After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Zhou Qingzhi's remarks targeting Chen Futu made the atmosphere at the banquet very tense.

Zhuge Liang immediately spoke up: "Our lord practices benevolence and righteousness and never lightly commits acts of killing. However, the Great Qian Dynasty allied with the Western Regions to covet the Northern Frontier, which made it difficult for us to attend to both ends. As a result, the Crown Prince traveled hundreds of miles from Shanhaiyi to Jiuyuan to repel the invading enemy. If our lord had not come to our aid, the people of the Northern Frontier would have been devastated. At that time, who would be held responsible for this bloodshed?"

"Master Zhuge, what I am asking is why he committed such indiscriminate killing? As far as I know, the Crown Prince was entangled with Zhao Xier in the military camp that day. The Dragon Barbarian King's army was pressing in, but he did not think about repelling the enemy. Instead, he indulged in the pleasures of the land, which ultimately led to the loss of the battle. In the end, he blamed the ordinary soldiers for the massacre. His sins were heinous and contrary to the laws of nature."

Zhou Qingzhi's words immediately excited the scholars, who were all beaming with joy.

"So, there were these hidden details behind the massacre back then!"

"Yes, it was actually because of his affair with Zhao Xier that he was defeated and then took revenge on Longman out of embarrassment and anger."

"I think he's nothing special."

"The old man is indeed an old man. He doesn't argue with Zhuge Liang about the right and wrong of war, but only about the right and wrong of killing."

A murmur arose from the room.

Zhou Qingzhi practically reopened the wounds of the battle to pass the pass in front of everyone.

Chen Futu and his group of civil and military officials looked at Zhou Qingzi with suspicion. He knew about this, so it seemed that someone was secretly plotting against him.

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and replied, "In the Battle of Tong Pass, my lord did not want to fight the Longman to the bitter end, but the Longman launched a surprise attack first. After sweeping through, they massacred our soldiers and built a Jingguan (a mound of heads) with their heads. My lord was angered by this and mobilized the whole army to punish the Longman. In the end, the cycle of heaven and retribution are inescapable. How can there be any indiscriminate killing?"

"Mr. Zhuge, please do not resort to sophistry. Since the Crown Prince left the capital, he has won every battle and conquered every city. The Battle of Tongguan was his only defeat, and it was a major defeat caused by his infatuation with women. In the end, tens of thousands of people were killed with him. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Zhou Qingzhi continued to ask questions, and the scholars joined in the commotion.

"That's right. Those soldiers from the northern frontier didn't die at the hands of the Longman, but at the hands of the Crown Prince. If he hadn't been so addicted to wine and women, there would have been no defeat, and so many people would have had to pay with their lives."

"They routinely slaughter tens of thousands of people to build mounds of corpses, paying the price for their evil deeds and causing countless families to be torn apart and wives and children to be separated. Is this what Mr. Zhuge meant by practicing benevolence and righteousness?"

Writers launched a fierce verbal and written attack.

In the Northern Wu delegation, Ye Mo and others watched the show with smug satisfaction, while the women listening in the back all changed their expressions. It was the first time they had heard of such a thing. It turned out that the Crown Prince had an affair with Zhao Xi'er, the ruler of the Western Zhao Kingdom.

Yan Qing was secretly anxious. If this matter was not handled well, Chen Futu would be branded as a muddle-headed tyrant, becoming a laughingstock to the world. If someone with ulterior motives stirred things up, the people and soldiers of the northern frontier might become disloyal.

Zhuge Liang looked into Zhou Qingzhi's cloudy eyes and said calmly, "Just now, Mr. Cui said that when the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. The Prince of Zhenbei violated the taboo of imperial power, which is why my lord was brought to his death. This is the way of the emperor. And my lord, in order to appease the army, raised the butcher's knife against the Longman soldiers, which is very reasonable."

"Hehehe..."

Zhou Qingzhi smiled upon hearing this, but Zhang Liang and Liu Bowen couldn't help but frown. This debate was putting Zhuge Liang in a difficult position.

The prince was at fault for the defeat in that battle, and then he massacred the Longman soldiers. No matter how Zhuge tried to explain or justify the prince's killings, especially given the established facts, any further words would be untenable.

Zhou Qingzi stroked his beard and asked Zhuge Liang with a smile, "Master Kongming, I heard that the Northern Frontier recently plundered a large number of people from Chuzhou, which angered the Prince of Kaiping. The Crown Prince knew that the Northern Frontier was short of manpower, yet he still committed massacres without authorization. He acted solely out of youthful impulsiveness and disregarded the consequences. He is ultimately just a young man with a youthful spirit. I'm afraid... I'm afraid he will not be able to accomplish anything."

After these words were spoken, the banquet fell into a deathly silence.

Zhang Liang and Liu Bowen's expressions grew increasingly grim.

The old man is quite good at finding fault with people, but once the conversation has reached a dead end, how can one refute it?

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and said, "Mr. Zhou is well-read and should know that those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts. Every year, many people die unnatural deaths on the border. Those barbarians are uncivilized and do not submit to education. Their soldiers are absorbed into the northern frontier, which is detrimental to the people."

"Even so, the Crown Prince's bloodshed is a foregone conclusion. No matter how eloquent Mr. Kongming is, he cannot change the fact that tens of thousands of innocent souls have been added to Tongguan Pass, and hundreds of thousands more people have suffered in the world."

Zhou Qingzhi, true to his old scholarly nature, was quite clever. He only fabricated charges against Chen Futu, leaving no room for Zhuge Liang to respond. He was determined to solidify Chen Futu's guilt.

Zhuge Liang scoffed, "According to the old man's logic, with years of war and countless deaths, isn't that the emperor's fault? Should he also bear the infamy?"

These two things cannot be generalized.

"Since Tongguan is a battlefield, once you're on the battlefield, life and death are left to fate. Why say more?"

"Is this the way of governing the army in the Northern Frontier? If Master Kongming's words get out, how will others view the Northern Frontier, how will they view the Crown Prince? In the next war, will the Crown Prince again carry out massacres, or even massacre entire cities? Won't everyone there feel insecure?"

Zhou Qingzhi began to fabricate charges against Chen Futu.

Chen Futu was initially enjoying the show, but upon hearing this, he became furious. When had he ever massacred a city?

Zhang Liang rebuked, "Old Master Zhou, the Crown Prince treats you with great courtesy because of your high moral character and prestige. Please don't speak nonsense."

"It was my rashness, but the fact that the Crown Prince slaughtered tens of thousands of soldiers is undeniable. Everyone in the world knows this now. If the Crown Prince admits it, it would be quite upright. But if he tries to argue like Mr. Zhuge, he will only be ridiculed by the world."

Zhou Qingzhi wouldn't let go of this matter, no matter how Zhuge Liang tried to change Chen Futu's stance, it was useless; killing was killing, and it couldn't be whitewashed.

Zhuge Liang wiped his feather fan and remained silent, but out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Chen Futu, who immediately understood.

Even before he arrived, Zhuge Liang had considered that scholars would make a big deal out of the killing of surrendered soldiers.

This was an established fact. No matter how eloquent he was, he couldn't do anything if the other party persisted. So he told Chen Futu a few words, but he couldn't say them himself; Chen Futu had to say them in person.

Just as Chen Futu was about to speak, an angry female voice suddenly came from the side, "Mr. Zhou, you're exaggerating."

This surprised everyone, and even Chen Futu was dumbfounded.

The one who spoke was none other than Liu Longyue, who had been sitting quietly beside her the whole time.

He gazed at her beautiful face, a glint of greed in his eyes, and said, "Your Highness, shouldn't you refrain from interfering in the private affairs of the Northern Frontier?"

"I will marry the Crown Prince as his consort, and we will share his honor and disgrace. How can I not speak of this?"

Liu Longyue showed no respect to Yemo, who was speechless and had no choice but to shut up.

Zhou Qingzhi bowed slightly and asked, "Your Highness, what are your instructions?"