I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

"Go to the front lines."

Gu Siling said sternly, "Go and let your soldiers see what kind of person the crown prince they swear to follow is."

"You love to cry, so go cry in front of them."

"Tell them that you would rather be executed than take up arms and reclaim what is rightfully yours!"

"Go and see for yourself whether hundreds of thousands of soldiers will tear this old man to pieces after you say these words."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan trembled and gripped the edge of the bed tightly, refusing to let go.

"Uncle, I won't go... Please, don't force me."

Chapter 142 A Proclamation to Punish the Rebels and Purge the Emperor's Corrupt Officials

"Forcing you?"

Gu Siling laughed in anger and suddenly pushed him down onto the couch.

"Who is forcing whom?"

"Lu Shiyu protected you, the Gu family risked their lives for you, and countless ministers in the court shielded you from harm, which is why the emperor hesitated to act against you!"

"What are we striving for? It's to help us cultivate a wise and benevolent ruler."

Gu Siling looked at Yuwen Quan with disappointment. The Yuwen Quan in front of her was far from the wise and powerful crown prince she had hoped for.

"But what about you?"

"Indecisive and timid!"

"He who is ruthless when he should be, and who hesitates to cut ties when he should!"

"When undertaking great tasks, cherish your life; when faced with petty gains, forget righteousness!"

"You can't even save your own life, yet you dare to dream of saving the world?"

Yuwen Quan was forced to stagger backward, tears glistening in his eyes, but he still stubbornly shook his head.

"Uncle, I cannot let Southern Chu fall into chaos because of me."

"You are noble and you are amazing."

Gu Siling became even angrier upon hearing this, and dragged him to the tent entrance, pointing at the soldiers in the army.

"Look at them, these soldiers, which one of them didn't abandon their families and homes, willing to die for you?"

"Do you think that if you back down, the emperor will let them go, let the Gu family go, and let those court officials who support you go?"

Just as the two were arguing, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Father! Father!"

Gu Xichao stumbled in, his eyes bloodshot.

He fell to his knees with a plop.

"My mother and the rest of the family are all dead. That dog emperor slaughtered the entire Gu family."

In an instant, the tent fell into a deathly silence.

Yuwen Quan's heart skipped a beat, and his mind went blank.

Gu Siling slowly released Yuwen Quan and looked at Gu Xichao in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Yuwen Quan also exclaimed, "Impossible! My aunt is Father Emperor's own sister! How could he be so cruel?"

"Where did this information come from, and has it been confirmed?"

Gu Xichao raised his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, his eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.

"The Imperial Guards sent men with their heads, along with an edict deposing the Crown Prince and reducing him to a commoner."

This was naturally done by Qinglong in secret.

The Gu family members were indeed burned to death in the Ministry of Justice prison, but before they were burned, their heads had all been cut off.

Then they replaced it with the heads of a group of death row inmates.

They were mixed together and burned into charcoal, so black that no one could recognize them.

He secretly transported the heads of the Gu family members out of the capital and sent them to Yuezhou.

This was all to incite Gu Siling and the others to kill.

And among these heads were also surprises he had carefully prepared for Yuwen Quan.

Of course, the emperor was unaware of all this.

Although he suspected that there was something fishy about the deaths of the Gu family and the Crown Princess, he couldn't find any clues for the time being.

boom!

The next second, Gu Siling slammed her fist on the table, sending wood chips flying.

Unable to remain calm any longer, he staggered and rushed out of the tent.

Yuwen Quan and Gu Xichao also hurriedly chased after them.

Inside the central command tent, a dozen blood-soaked sacks were piled up.

The generals looked at the sack, their faces turning ashen.

After Gu Siling ran in, she trembled as she tore open the nearest burlap sack.

A woman's head, with her hair disheveled, rolled out.

Those eyes, still wide open, stared blankly at him.

"lady!!!"

Gu Siling immediately knelt down, reaching out to touch the head, but hovered in mid-air, too afraid to fall.

Gu Xichao frantically tore open the other sacks, and each head inside seemed to be tearing his heart out.

"Yuwen Jian!"

Gu Xichao roared to the sky.

"I, Gu Xichao, hereby swear that I will take your head to avenge my entire family!"

Yuwen Quan stood frozen behind them, gazing at the heads.

Suddenly his pupils trembled violently.

Among those severed heads, he saw a familiar face.

She is the Crown Princess!

"Ah Yuan..."

Yuwen Quan also knelt down on the ground.

In an instant, all the expectations I had for Yuwen Jian turned into disappointment and anger.

The generals around him also had bloodshot eyes, filled with righteous indignation.

It was unclear who first drew their sword with a "clang," but then came a series of sharp blades being drawn from their sheaths.

"A tyrannical and incompetent ruler!"

Gu Siling's deputy general slammed his sword down on the table in front of him, roaring in fury.

"If she wouldn't even spare her own sister, what else wouldn't she do?"

"Yes, Her Majesty the Crown Princess is virtuous and kind, yet she has suffered such a cruel fate."

"This is not the behavior of a wise ruler; it is clearly the act of a tyrant."

The entire central command tent erupted in excitement.

Several generals knelt on the ground in unison, clasping their hands in salute.

"Please give the order, General."

"Break into the capital."

"Clear the emperor's side."

"To avenge my sister-in-law and her entire family."

In an instant, the sound was deafening.

Gu Siling slowly stood up, her blood-stained fingers clenching tightly one by one.

He turned to look at Yuwen Quan, who was slumped in front of the Crown Princess's head, and questioned him.

"Your Highness, things have come to this point. Do you still want to continue with your previous idea?"

"The current Southern Chu court is unworthy of your benevolence."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan was momentarily dazed.

His gaze shifted from his beloved wife's head to the entire Gu family.

Then it swept past the indignant crowd.

Then, with trembling hands, he reached out and took the hairpin that he had personally placed in the Crown Princess's hair.

He slashed his own hand hard, creating a gash.

"My father has been deceived by treacherous officials like Yan Donglou. I swear by blood that I will rid the country of these traitors."

"Issue the order: the entire army shall be dressed in mourning clothes and march on the capital."

"Yes!"

Seeing that Yuwen Quan had finally made up his mind, Gu Xichao and other generals echoed his decision.

Before long, the bugle calls resounded throughout the entire Yuezhou camp.

Gu Siling left behind 30,000 troops to deal with the 100,000 troops of the Liang Dynasty in Yunnan.

As Sun Tzu's Art of War states: "If ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them."

Leaving behind 30,000 men is enough to defend against the 100,000 troops in Yunnan.

At the same time, a proclamation condemning the traitors spread throughout the land.

"A Proclamation Delivered by Imperial Decree to Punish the Rebels and Eliminate the Emperor's Ladies"

Yuwen Quan, Crown Prince of the Southern Chu Kingdom, hereby proclaims to all his subjects:

It is said that a wise ruler governs the country by befriending virtuous ministers and keeping away from petty men; the stability of the state depends on distinguishing between loyalty and treachery and clearly defining rewards and punishments.

The current emperor favors treacherous officials, causing the court to collapse and the people to suffer.

Although I am not talented, I am honored to hold the position of heir apparent. How can I sit idly by and watch treacherous officials bring disaster to the country?

Now we raise the banner of righteousness to purge the court of corrupt officials, punish the treacherous ministers, and restore order to the court.

Yan Donglou and other treacherous and wicked men formed cliques, pursued personal gain, controlled the government, and misled the emperor.

His crimes are threefold.

First, they framed loyal and virtuous people. The Gu family, a family of loyal martyrs and generals for generations, was executed along with their entire family.

The virtuous officials, such as Lu Shiyu, were either demoted or executed, leaving the court virtually empty.

Second, they disrupted the government, sold official positions, and engaged in rampant corruption.

Third, they plotted to kill the crown prince, devised a scheme to frame him, and sought to put him to death.

The author, Gu Ben, wished to endure humiliation and hardship in order to fulfill his filial duty.

However, Yan Donglou and his accomplices went even further, continuing their killing spree.

First, the entire Gu family was murdered, and then the Crown Princess was brutally murdered.

Such atrocities are intolerable to Heaven and Earth.

I, by the mandate of Heaven and in accordance with the will of the people, have raised an army to punish the rebels.