bookrandom Chapter 1220 Dispute, personal expedition!
Chapter 1220 Dispute, personal expedition!
A few days later, in the East Palace of the Chu Imperial Palace.
When Chu Ning unfolded the secret letter, a ray of morning light was shining through the carved window lattice onto the letter.
There were dark brown marks on the edge of the letter paper, which looked like dried blood or cinnabar stains.
His eyes lingered on the letter for a long time, and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the jade pendant on his waist.
"Come here, tell the Prime Minister, the Grand Tutor, the Minister of Personnel, and the Minister of Works to come to the throne immediately."
Chu Ning's voice was very soft, but it made the eunuch standing beside him shudder. This young prince usually did not show his emotions on his face, but at this moment, a rare sharpness flashed in his eyes.
half an hour later
In the main hall of the Eastern Palace, four ministers stood on both sides.
Yun Jianye was covered in dust, obviously having just rushed in from the government office. Lu Xiuwen had a serious expression, and Dugu Xin had white hair and a youthful face, and a solemn look.
Only Prime Minister Di Wenyao looked normal, but his eyes paused slightly when he swept across Chu Ning's slightly pale face.
"My dear ministers, please look at this."
Chu Ning handed the secret letter to the eunuch beside him: "Minister Deng wrote to say that in addition to Yanzhou, the Han Emperor also asked for 500 hundred-forged steel crossbows and 3 million dan of military rations."
The secret letter was circulated among the four ministers, and the only sound in the hall was the rustling of pages turning.
Yun Jianye was the first to lose control. With a gloomy face, he said in a cold voice: "Your Highness, the hundred-tempered steel crossbow is the foundation of our Chu army. How can we give it to others easily? If the Han army gets this weapon, it will become a great threat in the future!"
Lu Xiuwen coughed lightly, put his hands into his sleeves, frowned and said: "Lord Yun is wrong. Five hundred steel crossbows are only one-tenth or one-twelfth of our army's inventory. The most urgent task now is to join forces with the Zhou army to attack the Qin State. If we lose the big picture because of the small..."
"What Minister Lu said is absurd!"
Dugu Xin suddenly interrupted, his eyes pointed directly at Lu Xiuwen: "How amazing were the craftsmen of the Han Dynasty? With just a steel crossbow, they were able to deduce the method of forging. By then, the combat power of the Han army will be greatly increased, and our Chu State will be in danger!"
Chu Ning sat in the main seat, his eyes moving between the three people.
He noticed that Di Wenyao remained silent, with his hands hidden in his sleeves, his body as still as a mountain, and a look of confidence.
"What does the Prime Minister think?" Chu Ning asked.
Di Wenyao slowly stretched out his hands, saluted, and said seriously: "I think we can first agree to the Han Emperor's request, but..."
He glanced at the crowd and said, "The steel crossbows can only be delivered after the Han army sends troops to contain Sima Yi."
There was silence in the hall for a moment.
A hint of approval flashed in Chu Ning's eyes: "The Prime Minister's intention is..."
"If the Han army does not send troops, the steel crossbows will not be delivered."
Di Wenyao stroked his beard and smiled: "Even if we send troops, if we encounter "bandits looting" during transportation, there is nothing we can do."
Yun Jianye's eyes lit up: "Great idea!"
"only......"
Di Wenyao changed the subject: "Your Highness has not looked well these days, is it because of the recurrence of the old poison?"
Chu Ning subconsciously touched his chest.
The blood vessels there protruded like spider webs, which were caused by the blood spider poison. At that time, the arrow quenched with blood spider poison almost took his life.
"No problem." Chu Ning waved his hand: "My dear ministers, please go and get ready."
Di Wenyao lowered his head, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
Now everyone in the world knows that the prince has been poisoned. If he cannot obtain the Flame Grass to make an antidote as soon as possible, he may not be able to hold out for too long.
For now, we can only agree to the Han Dynasty's request and let the Han Dynasty contain Sima Yi of Wei first.
After the four ministers left, Chu Ning went into the back hall.
Crown Princess Shen Wanying was leaning on the couch, holding a bowl of lotus seed soup in her hand. Her belly was bulging, making it difficult for her to move.
"Your Highness." Shen Wanying wanted to stand up and salute, but was held down by Chu Ning.
"Doctor Sun said that you will give birth in half a month, so there's no need to be so polite." Chu Ning took the lotus seed soup but just put it aside.
Shen Wanying's eyes fell on his slightly pale face: "Your Highness's poison..."
"It's all right now." Chu Ning held her hand and said, "After you give birth, I will personally lead the expedition to Qin."
"These days, I haven't had much contact with you because you are pregnant and I am poisoned. I will spend more time with you in the next few days."
"No!"
Shen Wanying sat up straight abruptly: "Dr. Sun said that Your Highness has only temporarily suppressed the toxicity and needs to rest for a year..."
"The Qin State is eyeing the Zhou Dynasty covetously and has already reached an agreement with the barbarians. The 300,000-strong army at the border is heading towards the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty Empress has sent envoys to urge them three times."
Chu Ning said firmly: "This war concerns the survival of Chu. As the crown prince, how can I live in the palace?"
Shen Wanying was about to persuade him again, but suddenly she covered her stomach and turned pale: "What, 300,000 troops, this... Your Highness... I..."
Chu Ning then realized that her skirt was stained with water and immediately panicked: "Someone! Call Dr. Sun! Quick!"
There were hurried footsteps outside the hall. Chu Ning held Shen Wanying in his arms, feeling her body trembling in pain.
"Your Highness..." Shen Wanying clutched his sleeves tightly: "If I..."
"Don't talk." Chu Ning hugged her tighter: "You and the child will be safe."
Sun Simiao came hurriedly and the hall suddenly became busy.
Chu Ning stood outside the screen, listening to the cries of pain coming from inside, and tightened his grip on the sword at his waist.
At this moment, he suddenly became nervous.
He hadn't felt this nervous in a long time.
And today, Shen Wanying's premature delivery made him feel unprecedented tension.
He was worried about Shen Wanying.
I was also worried about the fetus in Shen Wanying's belly.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps outside the hall interrupted his thoughts.
His face darkened and he turned and walked out. He wanted to see who dared to come and disturb Shen Wanying's delivery at this moment.
When you arrive outside the hall, what comes into view is a shining dragon robe.
The King of Chu is here.
"Your son greets His Majesty!" Chu Ning stepped forward and bowed, but there was still some uneasiness in his eyes.
The King of Chu rarely saw Chu Ning like this. Seeing this, he could not help but raise his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Didn't you say that the birth would take another half a month? Why did it happen earlier?"
Chu Ning frowned and said in a deep voice, "I was going to personally lead an expedition to the Qin State. When the Crown Princess heard about this, she became pregnant and gave birth early."
"What? You want to personally conquer Qin?"
The King of Chu's face changed drastically. He put away his thoughts and looked Chu Ning up and down.
Seeing that Chu Ning was still listless, coughing from time to time, and had not gotten any better, he could not help but say in a cold voice:
"You are in such a bad condition, and you are going to the battlefield. If something happens, won't our Chu army be in danger?"
But Chu Ning was resolute and said in a deep voice: "It is precisely because of my son's health that we must defeat Qin as soon as possible and obtain the Flame Grass to make an antidote."
"Otherwise, even if our army destroyed the Qin State, it would take several months to get the Flame Grass back. It would take too much time to go back and forth."
Emperor Chu said nothing, but just stared at Chu Ning.