Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The bloodshed and smoke of the battle at Juma Plain have not yet completely dissipated in the cold winds of the north, and the mountains of captured supplies are still being counted and transferred.

The identification and disposal of over 100,000 prisoners of war were still proceeding in an orderly manner, and the minds of the feudal lords, still shaken by that earth-shattering battle, had not yet fully recovered. At this delicate moment of transition and unrest, an even more earth-shattering and clearly defined manifesto was issued.

Like a wildfire, it rose from the northern town of Beidi and swept across the entire world in an instant, faster than any news of victory, through various overt and covert channels.

This was not a privately exchanged letter, but a public proclamation to condemn the traitor Zhao Chong!

The proclamation was issued in the name of Prince Jingbei, Xiao Chen. It was strongly worded and powerful, directly targeting the central government of the capital, with its spearhead clearly aimed at Zhao Chong, the Duke of Zhao, who controlled the government and sidelined the young emperor.

The manifesto did not begin by recounting the author's own achievements or lineage, as is typical of manifestos denouncing rebellion; instead, it used sharp, incisive language to directly dissect the ills of the time.

"Emperor Taizu, wielding his three-foot sword, swept across the land, pacified the eight directions, established the foundation of the dynasty, and ushered in three hundred years of peace for the Great Liang. His benevolence spread throughout the four seas, and his laws were passed down to future generations. However, since the passing of the late emperor, the country has been plagued by doubts and instability, the state has been as precarious as a stack of eggs, and the people have suffered greatly. Why is this? It is because there are treacherous officials in the court who obstruct the emperor's hearing, seize power, and disrupt the order of the court!"

Immediately afterwards, the proclamation focused all its attacks on Zhao Chong:

"Zhao Chong was originally a courtier who rose to prominence by chance. He received the late emperor's humble favor and was granted a position in important matters. However, his wolfish ambitions are known to all. When the late emperor was alive, he formed cliques, pursued personal gain, and excluded dissidents. When the late emperor passed away and the young emperor was too young to rule, this scoundrel took advantage of the emperor's youth, using him to command the feudal lords. He outwardly appeared to be assisting the emperor, but inwardly acted like Wang Mang!"

"His first crime was to deceive the emperor and isolate him from the outside world. The emperor, secluded in the inner palace, was unaware of external affairs. All imperial edicts were issued by the traitor Zhao, who forged edicts, usurped power, treated imperial authority as nothing, and placed the emperor as a puppet!"

"His second crime was the persecution of loyal and virtuous officials and the slaughter of his own relatives. Any upright and outspoken person who slightly offended him would be demoted or exiled at best, framed and imprisoned at worst, or even have their entire family executed, their blood staining the execution ground! Even princes and members of the imperial family who had a reputation for virtue or military power were suspected and persecuted by him, either stripped of their titles and imprisoned, or forced to death, resulting in the depletion of the imperial family and the silence of loyal officials in the court!"

"His third crime is the levying of exorbitant taxes and levies, which have afflicted the people. To line his own pockets and amass weapons, he has increased taxes and corvée labor, extorting without restraint, causing farmland to lie fallow, corpses of the starving to litter the fields, and countless people selling their children on the streets! Inside and outside the capital, the rich feast on meat and wine while the roads are littered with the bones of those frozen to death—all the fault of this scoundrel!"

"His fourth crime is his reckless militarism, which has plunged the world into chaos. In order to eliminate dissidents and consolidate his power, he has not hesitated to provoke border conflicts and recklessly wage war! Previously, he framed loyal officials, causing instability in the northern border; now, he has misled the emperor, forged an imperial edict to raise an unjust army, and wagered 200,000 lives on the battlefield to invade us from the north, resulting in the wrongful deaths of soldiers on the frontier, the displacement of people, the depletion of the national treasury, and the chaos of the world! This is not the behavior of a subject; he is truly a traitor to the country!"

The manifesto listed Zhao Chong's "four major crimes," each directly accusing him of abusing his power, being cruel, greedy, and bringing disaster to the country. The language was sharp, and the evidence seemed conclusive, portraying Zhao Chong as a thoroughly treacherous and powerful minister and a major scourge to the country.

Then, the proclamation shifted its tone, clarifying Xiao Chen's stance and the "righteous" justification for his uprising:

"I, a descendant of the founding emperor, was enfeoffed in the northern frontier and have received the emperor's favor for generations. I have guarded the border day and night without fail. I originally wished to sweep away the barbarian hordes and protect the common people to repay the late emperor even in the slightest. However, witnessing the traitor Zhao's perverse actions, the imminent collapse of the state, the tarnishing of the imperial regalia, and the weeping of the people, I am always heartbroken and unable to sleep at night! If I continue to sit idly by and watch treacherous officials run rampant, the country will cease to be a country, and the emperor will cease to be a ruler, how can I face my ancestors in the afterlife? How can I face the expectations of the millions of soldiers and civilians in the north?"

"Therefore, we have been ordered by Heaven and in accordance with the will of the people to raise an army. This is not out of rebellion, but to purge the court of corrupt officials and punish the traitor Zhao!"

"Purge the court of corrupt officials and execute the traitor Zhao!"

These six words, emphasized repeatedly in bold, sounded like the beating of war drums, proclaiming the "legitimacy" of Xiao Chen's uprising.

He positioned himself as a "loyal minister" and "relative of the emperor," pointing the finger at Zhao Chong and his cronies, while portraying the young emperor Xiao Yan as a pitiful puppet who was deceived and controlled by powerful ministers and needed him to "cleanse the court" and "protect the emperor."

"I raised an army solely to eliminate the traitors, return power to the emperor, cleanse the court, and bring peace to the world! Any soldier or official of my Great Liang who can distinguish between loyalty and treachery and abandon darkness for light will be offered a position by me, and I will not hold past transgressions against him!"

Those people under heaven who have suffered at the hands of the traitor Zhao, I, the king, will surely avenge you and restore justice to you! Lords of the four directions, those who can raise the banner of righteousness together to punish the traitor, I, the king, wish to swear brotherhood with them and jointly support the state!

Anyone who stubbornly persists in their ways, willingly becoming a lackey of the traitor Zhao, and making enemies of the world, will be met with my mighty army, crossing borders and annihilating them without mercy!

The manifesto concludes with a magnificent oath:

"The day this proclamation arrives will be the day Zhao the traitor is executed! Heaven and earth, gods and men, bear witness! The fate of our ancestors and our nation rests on this one act! All those with blood in their veins should rise up!"

The proclamation was stamped with the golden seal of the Prince of Jingbei and Xiao Chen's personal seal.

The ink is dripping and penetrating the paper, as if it contains the power and determination of a thousand troops.

This manifesto was like throwing a scorching hot boulder into an already boiling pot of oil!

In the capital, the destructive power of this proclamation was no less than that of 100,000 elite troops besieging the city.

The court, already paralyzed by the disastrous defeat in the Northern Expedition and Zhao Chong's illness, was thrown into complete chaos.

Zhao Chong's faction was filled with shock and anger, and they cursed Xiao Chen for "wolf-like ambition" and "falsely accusing him with an imperial edict," but their voices sounded so pale and powerless in the face of the overwhelming panic and the contents of the proclamation circulating in the dark.

Many other officials remained silent, secretly plotting and exchanging glances with their colleagues.

Crown Prince Xiao Jue was both shocked and furious. He was shocked that Xiao Chen had finally torn off all pretense and turned his attention directly to the central government; he was furious that the proclamation completely ignored him as the crown prince, as if he were just a puppet in Zhao Chong's hands, which made him feel extremely humiliated and terrified.

Meanwhile, among the common people, the content of the proclamation spread rapidly through various clandestine means, and the slogan "Purge the court of corrupt officials and execute the traitor Zhao" began to quietly take root in the hearts of desperate civilians and soldiers at the grassroots level.

Zhao Chong's perverse actions over the years have long aroused the wrath of both heaven and man. Now that someone has raised the banner and openly condemned him, many people, though not daring to speak out, have had a certain expectation quietly ignited deep within their hearts.

Among the various feudal lords, the reactions were even more complex.

When the King of Wu, the King of Chu, and others received the copy of the proclamation, their feelings were a mixture of emotions.

They could certainly see that Xiao Chen was "using righteousness to command the princes," giving his future southward campaign the most "correct" and "just" guise.

But it must be said that this flag was raised extremely cleverly!

"Purge the court of corrupt officials and execute the traitor Zhao Chong" – by targeting the already infamous Zhao Chong, they could maximize their moral advantage while avoiding premature confrontation with the entire "court" and other imperial clan forces.

This plunged them into a deeper dilemma: should they acknowledge this banner, tacitly approve or even support Xiao Chen's "purge of the court of corrupt officials"? That would be tantamount to acknowledging Xiao Chen's "leadership" status, and they would likely have to rely on him from now on.

Is it opposition? On what grounds is it opposition? Are we to stand up and defend Zhao Chong, this "traitor"? Wouldn't that be going against the will of the people?

In the northern regions and the newly annexed Youzhou, the proclamation played a significant role in uniting and mobilizing the people.

The military and civilians alike held Xiao Chen in high esteem and deeply resented the court controlled by Zhao Chong.

Seeing their prince finally raise the banner of "purging the court of corrupt officials and eliminating traitors," and officially take up the mantle of saving the world, everyone was filled with excitement and high morale.

In the streets and alleys, in teahouses and taverns, people eagerly read and discussed the contents of the manifesto. The accusations against Zhao Chong were widely accepted, and the "righteous" actions of the Prince of Jingbei were highly praised. Countless people enthusiastically joined the army and became his supporters.

Zhenbei City, the royal palace is located high up.

Xiao Chen stood by the railing, looking down at the city below, which was now even more bustling and vibrant because of the release of the manifesto.

Han Lie, Chen Dao, Murong Xue, Wang Dashan and other core confidants stood behind him, each with an excited expression on their face.

"Your Majesty, the proclamation has been issued, and the world is in turmoil!"

Han Lie could not hide his excitement, "With the banner of 'Purge the court of corrupt officials and punish the traitor Zhao,' we are now a righteous army, and the hearts and minds of the people are clearly divided!"

Xiao Chen's gaze was calm as he looked south and slowly said, "A flag is just a flag; the key lies in the people under that flag and the power they wield. Zhao Chong is already a skeleton in a tomb, nothing to worry about. The court in the capital is also an empty shell. What we want has never been to eliminate Zhao Chong or protect a young emperor."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over his trusted confidants. His voice, though not loud, carried an undeniable authority: "What we want is to reshape the world and rebuild our land. This banner of 'Purge the Emperor's Corrupt Officials' is our first step southward, a tool to unite hearts and minds and divide the enemy. Next, we will plant this banner on every inch of land we have traversed. We will tell our soldiers, the people of the North and Youzhou, and the entire world—"

Xiao Chen's voice suddenly rose, echoing clearly and firmly above the city wall:

"With traitors in power and the imperial weapon obscured, only strong medicine can cure this deep-seated disease, and only a sharp blade can cut through the mess! We raise an army, in accordance with the mandate of Heaven and the will of the people, to purge the court of corrupt officials, punish the traitor Zhao, and restore order to the world!"

All who wish to follow this banner, regardless of their origin, but based on their sincerity, can share in peace! All who obstruct this righteous cause, whether relatives or powerful vassals, are accomplices of the traitor Zhao, and the whole world shall condemn them!

"We will obey the king's command! We will purge the court of corrupt officials, execute the traitor Zhao, restore order to the world, and bring peace and prosperity back to the land!" The generals responded with a thunderous roar, their voices shaking the heavens.

The cause of righteousness has been established, and the hearts and minds of the people are yet to be determined.

The next step is to plant this flag on the walls of the capital, and in every corner of this shattered land.

With the Cold Abyss Iron Cavalry in hand and the righteous cause at his disposal, Xiao Chen had already made the final preparations to march south.

The southern sky was overcast with dark clouds and distant thunder. A greater storm that would determine the fate of the world was slowly brewing under the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle."