But… Bai Qingyan said she completely trusted Prince Hancheng, so she had the golden token sent to Prince Hancheng.

Seeing the golden token was like seeing the emperor herself. She let Prince Hancheng use this to command Cheng Yuanzhi and the others who might be dissatisfied with him, and reminded Prince Hancheng that the greatest misunderstandings… could all be resolved as long as there was the bond of shedding blood together in battle. She told Prince Hancheng to cherish this opportunity to build friendship with General Cheng and the others, so that in the future they could serve in court together to support the Great Zhou.

Rather than saying Bai Qingyan sent the golden token to Prince Hancheng to facilitate his command of Cheng Yuanzhi and the others, it was better to say this was another method Bai Qingyan used to win over Prince Hancheng.

On the surface, sending troops to the coast would determine Prince Hancheng’s life or death. Secretly giving the golden token was Bai Qingyan trusting that Prince Hancheng wouldn’t rebel for the sake of the people, while also wanting to completely make Prince Hancheng her own.

With this series of moves, appearing to show Prince Hancheng her complete trust and sincerity, it would certainly make Prince Hancheng feel he was someone Bai Qingyan trusted without doubt…

These were all “skills” Bai Qingyan had developed from dealing with Jin’s deposed crown prince, vastly different from her grandfather Bai Weiting’s… straightforward and loyal, upright style.

Around Prince Hancheng, Bai Qingyan had indeed sent people to monitor. Not all of Great Liang’s naval forces were dissatisfied with Great Zhou and only willing to serve Prince Hancheng.

Prince Hancheng’s secret reports were delivered daily…

Previously, Prince Hancheng had indeed, as Qin Lang said, sent those former Great Liang people who instigated him to rebel to the army for Great Zhou’s generals and officials to handle.

But later, after arriving at the coast and taking command of the naval forces, when generals advised Prince Hancheng to take advantage of this opportunity to raise troops and rebuild Great Liang, Prince Hancheng did not seem to send these people to the Great Zhou officials.

Whether Prince Hancheng was doing this to stabilize military morale and preserve the lives of Great Liang’s few remaining generals, or whether he truly harbored improper thoughts, Bai Qingyan felt she should give Prince Hancheng another dose of medicine.

Giving him the token… if he was loyal, he would become more loyal. Even if he wanted to keep those former Great Liang generals who harbored rebellious thoughts, as long as Prince Hancheng could control them, Bai Qingyan was quite willing to leave those former Great Liang generals a way to live.

If he were disloyal and wanted to use the token to command the Bai Family Army against her, the Bai Family Army soldiers who had been fooled once would never be fooled a second time. Moreover, Bai Qingyan had already arranged people within Great Liang’s naval forces before Prince Hancheng’s arrival.

She didn’t know if all emperors should be like this – trust must be given, but precautions must be taken… methods must also be used, so that people would willingly follow.

Imperial techniques, the art of controlling people…

Bai Qingyan leaned back against the armrest and closed her eyes. With genuine trust mixed with some calculation, she felt somewhat guilty in her heart. She didn’t have the true heart of an emperor, but was only trying hard to become a qualified emperor.

“Wei Zhong!” Bai Qingyan called out again.

Soon, Wei Zhong entered and bowed: “Your Majesty…”

“Send someone to summon Cai Ziyuan!”

“Yes!” Wei Zhong received the order.

Cai Ziyuan arrived quickly. He had estimated that Bai Qingyan should summon him soon. He had nearly lost half his life on the battlefield and returned with injuries, so Bai Qingyan hadn’t summoned him for an audience at the time, only having someone relay a message telling him to rest well.

But he figured Bai Qingyan should be very concerned about Prince Gaoyi’s situation on the battlefield. When she had time, she would summon him for detailed questioning. He also had extremely important matters regarding Bai Jinzhi to tell Bai Qingyan.

However, Cai Ziyuan hadn’t expected that when Bai Qingyan summoned him, she wanted to send him to accompany Cheng Yuanzhi and the others to the coast.

After honestly telling Cai Ziyuan about Prince Hancheng’s situation, Bai Qingyan continued: “Although Prince Hancheng hasn’t sent out those generals who instigated him to rebel against Great Zhou, I can understand this. In his position, I might make the same decision! I trust him… but must also guard against the unexpected. Cheng Yuanzhi and the others are all military men. I trust their loyalty and fighting ability, but they also need a military strategist. Originally, after returning this time, you should have taken an official position, but… I’m not at ease about the Great Liang situation, so I want you to accompany Cheng Yuanzhi and the others to the coast. Are you willing?”

“Your Majesty is sending General Cheng and also gave Prince Hancheng the golden token because you feel that regardless of whether you send Prince Zhenguo… or Prince Fuguo, Prince Huguo, or Prince Gaoyi, it would give Prince Hancheng the feeling that… you gave him the golden token but also feared him and sent someone to suppress him.” Knowing the temperament of the Bai Family’s eldest daughter, Cai Ziyuan didn’t hide his thoughts and directly raised his question. “But if this Prince Hancheng truly wants to rebel, someone needs to see the signs early and remind General Cheng and the others?”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “Exactly. I trust Prince Hancheng… I’m willing to give him military authority, but I must guard against those former generals around Prince Hancheng.”

“Your Majesty… Ziyuan dares to ask Your Majesty a question.” Cai Ziyuan looked steadily at Bai Qingyan. “Your Majesty is going to such great lengths because… You don’t want to kill those former Great Liang generals?”

Since Bai Qingyan knew those former Great Liang generals were instigating Prince Hancheng to rebel, killing them… would be the most permanent solution and could also intimidate Prince Hancheng.

Regarding Prince Hancheng, as long as he feared the Great Zhou and knew he must serve the Great Zhou with his life, that would be enough.

Conciliatory policies didn’t need to be used so extensively. As a strategist, Cai Ziyuan understood clearly that based on his knowledge of the Bai Family’s eldest daughter, she should know this was the most secure… and uncomplicated method.

As an emperor, she couldn’t require everyone to be loyal to her, but… as long as this person could be used by her, that was enough, whether out of fear or loyalty, just like how Bai Qingyan used Qin Shangzhi.

“Master Cai, I come from a military background. Once our Bai Family… suffered so tragically. I said… I don’t want to see ‘generals not allowed to see peace’ happen again. No matter what, these former Great Liang generals all protected the safety of coastal people. If I can preserve their lives through Prince Hancheng.” Bai Qingyan spoke softly to Cai Ziyuan. “Letting them use their abilities to protect the peace of the people in one region, I think, is more meaningful than killing them.”

Bai Qingyan didn’t need their loyalty; she only needed them to protect the people’s safety.

Moreover, now with Dongyi stirring restlessly, Bai Qingyan still needed to use these people.

Even if it meant great trouble and required mobilizing troops and provisions, but… none of these were as important as human lives, as important as the abilities of those naval generals.

Human lives… in Bai Qingyan’s view, were never grass and weeds.

Cai Ziyuan suddenly understood. He solemnly kowtowed to Bai Qingyan: “Cai Ziyuan is willing to accompany General Cheng and the others to the coast, and will certainly not fail Your Majesty’s trust.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Master Cai!” Bai Qingyan watched Cai Ziyuan straighten up, then asked Cai Ziyuan about Bai Jinzhi’s situation on the battlefield.