Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 425 - 422: Decisiveness_1

Chapter 425: Chapter 422: Decisiveness_1

Bai Qingyan nodded. "You’ve worked hard! Stand up and follow me to see the Commander!"

"Aye!" Du Sanbao quickly stood up, following Bai Qingyan and Lu Ping, swiftly heading towards the commander’s tent.

Du Sanbao had heard the news of Commander Liu Hong’s arrival as soon as he entered the city. Since the commander was here, to rescue the Lord of Gaoyi, they naturally needed to seek instructions from the commander.

Du Sanbao had made up his mind. If the commander permitted Bai Qingyan to rescue people, he would undoubtedly follow Bai Qingyan and fight alongside her.

When Bai Qingyan reached the commander’s tent, she bowed to Liu Hong’s deputy. "Please inform the commander that Bai Qingyan has urgent matters to discuss!"

Liu Hong’s deputy saluted Bai Qingyan and said, "Commandery Princess, the commander caught a cold on his way to Longyang City. His fever hasn’t subsided. He just managed to hang on until Longyang City and has just taken medicine to sleep."

"This is the battlefield! Not Dadu City!" Bai Qingyan’s eyes were like torches as she gazed at Liu Hong’s deputy, her words carrying weight, "The military situation is urgent. The commander must make a decision!"

Liu Hong’s deputy broke into a sweat. He knew that the Princess of Zhen was not easy to deal with, which was why Liu Hong had instructed them to see no one.

But, as Bai Qingyan said, this was a battlefield, not Dadu. On the battlefield, the situation could change in an instant. As long as the commander was alive, he needed to get up and make decisions because the commander’s decisions concerned the outcome of the war and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.

"The military situation is urgent. Can you bear the responsibility for delaying it?" Du Sanbao boldly asked the deputy.

The Lord of Gaoyi had taken three thousand soldiers. Without supplies, it had been nearly half a month. Who knew how they were faring now? Every moment they delayed here increased the danger for the Lord of Gaoyi and the brothers with him. And this deputy was still dawdling.

Liu Hong’s deputy knew he couldn’t bear this responsibility, so he pursed his lips and said after a while, "Please wait a moment, Commandery Princess. I will report this immediately."

Liu Hong, groggy, was helped up by his deputy. His throat was dry, and his joints ached severely. "What is the military situation?"

"The Princess of Zhen did not specify. But from the plain-clothed Jin soldier behind her, it seems he just returned from outside the city and brought some military intelligence!" said Liu Hong’s deputy.

Liu Hong raised his hand to rub his still throbbing forehead. Knowing the urgency of the matter, he gestured for his deputy to help him dress, then said, "Quickly invite the Princess of Zhen in!"

After Bai Qingyan entered with Lu Ping and Du Sanbao, they saluted Liu Hong.

Lu Ping placed the bamboo slip from the interrogation on the table before Liu Hong, while Du Sanbao cupped his fists and reported, "Commander, today I was ordered to go out of the city to burn the Liang Army’s supplies. On the way back, I captured two scouts, interrogated them separately, and learned that General Gu of Daliang is now leading ten thousand troops at Huoshen Mountain, probably to encircle the Lord of Gaoyi!"

Lu Ping followed, "Today, I interrogated a Zhao family soldier who infiltrated the city. I learned not only the location of the Liang Army’s granary but also that the Lord of Gaoyi is currently at Huoshen Mountain."

Bai Qingyan cupped her fists toward Liu Hong. "I request the commander to allow me to lead five thousand troops to Huoshen Mountain to rescue them!"

Liu Hong nodded. Rescuing people was indeed urgent!

He understood that Bai Qingyan had rushed to Longyang City probably for the sole purpose of rescuing the Lord of Gaoyi.

"However, with reinforcements not yet arrived, if we send five thousand troops out of the city, and the main force of the Liang Army attacks..." Liu Hong had his considerations.

"Tomorrow morning, please, the commander personally sends the heads of the Zhao family soldiers who infiltrated Longyang City to the Liang Camp as a declaration of war to their commander, Xun Tianzhang. Xun Tianzhang, already unsure if reinforcements have arrived, will become even more suspicious with the commander’s presence. He won’t dare to engage and definitely won’t start a siege!" Bai Qingyan had thought this out on her way here.

According to the timeline, Jin Kingdom’s reinforcements indeed hadn’t arrived yet. But with Liu Hong’s timely arrival, first battling with Bai Qingyan, then Liu Hong’s personal declaration of war, it would make Xun Tianzhang hesitate.

During Xun Tianzhang’s hesitancy, Bai Qingyan was confident she could rescue Bai Jinzhi.

Liu Hong nodded again. Looking at Bai Qingyan, he hesitated but then spoke. "Commandery Princess, follow me to the Liang Camp tomorrow to declare war. Given my ill health, I need you to bolster our army’s morale by capturing Liang’s fierce generals. For the rescue at Huoshen Mountain, it’s more prudent to send Generals Lin Kangle and Wang Xiping leading ten thousand men. After all, General Lin Kangle and General Wang Xiping, have been at the Northern Frontier for months and know the terrain much better than you!"

This was the greatest compromise Liu Hong could make, allowing the rescue of Bai Jinzhi while also following the emperor’s instructions to restrain Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan pressed her lips together, silently gazing at Liu Hong.

Liu Hong’s cracked, pale lips spoke sincerely, "I understand your eagerness to save your sister. But given your weak health and the long journey, even I am struggling to stand. Let alone you, a young lady! The Lord of Gaoyi, being the King’s granddaughter and a hero of the Southern Frontier battle, must be saved! But you must also rest! That’s an order!"

Liu Hong’s words were heartfelt. Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi were the bloodline of the King of Zhen. Given the chance to save them, Liu Hong did not want to see further harm to the Bai family’s bloodline.

Bai Qingyan nodded.

Liu Hong immediately ordered his deputy to issue the command. Bai Qingyan turned to instruct Lu Ping. "Uncle Ping, please stay by General Lin Kangle’s side to find Little Fourth."

"Yes!" Lu Ping cupped his fists in agreement.

"Commandery Princess, rest assured! Even if I, Du Sanbao, have to risk my life, I will bring the Lord of Gaoyi back safely!" Du Sanbao’s eyes burned with determination.

Watching Lu Ping and Du Sanbao leave, Liu Hong sighed in relief, his tone softening. "I’ve heard that since arriving at Longyang City, you haven’t rested. Now that there’s news of the Lord of Gaoyi and someone is going to rescue her, you should rest well, Commandery Princess!"

Bai Qingyan looked at the sky outside the window of the commander’s tent, gradually brightening. She turned to gaze at Liu Hong, who was kneeling under the flickering candlelight, and calmly asked, "Before you were appointed as commander and set out, did His Majesty instruct you to guard against me?"

Liu Hong’s fists clenched, his face darkening. "Are you questioning me as the commander, or questioning His Majesty?"

"I dare not!" Bai Qingyan said calmly. "But since His Majesty is wary of my Bai family, I ask this out of concern. Liu General, I have never forgotten the emotions you showed when bidding farewell to the spirits of my Bai family at the Bai Mansion gates. I regard you as an elder. Thus, today, I wish to be frank with you. The loyalty of the Bai family is known throughout the kingdoms. The border citizens of Jin Kingdom are protected by the sacrifices of my grandfather, father, and generations of Bai family soldiers. The Bai family... will never rebel! Nor will we seek private gains when the country is in danger."