kingnovel Chapter 2318 The Reasons for Rebellion
Chapter 2318 The Reasons for Rebellion
Behind Chu Yun were a dark mass of rebel soldiers and treacherous officials, like dark clouds pressing down, turning this originally solemn and dignified funeral place into a living hell.
Han Xing's coffin stood quietly in the middle of the official road, its blood-stained banner fluttering in the cold wind, as if playing a silent elegy for this collapse of humanity.
Inside the shield wall, the Imperial Guards gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes filled with grief, indignation, and resolve.
Their numbers numbered only a few hundred, while the rebels surrounding them numbered at least five thousand.
The stark disparity in strength made it clear to everyone that today was likely to be a day of great misfortune.
However, no one took a step back.
Chu Ning stood before the shield wall, his black dragon robe swaying slightly in the cold wind.
His face showed no panic, no fear, only a deep, chilling calmness.
He looked at the ministers who had betrayed him, and at the trusted advisors who had sided with Chu Yun, and a cold smile slowly crept onto his lips.
He finally spoke.
The voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a penetrating power, drowning out the wind and the triumphant whispers of the rebels, clearly reaching everyone's ears:
“Lü Xiuwen.”
Lu Xiuwen's body stiffened slightly.
He didn't turn around, but just listened attentively.
Chu Ning's voice was calm and unhurried, yet every word was like a knife: "You just said that your son Lü Chang died at the hands of barbarian assassins because of my tough policies, because I left those barbarians with nowhere to vent their anger, so they took your family members as a target."
"You say that your sons are dead, your families live in fear, so you want to betray me, to pledge allegiance to Chu Yun, to change your policies, and to make peace with the barbarians."
He paused, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the ministers standing behind Chu Yun:
"Let me ask you—whose sons, husbands, and fathers were the soldiers who died on the front lines?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of those treacherous ministers suddenly froze.
Chu Ning's voice suddenly rose, carrying a thunderous pressure:
"Do you know that in the Battle of Jianghuai, my army of 350,000 suffered 230,000 casualties! 230,000 lives lost!"
"Who are they? They are the sons of countless ordinary families! The husbands of countless young women! The fathers of countless infants crying for milk!"
"They died on the battlefield, their bodies wrapped in horsehide. Did any of their families come to me to weep for their deaths?"
"Has anyone come to question me about why I sent them to the battlefield? Has anyone betrayed me and joined the enemy because of this?!"
Chu Ning's gaze, like a sharp sword, pierced Lu Xiuwen's stiff back:
"They are human beings too! They also have parents, wives, and children! They are also afraid of death!"
"However, they chose to take up arms, charge into battle, and sacrifice their lives for their country!"
"Because they know that if they don't eliminate those covetous foreign tribes, if they don't crush those barbarians who covet the Central Plains, their sons and their grandsons will live in fear for generations to come!"
His voice echoed across the empty plains, sending shivers down everyone's spine:
"And what about you? You high-ranking officials enjoy the court's salary, are supported by the people, live in spacious mansions, and wear fine silks and satins!"
"Your sons will not need to go to the battlefield or brave arrows; they only need to study for the imperial examinations to rise rapidly in their careers!"
"They enjoy the peace that the soldiers on the front lines bought with their blood, but because of an unexpected assassination attempt, they want to destroy this peace, betray the country, and join the rebels!"
"Lü Xiuwen!"
Chu Ning shouted sternly, "Your son is dead, and you are in unbearable grief; I understand!"
"But what about the 230,000 soldiers who died on the front lines? Were their parents, their wives and children, their grief no less than yours?"
"Have they ever betrayed their country and sided with the enemy, just like you?!"
Lu Xiuwen's shoulders trembled violently. He didn't turn around, but his refined face was pale and ashen, his lips trembled, and he was speechless.
Chu Ning's gaze slowly swept over the ministers standing behind Chu Yun. Everyone whose gaze fell upon him involuntarily lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
"And you too!"
Chu Ning's voice was filled with endless disappointment and anger: "I brought you out of Bingzhou, entrusted you with important responsibilities, and placed great trust in you!"
"I believe you are my trusted ministers, loyal men who share my joys and sorrows and work together to create a great cause!"
"But today, just because of a few seductive fallacies, just because of your fear of the future, you have betrayed me, betrayed your oaths, and betrayed your loyalty!"
He raised his hand and pointed sharply at Han Xing's coffin, which stood silently in the middle of the official road. His voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap:
"Look! Look at what that is!"
Everyone instinctively looked in the direction he was pointing.
Han Xing's coffin rested quietly in the middle of the official road.
The coffin covered with bright yellow satin curtains, the blood-stained memorial banner, the white background with red characters fluttering in the cold wind—"The spirit of the late Duke Zhongguo of the Great Chu, posthumously honored as Duke Zhongwu, whose given name was Xing."
"General Han Xing!"
Chu Ning's voice was filled with endless sorrow and reverence: "He was over sixty years old, with white hair and beard! He could have been enjoying his old age at home, playing with his grandchildren!"
"But what about him? He chose to go to the battlefield! He chose to serve his country! He chose to die on the battlefield!"
"He was captured by the rebels, subjected to brutal torture, but remained steadfast to the death!"
"Before he died, he held my hand and instructed me word by word to stabilize the country, to allow it to recuperate, and to wait until the spring of next year to launch another northern expedition against the Tang Dynasty!"
"Until his death, all he cared about was the land of Great Chu, my foundation, and the people of this world!"
Chu Ning's gaze, like a burning fire, swept over those treacherous ministers:
Compared to him, what are you?
“You keep saying your son is dead, that your family lives in fear!”
"But what about General Han? Doesn't he have a son? Doesn't he have a family? Isn't he afraid of dying?!"
"He was afraid! But he chose loyalty and righteousness! He chose integrity and courage! He chose to die for his principles!"
"And you—"
Chu Ning spoke slowly and deliberately, each word like a heavy hammer blow to the hearts of those who had betrayed him.
"You're nothing but a firefly's glow, yet you dare to compete with the sun and moon? You're nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well, yet you dare to presume to discuss the vastness of the world?"
"Lü Xiuwen!"
Chu Ning's last gaze fell on that stiff back: "I deeply regret the death of your son!"
"But if you betray the country and side with a traitor because of this, your son will not rest in peace even in the afterlife!"
"Because he will know that his father is a treacherous, cowardly, and despicable man!"
"He is a disloyal, unjust, and traitor who has disgraced his family!"