A smile curved at the corner of Bai Qingyan’s lips, her eyes sparkling with bright, burning light: “When that time comes, Bai Qingyan will certainly lead the army straight into Western Liang’s capital, Yunjing, to meet Princess Pingyang again.”

“You… you’re arrogant!” Li Tianfu was at a disadvantage for the first time, so angry that her eyes stung with tears.

“Duke Zhenguo has illustrious military achievements, his benevolent reputation is known throughout the world, and he’s modest and humble! General Bai is Duke Zhenguo’s descendant… You should inherit Duke Zhenguo’s character. How can you be so warlike?” A Western Liang peace envoy felt dissatisfied.

“Western Liang isn’t warlike?” Liu Rushi turned slightly, his gaze meeting that Western Liang peace envoy. Though he had refined, handsome features, his eyes curved sharply upward into his temples, and his stern expression was rather intimidating. “Since Western Liang isn’t warlike, then why did Western Liang ally with Nanyan… to inexplicably invade our Great Jin territory?!”

Liu Rushi laughed: “You attacked our Jin’s Weng Mountain and still won’t let us fight back?! Oh… when you Western Liang attack our Great Jin, it’s justified! When we Great Jin, retaliate we warlike? Western Liang’s way of ‘only you’re allowed to set fires while we’re not allowed to light lamps,’ this tyrannical and unreasonable behavior—do you know how to write the characters for ‘shameless’?”

Bai Qingyan’s gaze burned as she looked at Princess Pingyang Li Tianfu, who was about to cry: “Princess Pingyang asked me whether my grandfather would be able to keep his coffin lid closed if he knew I burned surrendered prisoners, causing the Bai family’s reputation to become unbearably foul overnight across all kingdoms. Then let me tell Princess Pingyang…”

Bai Qingyan stood up with a smile, gripping the sword at her waist, her sharp, dark eyes looking at Li Tianfu with murderous intent: “I killed your Western Liang surrendered prisoners because your Western Liang first invaded our Jin territory! Because your Western Liang first slaughtered our Jin people! If my grandfather, Duke Zhenguo, were here, he would have already led his army south to kill in Yunjing. For every one of our Jin people your Western Liang killed, our Jin elite troops would kill a hundred of your Western Liang! A thousand! Ten thousand! Until we killed all the Western Liang rats who slaughtered our Jin people! Until we killed enough that your Western Liang wouldn’t dare invade our Great Jin borders for ten years! Until we killed enough that your Western Liang would tremble at the mere mention of our Great Jin’s name!”

Bai Qingyan’s resounding words rose higher and higher, deafening and thought-provoking.

She stared at the Western Liang peace envoys who were either indignant or angry but afraid to speak, her voice steady: “God of Slaughter?! Evil reputation! Infamy! Even if pointed at by thousands and cursed by ten thousand! I, Bai Qingyan, will bear it all! But you Western Liang people remember this! Today, we allow you to negotiate peace… entirely because we think of Western Liang’s innocent people, so we Great Jin generals, are willing to endure humiliation and halt military action! If your Western Liang dares to invade without cause again in the future, dares to raise blades against our Great Jin people again, forget killing a hundred thousand of your Western Liang surrendered prisoners—our Jin elite troops will flatten your Western Liang territory! When Western Liang is destroyed… ceasing to exist in this world, I’d like to see where you’ll get the face and confidence to talk about humiliation with our Great Jin!”

This speech from Bai Qingyan was extremely inspiring. Whether it was peace negotiation, civil officials like Liu Rushi, or battlefield generals like Zhang Duanrui, all felt their emotions surge high, feeling it greatly enhanced Jin’s prestige, their hearts surging with irrepressible excitement.

Li Tianfu was so angry that her pretty face turned completely red, unable to bear the humiliation, shouting: “Bai Qingyan, you burned surrendered prisoners without showing remorse, and still dare to speak words insulting our Western Liang. Your heart is like a venomous snake’s—no wonder the Bai family is destined to have no descendants, all dying on the battlefield!”

As soon as Li Tianfu said this, Li Zhijie’s heart sank with a thud. Before Li Zhijie could apologize, Bai Qingyan had already darkened her face and kicked over the table of delicacies in front of her.

Li Zhijie hurriedly protected Li Tianfu behind him, his heart jumping to his throat.

The great tent suddenly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, everyone holding their breath.

Li Zhijie truly hadn’t expected Li Tianfu would say such heart-piercing words, much less that Bai Qingyan, who seemed delicate and beautiful, would be so violent.

“General Bai… please calm your anger!” Li Zhijie spoke these words without confidence.

“Princess of Western Liang’s words do remind me! Western Liang’s Assistant General Yun Poxing beheaded my younger brother, who was only ten years old, disemboweling and defiling my brother’s corpse!” Bai Qingyan looked toward Liu Rushi. “Lord Liu, when my younger brother’s remains returned to the capital, the tragic state was witnessed by everyone in Jin. You are a peace envoy… You must remember to seek justice for my younger brother during negotiations! Demand more cities to comfort my younger brother’s spirit in heaven, and don’t let the people of Great Jin lose heart!”

Bai Qingyan was giving Liu Rushi a way up, letting Liu Rushi use Xiao Shiqi’s death to demand more cities for Jin. Liu Rushi wasn’t stupid and naturally picked up the thread: “General Bai speaks correctly! When the Bai family’s seventeenth son returned to the capital, the entire nation grieved. For this matter alone, if Western Liang doesn’t compensate with seventeen cities, this matter absolutely cannot be settled!”

Li Tianfu gasped coldly—Jin’s appetite was far too big: “You…”

Li Zhijie forcefully gripped Li Tianfu’s slender wrist, preventing her from continuing, looking toward Jin’s Crown Prince to sow discord: “General Bai, your Kingdom’s Crown Prince still sits in the place of honor, yet you overturn tables like this—do you still regard His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Prince Yan should save your strength and stop sowing discord here! Our Jin court isn’t as filthy and dirty as your Western Liang court. In our Jin… subjects are loyal, and the ruler doesn’t suspect! Otherwise, where would our Great Jin get this rainbow-like momentum for great victory?”

The Crown Prince, sitting in the place of honor, would never undermine Bai Qingyan in front of Li Zhijie. This was a confrontation between two countries—if their side started internal strife, wouldn’t that be a joke for outsiders?

Moreover, Bai Qingyan was fighting here for Jin… that is, fighting for him, the future master of Jin. How could he assist Li Zhijie’s arrogance and diminish his prestige?

So the Crown Prince said, “General Bai speaks correctly! I trust the Bai Family Army as I trust myself, otherwise, I wouldn’t have entrusted the military tally to General Bai.”

Li Zhijie hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to give the military tally to Bai Qingyan. No wonder Bai Qingyan was so fearless—he knew using Jin’s Crown Prince’s authority probably couldn’t suppress Bai Qingyan.

Li Zhijie suppressed his anger, restraining his fury as he spoke: “On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes. Could it be that when your Kingdom’s Duke Zhenguo brought his seventeenth son to the Southern Border battlefield, he only planned to let the seventeenth son gain merit but not sacrifice his life for the cause? General Bai, during peace negotiations between two countries… casually threatening to flatten our Western Liang territory—whether this is because your blood died on the battlefield and you want to use Jin’s elite troops to seek private revenge, or for the sake of the world’s people, General Bai knows clearly in your own heart!”

“When two armies fight, if Yun Poxing had killed all my Bai family bloodline honorably and openly on the battlefield, I, Bai Qingyan, would accept it! But after he beheaded my younger brother, he also disemboweled and defiled the corpse—is this also ‘swords and spears have no eyes’?!” She stood under the lamp, looking at Li Zhijie and Li Tianfu coldly. “Your Western Liang initiated provocation first, and now you’re a defeated nation. You’ve come to submit and seek peace, but don’t reflect on yourselves, instead making specious arguments and confusing right and wrong, calling it ‘private revenge’ on one hand and ‘God of Slaughter’ on the other. Even so… if I, Bai Qingyan, don’t seek private revenge and don’t enjoy slaughter, I’d be failing to live up to Prince Yan and Princess of Western Liang’s kind intentions!”