Naturally, they also knew… that once they didn’t admit to having been residents of Yecheng Pass, after entering the city they wouldn’t be able to get back their previous houses!

But if they didn’t enter Yecheng Pass, they wouldn’t even have their lives!

Since they had already abandoned their own houses when they left Yecheng Pass, now, for the sake of survival, if the houses were gone, then so be it!

And the people who had always stayed in Yecheng Pass and never left, seeing familiar neighbors return but not even daring to claim their own houses for the sake of survival, having to get new houses and still owing IOUs to the government, felt increasingly comfortable in their hearts, increasingly convinced that their decision not to leave and to become Great Zhou citizens had been correct.

Both Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingyun knew that among the refugees, there would be many people who had originally left Yecheng Pass mixed in among them, yet they didn’t expose them…

Her original intention was to gain people; there was no reason to truly shut out the people of Yecheng Pass.

She did this merely to let all the people who came to join the Great Zhou know that having joined the Great Zhou and become Great Zhou citizens… The Great Zhou would not unconditionally accept and care for them; they would always have to contribute something.

People always value the least what comes easiest to them. Only by giving them pressure could she make them transform that pressure into motivation, work hard, and repay the grain they owed the government and the silver for the houses they were allocated as early as possible, so they could pay less interest.

Thus, by next year… Yecheng Pass, which was already exempt from taxes, would not need the court to allocate relief grain and funds anymore. Not only would it be self-sufficient, but it could even give back to the court.

With Bai Qingyan’s method, presumably, Minister of Revenue Wei Bugong would not come to submit memorials protesting and crying poverty to her.

The Western Liang spies mixed among the people saw Bai Qingjue once again leading troops toward Deyang direction for reinforcement, and also heard that Great Zhou troops had arrived at the north gate of Yecheng Pass again. Looking at the banners… it was actually the Zhao family army that had surrendered to Great Zhou. They heard that fifty thousand Zhao family troops had already entered the city. That Western Liang spy quietly left the crowd to report to the Western Liang army.

Bai Qingyan personally brought Yang Wuce to welcome Zhao Sheng as he led the Zhao family army into the city. Zhao Sheng had long been restless with anticipation. When Zhao Sheng originally followed Bai Qingyan, it was to help Bai Qingyan conquer this realm, but when she came to destroy Western Liang this time, Bai Qingyan had brought Yang Wuce but hadn’t let him come along.

Later, when victory reports kept coming from the Nan Jiang battlefield, his heart was being clawed at by a hundred cats, and he received Bai Qingyan’s secret letter telling him to lead the Zhao family army to Yecheng Pass.

At that time, Zhao Sheng thought Bai Qingyan would have him join with the Bai family army, then together attack Yecheng Pass, the most difficult to capture in Western Liang.

Who would have known that just as Zhao Sheng brought the Zhao family army to Weng City, he heard that the Bai family army, with Bai Qingyan personally in command, had already taken Yecheng Pass in just two days.

Zhao Sheng’s mind buzzed at the time, and he inexplicably thought of the battle at Qingxi Mountain Pass in Great Liang.

Actually, at that time, Zhao Sheng felt that when the Jin Kingdom captured Qingxi Mountain Pass, it was more due to luck than strength. But now… Yecheng Pass was even more difficult to capture than Qingxi Mountain Pass. Even the mountains on both sides of Yecheng Pass had high walls and fortifications, yet Bai Qingyan led the Bai family army and took it in two days… two days!

The dumbfounded Zhao Sheng, while admiring Bai Qingyan and the sons of the Bai family from the bottom of his heart, also felt quite regretful that despite riding at full speed, he had missed this battle at Yecheng Pass.

After Zhao Sheng saluted Bai Qingyan, he looked at the spirited Yang Wuce and said: “Originally, it was I who advised you to surrender to Great Zhou and join His Majesty in determining the realm! But it turned out well… His Majesty brought you to capture Yecheng Pass, while I couldn’t participate in this battle!”

Yang Wuce looked at Zhao Sheng’s appearance and felt incredibly pleased. Gripping the sword at his waist, he laughed heartily and raised his hand to pound Zhao Sheng’s chest: “Look at you with that belly full of resentment, like a woman! His Majesty said… in the battles to come, His Majesty won’t participate and will let you fight! I will guard this Yecheng Pass well for His Majesty! All future battles will be yours to fight—are you satisfied now?”

“No battle can compare to this battle at Yecheng Pass!” Zhao Sheng looked at the high walls and fortifications of Yecheng Pass and couldn’t help but sigh. “It’s truly such a pity I missed it!”

Bai Qingyan’s eyes were full of smiles as she said in a low voice: “If not for pacifying the realm, I would least want to wage war. When a general leads troops out for one night, the people suffer life and death calamities for several years!”

If someone else had said these words, Zhao Sheng might not have believed them in his heart, but when Bai Qingyan said them… Zhao Sheng believed.

During this time in the capital, he had heard… that when Bai Qingyan was once attacked by students from the Imperial Academy, Bai Qingyan’s mentor, the venerable Master Guan Yongchong, had once said that the first time Bai Qingyan returned from the battlefield, he asked Bai Qingyan about her feelings.

Bai Qingyan answered: “White bones pile into mountains exposed in the wilderness, graves everywhere with nowhere to bury them, thousands of acres of good farmland with no one to till them, ten thousand li of corpses with no trace of birds.”

These were tragic scenes unseen in prosperous capitals.

Therefore, Bai Qingyan was willing to do everything in her power, sacrifice her own life, to return to the people peaceful rivers and mountains with calm seas and clear rivers.

It was said that when Bai Qingyan spoke these words, she was only thirteen years old. Her breadth of mind and compassionate heart for the world were such that even Master Guan Yongchong, as a teacher, admitted he was inferior.

An emperor who could speak such words—Zhao Sheng believed… she truly cherished the people! She truly was willing to return to the people, peaceful rivers, and mountains with calm seas and clear rivers.

Zhao Sheng cupped his hands toward Bai Qingyan: “This general spoke incorrectly. Your subject understands His Majesty’s meaning! Unless necessary… His Majesty is unwilling to raise armies! Going forward… Zhao Sheng will do everything possible to quickly pacify Western Liang, and also let the people suffer less!”

“Bai Qingyan thanks General Zhao on behalf of the people!” Bai Qingyan smiled and bowed to Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng quickly moved aside to avoid Bai Qingyan’s courtesy, then said: “Oh yes, Your Majesty, this time Master Cai Ziyuan also came with this general, but Master Cai separated from this general at Weng Mountain and went to Feng County, saying… he was going to see how the new policies were being implemented. He will come to audience with Your Majesty in a couple of days and report in detail.”

Bai Qingyan hadn’t expected Cai Ziyuan to come as well: “Isn’t Master Cai in Han City, assisting Qin Lang with implementing the new policies?”

“The new policies are being implemented extremely well in the old territory of Great Liang. When this general was still in Han City, Your Majesty’s brother-in-law Qin Lang had already gotten the hang of it. According to Master Cai… Your Majesty’s brother-in-law was worried that Your Majesty and the Prince Regent didn’t have enough personnel here, and also feared that without Master Cai’s counsel beside Prince Gao Yi, it would worry Your Majesty and the Prince Regent, so he took it upon himself to have Master Cai rush from Han City to Nan Jiang!” Zhao Sheng walked with Bai Qingyan toward the base of the city wall while smiling. “Naturally, this Master Cai, like this general, also didn’t want to miss this battlefield of pacifying Western Liang, so he requested permission from the Empress Dowager to follow this general here!”

Bai Qingyan nodded. She knew that Master Cai had the aspiration of the kunpeng.

“It’s not just this general and Master Cai. When this general set out, so many generals were envious beyond measure. This is the battle to destroy Western Liang! What general wouldn’t have their blood boiling upon hearing of it!”