bookrandom Chapter 2317 Victory is in Hand
Chapter 2317 Victory is in Hand
Lu Xiuwen turned slightly to look at Deng Hongwen, his face expressionless, and simply said:
"Lord Deng, everyone has their own ambitions, why force it?"
"You...!" Deng Hongwen was so angry that he almost rushed forward, but was held back by the people around him.
"Lü Xiuwen!"
Another voice rang out, and Liu Shouren, the Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary, stood up, equally furious.
He and Lü Xiuwen came from the same state of Bingzhou, entered officialdom in the same year, and served as ministers in the same court for decades, developing a deep friendship.
Seeing his old friend betray him now, the pain in his heart was greater than his anger.
"Lü Xiuwen!"
Liu Shouren's voice trembled: "Have you forgotten? During the great battle of Bingzhou, who saved our entire family? It was His Majesty!"
"Have you forgotten? Back then, when we were struggling in Bingzhou and had nowhere to realize our ambitions, who was it that brought us out of Bingzhou, into the imperial court, and entrusted us with important responsibilities? It was His Majesty!"
"Have you forgotten? How has His Majesty treated you these past ten years?"
"His Majesty has placed unwavering trust in you, listened to your every word, and entrusted you with the full authority of the Ministry of Personnel! What part of your life, Lü Xiuwen, is not a gift from His Majesty?"
Liu Shouren's eyes were red, and he stared intently at Lü Xiuwen, as if trying to see through his heart:
"Why...why did you betray His Majesty?! Why?!"
Lu Xiuwen fell silent. A slight ripple finally appeared on his refined and composed face.
He slowly turned around, looked at Liu Shouren, at his colleagues who were glaring at him, and at those incredulous gazes.
Then he spoke, his voice still calm, but carrying a long-suppressed, cold resentment:
"Lord Liu, you ask me why?"
He sneered, "Fine, then I'll tell you."
He abruptly raised his hand, pointing to Kyoto, that distant direction that haunted his dreams yet filled him with resentment:
"My son—Lü Chang!"
Liu Shouren was taken aback. Lü Chang?
Isn't that Lu Xiuwen's son, the rumored young man who is promising and talented?
He recalled that several years ago, Lü Chang was assassinated in the capital, an event that caused a sensation.
At the time, everyone in the court and the public believed that the culprit had been executed and the matter was dropped.
Is it...
Lu Xiuwen's voice suddenly turned shrill: "My son Lu Chang was intelligent from a young age, well-versed in poetry and literature, and passed the imperial examination at a young age. He is the hope of our Lu family!"
"He...he's only eighteen! He had such a bright future ahead of him, he could have brought honor to his family, he could have married and had children and grandchildren!"
His body began to tremble, and his refined face was filled with profound grief and resentment.
"But he died! He died in Kyoto! How tragic!"
"Do you know who killed him?!"
Lu Xiuwen suddenly pointed at Chu Ning, his eyes bloodshot: "It's him! It's his toughness! It's his foreign policy!"
"Let those barbarians—those scorpion tribes, those Rouran people—hate him to the core!"
"If they dare not kill him, they will kill my son! They will kill the sons of us ministers! They will kill those innocent young people!"
"Lü Chang died because he was my son! Because I was Chu Ning's subject!"
"It's because Chu Ning is tough on foreign powers that those barbarians have nowhere to vent their anger, so they take it out on our families!"
Lu Xiuwen's voice was almost a roar: "For years, day and night, every moment, I have been thinking about avenging my son!"
"But who are my enemies? They are those barbarians! They are thousands of miles away, I can't kill them! I hate them! I hate them!"
He whirled around, facing the stunned ministers, his voice rising abruptly, carrying a frenzied, inflammatory quality:
"Fellow colleagues! Do you think that Lü Chang's death is merely a tragedy for my family, Lü Xiuwen's family? No! You are wrong!"
He pointed at them one by one: "You, you, and you!"
"Who among your family members, your nephews and nieces, your clansmen has not suffered the threat of barbarians?"
"Who hasn't been on edge and unable to sleep at night because of Chu Ning's tough policies?!"
"Chu Ning is tough on foreign powers, yes! He repelled the barbarians, he destroyed several kingdoms, and he made Chu powerful!"
"But what is the price?! The price is our loved ones! Our sons! Our own flesh and blood!"
"Today, Chu Ning is surrounded and his life hangs by a thread! But what about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow?"
"As long as he remains in power, as long as he continues to implement this hardline policy, those barbarians and those enemies will keep sending assassins!"
"Come and kill our sons! Come and kill our loved ones!"
Lu Xiuwen's voice resounded throughout the entire plain, drowning out the wind, the screams, and everyone's gasps of surprise:
"Do you think that by siding with Chu Ning, you can survive?"
"No! Even if Chu Yun can't kill him today, those barbarians will kill your sons and your grandsons in the future!"
“You will live in this fear for generations to come!”
He took a deep breath to calm his agitated emotions.
Then, she slowly reached out and pointed to the spot beside Chu Yun, her voice becoming calm, yet carrying an irresistible allure:
"But it's different if you stand on Prince Yun's side."
"Prince Yun promised that after he ascends the throne, he will change the foreign policy, make peace with the barbarians, and establish friendly relations with other countries!"
"At that time, the border will be peaceful, and there will be no more war! Our sons and our loved ones will no longer have to worry about being targeted by assassins! They will no longer have to live in this fear!"
"Fellow colleagues,"
Lu Xiuwen's gaze slowly swept over each face: "What are you all still hesitating about?"
A deathly silence.
Lu Xiuwen's words were like the sharpest dagger, piercing the softest and most fearful part of every minister's heart.
Those who were still struggling and hesitating began to change their expressions.
Fear is spreading.
The wavering is spreading.
Then came the collapse.
"me……"
A voice rang out.
Another person, head down, stepped out from the crowd and walked towards Chu Yun.
Then, the second, the third, the fourth...
Like a flood bursting its banks, like an anthill collapsing.
Those civil and military officials who were originally trembling with fear and dared not move were incited by Lü Xiuwen.
Deep within him lay fear for his family's safety and anxieties about the future.
One by one, they came out, heads bowed, silent, and walked to Chu Yun's side.
In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
More than a third of the civil and military officials who were originally standing densely around the shield wall have now sided with Chu Yun.
All that remained were loyal men such as Deng Hongwen, Liu Shouren, Xue Huaide, Zhao Yu, and Ma Chao, as well as those who knew they had no way out or were utterly devoted to Chu Ning.
Chu Yun looked at the sea of black heads before him, and at those high-ranking officials who had once looked down on him.
Now, however, they stood obsequiously behind him, laughing even more wildly and smugly.
He turned around and looked at Chu Ning, who still stood firm, his gaze filled with the arrogance and mockery of a victor:
"Chu Ning, did you see that? All your men have come to my side. What... do you have to say for yourself?"
Inside the shield wall, the Imperial Guards gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes filled with grief, indignation, and resolve.
Beyond the shield wall, behind Chu Yun, stood a dense array of civil officials and black-armored soldiers, like dark clouds pressing down, obscuring the sky and the sun.
The cold wind howled, and paper money fluttered in the air.
Han Xing's coffin still rests quietly in the middle of the official road, the blood-stained banner fluttering in the wind, as if playing a silent elegy for this collapse of humanity.