lcionline Chapter 231 is truly a good show!
Chapter 231 is truly a good show!
Inside the Golden Palace, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost suffocating.
The once solemn and dignified imperial court was now filled with an indescribable sense of humiliation and dejection.
The ministers stood with their heads bowed, their faces ashen, veins bulging on their clenched fists, yet none dared to utter a word.
Their gazes, filled with anger, shame, or helplessness, were all focused on the arrogant Liang Dynasty delegation in the center of the hall.
The Liang Dynasty delegation consisted of only a dozen or so people, but each of them stood tall and proud, with arrogant expressions, as if they were the true masters of this Golden Palace.
The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a magnificent four-clawed python robe, with a fair complexion and eyes that were sharp and arrogant like a hawk.
He was the younger brother of the Liang Dynasty emperor, Prince Zhaoxian—Lu Cong.
At this moment, he was holding a scroll of gold silk, and in a completely emotionless tone, he was reading out the terms:
"...In summary, the Great Yu shall additionally cede the border states of Yun, Meng, Ze, Ying, Yong, Qu, and Wu, totaling seven prefectures and ten cities; and pay compensation of fifteen million taels of gold."
"Furthermore, Princess Yuning of your esteemed country must be sent to the capital of our Great Liang Dynasty soon to serve as a maid to His Highness the Crown Prince, in order to atone for your offenses..."
With each line read aloud, the expressions of the courtiers in the hall grew increasingly grim.
Those extremely harsh conditions were like whips lashing at everyone's faces, causing a burning pain!
On the dragon throne, Emperor Li Jing's face was ashen, his brows furrowed, as if water could be wrung out of them.
"Your country's conditions... are far too harsh. The seven provinces are the shield of our Great Yu, and there is absolutely no way we can give them all up."
He suppressed his anger and said in a hoarse voice, "I...I can only cede five more border cities at most. As for the ten million taels of gold, the national treasury is empty, and it is simply impossible to raise the funds in a short time..."
"Hmph!" Lu Cong snorted coldly and casually threw the gold and silk on the ground.
He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Li Jing, who sat high on the dragon throne, with an air of superiority that left no room for argument:
"Your Majesty Li Jing, I am not negotiating with you! This is an ultimatum!"
He paused, a cold smile curving his lips, and said in a more emphasizing tone:
"His Highness the Crown Prince has specifically instructed that you have only three days! If you do not see what His Highness desires within three days, you can prepare to collect the corpses of Prince Rui and his wife!"
"Oh, by the way, His Highness the Crown Prince also said that he is very interested in the granddaughter of that Great Yu Military God... When the time comes, let's send her over as a bed warmer."
Looking at the other party's self-righteous attitude and almost humiliating remarks.
The ministers felt a rush of heat to their heads, their faces turning red and white in turns, filled with immense shame and indignation.
The enemy has come to their doorstep, brazenly taking advantage of them in the imperial palace, and these subjects, who live off the emperor's bounty, can only watch helplessly, powerless to do anything...
This feeling of suffocation almost made their chests burst.
Several loyal and righteous veteran officials were so angry that they trembled and wanted to step forward to rebuke them, but when they thought of the powerful national strength of the Great Liang and its million iron cavalry that were watching them with predatory eyes, they could only turn into silent, bitter sighs.
Faced with such an absolute disparity in strength, any words seem pale and powerless, only inviting disaster.
Li Jing's face was so gloomy it could drip water.
He naturally didn't care about the life or death of Prince Rui and his wife, nor did he care much about the fate of Li Nanzhi and other common people.
All he cared about was whether he could sit securely on the dragon throne beneath his backside.
There was no way around it; the threat posed by the Liang Dynasty was aimed directly at the very foundation of his rule.
He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and forced a smile that was more like a grimace, and said:
"Other matters may be negotiable, but the amount of money involved is truly enormous. Could you... could you ask His Highness the Crown Prince of your country to make an exception and reduce it?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Cong's mocking expression deepened, and he sneered, "Reduce? His Highness the Crown Prince specifically instructed that not a single coin less is acceptable!"
"Otherwise, I will send my iron cavalry from Great Liang to storm the capital and personally take your head!"
Seeing Li Jing's shocked and angry expression, he was not afraid at all, but instead became even more unscrupulous, feigning a sigh:
"Alas, Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Yu, you should be well aware of the disparity in military strength between our two nations, shouldn't you?"
"I'm not boasting, but if my Great Liang were to commit all its forces, we could capture your imperial city in a month at most! At that time..."
He drew out his words, his gaze sweeping over the golden dragon throne, and said meaningfully, "...Your throne is truly in jeopardy."
Even with Li Jing's remarkable tolerance, he couldn't help but erupt in fury at this moment, "You...you're threatening me?!"
His eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his knuckles turned white from pressing his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne several times. He was almost about to order the madman to be dragged out and beheaded.
"Ha!" Lu Cong stared straight at Li Jing and readily admitted, "Your Majesty can understand it that way."
Suddenly, he seemed to notice something.
Looking down at the almost non-existent dust on his boots, he feigned surprise and said, "Oh dear, I was in such a rush to leave that my boots are all dirty... Ugh, what a downer."
Immediately, he raised his head, looked at Li Jing whose face had become extremely gloomy with amusement, and said in a low voice:
"Actually, I have a very close personal relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince. If Your Majesty would be so kind as to condescend to clean these boots for me."
"Since I'm in a good mood, I might as well put in a few good words for His Majesty and ask His Highness the Crown Prince... not to send troops to destroy the Great Yu so quickly, what do you say?"
As soon as this statement came out, the whole hall was shocked!
To expect a monarch to condescend to polish the shoes of a prince from an enemy state in front of all his officials?!
This is not just a humiliation, this is an unprecedented and utter disgrace!
It means trampling and crushing the dignity of the royal family and the Great Yu Dynasty underfoot!
"boom!"
Li Jing slammed his hand on the dragon table, stood up angrily, his chest heaving violently.
"How dare you! You dare to humiliate me like this?!"
With a chilling murderous intent, he strode up to Lu Cong and said through gritted teeth in a deep voice, "Aren't you afraid that in my anger I'll leave you all here in this Golden Palace?!"
Faced with Li Jing's overwhelming anger and implicit threat, Lu Cong remained unfazed, and even the mocking smile on his lips did not change.
With an expression that suggested he had him completely under his control, he said casually, "If Your Majesty thinks it's feasible, then please feel free to try it. However, you will bear the consequences yourself."
"You!" Li Jing was so choked by his words that he almost fainted. His face turned terribly pale, alternating between green and white.
The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely tense; the air seemed to freeze.
All eyes were on Li Jing, awaiting his decision.
Should they fight back to uphold the emperor's last dignity, or should they endure humiliation and hardship to seize any possible glimmer of hope?
In the end, after a fierce and painful internal struggle, Li Jing forcibly suppressed his murderous intent and humiliation.
The allure of the throne and the lust for power overwhelmed everything else.
A few breaths later, Li Jing's face showed struggle and humiliation, as if he had aged considerably in an instant...
He took a deep breath and slowly, with great difficulty, lowered his body, which symbolized the supreme ruler.
Under the gazes of the assembled officials, frozen in place like statues, unable to bear the sight—
Li Jing trembled as he extended the hem of his noble dragon robe and gently, carefully, brushed it against Lu Cong's gleaming boots.
"Hahaha--!!"
Upon seeing this, Lu Cong could no longer contain himself and let out an extremely unrestrained and joyful laugh, which echoed throughout the Golden Palace, filled with smugness and arrogance.
The Liang Dynasty delegation members accompanying him all wore sneers, held their heads high, and adopted an arrogant attitude of pride.
At this moment, among the assembled officials.
Only the old Duke Shen Huaimin remained like an outsider, keeping his hands clasped together, his eyes slightly closed, and his face expressionless throughout.
As if lost in thought, he seemed oblivious to the humiliating scene before him, displaying an air of detachment and indifference.
........
At the same time, inside the palace.
The man and the tortoise moved forward at a leisurely pace.
I don't know if it was good luck or what, except for the group of imperial guards we encountered at the palace gate.
They didn't see a single patrolman along the way, and their journey was completely unimpeded.
Soon, a magnificent and imposing palace came into view; that was the Golden Palace where the ministers held their meetings.
Far away.
Li Wudao's extraordinary hearing allowed him to clearly hear the arrogant and reckless words spoken by the Liang Dynasty delegation from inside the hall.
"court death!"
His expression instantly turned cold, a flash of cold light appeared in his eyes, but he quickly regained his calm and composed demeanor.
He walked with ease, ascending the steps paved with white marble.
"Halt! This is the imperial court, a place of solemn importance. Who dares to trespass?! Leave at once!"
Upon seeing this, two heavily armed guards at the palace gate immediately frowned and stepped forward, crossing their gleaming halberds and issuing a stern warning.
Li Wudao continued walking, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Just as they were about to get close, he casually raised his hand and delivered a chop to the neck, an invisible force striking them precisely.
Before the two guards could even utter a sound, they collapsed softly to the ground and fell into a deep, infantile sleep.
The man and the tortoise entered the deathly silent hall as if it were empty.
The moment they stepped across the threshold, what greeted their eyes was a scene so shocking it would make any citizen of the Great Yu nation's eyes widen in fury—
The mighty Emperor of Great Yu, the ruler of all people, was now bowing and scraping, wiping the boots of a prince from an enemy state!
That scene was incredibly impactful!
Even though Li Wudao was calm and composed and had seen many storms, he was still stunned on the spot.
Immediately, a half-smile curved his lips, and his clear voice rang out leisurely in the otherwise silent hall, tinged with a hint of mockery:
"Tsk tsk, so early in the morning, I didn't expect such a good show... It seems I arrived just in time."