noveldepot Chapter 14 He helped her ascend the throne
Chapter 14 He helped her ascend the throne
Spring of the 432nd year of the Great Chu calendar.
After a full day of bloody slaughter, the air was still thick with the smell of blood.
Although the stone slabs in front of the main hall of the palace had been washed countless times overnight by the palace servants.
But the smell lingered for a long time.
The sky was unusually gloomy that day.
All the civil and military officials of the Great Chu Dynasty have arrived.
They welcomed and installed a new king.
Inside the main hall, bells and chimes rang out in unison.
All the civil and military officials were dressed in court attire and knelt in unison on both sides, their foreheads pressed firmly against the cold gold bricks.
They didn't even dare to look up.
Slow footsteps came from the white jade steps outside the palace.
Chu Ning was dressed in a jet-black robe with a crimson bird design, and wore a twelve-tassel crown. A long beaded curtain covered her delicate face, as well as the last trace of childishness on her face.
Although she had already suppressed her murderous aura, the imperial pressure she exuded, forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, made all the old ministers present almost unable to breathe.
Beside her, Cheng Xiao, dressed in snow-white robes, stood out starkly against the black of the hall, yet appeared unapproachable.
He carried no sword, nor wore any court robes; he simply walked with his hands behind his back, yet he seemed to be the sole ruler of this world.
When Chu Ning reached the foot of the nine-story platform, he stopped.
She looked up at the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power, a complex look flashing in her eyes.
That place once housed her most beloved father, and it was also a forbidden area that her mother and her clan dreamed of touching.
And now, for this position, she has personally cut off all escape routes in this world.
A cool yet strong hand gently rested on her elbow at that moment.
Cheng Xiao's slightly cold voice rang in her ear: "Don't hesitate. From now on, you will be the one looking down on everyone else in this world."
The sound was very soft, but it was incredibly reassuring to hear.
Cheng Xiao did not have the eunuchs guide him, but personally supported Chu Ning's arm and led her step by step up the nine-story platform.
With each step they ascended, the kneeling officials in the hall lowered their bodies further.
When the two of them stood at the highest point, Cheng Xiao released his grip and took a small half-step back.
Chu Ning turned around and slowly sat down on the throne that symbolized power.
Her hands rested on the cold bronze armrests, and her eyes behind the crown swept over the civil and military officials below.
From this day forward, she will no longer be the weak princess who could only cry.
In this chaotic world, she wants to be the only ruler.
......
Years later, that shocking coup is still talked about with great interest.
Everyone thought that the Great Chu was about to change hands and that the surname would fall to Su.
But the new king, with only his sword, killed a full three thousand people!
Even now, traces of that coup still remain on the ground and walls of the palace.
The day the state of Chu changed hands, a day was spent bleeding.
But the blood that flowed was not that of the Great Chu, but that of the Su family and the Great Zhou.
From that day on, although the Great Chu was still covered in snow all year round, and six out of the twelve months were winter, no one was afraid of winter anymore.
In just five years, the Great Chu Kingdom transformed from a nation on the verge of collapse into a dominant power once again.
No one dared to underestimate them anymore.
Over the past five years, the borders of various countries have been unusually quiet.
Both the Great Zhou and the Great Yan, who had once arrayed their troops in battle formation, chose to retreat without prior agreement.
They had all witnessed the horrific scene of the 50,000-strong army being wiped out at Luoyingjian.
The Chu state was situated in a strategically important location, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack; therefore, they had no further possibility of attacking Chu.
All the states were watching and holding their breath, waiting to see how the newly unified Chu state would bring about its own destruction amidst internal strife.
But the Great Chu did not die; in fact, there were signs that it was regaining its former glory.
In five years, everyone in the world knew that the Great Chu had produced an absolute tyrant, a tyrant who instilled fear in everyone.
In the imperial court, the name of Empress Chu Ning was a nightmare that all officials and powerful families dared not mention in the dead of night.
She governed the country with extremely ruthless Legalist methods, with the laws of the Grand Council and Cabinet taking precedence over all human relationships and social customs. All officials were required to act strictly in accordance with the law.
During these five years, countless nobles were executed along with their entire families for embezzlement, dereliction of duty, disobedience, or attempts to restore their privileged status.
In the execution grounds of the capital, the bloodstains on the stone slabs are always dark red, because the old blood has not yet dried before new blood arrives.
Under this tyrant's iron fist, there were no "ironclad guarantees" or "extrajudicial favors."
If you cross the line of the Military Council, you'll always get those three words in return.
No mercy.
The powerful families trembled in extreme fear, regarding Chu Ning as a bloodthirsty demon, a monster who would not recognize his own family.
It is said that she ascended to her current position by murdering her father and mother, and that she killed the former King and Queen of Chu.
A person like her will surely be punished by heaven.
But they only talked about it; they didn't dare to resist at all.
Because behind this terrifying tyrant stood a royal advisor who was like a ghost or god.
This Grand Tutor was a master strategist; the military cabinet he established seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere, and even rumors circulating on the streets could not escape his notice.
All the powerful clans were filled with fear, but in the far reaches of the martial world, in the vast fields and along the paths, the scene was quite the opposite.
Ordinary people at the bottom of society don't understand court intrigue; they only see the most authentic aspects of life.
They witnessed the once arrogant and domineering noblemen being dragged to the guillotine, and the thousands of acres of fertile land they had acquired being forcibly confiscated and distributed among landless refugees.
They saw that the heavy taxes had been drastically reduced, and in their place was a strict national law that allowed anyone who was willing to cultivate the land or make military achievements to transcend social classes.
The granaries are full, the refugees have homes, and in winter, you can no longer see the bones of those who have frozen to death by the roadside.
The people of Chu no longer feared winter.
To the nobles and aristocrats, Chu Ning was a tyrannical and ruthless demon.
But for the millions of ordinary people of the Great Chu, this empress with blood on her hands was a supreme deity who gave them new life and protected them.
The people secretly erected longevity tablets for her in their homes, and even though she was nominally a "tyrant," they were willing to go through fire and water for this tyrant.
Five years passed quietly, and these were the most peaceful five years in this chaotic world.
In the winter of the 437th year of the Great Chu calendar.
Eighteen-year-old Chu Ning sat in a high position.
She is no longer the child she was years ago. Her delicate face has blossomed into one of unparalleled beauty, even possessing an ethereal charm, like a fairy from heaven.
But beneath this beauty lies a subtle aura of menace and majesty.
The red markings on her forehead had solidified, adding to her eerie and sacred appearance, and even her originally dark pupils had taken on a red hue.
Chu Ning's mere presence was enough to deter the officials in the court from looking at her; she was both too beautiful and too dangerous.
"Your Majesty, I have a report to make."
An elderly remonstrating official stepped forward from the crowd, his voice booming and piercing the roof ridge.
"Since the implementation of the new laws by the Grand Council, agriculture and commerce have flourished, but tax collection has been too rigid. Although local powerful families have been suppressed, the turnover of local officials has been too frequent. As a result, although the government's orders have been implemented, the people's strength is somewhat exhausted. I risk my life to speak out and ask Your Majesty to relax the agricultural and military regulations so that the people can rest and recuperate."