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Moving the Capital South (1)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Lu Zi Xiang tidied his armor, ready to take the horse out of the palace and head for the city gate.
He’d just walked out of Qianfu Palace, when he heard a woman’s voice sound nearby, “Your Majesty.”
He turned his head to look and saw Shen Ran wearing a lotus pink[1] palace dress standing to the side. The wind in autumn was strong, making the hem of her clothes flutter, her dark raven hair also dancing in the wind.
“Your Majesty, you’re really going to……….personally lead the expedition?” Shen Ran half-lowered her eyes. There seemingly was a trace of melancholy in her voice, saying with lingering affection, “Ran’er wishes your Majesty………a swift victory.”
Clearly it was a heartfelt blessing, yet Lu Zi Xiang felt a wave of complex emotions surge up inside. The emperor personally leading the expedition was said rather simply, but it’s crossing mountains of swords and sea of flames, a fight to the death. Meanwhile, taking a step back, it was the warmth of soft jade and the fragrant red sleeves.
He hasn’t led troops and fought in battle for many years, almost forgetting the taste of the blood and sand.
“This emperor……” Lu Zi Xiang stopped in his tracks. There was a hint of hesitation in his voice, “Before the interest of the country, this emperor has no choice but to do this. If this emperor doesn’t personally go to the frontlines, this emperor fears that the morale of the soldiers will drop even more.”
He was the esteemed emperor. He originally didn’t need to explain this much to Shen Ran, but he did so anyways. Shen Ran although had only entered the palace not long ago, she was very much to his liking, so he was willing to treat her patiently.
Shen Ran clenched her sleeve, hesitantly saying, “Yo-your Majesty……the north is that dangerous, is your Majesty really going?” She repeated her question, with faint tears appearing in her eyes. Beneath her usual solemn look, there was a hint of reluctance that couldn’t be covered up.
Seeing her like this, Lu Zi Xiang’s heart slightly melted. He dismissed the attendants by his side and walked to Shen Ran’s side, saying, “This emperor is also reluctant to part with you, but the war is pressing……”
Shen Ran lifted her eyes, the tears glistening in her eyes. She placed her hand on her stomach and suddenly raised her voice, “Your Majesty, Ran’er……Ran’er…..is already pregnant with your Majesty’s flesh and blood…….your Majesty, will you still go to the north?”
Once these words came out, Lu Zi Xiang was momentarily shocked, subconsciously retreating a step.
In the past, he pampered Ji Fei Xia alone, but Ji Fei Xia hadn’t been able to get pregnant. The beauties he pampered in private, he couldn’t let the Ji family or the court officials find out about, so every time after the deed, he had to bestow them a bowl of medicine to prevent conception. Shen Ran’s child really came as both a surprise and a delight.
“Ran’er…..” Lu Zi Xiang massaged his brows, seriously asking, “Are these words true?”
“It’s true.” Shen Ran used her sleeve to wipe away her tears, softly saying, “I’d just invited the imperial physician this morning……”
Lu Zi Xiang was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he turned away and said, “………Let this emperor carefully think it over again…….”
With this thought in mind, there was no longer the matter of ‘the emperor personally leading the expedition’.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Lu Zi Xiang summoned the imperial physicians to take Shen Ran’s pulse. The chief physician of the Imperial Physicians Court also verified that Shen Ran was indeed pregnant. At present, Lu Zi Xiang no longer cares about the Ji family, openly and grandly appointing Shen Ran as the Noble Consort.
Empress Ji was no longer exclusively favored in the imperial harem, the inside and outside the palace all thoroughly shocked. However, they were currently in troubled times, so the commoners won’t pay attention to the women of the imperial harem too much, at most just mentioning a few words after a meal, and then not say more.
Lu Zi Xiang ultimately was somewhat reluctant to leave Shen Ran and the child in her stomach, unwilling to lead troops like before. Seeing Lu Qi Yang marching straight for the capital, Lu Zi Xiang was greatly distressed, just thinking about how to secure his throne all day long.
Right at this time, Shen Ran once again offered advice, proposing the idea of ‘moving the capital’. This idea fell perfectly in line with Lu Zi Xiang’s wishes——-At present, there was no one who could contend against Lu Zi Xiang. Fine then, he’ll first relocate the capital south, then bide his time, gathering the power to strike back and take back his lost territory.
Lu Zi Xiang carefully deliberated for a moment, then summoned the court officials, hastily deciding on this matter, preparing to relocate the capital. The capital city of Great Chu has been here for hundreds of years, never once having changed before. Upon hearing Lu Zi Xiang’s suggestion, the court officials looked to one another in dismay. But, the war was getting intense, and Lu Qi Yang was approaching with great momentum, no one dared to say anything. After a round of discussion, they resolved to have the capital city moved south to Huailu.
This Huailu city was a major stronghold in the south, with excellent terrain, while also being known for having strong soldiers, fertile land, grand palaces, and sprawling pavilions, not losing to the capital city. After Lu Zi Xiang decided to move the capital, the capital city was in complete chaos.
Almost overnight, the originally bustling capital city also began to descend into widespread panic. The powerful nobles and aristocrats moved with their entire family in tow, the horse carriages clogging the streets. The commoners, seeing how the situation wasn’t right, also rolled up their beds and headed south one after another.
Lu Zi Xiang ordered someone to have the state treasury emptied out, taking everything with them. Whatever palaces that can be dismantled got dismantled, carefully picking out the usable wood and stones, then shipping them south through the waterways, waiting to transport to Huailu to expand and renovate the palaces there. This pitiful imperial palace that has been home to the imperial family of Chu for generations, yesterday, it was still glistening with jade and gold, lavish to the extreme, but today, it was half-ruined and half-destroyed, in a complete mess. The palace maids and eunuchs also successively packed their belongings, escaping south together with the emperor.
In less than half a month, the preparations for relocating the capital were hastily completed. Lu Zi Xiang ordered his trusted aide Song Yan Li to lead the troops and guard the capital, while he himself prepared to head south.
Song Yan Li’s older brother Song Yan De has already died in battle several days ago. At present, Song Yan Li was already the only son left in the Song family, but Lu Zi Xiang didn’t care about this. He gave Song Yan Li a death order, ordering Song Yan Lu to not open the city gates and defend the capital at all cost.
On the day of departure, the emperor’s procession was grand and orderly, the bright yellow stretching endlessly, not like he was fleeing south and relocating the capital, but as if he was going to tour the Yang province. Lu Zi Xiang was dressed in a dragon robe, with a tall crown and wide belt. He stably sat in the carriage. There was neither sorrow nor joy on his face, just displaying a calm demeanor.
The carriages and horses hadn’t traveled for long when the escorting general came to report, saying that there was something wrong with the carriage carrying the Empress and Noble Consort Shen, and afraid that they will only be able to catch up later. When Lu Zi Xiang heard, he said, “Send a unit of light cavalry to fetch the noble consort.”
Seeing his Majesty not mention the esteemed empress, the general hesitated for a moment. In the end, he went to carry out the order.
Not long after this general left, someone heard that Zhennan Wang’s army has already approached the capital. When Lu Zi Xiang heard, he had no time to think about Ji Fei Xia and the others, ordering the procession to make haste, fleeing through the night, just waiting to settle down in Huailu before changing the reign title, so as to assert his rule across the empire.
• • •
After Lu Zi Xiang left, the capital city gradually became empty. The entire capital city was deathly silent, with only the soldiers led by Song Yan Li building tall barriers atop the city walls, while also searching every household for leftover food to add to the military supplies.
If to say among the enormous imperial Lu clan, who still hasn’t left, then it was just Lu Jing Hua.
Shanyin Wang was cowardly to begin with. Hearing that Zhennan Wang was about to come, he hurriedly gathered his belongings, and without waiting for Lu Zi Xiang to move the capital, he just fled south to seek refuge with his eldest son, Lu Jing Song. Shanyin Wang left too quickly, just instructing his second son Lu Jing Hua to also head south in a few days. However, Lu Jing Hua just agreed on the surface, secretly staying behind in the capital.
Additionally, his trusted aides that he singlehandedly cultivated, such as Wu Xiu Ding, also didn’t follow Lu Zi Xiang south. The excuse was that he wanted to defend the capital, thus stayed behind too. Amidst such chaotic times, Lu Zi Xiang was unable to think too much, so simply let them be.
[1] This color:
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