Chapter 843 Requesting the Imperial Court to Send Troops
For several days in a row, the people of the capital were talking about Lady Sui's abduction.
However, no decree has been issued from the court yet regarding whether to provide aid or not, and how many troops to send to rescue them... There is still no result.
In the reading room, an article caught everyone's attention.
This is a parallel prose piece written under the name of Dongliu Jushi. The article is very simple and can be understood by anyone who can read.
It describes Lady Sui's contributions to the Great Yu Kingdom over the years—discovering ratooning rice, saving countless people from hunger; promoting white cotton, sparing many from the bitter cold; inventing the human-powered fan, reducing hundreds of coal mine poisoning incidents; sensing the intentions of the Laki Kingdom, preventing the Great Yu Kingdom's farmland from being invaded by an unknown species... protecting the Emperor and Crown Prince, keeping the Great Yu Kingdom from internal strife...
Any one of these events, if placed on a person, would be enough to bring them promotion, wealth, and family honor.
But ironically, it was all Lady Sui's doing.
The readers in the reading room were all deeply moved, and they read the article over and over again.
"Although Lady Sui is a woman, she is in no way inferior to men. We should take Lady Sui as our role model."
"But such a wonderful Lady Sui was captured by the Western Rong Kingdom. It is said that the Western Rong King forced Lady Sui to develop a rice variety suitable for the Western Rong land."
"The fact that Lady Sui arranged for her son to escape and return to report shows that she will never submit to the tyranny of the Western Rong King. If the court does not send troops, Lady Sui will be disheartened. Will anyone be willing to be loyal to the Great Yu Kingdom in the future?"
"We scholars all know this principle, so how could the court not know it? The fact that no conclusion has been reached yet suggests that there are deeper considerations at play."
"Regardless of any considerations, I believe we must save lives." Yu Zhan stepped out from the corner, clenching his fist. "I am a scholar from the lowest rung of society. If it weren't for Lady Sui's reading pavilion, I would never have become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). I hope the court I serve is one that is willing to protect its subjects, not one that is timid and hesitant, allowing the Western Rong to ride roughshod over without resistance... I suggest that we all jointly petition the Emperor to send troops!"
News of what happened in the capital has not yet reached Yunnan Province, so his father naturally wouldn't write this article.
He imitated his father's handwriting, wrote down Madam Sui's deeds, and placed them in the reading area of the reading room.
The elegant title "Dongliu Jushi" has become a name known to almost all scholars in the capital's literary circles. Only by writing articles under the name of Dongliu Jushi can these scholars, who are oblivious to the affairs of the world, take this matter seriously.
The pen in a scholar's hand is like a soldier's spear; if used well, it can be extremely lethal.
Under Yu Zhan's impassioned speech, the hidden passion of the scholars was ignited. They temporarily forgot about the imperial examinations, picked up their brushes, and turned them into spears, writing words on the paper. The paper and brush, which were as light as a feather, seemed to have gained weight.
The joint petition signed by scholars caused a great sensation in the capital.
Moreover, female students from the Beijing Girls' School also participated in this joint signature campaign.
“Madam Sui is the headmistress of our girls’ school. As students, we cannot stand idly by while our headmistress is kidnapped.”
"We are women and cannot go to the battlefield, but I am willing to donate all my jewelry to contribute my meager strength to the soldiers going to war."
"We will donate to the imperial court in the name of our girls' school, hoping that the court can send troops as soon as possible!"
"..."
The students at Xiao Qin University also became restless.
"Damn it, the Western Rong Kingdom is too treacherous and cunning! They actually kidnapped people halfway through the journey! How despicable, disgusting!" Li Jian put one foot on the chair and looked at the whole class. "The Prince is the headmaster of our school, and Lady Sui is our teacher. They've been kidnapped. Shouldn't we do something about it?"
“I remembered what Madam Sui said in class before.” Pang Jie closed his book. “She said that the shame of the Western Rong has never faded. I thought it was an exaggeration, but now I know that the Western Rong Kingdom has really been coveting the land of our Great Yu Kingdom. When the youth prosper, the nation prospers; when the youth are strong, the nation is strong… Whether we can wash away the shame of the past depends on us, the youth!”
Peng Wang stepped forward: "What does Brother Pang mean?"
“I asked my father. The Emperor isn’t unwilling to send troops to the Western Rong, but rather because he doesn’t have enough troops and needs to negotiate with various parties, which is why a result hasn’t been reached yet.” Pang Jie stood up. “I am willing to put on armor and become a soldier on the battlefield. I want to rescue the Prince and Lady Sui!”
Dou Qingsong's eyes lit up: "Brother Pang and I are thinking the same thing! Let's go, let's go and ask to join the army!"
The others in the classroom could no longer sit still.
They were learning other languages here, and every day their teachers instilled in them the idea of repaying the Great Yu Kingdom. Now that the Great Yu Kingdom had been trampled on by the Western Rong Kingdom, no one could tolerate this insult. Not to mention, their headmaster and teachers had been captured. As students, they had the responsibility and obligation to rescue them!
The fifty-four students of Xiao Qin University hit it off immediately, skipped afternoon classes, and headed towards the imperial city together.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Dr. Tao exclaimed in surprise. "Skipping class? Ten points deducted from each of you!"
These students had been relatively well-behaved lately, and he had even managed to keep some of his hair. How did they suddenly start skipping class all at once...?
Peng Wang turned around and cupped his hands in greeting: "We are going to see the Emperor to request permission to fight. Please forgive us, Doctor!"
Dr. Tao was taken aback, and his eyes suddenly became warm.
By the time he realized what was happening, the fifty-odd people had already walked away in a long procession.
However, none of the fifty of them were qualified to enter the palace to meet the emperor. So, led by Pang Jie and Li Jian, the group of more than fifty people knelt down at the gate of the imperial city.
"This humble citizen requests to join the army and fight against the Western Rong!"
"Join the army and fight against the Western Rong!"
More than fifty people shouted in unison, but after shouting for a long time, there was no response from the imperial city.
But they knew that the Imperial Guards should have already informed the Emperor, and they only needed to wait for news.
Their kneeling attracted the attention of many scholars. Some scholars, after reading the articles that had been published in the reading room, were inspired and joined their ranks, each finding a spot to kneel down.
"The student requests the imperial court to send troops to rescue Lady Sui!"
"We request the imperial court to send troops!"
"We request the imperial court to send troops!"
The frail scholars shouted in unison, unleashing tremendous energy.
Many ordinary people saw this and joined in, shouting along at the top of their lungs.
"Save Lady Sui!"
"Save Lady Sui!"
"..."
In less than an hour, the gates of the imperial city were filled with a dense crowd of people, estimated to be at least ten thousand, and their voices were deafening.
At this very moment, the door to the Imperial Study was closed.
The emperor was reading a secret letter that had been delivered by express courier from Jilin Province.
The secret letter stated that the Kingdom of Laki was launching a counterattack, and if the troops were to retreat now, the Kingdom of Laki would pursue them to Jilin Province, which would likely become a battlefield, causing immense suffering to the people...
The ministers below, who were in favor of war, sighed. They had been hoping that His Highness the Crown Prince would return with his troops, thus providing them with the strength to fight against the Western Rong Kingdom, but now…
When the Imperial Study was quiet, Eunuch Ming, who was standing at the door, finally dared to push the door open and enter: "Your Majesty, something has happened... A large number of people have gathered at the gates of the Imperial City, demanding that the court send troops to rescue Lady Sui! There were less than a hundred people just now, but in less than an hour, there are more than ten thousand. In a little while, there will probably be thirty or forty thousand..."
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