Chapter 79

"Your Highness? Your Highness?"

When Zhao Hongrun was groggily awakened by the palace guard Shen Yu the next day, he realized he had fallen asleep lying on his side in the front hall. The blanket covering him was most likely placed there by the guards during the night.

"What time is it?"

Zhao Hongrun sat up and stretched his muscles, which felt sore from his deep sleep after thinking until late the previous night.

"It's almost noon."

"Oh." Zhao Hongrun yawned and stretched: "Is lunch prepared?"

"The Imperial Kitchen has been informed. Also..."

"Hmm?"

Under Zhao Hongrun's puzzled gaze, Shen Yu bent slightly and whispered, "Your Highness, Gao Kuo just received news that the Chu envoy has encountered trouble."

"..." Zhao Hongrun was taken aback, still in the middle of stretching, almost gasping for breath: "What? The Chu envoy? What happened?"

"They were ambushed." Shen Yu whispered: "Near Yongqiu."

Zhao Hongrun drew a sharp breath. He had been racking his brain the previous night over how to deal with the Chu envoys, and now this problem was solved.

"When did the news arrive? Who discovered it?"

"The news reached the court this morning. It was discovered by the group sent to Yongqiu to welcome the Chu envoy." Shen Yu replied.

According to diplomatic customs, the Chu envoy's group could not directly enter Daliang. To show respect to the Wei Emperor, they would rest for a few days before entering Daliang territory and send a letter to Daliang. Only after the Wei Emperor's permission and the dispatch of a welcoming envoy could the Chu envoy's group enter Daliang.

However, when the Wei Emperor sent the Minister of Rites, She You, along with several other officials and General Lü Jing with a group of soldiers to Yongqiu to welcome the Chu envoy, they were shocked to find that the Chu envoy's group had been ambushed near Yongqiu.

Nearly two hundred people, none survived!

The Minister of Rites, She You, and General Lü Jing, alarmed, discussed the matter and decided to have the latter seal off the area around Yongqiu while they hurried back to Daliang to report to the Emperor.

The Chu envoy's group was attacked, with no survivors.

This news caused a great stir in the court as soon as it reached Daliang. According to the information obtained by the palace guard Gao Kuo, the Wei Emperor had urgently summoned the key ministers to the Chui Gong Hall to discuss a response.

"Are they still in the Chui Gong Hall?"

Zhao Hongrun asked curiously.

Shen Yu nodded: "Most likely."

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun, without a word, decided to skip lunch. He left Mu Qing to take care of Princess Yulong, who was temporarily staying in the Wenzhao Pavilion, and set off for the Chui Gong Hall with Shen Yu, Gao Kuo, and several other palace guards.

"Stay here, I'll go in and check."

He instructed the palace guards to wait outside the Chui Gong Hall and entered alone.

Sure enough, inside the Chui Gong Hall, the ministers were in heated discussion. Besides the three Secretariat ministers, Zhao Hongrun saw over a dozen other court ministers.

Zhao Hongrun did not speak but stood to one side, quietly listening to the ministers' discussions.

The Wei Emperor, noticing his son, glanced at Zhao Hongrun from his throne but made no indication.

Seeing this, the chief eunuch Tong Xian understood and brought a chair for Zhao Hongrun to sit and listen.

Zhao Hongrun nodded in thanks to Tong Xian and focused his attention on the ministers, eager to hear their opinions on the matter.

At the moment, the ministers were still debating the identity of the attacker who ambushed the Chu envoy.

Some ministers believed that it could be a traitor from Wei, aiming to embroil Wei in external conflict; others thought the attacker might not be Wei but Chu, and mentioned a name.

Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng.

Zhao Hongrun noticed that when this name was mentioned, the ministers, who had been arguing, suddenly fell silent, which puzzled him. Why would a Chu person be suspected in the attack on the Chu envoy?

"Chief Eunuch Tong, who is Xiong Tuo? Why do the ministers suspect this Chu person of attacking the Chu envoy?"

Zhao Hongrun asked quietly.

Tong Xian, being the chief eunuch, knew a lot. Seeing Zhao Hongrun's question, he explained in a low voice.

It turned out that the state of Chu was different from Wei. Due to its vast territory, the previous Chu king had enfeoffed many royal and noble descendants, granting them land and allowing them to form armies. In Wei terms, they were similar to feudal lords, but in Chu, they were called "lords." The only king in Chu was King Xiong Ze.

The largest noble family in Chu was the Xiong clan, of the Mi surname. Note: In ancient noble names, the most formal way to address them was with their clan name followed by their given name. For example, if Zhao Hongrun were written in history, he would be "Prince Ji Run" or the more ancient "Prince Run," while "Zhao Hongrun" is a more common form. Additionally, the character "Hong" (which denotes generation) is generally not mentioned in formal settings.

Xiong Tuo (Mi Tuo), the Lord of Yangcheng, was a member of the Xiong clan. His fief was in the south of Ying River County, and he had been the most aggressive Chu noble against Wei in recent years.

According to what Tong Xian revealed, Xiong Tuo had a grudge against Wei, specifically against the Wei Emperor.

Ten years ago, the Wei Emperor and Xiong Tuo had joined forces to attack the state of Song. Initially, they agreed to split Song equally, but later, the Wei Emperor cut off Xiong Tuo's supplies, leaving him to fight as the vanguard for half a year, capturing most of Song. Due to the lack of supplies, Xiong Tuo had to retreat to Ying River County, while the Wei Emperor annexed all of Song, renaming it Song County.

Later, Xiong Tuo wrote to the Wei Emperor, demanding half of Song, but everyone knew that once something was taken, it was hard to give back, especially to a potential rival like Chu. The Wei Emperor used various excuses to refuse, keeping Song County for himself.

Thus, Xiong Tuo harbored a deep grudge against Wei and frequently attacked it. If not for the Fenxiong Pass, Wei might have had a hard time defending against Xiong Tuo's relentless attacks.

This is why Xiong Tuo was suspected by the ministers as one of the possible culprits in the attack on the Chu envoy. After all, the Chu envoy's group passed through Xiong Tuo's territory and the Fenxiong Pass to reach Yongqiu, giving Xiong Tuo the opportunity to plant some of his men in the group.

As for why he would do this, it was not hard to understand. He had a grudge against Wei, and on his own, he could not conquer Wei. To invade Wei, Xiong Tuo would need to ally with other members of his clan, or even the Chu king.

The death of the Chu envoy's group within Wei territory would provide a good pretext for Chu to attack Wei.

"Xiong Tuo's desire to destroy our Wei has not diminished. If he is indeed behind this, our Wei will face a fierce battle." The Minister of War, Li Yu, sighed deeply and then bowed to the Wei Emperor: "Your Majesty, I believe you should immediately send a letter to the Chu king to explain this matter..."

"How can we explain it?" The Minister of Justice, Zhou Yan, smiled bitterly: "Without evidence, how can we make the Chu king believe it was Xiong Tuo?"

"That is a mistake!" The Minister of War, Li Yu, countered: "The innocent killing of the Chu envoy's group is clearly an attempt to provoke a war between Wei and Chu. ... We have no reason to do this, and I believe the Chu king can see this. Therefore, I suggest you immediately write a letter to the Chu king to dispel his suspicions. If we delay, and the Chu king discovers something is wrong, it will make us appear guilty and suspicious, and the Chu king will likely misunderstand."

"I believe we cannot yet conclude that Xiong Tuo is responsible. I request your permission to investigate this matter thoroughly..." The Minister of Justice, Zhou Yan, interjected: "If it turns out to be the work of a Wei person, and we blame Xiong Tuo, how will we explain this to Chu?"

Zhao Hongrun listened to the ministers' debates for a long time, finally grasping the main points.

The ministers were debating whether to immediately inform the Chu king and how to explain the matter.

After all, the Chu envoy's group was ambushed near Yongqiu, deep within Wei territory. The only ones who could have done this were either internal members of the Chu envoy's group or a hidden force within Wei that wanted to embroil Wei in war.

Compared to Xiong Tuo, the latter possibility was even more alarming, which is why the Minister of Justice, Zhou Yan, was eager to investigate.

However, the investigation would take time. If Wei suppressed the news to conduct the investigation and Chu received some information, it would be problematic. As the Minister of War, Li Yu, pointed out, even if the Chu king rationally believed Wei would not do this, the suppression of the news would make Wei appear suspicious.

Even though the killing of the Chu envoy would bring no benefit to Wei.

In the end, the Wei Emperor followed the Minister of Justice, Zhou Yan's advice: to temporarily suppress the news and have the Ministry of Justice investigate.

There was no choice, as the Chu envoy's group was ambushed deep within Wei territory, and Wei had a responsibility to investigate.

If evidence could be found to prove that Xiong Tuo was intentionally framing Wei, then Wei could clear itself by informing the Chu king, and the Chu king would punish Xiong Tuo.

If it turned out to be the work of a hidden force within Wei, the priority would be to apprehend them and use them to appease the Chu king. In this case, Wei would still bear some responsibility, but it would avoid a full-scale war.

However, reality took a turn for the worse. The Minister of Justice, Zhou Yan, mobilized soldiers to thoroughly investigate the area for miles around, the route of the Chu envoy, and spent half a month, but still could not determine who was responsible.

This was problematic because envoys typically sent letters back to their country every few days to report their progress. With no news for half a month, the Chu king would certainly be suspicious.

In the end, the news of the Chu envoy's group being ambushed and killed spread through Wei, and some Chu spies in Wei transmitted the news to Chu.

Although it was unclear what kind of turmoil this caused in Chu, the result was evident: the Chu ministers saw this as a legitimate opportunity to attack Wei.

Thus, with the mediation of Xiong Tuo, who had a grudge against the Wei Emperor, Chu mobilized its army in late September and sent a declaration of war to Wei.

Chu formally declared war on Wei!