knife

Chapter 654 Certificate of Surrender

"Prime Minister, I will be taking up my post in Xuan'an County tomorrow!" Zhou Zheng cupped his hands in greeting to Xiong Yi and said.

Xiong Yi looked older and more haggard.

They originally thought that by overthrowing Jiang Qian, the Chu Kingdom could return to normalcy, but unexpectedly, things went from bad to worse every day.

When Jiang Qian was in power, the State of Chu was still ambitiously planning a northern expedition, hoping to take advantage of the chaos in the State of Qin to seize the eight towns south of the Yangtze River and push the battle line further north.

But now, not only are the eight towns of Jiangnan hopeless, but Yong'an and Ruyin have also been lost, and now even Tong'an County cannot be saved. What is even more worrying is that Na Wei has seized control of the government and is now frantically installing his own people, demoting his faction's people out of Danyang.

Zhou Zheng's Xuan'an County was the result of repeated negotiations and struggles, while others were directly exiled by Na Wei to the southwest, which was his stronghold. It is conceivable that once those people arrived there, they would be lucky to even protect themselves, let alone do anything.

"The General will be back soon!" Xiong Yi said. "But Tong'an County has also been lost. Xuan'an County, which you are about to go to, will soon become the front line of the battle against Jiang Qian."

"Taking Tong'an County has already reached their limit. I even think they will use Tong'an as a buffer zone with us! In the next few years, Jiang Qian will consolidate the eight towns of Jiangnan. You know, the only ones she can truly control are Ruyin and Yong'an." Zhou Zheng said, "So I'm not worried about the situation in Xuan'an. When I get there, I plan to recruit a lot of young men from Tong'an to my Xuan'an County. Don't worry, Prime Minister, within three to five years, I will definitely build Xuan'an into our bridgehead for counterattack."

"I trust you to do things!" Xiong Yi said.

"Next, we'll have to see how you, Grand Secretary and General, clash with Na Wei in the central government!" Zhou Zheng pointed to his head: "If this part isn't functioning properly, no matter how strong our limbs are, we probably won't be able to unleash our full power!"

"Before the Danyang Incident, Jiang Qian sent Shang Rong, Cheng Zhen, and Lu Yiding to the southwest. That was a good thing. Hopefully, these three can do something in the southwest. If they can destabilize Na Wei's stronghold, that will be a great help to us!"

"Without the support of the imperial court, they will likely face even greater difficulties over there!" Zhou Zheng sighed.

“Granny Shang isn’t as fragile as you think!” Xiong Yi laughed. “Jiang Qian has a sharp eye for people and doesn’t stick to any particular style. Even though she knew Granny Shang was not convinced by her, she still dared to use her.”

Zhou Zheng snorted: "Anyway, in this part of the Southwest, if Shang Rong can get things done, it's because Jiang Qian is good at using people. If she can't get things done or even dies there, it's because Shang Rong brought it on herself. No matter how you look at it, Jiang Qian is not at a loss!"

“She dared to use Shang Rong; that shows her magnanimity!” Xiong Yi said. “Zhou Zheng, if it weren’t for the undeniable fact that this vixen killed the late emperor, I wouldn’t care even if she continued to rule.”

"She murdered two emperors of our Great Chu!" Zhou Zheng's face was contorted with rage. "Ten years old! His Majesty was only ten years old, and he grew up with her. How could she do such a thing!"

Xiong Yi closed his eyes.

This is political infighting; all sentimentality is superfluous. Everyone involved in these matters has no say in their own life or death.

The two were relatively speechless.

A voice suddenly rang out from outside the study.

"Your Excellency, someone from the palace has come to invite you to the palace for a meeting. The person also said that they have sent someone to invite Prefect Zhou. Since Prefect Zhou is here, please invite him to the palace as well!"

Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. It was one thing to invite Xiong Yi to the palace for a meeting, but Zhou Zheng had already been appointed as the prefect of Xuan'an, which was a demotion, and he had already resigned from his post. Why was he also among those summoned?

"What's happened now?" Zhou Zheng asked. "It's probably news that the General has decided to abandon Tong'an County, and it's already been reported back!" Xiong Yi said, "How could Wei not take this opportunity to cause trouble?"

"I'm afraid the General will have to swallow his anger this time!" Zhou Zheng said.

“Indeed, losses of soldiers and generals naturally require someone to take responsibility. However, the General has already paid a heavy price by losing his eldest son on the battlefield. At most, he will be punished with a salary reduction and demotion. Does the General care about that?” Xiong Yi said dismissively, “Let’s go and see Na Wei!”

"I really don't want to see his face!" Zhou Zheng said helplessly.

“When you’re under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head. Once you go to Xuan’an and train an army even stronger than the Tiger Legion, you won’t have to be subservient to him anymore!” Xiong Yi said.

The Imperial Palace, the Inner Study.

Originally, this was the place where the emperor usually studied and discussed matters, but now it has been occupied by that grand and imposing place.

Outside, the cold wind howled, and inside, only a charcoal fire was lit, which was barely enough to make ends meet. But Chen Yan, who was sitting opposite Wei, was pale, and large drops of sweat splattered onto the blue bricks, soaking a large area in front of him.

"Within ten days, Zhou Zheng colluded with Zhang Ke to spend all three million taels of silver in the account." Na Wei laughed, "If it weren't for Vice Minister Zhu's expertise in accounting, I would have had a hard time finding out where the money went!"

“Your Highness, this money is all for building new warships. It is absolutely not because we officials embezzled or broke the law. Without ships, we cannot turn the tide on the great river. If we do not have ships, we will not be able to turn the tide on the great river. There is no future for Great Chu!” Chen Yan said.

“You’re right!” Na Wei nodded and said, “Xiong Yi and the others underestimate me too much. I have no objection to spending this money on shipbuilding. But Chen Yan, what is your choice?”

Under Na Wei's intense gaze, Chen Yan swallowed hard, hesitated for a long time, and finally slowly stood up and knelt down on one knee in front of Na Wei.

"Chen Yan is willing to serve the regent king with utmost loyalty!"

The great man laughed and stepped out from behind the large table. He personally helped Chen Yan up and said, "Xiang Ying lost tens of thousands of troops in Tong'an County, suffering heavy losses and losing territory. He deserves to die a thousand deaths. Hmph, does he think that dying in Tong'an County can atone for his crimes? Don't even think about it! General Chen is a hero. Standing with me at this time will surely be a great help to me!"

"Your Highness, I, I..."

“General Chen, after you take down the Xiang family this time, you can go directly to Yunwu Mountain to reorganize the navy!” Na Wei said calmly, “How can you gain people’s trust with just empty words? To put it bluntly, you need to have a pledge of loyalty.”

Chen Yan looked at Na Wei's face, which was gradually turning cold, and finally bowed and said, "This subordinate obeys. What does Your Highness wish me to do?"

Na Wei laughed and patted Chen Yan on the shoulder, "That's more like it!"

A moment later, Chen Yan hurriedly left the palace. Just as he stepped out of the imperial city gate, a speeding carriage passed in front of him and then stopped. A head popped out of the carriage window, and a somewhat surprised voice rang in his ear: "General Chen Yan?"

Chen Yan turned around and saw Zhou Zheng's face. He paused for a moment, cupped his hands in greeting, said nothing, and quickened his pace to walk outside.

"It's Chen Yan!" Zhou Zheng looked at Xiong Yi. "Prime Minister, I... I have a bad feeling!"

(End of this chapter)