With the cannon fodder script in hand, it is easy for the king to change his fate

"Your Majesty, in less than two months, our Chu Kingdom has already lost seven cities, all of which were opened by the people themselves and surrendered to that King Canglan."

In the Chu Kingdom, on the Golden Palace, Yuan Cheng sat on the dragon throne and heard the words he least wanted to hear.

Despite his enjoyment of the pleasures, he still felt panicked when he heard that cities were being lost one after another.

What's most terrifying isn't losing cities, but how they were lost.

To lose without a fight—we've already lost seven cities before even starting a battle. Who can stand that?

If we don't find a solution now, given the current momentum of the Canglan King, he will eventually attack the capital. What good days will he, the king of Chu, have then?
"waste!"

"They're all a bunch of useless trash!"

Yuan Cheng angrily retorted, "You've only just reported back after losing seven cities so easily, without even engaging in battle! Is there no one to guard our Chu border? Where are those who are supposed to be guarding the border? Don't you feel ashamed?"

"Who is guarding these seven cities?" he asked.

For a moment, the entire court was silent, their faces showing disbelief, shock, and ashen paleness. How had their Chu ruler become like this?

They remembered the former kings of Chu, who did not look like this.

"Whoever it is, issue an imperial decree that they must recapture the seven cities within a month, or their entire family will be executed!" Yuan Cheng said.

However, the entire Golden Palace remained quiet, and surprisingly, not a single minister spoke.

He sensed something was amiss, glanced down, and saw that the faces of the ministers in front of him looked rather grim. A bad feeling washed over him, but he steadied himself and asked, "Anything else?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's no use. The gates of seven cities were opened by the common people. The fact that it went so smoothly means that it wasn't just the common people who were involved. The officials and generals responsible for managing and guarding these cities... they've all defected to King Canglan." The minister at the front finished speaking, his clothes soaked through.

A few years ago, the Canglan King suddenly became famous in Yunzhou, but nobody really cared.

Yunzhou has always been a lawless and extremely complicated place. Today it's the Canglan King, tomorrow it might be someone else. It's chaotic and truly uncontrollable, making it very difficult to accomplish anything there.

Not only Chu, but also Liang and other small countries probably didn't take the situation in Yunzhou seriously.

Even after hearing that changes had occurred in Yunzhou, and that the Canglan King was gaining momentum and vaguely intended to rule the entire Yunzhou, no one paid any attention. They always thought that the place was chaotic and that the Canglan King's glory wouldn't last long.

Later, news spread that under the rule of King Canglan, the people of Yunzhou lived in peace and prosperity.

From other countries, many refugees and people who could no longer survive flocked to Yunzhou with the hope of taking a gamble, and similar news became increasingly common.

At this point, the State of Chu actually started to take it more seriously.

However, Yunzhou is far from here, and the people of Chu are all complacent. They only inquired about the situation in Yunzhou and never thought that this little Canglan King would bring any changes to the world situation.

They also inquired about the situation in Liang Kingdom, and it seemed they hadn't taken any action against Yunzhou. If Liang Kingdom wasn't taking any action, then they wouldn't either; they didn't really think Yunzhou was a good place.

I've heard that some small tribes and kingdoms tried to take over Yunzhou, but failed and were severely punished. This further confirms that the people of Yunzhou are a mixed bag and extremely fierce; it's best not to make any moves lightly.

In any case, whatever happens in Yunzhou won't affect the State of Chu.

Little did anyone know... Yunzhou began to openly accept refugees.

There are countless refugees in the world, and the Chu Kingdom even has to prevent them from fleeing to the capital and causing trouble. At the time, they even mocked the Canglan King of Yunzhou for being foolish, waiting for her to lose face and making a fool of herself. Unexpectedly... the refugees didn't affect Yunzhou at all; on the contrary, there was even more good news about Yunzhou.

At this point, they finally took it seriously and sent people to investigate.

They initially planned to sneak in, but Yunzhou had very strict regulations on the movement of people, making it impossible to enter secretly. However, they discovered that as long as they registered, they could enter openly.

It seems that the people in Yunzhou are not afraid of outsiders coming in to inquire about anything.

Soon, they learned about the situation in Yunzhou and were greatly surprised.

How could it be so rich?

That's Yunzhou, shouldn't it be a poor and desolate place? How come it sounds more prosperous than their Chu capital?

They couldn't believe it, but the situation in the world had changed once again. While they were pondering countermeasures, King Canglan revealed his ambition and began to quietly annex the cities of Liang and Chu.

This time, it wasn't just the Chu Kingdom that suffered losses; many cities in the Liang Kingdom also fell into the hands of King Canglan.

It was all like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, happening silently and gradually. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.

It's even more terrifying than starting a war.

If the King of Canglan were to attack them, they could at least send troops to resist.

But as officials, soldiers, and people in city after city submit to King Canglan, how can they resist?
They understood perfectly well that the State of Chu had lost the hearts of its people.

Given the situation in Yunzhou, which commoner wouldn't yearn for it?

They also knew why those officials and soldiers were willing to pledge allegiance to King Canglan. Thinking of this, the ministers looked at each other, not knowing what to say, but each of them had a little fear and unease on their faces.

How did things suddenly develop to this point?

Even sitting on the dragon throne, Yuan Cheng couldn't help but feel weak in the knees, his eyes glazed over, and his mind went blank.

How could this be?

The Golden Palace remained quiet. When Yuan Cheng raised his head and looked down, he realized that all the ministers were staring at him.

He found it amusing, and suddenly burst into maniacal laughter: "What are you all looking at me for?"

"Hahahaha, do you think you can take back those seven cities just by looking at me like that?"

"Don't you all love to argue all the time? You always seem to have the most to say, and I can't even argue with you. Why are you all so silent today?"

"Was it because you were in such a hurry to go to court that you forgot to bring your tongue?"

Yuan Cheng's eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his hand on the armrest, his palm turning red, but he felt no pain.

"Hahaha, the people willingly submitted to King Canglan, or perhaps it should be said that they couldn't wait to follow him? The officials and soldiers also followed him willingly. Why do you think that is?"

He had once thought that as the ruler of Chu, ruling the world, he would eventually resolve these issues. Later, he realized it was incredibly difficult! He seemed unable to do it. (End of Chapter)