The crimes committed by the Najie Army against the people of Zhenbei City were utterly heinous and despicable, to the point where describing them as inhumane is not an exaggeration.
"So, afterwards, when frontline soldiers captured over ten thousand surrendered Najie prisoners, Emperor Jingwu directly ordered the troops to bury them alive!
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi let out a cold laugh at this point: "As soon as Emperor Jingwu announced this decision in court, many ministers jumped out to oppose him. One hypocrite raised the banner of 'killing surrenders brings bad luck,' claiming that heaven has the virtue of loving life, and Emperor Jingwu should adopt a policy of leniency and appeasement towards these Najie prisoners, which would better demonstrate his benevolence as a ruler of a great nation.
"In response to this hypocrite full of benevolent words, Emperor Jingwu walked straight up to him and slapped him hard across the face.
"According to many historical records, this slap left the courtiers utterly stunned. After all, they had disagreed with Emperor Jingwu on policy before, but this was the first time he had physically struck a minister.
"And after slapping the official, Emperor Jingwu even asked him with a smile, 'You're not angry now, are you? After all, someone as kind and generous as you shouldn't make a big deal out of a mere slap.'
On the Sky Canopy, the live chat was filled with laughter.
[Awesome! That's how you fight fire with fire!]
[LOL, forget Emperor Jingwu wanting to slap that guy; I felt my own hands itching when Sanqi was talking!]
[How did such a moron become an official? The Najie he wants to treat leniently committed the atrocity of massacring an entire city! Those weren't even soldiers, but defenseless civilians!]
...
Liu Sanqi clearly noticed the chat and said with a smile, "Dear viewers, calm down. After slapping that official, Emperor Jingwu dismissed him on the spot, ordering him to take off his official robes and go home. The reason was straightforward: Great Jing had no use for officials who only sought attention but couldn't empathize with the people!
"However, it was precisely because of his handling of the Najie Tribe that Emperor Jingwu has been controversial and criticized in history.
"Because, besides ordering the burial of those ten thousand Najie prisoners, Emperor Jingwu showed no mercy to the Najie Tribe in the following decades. Instead, he used various means to continuously dismember them until they were shattered.
"Ultimately, in his later years, the once-fearsome Najie Tribe completely vanished into the river of history."
Under the Sky Canopy, in the palace, even Emperor Jingming couldn't help but feel stirred by Liu Sanqi's words. As the ruler of Great Jing, he knew well that the Najie Tribe had always coveted Great Jing, seizing every opportunity to tear off a piece of its flesh. In his eighteen years of reign alone, Great Jing had fought over twenty battles with the Najie, large and small. Although their recent actions had seemed quieter, Emperor Jingming didn't believe a hyena that had tasted meat would ever switch to a vegetarian diet. His greatest fantasy had been to thoroughly defeat the Najie Tribe, making them dare not frequently raid border cities again. But now, from the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi had told him that in the future, there would be an emperor who could completely eliminate the Najie threat once and for all. At this moment, Emperor Jingming's excitement reached its peak, sweeping away the frustration he had felt earlier when hearing about Yin Rui's deeds.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi suddenly frowned and looked into the camera: "I know that among Emperor Jingwu's many fans, a small minority have always felt that his order to bury the Najie prisoners alive and his later policy of extermination were too cold-blooded, considering it a stain on his brilliant life that tarnished his image as a saintly ruler.
"But in fact, I believe Emperor Jingwu had long anticipated the criticism his actions would bring.
"Because, when he decided to order the burial of those Najie prisoners, many ministers privately suggested that they could take charge of implementing it, so that if anyone had objections, the blame would fall on them as subjects.
"However, Emperor Jingwu declined their goodwill, saying he had a clear conscience and wasn't afraid of rumors or slander; he didn't need others to bear the infamy for him.
"Moreover, according to history, after confirming that the last remnants of the Najie Tribe had been completely crushed, Emperor Jingwu happily declared in court that the Najie people would no longer be a worry for Great Jing!
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi's words evidently stirred many netizens in the live chat, and the barrage became lively again:
[Heh, it's still the same question: do good people deserve to be targeted? Those who sympathize with the Najie prisoners, why don't they first pity the people of Zhenbei City who were nearly slaughtered by the Najie army?]
[I feel that people who criticize Emperor Jingwu over the Najie are just like those idiots who shout for us to let go of historical baggage and forgive the Japanese devils! The Japanese still haven't admitted their historical crimes against humanity, yet they expect the victims to be kind and forgiving? What bullshit is that?!]
[In my opinion, every move Emperor Jingwu made against the Najie was absolutely right! A great man once said, 'Throw a punch to avoid a hundred punches.' Before Emperor Jingwu crippled the Najie Tribe, the Najie cavalry was the greatest threat in the north. But after he dealt with them, the northern border enjoyed peace for nearly a century, and other tribes, witnessing the Najie's fate, chose to submit to Great Jing!]
[Speaking of which, my history teacher once mentioned that in Emperor Jingwu's later years, the once-impoverished border cities in the north had developed into prosperous, well-known cities, with active border trade and peaceful lives for the people!]
[It feels like Emperor Jingwu's mindset was exactly what Professor Ai once said: 'Better to bear a lifetime of infamy than to let future generations enjoy happiness!']
...
Under the Sky Canopy, Yin Ning felt a strong curiosity and anticipation for this Emperor Jingwu after hearing the netizens' discussions. She felt that the way Emperor Jingwu handled things was very much to her liking. However, what puzzled her was that after mentally listing everyone she knew, she couldn't find anyone who matched Emperor Jingwu.
"'Fame brings trouble.' Even a model wise ruler like Emperor Jingwu has a considerable number of haters in the history community. I've observed this group for a while and found that their favorite thing to criticize Emperor Jingwu about is the Zhenbei City massacre.
"In their view, the massacre was half the fault of the Najie army and half the fault of Emperor Jingwu."
Even while live-streaming, Liu Sanqi rolled her eyes without restraint: "Yes, dear viewers, you heard that right. In these geniuses' eyes, Emperor Jingwu should bear half the responsibility for the Najie army's massacre!
"And their reasoning is laughable: they say because Emperor Jingwu was too tough on the Najie army, if he had been willing to negotiate and even make concessions, he might have prevented the tragedy.
"Dear viewers, let's set aside the exorbitant reparations demanded by the Najie for a moment. Just consider the seven thousand maidens, two thousand able-bodied men, and the people in the three cities demanded as cession—aren't they all living human beings too?"
Under the Sky Canopy, although it was a question Liu Sanqi had posed to the live-stream audience, some people in Zhenbei City couldn't help but show expressions of shame. Since ancient times, who hasn't faced death? But death is a universal human fear. So when they heard the Najie threatening to massacre the city if Emperor Jingwu didn't sign the treaty, some couldn't help but wish he would comply to save their own lives. Yet they knew this was extremely selfish and despicable—saving their own lives at the expense of others.
A choice like Emperor Jingwu's was, in fact, the reasonable course of action.