Yinshan Record

Chapter 431 A Proclamation to the World Denounces Emperor Liang (Part 2)

Hit people without slapping their faces, and curse people without revealing shortcomings.

This proclamation was practically a direct attack on the Emperor of Liang.

Su Che looked at the joint signatures at the end of the manifesto: the Imperial Academy, Songyang Academy, Bailudong Academy, and Yuelu Mountain. These four academies, when joined together, constituted the core strength of the Confucian school in the world.

Therefore, this was not merely a manifesto, but more akin to a complete break. It was a public announcement declaring that the Confucian school stood against the Great Liang.

"It's truly a case of heaven destroying a broken beam."

Su Che felt that the prophecy he had made up was about right.

Those guys from Bailudong are truly formidable. I even said they were hiding in Cizhou and hadn't made any progress, but now it seems I underestimated them. Their series of combined attacks really hit the nail on the head.

What kind of place is the Imperial College?
It was one of the four great Confucian academies, but it was also an office supported by the Liang emperor with imperial grain and national taxes. If it had all rebelled, what would all the officials in the world who were not from aristocratic families think? What would scholars from the countryside like Xuan Gui think?
The situation is getting more and more interesting.

"That's right, Brother Liu, your return is timely. We will set out tomorrow and wipe out Cizhou in one fell swoop with overwhelming force."

Yu Chen raised his hands, and a powerful aura emanated from him.

"Soon, this gloomy world will begin to move."

Are you going to send troops tomorrow?

Su Che swallowed hard, wondering if Cizhou could withstand the pressure.

Jiankang, Chenhan Palace.

When the Great Liang Dynasty was founded, Emperor Taizu admired the Dao and built the Chenhan Palace in the palace. It was about seven stories high and could see the stars and the entire city of Jiankang.

Since its construction, Chenhan Palace has been the residence of successive emperors of the Great Liang Dynasty and the place where small court assemblies were held.

The prince walked slowly, ascending the vermilion steps.

The Crown Prince of Daliang is now over forty years old. He was made Crown Prince at the age of twelve and has spent thirty years as the heir apparent. Time has left its mark on his temples and lips.

Of course, everything is reciprocal, and he has also gained a considerable amount of experience over the years.

He held a memorial with a yellow silk cover in his right hand, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

After the age of thirty, he frequently participated in the political affairs of the Great Liang Dynasty, and many important matters of the court were personally handled by this crown prince.

No one understands Daliang better than him today.

The Chenhan Palace has seven floors, with the emperor residing on the top floor.

The crown prince, accompanied only by a young eunuch, was stopped on the sixth floor.

"Please wait a moment, Your Highness."

An elderly palace maid stopped the Crown Prince: "Princess Jia'an came to pay her respects today, and His Majesty kept her here to talk."

"Jia'an is here?"

The crown prince breathed a slight sigh of relief.

My younger sister is alright; she's not some spoiled brat raised in luxury. She has some understanding of the ways of the world and has played a good role in things.

Influenced by his aunt, he was fond of seeking immortality and asking questions, and liked to travel for a few days whenever he had free time.

"Yes, His Majesty said he plans to travel east in a few days to observe the world, but he's a little reluctant to part with it. As you know, since Wuling..."

As they were talking, a serene princess dressed in an elegant palace gown slowly descended from above. She was tall and slender, with a delicate, fair oval face, bright eyes, and white teeth, yet she also possessed a sharp and piercing aura.

"Brother."

She saw the Crown Prince and first bowed.

"It's best to stay home as much as possible if there's nothing to do," the Crown Prince said, looking at his younger sister.

Although princesses are supposed to marry into powerful and influential families, the crown prince felt uneasy about his exquisite younger sister marrying into such a useless family.

"It's a good time to hone my swordsmanship. I found the training method for the Great Yin-Yang Dust Sword in my collection of books. I'll have to ask my brother for guidance another day..."

"It's pointless to tinker with these things every day. Throughout history, how many people have actually achieved immortality? As for slaying demons and exorcising evil, that's for the Imperial Guards and the Night Watch to handle. Don't be like Aunt Guangning, who spends all her time seeking immortality and asking questions, only to waste her own time."

The Crown Prince couldn't help but lecture her: "Instead of wasting your time investigating the ways of the world, you should hurry up and see which young men in Jiankang are worthy of a good match. Don't be like that Xie family girl, who picked and chose and ended up with a useless piece of trash."

"Seeking immortality and pursuing the Dao is bad, marrying the wrong person is bad too. Is there any new news from Cizhou?" Princess Jia'an smiled slightly: "Otherwise, why would my brother think of criticizing the Xie family's elder sister?"

"That good-for-nothing Wang Jian said he suddenly fell ill and needed to recuperate. With the chaotic army besieging the city, his illness was quite clever."

"I see. He is indeed from a noble family... I wonder how you plan to deal with this, brother."

"I just saw that the Ministry of Personnel has already prepared a reply, telling him to come back and recuperate. I guess they'll start talking about who to send to govern Cizhou again tomorrow."

"The officials in charge of the Ministry of Personnel are all relatives and friends of both families, so naturally they are reluctant to let Young Master Wang spend his time there."

Princess Jia'an smiled slightly and said, "But now that he's gone, Cizhou..."

"Only Xiong Shou is left, oh right, and that Su Che."

The crown prince rubbed his temples, completely unwilling to mention those two people.

"Isn't Su Che the one..."

“It’s that Su family member.” The Crown Prince sighed and said, “I underestimated him before. Now he’s firmly established in the government. A few days ago he even killed a fifth-rank traitor in battle. We Yongzhou people are the ones we can rely on. We can’t count on the Wang and Xie families.”

The current imperial family seized power through the military force of Yongliang, and for this reason, the country was named "Liang".

"So, brother, you've come to report good news to His Majesty?"

Princess Jia'an quietly pointed upwards: "Father seems rather unhappy today."

The crown prince shook his head.

With the world in turmoil, how heartless would an emperor be if he could still be happy?

Five years ago, the Crown Prince might have had the idea of ​​quickly ascending to the throne and making a clean sweep of his reputation. However, having served the emperor for so long, he has come to understand that holding power not only means having immense authority, but also inescapable responsibilities.

Today's crown prince hopes that the emperor can hold on for a while longer, at least leaving him some room to maneuver in the future.

"North?"

"They've retreated. Wei Huaiwen is such a brilliant commander, and with Lord Su leading troops to support him, what can Yuwen Rui do? The entire army has already retreated."

"Then what about Cizhou...?"

"We've retreated, but we can't immediately use them in the south. We still have to confront the north, and our troops need to rest and recuperate."

The crown prince had no interest in discussing these important military and national affairs with his sister, because he was holding something of life and death in his hands.

Princess Jia'an nodded, as if she understood something.

"In other words, Cizhou's well-being now rests entirely on Su..."

"And then there's Xiong Shou. He comes from Yuyang Mountain and is a top-notch official in the Censorate. He's not someone like Li Yizhen who can compare to him."

The Crown Prince hurriedly said, "I'm in a hurry to see His Majesty. I'll tell you about these things later."

Princess Jia'an nodded.

The situation in Cizhou has indeed deteriorated.

(End of this chapter)