I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 166 Enemies meet
Three days later.

Chu Zhao came to the Mansion of Marquis Zhenxi as agreed.

This was once the residence of the Yu family, one of the wealthy families in Western Chu.

Yu Xiaoruo, the head of the Yu family, was once one of the four pillars of Western Chu. He was both civil and military, and served as the Grand Marshal of Western Chu.

The other three pillars were: Prime Minister Weng Hongyi of Western Chu, General Yuchi Lin, and National Master Ning Shizhe of Western Chu.

When the city of Lausanne was broken, the emperor and queen of Western Chu burned themselves to death. Prime Minister Weng Hongyi and national teacher Ning Shizhe refused to surrender and committed suicide by taking poison. General Yuchi Lin died in a bloody battle.

Of the four pillars of Western Chu, only the Grand Commandant Yu Xiaoruo survived, and he surrendered to Beili with most of the civil officials.

The character of literati is nothing more than this...haha!
Of course, the surrendered officials of Western Chu did not have an easy time in Beili either.

At the beginning, Emperor Tai'an still had some dignity and only suppressed them secretly, but at least he could allow them to gain a foothold in Tianqi City.

But in the ninth year of Taihe, after the Beili Imperial Astronomical Observatory gave a prophecy, Emperor Tai'an openly suppressed the surrendered officials of Western Chu and even resorted to assassination. The officials who surrendered to Beili either had their families destroyed or died.

For example, the Yu family, which was once extremely prominent in Western Chu, withdrew from Tianqi City under suppression. Hundreds of Yu clan members were assassinated one after another, and now only twenty or thirty members are left struggling to support the city.

Once Yu Xiaoruo of Xiaoyao Tianjing dies, I'm afraid the destruction of the Yu family will be imminent.

Chu Zhao glanced at the four big characters "Zhenxi Marquis Mansion" on the plaque, stepped forward and handed over the Baili family's invitation. The doorman left a message saying "Dear guest, please wait a moment" and hurried in.

Before long, a group of people came hurriedly.

The leader was wearing heavy armor. Although his hair and beard were all white, and the wrinkles on his face were like knife cuts, full of traces of time, his expression was still firm, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and he was intimidating without being angry.

As he walked, he had the gait of a dragon and a tiger, leaving no doubt that as long as he raised his sword, he would still be the Marquis of Beili Zhenxi - Baili Luochen, who was still unafraid of the thousands of troops standing before him.

Looking at Baili Luochen, Chu Zhao couldn't help but think of a character in a novel - King Xu Xiao of Beiliang!

He is just a lot older than King Xu Xiao of Beiliang, but his aura is probably not inferior to Xu Xiao. I don’t know whether he will go to the snow world in the future and whether he can meet the King of Beiliang.

Just as Chu Zhao was thinking this, Baili Luochen had already approached with his men. A flash of amazement flashed in his eyes, and he exclaimed sincerely: "As expected of the offspring of those two, he is indeed handsome and extraordinary."

I have heard that the Ninth Prince of Western Chu is handsome, but Baili Luochen did not expect him to be so extraordinary.

He had also seen the peerless handsome young master Liu Yue, but in terms of appearance, young master Liu Yue was far inferior to the ninth prince of Western Chu.

However, the emperor of Western Chu at that time was a handsome man, and the Queen was the most beautiful woman in Western Chu. Even if you look at the whole world, she is one of the most beautiful women.

It was normal for the couple's only child to be handsome.

What really shocked Baili Luochen was Chu Zhao's temperament.

Temperament is a mysterious thing. It cannot be seen or touched, but it can be felt by people.

He is obviously a handsome and elegant gentleman, but he does not give people the feeling of being as gentle as jade as a gentleman, but rather heroic and domineering. He exudes an imperial aura that seems as if the world is in his hands and everything is under his control.

Looking at Baili Luochen who was looking at him with a smile, Chu Zhao sighed: "Alas~ It is said that when enemies meet, they are particularly jealous. You greeted me with a smile and praised me all the time, which made me feel embarrassed to attack you."

"Humph, you are young but you are so arrogant. Do you think my Baili family is a place where you can do whatever you want?"

Chu Zhao turned his head slightly, looked at Baili Chengfeng who had spoken, and smiled faintly: "How about giving it a try?"

At the same time, Baili Luochen also turned around to look at his son, and said in a dignified manner: "When did it become your turn to be the master of my Baili family?"

"Father……"

"Shut up!"

Baili Luochen shouted angrily and apologized, "My son is rude. I hope Master Chu will forgive me. Master, please!"

"Lord Baili, please!"

The group arrived at a secluded courtyard deep in the mansion of the Marquis of Zhenxi. Baili Luochen waved away the personal guards who had accompanied them and politely invited Chu Zhao into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Baili Dongjun was talking to Wen Luoyu, while Wen Hujiu was sitting beside them, drinking some wine.

Seeing Chu Zhao and Baili father and son come in, all three of them stood up.

Wen Luoyu smiled and nodded as a greeting.

He warmed the pot of wine and bowed slightly as a greeting from the younger generation.

Only Baili Dongjun said carelessly: "Chu Zhao, you haven't told me why you don't want to be friends with me."

Chu Zhao was speechless: "Because you are too stupid. I don't want to be friends with a fool. It's tiring!"

"Am I stupid?" Baili Dongjun turned to look at his uncle.

Wenhujiu nodded, "Yes, he is a little silly, but silly in a cute way. It's his loss if he doesn't want to be friends with you."

Seeing that Baili Dongjun was about to speak, Baili Luochen took the lead and said, "Ninth Prince, please."

Chu Zhao didn't say anything polite and sat down above the warm pot of wine, leaving the main seat to Baili Luochen.

After everyone sat down, Baili Dongjun began to pour wine for everyone.

When it was Chu Zhao's turn, Baili Dongjun asked, "Did you drink today?"

Chu Zhao shook his head and said, "No, thank you!"

"Are you afraid that we might poison the wine?"

"I don't like drinking because it can easily cause me to make mistakes."

Chu Zhao looked at Wen Luoyu in surprise and chuckled, "As for the worry about poisoning...you can ask your brother, but I heard from the Wen family that the Crown Prince's Concubine's poison technique is even better than Wenhujiu. The Crown Prince's Concubine can try to see if she can poison me to death."

"You're joking, young master." Wen Luoyu said with a smile, thinking that it seemed that her brother didn't tell anyone about the Lihuo matter, and she felt relieved immediately.

To be honest, she was really afraid that Chu Zhao would take advantage of Lihuo's initiative to take action.

"Then just have some fun for now, Princess." Chu Zhao said with a smile, "Drink your own drinks, don't worry about me."

Baili Luochen really just drank with his family, not acting like a host at all. Chu Zhao didn't care either, and also ate his food by himself, not treating himself as a guest at all.

After three rounds of drinking, Baili Luochen suddenly asked, "Ninth Prince, what do you think of Qiandong City?"

Chu Zhao paused with his outstretched chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth. After chewing it slowly and swallowing it, he spoke: "Yes, the people are simple and honest, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. They should be even better than the Western Chu Emperor back then."

Baili Luochen was stunned: "If I remember correctly, not long after the Ninth Prince was born, Western Chu was destroyed."

Chu Zhao understood what Baili Luochen meant and said with a smile, "Indeed, I have not seen the former Chu Jing, nor have I seen my father several times, but I have more or less heard about his situation. Although my father was not a tyrant, he was not a wise ruler either. Apart from his outstanding appearance, he was only average in other aspects. He was at best a ruler who maintained the status quo. The Western Chu under his rule was not prosperous, and it was probably not as good as the current Qiandong City."

Chu Zhao paused for a moment and continued, "Besides, the war between Western Chu and Northern Li was constant back then. Even in the capital of Western Chu, people were probably in a state of panic. The overall atmosphere was far inferior to that of Qiandong City today. Lord Baili was good at managing the army and the local area. I admire him very much."

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince is too kind."

Chu Zhao shook his head and said slowly: "It's just that no matter how good this Qiandong City is, it is still your Baili family's Qiandong City, not our Xichu's Luosang City."

"What if I give Qiandong City to the Ninth Prince?"

Chu Zhao shook his head: "Lord Baili, what I want is not Qiandong City, but Luosang City, the former capital of Western Chu."

"How about adding my life to it?"

"You want to use your life to exchange for world peace?"

Baili Luochen nodded and sighed: "The world has finally settled down, and the people can't stand the turmoil."

Chu Zhao smiled and said, "What have your Beili people got to do with my Xichu?"

Baili Luochen took a sip of wine and said, "Now, Beili is the only one in the world. If the Ninth Prince wants to restore his country, only if Tianwaitian goes west, Nanjue goes north, and Beiman goes south to attack Beili together and cause chaos in the world, the Ninth Prince will have a chance. But once the world is in chaos, not only the people of Beili, but also the people of Xichu, Nanjue, and Beique will be caught in the flames of war. Even if the Ninth Prince does not consider the people of Beili, he should consider the people of Xichu. I'm afraid they can't stand the war, right?"

Chu Zhao smiled and asked, "Lord Baili, do you know what happened to the people of Western Chu in your Beili territory after the fall of Western Chu?"

Baili Luochen choked and nodded with difficulty: "I know a little."

"Since you know, you should also know that it is you, Beili, who are not giving us a way to live."

Baili Chengfeng objected: "It's not that we don't want you to live, it's that you have been resisting, so we Beili naturally have to suppress you."

"Then may I ask, Prince, why did the millions of people of Western Chu rebel?"

“Because they can’t let go of their homeland.”

"I never thought that the son of Zhenxi Marquis would be so naive."

Chu Zhao sneered, "Perhaps some people will be reluctant to give up their homeland, but most people don't care who the emperor is. If Beili can give them a stable life, why would they be reluctant to give up their homeland? The reason they are rebelling is that after you, Beili, destroyed Xichu, you did not regard the people of Xichu as your Beili people, but regarded them as slaves, constantly oppressing them and not giving them a way to live."

"Back then, you, the people of Western Chu, took the initiative to provoke the war. You people of Western Chu should naturally be punished, right?"

Chu Zhao did not comment and asked, "Do you know how many cities there were in Beili when Xiao Yi, the ancestor of the Xiao family, founded the country?"

Baili Chengfeng didn't know why Chu Zhao suddenly asked such a question out of nowhere, and snorted, "How can I know what happened a hundred years ago?"

"When Xiao Yi founded the country and ascended the throne, Beili only had thirty-six cities. How many cities does Beili have now?"

Without Baili Chengfeng's reply, Chu Zhao gave the answer.

"One hundred and sixty-three cities. Among the extra one hundred and twenty-seven cities, sixty-one cities belong to my Western Chu. When Western Chu was destroyed, there were only eleven cities. If we continue to allow you, the Northern Li, to nibble away at us, my Western Chu will also be destroyed."

Chu Zhao stared at Baili Chengfeng and said with a smile: "Prince Baili, if you were the emperor of Western Chu, what would you choose? Would you watch helplessly as the country went to ruin, or would you make one last gamble?"

Baili Chengfeng was silent. If it were him, he would probably make one last fight.

"At least from the perspective of the people of Western Chu, there was nothing wrong with my father's last gamble. Otherwise, he wouldn't have won the support of all the court officials, and even the Confucian Immortal would have been willing to donate his medicine skills for free. It's just that we, Western Chu, lost in the end, so you, Beili, can stand on the moral high ground and accuse us, Western Chu, of initiating the war and deserve to be punished."

Chu Zhao smiled faintly and continued, "Of course, we lost, and there is nothing to say. The emperors of Western Chu were useless and could not even keep their family business, so I don't really have any regrets. It is said that it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times. Of course, I don't want to see the people of the world caught in the flames of war, but the people of Western Chu are worse than dogs in Beili."

"Who can't say nice things? All you say is just an excuse to restore your country and become emperor, and a reason for your own ambition." Baili Chengfeng curled his lips.

Baili Luochen said nothing, but just looked at his son coldly.

Anyone who knows Baili Luochen knows that he is really angry.

Wen Luoyu pulled her husband and whispered, "You should stop talking. If you can say something like "It's better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times", how could it be for the things you said?"

It is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times. Is there no such saying in this world?

Chu Zhao was stunned, but did not investigate further. He then looked at Baili Luochen and said, "Lord Baili, tell me what guilt the people of the world have. Then tell me, are the ordinary people of Xichu innocent?"

Baili Luochen was silent.

"You advised me to consider the people of Western Chu, but have you ever heard that sometimes dignity is more important than life? Just go and ask a Western Chu person, are they willing to be pigs and dogs in Beili, or are they willing to die for the restoration of their country?"

Baili Luochen lowered his head in silence. After a long while, he raised his head and said seriously, "I will write to His Majesty about the problem you mentioned."

"You should know that Xiao Chongjing won't listen."

Calling His Majesty by his name was such a disrespectful act that Baili Luochen found it difficult to respond. The key point was that he knew that Chu Zhao was right, so he could only smile bitterly.

"If you invited me to the Zhenxi Marquis' Mansion in order to persuade me to give up restoring my country with your own death, so as to preserve the world's illusory peace, I can only say: your death alone is not enough. I will restore this country, and I will take back all the cities that once belonged to Western Chu!"

Chu Zhao took the wine pot and poured himself a glass of wine: "Although you and I are enemies, I still admire you very much. This glass of wine is for you, for your righteousness, and for your willingness to die for the people of the world."

Baili Luochen raised his glass and clinked it with Chu Zhao's, then drank it all in one gulp and sighed, "It seems we will only meet on the battlefield in the future."

Chu Zhao nodded and looked at Baili Dongjun.

"Now you know, because your grandfather may not be loyal to the Emperor of Beili, but he is definitely loyal to the world of Beili. He will not allow me to restore the country. So you can't wait for ten years. Within one or two years, the war will break out."

After saying that, Chu Zhao put down his wine glass and changed the subject: "However, I think that your father and grandfather dying on the battlefield is actually a good destination, especially your grandfather. He is already half buried in the earth anyway, so it is better for him to die on the battlefield. He only knows how to die for his country on the battlefield, why bother to return home wrapped in horsehide!"

Baili Luochen was shocked and laughed loudly, "Great, great sentence! If you want to die for your country on the battlefield, why should you return home wrapped in horsehide? You should drink a full cup, Dongjun, pour wine for the Ninth Prince!"

"I don't drink."

(End of this chapter)