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

"This shouldn't be happening! Didn't Zhang Liang make all the arrangements? How could such a mistake occur!"

According to Ma Chao's letter, when they arrived, the imperial court had already taken action. He and Huo Qubing only managed to rescue one of Zhou Qingzhi's grandsons; the rest were all beheaded, and the killings took place directly in Zhongshan County. Many commoners and scholars went to see the scene that day. Countless members of the Zhou clan died, and the streets were filled with heads and corpses, with blood flowing like a river.

Holding the letter, Chen Futu felt his hands and feet turn ice cold, and cold sweat poured down his face. Just thinking about the scene was terrifying.

Historically, only Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) dared to exterminate ten generations of scholars. How could the dog emperor of the Qianlong Emperor dare to do that!

The news spread quickly, and soon the entire city of Longcheng knew about it. The people gathered together and discussed it animatedly, while the scholars looked up to the sky and wept bitterly. For a time, the entire city of Longcheng was in complete chaos.

"Zhang Liang!"

Chen Futu put down the letter and shouted loudly.

Startled, Dian Wei, who had been dozing off, hurriedly went to find the civil and military officials.

Before long, a group of civil and military officials gathered at the royal court. Even Li Xiuning was summoned, along with Chen Yuling and Luo Wushuang.

Zhuge Liang, Yu Qian, and Di Renjie all looked displeased, but they stood aside without saying a word.

Chen Futu looked at Zhang Liang and asked, "Strategist, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

Zhang Liang cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, his expression indifferent. "What explanation does the young master want? The Zhou family belongs to the Great Qian Dynasty. The Great Qian Emperor is inhumane, executing ten generations of a family, which has enraged the scholars of the world. Yet the young master has preserved the only bloodline of the Zhou family. This is a great favor to the Zhou family. How could Zhou Qingzhi not be grateful for the young master's kindness?"

“You…” Chen Futu stood up, pointing at Zhang Liang, his hand trembling, “You want to make me break my promise!”

"Your Highness, you are mistaken. The murderer was a member of the Great Qian royal family, not Your Highness."

"How can such cold words come from a mouth that's supposed to be 37 degrees Celsius? Tell me, you knew nothing about this?"

"I don't know."

Zhang Liang insisted that he did not authorize the rescue. He claimed that he did send Ma Chao and Huo Qubing to rescue the people, but they failed because it was probably too late.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Liu Bowen stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, this matter is not the fault of Master Zifang. Although he is a brilliant strategist, he could not have foreseen that the Great Qian would act so swiftly."

"Liu Ji, stop trying to smooth things over with me! Don't think I don't know what you're plotting!" Chen Futu glared at Liu Bowen and scolded him.

Liu Bowen's face twitched, and he said awkwardly, "What's done is done. The most urgent thing now is how to make the most of this. Even if the strategist is wrong, it is for the sake of the hegemony of the northern frontier. I hope the young master will not take offense."

"Fine, fine, you all think I'm stupid, huh?"

"Your Highness!" Yu Qian suddenly stepped forward. "Your Highness, I impeach Zhang Liang. Liu Bowen is plotting to exterminate the entire Zhou family. This plan is too cruel, and I cannot agree with it."

Upon hearing this, the royal court fell into a deathly silence.

Li Xiuning and the other women covered their mouths, staring at Yu Qian in disbelief.

Why are they fighting amongst themselves?

Zhang Liang frowned and looked at Yu Qian. "Mr. Yu, what are you doing?"

Yu Qian said solemnly, "I have long disagreed with what you are doing, and I have also said that I would impeach you after this matter is over."

Liu Bowen said sullenly, "Old Yu, you don't want to absolve yourself of all responsibility either. You didn't tell the Crown Prince the inside story of this matter either, and you also hoped that the Zhou family would be wiped out. We are both doing this for the great cause of the Northern Frontier. How can there be two versions of events?"

"I am aware of this, which is why I am submitting this petition today to remove me from my position as Grand Secretary."

Yu Qian's words surprised and left everyone doubtful; this old man was serious!

He was a wise minister who would be remembered in history. Killing Zhou Qingzhi's family was not in line with his principles and character, but what was done was done. He tolerated Zhang Liang's scheme, but after the fact, there had to be an explanation.

If in the future all actions are planned with human lives at stake, how can we talk about grand ambitions and great achievements? How can we talk about the way to govern the world?

Next, Yu Qian explained Zhang Liang's plan in detail. In fact, Ma Chao and Huo Qubing could have saved the people in time, but Zhang Liang's order was to exterminate the Zhou family. They only needed to save one or two core family members to give Zhou Qingzhi and the heir a way out. This would both make Zhou Qingzhi hate Daqian to the bone and make the heir do Zhou Qingzhi a huge favor.

Even if the Emperor of Daqian dared not kill the Zhou family, Ma Chao and Huo Qubing would pretend to be government troops and wipe out the entire Zhou family, framing the Daqian royal family.

After he finished speaking, the vast royal court fell silent.

Li Xiuning secretly gave Zhang Liang a thumbs up. As expected of a strategist, he was ruthless and vicious!

Looking at Di Renjie and Zhuge Liang, both had their heads bowed, while the generals exchanged bewildered glances. Who could have imagined that the strategist would go to such lengths?

This tactic of shifting blame eastward is extremely cruel, truly befitting the title of a strategist.

Chen Futu sighed and surveyed the room. "As you said, this matter needs an explanation."

Gan Ning suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, we've already killed them. Zhou Qingzhi colluded with Daqian to make things difficult for you, and you deserved to be punished. Now it's all good, saving us the trouble of taking action."

Cao Zhen chimed in, "Back then, the Crown Prince killed tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers in the Western Regions. Even if the world criticized him, it didn't matter. Besides, no one knows that the strategist did it. People will only say that the Great Qian is ruthless and cruel, and has no tolerance for others."

"General, if you can't speak, you should shut up."

Di Renjie nudged Cao Zhen, who then realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly returned to the train.

Chen Futu looked at Cao Zhen with a dark face, "You think you're so eloquent? When I killed surrendered soldiers in the Western Regions, wasn't it to avenge my comrades in the Northern Frontier? There's a saying that those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. Who is Zhou Qingzhi? To exterminate his clan is to destroy the faith of all the scholars in the world. Even if it would be beneficial to me, I couldn't bear to kill him. Besides, he has already crowned me with a royal title. Do you want me to repay kindness with enmity?"

"This humble general has misspoke..."

Cao Zhen scratched his head, looking quite guilty.

Di Renjie and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance. Di Renjie stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, as Mr. Qingtian said, the die is cast. Let's drop this matter and not bring it up again, lest someone with ulterior motives push things along and cause the strategist's plans to go to waste, and also bring bad reputation upon Your Highness."

Zhuge Liang echoed, "Di Gong is right. I also think we can stop here. We just need to treat that old man well, do our best to raise that child to be successful, and let the Zhou family spread in the northern frontier so that the family line will continue and serve the northern frontier."

The civil officials have all expressed their views.

Chen Futu stared intently at Yu Qian and said softly, "Isn't Lord Yu afraid of becoming a lonely official?"

"Everything I have done is to correct the Crown Prince's character, so that he will not resort to any means to achieve his goals and lose his humanity."

Yu Qian's words were a wake-up call; among all the civil and military officials present, only he could have uttered such words.

“By learning from history, we can understand the changes; by learning from people, we can understand our gains and losses. He truly deserves to be called a wise minister who could write an ode to limestone. You should all heed his words.”

"We have noted it down."

The civil and military officials bowed their heads, and the matter could only be dropped.

"You shall be granted three years' salary, Zhang Liang shall be flogged ten times and have his salary deducted for half a year. Dian Wei, you shall carry out the punishment."