“We humbly beseech Your Majesty to bring back the Prince of Hancheng! We lowly commoners were protected by the Prince of Hancheng, and we cannot let this hero’s remains be desecrated by Dongyi!” The commoners all kowtowed and cried out to Bai Qingyan, truly… reluctant to let the Prince of Hancheng’s corpse be defiled by the Dongyi kingdom. The common people were simple and honest—whoever risked their lives to protect them, they would remember!

Just like the Bai Family Army of old, her grandfather, father, uncles, and her younger brothers!

Xie Yuchang watched the people kneeling and kowtowing before him, petitioning Bai Qingyan to rescue the Prince of Hancheng’s body, his eyes reddening as surging emotions churned in his chest, his throat constricting.

He knew that initially, the court ministers had all hoped that Great Zhou would not go to war with Dongyi during the national wager! He also knew that if Bai Qingyan had not insisted on personally leading the imperial expedition and departing early, she would likely have been trapped in the imperial palace by those ministers’ desperate protests.

Now, having followed Bai Qingyan here, he finally understood… how much encouragement Bai Qingyan’s arrival brought to the coastal people, and he realized that only when Bai Qingyan, the Great Zhou Emperor, came in person would the coastal people truly feel that Bai Qingyan had never treated them differently from the inland people.

As long as the coastal people faced difficulties, their emperor… would appear here, risking life and death to protect the safety of her subjects behind her.

This… was their Great Zhou Emperor!

When the people saw that even the Great Zhou Emperor was like this, what more could be said of those naval officers and soldiers!

“Everyone, please rise! Please rise!” Bai Qingyan looked at the kneeling, weeping people and called out loudly, “Today, I, Bai Qingyan, stand here for… bringing back the remains of our Great Zhou hero, the Prince of Hancheng! For… sending troops to slaughter and destroy the Dongyi small nation that dares to offend our Great Zhou and dares to bully our Great Zhou subjects!”

“This small Dongyi, taking advantage of the Great Zhou’s national wager with Yan, disturbs our fishermen and offends our mighty Zhou! They thought the Great Zhou would bow and scrape before them to win the national wager first, seeking to win the wager’s terms first! But they were wrong! The national wager will never become… a reason for Great Zhou to cower and refuse to fight!” Bai Qingyan stepped down one step from the platform, her voice gradually increasing, resonant and stirring, each word like a blade scraping the ground. “Great Zhou’s national wager is to ensure that the people no longer suffer the hardships of war, to unify the realm so that all people under heaven become one family, so that there will be no more conquests in the world! So the people will never again experience the suffering of war! Never again be bullied by other nations, letting all people under heaven live like human beings! Not to make our people endure humiliation while we tolerate it, making our subjects suffer in compromise, letting heroes die with grievances!”

“When the Western Liang sought peace after the battle in Nan Jiang, I once swore that if any other nation dared to kill even one of our people, our Great Zhou elite soldiers would kill a hundred of theirs! A thousand! Ten thousand! Until we killed all the enemy rats who slaughtered our people! Killed them so thoroughly that the enemy nation would not dare offend Great Zhou for ten years! Killed them so that the enemy nation would tremble at the mere mention of Great Zhou’s name! Later… when Western Liang allied with Tianfeng to attack our Zhou again, Great Zhou sent troops… and destroyed their nation!” Bai Qingyan’s entire being radiated killing intent, her sharp gaze dark and piercing. “Whether it’s the Prince of Hancheng or the naval officers and soldiers! They are indeed elite soldiers defending home and country, but more importantly, they are subjects of my Great Zhou! Dongyi killed our Great Zhou elite soldiers, so Great Zhou… will destroy their nation, without a second thought!”

Each of Bai Qingyan’s words was like a scalding nail driven into the hearts of these coastal people, making their blood boil and their eyes fill with hot tears.

“Good!” The scholar who had previously blocked the people from storming the government office wept openly, unable to help but cheer, shouting hoarsely until his voice broke, “Your Majesty, this humble citizen wishes to enlist and follow Your Majesty to kill all the Dongyi dogs!”

“This humble citizen also wishes to follow Your Majesty!”

“This humble citizen was once a naval soldier, and now wishes to return to the navy, pledging to follow Your Majesty to the death!”

“This humble citizen wishes to follow Your Majesty!”

These coastal people responded one after another, making the small government office a scene of heated excitement, all clamoring to follow Bai Qingyan to kill all the Dongyi dogs.

Because of the emperor’s arrival, the people swept away their previous dejection and hostility, cast off their previous decadence and despair, and instead became emotionally stirred. Because of the emperor’s words, they became passionate with hot blood, wishing they could immediately take up swords to kill the enemy and spill this fervent blood upon Dongyi.

Bai Qingyu stood right beside his eldest sister, watching these people, finally understanding… the reason why his eldest sister had to come to this coast.

This was the coast, not Nan Jiang. The people here… recognized not the Bai Family Army, but the Prince of Hancheng!

Except for his eldest sister, this Great Zhou Emperor, personally coming to the coast, if any other member of their Bai family came, none would arouse such strong fighting spirit in the people, none could gather the coastal people’s hearts with Great Zhou as powerfully as his eldest sister did.

His eldest sister understood the vast power of popular support better than any of them—this was… how those who win people’s hearts win the world!

Bai Jinzhi had long been by Bai Qingyan’s side and knew her eldest sister’s power to unite people’s hearts. Even so, she still couldn’t help but feel her eyes redden with surging emotions.

“I know that everyone’s eagerness to bring back the Prince of Hancheng’s remains and protect national dignity and coastal peace is no different from mine! But… defending home and country has its divisions of labor—soldiers shed blood and die in battle on the front lines, while the people must stabilize the rear!” Bai Qingyan raised her hands and bowed to the people present. “The stability of the coastal rear depends on all of you, and on the front lines… we will not return until we destroy the Dongyi bandits!”

Now the people finally understood—their emperor had come… to personally lead the imperial expedition.

“Now… the nation is at war!” Bai Qingyan’s gaze was resolute. “Former naval soldiers who left the navy when the Great Zhou was established, if your blood still runs hot, if you wish for revenge, report to the navy within three days! Come with me to bring back the Prince of Hancheng and destroy the Dongyi bandit nation!”

Along this journey, Bai Qingyan had people spread this decree everywhere, calling upon former naval soldiers who had left the navy—if they were willing to fight alongside her to destroy Dongyi, they should report to the naval camp before the twenty-sixth of September.

She had just arrived in Jinwan and hadn’t yet had time to widely distribute the imperial edict. Hearing that there were former naval soldiers here, she issued the call.

Among those kneeling here were indeed former naval soldiers who had left the navy. Hearing the emperor’s stirring words calling naval soldiers back to the navy, how could they still restrain themselves? Each one wished they could report to the navy right now, to destroy Dongyi! To bring back their Prince of Hancheng’s remains.

Bai Qingyan bent down and first helped up the butcher’s wife, holding the blood petition in her hand. “Sister-in-law, I accept your blood petition. The Great Zhou will not let righteous men die with grievances. This matter… I will investigate to the end and give the righteous man justice!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The butcher’s wife wept openly, about to kneel and kowtow again in gratitude, but was supported by Bai Qingyan. She turned and called for the county magistrate: “Where is the county magistrate?”

The Jinwan County Magistrate hurriedly lifted his official robes and stood up, running to Bai Qingyan’s presence before kneeling again: “This official is here!”