The elder’s eyes immediately surged with heated blood, and pulling his little grandson, he stumbled after the extremely fast-moving army, shouting: “Is it Little Commander Bai?! Is it the Bai family army’s Little Commander Bai?!”
Hearing that title “Little Commander Bai” again, a sharp, bitter sensation rushed to her head. Her eyes stung with sourness as she clenched her fists tightly, bit down hard on her teeth, and continued walking steadily southward.
With her martial arts completely lost, she was no longer the Little Commander Bai of years past.
After her severe injury, she had only known pampered comfort—how could she still deserve to be called Little Commander Bai?!
The elder, with a walking stick in one hand and pulling his grandson with the other, struggled to chase from behind, calling loudly: “This old man is a schoolteacher from Feng County! Four years ago, it was the general who saved this old man’s only grandson from under enemy blades! Four years later, it was the Bai family generals and the Bai family army who protected us common folk’s escape with their flesh and blood! General, are you… a descendant of Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family? Have you come to Nan Jiang to reclaim our homeland of Feng County for us small folk?!”
Bai Jinzhi’s eyes reddened, and hot tears nearly spilled from her eyes, her heart surging with emotion.
So it was—in the border people’s eyes, the Bai family army was hope itself.
She turned her head to look at Bai Qingyan, whose eyes stared straight ahead: “Elder sister, elder sister, that old man is calling to you from behind.”
Probably hearing the words “Bai family general,” the common people stopped one after another, standing to watch in the direction where the elder was chasing and shouting. Some who heard the Bai family name also followed the elder.
“Little Commander Bai?! Is it a descendant of Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family?!”
“Didn’t they say the Crown Prince came? Why wasn’t it mentioned that a Bai family general was accompanying him?!”
“Which Bai family general is it?”
“That refined young man wears black mourning bands on his sleeves—he’s in mourning! It must be a young general from Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family!”
Seeing the army moving farther and farther away, the elder couldn’t catch up, so he hurriedly pulled his little grandson to his side, pressed him down to kneel: “Quick! Chun’er, kneel down and kowtow—that person is your life-saving benefactor!”
The young child called Chun’er knelt on the ground and heavily kowtowed toward the army’s direction of advance. The elder also leaned on his walking stick and tremblingly knelt, calling loudly: “All the Bai family generals and the Bai family army died protecting us border people—we remember this in our hearts! Little Commander Bai, General Bai, you must reclaim our national territory of Feng City and avenge the generals… and the Jin people who died wrongfully under the bandits’ blades!”
“Is it a Bai family general?!”
“Does the Bai family still have generals? Didn’t all the Bai family generals die in battle already? Which general would still dare come to Nan Jiang? Forget it… Tianmen Pass has already fallen. We should flee for our lives quickly! Otherwise, when the Western Liang army arrives, we’ll all be dead!”
“Bah! What kind of talk is that! Every Bai family general is an upstanding man. You think they’re cowards, afraid of death like you!”
Women holding bundles and children were already in tears, kneeling with the elder and crying: “General Bai, my husband was killed by Western Liang people! Please, General Bai, avenge us and reclaim our homeland for us!”
“General Bai!”
“General Bai, you must win! We don’t want to be displaced from our homes!”
The border people’s emotions were infected by that woman’s crying. They all knelt, shouting in the local dialects of Feng City or Feng County, calling “General Bai” one voice louder than the next, begging General Bai to recover the lost territory for the Kingdom, reclaim their homeland for the people, and avenge the fallen Bai family generals.
When people encountered great disasters, all the Bai family generals went one after another to Nan Jiang… sacrificing their lives for the people. How could such kindness not touch people’s hearts?
Sitting in his carriage, the Crown Prince lifted the curtain and poked his head out to look back. Xiao Rongyan sat upright in his carriage, his gaze turning toward red-eyed Bai Qingyan, then toward the continuously kneeling common people in the distance, inevitably moved in his heart.
Such a Bai family that won people’s hearts, regarded by border people as their savior—if they were fortunate enough to meet a wise ruler… they could naturally build unprecedented earth-shaking achievements. But if they met an incompetent master who feared that their achievements would overshadow the ruler, ending up in such a fate was already considered not bad.
This wasn’t the first time Xiao Ruohai had seen common people kneeling to send off an army—before, it was with joy and excitement!
But now, the people cried and knelt to send them off, viewing the Bai family general as hope, which placed a heavy burden on Bai Qingyan’s shoulders.
Bai Jinzhi couldn’t help but turn around, looking at those ragged, emaciated people kneeling to see them off, her eyes red as she reached out to tug at Bai Qingyan’s sleeve: “Elder sister, won’t you really turn around to look?! All those people have knelt…”
She bit down hard on her teeth.
The people kneeling and crying with the elder were in tears. They only saw that thin but upright figure… the male-dressed youth with black mourning bands on his arms turn around, give them a deep bow to the ground, say not a word, then turn and follow the army.
Bai Jinzhi and Xiao Ruohai, following behind Bai Qingyan, also bowed to the people.
This bow thanked the people for not forgetting the Bai family, for not forgetting the Bai generals.
She would carry their hopes and reclaim their homeland! Avenge the wrongfully dead people and the Bai family army… avenge her grandfather, father, uncles, and younger brothers!
The kneeling people erupted in excitement.
“Bai family general! It is a Bai family general!”
“We’re saved! We’re saved!”
“The Bai family general has come to save us! We don’t have to flee and become refugees!”
As the army advanced, the closer they got to Wanping, the more refugees there were—mostly people unwilling to leave their hometown but forced to leave due to war, terrified that if peace negotiations failed and the two countries went to war, these common people would lose their lives.
Seeing the fifty thousand troops arriving, the refugees all stopped to watch, hoping in their hearts that this time the national elite soldiers could help them reclaim their homeland.
That night, the army reached Wanping’s main camp. Wanping City no longer had its former liveliness. The prefect said… the people had heard that Duke Zhenguo and all the Bai family generals had died in battle and were panic-stricken. Truly fearing the Western Liang cavalry, wealthy families had already taken their families and left Wan city to seek refuge elsewhere. Those remaining in the city were mostly the old and weak.
After settling in, Bai Qingyan asked the Crown Prince to summon all the generals accompanying this expedition for a meeting.
Inside the prefectural office, candles burned brightly.
The Crown Prince led everyone to stand before the unrolled giant map, saying: “Now that we’ve reached Wan city, we’ll set out early tomorrow morning. Marching without rest, we can reach the Weng City by deep night. Once we reach the Weng City… our open peace negotiations while secretly mobilizing troops will certainly be exposed. A great battle is imminent. We face the Western Liang and Nanyan allied forces, and this battle permits only victory, not defeat! Do you generals have any good strategies for victory?”
“Western Liang has already occupied Tianmen Pass, and Nanyan occupies Feng County. In my view… we can only divide and attack them!” Shi Panshan crossed his arms and studied the map for a long time, then turned to bow to the Crown Prince: “Nanyan is not to be feared. Western Liang’s army is a truly fierce force with strong armor and weapons! Especially Yun Poxing, this famous Western Liang general, apart from suffering defeat at the hands of Duke Zhenguo, can be said to be invincible in battle. He can only be taken by strategy!”
“That’s like saying nothing at all!” Zhen Zeping was impatient by nature. He bowed to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, just give me ten thousand elite troops. I’ll bypass Tianmen Pass, go out from Pingyang City, and strike directly at Western Liang’s heartland! I don’t believe the Western Liang Emperor won’t recall Yun Poxing to defend their homeland! As long as Yun Poxing takes the strong troops and leaves, we’re familiar with Tianmen Pass’s terrain… with General Zhang Duanrui leading troops, we can certainly retake Tianmen Pass in one move!”