he was going to go back to his bedroom to sleep. As for those people below the city wall, since the city guards were still loyal to him, Chang Sun Dechong knew how to deal with them. There was no need for him to worry at all.
Seeing Chu Fan about to leave, Lu Ben, the head of the Lu family, shouted at him, "Your Majesty, if you kill us, aren't you afraid that the other nobles of Wei will be in danger? Aren't you afraid that they will unite and rebel to overthrow your tyranny?"
Chu Fan replied without even turning his head: "As long as they are not afraid of death, let them come. I am not afraid!"
Chu Fan's voice was clearly heard by everyone even amidst the heavy rain and thunder.
When returning to his bedroom, Chu Fan was still secretly happy. Since the enemies said that what he did might cause other nobles of Wei to rebel, then it must be right for him to do so. He would be one step closer to completing the system task.
Chu Fan's words "I am not afraid" made Cao Mengde and others more optimistic about him.
After Chu Fan left, Chang Sun Dechong and his companions, along with the city guards, arrived before the Lu family. Chang Sun Dechong said to the Lu family, "Thank you for letting us witness His Majesty's majestic side. Even if you die, it's worth it."
Lu Ben laughed and said, "You guys are still working so hard for that brat. Aren't you afraid that he will turn his knife against you in the future?"
Chang Sun Dechong replied with a smile, "Why would I be afraid that Your Majesty would raise his butcher knife towards us? How can you traitors understand the heart of Your Majesty Chu Fan?"
All combat-capable troops have been taken to the border by General Mu Yunfeng. Kaifeng City now only has the city guards commanded by me, the Minister of War. Not even many palace guards remain. His Majesty Chu Fan not only didn't take away my military power, he even took my daughter into the palace. Do you understand what kind of magnanimity this is?"
After hearing what Changsun Dechong said, Lü Ben remained silent, while those who followed Lü Ben had begun to regret their defection when Wei was in danger.
Chang Sun Dechong didn't look at the expressions of these people and continued, "Do you know where our disaster relief food comes from?"
Chang Sun Dechong's words made the Lu family and the others look up at him, their confusion uttered. When they left Wei, the state was already hopeless. The treasury had long been empty, and they hadn't been able to borrow food from other countries. Now, nearly a million disaster victims had been properly resettled—a truly incredible feat.
Chang Sun Dechong looked around at everyone, his tone filled with a bit of heaviness and pride: "These grains are all divine grains planted by Your Majesty in the royal official fields."
The Lu family and the others looked at each other in disbelief. Lu Ben roared, "That's impossible! Even if all the royal farmland were planted with grain, it wouldn't produce enough to feed the millions of disaster victims."
Qin Hui sneered and said, "Nothing is impossible. Your Majesty is growing divine grain, with a yield of dozens of dan per mu. Moreover, the stems and leaves of these grains can be used to feed war horses and livestock."
Lü Ben didn't believe Qin Hui's words at all. "I don't believe it. If the Royal Farm really had such a large production of divine grain, how could we not have received any news? Moreover, the Royal Farm didn't even recruit farmers to plant crops this year. You are simply deceiving us."
As the largest grain merchant in Wei, the Lü family had always kept an eye on the state of the imperial farmland. Many of the farmers near the farmland were Lü's spies. However, in the past, the farmland had only been used to grow corn. However, this year, the royal family had not summoned any farmers to cultivate the farmland. How could there be any grain in the farmland?
Lü Ben pointed at Changsun Dechong and shouted, "You're lying! The royal family hasn't even recruited farmers to cultivate the official fields this year. How could there be any grain production? Even if you want to fabricate a lie to scare us, you should have found a more plausible excuse."
Chang Sun Dechong sighed and said, "So there really are traitors among those farmers, like you profiteers. It's a pity that His Majesty Chu Fan had already figured this out, so he let the eunuchs and maids in the palace grow all the food."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
