NABC Chapter 348 Win!
Chapter 348 Win!
Emperor Qi Xiao didn't dare look at the specific, elaborate wording. He only searched for the word "defeat" on the scroll!
I glanced through it quickly but didn't see it.
His hands then trembled as he gripped the scroll tightly.
"You want to see the Great Qi fail? Well, I'll show you!"
He closed the battle report and threw it directly at Qin Mushuo's head!
The wooden scroll hit Qin Mushuo on the head with a loud thud, and his head started buzzing.
He picked up the challenge letter from the ground and immediately opened it.
"This...this is impossible! No, we actually won the war in the southwest?!"
His words immediately caused an uproar!
The Left and Right Chancellors immediately rushed forward, snatched the letter of challenge, and carefully read it. The letter, containing more than two hundred characters, indeed stated that the battle in the southwest had been a great victory. It reported the situation to Emperor Qi Xiao and praised Yuan Cuo's wisdom and strategy. It also hoped that the Court of State Ceremonial would negotiate with Yan and Chu to make Yan and Chu compensate Qi for the losses incurred in the southwest battle!
"Victory!"
"The Great Qi actually won!!"
The Left Chancellor shouted, but it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry; all that could be heard was disbelief.
The courtiers exclaimed in astonishment, "They actually won?!"
"This...this couldn't be false information deliberately reported by Governor Chen, could it? Your Majesty, please forgive me for not daring to believe it so easily. Since the founding of Great Qi, we have never won a war against them..." The Grand Secretary choked up and couldn't help but wipe away the moisture from the corners of his eyes.
If this is true, it would be an auspicious sign from heaven!
“Yes, and Yuan Cuo, what does Governor Chen mean by secretly plotting?” another courtier asked, puzzled.
Qin Mushuo looked at Yuan Cuo instantly. His eyes did not show any ecstatic excitement, but rather an unknown fear and dread!
The Minister of War, the cabinet scholars, and the Left and Right Chancellors also looked over, but they were puzzled and could only listen to what Yuan Cuo had to say.
There was another person whose face was pale and purplish, and who was completely dumbfounded. His gaze toward Yuan Cuo was not one of pride, but rather one of deep-seated hatred!
Prince Chun's fists, clenched tightly in his sleeves, were almost crushed. He suddenly realized what it meant to lure the tiger away from the mountain. "Could it be that you transferred the military equipment from Huaizhou Mine to the southwest a long time ago?"
His words shocked the assembled officials!
Secretly manipulating weapons is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!
"Yuan Cuo, how dare you do this?" The Right Chancellor was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his throat. His son had a very close relationship with the Liu family, and he hoped that he would not be implicated in this matter!
Everyone was waiting for Yuan Cuo's answer, since he was the only one who knew the whole story!
Yuan Cuo looked at Emperor Qi Xiao before speaking, "Indeed, after I discovered the mineral vein, I secretly smelted it for a while, and then secretly transferred the first batch of military equipment to Governor-General Chen. Subsequently, Your Majesty issued an order for the Third Prince and the Lu family army to mine diligently, but unfortunately, they did not produce any high-quality materials. It is because the smelting techniques I taught them were not the best, but I did this to deliberately mislead the Yan-Chu allied forces. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"
"But the credit for this matter does not belong to me, but to Governor-General Chen. If it weren't for his mastery of military strategy, even the best weapons would have been useless."
"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on becoming the first emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty to defeat the combined forces of Yan and Chu!"
Yuan Cuo acknowledged the matter and explained it in more detail.
The Yonghe Hall erupted in an uproar of alarm!
“Yuan Cuo, this is smuggling! If Governor Chen hadn’t mentioned it in his report, would you have kept it a secret forever?”
"Moreover, this is not a small-scale smuggling operation, but a large-scale operation involving sophisticated military equipment! You even misappropriated the silver His Majesty allocated to the Yongzhou mines for your own use, which is another capital offense!"
"Fortunately, we won this battle; otherwise, it would have been a huge loss and a terrible disaster!"
"Your Majesty, although Lord Yuan's actions have some merit, his mistakes are far greater. You cannot allow him to act recklessly just because of a temporary victory!"
……
Everyone was relentlessly criticizing Yuan Cuo, deliberately shifting the focus of their anger. Just moments ago, everyone was pressuring Emperor Qi Xiao to abdicate, but now they've unexpectedly won this battle!
Emperor Qi Xiao doesn't need to insist; he can easily sit on the throne. But next, His Majesty will likely retaliate against them, so they can only use Yuan Cuo as a shield!
Before Emperor Qi Xiao could speak, Liu Yuechu was the first to object.
"When we hadn't won, you were clamoring about acting recklessly. Now that we've won, you're still clamoring about acting recklessly? This military expenditure is from our Liu family's private funds; not a single penny of the Ministry of Revenue's money has been taken. I haven't even had a chance to claim credit yet, and you've already pinned a whole host of crimes on me!"
"What's wrong? When you were kneeling and crying in surrender, acting like cowards, why weren't you this tough? It's like the sun rose in the west! You've contributed to the Great Qi and prevented it from becoming the last of the Seven Kingdoms, but instead you've become the sinners! How can you have the dignity to say such things? Heaven really has no eyes, otherwise the first thing it would have done would have been to strike down all those who deserved to die!"
……
She was heavily pregnant, and looked like a shrew yelling in the street.
Suddenly, a deafening firecracker sound came from somewhere outside, startling all the officials in Yonghe Hall!
Qin Mushuo said sinisterly, "Everyone knows Yuan Cuo's achievements, but his unauthorized actions with Chen Hongwu must be settled! Otherwise, how will the court officials obey military orders in the future? They will all act recklessly and then report the good news to the Emperor, which will cause great chaos!"
"His Highness the Crown Prince is right, Your Majesty should be cautious!" the courtiers echoed.
"You may not know this, but I do."
Emperor Qi Xiao sneered, his heart pounding with excitement, and his voice became even louder. "I chose him as the commander of the secret guards because I trust his character. He reported this plan to me immediately, and I granted his request for a radical solution. It was also a show for everyone to see."
"But I only intended to mislead the spies of Yan and Chu, I never expected that you would be the first to turn against me."
When Emperor Qi Xiao said this, everyone broke out in a cold sweat!
Qin Mushuo stared in disbelief, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal!
This Great Qi empire belongs to Emperor Qi Xiao.
What reason did he have to blame Emperor Qi Xiao for not telling him?!
"Father is wise and insightful, with discerning eyes to recognize talent, and his imperial grace is boundless!" He knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. Regardless of whether Emperor Qi Xiao would blame the other ministers, he was afraid that he was doomed this time!
The court officials had no further objections and knelt down to congratulate Emperor Qi Xiao on his great victory, the most joyous news they had received on New Year's Eve.
Emperor Qi Xiao's wild laughter echoed within the palace and spread beyond it.
The Empress was already sweating profusely. She immediately ordered the New Year's Eve palace banquet to begin, with singing and dancing!
The news spread beyond the palace and throughout the capital. In an instant, the entire city rejoiced, and the unprecedented joy of victory lasted all night.
That night, no one could sleep.
Only Yuan Cuo and Liu Yuechu ate a few bites in the palace and then went home, where they fell asleep after a hearty meal!