The black-robed woman’s lips curled mockingly as her eyes swept around, her magnificent robes rustling as she declared clearly: “Your Highness speaks of Western Chuan having just experienced great turmoil, but I wonder what Your Highness means by ‘just’? Ten years have passed – Western Chuan has long since transformed completely, with time bringing vast changes. Now Western Chuan has strong armies and fine horses domestically, with developed animal husbandry. Western Chuan war horses are the finest under heaven, capable of galloping eight hundred li day and night without rest. In just one day and night, their cavalry could cross Xifeng City and charge directly to the prosperous capital of Xianyang. Could such an army also be dismissed as incompetent mediocrities in Your Highness’s eyes?”
She snorted coldly and suddenly raised her head, her cold gaze sweeping over the Second Prince, Ninth Prince, Crown Prince, and all those Great Qin prodigies who mocked Southern Chu, sneering: “Most laughable of all, you sit in your well and mock Southern Chu’s Great Emperor, using romantic affairs to judge matters of state – utterly foolish! When Chu Emperor served as hostage in Eastern Qi, he endured ten years before striking, then escaped back to his homeland – that shows perseverance. Upon returning to court he immediately rose to high position and commanded great power – that shows capability. Gathering powerful women from various nations for his use shows charisma. Using thunderous force to eliminate southern frontier rebels shows boldness. Such a person with perseverance, capability, charisma, and boldness appears in your eyes as an incompetent mediocrity, a waste who rose through nepotism. I wonder if this is a case of the benevolent seeing benevolence while the foolish see foolishness – self-deceiving arrogance like that of the Lord of Yelang?”
Once these words were spoken, all four quarters were shocked!
Everyone stared in amazement at the woman whose black robes danced without wind, her snow-white neck held erect, her sharp chin slightly raised in lonely, proud defiance. Her flying hairdo formed a perfect straight line with her entire body. Qing Xia’s eyes were frosty with brilliance exposed, coldly confronting this group of blindly arrogant Great Qin princes who spoke improperly. In her eyes was complete disdain and contempt.
The Seventh Prince Qin Zhicheng was clearly aligned with Qin Zhiyi’s faction. His eyes flashed with sharp light as he gripped his wine cup, saying in a gloomy tone: “I had forgotten that Miss Zhuang is after all a consort of Southern Chu’s Great Emperor. When we point at monks and curse bald thieves, naturally the young lady finds it hard to bear.”
The Ninth Prince Qin Zhimin said coldly: “First the Crown Princess who betrayed and fled Eastern Qi, then the dissolute consort abandoned and proclaimed to the world by Southern Chu, now gesticulating in our Great Qin’s Taihe Hall – truly ignorant of how high heaven is and how thick earth is.”
Qin Zhiyi sighed lightly at the corner of his mouth, his eyes slightly raised, seemingly regretful and sincere as he said: “That day at White Deer Plains, my Third Brother didn’t hesitate to defy Father Emperor for the young lady’s sake, disregarding millions of northern frontier people, willing to risk everything in a fit of rage for a beauty, crossing swords with the Chu Emperor. Today in our Great Qin territory, and in the Taihe Hall no less, the young lady speaks such words before my Third Brother – aren’t you afraid of chilling his heart?”
Qing Xia sneered coldly, thinking inwardly that the fox’s tail had finally shown itself. She remained fearless and suddenly turned around, her eyes coldly fixed on this hypocritical, vicious-minded Second Prince of the Qin court. With a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, she said icily: “So what if I was consort in two courts? The Second Prince is refined and cultured, so naturally he understands Great Qin’s historical records. In the second year of Guisi, the only female emperor in Great Qin’s history, Qin Dianqiu, married into the Great Qin imperial family as a widow. Not only did Hu Hai the Second not mind her widowed status, he openly accepted the two children she brought with her. Later, the female emperor was captured by Xiongnu at Hansha City. For two full months, she was kept as the Xiongnu King’s plaything, violated and defiled, losing the imperial heir in her womb and becoming unable to conceive again. Hu Hai the Second resolutely established Qin Dianqiu’s eldest son, Qin Nianzhi, as emperor. If not for this, those ruling the realm today would still be descendants of the Ying surname – how would there be today’s Great Qin imperial family? You are all beneficiaries of this breaking with old traditions and remarrying, yet you’ve forgotten your own ancestors so quickly, thinking you were born with imperial destiny?”
“Audacious witch!” Qin Zhiyi erupted in fury, his sword-like eyebrows standing erect as he said coldly: “In my Great Qin’s main hall, how can we allow a mere woman to act shrewishly and speak wildly? Guards! Drag her away!”
“Wait!” Qin Zhiyan’s cold gaze swept over, and the guards at the door immediately froze in their steps, not daring to enter. Only Qin Zhiyan’s low, cold voice could be heard: “Second Brother, do you think this is your Prince Yan’s mansion? In Father Emperor’s Taihe Hall, when has it been your turn to give orders?”
“Your Majesty!” Qing Xia suddenly turned and knelt before the Qin King on his throne, saying solemnly: “This commoner woman knows her status is humble and her reputation notorious, unworthy to stand in this magnificent hall commenting on Great Qin’s government affairs. But this commoner woman and Prince Xuan are deeply in love with mutual affection. Gathering great courage, I dare to come before Your Majesty with brazen face to request Your Majesty’s magnanimous forgiveness for this pitiful woman who drifts with the waves, repeatedly wandering in the mortal world, manipulated by others beyond her control. I was not born dissolute, nor was I born fickle and prone to betrayal. In one’s lifetime, many things are beyond personal control, especially for a weak woman controlled by her family. Your Majesty’s heart is as vast as the ocean, containing high mountains and hundred peaks, territories in all directions, heaven and earth and the universe. This commoner woman doesn’t ask Your Majesty to completely pardon me, only to leave a small path for me, so that this person abandoned by heaven and earth with no way out might have one road to live.”
The Qin King pondered slightly, his expression calm, showing not the slightest emotion. After a long while, he slowly spoke: “According to what you say, my Great Qin’s realm is in precarious danger. If you remain in Great Qin, how could that count as a path to live?”
Qing Xia’s eyes brightened as she raised her head and said: “Everything has two sides, good and bad. What this commoner woman said before was only the bad side. If Your Majesty is still willing to listen to this homeless, stateless, despised pitiful woman, I dare to boldly speak my shallow views again for Your Majesty’s judgment.”
The Qin King’s face was like still water as he said indifferently: “Speak.”
Qing Xia smiled brilliantly and straightened her kneeling posture, raising her head: “Compared to the other four kingdoms, our Great Qin has four advantages that others can hardly match even if they tried desperately. These four points are our Great Qin’s powerful assets for victory. As long as we grasp these four points firmly, no one else can compete.”
The Fourth Prince Qin Zhiye raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this and said in a deep voice: “Which four points?”
Seeing him respond, Qing Xia turned her head toward him with a brilliant smile, nodding in thanks: “The Fourth Prince has traveled extensively for many years with illustrious military achievements and broad knowledge. Naturally you know how the common people of the realm refer to themselves?”
The Fourth Prince was slightly stunned and said: “Naturally they call themselves Han people?”
“Exactly right.” Qing Xia’s lips curved in a light smile, her eyes full of confident radiance as she raised her head: “In the past, the Second Emperor established the imperial examination system, opened water transport, built schools, constructed medical halls, and had the state manage transportation stations, banks, river transport and many other livelihood enterprises. This made the realm, which had been repeatedly battered and scarred during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, leap in ten years to become an unprecedented great nation with developed economy and prosperous people. He changed the various Chinese tribes to Han, calling themselves the Han race, abolishing hostility and division between tribes. Now that a thousand years have passed, we can appreciate the far-sighted wisdom of Emperor Hu Hai. The people of the realm are unified – except for a few frontier barbarians with separate identity systems, there are no longer the original tribal conflicts. The people of the realm identify as Han people precisely because they remember the Second Emperor’s virtue. At the same time, subconsciously they are also descendants of our Great Qin. If our Great Qin were to raise arms, it would be justified with righteous cause – recovering ancestral territory. No matter how wealthy and strong the three kingdoms are, they are still rebellious subjects and traitorous sons. The people’s hearts naturally turn toward us, making everything twice as effective with half the effort. As the saying goes, ‘Those who win the people’s hearts win the realm’ – precisely because of this. This is the first of the four points I mentioned.”
“Well said! What excellent words about winning hearts winning the realm!” The Eighth Prince Qin Zhixiang immediately spoke up from his lower seat, his voice deep and especially resonant in the quiet hall.
Qing Xia knew that Qin Zhixiang was Qin Zhiyan’s younger brother, also a son of Concubine Yao, naturally closer than other princes. She nodded in return courtesy: “Thank you for the Eighth Prince’s praise.”
Qin Zhixiang raised his cup in distant toast and drained it in one gulp. Qing Xia turned her head back to continue addressing the Qin King: “Second, although our Great Qin is located in the northeast with harsh, cold climate and constant Xiongnu border raids, with three hundred years of continuous warfare and colorful conflicts, it is precisely because of this that we have forged Great Qin’s fierce cavalry. The strong men and common people of the northern frontier are almost all soldiers. Our Great Qin warriors fight bravely and are devoted unto death. Wherever our blades point, even fierce Xiongnu flee at the sight of our banners. Which other nation can directly withstand our Great Qin’s iron cavalry and strong troops? Which can oppose our tiger and wolf army with flesh and blood?”
The Qin King’s expression gradually softened as he slowly nodded and said softly: “Continue.”
Seeing the Qin King’s expression, who else dared interrupt with words? Qing Xia was secretly delighted but kept her face unchanged, thinking that if she didn’t know how to take advantage at this moment, she would either be an idiot or a fool. She immediately declared loudly: “Third, our Great Qin nation is wealthy, and among the four kingdoms, we also lead in grain production. Although the north cannot match the south’s two or three plantings of rice, corn and sweet potato yields are extremely impressive. Now that the Third Prince has opened Western Chuan’s livestock connections, with proper management, this commoner woman dares guarantee that within five years, our nation’s animal husbandry can definitely develop to Western Chuan’s level. When the great army advances eastward with pack horses behind and civilian workers following, attacking cities and seizing territory, galloping on horseback with sufficient rear support, who else could resist our Great Qin’s blade?”
The Qin King had completely shed his contemptuous expression and frowned slightly in thought: “When two armies battle, the attacking side consumes far more than the defending side. You say pack horses and civilian workers following behind can truly supply the front line warfare? You must know that one hundred sixty years ago, when our Great Qin’s Iron Cavalry King made three eastern expeditions, all ended in dismal failure precisely because grain supplies couldn’t keep up, causing army internal disorder and unstable military morale.”
“Heaven protects us, and the Great King’s benevolent authority shines universally. After that battle at White Deer Plains when this commoner woman fell into the valley, blessed by fortune, I spent several days in Penglai Valley and learned several sophisticated, advanced mechanical contraption techniques from the valley. If given five years, I can definitely create mechanical wooden horses that can cross mountains and ridges, needing no food, no rest, no manpower, to serve as convenient transportation tools for our Great Qin.”