At the end of the twenty-fifth year of Emperor Xuande of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Prince of Yan, the Marquis of Xibo, led an army of 305,000 to withdraw from the northwest and captured Shuozhou.
Meanwhile, the Xuanjia Army, stationed on the southern border, marched west from Yongzhou and captured Yuzhou.
By the time the imperial court reacted, Ji Province, a strategically important military stronghold in the west, was already surrounded by Yu and Shuo Provinces and was in imminent danger.
Before any response could be made, two proclamations were issued from Yong and Shuo prefectures respectively.
One letter was written by Kong Linghui, the Minister of Rites of the Imperial Court, accusing the new Emperor Chu Tianling of colluding with Regent Chu Wenzheng, Prince Zhang Yu of Yingchuan, and Duke Wei Junyan of Zhenguo to take advantage of the war between the Western Yue and the Northwest to seize control of the imperial city, poison the commander of the Imperial Guards Cheng Song, massacre the Imperial Guards, rebel, murder Emperor Wenxuan, and slaughter the Eastern Palace...
The late emperor, sensing something amiss, wrote an imperial edict deposing Prince Qi, Chu Tianling, and Prince An, who was to become regent, and gave it to the Princess of Yan. However, the new emperor threatened the entire Prince of Yan's family with their lives, demanding that she hand over the edict. He even relentlessly pursued the Princess of Yan to the northwest... For his own selfish reasons, he coerced Prince Yan and the Marquis of Xibo to relinquish their military power, and even attempted to use the Western Yue army to trap Prince Yan and the Marquis of Xibo in the northwest until they perished...
Before the people could recover, a proclamation personally written by the Prince of Yan was issued...
The text begins by recounting how, twenty years ago, Duke Zhenguo, Wei Junyan, betrayed military intelligence to the Northern Yan, leading to the Northern Yan's invasion and the massacre of Duke Dingguo's entire family… It then reveals the truth behind the extermination of all the women of Duke Dingguo's family in the capital, as well as the entire family of General Wan. The text continues with Empress Qin Zi leaving the palace to visit her mother, successfully giving birth to a son, and entrusting him to Consort Jing's care to prevent persecution…
The inscription not only bears the personal seal of the Prince of Yan, but also the seals of Xibo Hou, a famous general under the old Duke of Dingguo, and Princess Yonghe, the daughter of the late Empress...
Finally, a letter of condemnation was attached:
First, the Wei family, instigated by others, framed a renowned general and loyal minister, and joined forces with the Northern Yan to destroy my maternal grandfather's family. Then, Chu Tianling plotted to usurp the throne, resorting to any means necessary, and heavily relied on the treacherous and wicked Wei and Zhang families to disrupt the court. He even sent a large army to hunt down my wife. As the son of Empress Qin, I have an irreconcilable hatred for Chu Tianling and the Wei family. From this day forward, I will purge the treacherous officials and quell the national crisis...
The release of these proclamations caused an uproar throughout the land...
The various incidents described are all horrifying, yet strangely believable...
The royal family and the various vassal kings were all shocked. In the past, they hadn't paid much attention to the Prince of Yan, who was brave and commanded a large army, after all, he was just the son of a palace maid. Now, he had suddenly become the son of Empress Qin, with a status above everyone else. They didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing...
In the capital, faced with the Prince of Yan's sudden attack, everyone became even more cautious, remaining silent about the contents of the proclamation, fearing to anger the person in the palace... Unless the Prince of Yan actually marched on the capital, their attitude towards that person in the palace would not change...
The Xuanjia Army and the Northwest Army, who were attacking various cities in Ji Province, were also stunned. This… the Prince hadn’t said anything about it!
Gongyang, a key city in Jizhou, has been captured. In the former residence of the garrison commander, Chu Tianze and Bai Chuxiao, both dressed in white armor, sit at the head of the table.
Below them were generals such as Song Fei, Chen Tao, and Yu Fengyang, who had come from other cities in Ji Province.
Yu Fengyang stared at the two people at the head of the table, stammering, "Your Highness, you really are..."
Song Fei and Shen Tao looked over with complicated expressions. They hadn't expected that the prince they had always been loyal to was actually the son of Empress Qin...
Chu Tianze remained calm, while Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "His Highness only recently found out, which is why he didn't inform you beforehand."
Yu Fengyang turned to the completely calm Murong Xuan and Fan Ziming opposite him and muttered, "Did you two already know? Everyone knew, except for him. That damned Chu Tianze..."
Murong Xuan touched his nose and gave him a comforting look...
Fan Ziming smiled and said, "Brother Yu, don't be angry. The key to issuing a notice is to strike first and catch people off guard. If everyone knows beforehand, the effect will be greatly reduced."
When he saw what the Prince of Yan had written, he was shocked, but he couldn't help but sigh that it was the right decision for him to pledge allegiance to the Prince of Yan. With the Prince of Yan's status and abilities, he was indeed worthy of his loyalty...
Chu Tianze said calmly, "Alright, now that we've officially broken ties with Chu Tianling, you can all go back and focus on conquering Ji Province as soon as possible."
Song Fei and Shen Tao quickly stood up, "Yes."
Yu Fengyang snorted coldly and retreated without a word. Murong Xuan quickly followed, calling out, "Fengyang, wait!"
Seeing this, Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "He genuinely considers you a friend, but we didn't tell him beforehand. He might really be heartbroken this time."
Chu Tianze calmly replied, "What's there to say? He's just stupid; he'll be fine in a couple of days. Don't worry about him."
Fan Ziming touched his nose, pretending not to hear, and changed the subject, saying, "Your Highness and Your Highness, Jizhou will be captured soon. Shouldn't we discuss our next steps?"
...
The imperial study in the palace was filled with high-ranking officials. Chu Tianling crumpled the proclamation in his hand into a ball, his eyes bloodshot. The Prince of Yan had actually issued the proclamation before them; it was truly despicable…
"What a Prince of Yan! He dares to openly rebel! That damned traitor..."
The ministers exchanged bewildered glances and cautiously said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Who are the traitors and rebels is unimportant. Now, Chu Tianling firmly controls the capital, and they can only live at his mercy. Furthermore, most of them don't have a deep relationship with the Prince of Yan, and some even have grudges against him. Naturally, they don't want the Prince of Yan to succeed.
Chu Tianling surveyed the crowd below with a grim expression. "Calm down? How can I calm down? Empress Qin has been dead for so many years, and now the Prince of Yan is rebelling under the guise of being the Empress's son. Ministers, tell me, how should we deal with the Prince of Yan now..."
Chu Wenzheng remained calm and composed, while Wei Junyan and Zhang Yu turned green with rage. The accusation was utterly unreserved, directly denouncing them as traitors, especially Wei Junyan, who was even labeled a national traitor. This undoubtedly struck a nerve with Chu Wenzheng…
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan, with his powerful army, disregards imperial authority and, using his status as the son of the Empress, falsely accuses loyal ministers of treason. We beseech Your Majesty to issue an edict to send troops to punish this traitor..." Wei Junyan declared righteously and sternly. He had no doubt about the Prince of Yan's true identity; the Prince of Yan would certainly not let him off the hook afterward.
Zhang Yu also said sternly, "I beg Your Majesty to send troops to quell the rebellion and appease the people."
"Your Majesty, we beseech you to punish the traitor Yan!" the ministers hurriedly echoed. Most of those standing there were Chu Tianling's confidants, and naturally no one would dare to offend him.
Chu Tianling was somewhat satisfied. "The Yan bandits now command hundreds of thousands of troops and should not be underestimated. Which of you gentlemen do you think is suitable to lead them?"
Upon hearing this, the imperial study suddenly fell silent.
Most of the renowned generals who followed the late emperor were already dead, with only Murong Yuan remaining, and even he was a member of the Prince of Yan's faction. Not to mention, the Prince of Yan himself was a brilliant strategist... How many of the remaining generals in the court dared to claim they could surpass the Prince of Yan and Murong Yuan?
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