Turn the Tide

A barrage of rhetorical questions, like a violent storm, left the crowd dizzy and turned Xue Tian's face green.

"If what Vice General Zhao Wuji said is true, and Chen Busha could silently take away thirty thousand men right from under your nose, the commander-in-chief..."

Gu Chengyin's gaze shot toward Xue Tian like cold lightning. He spoke word by word, with absolute resolve:

"Then it proves that Xue Tian, as the commander-in-chief of the Golden Feather Guards, is incompetent in leadership, inept in military discipline, and neglectful of his duties. His lack of control over his subordinates has reached an atrocious level! This is a severe dereliction of duty, an unforgivable crime!"

He paused, and amidst the dead silence of the hall, he dropped an even more earth-shattering conclusion:

"The Golden Feather Guards hold a special status, bearing the heavy responsibility of ensuring the absolute safety of His Majesty and the Divine Capital! For the commander of such a crucial position to commit such a major dereliction of duty, allowing His Majesty's imperial army to be easily mobilized as if it were a private army..."

"I believe this is no longer a simple dereliction of duty!"

Gu Chengyin faced the Dragon Throne, bowed deeply, and his voice suddenly rose, carrying an awe-inspiring resolve:

"Such behavior is tantamount to indulging treason, shaking the foundation of the state, and endangering the empire! With its vile nature and severe consequences, how is it any different from rebellion?!"

"Therefore, I humbly implore His Majesty to charge Xue Tian, the commander-in-chief of the Golden Feather Guards, with the crime of rebellion!"

The word rebellion was like the heaviest clap of thunder, smashing ruthlessly onto the golden floor tiles of the great hall, shaking everyone to their very souls!

Madness! This Gu Chengyin was mad!

He had actually turned around and pinned the label of rebellion on Xue Tian, the commander-in-chief of the Golden Feather Guards!

And he used the very reasons proposed by Vice General Zhao Wuji as his argument!

This was no longer a defense; this was a counterattack, a mutually assured destruction, flipping the table to drag everyone down into the water!

In the imperial court, there was dead silence, to the point where even the sound of breathing vanished.

The civil and military officials, regardless of their faction, were all dumbfounded, their minds completely blank.

This angle of attack was simply too tricky, too ruthless, and too lawless!

Yet, upon careful thought, it bizarrely made logical sense. If you, Zhao Wuji, claimed that Chen Busha had privately mobilized thirty thousand men, then either Xue Tian was incompetent to the extreme, or he had deliberately let them pass, making him an accomplice!

Either way, he could not escape responsibility!

Xue Tian himself looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His face turned from green to red, and then from red to white. Trembling with rage, he pointed at Gu Chengyin, his lips quivering, unable to form a complete sentence of rebuttal for a moment:

"You... you spit venom! I... I have always been loyal and devoted to my duty! It is clearly Chen Busha who is audacious enough to collude with..."

"Collude?"

Gu Chengyin did not let him finish. He immediately seized upon the word, his eyes as sharp as knives, pressing closer with every step. "General Xue is trying to say that Chen Busha colluded with outsiders? Very well!"

He abruptly turned around to face the Dragon Throne again. His voice grew even more impassioned, carrying the awe-inspiring aura of one eradicating evil for his sovereign:

"Your Majesty! If Commander Xue Tian admits that his incompetence and oversight are true, then his grave crime of dereliction of duty must be severely punished!"

"If he denies it, then the matter of Chen Busha privately mobilizing troops must be fishy! Thirty thousand men is not a trifling matter. To bypass the commander-in-chief and conceal it from numerous checkpoints to successfully set out is something Chen Busha could never accomplish alone!"

"I believe that within the Golden Feather Guards, someone must have assisted, concealed, or even masterminded this!"

His gaze swept like an ice pick over several generals of the Golden Feather Guards within the ranks of military officials, finally landing on Xue Tian:

"Xue Tian, as the commander-in-chief of the Golden Feather Guards, was completely unaware of this until Vice General Zhao Wuji reported it."

"These words are highly suspicious, and his actions are even more so! I suspect that Xue Tian himself is one of the accomplices, or perhaps even the true mastermind; otherwise, there is no way to explain his actions."

"For the safety of Your Majesty, the stability of the Divine Capital, and the security of the empire!"

Gu Chengyin's voice echoed through the great hall, carrying an absolute resolve to risk everything:

"I humbly implore Your Majesty to issue an edict immediately to arrest Xue Tian, the commander-in-chief of the Golden Feather Guards, Vice General Zhao Wuji, as well as all other high-ranking generals and relevant subordinate officials!"

"This is not making a mountain out of a molehill! The Golden Feather Guards are Your Majesty's imperial army, yet such a massive loophole has appeared, allowing tens of thousands of troops to be privately mobilized!"

"Who knows if, next time, in the dead of night, they might be secretly mobilized right into this imperial palace?!"

"Only by thoroughly investigating the entire Golden Feather Guards top to bottom, and stabilizing the court and the country, can we eliminate future troubles!"

After finishing his speech, Gu Chengyin bowed deeply once again and spoke no more.

But his words were like the fiercest storm, raging wildly in everyone's hearts.

The entire hall was deadly silent; one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's brains were frantically processing this drastic turn of events that completely flipped the script.

From impeaching Chen Busha and implicating Luo Zhao, it had suddenly turned into Gu Chengyin counter-accusing Xue Tian of rebellion and demanding a thorough investigation of the entire Golden Feather Guards?!

This twist was too violent, too inconceivable!

Luo Zhao stood at the front, her hands beneath her sleeves trembling slightly from excessive force, but not out of fear.

Rather, it was due to an indescribable excitement and an almost fanatical admiration!

She understood! She completely grasped Gu Chengyin's intention!

Since the opposing side refused to play by the rules, using a vague yet extremely severe charge like unauthorized mobilization of troops to attack.

Then he shouldn't entangle himself in their logic! Just flip the table directly! Muddy the waters completely!

Didn't you say Chen Busha mobilized troops without authorization? Fine, I admit this matter is serious, unimaginably serious!

Then, for such an inconceivable thing to happen, there are only two possibilities: either Commander Xue Tian is useless trash, or Commander Xue Tian is an accomplice! Perhaps the entire system of the Golden Feather Guards has rotted!

Elevate and expand the problem from Chen Busha's unauthorized troop mobilization to the level of the Golden Feather Guards' commander-in-chief, or even the entire Golden Feather Guards system!

By doing this, the focus of the pressure was completely shifted!

From Luo Zhao, it had shifted onto Xue Tian and even the entire Golden Feather Guards!

Moreover, this accusation was even more fatal, directly touching upon Emperor Luo's reverse scale—the absolute loyalty and controllability of the Emperor's imperial army!

What was even more brilliant was that Gu Chengyin's suggestion seemed extremely insane, but it actually contained a hidden logic and threw the right to choose back to Emperor Luo.

If Emperor Luo really wanted to pursue the matter of the unauthorized troop mobilization, he would first have to sort out the internal issues of the Golden Feather Guards, which meant he must deal with Xue Tian first!

Otherwise, how could he convince the public?

This move was simply a brilliant counterattack from a desperate situation.

Stormy waves surged in Luo Zhao's heart, and her eyes were filled with complex emotions.

This man not only had a deep mind and cunning methods, but also possessed such courage and quick wit.

To dare to execute such an incredibly perilous yet utterly brilliant strategy of reversal right in the imperial court, before the Emperor!

Shangguan Yunying was also stunned. She looked at Gu Chengyin as if knowing him for the first time.

This way of breaking the deadlock completely exceeded her imagination.

Xue Tian was already shaking with rage, his face livid. He suddenly took a step forward, his hair and beard bristling with fury, and roared:

"Ignorant brat! You speak sheer nonsense! Your Majesty! This youth is confusing the public with demonic words and framing the loyal and good; his malicious intentions deserve death! My loyalty to Your Majesty is unyielding, the sun and sky can bear witness! The entire Golden Feather Guards are also unified like a solid block of iron, absolutely without..."

"Enough."