After hearing these words, Zhao Sheng’s heart was greatly shaken. He desperately controlled his trembling body, forcing himself to sit upright.
The shock in his heart came from… the unified world that Bai Qingyan spoke of, and even more so because… he had never imagined that Bai Qingyan, a woman, would possess such aspirations, such boldness at this age!
Zhao Sheng thought of Jin Kingdom’s current emperor who was obsessed with alchemy, then recalled the Crown Prince he had met once before. At that time… the Crown Prince was still Prince Qi, and at least in Zhao Sheng’s memory, that Prince Qi absolutely did not have such courage, such intention to unify the world!
Zhao Sheng’s heart pounded rapidly. He thought of the Zhenguo Duke’s mansion, the Bai family, whose might shook all nations…
He remembered his grandfather once saying that generations of the Bai family had taken it upon themselves to assist monarchs in conquering the world and unifying the realm.
Zhao Sheng clenched his teeth. Which military general wouldn’t want to achieve such eternal accomplishments?
Unfortunately, if the monarch lacked such grand ambitions, what could he, a mere subject… and now an undervalued subject at that, do?
Zhao Sheng’s piercing gaze suddenly looked toward Bai Qingyan before him, who made no attempt to conceal herself and was not a weak person.
What near-death experiences, what lingering illness, what not living past this year…
All of this was deliberately orchestrated by Princess Zhenguo. Her purpose was to reduce the Jin royal family’s suspicions and prevent the current Bai family from meeting the same fate as the previous generation!
Yet even while facing such circumstances, she still hadn’t forgotten the Bai family’s aspirations!
Zhao Sheng boldly speculated that it wasn’t the Jin Kingdom’s emperor who wanted to unify the world, nor was it the Jin Kingdom’s Crown Prince who wanted to unify the world, but rather this woman before him who used military tactics like a god and possessed intelligence worthy of ghosts and spirits!
She… wanted to unify this world!
Zhao Sheng forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, controlling his emotions as he spoke: “Princess Zhenguo… has excellent eloquence, but it’s still not enough to make Zhao Sheng sacrifice his life for Princess Zhenguo! I, Zhao… don’t have Princess Zhenguo’s grand aspirations. I only wish to protect Great Liang’s border people so they may live without worry or fear.”
“The Zhao family has no such ambition? General Zhao has no such grand aspirations?” Bai Qingyan raised her hand and pointed at the map of the various nations, then unfolded the map. “If General Zhao didn’t have them, how would you have such a map?”
Zhao Sheng looked at the map, at the careful and neat handwriting he had personally written, clenched his fists, and said in a low voice: “Even if the world were unified, would there be no more wars? If there were no campaigns after unification, how would today’s various nations have come to exist?”
“What General Zhao speaks of… is how to govern such a vast nation after unification.” Bai Qingyan’s voice remained composed. “But currently… we haven’t even seen the embryonic form of unification, so what basis is there to discuss governance? General Zhao is not wrong—after unification, there may still be campaigns, divisions into various nations. But should we therefore not pursue this unification? If no one does it… the people will never see the day when the seas are calm and rivers clear!”
“How to govern a nation is a field of study. Chaotic times have methods for pacifying the people during chaos, and peaceful times have laws for governing during peace. How to formulate strategies that benefit the nation and people requires gradual improvement and correction according to national strength as history progresses. Just as later scholars and great thinkers intend to reconstruct complete texts from the remaining fragments left by ancient sages to pass down to posterity, even someone as learned as Old Master Min Qianqiu wouldn’t dare say that the texts he organized and compiled best embodied the sages’ spirit. After every discussion and debate with Old Master Cui Yanshi, Master Min would revise numerous articles.”
“Even… the books written by today’s literary luminaries might be lost in future times of chaos. Should we therefore stop writing books, stop reconstructing the fragmentary texts left by the sages?”
Zhao Sheng clenched his fists tightly.
Bai Qingyan maintained her unperturbed appearance, speaking calmly: “Governing the nation and world should be the same—one should use history as a mirror, correct errors when they exist. Even if unsuccessful, it can become stones from other mountains for those who come after. What does General Zhao think… of what Bai Qingyan has said?”
Standing outside the door, Bai Jinzhi listened to her elder sister’s words that left Zhao Sheng speechless, her fists clenched tightly, her heart surging with irrepressible emotion…
Generations of the Bai family had spoken of unifying the world, but Bai Jinzhi… only saw hope in her elder sister.
It wasn’t that previous Bai family members were inferior to her sister in intelligence, but rather that in the past… the Bai family was too foolishly loyal to the Lin imperial power.
From the beginning, Bai Qingyan’s voice had been gentle and proper, her tones measured and soothing, yet each word was like flowing water, streaming into Zhao Sheng’s heart.
At least now, Zhao Sheng couldn’t find any words to refute what Bai Qingyan had said.
Even… his own will was unsteady, with his emotional side eager to defect to Bai Qingyan.
If no one pursued this matter of world unification, there would be no day of world unification—this was true!
Strategies for governing the nation and world, for pacifying and benefiting the people, should indeed be continuously corrected as history progresses.
Zhao Sheng closed his eyes, then opened them and asked again: “May I ask Princess Zhenguo, can Jin Kingdom’s Crown Prince… become a ruler capable of governing the nation and world?”
Bai Qingyan shook her head, her voice resolute and firm: “But someone definitely can!”
Thus, Zhao Sheng understood…
Bai Qingyan was different from generations of Bai family members who were loyal to the Jin Kingdom. She was loyal to no one, only committed to unification!
Jin Kingdom’s emperor and Crown Prince were both inadequate, perhaps… Bai Qingyan truly would become that person.
Grandfather had once said… those who embrace the world must possess talents that span heaven and earth, the power to restore order from chaos.
Observing Bai Qingyan, setting aside the fact that she was a woman, her breadth of mind and intelligence were beyond doubt.
Under the flickering candlelight, Zhao Sheng remained silent.
But some words were like sparks—once they fell upon one’s heart, they would spread with prairie fire momentum… rapidly proliferating.
Noticing Bai Jinzhi peeking around outside, Bai Qingyan withdrew her gaze and continued speaking with Zhao Sheng: “Given Yan Kingdom’s current posture in attacking Wei, does General Zhao truly believe… It’s because the Wei Kingdom allied with the Liang Kingdom, intending to destroy and partition Yan, forcing them into self-defense? Great Yan is now beating the Wei Kingdom, so they have no power to resist, consecutively capturing over thirty of Wei Kingdom’s cities, pressing directly toward Wei Kingdom’s capital… this is to destroy Wei! Why does Yan seek to destroy Wei?”
Zhao Sheng looked up at Bai Qingyan. With her pointing this out, he understood, and after understanding, he was extremely shocked.
The former Great Yan under Empress Ji had been a strong Yan… so it wasn’t surprising that Yan Kingdom had aspirations to unify the world. Later, Yan Kingdom was relegated to a corner where even self-preservation was difficult. Having finally recovered the Nanyan territory, now they wanted to destroy Wei again—could it be that their ambition to unify the world hadn’t died?
Zhao Sheng carefully considered the battle between the Yan Kingdom and the Wei Kingdom. He suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Even the Yan Kingdom, such a nation with weak people and a poor Kingdom, had the heroic ambition to unify the world. Looking at their Great Liang emperor in comparison, he only cared about personal vendettas, not even considering Great Liang’s people.
He was still worrying about how to defend the nation, while other countries… had already begun taking action for unification, striving to achieve this great undertaking.