Chapter 137 The Situation

The three city gates of Yingdu had been taken, leaving one in the hands of the Chu.

The unoriginal, yet often effective tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one open. As for the gate that was left open, outside, the Jingnan Army, sharpening their knives, had long been waiting.

What the situation was there, Tian Wujing didn't know, nor did he care to know.

When he led his army to this place,

the fate of this city, this imperial capital, had already been decided. He was merely going through the motions now.

Seeing what kind of trump card

he had been left with.

The city was currently in chaos, but the Jingnan King's path was eerily silent. Ice and fire, here, were distinctly divided.

The imperial city was ahead.

The towering city walls, the majestic palace gates, and the orderly and solemn steps that stretched out before him, to a great extent, restored the magnificent scene of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The Chu people were fond of retro styles and respected ancient etiquette. Where did it come from? From Great Xia.

In comparison,

whether it was Yan, Jin, or the later-established Qian, apart from nominally claiming to be the inheritors of the Xia and proclaiming the orthodoxy of the Xia, the three countries had long altered the etiquette and rules of the Great Xia beyond recognition.

They shouted the mandate of Great Xia, but in their hearts, they had long regarded it as a business to make a profit.

Outside the imperial city, there was an alley. On one side of the alley was the imperial palace, and on the other side was a royal mansion.

At this moment,

the royal mansion was tightly closed.

Inside,

there should be people.

Tian Wujing didn't know whose mansion it was, but it seemed that it could reside next to the imperial palace, indicating that its ancestors must have been extremely glorious.

But,

nowadays,

when the Yan cavalry had already stepped on the steps of the imperial city, the royal mansion remained silent.

And today,

silence

was the real theme.

Those who could speak, those who dared to speak, were few.

In fact,

if it were any other Yan general who had broken into Yingdu today, it would not be so deserted.

Especially when the high-ranking nobles discovered that their king was likely no longer in the imperial palace, their opportunistic side would manifest.

Because the true foundation of the Chu nobles was not in Yingdu, but in their local fiefs.

They still had the capital to negotiate a deal. When the Yan Emperor trampled on the noble families, it conveyed the concept of centralized monarchical power. Surrendering to Great Yan did not mean that you would be immediately liquidated, but what about the next Yan Emperor? Or the one after that?

The nobles opposed the Yan because, with their political acumen, they had long seen clearly what path Great Yan was preparing to take;

On one side, were hereditary great nobles;

On the other side, was wealth and status that would be liquidated and terminated at the latest by the next generation.

If you had a choice,

which would you choose?

But now, the heads of many families or the essence of the family were already in Yingdu. If they were all wiped out in one fell swoop, or rather, if they lost the choice between themselves now and the next generation?

Which would you choose?

When things were impossible,

they would choose to survive and enjoy themselves first, no longer caring about the flood after their death.

But why was it that the one who had entered the imperial city was the Southern Marquis of Yan?

A demon who had exterminated his own family,

a killing god who had slaughtered forty thousand Qingluan troops under Jade Plate City.

How could they surrender?

Kneel down before him, wag their tails and beg for mercy,

and then wait for him to lightly say, "Exterminate them all"?

If today,

it wasn't the Jingnan King who came, but the Earl of Pingye.

With the Earl of Pingye's identity as the Chu Emperor's son-in-law,

after the nobles had seen the direction of the wind, although there would be a large group of "old relics" who would choose to be buried with Great Chu, the vast majority would still come up to get close.

In the end,

he was half family, wasn't he?

The Chu people didn't not know how to be enthusiastic, nor were they incapable of being enthusiastic, but when facing the Jingnan King, they really didn't know how to be enthusiastic.

Therefore,

the city was now divided into two major factions.

One faction was already organizing an escape, going out through that city gate, but anyone with a little military common sense knew that it was a dead end.

The Yan soldiers even spared themselves the trouble of searching house by house, and could simply finish the job with a few charges on the open field.

The other faction was called the Immovable as a Mountain Faction.

They wouldn't surrender, nor would they resist desperately. They just sat there, drank tea, and pretended to be unfazed by the collapse of Mount Tai before them.

Romance,

was about knowing how to pretend.

Pretending,

who didn't know how to do it?

As long as they didn't die today, tomorrow, it would be another beautiful tale.

However, unfortunately, what this city meant, the two people who could control its fate, no longer cared.

"Wonton, selling wontons!"

At the entrance of the alley, there was a wonton stall.

The stall was small, with no seats.

Behind it, a flag was inserted with the words "Wu's" written on it.

Every country's imperial city alley had old brands.

But not old brands with shops, but stalls.

Before attending court, the ministers naturally had to get up early and wait at the palace gate, and they would inevitably be hungry.

Therefore, it was the first choice to order servants to buy some food from the alley entrance to fill their stomachs.

It wasn't that they couldn't bring it from home, but if they brought it from home, firstly, it wouldn't be hot, and secondly, it wasn't convenient to eat in the swaying sedan chair or carriage, and it was easy to get their court clothes dirty.

As for bringing chefs and ingredients to court, that was too ostentatious.

Even if some great nobles had tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and countless servants, they still had to maintain a facade of "utter poverty" under the imperial city. For thousands of years, this had been a necessary quality for officials.

Therefore, these small stalls and vendors in the imperial city alley could play a huge role.

Of course, don't think that these small stalls and vendors were really small stalls and vendors.

Those who could set up stalls here,

even if it was just a small stall selling cakes or griddle cakes, had a lot of energy behind them. Ordinary vendors couldn't afford the stall fees here.

First of all, the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard would review the vendors who set up stalls here, examining their backgrounds. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a big joke if someone poisoned a group of high officials?

Secondly, the stalls in the imperial city alley had to be bid on, which was also one of the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard's side incomes. Here, those selling breakfast all had flags behind them, and were all century-old restaurants in Yingdu City.

Selling breakfast certainly wouldn't make a profit. No matter how expensive you sold it, you couldn't make a profit, but because those who ate it were all those court officials, you had to do this advertisement, this face. If you didn't do it, others would.

However,

today was not a court day, nor was it that time. Even if it was a court day, no vendors would dare to set up stalls here at this time.

But a wonton stall appeared here.

Below, there was a small stove burning charcoal. On the counter, there were freshly wrapped wontons, big and small, and all kinds of seasonings were prepared, which could be added according to the customer's taste.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man, wearing an apron. Perhaps because he often dealt with flour, he looked a little pale.

The Wu's behind him was actually a time-honored brand.

Many court officials had heard their predecessors say that they had eaten Wu's wontons when they first attended court.

Some well-meaning people thought that the wontons tasted good, so they went to find out which shop in Yingdu City this Wu's had set up a shop in the imperial city alley, but they found nothing.

Wu's seemed to be just a simple wonton stall.

But any fool knew that this was impossible.

But since they couldn't find out, no one would continue to investigate.

Since the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard had allowed someone to sell wontons here and created a century-old brand, it naturally had its reasons.

Today,

Wu's had set up a stall again.

Unfortunately,

the dark mass in front of him was not the Chu court officials before attending court, but the Yan people.

"Your Highness must be hungry, how about a bowl of wontons to warm your stomach?"

The stall owner, Wu Mazi, shouted enthusiastically.

He didn't bother to hide, nor did he bother to pretend.

Since he had already appeared here, there was no need to add unnecessary details. Teahouse patrons liked to hear such stories, but the people involved didn't like to act so stupidly.

The Jingnan King walked over.

At this time,

at the gate of the imperial palace,

a small sedan chair appeared.

The two sedan chair carriers put down the sedan chair.

An old man came down from inside.

This person was the Ling Yin of Chu, equivalent to the chancellor of Chu.

He was short, and as he got older, he seemed to shrink, becoming even smaller.

The two sedan chair carriers were just ordinary people. Their loyalty was unquestionable, but at this time, facing a group of ferocious Jingnan Army iron cavalry, they were still shaking in their boots.

"Hahaha, go back, go back."

The Ling Yin waved his hand, letting his two sedan chair carriers go back.

These two sedan chair carriers had been carrying sedan chairs for him since their grandfathers' generation.

Then,

the Ling Yin also came to the wonton stall, sniffed,

and said:

"Ah, it's been a long time since I've had this taste. I really miss it."

Wu Mazi smiled; "Lord Ling Yin is tired of eating it."

"That's right, that's right, haha, in the early years, when old Wu was here, I ate it every now and then. These years since you've taken over, the wontons really don't have the same taste as when old Wu was here."

Wu Mazi smiled, said nothing, and skillfully put two servings of wontons into the pot, covering the lid.

Then, he took out two bowls and began to mix the ingredients.

"Lord Ling Yin, the same as always, more green onions, more coriander, more chili, more sauce?"

The Ling Yin reached out and rubbed his red nose, saying:

"It's good that you haven't forgotten."

"What about you, Your Highness?"

The Jingnan King said: "Whatever."

"Okay."

Wu Mazi said to the Ling Yin again: "Look at the princes of Yan, they don't care about food and clothing. Compared to them, we're far behind."

"Hmph."

The Ling Yin rubbed his nose again, obviously not very fond of these words, but he had to admit that it was the truth.

"Eating and drinking, no matter how you say it, it's just about being full. If you really want to eat well, can it be better than the gods in the sky?"

Wu Mazi seemed to have opened the floodgates,

and said:

"Look at our Imperial City Alley, what Buddha's Hand Cabbage, what Exquisite Buns, what Fish Fillet Soup, those who don't know would think that our Chu officials are very down-to-earth and that eating and drinking is simple;

But they don't know how many chickens and ducks have to be boiled in the soup, and how many treasures have to be thrown in.

Eating such expensive things,

drinking such precious soup,

tell me,

who would believe if they still say that the people's livelihood is difficult and that they care about the people?"

"Wu Mazi, why are you talking so much today!" The Ling Yin couldn't help but scold, "The Yan people don't know how to be extravagant and don't know how to enjoy themselves?

Let me tell you, those people I knew back then..."

"Are all dead."

"..." The Ling Yin.

The Yan people naturally knew how to enjoy themselves. The Yan noble families, like the Chu nobles, owned land and had private soldiers.

Enjoying,

who didn't know how?

After enjoying themselves, when they felt like it, they could eat a "simple meal" that ordinary people could only eat during the New Year, which was already close to the people and natural enough.

Were the Chu people people, and the Yan people not people?

But,

the Ling Yin knew that the man was right, those Yan noble family children he knew back then were all gone now.

They might be doing hard labor somewhere, or they might be serving as penal soldiers in the army.

They were all swept away, swept away cleanly.

The Ling Yin sighed and said: "It's not good to do this. After your Yan State tramples on the noble families, there's still Qian to fight, and there's still Jin to fight. As long as you win the battles, the situation, no matter how bad, can always hang on, right?

Where can our Chu fight?

The Shanyue tribes have been dealt with almost completely. The remaining ones have either been assimilated and become docile, or have been wiped out but are still constantly rising from the ashes.

The people's hearts are like fire, and they always need a place to vent, right?"

"Aren't you yourselves?"

"..." The Ling Yin.

Wu Mazi took out the wontons, put them in a bowl, and then took out a spoon and handed them over.

The Ling Yin picked up the bowl, ate one, and said while smacking his lips:

"It won't work, it won't work. The foundation of the Chu Xiong Clan lies in the nobles, because we support him, so he can be the emperor. Without the nobles supporting him below, his position is not justified."

The Jingnan King didn't seem to be afraid of being poisoned, took a sip of the soup,

and said:

"Back then, my Tian family elders also thought the same way."

"..." The Ling Yin.

"This king has never believed in the divine right of kings, nor has he believed in what has been since ancient times. Didn't the vast Xia Dynasty collapse miserably?

In this world,

there are not many truly important people;

there are many who think they are important."

"But now there are strong enemies outside. Once Yingdu is lost and the people's hearts are scattered, Your Highness, tell me, how can this be done? How can this be handled? I know that your Great Yan has gone all out for this campaign against Chu, and it can be said that it's a national war.

It's very difficult to persevere, but if we can persevere in this good situation, no matter how difficult it is, we will persevere, right?

What do we have to stop it?

What does

he have to stop it?"

The Jingnan King shook his head,

and said:

"This king doesn't know."

He knew what the Regent's purpose was in doing this,

but he really didn't know what the Regent of Chu's confidence was in daring to do this.

"The emperor uses the world as a chessboard, Your Highness. Tell me, if there is no way out, would he dare to open his doors like this?"

"Are you asking this king?"

"Yes, Your Highness. There's still time to retreat now. Please give our Great Chu a little dignity. Cede land, pay tribute, offer tribute. Our Great Chu can satisfy your Yan State."

The Jingnan King smiled,

and said:

"It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him fish."

"What do you mean?"

"It's your business to send me off when I act, but this king prefers to take it myself."

"Your Highness, after today, the Chu nobles will inevitably be alienated from that person. Great Chu may even fall into chaos. Wouldn't it be better for Your Highness to watch from the sidelines and reap the benefits?"

"You won't be able to fight."

"Why is Your Highness so sure?"

"This king also bears the name Tian."

"..." The Ling Yin.

Wu Mazi propped up the stall with his hands, listened carefully to the two talking, and smiled:

"That's right, Yan State can produce a Jingnan King, can't there be someone in the Chu noble families who dares to create a new pattern for the country?"

Those who don't understand

think that the Southern Marquis of Yan, who exterminated his own family, is a complete demon;

Those who understand

know how important a Tian Wujing is to a country.

The Ling Yin said helplessly:

"But a person like Your Highness is truly unparalleled in the world."

Was it difficult to exterminate one's own family?

Under coercion and inducement, there were really many people willing to be unfilial sons.

But the difficulty lay in the fact that the person himself was previously a first-class family in the country.

The difficulty lay in the fact that after exterminating his own family, he led the army to conquer, and was invincible in battle!

"Your Highness, can't there be a turnaround? Aren't you afraid that once you enter this palace gate, you won't be able to get out?

Even if you trample on the face and foundation of my Great Chu, without you in Great Yan, aren't you worried about the future?"

"Don't worry."

"Is Your Highness so sure? Is it because you're sure that you can enter the palace and come out again, or is it because you've already arranged everything behind you?"

"This king doesn't believe that this palace gate can trap this king, and this king also believes that in the future, even if this place doesn't have this king, it's wishful thinking for your Chu State to go north."

"Your Highness, please allow this old man to say one more thing."

The Jingnan King didn't comment.

"Harmony is the most valuable thing. Leave a line for people to meet in the future."

The Jingnan King looked at the Ling Yin,

and said:

"Do you think that you, still have a future?

Or do you think that this city, still has a future?"

The Ling Yin put down the wonton bowl, tears streaming down his face.

He swayed towards the tightly closed palace gate,

and said:

"That's all, this old man is the Ling Yin of Chu. The Ling Yin is the prime minister, and should devote himself to the country. Unfortunately, this old man doesn't know martial arts, and is too old to lift a knife.

This old man will stand at the palace gate,

begging Your Highness to give this old man a quick death before entering the palace."

As he walked,

the Ling Yin stopped again,

and said:

"Please also leave this old man a complete corpse."

After a pause,

the Ling Yin said again;

"It's best to have some blood, making it look like blood splattered on the palace gate."

After another pause,

"It must be blood splattered and a complete corpse."

Finally, after another pause,

"Your Highness, please."

The Ling Yin walked straight to the palace gate,

spread his hands,

and shouted:

"This old man is here. If the Yan dogs want to enter my Great Chu palace gate, they must step over this old man's corpse!"

Wu Mazi chuckled twice,

turned to look at the Jingnan King,

and said:

"Your Highness, what do you think of the wontons?"

"Acceptable."

"Although this little one knows that Your Highness is not a person who cares about food, this little one still feels honored to receive a word of approval from Your Highness."

After saying that,

Wu Mazi took two steps back,

pointed to the wonton stall,

and said:

"The old Ling Yin is right. In fact, my master's wontons are indeed more delicious than mine, because I'm a little stronger than my master.

Before he died, he was barely a Third Rank, and I'm a little stronger than my master.

It's the same with everything.

When you practice more, your skills will improve. When you cook wontons more, the wontons will be more delicious."

Wu Mazi glanced at the wonton stall again, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

The Jingnan King looked at the man in front of him who was previously skillfully cooking wontons,

and said:

"This king has heard that there has always been a shadow in the Chu Imperial City."

There has always been a shadow guarding the Chu Imperial City, isolated from the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard, loyal only to the Chu Emperors of the past.

Few people know who that shadow is, where he is.

Now,

the truth has been revealed.

The shadow lineage is single-transmission, setting up stalls in the Imperial City Alley, selling wontons.

Since the founding of Great Chu, the Imperial Palace has never been broken through by a coup.

It's not that there have never been coups, nor that coups have never been successful,

but as long as the Chu Emperor is in the Imperial City, he is safe.

"Five years ago, the Fourth Prince, who was not yet the king, came to my stall and ate a bowl of wontons." Wu Mazi's eyes revealed a hint of reminiscence, "His Highness asked, if you're really hungry, even raw wontons, scalded with hot water without cooking, can be eaten.

I said:

No,

cooking wontons must have its rules. The rules were set by my master, and my master's master, and my master's master's master all the way down.

The wontons must be cooked well, cooked thoroughly, and cooked to the right degree before they are really delicious."

When the Chu Emperor died and the princes' rebellion began, those brothers were all defeated and captured by the Regent.

The Imperial Clan Guards, the Shi family, and several first-class noble families had all stood behind the Regent early on.

It could be said that

the Regent was already the designated winner.

But the late Emperor had been lying in bed for several years, which meant that Great Chu had wasted several years.

During these years,

Great Yan trampled on the noble families and destroyed Qian and Jin.

When Great Chu prepared to annex Cheng, the Chu State, which had just emerged from the princes' rebellion, only had time to send Qu Tiannan to lead a Qingluan Army north.

If Chu had not "lost" these years, if the Regent had been given a few more years, perhaps the ownership of the Three Jins, and even the current situation of Great Yan's army approaching the city, would not have happened.

Wu Mazi revealed a secret from back then.

The Regent had not considered launching an early attack and letting his seriously ill father return to heaven earlier.

But in the end,

the Regent still chose to wait. Perhaps he wanted to wait for a legitimate reason, perhaps he didn't want to bear the infamy of patricide, perhaps he was not fully prepared, and had not pacified the forces of the court and the nobility;

Of course,

it was also possible

that he had not been able to persuade a small vendor who set up a stall selling wontons in the Imperial City Alley.

"Your Highness, this little one has been thinking about one thing all day today. If this little one had made an exception back then, perhaps today, Your Highness would not have been able to enter this Yingdu City, and would not have been able to knock on this Imperial City Palace?

This little one wanted to protect this rule, because in the past, this little one always believed that protecting this rule was best for Great Chu.

But today,

what I want to protect is about to be lost because of my protection.

Your Highness,

this little one dares to ask you,

do you think

this little one did wrong?

This little one should have done wrong, right? His Majesty should also think that this little one did wrong, so he didn't take this little one away.

Although

this little one won't leave, His Majesty didn't even ask."

Sigh."

As he asked,

Wu Mazi began to vent the powerful aura of a Third Rank peak martial artist, like the rising sun rising from the ground!

A Third Rank peak martial artist guarding the Imperial City Alley,

any prince who wanted to rebel

had to weigh it first!

Tian Wujing stood there,

alone bearing the aura erupting from the wonton stall owner,

and slowly said:

"Those who know me and condemn me, it is only the Spring and Autumn Annals."