The death of General Pei directly changed the situation of the world.
The cavalry of the Qin Kingdom broke through several defenses of the Chu Kingdom's army and soon passed Baihe County. The capital was in sight.
The reason why the army could advance so smoothly was that the Qin army was too powerful and the Chu army was not strong enough. There was another important reason.
The vanguard of the Qin army was the army of Jing Of Silla. They knew the Chu Kingdom too well and hated the Imperial Court.
Under the silent attack of Zhao State, the West Camp didn't hold on for too long. The elite army that had been through hundreds of battles had lost its backbone. The speed of its collapse was faster than what everybody, including He Zhan and the generals of Zhao State, had imagined. As the remnants of Chu State fled and retreated, the white banners of General Pei's death were still hung up in the camp.
Whether from Baihe County or the West Camp to the capital of the Chu Kingdom, it was a vast plain. The land was fertile, but there was no danger. The Chu Kingdom had lost its power.
The news of the war kept coming back to the capital. The air was filled with tension and despair.
The people stood on the street and read the notices, numb and confused. The officials in the court and the ministries looked away, not knowing where they were looking. The scholars of the Academy were no longer in high spirits. They held their scrolls and looked into the distance in a daze. No one knew what they were thinking.
The business of the brothels became very good. Every night, the buildings on the banks of the rivers and lakes were brightly lit and full.
At the moment of the survival of the nation, in the face of sorrow and despair, they could only drink every night and live a befuddled life. It seemed to be understandable for the Chu people.
The Blue Bird flew over the night sky of the capital and looked down at these strange scenes and people. It landed in the deepest part of the Imperial Palace.
There were no lights in the hall. It was very dark. One could clearly see the lights outside the Imperial Palace in the night sky.
The Blue Bird walked to the end of the wide couch and looked into Jing Jiu's eyes. "You don't have time."
Jing Jiu uttered "hmm", saying nothing.
If there were no Qin, Zhao, Qi and the other countries, the Chu people could live well, but with strong enemies, there would be problems.
If the Grand Scholar Zhang were still alive, this day might come a little later.
But he was dead, and now even General Pei was dead.
No one could control life and death, not even Jing Jiu.
Even in the real world outside the Green Sky Mirror, all he could do was try his best to control his own life and death, but he couldn't affect others.
The Jing family in Zhaoge City, like the Liu couple in the small village, would die one day.
The Blue Bird looked into his eyes in Silence and did not turn into a little girl.
Soon, it would leave again to witness the magnificent scene of the army of the Qin Kingdom marching south on behalf of the cultivators in the outside world.
Jing Jiu was silent for a while. He flicked his finger and the oil lamp on the pillar was lit.
A moment later, the sound of footsteps came from outside the hall. The young eunuch was kneeling on the ground, waiting for orders.
Jing Jiu said, "Tell the people outside the palace that I will attend the court meeting tomorrow."
…
…
It wasn't even dawn yet. It was pitch black in the sky, except for the remnants of the joyful and despairing lights.
The sound of wheels rolling over the green stone slabs could be heard on the road. Many carriages came from the south of the city and gathered on the straight road in front of the Royal Palace.
Some carriages stopped, and the officials pulled up the curtains and stared at each other speechlessly, or discussed in a low voice, guessing each other's thoughts and more importantly, the Emperor's thoughts.
In fact, under the current circumstances, many officials, including the scholars and populace, had the same thought: to surrender.
Under the attack of Qin and Zhao, the Chu Kingdom couldn't hold on any longer, not to mention that the West Camp, which was their last stronghold, was gone. The White Emperor was extremely cruel, and Eunuch He was cold and perverted. If the Chu Kingdom really persisted and angered these two, it would probably lead to a scene of rivers of blood, and even a massacre of the entire city might happen.
At the moment, the vanguard of the Qin Kingdom was Jing Of Silla's army, and many of them were Chu people. It was better to surrender to them than to the foreigners. Jing Of Silla and his subordinates couldn't be too extreme. The Qin Kingdom even had to help the Chu people block the Zhao light cavalry of the West Camp, if they still wanted to unify the world.
No matter how one looked at it, surrender was the only choice for the Chu Kingdom, and the sooner they surrendered, the better the result would be.
This thought lingered in the minds of all the officials and couldn't be erased.
But they didn't tell their colleagues or their friends. Even the people closest to them didn't know what they were thinking. It was because whoever proposed to surrender first would be the greatest sinner in the history of the Chu Kingdom. Nobody was willing to die with such a reputation; it was better to die in the wine vat in the brothel.
The most important issue was what to do with the Emperor.
Negotiating with Jing Of Silla to surrender was the best choice for the Chu Kingdom, but Jing Of Silla would definitely kill the Emperor to avenge his son …
With all kinds of thoughts and guesses about the Emperor's mind, the officials walked into the Royal Palace silently like the suffocating fishes, lining up in two rows in the grand hall.
Sitting on the highest throne was a man wearing a bright yellow royal robe. His black hair was tied up behind his head with a cloth band, exposing his handsome face.
They hadn't seen this scene for a long time, reminding some chancellors of the bloody rebellion in the palace five years ago. Some of them looked pale because of fear, and some of them felt hopeful, their pale faces flushed. The Grand Scholar Zhou was one of them, who hadn't been home for fifty days because of the state affairs and the wars.
Jing Jiu's gaze swept over the faces of the officials.
He saw the fear in their eyes, which came from the officials of the Ministry of War who were afraid of being appointed. He saw the excitement in their eyes, which came from the officials of the Royal Censor who thought he was going to lead the army in person. He also saw the fear in their eyes, which came from those people who had evil intentions and were afraid that the bloody events would happen again. Most of all, he saw the numbness and the boredom after they had accepted their fate in despair.
It was deathly quiet in the grand hall until Jing Jiu said, "Draw up the decree. This emperor approves it."
The chancellors were startled. They eyed each other speechlessly, not understanding what the Emperor meant. What decree was he going to draw up? What was he going to approve?
"We can negotiate however we want, but not with Cangzhou. Let the messenger from Xianyang come here."
Having said this, Jing Jiu got up from the throne and left the grand hall.
It was deathly quiet in the grand hall. The officials didn't realize what they had heard until the figure in bright yellow had disappeared in the deep end of the grand hall.
Did the Emperor … mean … surrender?!
The officials were stunned speechless, feeling complicated emotions. They eyed each other, not knowing what to do.
The Grand Scholar Zhou sighed, his eyes full of pain and remorse.
He felt that he had failed Grand Secretary Zhang and the populace of Chu Kingdom, and that he had put the Emperor in such a difficult situation; it was even more unforgivable for him to die ten thousand times.
He was fully aware why the Emperor called for a court meeting and made such a declaration to the chancellors of the Imperial Court.
The Chu Kingdom would be defeated for sure. Surrendering was the best choice, but none of the chancellors dared make such a decision.
Like those stories in history, everybody knew that the chancellors and populace could surrender when two states were at war, but the emperors couldn't … The Emperor proposed surrendering voluntarily because he didn't want the chancellors of the imperial court to shoulder the responsibility of history and solve the current chaotic situation as soon as possible.
This was a wise and clear-cut decision; but which emperor would be willing to make such a decision?
What the Grand Scholar Zhou could think of, those smart officials of the imperial court couldn't think of. After a long moment of silence, a few cries suddenly broke out in the grand hall.
Even those officials who weren't crying had red eyes, their faces full of regret and pain, though it was hard to tell if it was true or not.
The Chief of Taichang Temple abruptly turned around and stared at these useless officials, yelling sternly, "Come on! His Majesty is still alive! "
The mother of the Eldest Young Master Zhang had passed away four years ago. He was an old man now, with silver hair on his head, but he looked much more awe-inspiring than before, even resembling the style of his father.
Hearing his stern yell, the cries in the grand hall had finally stopped. The chancellors came back to their senses and looked at the Grand Scholar Zhou in tandem.
The lips of the Grand Scholar Zhou trembled a few times, and he squeezed out a sentence with difficulty, "Negotiate peace with the Qin State. All the royal army will be mobilized in the direction of the West Camp."
Then, he stared at those officials sternly and said in a cold voice, "Nobody is allowed to talk about this outside.
Don't tell me that you can't conceal it. Conceal it for as long as you can. Do you hear me?! "
…
…
A delegation of the Qin Kingdom entered the capital of the Chu Kingdom secretly.
According to the request of the Chu Kingdom, Jing Silla didn't show up, but there were many people from Cangzhou in the delegation. Some officials of the Imperial court had many ideas. They tried their best to get acquainted with those people, whether they were of the same age or from the same hometown, in order to protect themselves, and they even hoped to get a better position in the new imperial court.
Those people from Cangzhou had been the officials of the Chu Kingdom, but they were the officials chosen by the Crown Prince Jing Tong Yan herself. They met the officials of the Imperial court with an insincere smile. Only when their gazes fell on the Royal Palace would they show a hint of coldness and hatred.
No matter how secretive the delegation was, it was impossible to conceal it from everybody. The news had spread out in the capital, and a storm had arisen. The Grand Scholar Zhou, who was known for his benevolence, finally showed some of the courage of the Grand Secretary Zhang back then. He killed three chancellors forcefully to stabilize the situation for the time being.
The so-called negotiation of peace was a surrender. The Chu Kingdom didn't have much confidence, and the Qin Kingdom was pressing forward. It was hard to settle the negotiation in a short time. However, both sides knew that the Emperor of the Chu Kingdom had to abdicate the throne without any negotiation.
The sky couldn't have two suns, and the country couldn't have two rulers.
If the White Emperor wanted to be the ruler of the world, he wouldn't allow Jing Jiu to sit on the throne.
The best outcome for Jing Jiu was to obtain the nominal title of king and be guarded by a large number of soldiers. When the populace of the Chu Kingdom had gradually forgotten him, he would be slowly poisoned to death, starved to death, or accidentally drowned in the water, like his father.
It was then that a decree suddenly came out from the deep end of the Royal Palace. The Emperor wanted to have a talk with the delegation of the Qin Kingdom in person.
As soon as the decree came out, many officials and those people from Cangzhou in the delegation of the Qin Kingdom felt disdainful, wondering what kind of terms the Emperor of the Qin Kingdom, who had lost his kingdom, would ask for at this moment. A bigger manor house or a room full of fine wine? Or a sixteen-year-old concubine and a room full of good wine?
One early morning, a few officials of the delegation of the Qin Kingdom entered the Royal Palace and came to the tranquil grand hall.
Jing Jiu waved his hand, motioning for all the eunuchs and palace maids to leave.
The officials of the Qin Kingdom thought of some rumors, and their expressions changed slightly. Then they thought, Even if you kill all of us, what use will it be?
At this moment, an ordinary-looking official of the Qin Kingdom suddenly said, "All of you leave first."
The officials of the Qin Kingdom looked a little uneasy, but they didn't dare to oppose and left the grand hall as they were told.
Jing Jiu looked at the official of the Qin Kingdom and said, "I didn't expect it to be you."
The official of the Qin Kingdom raised her head and removed her disguise, revealing a beautiful and pleasant face. She smiled sweetly at him.
"If I hadn't come this time, I probably wouldn't have seen you again."
"It's over."
A voice suddenly came from behind the pillar.
This time, it was no longer lazy, but rather exasperated.
Zhuo Rusui walked out and looked at Jing Jiu angrily. "Since it's her who has come, then hurry up and pack your bags. Let's go."
…
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