Chapter 50 Well... How is that not the case?

"Your Majesty, your subject knows that my words today were inappropriate and unforgivable, and for this, I willingly accept any punishment! But before that, your subject wishes to clarify one thing: the reason I spoke those words today was not because I am ignorant of the situation, oblivious to current affairs, or intentionally provocative, but because this action is precisely my bounden duty!"

Yu Shinan's voice echoed with resounding clarity throughout the grand hall. Li Shimin, who had just been about to order the imperial guards to drag that insolent scoundrel Li Kuan away, let out a cold snort instead. "I would very much like to know," he demanded, "how the duties of a Director of the Palace Library—whose sole charge is the management and compilation of state books—have anything to do with those fallen soldiers of the previous dynasty!"

"As Your Majesty has said, I am the Director of the Palace Library, and my responsibility is to oversee the nation's archives and compilations. Yet ever since the eighth year of Wude, a question has weighed heavily upon me: in Emperor Yang of Sui's three campaigns against Goguryeo, how many soldiers actually fell in battle? To the north of Daywang City, how many bone pyramids still stand?

—As I compile the history of the Sui dynasty, this chapter is one I can by no means bypass. Therefore, I spent over three years, back and forth, finally calculating an approximate figure: in the eighth, ninth, and tenth years of Daye! Over those three years, the soldiers who died on the battlefields of Goguryeo totaled more than two hundred thousand! Across the entire land of Goguryeo, nearly a hundred bone pyramids were constructed from the remains of these soldiers! And many among them perished merely from disease and exhaustion, not through the defeat of battle!" By this point, Yu Shinan was already bathed in tears, while the entire grand hall fell into an absolute, breathless silence.

"Your Majesty, I am old and frail, but in my life, I have witnessed too much turmoil; how dare I fail to remain vigilant in times of peace? Now, favored by Your Majesty's heavy trust, I dare not forget my own duty: I compile the history of the Sui dynasty not to secure a lasting name for myself through the ages.

I merely wish to remember for Your Majesty, to remember for the Great Tang, those bloody lessons... scattered in the dust of history! Admittedly, today I dared to present to Your Majesty the lingering regret of welcoming these soldiers back—the timing was wrong, and my words were flawed, but my stance and my intentions were never wrong!

We must remember the lessons history has taught us, and we must also make amends for the errors history left behind. Those loyal souls on the soil of Goguryeo, day and night yearning for their homeland; those withered bones constantly piled high and compressed into pyramids of death... whatever the Great Tang must do, it should be done!" At the conclusion of his words, Yu Shinan slowly lowered himself to the ground, removed the scholar's cap from his head, placed it aside on the floor, and bowed deeply, remaining prostrate and motionless.

Yu Shinan, this frail elder of indomitable spirit, once again proved through his actions what was meant by the moral backbone of a scholar.

Though broken a hundred times, he would never yield; even if millions should bar his way, he would press forward!

"Lord Yu is truly a man of heroic stature!" To everyone's astonishment, Crown Prince Li Chengqian—who had remained taciturn since the beginning of the morning court and seemed almost devoid of presence among the officials—suddenly stepped forward to express his support for Yu Shinan. "Every word spoken by Lord Yu comes from the depths of his soul. Imperial Father, in this son's view, Lord Yu's actions today are not only free of blame, but worthy of merit. After all, we truly ought to be reminded: powerful enemies have always lurked around the borders of the Great Tang. The unfinished business of the previous dynasty should naturally be completed by the new dynasty, and the Great Tang... should no longer slacken its resolve!"

Li Chengqian's words, particularly his final sentence, were laden with profound meaning. What was the Great Tang? The wars the Sui dynasty failed to finish ought to be fought to the end by our Great Tang; the enemies the Sui dynasty failed to subdue ought to be subdued by our Great Tang.

Only an emperor of such a Great Tang would be worthy of ruling "all under heaven."

Sitting upon the dragon throne, Li Er had originally been plotting how to deal with his two sons after the court was dismissed, but right now, Li Chengqian's remarks had undoubtedly struck a chord deep within his heart.

This boy Chengqian... is finally beginning to look like a proper crown heir...

His Imperial Majesty Li Er, feeling greatly comforted, was already planning to show mercy and let Li Kuan and his brother off the hook.

At this very moment, history seemed to repeat itself.

—Pei Ji, having regained consciousness and determined to take the field himself to salvage his dignity, slowly rose to his feet with the support of veteran ministers such as Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu, forcing himself to muster his energy. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince speaks absurdities! At present, the Great Tang is recovering from ruin and decay; we do not even know how to cope with the impending locust plague—how can we possibly shoulder the cost of launching a national war?

Does His Royal Highness wish Your Majesty to emulate Yang Guang of the former dynasty, blindly squandering the empire in his hands for the sake of momentary arrogance?!"

It must be said that Pei Ji, who had suffered profound humiliation today, finally showed a backbone.

At this moment, oblivious to the ink-dark expression on Li Er's face, and emboldened by the patronage of Retired Emperor Li Yuan, Pei Ji launched into his raving discourse: "I once followed the Retired Emperor, rising from the humble weeds; how many can truly understand the hardships of that journey? Enough, enough! Why am I even saying this to you all? In short, the most important matter at hand is disaster relief. Everything else can wait until we have weathered this locust plague!"

Locusts, locusts, locusts...

Li Kuan desperately wanted to step forward and give this shameless old codger a couple of resounding slaps.

Damn it all... how long has it been? The little bride next door is practically ready for the bridal bed, and only now does an eighty-year-old bachelor realize he needs to panic?

Disgusting! Vile!

What was he doing earlier?!

Indeed, Li Kuan had still underestimated the depth of Pei Ji's shamelessness.

Yet if Pei Ji was shameless, how could Li Kuan allow himself to fall behind?

"Hey!" Li Kuan suddenly called out toward the screen by the side of the grand hall, "The historian of the Yan family!"

This single shout startled the Palace Diarist stationed behind the screen to record Li Er's daily life, causing him to tremble and splatter a blot of ink across the freshly spread white paper before him.

"We who write history must have a spine!" Although Li Er gave no response, it did not matter; knowing the diarist was definitely there, Li Kuan raised his voice and shouted, "Bear this in mind: whatever has happened in this hall today, record it in the history books down to the finest detail! I refuse to believe that when right and wrong are left to later generations, there will be no verdict! Pei Ji, you old—"

"Ahem!" In a flash, noticing that Li Er was on the verge of exploding, Li Chengqian gave a sharp cough to warn his younger brother not to curse in the imperial court under any circumstances.

Clearly, Li Kuan was not entirely foolish. Receiving his elder brother's warning, he quickly altered his phrasing: "You old... old muddlehead who forever fails to distinguish right from wrong! When you have the time, give some thought to how future generations will judge you after reading the history books!"

Having said this, Li Kuan turned around and unblushingly continued to intimidate the diarist behind the screen: "Let me tell you, Yan Shu and I are old friends, and besides, he is the Retired Emperor's Palace Diarist. If you dare to use subtle and biased language in your record, I will go to the Hongyi Palace and have Yan Shu banish you from the Yan clan!"

Li Kuan had evidently underestimated the destructive power of his own words.

"You insolent scoundrel! How dare you threaten My Palace Diarist? Are you still my son?!" Imperial Majesty Li Er, who had previously intended to let Li Kuan off, now had veins bulging on his forehead. At this moment, his impulse to physically beat his son reached its absolute peak.

Even if you brat are doing this for the good of the Great Tang, you don't need to act like a complete hoodlum! Does a father like me not have any pride to maintain?!

"Well..." Prince Chu, who had previously professed willingness to ruin his reputation for the sake of the Great Tang, was certainly not afraid to drag everyone down with him in mutual destruction.

Therefore, stroking his chin with one hand and pursing his lips in feigned contemplation for a long moment, he finally delivered those classic, passive-aggressive words beneath the worried gazes of Pei Ji, Wei Zheng, Yuchi Gong, and other former opponents who had just been defeated by him: "How could I not be?"