Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife - Chapter 128
Chapter 128: Chapter 123 Why is everyone mute today?_1
Translator: 549690339 |
After hearing what the Sum Emperor had to say, all the ministers couldn’t believe it because it completely overturned their understanding of the situation.
Even if the North Prince wasn’t useless, with the meager soldiers of North City, defending Yan County would be very difficult.
And now they were being told that not only had the North Prince managed to hold Yan County, but he had also annihilated the Barbarian Tribe’s army of three hundred thousand!!!
Who would believe that?
At this moment, the princes at the court were utterly dumbfounded!!!
Wasn’t Prince Lu Chen supposed to be the most worthless among them, his body hollowed out by alcohol and women?
Could he really lead the meager soldiers of North City to defeat the Barbarian Tribe’s army of three hundred thousand?
Was this something this waste could accomplish???
Everyone at the court began to wonder if they were still dreaming, which is why they were witnessing such an absurd event.
The court was comprised of people from Great Sum, who should have been overjoyed to hear such a world-shaking report of victory, but at the moment, not a single person in the court could feel happy.
If what the Sum Emperor had said was true and could be confirmed, then it would mean Great Sum was about to undergo a massive change!!!
Slain were two hundred thousand of the Barbarian Tribe’s warriors, with an additional hundred thousand captured—this achievement was comparable to the Sum Emperor’s own feat of annihilating Chen Nation!
With such a great merit, who would dare deny the North Prince the position of Crown Prince?
The North Prince’s achievement had even reached the level of overshadowing his sovereign!
At that moment, everyone had one question on their minds: how exactly did the North Prince do it?
Secondly, the ministers were very worried; the North Prince, who had always been deemed useless by them, couldn’t really return to the Capital city to become the Crown Prince, could he?
In the court, there was a faction for Prince Lu Shuyun and one for Prince Lu Yi, as well as other princes’ power bases, but there were no officials from Prince Lu Chen’s faction.
Now even the officials from the Chu Family at court were with Prince Lu Shuyun’s faction.
And at this time, they were being told that Prince Lu Chen might return to the Capital city to become the Crown Prince! This was like throwing all the ministers’ investments down the drain.
They absolutely wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.
Seeing on the ministers’ faces disbelief or, rather, unwillingness to believe, the Sum Emperor continued, “According to various reports, the North Prince has at least fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry at his disposal; a few days ago, the North Prince sent five thousand Heavy Cavalry southward to bring back his wives, concubines, and children to Yan County.”
As the Sum Emperor spoke these words, the court exploded once again.
Fifty… fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry???
How could that be possible!!!
How could the North Prince possibly have so many Heavy Cavalry!!!
The ministers knew all too well what Heavy Cavalry represented.
When the Sum Ancestor was conquering the land, three thousand Heavy Cavalry chased down an army of a hundred thousand peasant soldiers.
Now the entire Great Sum only had twenty thousand Heavy Cavalry. Heavy Cavalry required a vast amount of resources; each cavalryman needed at least three high-quality horses.
Besides horses, the most important thing for Heavy Cavalry was their armor.
It might take a craftsman a month to make a set of Heavy Cavalry armor, at least three months at the minimum.
How could the North Prince have fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry when he had been in North City for such a short time?
What did having fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry imply?
It meant that the North Prince could declare independence from Great Sum and proclaim himself emperor without any problem!
And if the North Prince truly had a hundred thousand Barbarian Tribe prisoners, it would mean that even if the court knew of his possible intent to rebel, at this moment they would still not dare to act against him; instead, they would have to prioritize appeasement.
Logically, the North Prince hadn’t had the time or resources to build fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry, so where did they come from?
Since intelligence from various sources has already confirmed the existence of these 50,000 heavy cavalry, the issue has indeed become critical.
Once the North Prince displays his 50,000 heavy cavalry, it means that he is not only capable of rebellion but also possesses the intention to rebel.
Within Great Sum’s borders, especially when the Sum Emperor curtails the power of the regional kings each year, for a Seignior to build up 50,000 heavy cavalry can only mean an intent to rebel, can it not?
At that moment, Zhao Wenhan could no longer hold back and directly asked, “Your Majesty, may your servant boldly ask if it’s true that the North Prince has 50,000 heavy cavalry?”
The Sum Emperor replied coldly, “This intelligence was relayed back by General Wang and has also been confirmed by my Shadow Guard.”
Hearing this, the ministers all gasped in shock.
Does this mean that the report is true?
The North Prince actually has 50,000 heavy cavalry?
No wonder the previous battle report mentioned that the North Prince led the soldiers of North City to slaughter 200,000 members of the Barbarian Tribe overnight!
However, come to think of it, North City certainly cannot be so simple as to only have 50,000 heavy cavalry.
Heavy cavalry hold overwhelming advantage against infantry, especially conscripted peasants, but their superiority is not as clear against the cavalry of the Barbarian Tribe and might even be at a disadvantage.
Because heavy cavalry are clumsier than the Barbarian Tribe’s light cavalry, making it difficult to catch up with them. If the Barbarian Tribe’s soldiers wanted to flee, they could do so with ease.
If the battle report about the North Prince leading his soldiers and slaying 200,000 Barbarian Tribe soldiers is true, then there must be something else in the North Prince’s hands.
As for whether this ‘something’ is weapons or an army, that is hard to say.
At this moment, the imperial court fell into the silence of death once more.
Logically, some should now impeach the North Prince for contemplating rebellion, but the timing of North City’s heavy cavalry’s emergence was just too perfect, coinciding with the Barbarian Tribe’s 300,000 soldiers marching southward.
Just as the North Prince has led the soldiers of North City to defeat the Barbarian Tribe, if someone steps forward now to accuse the North Prince of plotting rebellion, wouldn’t that be akin to seeking death?
Who would dare accuse the North Prince at this time?
This is the greatest military achievement since Great Sum’s founding!
Who can accuse the North Prince?
Seeing that none of the ministers spoke up again, the Sum Emperor said coldly, “What now, did none of you eat breakfast before coming to court, not even having the strength to speak? You’re usually so lively, so why is everyone mute today?”
No sooner had the Sum Emperor’s words fallen than Zhao Wenhan immediately knelt down and then kowtowed to the Sum Emperor, saying, “His Highness Prince Lu Chen, brave and adept at war, has led the soldiers of North City to slay 200,000 Barbarian Tribe soldiers and captured another 100,000. He is indeed the third person since the venerable Sum Ancestor to achieve such a feat. With such a significant contribution from His Highness Prince Lu Chen, rewarding him with ordinary things would certainly not be fitting. I humbly request Your Majesty to allow Prince Lu Chen to return to the Capital City and to establish him as the Crown Prince!”
Hearing Zhao Wenhan’s words, some ministers inwardly cursed him as a sly fox, well aware that the young and robust Sum Emperor has been reluctant to appoint a Crown Prince for fear of the Crown Prince harboring other ambitions.
Zhao Wenhan’s move to propose the appointment of a Crown Prince at this juncture was clearly not about making the North Prince the Crown Prince. He was simply trying to sicken the Sum Emperor and to sow discord between the Sum Emperor and the North Prince, his son.
After hearing Zhao Wenhan’s words, the Sum Emperor did not immediately reply, instead, he scanned the ministers in the court.
He was waiting.
Waiting for someone else to speak.
Lin Gaoyuan, kneeling on the ground, instantly understood the Sum Emperor’s intention and immediately said, “Your Majesty, although His Highness Prince Lu Chen has made a tremendous contribution, the matter of appointing a Crown Prince is of significant importance and should not be made hastily.”
The Sum Emperor still did not speak; his gaze fell upon the several princes in front of him.
At that moment, the princes were sweating profusely, not daring to breathe loudly.
Especially Prince Lu Shuyun.
He was utterly awake now.
At last, he understood why each of his assassination attempts had failed and who was responsible for the massacre at his residence.
This younger brother of theirs had hidden too deeply!
He had deceived everyone in Great Sum!
