SFS Chapter 330: Unfit to be Emperor
Chapter 330: Unfit to be Emperor
Fortunately, the eldest prince seemed to realize that Chu Xi did not want to exchange pleasantries and did not keep praising him.
Soon attention shifted to other matters, especially the war situation.
Judging from the current war situation, the situation is not only aimed at the city of Xi'an, but at the entire Great Zhou.
Western Chu, Japan, and the northern grasslands have united. No one knows whether once they take over the city of Xi'an, their next step will be to take over the entire Great Zhou?
Judging from the current situation in Xi'an, even if they brought 90,000 troops, they could only tie with the 100,000 troops of Japan and Western Chu outside the city.
No one knows how long Xiyang City can hold out. After all, although Xiyang City has the advantage of geographical location, it does not have elite soldiers and generals.
As long as Xiyang City is broken, the cities along this line will form a straight line. No one knows how long the cities along this straight line can remain peaceful?
The peaceful days of the Great Zhou are destined to not last any longer, but no one knows how long this battle will last!
"When we left the capital, Xiyang City had not yet been attacked by the northern grassland army." The eldest prince no longer had any expectations for his father, so naturally he would not show any favoritism.
Looking at the matter from a fair perspective and analyzing the situation, he didn't mind saying it clearly, "With my father's temperament, if there were no requests from the officials, I'm afraid he wouldn't confront the northern grasslands."
To put it bluntly, now it is three parties against the Great Zhou.
My father is determined to guard against the old generals and is unwilling to let them lead the troops into battle. In the end, he might even rather cede territory and pay compensation than send more troops to continue the fight.
Chu Xi has come to understand the temperament of the current emperor over this period of time.
He possessed all the qualities of an emperor: suspicion, stupidity, incompetence, love of pleasure, and fear of death.
Such a person is really not worthy of being a king. As long as he is on the throne, it is no wonder that the three parties of Western Chu have to join forces, confident that they can force the Great Zhou to surrender without a fight.
Tang Yuhuai raised his hand high and saluted the eldest prince, his back straight, "Your Majesty will not agree, but since you are a military commander, you must never bow to the enemy easily."
"Yu Huai is right." Chu Xi agreed deeply.
Although Han Yaojun didn't say anything, it was obvious that he agreed with Tang Yuhuai's words.
To surrender without a fight is not the style of a military commander.
The eldest prince sighed. He was alone and weak, and could not compare to the powerful forces of the other princes. Even if he wanted to, he was powerless.
Besides, he has already arrived in Xi'an City. Even if the news is reported back to the capital and His Majesty makes a decision, he cannot even make suggestions.
Not to mention, influencing Your Majesty's decision?
Zhou Yichen has returned to the capital under the escort of Zheng Hao and others. The eldest prince did not mention Zhou Yichen, so it seems that he did not meet them.
If Zheng Hao wanted to protect Zhou Yichen's safety, he would definitely avoid the main road.
The eldest prince received a secret report on his way here, which was not good news for them.
He thought about it and decided to tell Chu Jiang and others the news, "Western Chu is sending more troops to Xi'an City. We won't be able to relax for a few days."
"Dispatch troops?" Tang Yuhuai frowned, "Your Highness, do you know how many troops are coming?"
"Seventy thousand." The eldest prince said honestly.
Tang Yuhuai and Chu Xi looked at each other, their faces changed slightly, 70,000?
The combined military strength of Western Chu and Japan already exceeds 100,000. With another 70,000, wouldn't it be almost 200,000?
Tang Yuhuai believed that this matter was of great importance. Moreover, with their current military strength, even if they could barely withstand the attack of 200,000 troops, the supply of reserve reserves such as food, fodder, soldiers, and medicinal materials would need to be replenished in a timely manner.
War is the most expensive thing, and the supply of food, fodder, and medicine will be a major problem.
The Eighth Prince will definitely interfere and will never allow the smooth supply of food and fodder.
Tang Yuhuai, "Has this news been passed back to the capital to inform His Majesty?"
"No." The eldest prince answered simply.
Chu Xi thought about it and soon figured out the key.
The channel the eldest prince obtained this information must not be official. Since he is a spy, he must be a secret spy who cannot leak secrets.
Once I tell His Majesty that the source of my information is a spy, given His Majesty's temperament, he will definitely not think about how to deal with the 70,000 reinforcements sent to Xi'an...
But how did the eldest prince become a secret agent, and how powerful is his power?
Could it be that there are spies planted around me?
Will it threaten your personal safety?
Tang Yuhuai didn't think so much, "Why?"
The eldest prince gave a self-deprecating smile, "Father will not be happy that my people found out the news in advance. He will only be afraid of me."
Tang Yuhuai, "......"
They, as his subjects, are helpless as they have to deal with a king who thinks he is wise but is actually stupid, selfish, and afraid of death.
"I heard that the third brother is in the city, why haven't I seen him?" The eldest prince didn't want to talk about this topic anymore and changed the subject.
"I asked someone to escort His Highness away." Chu Xi explained concisely.
She did not say that she asked Zheng Hao and others to escort Zhou Yichen back to the capital.
After all, they are all princes and have the opportunity to sit on the throne. As a competitor, she must be wary of the eldest prince.
It's not that she was born suspicious, but the fact is that when she entered this world, she was faced with assassinations of Zhou Yichen by various forces. This forced her to grow up and become more vigilant, and she was wary of everyone she met.
The eldest prince saw that Chu Jiang didn't want to say more, so he didn't ask any more questions.
After this incident, he lost interest in fighting for the throne.
First, he has self-knowledge and knows his own limitations and is not suitable to be an emperor.
Second, he was unwilling to be like his father. Even though he had many sons, none of them could get close to him.
Sincerely, I was suspected by my father and was pushed away step by step.
For the rest, even if they are sincere, I'm afraid there are not many of them, and they are all just acting according to the circumstances.
He did not want the same thing happening to his future relationship with his son.
Therefore, whoever wants to sit on the throne can fight for it!
*
The city of Xi'an had a truce for two full days, which was the longest truce since the war began.
Chu Xi's injuries were all given a brief rest. She didn't want her identity to be exposed, so she applied the medicine herself. Over time, the military doctors also got to know her personality.
During this time, Zhou Yichen did not come back. It seemed that Zheng Hao must have done as she said and gave Zhou Yichen some sleeping pills to make him fall asleep along the way.
Zheng Hao estimated the time too long. In fact, it only took them two nights and one day to return to the capital.
He tried his best to avoid official roads along the way, so as not to be noticed by the spies of the seventh and eighth princes.
After returning to the capital, Zheng Hao stopped feeding Zhou Yichen drugs, and Zhou Yichen woke up quickly.
When he knew he had arrived in the capital, he glared at Zheng Hao, who was kneeling on the ground and asking for forgiveness, and said, "You are so brave!"
Zheng Hao did not defend himself this time, but knelt in silence.
"Please punish me, Your Highness."
Zhou Yichen ordered in a cold tone, "I'll punish you with twenty strokes of the cane. From today on, you don't have to stay by my side for three months."