Chapter 491: Innocence (4)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Thump thump thump!
Baili Yin’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster. It was as if there were countless ants crawling in his heart.
He no longer had the time to care what Chu You, Chu Yi, and the others were talking about.
At the same time, there was a storm of string music coming from the lobby downstairs. The fast-paced music made the guests who were listening to the show excited.
Furious, Wang Nan slammed his palm on the table again. Without caring that his hand was stained with the spilled wine, he raised his hand and pointed at Chu Yi. He raised his voice and questioned, “Gu Ce has harmed countless people. How is he innocent?!”
“Dirt can’t be washed away!”
“I won’t sit back and do nothing!”
Wang Nan’s last sentence was equivalent to declaring war on the Eldest Prince.
Chu You and Yuan Zhe looked at each other silently and carefully kept the smugness in their eyes. In the next moment, Wang Nan stood up with a livid expression and cupped his hands at Chu You, Yuan Zhe, and Baili Yin as a farewell.
“Farewell!”
Then, he strode out without looking back, leaving behind an angry back.
Chu You watched Wang Nan leave quietly. He didn’t persuade him or keep him.
He picked up his wine glass and seemed to be drinking leisurely, but he was actually secretly checking Chu Yi’s expression.
Seeing that the corners of Chu Yi’s eyes and eyebrows didn’t even move, and he was still calm and composed, Chu You tightened his grip on his wine glass slightly and thought of First Secretary Xiao’s evaluation of Chu Yi.
“My Lord, you’re too anxious. You can’t compare to the Eldest Prince who doesn’t show his emotions.”
Upon hearing this, Chu You was furious.
But now, looking at the calm Chu Yi, Chu You finally realized something.
The Grand Secretary was right.
Chu Yi put down the blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand and said indifferently to Wang Nan, who had just walked to the door of the private seat, “In the sixth year of reign, the State of Yue’s army raided Yangzhou. Gu Ce guarded Yangzhou with 40,000 troops for two years and retreated the State of Yue’s army to defend the entrance of the State of Jin.”
“In the ninth year of reign, the bandits in Liaodong Mountains became a menace, causing widespread desolation in villages where nine out of ten households were left empty. Various mountain strongholds formed alliances, displaying a tendency to become independent states. Gu Ce was ordered to suppress the bandits, and within a short year, peace was restored in Liaodong. The grateful populace erected longevity tablets for Gu Ce in every household.”
“In the 11th year of reign, Xirong attacked Yizhou. The general of Yizhou, You Bi, died in battle. Our army suffered heavy casualties. It was Gu Ce who rushed to Yizhou from Yangzhou and heavily defeated the Xirong army.”
Most of the people present knew everything that Chu Yi had said.
Gu Yanfei had also heard about these things from Gu Yuan.
Including the battle in Yangzhou in the 12th year of reign nine years ago.
That year, the State of Yue’s army besieged Tailing City in Yangzhou and cut off the supplies at the rear.
An urgent request for reinforcements sent a fief to the royal court. At first, the late Emperor wanted to mobilize the troops of Yi Province to help, but Yi Province rebelled, and the political affairs envoy and general were killed. The late Emperor temporarily sent Imperial Duke Wei to Yi Province with 10,000 imperial guards to help and preside over the overall situation.
At that time, the previous Emperor should have issued a decree for the three major battalions of the imperial guard to help Yangzhou. However, because of the rebellion in Yizhou, the previous Emperor was afraid that the capital would be empty and give others an opportunity to take advantage of it. He was unwilling to help Yangzhou for a long time and only wanted to make peace with the State of Yue.
For the entire three months, Tailing City fought alone and suffered countless casualties. The city was short of soldiers, weapons, and rations. The soldiers and commoners had reached the point of eating tree bark and eating their fill…
Later on, Gu Ce’s head was sent to the capital in a box.
Gu Yanfei picked up a pine nut and pinched it gently. She accidentally lost control of her strength and even crushed the pine nut.
The corners of Yuan Zhe’s lips twitched slightly. He picked up his wine glass and watched and listened coldly from the side. He thought to himself, “Indeed, Gu Ce was also dazzling and impressive. Unfortunately, no amount of military achievements can compare to a single disloyalty.”
“May I ask General Wang how Old General Zhao judged Gu Ce back then?” Chu Yi asked in a calm tone..