Chapter 1177: Chapter 55: Leaving with a Flick of the Sleeves【Combined】 Chapter 1177: Chapter 55: Leaving with a Flick of the Sleeves【Combined】 …
On the second day at the Grand Court assembly, the Qin Emperor granted honors to ng Fang: Supre General of Divine Might, Duke of the Great Qin Kingdom, to idle along with the state…
And the like, a very long list of awards and titles.
Yet ng Fang firmly refused all, adamant in his stance.
“This servant owes all to the desperate efforts of his soldiers for achieving so minor rits; how can I accept such boundless glory!”
The Qin Emperor was resolute in bestowing honors.
ng Fang declined ti and again with clear conviction.
One party willing to give, the other refusing to accept, it beca an intractable disagreent.
Finally, ng Fang cracked a smile and said distantly, “When I set off on the campaign, Your Majesty once promised one thing. At that ti, you said that upon my triumphant return, whatever I asked would be granted, no matter what it might be, Your Majesty would agree.”
ng Fang then inquired, “Does Your Majesty still rember these words?”
With these words, the entire court, both civil and military, were all profoundly shaken.
Was ng Fang finally going to use this stipulation?
Anything, it could be anything!
The Qin Emperor’s gaze bore into ng Fang like that of a falcon, and he nodded, “I naturally rember, a king does not speak in jest. What does the General request? I, without hesitation, agree!”
ng Fang smiled and continued, “Now that the world is unified under heaven, all is peaceful, under the vast heavens, there is no land not under Qin; to the edge of the earth, there are no subjects not of Qin; at least for the coming years, there will be no great disputes to arise.”
“All the soldiers who fought for the country are recorded in the books of rit. Our Great Qin has clear rewards and punishnts, with military achievents being most generously acknowledged; each person naturally has their own prospects, and I have no lingering worries, hence I will not petition anything on behalf of the soldiers today… this ti, I’ll be selfish for once.”
After speaking, ng Fang stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and solemnly removed his official seal from his chest, placing it upon the golden steps of the hall before speaking again:
“I ask Your Majesty to grant leave to resign from all my official posts, to return to my fields, to live out my days in tranquility and contentnt.”
The words of ng Fang resonated with world-shaking might, rendering the entire assembly speechless with shock.
“Supre General!”
ng Fang’s subordinates in the golden hall cried out in alarm, only perceiving a blur before their eyes.
Was the Supre General truly… about to depart?!
Having heard ng Fang’s request, the Qin Emperor himself staggered slightly; he felt as if sothing was slipping away from his side, never to return.
The Qin Emperor took a deep breath, “ng Fang, you know that I cannot agree.”
“A king does not speak in jest, this is the promise that Your Majesty has given to his servant; it would be absurd not to comply.”
ng Fang stated firmly, “This is my greatest wish, I implore Your Majesty to keep your promise.”
The Qin Emperor narrowed his eyes and spoke, “ng Fang, does my court scare you so much? Are you in such a hurry to leave?”
“I am not afraid!”
ng Fang gave a bitter smile and said, “I was originally a simple peasant, a villager in the countryside, who by happenstance was conscripted into the ard service, battling through wars, narrowly escaping death… Since the day I left ho, my heart has held only one desire: to return and live a good life, to live out my years in peace.”
“To this day, this initial resolve has never changed.”
“I’ll say sothing not for fear of Your Majesty’s or the ministers’ laughter: if deserters weren’t punished in our Great Qin, ng Fang would have long since fled ho.”
“Over these many years, waging battles in the east and the west, I’ve survived countless wars; by chance not disappointing Your Majesty’s expectations, and having a minor share in the conquest that united the world, I feel honored, but my longing for ho and family grows even stronger.”
“Now that Great Qin has unified the land, with peace soon upon the seas, and the heavy burden no longer on my shoulders, I am thus bold enough to request Your Majesty to honor the promise of the past.”
ng Fang’s voice was sincere.
Everyone could see and hear that he was earnest, not using retreat as a ans to advance, not arrogant because of favor, but the result of deep deliberation.
Today, he was going to withdraw from the court.
What he said, was all from the heart.
And precisely because of his openness, without guile, did the Qin Emperor struggle to respond.
The Qin Emperor had great talent and grand strategy, his presence devoured the world; whether it concerned governnt, war, the nation, or the people’s welfare, he managed it all with ease.
His understanding of balancing the court and managing civil and military affairs was of the highest order, surpassing any of Qin country’s past ancestors.
He never feared anyone playing tricks before him or harboring little sches; even factions and private cliques failed to concern him.
He could see through the motives behind anyone’s words as clearly as if they were glowing in the dark.
But the Qin Emperor’s greatest predicant was dealing with the unpretentious military n like Fei Xinyu, Wu Tiejun, and others.
Because the kind of things they did, and the words they said, even they themselves didn’t know their own purpose.
Such frankness, directness, straightforwardness made them harder to handle.
And ng Fang, who was without any desire, was equally perplexing, or it could even be said that he was the most vexing of all.
Now, in this dire situation, ng Fang with a few words, a single promise, had backed him into a corner!
An emperor’s words are golden; a king does not speak in jest; a promise is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold, so I will use your past promise to make you comply.
Set free!
Yet this simple wish greatly troubled the Qin Emperor!
Oh, ng Fang, you who hold true to your original intention, who remain unswayed, wanting to leave behind the strife of court life to spend your days in tranquility, but have you considered who you are, the leading contributor to the unification of the world!
To resign and return ho imdiately upon your return to court, to inquire no further into worldly affairs, what would the people think, what assumptions would they make?!
ng Fang, as the first contributor to the Great Qin’s unification, had all his official positions dismissed by the Qin Emperor the very next day after the military’s return, only to go back ho to work the fields…
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