Xu Quan immediately became energetic and hastily struck while the iron was hot, saying: “Your Majesty, I wonder, according to which military law?”
Chu Li impatiently glared at him and said: “Overly ambitious for glory, unclear assessment of the enemy—do I need to teach you this as well?”
Xu Quan’s heart immediately settled back into his stomach. It wasn’t delaying battle opportunities or advancing recklessly for glory that caused the army’s defeat and soldiers’ tragic deaths, but rather being overly ambitious for glory and unclear about the enemy assessment. That wasn’t a capital offense. He immediately shouted loudly: “Reporting to Your Majesty, being overly ambitious for glory and unclear about enemy assessment, according to law should receive fifty strokes of the military rod!”
Chu Li’s voice was cold as he shouted in a low voice: “Then what are you still standing there for?”
“Yes! This general obeys the command!”
Xu Quan rolled up from the ground in one motion, directing soldiers to drag the dizzy Yuan Chongming and a group of generals with numb legs out of the main tent.
From beginning to end, the Southern Chu Great Emperor with his face as dark as water had consistently maintained a cold expression, not revealing the slightest emotion. However, the moment the curtain of the central military tent dropped and the people inside had just withdrawn, the cold-faced man’s lips unconsciously revealed a trace of a smile. Like a child who had gotten candy, he again took out the pristine white letter paper from his sleeve, carefully spread it open, and read it word by word from beginning to end once more, the smile in his eyes becoming increasingly intense.
Outside, the sound of soldiers wielding military rods rang out one after another. Chu Li seemed not to hear it, only repeatedly looking at that letter. Suddenly his expression became serious, and he snorted dismissively, murmuring: “Clearly her heart is already attached to this Chu person, yet she stubbornly refuses to admit it with her mouth. It seems the military campaign in Xichuan needs to be concluded early.”
The palace maid Shen Yu in the inner tent was about to serve tea to Emperor Chu when she heard this and was immediately startled, her hand shaking so much she nearly dropped the teacup to the ground.
Was that person outside really His Imperial Majesty Emperor Chu?
The cautious and experienced palace maid was filled with terror. This tea… she’d better wait a while before serving it.
Outside, Yuan Chongming, who after receiving fifty military rod strokes could still walk on his own, staggered with the support of his comrade brothers to Xu Quan’s presence and said emotionally: “Time reveals a person’s heart, hardship reveals true friendship. General Xu’s life-saving grace, Chongming will never dare forget in this lifetime. If the General has any orders in the future, even if it means death, Chongming won’t furrow his brow in the slightest.”
The simple-minded generals nearby immediately nodded, chattering: “General Xu is still favored by His Majesty, truly worthy of being a childhood friend and old minister.”
Xu Quan shook his head guiltily, reaching out to pat Yuan Chongming’s shoulder, sighing with emotion: “General Yuan, the one who saved you wasn’t me, but truly someone else. If you’re truly grateful, someday make a trip to Hai City, prepare generous gifts, and personally express your thanks before the Grand Governor of the Southeast Province.”
After speaking, he turned and left, shaking his head.
Everyone listened in stunned silence, completely baffled. Yuan Chongming silently repeated Xia Qing’s name twice, murmuring: “Southeast Governor, the suddenly rising newly favored minister Governor Xia?”
At this very moment, the suddenly rising newly favored minister Governor Xia was in Hai City’s largest restaurant entertaining envoys from the Malacca and Temasek kingdoms. Malacca was located on the Malay Peninsula at the Strait of Malacca, while Temasek was the garden kingdom Singapore of later generations. With the opening of sea trade imminent, the Strait of Malacca was a crucial transit point, so Qing Xia took it very seriously, personally welcoming the envoys from these two countries. She was learned and talented, with knowledge of various countries’ cultures, histories, and languages. After one meal, both host and guests were delighted.
In August in Hai City, temperatures reached over thirty degrees, scorchingly hot, yet Governor Xia wore a moon-white brocade robe that covered her from top to bottom completely, even her neck covered by the garment’s high collar, revealing only her chin and a handsome face.
Others didn’t know this was intentional concealment to prevent people from noticing she had no Adam’s apple. They thought Governor Xia was particular about official protocol, dressing so formally even in such hot weather, truly a model for all officials and an exemplar of the court.
After the meal, instructing subordinates to escort the two countries’ envoys back to the foreign guest house, Qing Xia rode her horse under the blazing sun toward the Governor’s mansion. Ever since she had beheaded the Japanese ronin samurai in the street some days ago, Governor Xia’s reputation had immediately improved, and the common people no longer gossiped about Governor Xia’s romantic indulgences. After all, being young, handsome, and powerful, being admired by women was quite normal. Thus, wherever Qing Xia’s horse passed, the people would stop and crane their necks to look, their eyes full of respect.
Passing by the execution ground, Qing Xia frowned and suddenly stopped, looking at the soldiers bustling back and forth everywhere, turning back questioningly: “What are they preparing for? Is the Wucheng Military Commission going to execute prisoners?”
“My lord,” Song Yang stepped forward and said: “You forgot, today is the day to execute that batch of Japanese samurai. At noon, they’re to be beheaded here.”
Qing Xia frowned and said: “Haven’t the murderous Japanese samurai already been killed by me? Why execute more? Who gave the order? Did this go through the Three Judicial Offices?”
“It did, my lord. Southern Chu’s old laws include collective punishment, plus they resisted when captured. Judge Yue of the Three Judicial Offices personally tried the case, the Six Ministries voted, and Lord Dongfang personally signed the documents. The charges have been confirmed. If my lord wants to stop it, I’m afraid it would be somewhat difficult.”
Qing Xia pondered for a long while, her eyes turning as she already understood the connections here. That day they had set this trap to lure her in, intending to make her lose popular support so they could make things difficult regarding the sea trade ban. Who knew they had lifted a stone only to drop it on their own feet, being outmaneuvered by her instead. Zhou Shixiong’s sabotage had instead made the Eastern Qi old ministers appear cowardly and traitorous. To recover from this situation, these old fellows had no choice but to make a big show of executing those Japanese samurai, even if they couldn’t win completely, at least they wouldn’t lose entirely. This was to display their loyalty to the people and their noble character of not fearing powerful interests.
Qing Xia couldn’t help but laugh. This wasn’t bad either; it actually showed that after Chu Li took control of the realm, the Eastern Qi old ministers were obedient and compliant, and the Southern Chu court was united as one, stable as Mount Tai. As for those unfortunate ronin samurai, Qing Xia didn’t have that much sympathy to pity them. The Chinese nation had fallen into weakness in later generations precisely because of excessive compassion, allowing others to bully them. Not to mention how during China’s prosperous times they had treated those beasts with obviously wolfish ambitions with fine clothes and rich food, but even after the Sino-Japanese conflict became a national feud, China still released them eastward with superhuman kindness and mercy, hoping to move those scoundrels who were robbers in their bones through great nation magnanimity and generosity. The result was chilling.
What came of it? Despite such painstaking efforts, most of them, after returning to their country, still harbored mad fantasies of their Emperor and great nation, bearing extreme hatred toward the Chinese people, ready to make trouble, constantly plotting a comeback. Their cruel invasive nature remained unchanged from ancient times to the present, never diminishing.
For such a people whose genes contained invasive instincts, one really shouldn’t harbor any sympathy or pity. In ancient times, they bullied the Sui but feared the Tang, and after being beaten by Li Shimin on the East Sea until they fled with heads covered, they kowtowed in surrender. When encountering the weak Song and Ming dynasties, they became coastal pirates. By the late Qing and Republic periods, they became even more unscrupulous in massacre and invasion, leading to the full-scale War of Resistance Against Japan. All of this showed they were a cunning, shameless, amoral people who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Fortune’s wheel turns. Since fate had allowed her, Agent 003, to transmute to this era, she couldn’t be blamed for lacking tolerance. For such people, they could only be politically isolated, economically sanctioned, and militarily suppressed severely. She would destroy their imperial fantasies, cut off their ability to retaliate, break their legs to stand on, completely occupy and assimilate them, transform the Japanese pirates into the Great Chu navy, change Japan into overseas islands like Taiwan and Hong Kong, incorporate them into the territory, and ideologically rule that filthy nation that would bring disaster and war to the entire world.
Only this way would the great Chinese nation avoid being affected by war and continue to prosper forever.
Qing Xia smiled faintly and said to Song Yang: “Well done. When the execution takes place, don’t forget to notify the envoys from Korea, Ryukyu, Temasek and other countries to invite them to observe the execution together. Let them see what happens to foreign envoys who bully the people and break the law in our Great Chu.”
Song Yang nodded: “This subordinate understands.”
The execution time arrived quickly. The execution ground was packed with spectators—a vast black mass of people, everyone excited and bright-eyed, eagerly waiting for those usually arrogant and domineering ronin samurai.
This was the first time in thousands of years that foreign envoys were being publicly executed. Even when armies clash, envoys are traditionally not killed. This Governor Xia who didn’t play by the rules truly had extraordinary courage.
The noon hour arrived quickly, and the condemned prisoners were dragged up. Having been held in the dungeon for so long, those jailers who had spent their lives being sly and crafty still felt they were dignified citizens of the Celestial Dynasty, deeply despising these beast-faced Japanese. With thoughts of eliminating harm for the people and seeking revenge, they daily devised new ways to deal with the ronin—washing, tendon-picking, oiling, skinning—using every method. They truly let these samurai experience what the harsh criminal law of the Celestial Empire was like under excruciating pain.
Therefore, on the execution ground, the ronin samurai who should have been wailing in despair showed no signs of desperation or fear. Though beaten until their skin split and they were unrecognizable, each one was jubilant and beaming with joy, as if they weren’t here to die but to be enfeoffed as champions. Before the executioner even raised his large blade, they eagerly stretched out their necks, eyes full of longing and joy. No one shouted things like “Eighteen years later, I’ll be a good man again!” or “A severed neck leaves only a bowl-sized scar” or “Hot blood flows with loyalty, a solitary courage illuminates heaven and earth.” They obediently lay there and received that blade, greatly disappointing the watching crowd who had expected excitement and had prepared themselves to curse the Japanese scoundrels, wasting everyone’s emotions. The people directly cursed the Japanese for their small country lacking culture—they couldn’t even be proper death row inmates, completely unprofessional, wasting everyone’s feelings.