Chapter 287 House Arrest
The officials lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
It wasn't that they didn't want to fight, but rather that they didn't have a high chance of winning.
In particular, in this battle, 30,000 soldiers launched a surprise attack, but only one returned. Given the Northern Frontier King's past practices, he couldn't have killed them all. Presumably, most of the soldiers surrendered.
By this calculation, the Northern Frontier King already had 150,000 to 160,000 soldiers under his command, while the capital city only had about 200,000 left. The gap in troop strength between the two sides narrowed further, but the Northern Frontier King's reputation and military strength far surpassed that of the Emperor.
Adding to their dismay, the appearance of a divine punishment at this time made them secretly feel that it was a sign from heaven, which made them even more disheartened about the great battle.
"Very well... Since none of you recommend anyone, and no one is willing to volunteer, then I will have to make the arrangements myself." Seeing that the officials remained silent, the emperor gave a cold laugh, his icy gaze sweeping over the military officers below, quickly locking onto his target.
"Lieutenant Chen, I order you to lead your troops to guard the city gates. Under no circumstances should you allow a traitor like the King of the Northern Frontier to enter the capital. Are you confident?"
Lieutenant Chen had long anticipated that this task would most likely fall to him.
After all, among the military officers in the capital, only Lord Qin, General Gu, and the other two could catch the Emperor's eye.
Now that General Gu is still injured and Lord Qin has sacrificed himself, who else but him can shoulder such a great responsibility?
However, he had recently heard too much about the Northern Frontier King's military exploits and knew that a mere city gate could not stop this capable and skilled general. Therefore, clinging to a sliver of hope, he held his breath and concentrated, hoping for a miracle so that the Emperor would choose someone else.
Now that his hopes were dashed, he knew it was unavoidable and could only accept the imperial decree and express his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to live up to your expectations."
"Do your utmost?" The Emperor was clearly dissatisfied with this reply and frowned as he asked.
Lieutenant Chen hurriedly replied, "I swear to live and die with the city gates. As long as the city stands, I will live; if the city falls, I will die."
"Very good." The emperor's lips curled up, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Lieutenant Chen is a loyal subject. My other ministers are certainly not cowards either. But you are all ministers of the Golden Moon Kingdom, and I cannot bear to see any of you suffer any mishap. From now on, except for Lieutenant Chen, all other officials will remain in the palace for the time being. I will have a place prepared and send heavy troops to protect you. After we have repelled the powerful enemy and are safe, you may return to your own residences."
The officials were taken aback by the Emperor's arrangement and looked at each other in shock.
These words were ostensibly meant to protect them, but everyone knew perfectly well that they were actually being placed under house arrest.
The situation in the imperial court was changing rapidly. No one expected that attending the morning court session as usual would mean never being able to return.
A minor official mustered up the courage to speak up.
"Your Majesty, my mother is seriously ill and I must return to attend to her today. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to leave the palace."
The emperor looked at this troublemaker and smiled coolly.
"Oh? Lord Liu is so filial, wouldn't it be unreasonable for me not to let you go back? In that case, you may leave."
"Your Majesty is merciful, I thank you for your grace." Lord Liu immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude, then got up and walked out with a sigh of relief.
Some officials were surprised. Why was the emperor so lenient? Should they also come up with a suitable reason to ask the emperor to grant them permission to leave as well?
Those officials who knew the Emperor's temperament well knew that Lord Liu was probably not going to make it.
Sure enough, when Lord Liu arrived at the entrance of the Zixuan Hall, the Emperor simply clapped his hands lightly. The guards standing outside the door quickly drew their swords and stabbed Lord Liu in the abdomen. Lord Liu fell to the ground, wailing and begging for mercy. Without saying a word, the guards drew their swords again and stabbed Lord Liu in the heart.
Lord Liu quickly fell silent.
Blood splattered in front of the palace gate, making everything red, and even some splashed onto several officials at the entrance.
The officials inside the hall were all terrified, their faces pale. The few officials who had been racking their brains for reasons to leave kept clutching their chests, thankful that they hadn't had a chance to speak.
Eunuch Chu stepped forward, his expression calm.
"Since ancient times, loyalty has always come before filial piety. Lord Liu disobeyed the Emperor's arrangements and insisted on returning home to fulfill his filial duties. Such a disloyal person deserves to die. Gentlemen, do you have any other reasons for insisting on leaving the palace? Why not speak them now and let the Emperor see if they are more important than loyalty to the Emperor?"
With the bloody lesson of Lord Liu right before their eyes, what official would dare to utter a single word of dissent?
The fact that Eunuch Chu said something even more important than loyalty to the emperor completely extinguished their thoughts of leaving.
Without exception, all the officials shouted in unison.
"Your Majesty, we obey your orders and express our gratitude for Your Majesty's grace."
"Your loyalty is well appreciated and I will not treat you unfairly. Guards, take these officials to rest and take good care of them. If anything goes wrong, you will be severely punished."
After the Emperor finished speaking, he and Eunuch Chu were the first to leave the Zixuan Hall.
Led by the eunuchs, the officials proceeded to the side hall arranged by the emperor.
On the way back to the Qinzheng Hall from the Zixuan Hall, the gloom on the Emperor's face had not yet dissipated.
Today, bad news kept coming one after another. Even killing two people couldn't quell his hatred. He even lost his usual gentleness towards Eunuch Chu, whom he had always found most agreeable.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Eunuch Chu was just a step away from him, looking down and seemingly deep in thought. Suddenly, the Emperor stopped, and before Eunuch Chu could react, he bumped into the Emperor.
The emperor's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Eunuch Chu hurriedly said, "This servant deserves to die."
"Are you afraid?" The Emperor turned around and looked calmly at Eunuch Chu. "I am the Son of Heaven, and you are my trusted minister. With me protecting you, what do you have to fear?"
Eunuch Chu thought to himself, "The person I fear is you."
He remained remarkably calm and said, "This servant is not afraid, but I do not know the Emperor's intention in leaving the officials behind, and I am worried that the people below may make mistakes."
The emperor's expression softened a little.
"Tell them to keep a close watch on the people. No one is to be allowed to leave without my permission."
Seeing that Eunuch Chu nodded in agreement, the Emperor continued walking forward, explaining as he went.
“A bunch of useless trash. They’re no good to keep, but a pity to throw away. If we let them out, they might betray me. I can only keep them locked up for now. These guys have never been very loyal to me to begin with, and now they’ve heard the Imperial Observatory spouting nonsense about the world changing hands. If the Northern Frontier King breaks through the city gates and comes in, most of these people might turn around and support him. Keeping them locked up is the only way to ensure their loyalty.”
These treacherous officials were still dreaming of a change of ruler, thinking that even if he died, the King of the Northern Frontier would become emperor, and they could still assist the new monarch.
Don't even think about it.
The Northern Frontier King only has a few capable military generals under his command, and he must still be eyeing his group of civil and military officials. When things really come to a dead end, he will use these people to threaten him, saying that if they do not agree to withdraw their troops, he will kill them one by one.
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