“Since ascending the throne, I have often pondered in this world, by what virtue and ability do I peacefully occupy the imperial position? I want to be a wise and virtuous ruler, but what constitutes a wise and virtuous ruler?” Bai Qingyan raised her hand, extending one finger. “First, one who can enable the people to have enough food and warm clothing!” She extended another finger. “Second… one who ensures the people do not suffer injustice and grievances. Third… one who can prevent the people from suffering the hardships of war, prevent them from being displaced, and who can restore peace to all people under heaven—only such a ruler is wise and virtuous!”

“To unify the world, is using strong armies to seize nations truly the only path available?” Bai Qingyan’s gaze swept over the generals who had raised their heads. “The strategy of gambling with nations was my decision! It is a strategy that sacrifices small benefits to preserve great righteousness!”

“What are small benefits? It is Great Zhou’s realm… in your eyes, this is the Bai family’s realm, and this is what constitutes small benefits.” Bai Qingyan’s voice was resonant and forceful. “What is great righteousness! It is the unification of mountains and rivers, it is peace under heaven, it is the tranquility of the people! Why must such a vast nation be crowned with another’s surname and become one family’s private property? If we can use the strategies of two nations to gamble with countries, letting whoever’s national policies can make the people’s lives better rule the world, what is wrong with that? Seeking world unification… isn’t what we seek, the prosperous lives of the people?”

Cheng Yuanzhi straightened his back, about to say something, when Bai Qingyan’s gaze turned toward him. “I know what you want to say! You fear that the Great Zhou will lose. If Great Zhou loses, that would prove Yan’s national policies are better, and we, Great Zhou, would lose with complete conviction! You also fear that the Great Zhou will win, but Yan will refuse to submit and acknowledge us as sovereign. Then, whether it’s the court officials or the soldiers, all will harbor resentment toward me, saying my strategy of gambling with nations was completely wrong, harming the country and people. Is this not so?”

Cheng Yuanzhi, seen through by Bai Qingyan, nodded repeatedly.

“Do you know why I have the confidence to dare gamble with Yan?” Bai Qingyan looked at each of them—Cheng Yuanzhi, Shen Liangyu, and the others. “Because I have you, fierce generals of unwavering loyalty by my side. Even if I am wrong… I am not afraid! Cheng Yuanzhi, Shen Liangyu—in the Southern Border battle during the Xuanjia years, not many of the Bai family remained. You two followed me in the battle at Weng Mountain and should be credited with the primary achievement! Liu Pinggao of Anping Camp, Wang Jin of Flying Bear Camp—during the Great Liang battle, when General Liu blocked me and wouldn’t let me leave the city to rescue Prince Gaoyi, it was you two who took the lead… leading your battalions out of the city with me to rescue people!”

“Du Sanbao, when Jiangzi City was surrounded in the Cui Mountains of Western Liang, though you made mistakes… your loyalty is clear in my heart! You are all loyal and valiant generals of unwavering integrity for our Great Zhou!”

Liu Pinggao, Wang Jin, Du Sanbao, and others whose names were called immediately had tears streaming down their faces upon hearing Bai Qingyan’s words.

“And you… Lu Yuanpeng, Sima Ping! You two… are both the future talents of Great Zhou that I favor!” Bai Qingyan looked at them. “With you here, with Great Zhou’s elite soldiers here, even if my delusion of unifying the world without fighting is wrong, what harm is there in being wrong? As long as you are here, there is still the path of fighting available. You are my confidence to dare to be wrong! The soldiers of the Great Zhou and the Bai Family Army have shed too much blood. That rolling Jing River has been dyed red countless times with the soldiers’ blood! Therefore, even if gambling with nations is risky… as long as it benefits the people and can stop warfare, I am willing to try!”

The straight spines of Cheng Yuanzhi and the others gradually slumped.

“I know that regarding entrusting the naval forces to the Prince of Hancheng, you also harbor resentment, because Great Liang… was once your defeated enemy. The Prince of Hancheng is a prince without a backbone who left the city to surrender to Prince Gaoyi on his father’s behalf. So you look down on the Prince of Hancheng, despise him, feel he is unworthy… and cannot lead troops in battle!” Bai Qingyan’s gaze fell on Liu Pinggao. “Is this not so?”

Regarding entrusting naval military authority to the Prince of Hancheng, Liu Pinggao was the most dissatisfied. He clenched his fists and lowered his head.

“But you must all remember that Great Liang’s former territory has completely returned to our Great Zhou. Great Liang’s former people… are now our Great Zhou’s citizens. This former prince of Great Liang is the Prince of Hancheng whom I enfeoffed. He… is also a subject of the Great Zhou, a minister of the Great Zhou!” Bai Qingyan looked at them with her hands behind her back. “Besides the Prince of Hancheng, which of you… Has experience commanding naval forces? You command troops through mountain passes and dangerous terrain as if walking on flat ground, but who among you can understand the threat of the covetous Dongyi nation better than the Prince of Hancheng?”

“Using people like tools, each according to their strengths! What do you have to be dissatisfied about?” Bai Qingyan raised her voice, not concealing her anger. “The alliance is already set, the imperial edict already issued. As military generals, you abandoned your camps without permission, gathered to cause trouble, and attempted to force the emperor to retract orders. How many heads do you have to dare force the sovereign to treat the alliance between two nations as child’s play! Force the sovereign to change orders overnight?”

“You employ this set of death remonstrance! If I do not agree today, you will kneel here to death! If you die… will the Bai Family Army and Great Zhou Army not be disheartened? Will they not become alienated from me as emperor? If our Great Zhou… loses its strong cohesive force, can we still be invincible? Have you thought about this?”

The lips of Cheng Yuanzhi and the others moved silently.

Bai Qingyan spoke slowly, “If I truly cannot bear to lose your dozen lives and act to betray the alliance, then Great Zhou would be the first to lose credibility before the world! Changing orders overnight to retract the military authority given to the Prince of Hancheng would immediately lose the people’s hearts we won in Great Liang, making Great Liang’s former people feel that we Great Zhou, don’t treat them as their citizens. Great Liang would certainly fall into chaos! Which of you can bear this responsibility?”

“This subordinate acknowledges guilt!” Sima Ping quickly kowtowed.

Cheng Yuanzhi, Shen Liangyu, Liu Rushi, and the others, after hearing Bai Qingyan’s words, suddenly felt cold sweat streaming down their backs. They all knelt and kowtowed, crying out that they knew their error.

“This subordinate acknowledges guilt!”

“Acknowledge guilt? Do you truly acknowledge guilt?”

“We subordinates should not have gathered to cause trouble, kneeling before the palace gates, presumptuously discussing national politics and policies, presumptuously questioning Your Majesty’s personnel decisions, using death remonstrance to coerce Your Majesty! Please, Your Majesty, forgive us!” Sima Ping shouted.

The others quickly followed Sima Ping’s lead, crying out and acknowledging their errors.

“If it were others kneeling here today, it would indeed be… the crime of gathering to cause trouble and presumptuously discussing national politics and policies! But you several… are different from others. You are all comrades who have shared life and death with me, people I trust most and can use. Yet you listened to others’ instigation… planning to kneel to death here at Wude Gate using the method of death remonstrance!” Bai Qingyan looked at them. “Search your hearts and ask yourselves—no matter what questions you had, when have I not explained in detail? I sit on this imperial throne… not to silence you, not to stand above you, not to force you into ‘prosper with my favor, perish with my opposition!’ It is so that the tragedy of ‘not allowing generals to see peace’ will never again be enacted upon any soldier, not to make you resort to this method of death remonstrance just to speak your minds! You have truly disappointed me utterly…”

“Today, Elder Sister went to the military camp precisely because she knew the generals harbored much dissatisfaction and went to resolve their doubts. Unexpectedly, you all came to Wude Gate instead.” Bai Qingyu looked toward Shen Liangyu and Cheng Yuanzhi, whose faces showed guilt.