This is outrageous!
"What's the use of being strong? Can he withstand an army of thousands by himself? If I were the commander of the Spirit Hall Empire, I would definitely have my Soul Master legion besiege him." The first soldier said dismissively.
"Alas, war is about to begin again," a veteran lamented.
"I hope this war ends soon, we've had enough," another soldier said wearily. "Had enough? What can we do? What else can we do but wage endless war? What Xiao Wang said earlier wasn't wrong. This time, His Majesty's military campaign was actually orchestrated by that Tang San, who went to the palace to force His Majesty to go to war with the Spirit Hall Empire!" a middle-aged man who looked like a soldier commander said in a low voice.
" Commander Yuan, is it true?" the soldier from before asked in surprise.
"It's definitely true. My cousin is the deputy commander of the palace guards. This matter has already spread throughout the palace. You don't know, His Majesty fell seriously ill immediately after issuing the order to go to war. After the imperial physician examined him, he said that His Majesty was suffering from a heart ailment. Even when His Majesty was unconscious, he was apologizing to the soldiers, saying that he was sorry to all the brothers on the front lines and to the people of the Heaven Dou Empire." Commander Yuan took a sip of wine and sighed.
"So, His Majesty opposes this war?" a soldier asked in surprise. Commander Yuan lowered his voice, "His Majesty is helpless. How could he not know the suffering that war brings to the people?" A young soldier asked in confusion, " Commander Yuan, according to you, the reason for this war is actually because of that Imperial Preceptor named Tang San?" Commander Yuan glanced at him, "It cannot be said, it cannot be said."
At this point, he raised his glass and toasted everyone present, "Brothers, bottoms up! Before heading to the battlefield, I, Yuan, wish you all good fortune in battle! After the war, may we gather here again and drink together once more!"
" Commander Yuan!"
All the soldiers at the table stood up at the same time, raised their glasses, and drank them down in one gulp!
What was said without intention was taken seriously by the listener. Soon, the true reason for the Heaven Dou Empire's war spread among a group of soldiers in this small tavern, and then...
The news spread like wildfire throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. In a teahouse, a group of people gathered around a table, discussing the latest news. "Gentlemen, have you heard? This time we're going to war with the Spirit Hall Empire because of one person," a middle-aged man said mysteriously.
"A lone man? Who is he?" someone asked curiously. The middle-aged man looked around, making sure no officials were nearby, before mysteriously saying, "He is the new Imperial Preceptor, Tang San!"
" Tang San? That youngest Imperial Preceptor?" someone asked in surprise.
"Yes, it's him. You don't know, His Majesty didn't actually want to go to war with the Spirit Hall Empire. It was him who forced His Majesty to go to war," the middle-aged man said in a low voice.
"What's going on?" everyone asked curiously. The middle-aged man looked around again, and only after confirming there was no danger did he slowly speak, "I have a friend who works in the palace, and he told me this himself. Tang San has a grudge against the Spirit Hall Empire Spirit Hall Empire, and he is determined to go to war with them and then settle things once and for all. His Majesty actually doesn't want to go to war, but Tang San threatened to kill himself if the war didn't start, so His Majesty had no choice but to agree to the war."
"Such a thing actually happened?" someone asked in surprise.
"It's absolutely true, my friend told me himself. Think about it, he's just a national advisor, how powerful can he be? If all the Titled Douluo from the Spirit Hall Empire ganged up on him, he would definitely die." The middle-aged man said excitedly.
"Such a thing actually happened?" someone asked in surprise.
"It's absolutely true. My friend told me himself that he saw it with his own eyes. Think about it, he's just a national advisor. How powerful could he be? If all the Titled Douluo from the Spirit Hall Empire ganged up on him, he would definitely die." The middle-aged man said excitedly.
As word spread, the story quickly became more and more outrageous, and Tang San's reputation deteriorated. Rumors even circulated that Tang San was possessed by Evil Demon and was using brute force to threaten the Heaven Dou Emperor into war with the Spirit Hall Empire. The Emperor remained unmoved and firmly refused, so Tang San resorted to threatening the lives of everyone in the world and kowtowed three hundred times before the Emperor finally agreed to go to war.
Such an absurd story resonated with the general public, who began to organize themselves. All sorts of rumors circulated throughout the Heaven Dou Empire, all portraying Tang San as utterly despicable. Some even dug up Tang San's ancestors for eighteen generations, and a deluge of vile insults followed.
Some people even came up with a rhyme. " The Evil Demon Tang San wreaks havoc on the world, causing endless Heaven Dou, an outrage against heaven!"
In a short time, the entire Heaven Dou Empire was filled with this rhyme, passed down by word of mouth by countless people, and some even carved it on the stones at the city gates for people to trample on. Everyone regarded Tang San as the culprit of this war, and some parents who did not know the truth even forbade Tang San's name from their children's mouths, for fear that their children would be corrupted.
When Tang San learned of these events, he became extremely angry, venting his emotions. "These rumors are utter nonsense!" Tang San angrily smashed the teacup in his hand, shards flying everywhere, startling the sect's servants who hurriedly dodged. "What do these ignorant masses know? I did this for their own good, and they dare to slander me?"
"They're utterly ungrateful!" Tang San stood up angrily, pacing back and forth. The pressure of the past few days had almost driven him to the brink of collapse. Despite doing everything he could, he still couldn't quell the people's anger. His name was being insulted, his ancestors for eighteen generations were being slandered, and some people were even playing games in the streets using his name. He couldn't understand how he, who was doing this for the good of the country and to buy time for the people, was being treated this way.
"Someone must be deliberately trying to slander me!"
Tang San suspected that some powerful figures were behind this, as they couldn't stand to see him become the Imperial Preceptor and were trying to force him to leave. He was also certain that the Spirit Hall was involved. Otherwise, why would the reason for the Heaven Dou Empire's war be such a hot topic among the people? Someone must be maliciously slandering him; otherwise, how could his reputation be so ruined?
Thinking about this, Tang San gradually calmed down. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a conspiracy between the powerful and the Spirit Hall. They must not want him to become the Imperial Preceptor, and they must be using this method to force him to give up the war with the Spirit Hall Empire.
(End of this chapter)