The cheers gradually faded away.

The excitement and curiosity on the faces of the onlookers faded, replaced by confusion.

People respect these educated people from the bottom of their hearts. Although we often don’t understand what they do or say, we know that they make sense.

At this moment, looking at these scholars and literati in plain robes, sitting upright with serious expressions, without crying or saying anything, everyone immediately knew that something very important had happened.

I vaguely have seen this scene before. When the crown prince died, the late emperor announced that Prince Qi would be the crown prince to inherit the throne. The officials were outraged, and the scholars were also dissatisfied. The officials knelt in front of the imperial city in their official robes to plead for orders, while the scholars and students supported the orthodoxy outside the city.

I don’t know what they are appealing for this time. Why are they scolding Duke Cheng as a soldier who lost his country?

Also, their last appeal was crushed by the ferocious Royal Guards, who used sticks, knives, guns, and blood, resulting in a tragedy that still chills people to the point of chilling when they talk about it.

What about this time?

The people looked over there at Duke Cheng's troops.

Thousands of soldiers formed a battle array, but now they stopped and stood still. Except for the flags in the battle array being blown by the wind, there was silence. With crossbows on their backs and swords and guns hanging on their sides, they were filled with murderous aura.

Compared to the Imperial Guard, these soldiers would be more terrifying if they started killing.

"How can you say that? How can Duke Cheng be compared with the Imperial Guard?" Someone murmured, "Then what has Duke Cheng become?"

Cruel officials and treacherous ministers?

Is that still the legendary Duke Cheng who is revered by everyone?

Or are legends just legends?

Legends are just legends.

It is said that everyone is in awe and grateful to them for defending their country, but what do they see now?

"Why?" Lei Zhonglian murmured.

As for the merchants blocking the road, he could accept the explanation that they were just rioters, but what about these scholars and students?

They are educated people. They are sensible and have a sense of shame. They are certainly not troublemakers. Moreover, what they do must be justified and correct.

They are right, and so are we wrong?

Why? Why do you treat us like this?

This time, the people around me still sneered, but there was no gloating sneer like before.

"Why so many whys?" Jin Shiba just said coldly.

The soldiers, Lei Zhonglian and others had different thoughts, but Zhao Hanqing didn't care about safety. When she saw someone blocking the road, she immediately took off her bow and crossbow and urged her horse to move forward.

Several generals were shocked, because they all knew that this girl really dared to kill people.

Not only gold thieves were killed, but even the common people of the Great Zhou were killed with just one order.

Although these Qingshan soldiers are no longer the dozens they once were and have become their subordinates, they all know very well in their hearts that in terms of influence in the Qingshan Army, they are really not as good as the two girls.

"Miss Xiaoqing, Miss Qing, you can't kill it." They hurriedly called her.

Zhao Hanqing reined in his horse and looked at them in confusion.

"Why? They are blocking the way," she said.

But they are literati, scholars, civil servants, and scholars.

Military generals are inferior to scholars, so how could they fight and kill them?

Duke Cheng took over the conversation with a smile.

"First ask them why they are blocking the road," he said.

The generals immediately stood up.

"Let's go ask, Duke." They said in unison, unable to hide their anger.

These people are going too far. It would be so embarrassing for the Duke to meet them like this.

Duke Cheng raised his hand to stop it.

"No need," he said.

Of course, at this time, Duke Cheng was closer and more convincing, appearing humble and close to the people.

The generals were thinking about this in their hearts, but they saw Duke Cheng nod to Zhao Hanqing.

"History will do," he said.

Well, the Duke is indeed the Duke.

The girl is the one who deals with the merchants, and the girl is also the one who deals with the scholars and students. She really treats them equally.

Sometimes treating everyone equally is actually a form of contempt.

"If they don't obey orders, will they be beaten?" Zhao Hanqing asked.

"Of course." Duke Cheng said with a smile.

Really, are you really going to fight?

The generals looked hesitant, because the Right Civil and Left Military had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even though their official positions were not small, they still had some awe for these scholars, even if they were commoners.

No, it cannot be said that all military officers are afraid of literati. There is one group of people who are not afraid of literati, and that is the Jinyiwei.

As the thought flashed through his mind, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

They returned from hundreds of battles with their heads thrown around and blood shed, and they did not dare to call themselves loyal and brave, nor did they expect that they would degenerate into the image of the Golden Guard.

Zhao Hanqing urged his horse to gallop away without hesitation.

The sound of horse hooves was particularly eye-catching in the silent army formation. The horses passed through the army formation and stopped in front of the scholars and students in the middle of the road.

"Hey, are you also dissatisfied with some order from the government?" Zhao Hanqing asked.

The students at the front looked up and saw the girl appearing before them. They were not surprised, nor did they show any dissatisfaction for asking about her female identity.

They looked calm.

"No," said the leading scholar, "We have no complaints against the government."

no?

Zhao Hanqing was stunned.

"We are just dissatisfied with Duke Cheng." The scholar continued.

Duke Cheng only said that those who were dissatisfied with the government could be killed, and did not say what to do with those who were dissatisfied with him. Zhao Hanqing did not take out his bow, crossbow, sword or gun, nor did he give any orders. He just reached out and rubbed his brow.

"So what do you want?" she asked.

"We ask Duke Cheng to dismount and disperse his soldiers, take off his armor and hat, and apologize in front of the imperial city with a bundle of weeds on his back," said the leading scholar, Su Rong.

Apology?

The people around were shocked.

The court clearly said that it would reward Duke Cheng for his meritorious service, so why did these people ask him to apologize?

What scholars say always makes sense. The people looked surprised and puzzled, but they just talked among themselves in low voices and no one spoke out to refute them.

"Why?" Zhao Hanqing asked everyone's question, "The Duke obviously made contributions."

After hearing these words, the generals in the army looked anxious.

You can't ask that.

After all, he was just a child, and he asked out of curiosity.

We can't give these people a chance to speak at this moment.

They could not help but walk outside, but it was too late.

"Duke Cheng is guilty of nothing."

The scholar over there spoke in a clear and serious voice, and without waiting for Zhao Hanqing to ask any more questions, he looked at the military formation here and raised his hand.

"The first crime was disobeying the emperor's orders, seeking credit for merit and advancing recklessly, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers."

"The second crime is to be cunning and treacherous, to be obsessed with power and influence, and to ignore the safety of the country and the people."

"The third crime is to love war and to value military power, which leads to constant war, waste of national treasury, and loss of labor and property."

"The fourth crime is being arrogant and presumptuous, seeking rewards and fame, and leading other officials to follow suit and disrupt the military and government."

Before the discussion ended, more scholars stood up and pointed at the soldiers in the battle array. Their expressions were heavy and their eyes were filled with anger.

"For a long time, you have been delighted by the news of war and have taken war as an honor. There has never been a day of peace on the border, and fighting has never stopped."

"You only care about your own wealth and power, you ignore state affairs and look down upon the people. Your actions are truly bringing disaster to the country and the people."

"How dare you show off your achievements and fame? If you continue like this, my Great Zhou will lose its power day by day and will perish in your hands."

"Duke Cheng, Zhu Shan, is a minister who lost his country, and you are soldiers who lost your country."

Even though many people were talking, each of their voices was clear and powerful, and each sentence was addressed to the military formation here and was clearly heard by the people around them.

Is that so?

So that's how it is.

Their bellicosity and bravery is not a good thing, nor is it a merit. Instead, it is a sin.

When we first heard about the war, we were all very worried and anxious. We were very happy when we heard about the peace talks. However, Duke Cheng was against the peace talks and wanted to continue fighting the Jin people.

The Jin people were very angry and threatened to send another 100,000 troops. If this continued, the war would indeed be endless.

Money was being spent, merchants were being taxed, and officials' salaries were stopped, which showed how empty the national treasury was.

The most important thing is that everyone is always worried and has no peace of mind.

Weapons are dangerous tools, this is indeed the truth.

The people's expressions became complicated, and the way they looked at the soldiers also changed.

The soldiers' faces also changed.

Although they didn't understand a lot of what the scholars said, they understood the last sentence.

They also understood the expressions of the people around them.

The destruction of a country is caused by its soldiers, and the guilt is caused by its soldiers.

Is this how they exist?