“Yang Wuce, receive your orders!” Bai Qingyan’s eyes were resolute. “You and General Liu Hong will lead twenty thousand soldiers along the route to Puwen City, Longyang City, Youhua City, Tianlan Mountain, and Yushan Pass to the capital. Do not allow government officials to forcibly conscript children! Anyone who resists… execute them without mercy!”
“This subordinate receives the command!” Yang Wuce clasped his fists and responded loudly.
Bai Qingyan turned her head to look at Liu Hong, who remained silent with pursed lips: “Does General Liu have any questions?”
This person Liu Hong… Bai Qingyan didn’t want to be enemies with him, so she let him see for himself, see what the emperor had done… see whether this emperor deserved his life-risking loyalty. She only hoped Liu Hong would come to his senses.
Liu Hong’s entire body trembled, knowing that the momentum was now on Bai Qingyan’s side.
Although he was the commanding general in the war against Great Liang, all strategies were planned by Bai Qingyan. Moreover, now that the Great Liang campaign was over, in terms of hierarchy, he had to listen to Bai Qingyan. In terms of strength, he also had to listen to Bai Qingyan.
After pondering for a moment, he looked up at Bai Qingyan.
“Liu only asks Princess Zhenguo one question…” Liu Hong’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Bai Qingyan solemnly. The question he wanted to ask but dared not finally came out: “Princess Zhenguo, are you going to rebel?”
Seeing Bai Qingyan’s cold expression without rushing to defend herself, Liu Hong’s eyes grew hot. Without waiting for Bai Qingyan’s answer, he shouted: “In Longyang City, Princess Zhenguo once told Liu that the Bai family’s… loyalty is known throughout all nations. The border people of Jin are all protected by Princess Zhenguo’s grandfather, father, and generations of the Bai family army, who fought to the death! So the Bai family would never rebel! Moreover, they would never calculate private interests during a national crisis! But why do Princess Zhenguo’s eyes now show no respect for imperial authority and royal majesty?! Why?!”
“That day, Bai Qingyan told General Liu that the Bai family would never rebel and would never calculate private interests during a national crisis, because the Bai family’s loyalty is to Jin’s ten thousand people, and what they protect even unto death is Jin’s ten thousand people! The Bai family’s campaigns and battles are all for these four words: protecting territory and pacifying the people!”
The words Bai Qingyan had spoken to him in Longyang City gradually became clear in Liu Hong’s mind. Gradually, Liu Hong understood Bai Qingyan’s meaning, his steps involuntarily staggering backward.
“Those who protect the people… the Bai family protects them! Those who protect the people for thousands of generations, the Bai family protects them for thousands of generations! Those who harm the people… the Bai family must also, for the sake of protecting the people, rebel against them! Execute them!” Bai Qingyan, on her tall horse, tightened the reins and moved forward two steps, her gaze looking at the soldiers who turned to her, her voice ringing clear: “Once, the Bai family and Bai family army, for Jin’s countless common people, helped the Lin clan ascend to supreme imperial power! Today, Bai Qingyan, for Jin’s ten thousand people, raises righteous troops in rebellion! Against the Lin clan’s imperial power! This is to return to the people peaceful mountains and rivers without worry or fear, to let the people live peaceful days! No regrets in life or death! Today, Bai Qingyan earnestly requests all of you… join hands with Bai Qingyan, shoulder to shoulder, together protecting all the people under heaven!”
Under the blazing sun, that woman in silver armor only now truly revealed her surrounding aura of killing intent – the kind of presence where just by standing there, she could become the army’s morale, she could make enemy forces tremble with fear.
Yang Wuce was stirred to boiling blood by Bai Qingyan’s passionate words. He knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and shouted: “Swear to follow Princess Zhenguo to the death!”
Lin Kangle and Yang Wei dismounted, knelt on the ground, and led the soldiers in loud cheers.
“Swear to follow Princess Zhenguo to the death!”
“Swear to follow Princess Zhenguo to the death!”
“Swear to follow Princess Zhenguo to the death!”
Liu Hong watched the soldiers kneeling and cheering one after another, his steps continuously retreating backward, stumbling and falling to the ground.
In the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, on the second day of the fifth month, Prince Liang used Shouyang’s refusal to hand over one hundred boys and girls as justification to send Li Mingrui leading ten thousand soldiers to Shouyang, with secret orders to capture the Bai clan alive.
In the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, on the third day of the fifth month, Madam Qin Bai Jinxiu, holding the emperor’s personally written edict, led the Yuanping army to attack the capital for the king’s rescue. The crown prince in prison was greatly encouraged upon hearing the news.
In the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, on the fifth day of the fifth month, Li Mingrui arrived at Shouyang with his large army and began the siege.
Li Mingrui sat on his horse in battle armor, watching the soldiers continuously attacking the city, clenching his back teeth. He knew Bai Jinxiu had already led the Yuanping army to attack the capital, but he didn’t turn back to provide reinforcement. Instead, he chose to attack Shouyang!
He set himself a goal: within three days, he must capture Shouyang. Only then could he hold the Bai family members in his grasp; only then could he control Bai Qingyan to the greatest extent.
More importantly… controlling the Bai family would prevent Bai Jinxiu from daring to attack the capital further, and perhaps there would be a chance to obtain the emperor’s personally written edict in Bai Jinxiu’s hands. Thus he would have leverage over Prince Liang, which would benefit the Li family’s future.
After calculating all this, Li Mingrui became even more determined to attack Shouyang.
Inside Shouyang City, Dong Shi had long prepared for such a day. When Li Mingrui led troops to attack, she had Bai Qingping relay orders to defend Shouyang City to the death.
Shouyang had sufficient grain stores to last until Bai Qingyan led troops back for reinforcement.
Throughout Shouyang City, from the young who could walk and run to the white-haired elderly, all gathered within Shouyang City, helping to carry stones up the city walls for the soldiers to throw down and kill the enemy troops climbing the walls.
The people of Shouyang all knew that this time the court sent troops to attack Shouyang to take their children. If not for the Bai family’s Madam Dong Shi restraining Prefect Zhou and preventing him from handing over Shouyang’s children to the court, their children would all have died.
That day, Prefect Zhou brought the imperial order to show Madam Dong, saying that if they didn’t hand them over, all the people of Shouyang would suffer.
Just when the people of Shouyang were panic-stricken, and some were even taking their children to flee, Madam Dong Shi of the Bai family made a decisive decision. She gathered the people of Shouyang and spoke passionately, stating… the Shouyang Bai clan and Bai family army originated from Shouyang. Hundreds of years ago, they established the Bai family army to protect the people. Now the imperial family was implementing tyranny, treating the people like grass, treating the people like livestock to be raised. The Bai family and Shouyang army would also uphold the Bai family ancestors’ will, fighting to protect and guard the people, never removing their armor until death! They would not let any child from Shouyang be sent to the Nine-Tiered Platform, not allowing anyone to use any child’s life to refine immortal elixirs for the emperor.
Dong Shi’s speech moved all the city’s people to grateful tears and stirred all the city’s soldiers to boiling blood.
Therefore, in this great battle, not a single person among Shouyang City’s residents chose to flee before the battle arrived. Those with money contributed money, those with strength contributed strength, jointly resisting the enemy army.
This was the most united the people of Shouyang had been in a hundred years. Neighbors set aside past conflicts, joining hands and shoulders together to defend Shouyang.
The Bai family guards, who had once all been Bai family army, now charged up the city towers, leading Shouyang soldiers in resisting the enemy.
High above Shouyang City’s towers, the black sail with the white python flag flew high. As Dong Shi said, today, all soldiers fighting to protect Shouyang’s people were the invincible Bai family army! The Bai family’s heroic spirits… would protect every soldier who fought desperately for the people!