Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 16 At worst, you could be a real traitor!
By now, Chu Shizhao realized it clearly.

Simulation deduction is not just a simple strategic game. It does not mean that nothing will go wrong if you think you can do it this way.

You will be outside, and your orders will not be accepted.

If you really take this statement seriously, the central government will have "conclusive evidence" that you have rebellious intentions and are a disloyal person.

【The Great Emperor Growth Plan】 is a trend simulation that is extremely close to the actual situation.

Once Chu Shizhao really defeated the southern regime established by Song and Wu, his prestige would most likely reach its historical peak.

At this point, the central court had no way of controlling him.

Chu Shizhao mainly made a mistake in thinking. He initially wanted to protect himself in a situation that was about to break apart.

However, after marrying Li Fengning and marrying the Jinyang Li family, Chu Shizhao's political status and group power rose sharply and could no longer be compared with the past.

In other words, in the eyes of the court, Chu Shizhao was just a royal relative without real power. What would happen if you gave him some power?
Let him do something and do some work for them, the ministers and nobles in the court. They would be happy to see it.

I hope Chu Shizhao can become a buffer point in the current situation.

This was the central court's positioning of Chu Shizhao, and it was also the initial ideology. But the problem was that Chu Shizhao, from being a buffer point at the beginning and a chess piece to temporarily support the situation, became increasingly powerful and had begun to affect the direction of the court.

Then something is wrong.

At this stage, no matter what Chu Shizhao wants to do, as long as he has the ability to threaten the court and the interests of all ministers in the court, he must be sacrificed and become a "public enemy."

Even if Chu Shizhao did not actually betray the court.

Chu Shizhao's words "When a general is away from home, he may not obey the orders of the emperor." made him completely "confirmed" that he did not obey the orders of the court and that he was a "traitor".

It would be the best option for him to play it safe and withdraw the army to waste time here. However, Chu Shizhao would definitely not accept the fate of being remotely controlled by the "court".

This is totally PUA in the workplace!
When you want me, Chu Shizhao, to work hard, I will do it with all my might. When you want me, Chu Shizhao, to be obedient, I will be obedient. I will fight the wars and you guys enjoy the fun. After the fight, do you still have to be "commanded" crazily by such a person?
Chu Shizhao had been very hesitant in his earlier performance. Although he had always said in his heart that he "wanted to make progress" and "wanted to be the emperor", he also knew very well that with his status and ranking, wanting to be the emperor would ultimately end up as "usurping the throne" and "rebellion".

This made Chu Shizhao very conflicted.

How is it possible that someone’s dream is to be Sima Yi instead of Zhuge Liang?
Therefore, even if he unified the world through hard work, he could not achieve the step of "usurping the throne" and "rebellion".

But the biggest problem now is that Chu Shizhao did not openly turn against the court and launch an attack on Chang'an first. Secondly, he did not respect the court's orders and continued his southern expedition, wanting to overthrow the southern regime established by Song and Wu.

However, from another perspective, marching south to recover the homeland was not disrespecting the orders of the imperial court.

Going back a long way, the southern expedition can be said to be the last will of the late emperor.

What Chu Shizhao did not respect were the orders of these ministers who were only good at idle talk.

Isn't this just a fucking attempt to fight for power and throw dirty water on him?
If you say that I am really a rebel, or if you say that I am a traitor, then I will admit it.

I didn't rebel, but you said I was a traitor. That's a completely false accusation!
The bigger problem is that Chu Shizhao has no way out, and now he is directly labeled a traitor by the court.

If we lose the war, if we fail, it might not be as simple as Chu Shizhao's death alone.

The Jinyang Li family, with whom he has a close relationship, and Li Fengning's newly born prince are both in danger.

If you lose, you will be implicated.

Chu Shizhao looked at the bleak map and the isolated and helpless situation around him. He had only two choices. One was to continue his southern expedition against Song and Wu, seize their territories, and establish his own regime in the south.

This road is not feasible.

The southern expedition required a lot of terrain and supplies. Chu Shizhao could not keep up with the supply of Fengyang alone, and the number of troops he led was not enough to destroy Song and Wu. Chu Shizhao could not afford to make mistakes now. Once he made a wrong decision, he would be killed with his wife and children.

"You call me a thief, but what did I steal?"

Chu Shizhao no longer hesitated and completely changed the direction of his attack.

"Since I have been labeled a traitor, I will become a real traitor." Chu Shizhao decided to return to Chang'an.

Having just captured Fengyang, Chu Shizhao made up his mind.

[You opened all the government warehouses in Fengyang, released the grain, and distributed the grain to the local people who were suffering from hunger and hardship.]

[In the next three days, you will review all local cases, bring those illegal officials to justice, survey the land, and return it to the local people.]

[The local people's favorability and attitude towards you have increased. 】

[In October of the fourth year of Kangxing, you only prepared three days of food and fodder for the army, abandoned Fengyang, and headed north.]

【You have lost control of Fengyang.】

[In November of the fourth year of Kangxing, you wore a white scarf and mourning clothes. You believed that your attack on the Southern Dynasty established by Song and Wu was in accordance with the will of the previous emperor and to punish the real traitors. The current Great Zhou Dynasty did not eliminate the traitors who betrayed the court, but instead persecuted the loyal and good. You decided to quell the rebellion in accordance with the will of heaven.]

[In December of the fourth year of Kangxing, Li Jin immediately responded to your "Battle of Jingnan" and sent more than 100,000 troops from Jinyang to march towards Chang'an, the capital of the Great Zhou.]

[In this battle, Li Jin abandoned the strategy of advancing step by step and mobilized all the troops in Jinyang.]

[In January of the fifth year of Kangxing, the emperor was greatly alarmed and ordered all places to come to Beijing to support the emperor. Shandong and Henan responded immediately, each sending 20,000 troops to support the capital. However, Li Fengning in Beiping led an army alone to intercept the troops coming back to support the emperor.]

[Most of these newly recruited soldiers were unfamiliar with combat, and Li Fengning's interception was effective, and he even won a great victory.]

[This cut off the battle lines in Shandong and Henan. Under such circumstances, Chu Shizhao realized that Shandong and Henan were in a state of emptiness, and it was the best time to besiege and attack the reinforcements. He ordered Li Shengming to lead the main force back to Henan and capture Kaifeng Prefecture.]

[In February of the fifth year of Kangxing, Chu Shizhao brought only a hundred or so personal guards to join forces with Li Jin, while Li Shengming took over the post of Governor of Henan in Henan.]

[However, Chang'an City is located in the Guanzhong Plain, surrounded by natural barriers such as Tongguan, Dasanguan, Wuguan and Xiaoguan, forming a relatively closed geographical environment. It happened that the rain had been long and the food was exhausted. Li Jin had a hard time conquering it and could only hold on. He discussed with the military strategist Wang Tan and planned to take back Jin Wang Chu Shizhao and then return to Jinyang for the time being, and then plan to start a rebellion later.]

[You flatly refused this and said: "Originally, we conquered Song and Wu in the south to save the common people and to obey the will of the late emperor. But now the court thinks that we have rebellious intentions."]

[“I came here today, first, to redress my grievances, and second, only by taking Chang’an can I command the world.”]

[“If we retreat when encountering even a small obstacle, I’m afraid those who follow me will be temporarily disbanded.”]

[“Now that we have started the war, the only thing we can do is return victorious. How can we retreat without fighting?”]

[Zhu Rang, the general guarding Tongguan, led 20,000 elite soldiers to station there to resist Li Jin's offensive.]

[Chu Shizhao personally rode a horse and led several cavalrymen to the pass, raising his whip to give orders.]

[“I am the fourth son of Emperor Yongjin and a relative of the Great Zhou. I should have defeated the Song bandits and returned victorious, but I was slandered by the court. You are a general of the Great Zhou, why do you have to fight to the death?”]

[“But if we really want to fight it out, I still advise you to surrender as soon as possible.”]

[Zhu Rang was impatient and was indeed provoked. He opened the gate and sent out his troops, setting up his formation with his back to the pass, giving up the advantage of terrain.]

[Li Jin's second son, Li Shengquan, led 2,000 cavalrymen to rush down the high slope from the south, breaking through Zhu Rang's army. Chu Shizhao saw the opportunity and also led his army to attack vigorously. Zhu Rang's army was defeated and they all abandoned their weapons and fled.]

[In order to protect Tongguan, the city gate was already suspended. Zhu Rang tried to climb up the city gate along the rope, but was shot down by Chu Shizhao in public.]

(End of this chapter)