“How could I have a useless son like you!!”

Zhao Zhen roared, his previous composure completely gone.

Zhao Wushuang remained silent. He wasn’t afraid. After hearing Zhao Zhen finish his tirade, he knelt down and said, “Your Majesty speaks rightly. This unfilial son is beyond redemption. I beg Your Majesty to strip me of the position of Crown Prince. In my humble opinion…”

“My third brother would be far more suitable than I.”

“What did you say?! What did you say!!”

A vein bulged on Zhao Zhen’s forehead. He kicked out immediately.

Zhao Wushuang was kicked onto the floor.

He brushed the dust from his robes and knelt back up.

“I beg Your Majesty to strip me of the Crown Prince’s position.”

As he spoke, blood trickled from the corner of Zhao Wushuang’s mouth. He gritted his teeth, uttering no cry of pain.

“Absurd!!!”

Zhao Zhen bellowed, “Countless men in this world yearn to be emperor! And now, with the throne so close, all you think of is retreat! How could I, Zhao Zhen, have sired such a coward?!”

Zhao Wushuang swallowed the blood in his mouth. He glared at Zhao Zhen with hatred and said, “Does Your Majesty truly believe this son desired to become Crown Prince? Desired to sit upon the throne?”

“Since the day I was born the eldest son, people have spoken to me. Ever since I was very young, they told me, ‘You will be Crown Prince. You will rule the kingdom!’ But no one ever asked me what I wanted!”

“I have been nothing but a puppet on strings! Tugged this way and that. Every little mistake drew endless criticism!”

“Even the right to make mistakes in my childhood was taken from me!”

Zhao Wujiyi let out a light laugh. “My mother cared for me when I was young. But did you know, Father? My mother was framed and killed by a concubine in the palace back then. Yet you… your eyes only held the world! You wouldn’t even speak a single word for her! You didn’t even come to look at her on the day of her burial!”

He ground his teeth. “I hate you! I hate that my surname is Zhao!”

Zhao Zhen’s hands trembled as he pointed at Zhao Wushuang before him.

“You… you…”

Zhao Zhen’s vision blurred slightly. His body swayed and he collapsed onto the Dragon Throne.

“Thump.”

He gripped the dragon’s head carving, unable to regain his wits for a long time.

Zhao Wushuang stood up and said calmly, “I implore Your Majesty to remove me from the position of Crown Prince soon.”

“I will summon the imperial physician for you shortly.”

After saying this, he turned and left the great hall without looking back.

The empty hall now held only Zhao Zhen.

He slumped on the Dragon Throne, his eyes seeming empty and void.

A long sigh echoed through the empty hall.

It soon turned into a peal of laughter.

But the longer it went on, the more tinged with bitterness that laughter became.

.

.

The next morning, during the court assembly.

Officials stood gathered in the great hall.

But they waited a long time, with no sign of the King arriving.

Only after half an hour passed.

Did a eunuch come forward to deliver a proclamation.

“Hear the decree of Your Majesty!”

His voice rang out. The officials knelt in obeisance.

“This king has spent his life on horseback. Born in chaos, I forged mighty achievements to build our Da Xiang. But… was that all?”

“Before my life ends, I wish to see the world united under Xiang Banner. For this campaign, I, the King, shall lead the army myself. We will trample Western Xiao beneath our horses!”

“Matters of the court and the state, I entrust to the Crown Prince. All officials must assist the Crown Prince and protect our Da Xiang.”

“So decreed.”

After the eunuch finished reading, the officials below were all stunned, rooted to the spot.

The eunuch’s gaze turned to the Crown Prince standing before the hall’s dais. He said, “Crown Prince, please receive the decree.”

Zhao Wushuang snapped out of his daze. He stepped forward, bent down, and received the Imperial Decree.

He felt numb.

After uttering such disrespectful words last night, hoping to shed the title of Crown Prince, he never expected this result.

Zhao Wushuang couldn’t understand. Why wouldn’t they let him go?

By this time, Zhao Zhen was already on his way to Yongning City, accompanied by thousands of soldiers and horses.

He had no choice.

Among all his sons, Zhao Wushuang was the best candidate. The only one who might hold his own against that powerful Chancellor.

This was Zhao Zhen’s last hope.

Because he had a dark premonition: on this journey, he might not return.

So he threw it all upon the Will of Heaven.

Allowing himself, Zhao Zhen, this one moment of recklessness.

………

Before Dongyu City, the two armies had been deadlocked for months.

During this time, the Xiang Army had tried attacking from the sides, but the results were far from hopeful.

Repeated challenges were issued, yet it always ended in a stalemate, yielding little progress.

The defenses of Dongyu City stood unmoved, impossible to shake.

By the time Zhao Zhen arrived at the army camp, it was already late autumn.

The place was turning cold, a biting chill setting in. Many soldiers struggled with the harsh climate. Some caught chills, their fighting strength greatly reduced.

Even a forced assault had missed the best seasonal window.

So, the plans to storm the city were postponed.

They would have to wait until spring arrived.

And so they waited, for several more months.

They waited for the winter snows to melt. Waited for tender shoots to sprout from the barren ground.

Until the weather finally warmed. As the Xiang Army gradually recovered, the offensive resumed.

Western Xiao was a tough nut to crack.

Zhao Zhen hardened his resolve. He planned to detour and attack from behind.

But he underestimated Western Xiao. The mere scouts sent to explore the route never came back. Sixteen scouts, all dead.

The very next day, their bodies were hung from the ramparts of Dongyu City’s city tower.

In his twilight years, Zhao Zhen frowned deeply. He understood now: going head-to-head wasn’t merely risking mutual destruction.

They needed another way.

But again and again, Western Xiao reacted with uncanny speed.

Zhao Zhen concluded. “There’s a spy in the camp!”

The enemy seemed to know their every move. Even the scouts they sent out were always found, with none returning alive. Clearly, Western Xiao was prepared.

The only explanation? Someone feeding them information.

Yet these precise maneuvers involved details known only to the highest-ranking generals. Men who had fought and bled beside him.

For now, Zhao Zhen had no clues. He didn’t know how to uncover this traitor.

He thought of using the spy against them. But he dared not take such a huge gamble.

Prince Xiao’s mind was far too sharp. Fooling him would be near impossible.

So the Xiang Army remained blocked before Dongyu City’s walls. The stalemate resumed.

……… 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The 17th year of Xinglong, on the day of “Awakening of Insects” (early spring).

After a full year, Zhao Zhen managed the impossible. He placed trusted agents within the camps of several key generals. During a planned assault, the agents finally found some telling clues.

That very night, he summoned his generals to discuss a full-scale, direct attack.

He deliberately assigned the spy the task of leading a force to burn the enemy’s food stores from behind.

While he himself made other, hidden preparations.

Late that same night, Zhao Zhen took tens of thousands of troops and launched a surprise night attack on Dongyu City.

This battle marked its beginning!

The defenders of Dongyu City were caught utterly unprepared.

“The intelligence from the deep agent was false!!”

“The Xiang Army attacks Dongyu City at night! Report immediately!”

This night raid proved remarkably effective.

The Xiang soldiers rushed up the walls onto the city tower before the Western Xiao forces could gather and organize.

Zhao Zhen gave a cold snort. Dongyu City had cost him nearly two years. But in the end, he, Zhao Zhen, had outplayed them.

“Let’s see how you struggle against this now!” he thought.

By the time dawn broke, the defenders of Dongyu City were facing total collapse. The remaining Western Xiao soldiers retreated further back.

Thus did Dongyu City fall!