So Gao Yuxing thought that even if he sacrificed his life, he absolutely could not let Yan’s treacherous scheme succeed. Therefore, he immediately signed up… and returned to Great Zhou alongside Zhong Xingxiao.
Today, the Yan Regent Prince and Zhong Xingxiao sent out several waves of people to gather intelligence. He heard that Little Commander Bai seemed inclined to agree to this gambling-the-nation strategy in the court.
Gao Yuxing knew that when Little Commander Bai first went on campaign, she had said she never wanted to see again the sight of “withered bones piled like mountains exposed in the wilderness, grave mounds everywhere with nowhere to bury them, thousands of acres of good farmland with no one to till them, and birds’ traces vanishing over ten thousand li of corpses!”
Their Little Commander Bai had said that for the four words “world peace,” she was willing to be crushed to powder and ground to dust.
Gao Yuxing remembered it all…
He feared Little Commander Bai would be constrained by public opinion, and also feared Little Commander Bai would soften her heart for the sake of the people and soldiers. So he carried out the assassination using his identity as Zhong Xingxiao’s guard, precisely to prevent public opinion from constraining Great Zhou’s court, and to prevent anything from blocking Little Commander Bai’s steps toward unifying the world.
“How foolish you are!” Bai Qingyan’s throat ached more severely. If Liu Rushi hadn’t discovered the discrepancies this time, she absolutely wouldn’t have thought to meet with a Yan guard who had assassinated their Great Zhou minister. Perhaps… she would have muddle-headedly lost General Gao Yuxing again, and this time let General Gao Yuxing die by her hand, Bai Qingyan’s.
This was their Bai family army’s General Gao!
“This gambling-the-nation strategy was proposed by me, and was already decided before Yan and Great Zhou allied to jointly destroy Xi Liang!” Bai Qingyan forcibly held back her tears, speaking in a low voice to General Gao. “Wu Zhe is already gone for delivering the bamboo strips recording the army’s march records. It’s I… who has wronged General Gao!”
Hearing these words, Gao Yuxing’s entire body stiffened, his eyes filled with disbelief.
In earlier years, when Wu Zhe was injured, he had returned to the capital’s Bai family with Second Master to serve as a guard. Later, he never returned to the army. Gao Yuxing had even felt fortunate that this battle in Nan Jiang would spare Wu Zhe from disaster, not expecting… his nephew was still gone.
“General Gao entrusted Wu Zhe to the Bai family for Physician Hong’s convenient treatment because of Wu Zhe’s injury, but… it was I who ordered Wu Zhe to go to Nan Jiang! I have wronged General Gao! I have wronged the deceased brothers of the Bai family army!” She raised her head to look at Gao Yuxing, her eyes full of regret and anger. “I regret not being able to stand up earlier, to go to battle alongside Grandfather and Father, to protect everyone you!”
Mentioning Wu Zhe, she nearly broke down in tears…
She hadn’t forgotten the bamboo strips tied to Wu Zhe’s body, soaked through with blood, hadn’t forgotten Wu Zhe’s smiling words, “mission accomplished,” and Wu Zhe’s words before death about wanting to be a Bai family servant in his next life.
Gao Yuxing’s stiff shoulders gradually relaxed.
“Little Commander Bai, as members of the Bai family army… upon enlistment, we already had the resolve to sacrifice ourselves for the people and the Bai family army, even if we had already retired to recover from wounds!” Gao Yuxing was already choked up and unable to speak clearly. “Once the Bai family army… always the Bai family army. Being able to deliver the bamboo strips with march records back, Wu Zhe… also died a worthy death.”
Publicly, those bamboo strips were said to have been delivered by Ji Tingyu. Apart from Bai Qingyan and Lu Ping, Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jintong, and Bai Jinzhi, no one knew they were delivered by Wu Zhe.
Bai Qingyan gritted her teeth: “Therefore, General Gao… you must live!”
“But Little Commander Bai…”
She gripped Gao Yuxing’s arms forcefully: “I, Bai Qingyan, swear to heaven that this gambling-the-nation strategy… was proposed by me before destroying Xi Liang, and the three of us had also decided on this matter! This time… is merely a play I’m performing with Yan’s Ninth Prince and Yan Emperor, letting Yan propose it, precisely to smoothly facilitate this matter. If there’s half a lie in this, may I die a horrible death!”
“Little Commander Bai!” Gao Yuxing suddenly straightened his spine. “This general believes!”
She gently patted Gao Yuxing’s arm soothingly: “I know that the two nations merging without bloodshed seems somewhat naive, but what doesn’t seem naive? Back then… if I had said I would replace Jin, would people have thought me naive? I just… want to try my utmost, to exert all my strength using the most gentle method to complete the unification of the world! If I don’t even try, but allow soldiers to bleed and sacrifice, allow the people to suffer devastation, my conscience cannot bear it!”
“General Gao, the Bai family army was established from the beginning to protect and pacify the people. Bai Qingyan dares not forget this even in death!”
Gao Yuxing looked at Little Commander Bai with her resolute gaze, remembering how Bai Qingyan had first accompanied the army with a female guard unit, heroic and spirited, in fine clothes on an angry horse, how bright and bold she had been.
And now, Bai Qingyan had grown into a resolute person capable of shouldering great responsibilities, with a steady quality in her brows that reminded Gao Yuxing of Deputy Commander Bai Qishan.
“But Little Commander Bai, haven’t you considered that Yan’s court is not decided by just the young emperor and regent prince alone! There’s also Empress Dowager Yan!” Having spent a long time in Yan, Gao Yuxing had some understanding of Yan’s court. “The Empress Dowager’s faction in Yan’s court is not to be underestimated.”
“But in Yan’s court, the young emperor and Ninth Prince… are not as the outside world knows. The Ninth Prince supported Murong Li’s accession not to control a puppet, but to shield the young emperor behind him, to be the blade in the young emperor’s hand, to bear all the infamy for the young emperor!”
Bai Qingyan seemed afraid she couldn’t convince Gao Yuxing. She had originally wanted to confide in Gao Yuxing, to tell him that Yan’s Ninth Prince Murong Yan was actually her deceased husband Xiao Rongyan, but she was also worried that Gao Yuxing would think Murong Yan had bewitched her with emotion.
“This matter is complex, but General Gao need not doubt this is Yan’s delaying tactic.” Bai Qingyan looked earnestly at Gao Yuxing. “General Gao, my mind is made up on this matter. I’m willing to try my utmost, even if something goes wrong in the end, and we still have to fight, I’m confident we can win. But… before fighting, at least I must exert all my effort once for the sake of the people and soldiers’ lives, striving for a clear conscience! I hope General Gao will trust me.”
How could Gao Yuxing not trust Bai Qingyan? Bai Qingyan was their Bai family army Little Commander Bai who never failed in her strategies.
On the battlefield, as long as Little Commander Bai could win, she would win.
Therefore, when Bai Qingyan asked Gao Yuxing to trust her, Gao Yuxing could not refuse.
He nodded with reddened eyes: “Gao Yuxing is willing to trust Little Commander Bai!”
“If Uncle Shen and the others knew General Gao had returned, they would surely be delighted. This matter… General Gao need not worry about it anymore. When Imperial Physician Huang comes later, I’ll have Imperial Physician Huang bandage Uncle Shen’s wounds, then have Steward Hao take General Gao to the Bai mansion to recuperate.”
Gao Yuxing, fearing he would bring trouble to Bai Qingyan, furrowed his brow: “But this time, my assassination of Minister Liu…”
“General Gao need not worry. We’ll say… the assassin who attempted to kill Minister Liu couldn’t withstand the torture and died!” Seeing Gao Yuxing’s anxious eyes, she added, “Moreover, this time General Gao’s assassination of Minister Liu using the identity of Zhong Xingxiao’s guard leaves us Great Zhou, with a pretext, which is more advantageous for our Great Zhou.”