Chapter 395

The Grand Hall was quiet, front and back.

Suddenly, a young man in blue robes walked out, even calling himself Father Emperor, surely the Eldest Prince without a doubt.

Just these words that came out of his mouth were too obvious in meaning, even somewhat lacking in subtlety.

Xu Mo had just raised doubts in his heart when the Eldest Prince spoke again.

He only saw him kneel down on one knee, clasping his fists sonorously, "Father Emperor may find the child minister's words presumptuous, but the child minister truly cannot keep quiet."

"Thinking of how Dayu has been entangled with the Northern Nomads for decades, so many innocent soldiers have died, so many commoners trampled under iron hooves, so many young maidens harboring hatred and insult, so many elderly unable to die with eyes closed."

"They are not of our kind, their hearts must be different! The Northern Nomads can raid for food when they lack supplies, why must they humiliate commoners, why must they reap innocent lives? Ancient bandits still had codes, this group of foreign tribes are truly extremely barbaric, utterly lacking humanity."

"And the countless soldiers who died miserably, countless sons of Dayu, they lost their lives in war, their parents and wives have nothing to depend on, but now we are to forgive these outsiders, show them appeasement. For this the child minister asks, what right do they have? Are they worthy? Worthy!"

These words could be called impassioned and rousing. Combined with the previous image of reckless questioning, the image of an upright and patriotic prince was erected.

Students in the hall who felt something, or who had warrior relatives, couldn't help but sympathize with the vengeance.

National humiliation and family hatred truly could not be explained in a few words. The deaths of close friends would forever remain heartache, possibly needing two generations, three generations, or even longer to fade.

Searching himself honestly, Xu Mo was also unwilling to negotiate with the invading forces who had trampled his homeland.

But Dayu's military was not strong and cavalry not stout. If not for its large population and vast lands, perhaps the iron cavalry would have long penetrated Fengjing and reduced it to a fallen nation's slaves.

Rather than both sides tugging back and forth, bringing more casualties, it was better to stop war with war and negotiate peace, allowing the commoners rest and recovery, and enabling the strained national treasury to replenish.

The Eldest Prince's words stirred surging tides when first heard, but careful pondering could pick out counterpoints. His logic was built on the basis that Dayu would certainly be victorious.

The reality was that even victory would be pyrrhic. The reason for negotiating peace after war was the fear that the foreign tribes would fight to the death, continuing the entanglement for who knew how many more years.

But what they wanted was to stop the war.

Xu Mo wanted to retort, but found that most of the students had been stirred up. The sincere youths in their early twenties were almost all indignant, hating the outsiders, wishing they could don armor and kill the enemy themselves.

Even the emperor on the dragon throne sighed, bearing the helplessness towards war and displeasure towards the foreign tribes.

The Eldest Prince seized the opportunity to stand up and declare boldly, "Father Emperor, Dayu's sons should be fearless and charge ahead. Our great nation, how can we tolerate provocation from outsiders? We must annihilate the foreign tribes, comfort our fallen souls!"

"Annihilate the foreign tribes, comfort our fallen souls!" someone echoed.

The entire hall was seething with hot blood, sincere youth, loyal souls. If they were not powerless students but battlefield generals, the effect would be even more outstanding.

Xu Mo sighed inwardly, knowing this was not the time to speak, and knowing he had likely lost this round.

He was already mentally prepared, not feeling too upset, only lowering his eyelashes and waiting for the verdict.

After some unknown amount of time, the impassioned voices gradually calmed, and the Eldest Prince smiled satisfied.

The Emperor looked at Xu Mo with complex expressions, about to place the scroll in the second-tier candidates.

A light cough sounded, followed by a deliberately hoarse yet still youthful voice. "Reporting to Father Emperor, the child minister...also has something to say."

The hall fell silent again, with only ringing in Xu Mo's ears.

He saw a slender black figure slowly pacing out, beautiful features a bit pale, and the same seemingly smiling yet not smiling expression. "Eldest Imperial Brother is truly a good prince who cares for country and people. The child minister fully agrees with his hatred towards the Northern Nomads. With him here, the Northern Nomads will be annihilated sooner or later."

The students held their breath, guessing in their hearts that this was likely the rumored frail Fifth Prince, wondering why he had come out to support the Eldest Prince.

The Eldest Prince himself was also confused. He still vividly remembered the opposition between the Empress and Imperial Concubine Ju those years ago, how could the Fifth Prince change his temperament after being ill for years?

Until the speaker's tone shifted, "Speaking of which, Eldest Imperial Brother is already sixteen or seventeen. The Eldest Young Lord of the Jiang family the same age as you has already gone to the northern border. I wonder when you plan to set off?"

Eldest Prince: "..."

The other had only brought up some emotions, only to suppress Xu Mo's essay and the sage's heart. How did it shift to going to the northern border?

But since he had stirred up emotions appropriately earlier, he couldn't refute or poke holes in the aroused fervor. "What? Could it be after all those words, Eldest Imperial Brother is unwilling to personally take the battlefield and personally annihilate the Northern Nomads?" The Fifth Prince's voice grew increasingly incredulous.

Even the students were eager to don armor in passionate indignation. How could the roused Eldest Imperial Son not be willing to go?

But he truly could not go. Settling the years of northern border strife would truly doom his prospects for the crown prince's position upon return.

"The child minister...the child minister is of course willing." The Eldest Prince had no choice but to speak. "The child minister is willing to abandon everything for the sake of nation and family, even going to the northern border. It's just that before that, the child minister wants to share Father Emperor's burdens, wants to fill the national treasury, wants to stockpile enough provisions and fodder for the battles."

The troops and horses have not moved, but the provisions came first.

These eight words were proof enough of how much money and supplies were burned through during war.

The Eldest Prince's considerations were not wrong either, even aligned with Fang Yuan's views. But ultimately it still lacked morale, disappointing many indignant students.

"It seems Eldest Imperial Brother cannot go after all. Handling the annihilation of the Northern Nomads can only fall to the border troops." The Fifth Prince sighed lightly. "Who knows when the people away from home can return, whether they can keep filial piety and attend their parents' funerals, whether they can accompany their wives and children."

He left it at that without elaborating.

But his words hinted towards seeking peace.

Xu Mo had to suppress his urge to raise his head several times, forcefully keeping his gaze down, intensely excited to follow up, "I hope that stopping war with war and negotiating peace afterwards will allow the border troops to return home soon."

"Allow the border troops to return home soon!" someone echoed loudly.

The hot blood of countless students boiled again.

"Allow the border troops to return home soon!"

"Return home!"

Who didn't want to go home!

Someone seemed to sniffle, suppressing sobs.

Xu Mo could bear it no longer. He glanced sideways and only saw the slender black figure walking away, hiding behind the screen once more.

That person, the hoarseness in his voice was familiar, and the familiarity also stranger.

He opposed the Eldest Prince, he paved the way for Xu Mo, just who was he?

The answer in his heart was on the tip of his tongue, but he still did not dare believe it.