"In the war of the southwest, everyone only remembers how the Young Marquis single-handedly led several thousand experts recruited with all their wealth to reverse the tides, using only one hundred thousand to defeat the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army of four hundred thousand. Everyone sings praises of the Young Marquis's heroism and his outstanding art of war, but how many people remember the prosperity and harmony of the southwest, how the people of the two countries were able to enjoy each other's meals! "
The storyteller's face was grieved and hateful as he spoke.
"Bastard!"
Su Shixuan was enraged.
"Milord, these scoundrels only have sinister intentions. They clearly want everyone to push the blame onto Milord, intentionally slandering Milord! Everyone knows that the war of the southwest had already begun before Milord's intervention. And if not for Milord, the southwest would have been left barren for far more than a thousand li. Who knows how many more people would have died! This bastard, I don't know how many people paid him to say this. I'll tear out his mouth! "
An indescribable rage surged in Su Shixuan's heart. Without another word, he stood up and left, his knuckles cracking. A storyteller was a storyteller, a discussion of the matter as it stood. This storyteller had intentionally made everyone associate the outcome of the southwest war with Wang Chong. His intentions were extremely sinister, and he would never believe that he had not been paid to do so.
It was precisely because he had served at Wang Chong's side for so long that he clearly knew what Wang Chong had done and what he had paid for the empire that he found it even more intolerable that others insulted and slandered Wang Chong. This was even more infuriating than when they themselves were being insulted. This was also a commonality between Su Shixuan and the others.
A person who had a sincere heart and had done his utmost for the empire, saving it from danger after danger, should not be humiliated like this. Otherwise, what dignity would the empire have left to speak of?
"Halt!"
Just when Su Shixuan was about to charge out and teach that storyteller a lesson, a voice rang out at his ear, causing his heart to tremble. Behind him, Wang Chong's expression was oppressive and unmoving, his eyes shining with something special.
"There are still countless storytellers in the capital. Do you want to teach them a lesson one by one?"
"But, Your Highness …"
Su Shixuan still wanted to argue. However, Wang Chong waved his hand and stopped him.
"Don't you understand? I've never worried about these storytellers. It's the human heart. Look at those who listen to books. "
Wang Chong sighed and suddenly said.
Su Shixuan subconsciously turned his head in shock. Su Shixuan followed Wang Chong's gaze to the stands. For the first time, his attention was not on the stands, but on the audience. The spectators were all looking at the green-robed storyteller in a daze.
They weren't the only ones. Their gazes left the restaurant and looked outside at the dense crowd of commoners who were sitting on tables and even standing. All the elderly, children, and women raised their heads to look at the storyteller. Their expressions were grave, and they were completely silent.
"Buzz!"
In that moment, Su Shixuan's heart trembled as if he understood something.
"Did you see it clearly?"
Wang Chong's voice came from next to his ear, faint and distant.
"This time, when I had you arrange for a box to come here, I did not look at the storyteller on the stage. I looked at the people around him and the human heart. You can't change a person's mind. The one who can change their mind will always be themselves, the thoughts that already exist in their hearts. Although this storyteller is related to the Confucian Sect, there is at least one thing: the examples he gave, the data from before and after the battles, were all true and unedited. I am confident that even though they are enemies, Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect would disdain to do such a thing.
"The Confucian Sect is indeed worthy of our worry, but from start to finish, what we truly need to worry about is the changed human heart. The Tang Dynasty has been at war for decades and has never stopped. At present, the human heart longs for peace, the human heart is weary of war. And Li Junxian and the others have only catered to these thoughts and come into being! "
Wang Chong solemnly said. Although his gaze had rested on the storyteller on the stage, it was mostly focused on the people around the stage and outside the restaurant. In their eyes, Wang Chong saw something, a change. This was what he truly worried and worried about.
"… And there was also the war in the northwest of the Tang Dynasty. In the Battle of Talas and the Battle of Khorasan, the Tang Dynasty, despite being outnumbered, defeated an army of one million Arabs. Even the Arab War God Qutaybah died in battle. It was through this achievement that the Young Marquis was recognized by His Divine Majesty and conferred the title of King of Foreign Lands, becoming the first King of a different surname in the Tang Dynasty. There is no one in the world who does not know of this matter. But do any of you know what effect this war had on the entire Tang Dynasty? "
The blue-robed storyteller on the stage tapped the wooden board and continued.
"The Silk Road was the most flourishing trade route of our Tang Dynasty. Every year, an endless stream of caravans traversed this road. Silk, agate, coral, jade, tea leaves, porcelain … these caravans passed through this road in an endless stream, piling up into mountains. They passed through Qixi, Anxi, Talas, Samarkand, Khorasan … all the way to the distant Abbasid Caliphate, Charax Spasinu, and even farther. This was a true road to prosperity. Many merchants even called it the Road of Gold, saying that what flowed on this road was not trade goods, but gold that flowed like liquid gold. Because they coveted the wealth on this road, many bandits and brigands gathered on the Silk Road. But now?
"The brigands and brigands have long since vanished, and although the trade between the east and the west has not been severed, the number of caravans traversing the Silk Road has dwindled to less than one in ten, far from its former prosperity. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate has almost completely severed the trade between the two sides. And Khorasan is like an iron wall, cutting off this important trade route that involves tens of millions of taels of gold, perhaps even hundreds of millions of taels.
"Speaking of the southwest, everyone feels that it's too far. But the starting point of the Silk Road is the capital of our Tang Dynasty. Every year, countless silks, porcelain, tea leaves, and all sorts of other goods are sold, flowing like water. But after this war, what was the situation now? Didn't anyone feel it? Have you not sensed that your standard of living has dropped, that the goods you sell have decreased? There aren't as many Hu in the capital as there used to be, and no matter where the merchants of the Tang Dynasty go to, they can sense the hostility and rejection of the other side. This is war! Is this what you want? "
Towards the end, the voice of the green-robed storyteller suddenly became much louder.
The audience was eerily silent, the atmosphere oppressive. Unlike before, a thoughtful look appeared in the eyes of the crowd.
"Peace! We don't want war! "
Someone in the crowd shouted. Others quickly came to their senses and began to shout as well.
"We don't want war!"
"We don't want war!"
… …
At the start, there were only a few people, but as time went on, more and more people began to excitedly shout. Everyone's voices seemed to converge into one, and in the end, even the spectators in the restaurant in the clouds began to shout.
"Absurd!"
Just when the crowd was at its most fervent, a furious roar resounded through the air. In a private room of a restaurant not far from Wang Chong, a burly man, exuding the aura of a general, flipped over a table and walked out.
"You rotten scholar! The soldiers are risking their lives on the front lines, spilling their blood and dying on the battlefield, but when it comes to you, you're the source of disaster? Without us generals, do you know how many more people would have died?! "
The burly middle-aged man was as furious as a lion. With a few strides, he suddenly stepped onto the grandstand and grabbed the storyteller's collar like he was grabbing a chick and lifted him up from the ground.
"It has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me! I'm just stating the facts … "
The storyteller's face was covered in fear as he slapped the muscular man's hands, powerless to resist.
It happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned by this scene.
"Impudent!"
A furious roar rang out. Before anyone could react, a young man, dressed in snow-white robes, suddenly appeared on the second floor of the restaurant. With a single move, he slapped away the middle-aged man's arm, sealed his acupuncture points, and seized him.
As he was seizing the middle-aged man, the white-robed man's sleeve slid down, revealing a black mark on his wrist. Upon seeing this mark, Wang Chong and Su Shixuan both grimaced.
"Milord, it's someone from the Confucian Sect!"
Su Shixuan sternly said. The middle-aged man exuded the thick aura of a soldier. He was probably at Tier 7 of the Profound Martial realm, perhaps even higher, but he was powerless against the white-robed Confucian Sect youth.
"Release me! Just who are you people!"
Right at this moment, the middle-aged man shouted loudly. As he spoke, he fiercely resisted.
"Hmph, we are the newly established Office of the Imperial Court, responsible for pacifying the unrest in the capital and other regions, especially dealing with crimes committed by generals and soldiers. If you have a problem, have your superior report it to the Office of the Imperial Court! "
The white-robed Confucian Sect youth coldly said. With a wave of his hand, he revealed a token on which the words' Office of the Imperial Court 'could be faintly seen.
"Someone, come and take him away!"
The white-clothed young man's expression was grave and stern as he waved his hand towards the back. Immediately, two fully-armored soldiers, one on the left and one on the right, escorted the middle-aged man downstairs.
"Office of the Imperial Court? What Office of the Imperial Court! I've never heard of it. Release me! "
The middle-aged man turned his head and saw that the white-robed youth was still struggling.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know. It won't be long before everyone knows! Take him away! "
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