His eyes ignited with blazing flames, filled with overwhelming hatred. He raised his thin chin and gritted his teeth, saying, "Gu Ce surrendered to the enemy and opened the city gate, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers. How can we compare them?"
He admitted that he had misunderstood the Second Miss Gu; but Gu Ce's crime was known to the whole world and was witnessed by the whole world, so how could it be erased by just a few words from the eldest prince!
A father is a father, a daughter is a daughter! The other students behind him felt the same way, nodding their heads with the same indignation written on their faces.
The students were filled with indignation, but Chu Yi still smiled calmly and asked, "Who saw it?"
Nine years ago, after the Nanyue army captured Tailing City in Yangzhou, they massacred people for three days.
All the Dajing soldiers who participated in the battle were either killed in battle or buried alive. The people in the Tailing City area also had nine out of ten houses empty, with corpses everywhere.
The students present and the onlookers outside had all heard that the smell of blood lingered for a long time in the sky above Tailing City and flocks of crows flew in panic.
But now the eldest prince asked, who saw it?
This question was quite heart-wrenching, and Han Zhanghe and others were speechless for a moment.
Chu Yi repeated again: "Without investigation, there is no right to speak."
Chu Yi had just said this, and everyone still remembered it.
If he had said this before today, it would have caused a lot of disgust, especially the students present here, who would have written extensively and criticized him.
At this moment, they couldn't say anything.
Today they followed the eldest prince for half a day and observed his behavior. They found that he was not the foolish man who was seduced by beauty as they had previously thought, nor did he become mediocre and weak because of being a hostage in South Vietnam for many years.
Their eldest prince was not only extremely intelligent and had a photographic memory, but he was also a man with broad mind, measured words and measured actions.
Moreover, the lessons from the Hua family case are right before our eyes.
The students looked at each other, and their defenses, which had been as hard as a city wall, loosened a little.
The current emperor has a benevolent nature. One year after he ascended the throne, he abolished several miscellaneous taxes and harsh levies. He also supported academies and granted imperial examinations, just to give these common people students a chance to display their ambitions.
Unlike the previous emperor who valued those noble families more, although he did not abolish the imperial examination system during his twenty years in power, he also did not employ any scholars from humble backgrounds.
As soon as the emperor ascended the throne, he held an imperial examination, which was obviously a declaration of his political views to the poor students all over the world.
Such an emperor should not only be benevolent, but also a monarch who cares about the world and strives to revitalize it.
Since the Emperor and the First Prince both felt that there was something hidden behind Gu Ce's surrender to the enemy, could there really be some hidden story...
Han Zhanghe took a deep breath, maintained the posture of bowing, looked at Chu Yi without blinking, and said seriously: "Your Highness, do you have any evidence?"
"If there is enough evidence, it would be time to clear his name." Chu Yi's expression was extremely calm and his tone was quite indifferent, as if this was a matter of course and he did not have the slightest doubt about it.
Han Zhanghe heard the hidden meaning in Chu Yi's words and asked anxiously, "May I ask if Your Highness has found any clues?"
After saying this, Han Zhanghe was afraid that this was a secret of the court, and wanted to say something, but Chu Yi spoke first: "When I was in Yue State, I accidentally discovered that in the battle in Yangzhou that year, the Yue army claimed that 20,000 soldiers were killed, but in fact 30,000 were killed in the battle, and 10,000 disappeared. After the remaining Yue soldiers returned to Yue State, they were ordered by the Yue State Saint to return to the countryside."
Just a few words made the atmosphere in Wancao Hall suddenly solemn.
As the saying goes: Juren is worth gold, while Jinshi is worth silver. It takes several counties to produce one Juren, and each Juren is a smart person who has emerged from thousands of scholars.
The students present here are not stupid as they have studied all the way to become Juren. Moreover, the purpose of their taking the imperial examination is to become an official. On weekdays in the academy, the teacher often tells them about current affairs in the court and asks them to analyze and write policy essays.
The doubt raised by the eldest prince was indeed strange. They all frowned and showed a thoughtful expression. The same thought came to their mind: Could it be that the saint of Yue State ordered the Yue State Northern Expedition Army to return home in order to hide the "disappeared" 10,000 Yue soldiers? The Gu Ce case was very complicated, involving tens of thousands of lives and the reputation of their Dajing. If there had not been that defeat, why would Dajing have to negotiate peace with Yue State, why would it have to kowtow to Yue State, cede the sea and pay compensation, and send the eldest prince as a hostage.
For Dajing, this is a humiliating history!
But what if there is an unknown secret behind this case?
Chu Yi continued, "Last year, on my way back to Beijing from Yue, I went to Tailing City in person. I found a burned battlefield on Shangling, fifteen miles away from Tailing City. But according to the records left by the Ministry of War, no war took place there that year, and no Dajing soldiers or civilians were killed there."
All the students' expressions became more serious, with a solemn look on their faces.
It turned out that the eldest prince had personally gone to Tailing City to investigate as early as last year. It was obvious that he had been preparing for the Gu Ce case for a long time and it was not a spur-of-the-moment idea.
According to the doubts raised by the eldest prince, they had to wonder whether the 10,000 missing Vietnamese soldiers died in Shangling.
If this is true, even if it is not a great victory, it will at least be a bloody battle between the two armies.
Since Gu Ce was determined to fight the Vietnamese army to the death, why would he surrender? After all, he killed so many Vietnamese soldiers, so it is conceivable that even if he surrendered, he would not have a good ending.
Among the students, a young scholar in gray murmured, "Could it be that the Saint of Yue State falsely accused Gu Ce of surrendering to the enemy in order to disturb the morale of our army and people?"
There are many doubts in the Gu Ce case. What if Gu Ce really did not surrender to the enemy? Not only did he sacrifice his life for his country, but he was also wrongly accused and despised by the world. His descendants would also be criticized by the world. Where is justice?
The other students didn't say anything, and their faces were also filled with a bit of depression.
"It's been nine years." Chu Yi said dimly, "The court should give Gu Ce fairness and the truth."
The air around him was filled with a hint of tragedy and desolation as he said this.
Gu Yunmeng behind the counter also heard the conversation. His fingers unconsciously moved the beads on the abacus on the counter randomly, his eyes flickering.
She didn't expect that the eldest prince was planning to rehabilitate Gu Ce in order to marry Gu Yanfei, and he told these students so openly.
Gu Yun'er bit her lower lip slightly and looked at Chu Yi in dismay, her mind uncontrollably thinking about Yangzhou and Gu Ce.
She was also in Yangzhou that year.
At that time, she was only six years old. There she met the King Kang who was incognito. At that time, the King Kang was fourteen years old and was already an extraordinary young man with youthful vigor...
Gu Yun'er withdrew his fingers from the abacus and walked towards the back hall absent-mindedly. His heart twitched with every step he took, and his mind was in a mess. He could only hear the sound of the night wind, his pounding heartbeat, and the sound of fallen leaves under his feet...all of which became extremely clear.
She forgot about the noise and bustle in the front hall, and didn't even notice that the handkerchief in her hand had fallen.
Gu Yun'er got on her own carriage from the back door of Wancaotang. Except for the staff of the clinic, no one noticed her departure.
The sky was dark and there were few pedestrians on the street. The carriage carrying Gu Yunmeng sped all the way to Prince Kang's Mansion.
The entire Kangwang Mansion was shaken by the arrival of the future princess.
"Mian'er!" Chu You was overjoyed at Gu Yunmeng's arrival and went to the outer ceremonial gate to greet her in person.
Ever since he went to the palace to meet Empress Dowager Yuan, Gu Yunmeng said that she wanted to cancel the engagement, and the two of them had nothing to do with each other from then on. After that, Chu You went to Gu's house in Luwei Hutong to beg several times, but Gu Yunmeng was unwilling to see him.
Now that Gu Yunyan has come to the palace on her own initiative, does that mean that she is no longer angry?
He looked at Gu Yunyan tenderly and personally helped her out of the carriage. A happy smile blossomed in his narrow eagle eyes, and even his usually arrogant face softened a lot.
Gu Yunmeng also saw this pure joy in him and sighed slightly.
She had always known that Prince Kang was sincere to her, but he was Prince Kang, and between them stood the Queen Mother and the open and secret struggles in the court...
After Gu Yun'er stood firm, Chu You eagerly held her slender hand, and their palms were touching.
"Mian'er, I was wrong. I really didn't expect mother to be like this..." Chu You apologized to Gu Yunmeng again, lowering his posture very low, his affectionate eyes greedily wandering on her beautiful little face.
She has lost weight! Chu You felt very distressed, and tentatively put his arm around her slender waist.
Gu Yunyan's body froze, and she tried to break free, but she heard Chu You say with real emotion, "Yunyan, if the Queen Mother says these inexplicable things again, you will not be allowed to enter the palace except during festivals."
"How about the two of us live our own lives outside the palace?"
"I won't let you suffer any injustice!"
Empress Dowager Yuan must live in the palace and will not live with them.
If he could ascend to that position in the future, his Meng'er would be the empress. The empress was the mother of the country, not an ordinary daughter-in-law, and the queen mother would never be able to humiliate his Meng'er like she did that day.
As he spoke, his hot breath hit Gu Yunmeng's right cheek and right ear, causing Gu Yunmeng to shudder.
She looked up at his handsome face, her eyes filled with tenderness, and the anger that she had been holding in for days finally disappeared.
After all, the Queen Mother is his biological mother, and it is not easy for him to do this for her.
Seeing that Gu Yunyan did not struggle to break free from him, Chu You felt relieved and then he hugged her in his arms, letting her face touch his chest.
Gu Yunmeng listened to his strong heartbeat, hummed softly, and her body gradually relaxed.
After a moment, Gu Yunyan said, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince wants to re-investigate the Gu Ce case."
The next moment, the chest that was pressed against her rose and fell, and a scornful laugh came out from the man's broad chest.
"No one in the world will allow him to do this!" Chu You said in a cold tone, "This is going against the will of the world."
That day, after they parted at Tianyin Pavilion, General Jianwei Wang Nan impeached the eldest prince for going to Wuliang Temple to pay homage to Gu Ce. This incident shocked the court.
Afterwards, impeachment memorials were piled up in front of the emperor. If it weren't for the emperor's strong support, Prince Chu Yi would have withdrawn from the morning court in disgrace!
Chu Yi is so stupid. This kid is so stupid.
His good brother the Emperor had finally managed to win Chu Yi the opportunity to attend court, but only a few months later, Chu Yi was seeking death!
It is now the time for the special imperial examination and students have arrived in the capital one after another. If Chu Yi dares to say that he wants to redress Gu Ce's innocence again, those students will criticize him verbally and in writing, and then Chu Yi will no longer have any prestige among the literati.
If Chu Yi loses the support of the people, the army, and the officials because of Gu Ce's case, then even if he is the emperor's only son, there will be no possibility for him to be made the crown prince.
Chu You told her about some recent controversies in the court, and finally said with a smile: "Don't worry, Meng'er, Chu Yi can't cause any trouble."
"But the students seem to be shaken..." Gu Yun'er nervously grasped the collar of Chu You's shirt and quickly recounted what happened to the Hua family, including the disappearance of 10,000 Vietnamese soldiers and the incident at Shangling.
Chu You's expression gradually became serious and he frowned slightly.
It turned out that when Chu Yi returned from Nanyue, he lost his trace on the road and went to Tailing City and Shangling... This good nephew of his was really good at hiding! Chu You's eyes were gloomy, and his heart felt like it was scratched by a cat, but he still comforted Gu Yunyan softly: "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
He let go of Gu Yunmeng, took a step back, and then clapped his hands twice.
The long-servant came over immediately after hearing the voice, and heard Chu You indifferently order: "Go to Wancao Hall to check the situation."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendant clasped his fists and accepted the order, then hurried away.
The sky was dark at dusk, and lanterns had been lit in various places in the palace, shining like a large field of fireflies, illuminating the entire palace.
"Mian'er," Chu You held Gu Yunmeng's hand and said tenderly, "I have recently renovated the palace. Since you are here, come with me to have a look around. Is there anything else that needs to be changed?"
He stared at Gu Yun'er's little face and asked carefully.
It was getting late, and Gu Yunmeng had originally wanted to leave after talking about Gu Ce's matter, but now she couldn't help but soften her heart.
She pursed her lips, revealing a pair of shallow dimples in a smile, and finally nodded in agreement: "Where are you taking me to see?"
"You'll know when you get there." Chu You took her hand and walked forward.
The two went to the palace's garden, which at dusk had a unique scenery with its cool night view.
Gu Yunyan had been to the palace several times before, and she could tell where the garden had been renovated without Chu You introducing anything. There was a winding wisteria corridor next to the greenhouse, a swing under an old tree, half a lotus leaf planted on the small lake on the northwest side of the garden, and a water pavilion...
Gu Yunyan could tell at a glance that all the reconstruction and renovation in the garden were for her, including this new water pavilion. She had once said that the view from this location was great.
Seeing Chu You who seemed a little absent-minded, Gu Yunyan's heart softened. She held his hand tightly, smiled brightly, and said, "I like it very much!"
Chu You was captivated by the bright smile of his beloved, and all the depression in his heart disappeared.
He really wanted to express his true feelings, but his long-time attendant who had gone out to get information came back in a hurry.
The attendant walked towards the two men and bowed, "Your Highness, the scholars in Wancao Hall have been persuaded by the eldest prince. Now they are very angry and want to unite with their classmates to write a letter to the emperor, asking the eldest prince to re-investigate the case. They said that no matter whether Gu Ce has done good or bad, he should be thoroughly investigated."
If one juren submits a memorial, no one will care. But if hundreds of juren or even more scholars sign it together, the meaning will be different. This is the unity of purpose.
The words from the long-servant were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, and the charming atmosphere between Chu You and Gu Yunmeng disappeared completely.
Chu You's face instantly looked like a storm, and a heavy murderous aura emanated from his whole body.
If the case is reopened...
“Boom!”
He raised his hand and pounded hard on a willow tree by the lake. The willow tree, which was as thick as a bowl, trembled and leaves fell like rain...
"Your Highness!" Gu Yun'er looked at his hand with concern, only to see that his right hand was scratched by the bark of the willow tree, and blood was faintly seeping out.
Gu Yun'er took out a plain white handkerchief from her sleeve, carefully wiped away the dust and sawdust on his skin, and looked up at him.
Chu You looked at the lake with a sinister expression. The lake was shimmering with ripples under the shadow of the lanterns, and the light was reflected in his ink-black eyes, making his entire temperament look cold, stern and aloof.
Gu Yun'er looked at his profile with clear lines, and her heart felt as if it was being pulled in pieces.
Nine years had passed since then, and even Tailing City had been rebuilt long ago. Jing and Yue had finally been at peace for nine years, so why was the eldest prince still holding on to it? After a long silence, Chu You said sarcastically, "What a Chu Yi!"
"He always kept in mind the teachings of Emperor Taizu. Since he couldn't start from the court, he simply did the opposite, 'from the bottom up'."
Emperor Taizu once said: Revolution is from the bottom up, we must trust the people and rely on the people.
This was one of the slogans of Emperor Taizu during his uprising.
Gu Yunyan took out a new handkerchief and bandaged Chu You's hand. "Even if the eldest prince wants to overturn Gu Ce's case from the bottom up, the case will eventually be brought to the court. As long as the civil and military officials oppose it, the emperor will not be able to do it on his own."
Gu Yun'er curled the corners of her lips meaningfully, and the light from the lantern illuminated her eyes, making them sparkle and shine like stars.
The case back then was too involved.
This case involves more than just the reputation of the late emperor. After all, the eldest prince is too young and has never experienced the politics of the court, so he thinks things are so simple.
It is not easy to overturn Gu Ce's verdict!
Chu You understood what she meant and nodded slightly. He calmed down a lot, but his eyes were still sinister.
"Your Highness, please go and do your work. Don't worry about me." Gu Yun'er said considerately.
"..." Chu You held her hand, a hesitant look on his face, reluctant to take his eyes off her.
Meng'er finally forgave him, he really didn't want to leave her alone...
As if she had read his mind, Gu Yunyan said, "I'll go for a walk around the palace and wait for you to come back."
As soon as these words came out, Chu You's eyes lit up instantly, and he said happily: "Mian'er, I will be back soon."
"You are welcome here, this is your home."
"I'll send someone to tell Reed Alley."
After giving some instructions, Chu You told a eunuch to entertain Gu Yunmeng well and then hurried out.
Every move of the eldest prince was under the watchful eyes of everyone.
On that day, first the common people, then the officials, and then the entire capital were shaken by the eldest prince's words.
That night, Prime Minister Xiao and General Jianwei Wang Nan went to the palace one after another to ask to see the emperor.
Wang Nan lifted his robe and resolutely knelt outside the southern study, shouting angrily: "Your Majesty, reopening the Gu Ce case is a perverse act, absolutely not allowed!"
"Gu Ce surrendered to the enemy and committed treason, bringing disaster to the country and the people, and has infuriated the people and the heavens. The evidence of his crimes is irrefutable!"
"If Gu Ce can overturn the verdict, how can we be fair to the 100,000 soldiers and civilians who died in Yangzhou? How can they rest in peace in the underworld? How can their families be comforted?"
The more Wang Nan spoke, the more excited he became, and the more grief and indignation he became. In the end, his voice seemed to be roaring out from his chest, shaking even the air around him.
Thinking of General Zhao who died in Yangzhou, Wang Nan felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. His eyes were bloodshot and he almost burst into tears.
Every time a general goes to the battlefield, he is mentally prepared to die in battle. However, they can die heroically in the sword fight on the battlefield, but they should not die because they surrender to the enemy. This is a humiliation.
(End of this chapter)
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