novelraw Chapter 1104: Driven Into a Corner
Chapter 1104: Driven Into a Corner
The azure sky was like a deep blue lake floating above.Clusters of white clouds drifted in mid-air like cotton, seemingly within reach.
Beneath the sky stretched endless, undulating mountain ranges; the mountaintops retained snow all year round, as if they were adorned with a silver edge.
The gray-blue mountainsides wound and twisted like a finely crafted ink painting, majestic and richly colored.
Nearby lay a gravelly desert, scattered with large and small rocks of various colors and shapes, some standing, some leaning.
Amidst the vast desert, a narrow path, just about a yard wide, wound its way from afar up to this point.
After a month of grueling journey, rushing along.
Prince Jin finally reached the Capital of Western Xia at the end of February or early March.
It was not like the flourishing splendor of the Great Chu Dynasty.
In the Capital of Western Xia, aside from its relatively flat terrain and dense housing.
It was nearly indistinguishable from the vast environment outside, paved with gravel, uneven and rough.
The Sunny March.
The Great Chu Dynasty was already bursting with the lushness of springtime; countless young men and women had donned splendid spring attire, stepped out of the city in groups of threes and fives to enjoy boating and appreciate the spring greenery.
But in the Western Xia Kingdom, it remained a scene of desolation.
Located in the Northwest, their climate was cold throughout the year, with snow on the mountains never melting. The grasslands only sprouted green in midsummer, only to be swiftly devoured by the livestock driven by herdsmen.
That was during a fruitful year.
If encountered with a severe snow disaster, the grass roots would freeze to death, and not a single hint of greenery would appear all year; it would be a barren and desolate scene.
As Prince Jin’s entourage proceeded.
The streets had scarce pedestrians, mostly old women and children, with hardly any young people!
No trees, no gardens, and even less were the splendid spring scenes of blooming flowers; all that met the eyes was a landscape of ochre, barren and desolate.
No vitality, no life, as if a great famine disaster had just been experienced.
His gaze grew more complex.
The hatred in his eyes and the surging flames could no longer be concealed, descending like a torrential waterfall!
"Such a Western Xia, vast though it is, with its valiant subjects, how can it compare to the Great Chu Dynasty?"
It’s said that the Capital City of the Great Chu Dynasty is not considered picturesque.
Their Jiangnan is the true, opulently rich Land of Fish and Rice.
With pavilions and waterside pavilions, fertile land, by the Qinhuai River, amidst birds singing and flowers dancing.
What exactly are these scenes depicted in poems?
Prince Jin squinted his eyes; however hard he tried, he couldn’t envision even a fraction of such a landscape.
He clenched his fist, ambition in his eyes like a spark ignited a wildfire, burning fiercely, never to be extinguished.
Oh heavens!
Since you are so blind!
Then let me change it all!
I want Western Xia’s warriors to occupy that fertile land, I want Western Xia’s people to live a life of plenty.
Let those useless scholars taste the lifelong torment of hunger!
It’s time for change!
Oh heavens, the mistakes you’ve made, I’ll correct them for you!
...
Western Xia Imperial Palace.
The ancient and structured buildings stood in order, with tall towers and low levels scattered harmoniously.
Apart from the structures being somewhat more upscale than the commoners’.
Their clothing and food somewhat better than the ordinary people; the rest wasn’t much different.
It was equally barren and desolate.
They didn’t have groups of palace maids and attendants!
No large expanses of clear, surrounded by azure blue waters!
And no Imperial Garden even larger than their palace!
Nor were there any charmingly dressed concubines adorned in splendid colors.
All the palaces, palace attendants, were a world apart from the Great Chu Dynasty.
In the palace of King Western Xia.
Due to the recent cold front, King Western Xia, who had caught a cold, was lying in bed with eyes closed, resting.
Hai Tang stood by, holding a bowl of medicine in her hand, her expression stern and manner melancholic.
There was an unconcealed concern in her eyes.
King Western Xia coughed a few times, slowly opening his eyes.
"Tangtang..."
Hai Tang hurriedly threw down the bowl and rushed over.
"Father, you’ve woken up; do you feel any better? Is there still any discomfort?!"
Her voice trembled slightly, her heart burning with anxiety, wishing she could take her father’s place.
When that ’father’ passed away, she thought she had lost the dearest person in the world.
The pain was heart-wrenching.
Now, with the truth revealed, she had found her biological father.
Finally reunited, a father and daughter should share their family joy.
But over the years, her father had drained his energy searching for her.
The politics and power of Western Xia had been largely seized by Prince Jin.
The court was in crisis, brothers were at odds.
Today’s Western Xia was no longer the Western Xia of old.
The Crown Prince Brother had always been frail and sickly, unable to bear excessive toil or practice martial arts, and even after many years of marriage, he had no children, lacking any authority in court.
Being a woman, and having been absent for many years, she had no authority in court whatsoever.
Without support, how could they rise?
Unless a miracle occurred, it was impossible to reverse the tide.
In this situation, they could only take it one step at a time.
But thinking back.
If it hadn’t been for the father-daughter reunion, father would have long been swallowed whole by Prince Jin!
Thinking this way, the current outcome wasn’t all too bad.
King Western Xia reached out with his dry hands, his face full of fatherly love.
"Tangtang, don’t worry!"
"Father... is fine!"
With two sentences, King Western Xia gasped for air three times, a heavy phlegm rattling in his throat that wouldn’t dissipate.
Hai Tang’s eyes reddened.
"Don’t speak any more, rest a while longer, your daughter is right here, not going anywhere!"
King Western Xia closed his eyes in exhaustion, smiling slightly.
But he couldn’t bear to let go of Hai Tang’s hand.
Afraid that if he let go, his daughter would disappear again.
"Where is Yueyue?"
King Western Xia asked again.
Hai Tang smiled.
"Brother is well in the Crown Prince’s Palace, Father, you don’t need to worry!"
King Western Xia nodded, then closed his eyes again.
After a while.
Just when Hai Tang thought he had fallen asleep.
King Western Xia’s body suddenly shook, as if waking from a nightmare.
"Tangtang!"
"Father, I’m here!" Hai Tang quickly said.
King Western Xia opened his eyes again, smiled when he saw her.
"Tangtang!"
"Now that both you and your brother are here, I am at ease!"
"But it’s my fault as a father, for believing in the wrong person..."
Prince Jin was his half-brother, who stood by his side during his most difficult times.
Helping him govern Western Xia, diligently for years.
Driving off powerful enemies, expanding territories, leading tens of thousands of subjects to find water sources, move herds, escape snow disasters, and rescue disaster victims.
He held immense prestige in court and was the only prince of illegitimate birth with the title of Regent Prince.
His trust in him was extreme.
But upon trusting, he found that underneath his altruistic and kind exterior, lay overwhelming ambition and a belly full of fangs and claws.
He was regretful, he was guilty, and he only realized too late.
Unfortunately, it was too late; nothing he said would change it!
The grand scheme had come to pass, the situation settled.
No matter what, it was impossible to reverse the tide.
He and his two children had been forced into a dead corner...