Upon seeing the Grand Commandant Lu rushing over, panting heavily, Cheng Yuanzhi didn’t wait for Grand Commandant Lu to speak. With full vigor, he shouted, “Grand Commandant Lu, you need not persuade us! Today, we would rather kneel here to our deaths than ask His Majesty to retract his order! We military generals… are willing to fight to the death for the Great Zhou to pacify the state of Yan. We refuse to accept His Majesty abandoning our Great Zhou’s advantages to make this nation-gambling agreement with Yan that could cost Great Zhou! We subordinates… would rather lose our lives than abandon our country!”

“Foolish!” Grand Commandant Lu’s anger could not be contained. “His Majesty has deep foresight, acting for the people and the nation. How could you possibly understand this? Rise quickly! Stop making a scene here! If this matter truly escalates, military generals gathering to cause trouble could cost you your lives!”

“What are individual lives worth! The survival of our nation is ten thousand times, a hundred thousand times more important than our lives… If His Majesty does not retract his order, we would rather kneel here to our deaths!”

As soon as Cheng Yuanzhi finished speaking, the sound of horses being reined in sharply came from behind.

Grand Commandant Lu’s eyes widened, and he quickly knelt with his son, kowtowing, “Your Majesty…”

Bai Qingyan, dressed in practical narrow-sleeved casual attire, dismounted in one fluid motion. She casually tossed the horse whip in her hand to Weizhong, then lifted her foot and walked steadily toward the group of military generals led by Cheng Yuanzhi. “What are individual lives worth… these refined literary words don’t sound like something General Cheng could say…”

Hearing this, Cheng Yuanzhi and the others quickly shuffled forward on their knees, turning to face Bai Qingyan’s direction and kowtowing in salute.

Bai Qingyu and Bai Qingqi also followed behind Bai Qingyan. Just as Bai Qingyan had said, Cheng Yuanzhi had never read many books. It was only because Bai Qingyan had required that soldiers in the army be taught to read and write that he had learned a few characters. Such words… were not something a rough man like Cheng Yuanzhi could speak.

“Planning to kneel here and not get up?” Bai Qingyan asked.

“If Your Majesty does not order an attack on Yan and does not retract the military authority granted to the surrendered nation’s prince, we… will kneel here to our deaths!” Liu Pinggao declared with full vigor.

“Are you… trying to force the palace?” Bai Qingyan asked in a calm voice.

Grand Commandant Lu and Lu Jinxian looked at their sovereign in surprise. Forcing the palace was equivalent to treason—a grave crime indeed.

However, seeing that Bai Qingyu and Bai Qingqi maintained normal expressions without any change, Lu Jinxian finally relaxed. Although the sovereign’s heart was hard to fathom, these generals had followed the Zhenguo Prince and Huguo Prince in battlefield campaigns. If His Majesty truly wanted to punish these generals for the crime of forcing the palace, the Zhenguo Prince and Huguo Prince would certainly intercede.

Liu Pinggao, Cheng Yuanzhi, and the others quickly kowtowed, claiming they wouldn’t dare. Shen Liangyu said solemnly, “We subordinates came here with the resolve to remonstrate unto death, but we would never dare force the palace. Most of us among the subordinates are from the Bai Family Army. Even unto death, we would never harbor thoughts of forcing the palace or treason. Your Majesty, please see clearly.”

Bai Qingyan walked with her hands behind her back, stepping up the white jade stairs, and said to Bai Qingqi, “Have all the Imperial Guards withdraw.”

Bai Qingqi acknowledged and passed on the order. Soon, all the Imperial Guards stationed around withdrew.

She then turned with a smile to look at Cheng Yuanzhi’s group, who had turned to face her, “Coming to the palace to kneel and plead, using your lives to force me… to tear up the alliance between our two nations, to change orders overnight and retract the military authority given to the Prince of Hancheng. Who gave you this idea?”

“Your Majesty…” Shen Liangyu kowtowed, then changed his address, “Little Commander Bai, whether we are the Bai Family Army or the Great Zhou Army, we are not afraid of death. What we fear is the humiliation of losing our country! We are all military generals… military generals should die fighting for the country—that is, dying for a worthy cause. We, Great Zhou soldiers, are not afraid of death!”

Several generals, including Shen Liangyu and Cheng Yuanzhi, had come today with the resolve to remonstrate unto death, kneeling here because they felt that after Bai Qingyan’s enthronement, she was surrounded by sweet words and flattery. Those who hear only praise find their praise diminishing daily while disaster approaches. They feared that Bai Qingyan would lose her cautious and prudent heart.

“And that Prince of Hancheng—our Great Zhou has only pacified Great Liang for a few years, and the Great Liang rebels still harbor hopes of restoring their country, eager to make their move… How can Your Majesty entrust military authority to the Prince of Hancheng at this time? If the Prince of Hancheng commands troops and becomes powerful, and on the former territory of Great Liang, he will surely become a great threat to our Great Zhou’s heart!” Lu Yuanpeng couldn’t help but shout, “Please, Your Majesty, retract your order!”

“Please, Your Majesty, retract your order!”

Cheng Yuanzhi, Shen Liangyu, Liu Pinggao, and other generals kowtowed in unison, requesting Bai Qingyan to retract her order.

Bai Qingyan looked at the twelve generals kneeling and kowtowing—all famous and prestigious in the military—her expression containing a smile, “Civil officials remonstrate unto death, military generals die in battle! I never knew that our Great Zhou military generals had become court censors! How is it… that you also want to learn from those fame-seeking remonstrating officials, kneeling here to death, seeking to leave your names in history, using my supposed incompetence to highlight your loyalty and righteousness?”

“Sister Bai…” Lu Yuanpeng raised his head, ignoring his grandfather’s warning gaze, kowtowing with cupped fists, “It’s not like that. Our deaths are a small matter, but losing the country is a great matter. Sister Bai wants to unify the world… wants Yan. We military generals are willing to sacrifice our lives for the country. Now our Great Zhou possesses the advantages of favorable timing, geographical position, and popular support. We have legitimate and justified reasons to send troops. Why should we let Yan go at this time, gambling with our nation and giving Yan a chance to catch its breath! If… if Sister Bai cannot bear to lose her good reputation, fearing to bear the blame of not caring for the people of the world and forcibly sending troops to destroy Yan, thus drawing criticism from the world, then we will bear this infamy. We’ll say that Sister Bai was forced by our military generals, with no other choice but to send troops to attack Yan!”

“Lu Yuanpeng! Shut your mouth!” Chancellor Lu, hearing this with horror, roared angrily.

Where in the world was there an emperor forced by subjects with no choice but to send troops? If there truly were such a case… that would be the greatest joke in the world. Only a fool like Lu Yuanpeng could say such words!

“Willing to give up? Reputation is merely that… what is there to be unwilling to give up? But if I give up my reputation… what can I gain?” Bai Qingyan paced methodically on the white jade steps, walking to the right side, looking down at Lu Yuanpeng kneeling behind Cheng Yuanzhi, “Give up reputation, and what I gain is Great Zhou soldiers shedding blood for the country, Yan soldiers dying to protect their nation, gain the people suffering from the ravages of war? What I gain is Yan, devastated after the war… still requiring Great Zhou to exhaust its efforts to rebuild it afterward?”

“But we cannot gamble with our nation!” Cheng Yuanzhi’s eyes were red. “Master Cai said that Little Commander Bai is Great Zhou’s founding emperor, so you don’t carry the heavy burden of ‘ancestral heritage’ on your shoulders. But Little Commander Bai… we also risked our lives to protect this Great Zhou realm!”

“Have you forgotten the original purpose of establishing the Bai Family Army?” Bai Qingyan paced again, walking to stand before Cheng Yuanzhi.

“This subordinate has not forgotten to protect and secure the people, to unify the world. Now our Great Zhou is strong, we have… we have… we have that something about swallowing the world…”

Cheng Yuanzhi couldn’t remember the phrase, so Liu Pinggao quickly prompted from the side, “The resources to swallow the world.”

“Right! The resources to swallow the world!” Cheng Yuanzhi cupped his fists again, “Therefore, this subordinate requests orders to be willing to lead the Bai Family Army to Yan. We will certainly take Yan for our Great Zhou. If we cannot take Yan… Cheng Yuanzhi is willing to bring his head to see you!”