"It's so noisy! Can't you people go to sleep in the middle of the night?"
Chu Yi covered his ears with both hands and fled from the Golden Palace, followed by a large group of chattering high-ranking officials of Southern Chu.
The Jin army stormed into the capital of Southern Chu in the dead of night, a blatant act of occupation. How could the capital of the mighty Southern Chu allow foreign troops to be stationed there? If the emperors of all dynasties of Southern Chu could see this in their ancestral temples, they would surely be filled with righteous indignation.
The Southern Chu Kingdom has existed for over 500 years, and through eleven emperors, none of them allowed foreign troops to occupy its capital.
The ministers all shared the same opinion: the Jin army should be driven away immediately. The only difference lay in whether to send them away gently, violently, or peacefully.
"Your Majesty, you are still young and unfamiliar with history. Please allow this old minister to explain," the prime minister intended to reason with him, "Since ancient times, when an enemy's army occupies the capital, it means that the country has been conquered..."
“I’ve said it several times,” Chu Yi retorted impatiently, “They don’t have time to set up camp again, so they can only enter the city.”
The Prime Minister pressed on, saying, "But Your Majesty is being too rash. If they change their minds, the Southern Chu Kingdom will cease to exist."
“Yes, yes, yes,” another minister chimed in. “Your Majesty, before things come to a head, why not politely invite them out of the city?”
“If you ask me, we should just kick them out,” another minister said more radically. “They have angered the gods of the holy land, and now the entire city is burning incense and praying for the gods to appease them. Your Majesty has actually allowed an army that has angered the gods to enter the city.”
Amidst the commotion, everyone came to the main street. The street was filled with smoke and the aroma of incense, and every household had its lights on as people burned incense and prayed.
From the emperor and his officials to the common people, everyone in Southern Chu regarded the family of divine healers as deities; this belief was deeply ingrained. The collapse of Jinhua Mountain was seen as the beginning of a calamity, and everyone burned incense and prayed, hoping that the gods would appease their anger.
“Your Majesty, you are being willful and insist on helping the Jin army,” the Prime Minister said impulsively when he saw that Chu Yi was ignoring everyone. “This is an act of offending the Holy Land. The collapse of Jinhua Mountain has brought down the gods to punish the people. You cannot make another mistake.”
"That's a crab machine... machine or something." Chu Yi couldn't remember the modern word Su Wan used, and waved his hand, "Anyway, it's not a god. I've been inside and seen it. There's even a ladder inside that you can climb up."
The ministers were shocked and exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty has actually entered the body of a deity! Heavens!"
Several ministers burst into tears on the spot: "Your Majesty actually entered the body of a god, it is simply... simply an indescribable sin!"
The prime minister was even more agitated, his beard trembling wildly: "Your Majesty's act of letting the Jin army into the city was originally an act that would lead to the destruction and extermination of our Southern Chu Kingdom. You...you actually personally offended the gods. Our generation of rulers and ministers will be condemned as traitors in the history books and will be infamous for ten thousand years."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Chu Yi stopped in his tracks. "Are you all going to stop crying and wailing?"
Some of the ministers collapsed to the ground, while others wept uncontrollably, snot bubbling from their noses. Only one minister stood there, frantically writing on a book, tears streaming down his face, his expression one of profound sorrow.
Chu Yi snatched the book from the person's hand: "What are you writing?"
The Prime Minister hurriedly stepped forward, but dared not snatch the book back. He could only explain, "Your Majesty, this is the official historian of our Southern Chu royal family, who is in charge of recording major events that have occurred throughout history. Even though Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, you should still respect the historians."
Chu Yi looked down at the book and read aloud:
At the end of November, Jinhua Mountain outside Beijing collapsed, and a four-legged deity appeared in the world.
The emperor was determined to help the Jin army, and the ministers' earnest advice could not change his mind.
In early December, the emperor released 50,000 Jin troops into the city in the dead of night. Alas, the Southern Chu kingdom, with its more than 500-year history, perished at the hands of a foolish ruler.
It's utterly baffling; how did he suddenly become a tyrant?
He threw the book on the ground: "You bunch of bastards, you're always eating and doing nothing but writing bad things about me."
The historian quickly picked up the book, dusted it off, and took the pen from his ear to begin recording, muttering to himself.
"The emperor acted arbitrarily, smashed historical records, and cursed historians... This is a great disrespect."
Chu Yi was so annoyed that he simply ignored the officials and headed towards the city wall.
Several ministers reached out and grabbed his legs, shouting, "Your Majesty, we cannot make another mistake. The most important thing is to quickly drive the Jin army out of the city, carry thorns on our backs, and kneel all the way to see the gods and beg for their forgiveness."
Chu Yi said, "Can you all stop causing trouble and let me do some serious business?"
The prime minister also knelt down and hugged Chu Yi's leg: "Your Majesty, this old minister is just asking you to do the right thing. Drive away the Jin army and apologize to the gods."
"Impossible. If I drive them away, they will be completely wiped out. You have no idea how serious the situation is."
Chu Yi was held by the legs of four or five ministers, unable to move. He tried to pry one off, but another grabbed him.
He looked up helplessly, looking for help, and just then saw the Eighth Princess Chu Yun walking over. He quickly called out, "Eighth Sister, Eighth Sister, please help me!"
Chu Yun had read Chu Mingyao's letter with him and fully understood what had happened; she was not as confused as these officials.
The Prime Minister turned his head and saw Chu Yun, and hurriedly called out, "Eighth Princess, come quickly and help this old minister persuade His Majesty."
Chu Yun smiled and walked up to Chu Yi: "Seventh Brother, you're used to being a carefree person, and no one can control you. You've been outmaneuvered this time, haven't you? You can stay here and chat with the ministers. I'm going to talk to Third Sister."
After saying that, Chu Yun left.
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