Chapter 422: Unfair Treaty
Chang’an, Chengqing Hall.
Facing the court officials and generals, Xiao Wenxuan angrily threw the memorial scroll at the feet of the Third Prince.
“Look at this. This is the memorial just submitted by the Wei King. This is the Chu King you’ve been so desperately defending. Your uncle has embarrassed me like this,” Xiao Wenxuan said furiously.
The Third Prince’s face paled. He crouched down to pick up the memorial, but just one glance at its contents made his expression change drastically.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the Third Prince with a mocking smile. Now that the Second Prince was gone from court, the Crown Prince’s position was stable, and the Fourth Prince could only compete against the Third Prince.
Even if he could never become emperor, he still hoped to perform well enough so that Xiao Wenxuan would grant him a prosperous fief.
“Father, although Uncle lost to the Dutch, he did so for the dignity of the Great Yu Empire. He fought against the Dutch, and though defeated, his honor remains intact,” the Third Prince said urgently.
He knew very well that his current smooth sailing in court was entirely because the Chu King backed him up. Now that the Chu King was defeated by the Dutch, his standing among the ministers had certainly diminished.
Especially since the memorial reported that hundreds of warships lost to a mere ten Dutch warships—this was particularly embarrassing.
“The Third Prince is so silver-tongued. The Chu King has betrayed the nation and lost the country’s honor, yet Your Highness praises him like a national hero. Shameful!” an official in a red robe shouted angrily.
After this official spoke, the Fourth Prince smiled. The northern and southern vassal kings had always been at odds because they understood the Chu King’s shady dealings over the years and secretly wished for unrest in the north.
Now that the Chu King was defeated by the Dutch, they were naturally delighted and took the opportunity to mock him.