The aged Prince Guang’an looked at Bai Qingyan with his clouded eyes, his hands trembling incessantly, his lips pressed tightly together.

Bai Jinxiu glanced at Prince Guang’an and continued speaking unhurriedly: “General Gu Wenchang of the Bai Family Army, together with the Seventh Young Master of the Bai Family, Bai Qingjue, have already led troops to surround the armies of three feudal domains outside the city. They await only Your Majesty’s command to immediately annihilate them!”

“Impossible!” Prince Baishui’s pupils dilated, turning to look at the aged Prince Guang’an with a deathly pale face. “Uncle Wang! Those imperial guard generals said that a woman ascending the throne was unheard of, and they were displeased, so I had those imperial guards help hide assassins in the great hall. But I never told those imperial guards that we had troops outside the city! They couldn’t possibly know! Bai Qingyan couldn’t possibly know in advance! Uncle Wang… believe me, I never said anything!”

“How foolish Prince Baishui is!” Xie Yuchang spoke unhurriedly. “Military generals… have always spoken through strength, and Your Majesty… though a woman, is the undefeated god of war! How could we military generals be displeased because Your Majesty is a woman? Yet… Prince Baishui used such reasoning to try to bribe our imperial guard soldiers. Prince Baishui… understands us military generals far too little.”

So the problem had originated from Prince Baishui’s attempt to bribe the imperial guards?

No… that wasn’t right!

Prince Hedong quickly realized the timing didn’t match. If Bai Qingyan had found out when Prince Baishui was bribing the imperial guards, how could she have arranged for the Bai Family Army and Lin Kangle to prepare so early… having Lin Kangle bring his family members from Hedong, and how could she have had Shen Tianzhi set an ambush at Tianxia Peak Pass to completely annihilate the Shuofang and Anxi armies!

Cold sweat poured down Prince Hedong’s back, but he managed to maintain his composure. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough and wouldn’t bring fatal disaster upon his entire family. At worst… he would just lose his feudal domain.

“Your Majesty!” Prince Hedong hurriedly kowtowed. “Hedong has absolutely no rebellious intent! I beg Your Majesty to discern clearly!”

“Your Majesty… Shuofang also has absolutely no rebellious intent!” Prince Shuofang was naturally timid, and seeking to save his life, pretended to be so frightened that he cried aloud. “This wasn’t my idea at all—it was all Prince Guang’an! Prince Guang’an forced me to send troops. I only followed because I saw Prince Anxi had sent troops!”

Bai Qingyan had troops and had prepared early. The five feudal princes’ total forces, including those left to guard their domains, totaled less than one hundred eighty thousand. How could they be a match for Bai Qingyan?!

Prince Anxi, who had harbored much displeasure about Bai Qingyan’s ascension as a woman, knew at this moment that he should kneel and submit to Bai Qingyan, but… he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it. Unable to kneel and beg for mercy like Prince Hedong and Prince Shuofang, he clenched his fists tightly.

Bai Qingyan’s gaze swept over the grimly-faced Prince Guang’an and Prince Anxi, then she nodded to the Yan Kingdom envoys and the Rongdi envoys: “I apologize for the spectacle you’ve witnessed.”

After speaking, Bai Qingyan’s gaze fell upon the trembling Prince Baishui: “After establishing the national title as Great Zhou, I did not immediately send troops to take over your feudal domains, nor did I send officials to handle the transfer of population, land, and military authority. I invited you five feudal princes to the capital with the courtesy due to imperial relatives to witness the enthronement ceremony together!”

“When old dynasties change to new, court ministers petitioned… saying that you former royal relatives could not be left behind, lest they become future troubles. But considering grandmother’s sake… I originally had no intention of moving against the Jin Dynasty’s imperial relatives. As long as you harbored no rebellious intent, I was very willing to let you live out your days in peace, which would also give grandmother an explanation! But I never expected that this moment of benevolence would nearly bring great disaster upon the Great Zhou Dynasty!”

“Our feudal domains were all left by our ancestors. You want to seize our domains—do you expect us to surrender to be slaughtered?!” The aged Prince Guang’an, knowing the situation was hopeless, struck the low table before him forcefully, shouting until his face was red and his neck thick.

“Under Heaven, all land belongs to the sovereign. Even if feudal domains were granted to you, permitting you to collect taxes and conscript soldiers in your domains, you were not permitted to treat the domains as private property!” Bai Qingyan’s expression was cold. “Moreover, your domains were feudal domains of the old dynasty. Now that Heaven and Earth have changed, this is the Great Zhou! Old Prince… dawn has broken, it’s time to wake up!”

“Your Majesty…” Lu Jin stepped forward and performed a deep bow to Bai Qingyan. “Your Majesty has been magnanimous, but some people don’t know gratitude and instead repay kindness with resentment. Prince Baishui is a prime example. Your Majesty must not be soft-hearted again! I petition Your Majesty to decree that no descendants within three generations of the former dynasty’s imperial relatives be spared, and all others be stripped of property and exiled! Prince Baishui, Prince Guang’an, and Prince Anxi have committed the crimes of defying authority, showing grave disrespect, and attempting to lead troops in rebellion. Their crimes are unforgivable—they should have their nine familial relations executed!”

Hearing Lu Jin’s words, Prince Shuofang, who had knelt and claimed to support Bai Qingyan’s reforms following Prince Hedong, lost his wits with terror. If he hadn’t promptly submitted along with Prince Hedong, he would probably be among those facing execution of nine familial relations now!

His death didn’t matter, but how innocent would his wife and children be? Prince Shuofang now regarded Prince Hedong as his pillar of support, secretly glancing toward Prince Hedong, determined to follow his lead.

“Bai Qingyan! You dare!” Prince Baishui, facing death, still stubbornly resisted. “Even without the troops of Prince Hedong and Prince Shuofang, my Baishui still has thirty thousand soldiers outside the capital! If Baishui’s soldiers don’t surrender… can you kill them all clean?”

“Why bother killing all of Baishui’s soldiers clean? Kill Prince Baishui’s entire family clean… and would we still worry that Baishui’s soldiers won’t surrender? Laughable…” Liu Rushi sneered coldly, staring at Prince Baishui, cupping her hands toward Bai Qingyan’s direction. “Baishui’s soldiers will all be Your Majesty’s soldiers in the future! Your Majesty couldn’t bear to kill them.”

Bai Jinxiu, remembering Bai Qingjue’s words that Prince Baishui had at most ten thousand troops, chuckled lightly: “Where does Prince Baishui get thirty thousand troops? Ten thousand… would already be remarkable!”

As soon as Bai Jinxiu spoke these words, not only Prince Baishui… but even the other feudal princes changed color. Bai Qingyan had even mastered their troop numbers!

Soon, Shen Tianzhi brought the disheveled Heir of Anxi and the surviving fierce generals of Anxi and Shuofang into the hall. The Heir of Anxi and these soldiers… had experienced fierce battle. Their broken armor was covered with blood that had dried into black scabs, their hair was disheveled, their wounds hadn’t been bandaged by anyone, and one Shuofang general had a severed arm with the exposed wound already festering—a truly pitiful sight.

Shen Tianzhi solemnly saluted Bai Qingyan, and after kowtowing, said: “This subordinate Shen Tianzhi, following orders to set an ambush at Tianxia Peak Pass, annihilated the Shuofang and Anxi armies, captured alive the Heir of Anxi and thirteen generals from Shuofang and Anxi. I await Your Majesty’s judgment.”

Shen Tianzhi had just heard that although he wasn’t in the capital, Bai Qingyan hadn’t forgotten him—he was now Minister of Works.

“Father!” Upon seeing his father, the Heir of Anxi choked up and called out, saying in a low voice, “Your son has shamed you! When your son led the Anxi and Shuofang armies through Tianxia Peak Pass, we were ambushed. We were outnumbered and have already… already been annihilated.”