Kyoto, Forbidden City.
Since receiving the news of the loss of Jieting, the court and the public have been in an uproar. At the morning court today, Zhou officials were already excited, and almost everyone had prepared a speech to attack Chu Tianxiao. Among them, there were certainly enemies of the Chu family, but there were also some who were originally neutral, but after seeing the war develop to this point, they were extremely disappointed with Chu Tianxiao and joined the enemy camp...
They either gloat over the misfortune, or are filled with righteous indignation, or sigh...
Before Emperor Zhou arrived, they were already whispering and discussing.
"I have long said that it is unwise to leave that prodigal son in Zhao! What's going on now? Something has happened!"
"Ah, who would have thought that Emperor Zhao would have the guts to actually..."
"Is this difficult to guess? Even Chu Tianxiao, a prodigal, has the guts to do this, so why doesn't Emperor Zhao have it? To put it bluntly, it's Chu Tianxiao's lack of consideration and his reckless behavior that has led our army into such an embarrassing situation!"
"That's right! This time Jieting was lost and the situation worsened. Chu Tianxiao must bear full responsibility!"
The crowd was excited, and some people who occasionally defended Chu Tianxiao were shut up by the others and could not speak any more... After all, the current bad situation was real, and Chu Tianxiao used the "Order of My Personal Visit" to mobilize the garrisons of all parties, which was also true...
Just as the ministers were discussing and arguing, with a shout, the Emperor Zhou arrived in the arena accompanied by a royal carriage.
He looked at the crowd with an indifferent expression, and said in the same calm tone as usual: "You ministers, please submit your memorials if you have any, otherwise, please leave the court."
Seeing this, many people's expressions changed slightly - they had already submitted critical memorials yesterday, but they didn't expect that Emperor Zhou didn't even mention it!
However, even so, there were still some people who were unwilling to let go of this "God-given opportunity". They gritted their teeth and stepped out from the sidelines: "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit!"
"The Purple Marquis's son Chu Tianxiao was greedy for merit and recklessly advanced. He was more than capable of attacking but less capable of defending. He lost cities and territory, and brought disaster to the three armies. Your Majesty, please investigate!"
As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the audience jumped out and seconded the motion.
"Lord Ling is right. The loss of Jieting has put hundreds of thousands of soldiers in our Great Zhou in a dilemma. The situation is extremely bad! If this matter is not investigated thoroughly, it will not be enough to appease the people's anger and revive the government!"
"That's right. Chu Tianxiao was so bold and reckless that he started a war without authorization, causing our Great Zhou and Great Zhao to fight to the death. This is a huge violation of the purpose of destroying the devil. He is greedy for small gains and loses the overall situation! Even if he has made some small contributions, it is not enough to make up for his mistakes. He must be punished!"
Seeing ministers jumping out to second the motion one after another, Emperor Zhou stared at them for a moment, but said in an orderly manner: "What faults did Chu Tianxiao commit and what punishments he should receive will be determined when he returns to the capital. The most urgent task is to discuss how to deal with the current situation..."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Wu stepped out and said, "I think that although the situation is not favorable to our Great Zhou, the Zhao Dynasty may not really dare to take action. Their move is more of a coercion, waiting to sell... At least, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of our Great Zhou will not be destroyed."
"The most urgent task is to negotiate with the Zhao Dynasty as soon as possible to avoid changes in the long run..."
After hearing this, Emperor Zhou nodded and said, "Mr. Wu is right..."
After a pause, he pondered and said, "The Qin Dynasty should have made a move as well, right?"
"Your Majesty is wise and wise. The Qin envoy is on the way."
Prime Minister Wu quickly recounted the story... Just as Emperor Zhou had expected, Shenzhou's second empire, Daqin, was not willing to sit idle either - they had already joined the game a few days ago and made it clear that they were willing to act as a mediator. They also stated that they hoped that both Dazhou and Dazhao would exercise restraint as much as possible, put the overall goal of destroying the demons first, and never let a large-scale fatal battle occur... At the same time, they also suggested that the initiator of this war be sanctioned, otherwise, mediation would be extremely difficult.
"At this point, the southeast is no longer safe, and Zhaodu is even more so... The only burning point in the negotiations should be Chu Tianxiao... Should we hand him over or keep him?"
Many ministers in the room were clear in their minds. For a moment, the critics quickly gathered together and spoke together... They were very smart. They did not force "hand over Chu Tianxiao", but focused on "recalling Chu Tianxiao to punish him" - because according to the logic of the Zhou people, if our own people made a mistake, we must punish them, and others have no right to interfere! So even if Chu Tianxiao was "sinful", if he was handed over like this, it would be something that the Zhou people would never accept!
However, no matter what, in the eyes of the important officials present, Chu Tianxiao was already guilty of a serious crime this time, and there was no possibility of recovery. It was just a matter of how he died...
Just as everyone was discussing it heatedly, an idea suddenly occurred to Wu Xiang...
"With the current situation, will Chu Tianxiao just sit there and wait for death?"
Suddenly, he thought of a possibility, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. Almost at the same time, Emperor Zhou also narrowed his eyes, as if he had thought of something...
"I see… "
"Little prodigal, you actually want to..."
"But... what are you going to do? Could it be..."
As this thought came to mind, Prime Minister Wu quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty! I..."
Emperor Zhou interrupted directly with a wave of his hand: "There is no need to rush the talks with Zhao, and we must not be weak! Pass on my order, order Lu Xian to take action, and show an attitude of burning both jade and stone. Let's delay for a few days first to dampen the enthusiasm of those Zhao people!"
After these words were spoken, several important officials with sharp eyes reacted, and immediately, anxious shouts were heard in the venue.
"Your Majesty, you can't!"
"We can't provoke Zhao Chao anymore!"
"Destroying the demons is the most important thing, Your Majesty, please think twice!"
But this time, the Zhou Emperor, who had always been open to advice, showed the decisiveness and autocracy of a king!
"I have made up my mind! Dismiss!"
When the words fell, the tone was firm and cold, which made everyone in the room shudder, and no one dared to say anything more...
…
…
At the same time, at Duanyun Cliff, the camp of the Prodigal Army.
Even the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty had learned of the worsening situation, and this side was naturally no exception.
In the camp, all the generals of the defeated army had frowns on their faces. They looked at Chu Tianxiao with a hint of worry and a determination of "I will fight anyone who dares to touch the young master"... Only Chu Tianxiao was not surprised, angry or worried when he heard that Jindu had fallen and Jieting had been lost. On the contrary, he showed a faint smile on his face...
"very good."
"The bad news I've been waiting for has finally arrived..."
Chu Tianxiao said this, walked slowly, lifted the curtain of the camp, and walked out.
It was already late autumn. Even though Zhao was in the south, where the soil and water were warm, there was still a slight chill in this high mountain area...
The weather... is already slightly chilly.
Chu Tianxiao looked at the blue sky, subconsciously shook his sleeves, and said leisurely: "It's getting cold..."
"So."
He smiled faintly.
"Let the Great Zhao be destroyed."