Chapter 532
Chapter 532
Upon hearing the urgent report from outside, King Ning Yuanxian’s body trembled even more violently, as if he were about to faint at any moment. The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu spoke coldly.
“Your Majesty, King of Yue, do you feel the will of our great king now?”
Ning Yuanxian sat up straight again and said in a furious voice.
“If we must fight, then we will fight! What have I to fear? At worst, I will once again personally lead a campaign…”
But before he could finish, his body slumped once more. Seeing this, the Vice Minister of Rites from Chu sneered inwardly.
‘Ning Yuanxian, do you still think you’re the man you used to be? You’ve fallen ill and have no strength left. Stop putting on a brave face. Have you not heard that even a tiger on the plains can be tormented by dogs?’
Ning Yuanxian closed his eyes, gasping for breath. His voice was already hoarse, his breathing weak. After a long moment, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“Go, bring Ning Zheng here.”
A short while later, the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng, was dragged before the king.
“Unfilial son, unfilial son, unfilial son…”
Ning Yuanxian looked as if he could devour Ning Zheng whole. Ning Zheng knelt rigidly, not moving a muscle.
“You unfilial son, this whole mess is your doing. Therefore, you shall bear all the consequences. Was it not you and Shen Lang who proposed this absurd decisive battle? Then I shall leave it to the two of you and wash my hands of it. I will not send a single soldier to aid you. How could you and Shen Lang possibly think of fighting a decisive battle against five thousand of Chu’s elite troops with only two thousand soldiers? You wretched fools, wretched fools!”
As King Ning Yuanxian raged, his breathing became rapid and labored again. The Grand Eunuch, Li Sun, hurried over to pat the king’s chest.
“Ning Zheng, I will say it again. I will not interfere in the battle on the border, nor will I provide a single soldier. Find your two thousand sacrificial lambs yourselves, and you can go fight the King of Chu. Once you are defeated, you and Shen Lang will be held responsible for the outcome. Ning Zheng, you will be stripped of your title and reduced to a commoner, and Shen Lang will be stripped of all his honors and official posts. Then, I will exile you both three thousand li away. If you win… well, what’s the point of even saying it…”
King Ning Yuanxian waved his hand dismissively and said no more. The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu was inwardly triumphant.
‘Ning Yuanxian, you know you can’t win. But you are truly ruthless, using your own son as a scapegoat when this is clearly your own fault. This is why you are so isolated. You won’t even give them a single soldier, telling Shen Lang and Ning Zheng to find their own men and form an army? Isn’t that utterly heartless? The date is set; the battle will take place in four months. And in just four months, Ning Zheng and Shen Lang are supposed to recruit and train soldiers from scratch? And then fight against five thousand of our Chu’s elite troops with their two thousand new soldiers? Isn’t your intention to use them as sacrificial lambs too obvious?
Since you’ve fallen ill, you should have just admitted defeat and begged for our forgiveness. But you didn't want to suffer that shame, so you’re foisting this humiliating blame onto others, aren’t you? However, we in Chu care not for the nasty affairs within your country; we only want results.’
“Your Majesty, King of Yue, then it is settled. In four months, our two nations, Chu and Yue, will hold a decisive battle on the border. On the third day of the second month of next year!”
Ning Yuanxian closed his eyes and grunted in agreement. The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu said to him.
“Then, Your Majesty, please sign and affix your seal!”
He presented the state letter, which the Grand Eunuch, Li Sun, received and knelt to offer to Ning Yuanxian. Ning Yuanxian’s right hand trembled so much he could barely hold the brush. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to steady his hand, and wrote his name. Then, he took out the royal seal and stamped the state letter. The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu watched the scene, inwardly rejoicing.
‘It’s done. It’s finally done. Our Chu can finally carve a piece of flesh from Yue. This is Chu’s greatest victory. Although it's only twenty li of territory along the border and twenty-three forts, it’s not a small amount. We will also receive eight hundred thousand gold coins in reparations, and the King of Yue must publicly admit his fault and apologize. What a glorious victory this is! With this, Yue will be unable to contend with Chu for supremacy in the south for years. Ning Yuanxian, you too have days like this. You used to be so robust and acted as you pleased, but all of that has come to nothing. Once you fell ill, you revealed such weakness, didn’t you? Hahahaha!’
After stamping the great seal, Ning Yuanxian seemed to age even more, his body slumping. With tears welling in his eyes, he muttered quietly to himself.
“A great humiliation! A great humiliation!”
The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu mocked him inwardly but maintained a solemn and righteous expression as he bowed.
“Then this matter is settled. The decisive battle will take place on the border on the third day of the second month of next year. I shall return to report to my great king. Your Majesty, please take care of your health. I shall take my leave!”
The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu departed.
***
Only Ning Yuanxian, Ning Zheng, and Li Sun remained in the room. Ning Yuanxian leaned back and spoke slowly.
“Ning Zheng, I have finished my part of the play. The rest is up to you and Shen Lang. No matter how I imagine it, I cannot see how you can win. But since Shen Lang is confident of victory, I am giving you this chance. If you lose this time, just as I said, you will be reduced to a commoner and exiled across the sea with Shen Lang! But if you win, I will give you the chance to contend for the throne. I will let you expand your army and grant you control of the Tianyue Admiralty!”
Ning Zheng kowtowed in gratitude.
“This servant accepts the command!”
Then, Ning Yuanxian looked at Li Sun and said.
“Old friend, do you think I’m mad? Why do I feel like I’ve gone mad?”
***
The two nations of Chu and Yue officially confirmed the decisive battle on the border. The kings of both nations signed and sealed the agreement, and the state letter was presented to the Great Yan Dynasty. The commander of the Yue army participating in the battle was the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng. However, the King of Yue truly did not provide a single soldier, so Ning Zheng had to recruit all two thousand soldiers himself. As soon as the news spread, it instantly caused a great stir. Not only the State of Yue, but also the surrounding nations were shocked.
‘Has there ever been such an absurd decisive battle in the world? Ning Yuanxian, you are truly vicious. To so boldly sacrifice your own son? That’s no different from pushing Ning Zheng and Shen Lang into a pit of fire.’
Instantly, the flood of memorials impeaching Ning Zheng and Shen Lang came to a halt. Everyone now realized that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang were merely the king’s scapegoats.
‘What a truly tragic affair. Didn’t the rumors say you saved the king’s life, Shen Lang? And as a result, His Majesty sacrifices you first. You rampaging clown, let’s see how you prance about in this situation. When the king favored you, you could run wild with impunity. But now that the king has fallen ill, you’re the first to face the blade. Who told you to be so weak? Serves you right, serves you right!
You lured Ning Zheng into competing for the throne, and now, forget about reclaiming the position of heir. In four months, you and Ning Zheng are set to be exiled three thousand li away. Shen Lang, you human trash, you have brought misery and ruin upon Ning Zheng. Though Ning Zheng was not favored before, at least he lived without a care in the world, didn't he? Now, because of you, not only will he be reduced to a commoner, but he’s also to be exiled to the middle of nowhere. Of course, that’s only after you’re formally defeated in the decisive battle with Chu.
But is there any chance they could win this absurd battle? No, such a situation will never happen. Shen Lang, you don’t even have an army of two thousand men, do you? Perhaps if you drew troops from the Jin Clan? But even if you did, they would be no match for Chu’s elite army. They are just the private soldiers of a noble family. The Jin Clan is truly cursed for life for taking you in as a son-in-law, Shen Lang!’
***
Two days later, another unbelievable scene unfolded in the capital. Shen Lang was once again setting up a stall on the street to recruit soldiers. He spread a massive mat in front of the capital’s city gate, and on it, he laid out a paper with the following words to recruit soldiers:
Everyone was dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were seeing.
‘Surely not? Shen Lang, you really don’t have a single soldier, so you’re trying to recruit them temporarily? The decisive battle is only four months away, and you don’t have a single soldier, so you’re only starting to recruit now? Could there be a more ridiculous story? They say a desperate person will clutch at straws, but you’re waiting until your feet are in the fire and you’ve already soiled your pants to start looking for a latrine? Don’t waste your effort. Why not just drop your trousers?
To be honest, you did perform a miracle during the imperial examination. But that was because you found those with special bloodlines, remnants of Kangli, wasn't it? Such luck won't strike again, and those eleven were probably the last of their kind. This time, you need to recruit two thousand men, and everyone knows this battle is a suicide mission. Only a ghost, not a person, would come forward to be your soldier, wouldn't they? It won't matter how high a salary you offer.’
“Recruiting soldiers, recruiting soldiers! Five, ten times the normal pay. Bring glory to the nation.”
Shen Lang set up his stall and recruited for three full days, but he didn’t manage to recruit a single person. No one came at all. Although the salary was incredibly high, it was blood money, wasn’t it? Money you could earn but never spend. In fact, some people did show up, but they were all turned away. He failed to recruit anyone on the fourth day as well, and on the fifth day, Shen Lang did something that astonished everyone. He began to conscript able-bodied men.
‘If you won’t enlist, I’ll come and get you myself.’
Hundreds of strong women broke down doors, storming in to capture men one by one and force them into service. At first, many people in the capital were furious.
‘Forcibly seizing people, how arrogant and outrageous.’
But soon after, they were once again dumbfounded. Because Shen Lang was only taking perfectly useless people. They all looked weak and frail, and what’s more, they didn’t seem very bright.
‘Shen Lang is trying to sweep up all the simpletons in the capital. Are you trying to build an army of idiots?’