Chapter 213

Master Zhiguang was indeed a virtuous monk, at least much better than those bald donkeys at the Shaolin Temple.

He was not angry at all, and asked calmly:

"Is this the 'Hero Sword', Young Master Gu?"

"It is indeed Gu."

"Young Master Gu is truly a heroic youth, but I do not know what you mean."

"Ever since I heard the ins and outs of the matter, I have had a few doubts, and I ask Master Zhiguang to enlighten me."

"Young Master Gu, please speak."

"Thirty years ago, the Liao Kingdom had just experienced a major invasion by the Jin Kingdom, losing more than half of its territory, and from then on it was in decline, barely able to protect itself, let alone invade the Song Kingdom. Back then, it must have been the leader of the group who used his own prestige to invite Master Zhiguang and the others, right?"

"This... that is indeed the case. But the leader was of high virtue and great prestige, and at that time, everyone agreed when they saw his invitation."

Master Zhiguang was not a stupid person; a slight hint had already made him discover the inconsistency.

"Good, then let me talk about the consequences caused by the Battle of Yanmen Pass. Xiao Yuanshan, whom you killed back then, was the Chief Instructor of the Liao Kingdom's army, deeply trusted by the Liao Empress Dowager, and had always been committed to peace between Song and Liao. And the Jin Kingdom was powerful, and its oppression of Song and Liao prompted the two countries to gradually have a trend of alliance against Jin. If the two countries allied, they might not have been enough to advance, but they would certainly have been enough to protect themselves, at least not allowing the Mongol Yuan to drive straight in and face Xiangyang City directly. All of this was destroyed by the Battle of Yanmen Pass. The Liao Empress Dowager was furious and sent troops to the Song border, causing hundreds of thousands of Song people to lose their lives. If it weren't for the fear of the Jin Kingdom's pressure to retreat, the Song Kingdom would have been severely damaged. The situation between the two countries became tense, which also forced the Liao Kingdom to turn to the Mongol Yuan."

...... 0.......

Gu Hanyuan glared at Master Zhiguang and the others, shouting angrily:

"What sin did the hundreds of thousands of common people on the Song-Liao border commit! What sin did the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died defending their country under Xiangyang City commit! 'Disastrous to the country and the people' is not enough to describe such a person, yet Master Zhiguang, you actually want to protect his identity for the sake of his reputation!"

Master Zhiguang was devastated, his face covered in tears.

Although he had felt remorse before, his knowledge was limited, and he had not realized that it had caused such serious consequences.

How could saving a mere few tens of thousands of people compare to the lives of hundreds of thousands of common people and hundreds of thousands of soldiers defending their country? This was much more serious than the consequence of mistakenly killing a few dozen people as he had originally thought.

"Then may I ask the Master, the hostility between Song and Liao, and the severe damage to their vitality, who does it benefit? Is it the Jin Kingdom, the Qing Kingdom, or the Mongol Yuan? In any case, it certainly does not benefit the Song Kingdom. So the conclusion is out: this leader is either an ambitious person intending to subvert the Song Kingdom! Or he is a traitor of a foreign race!"

Gu Hanyuan's tone was stern. ===== CHAPTER 215 =====