Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 798 - 795: Silent Approach_1

Chapter 798: Chapter 795: Silent Approach_1

Now that the Liang court had sent Lian Wenjie with thirty thousand troops as reinforcements, the reinforcements had arrived three days ago. However, due to the disparity in forces between them and the Jin Kingdom, and the Jin Army being led by the Princess of Zhen, even Lian Wenjie did not dare to hastily send out his troops. The two sides thus remained in a stalemate.

Yang Wuce sat in his study, staring at the map of the realms before him for a long time, yet he could not bring himself to make a decision.

"General! General, our man who was sent to Hancheng with the medical recipe, Yang Wei, has returned!" Yang Wuce’s deputy general barged in, bringing along the soldiers who had delivered the medical recipe.

Only then did Yang Wuce turn and walk to the desk, motioning for Yang Wei, who had brought the message, to sit.

After sitting down, Yang Wei first picked up some water and drank a large bowl in one go, then said, "His Majesty has already decided to gather medicinal herbs nationwide to send to the army for treating the epidemic! The Imperial Edict has been sent everywhere, ordering the people not to hoard any medicinal herbs and to hand them all over! Anyone found hiding herbs will be severely punished!"

In fact, when Yang Wuce and his deputy general received the medical recipe and saw that it contained the irreplaceable Baikal skullcap, they’d already guessed that this might be the result. After all, the Emperor of Liang was bent on revenge, and with the Jin Kingdom already at their doorstep, it was understandable that the Emperor would prioritize the army.

"The Princess of Zhen’s tactic is indeed powerful." Yang Wuce gritted his teeth, finally understanding why Bai Qingyan had handed the recipe to the Liang Kingdom. "His Majesty’s action will surely chill the hearts of the people. As a monarch of a nation, obtaining the recipe, not thinking about quickly treating the people but instead snatching the medicinal herbs from them, this openly leaves the people no way to live!"

Gathering medicinal herbs nationwide to send to the military, regardless of the people’s survival, would inevitably stir public resentment.

As for the Jin Kingdom, by handing the recipe to the Liang Kingdom, they showed benevolence in front of other kingdoms. If the Liang Kingdom continued to fight the Jin Kingdom, it would be considered ungrateful. Even if the Jin Kingdom conquered the Liang Kingdom in the future, others would criticize the Liang Kingdom, not the Jin Kingdom.

The Jin Kingdom could simply say they handed the recipe to the Liang Kingdom out of goodwill, but the Emperor of Liang insisted on avenging the Fourth Prince and refused to make peace. They had no choice but to proceed.

And during the war between the two countries, the Jin Army even spared medicinal herbs to save the people of Liang, thus preserving their reputation of benevolence and righteousness! The people of Liang probably would no longer resist the Jin Army!

Yang Wuce closed his eyes, and then heard Yang Wei say, "There is another matter. The Third Prince furiously rebuked His Majesty in the royal court for not being willing to kneel for peace, calling him a monarch doomed to perish. This enraged His Majesty. The Third Prince intended to kill himself by dashing against a pillar in the court to remonstrate, but was saved and then humiliated by the Emperor. Disheartened, the Third Prince returned to his residence and shut himself in, refusing to attend the court anymore!"

Hearing this, Yang Wuce let out a long sigh, finally understanding.

Even if he, Yang Wuce, stubbornly resisted the Jin Army today, he could not stop the Liang Kingdom from its path of destruction. For a nation’s emperor, blinded by hatred, disregarded the country and its people, driven only by personal vengeance, losing the bearing and courage of a monarch, reducing him to just another common father seeking revenge for his son.

If there was anyone in the royal court who sincerely cared for the Liang Kingdom, it would be the Third Prince.

Now, even the Third Prince was disheartened. What hope did the Liang Kingdom have left?

Yang Wuce’s deputy general, seeing Yang Wuce tightly closing his eyes with tears forming at the corners, bit his lip and boldly stepped forward, cupping his fists. "General, do not hesitate any longer! This subordinate knows the general has great ambitions and a heart loyal to the monarch and the people! Now, the Jin Kingdom has the herbs to save thousands from suffering, and they have the ability and determination to unify the realm. The general has the ambition to unify the realm. The Yan Kingdom is surging with power... the destruction of Wei is imminent. The Princess of Zhen will not give the general more time to consider!"

Previously, after Yang Wuce met briefly with Zhao Sheng under the city of Liuzhou, he called the commanders to discuss the matter, including Yang Wei.

Yang Wei also stepped forward from behind the desk, knelt on one knee, cupped his fists, and spoke to Yang Wuce, "General, if the Jin Army forces its way in, and the general takes the initiative to seek peace, the favor the general will receive from the Princess of Zhen will be different afterward. Moreover, it can reduce our army’s casualties! This subordinate is willing to swear loyalty to the general in unifying the realm!"

Yang Wuce slowly opened his eyes and looked at his deputy general and Yang Wei kneeling before him. He clenched his fists, made up his mind, and spoke, "Yang Wei, go out of the city to the Jin Army camp and find Zhao Sheng. Tell him to convey to the Princess of Zhen that tomorrow morning, Yang Wuce will lead all the soldiers of Liuzhou City out of the city. We will wait outside the city gate to welcome the Princess of Zhen and swear loyalty with our soldiers!"

"Yes!" Yang Wei responded. Not caring about the dust from his journey, he turned and ran out.

"You go..." Yang Wuce walked to his deputy general’s side and whispered, "Send someone to control Lian Wenjie and the three generals who came with the reinforcements. Gather all the soldiers of Liuzhou City and tell them I have something to say!"

"Yes!"

As the deputy general was about to leave, Yang Wuce grabbed his wrist, whispering even more quietly, "Make sure it is done quietly. I do not want Lian Wenjie and the other generals to cause a commotion at this crucial moment, unsettling the soldiers."

Once he made up his mind, there was only one way forward for Yang Wuce, one he could not turn back from!

This time, following the Princess of Zhen, if he did not live to see the unification of the realm, he would be a traitor and rebel of the Liang Kingdom. But if he could see the unification of the realm, he would be an unparalleled hero!

Observing the wisdom and tactics of this Princess of Zhen, Yang Wuce believed that he would be the latter by following her.

The Jin Army had been camped at the Qingxi Mountain Pass for nearly a month. Some commanders were already getting restless, uncertain if a battle was imminent.

Wang Xiping and Lin Kangle were more composed. Having previously followed General Zhang Duanrui, whose tent was marked by prudence and caution, the current General Liu Hong was even more steady. Even if they had tempers, following Liu Hong for so long had smoothed them out.

However, Bai Jinzhi, as well as Liu Pinggao and other soldiers from the Anping Army, could not hold back.

Urged by the soldiers of the Anping Camp, Liu Pinggao and Wang Jin from the Flying Bear Camp went to seek an audience outside Bai Qingyan’s tent.

Bai Qingyan looked up to see Liu Pinggao and a somewhat familiar face entering. She put down the bamboo slip she was reading and smiled, "General Wang Jin from the Flying Bear Camp is here too..."

Wang Jin, flattered, glanced at Liu Pinggao, quickly knelt on one knee, cupped his fists, and somewhat embarrassedly said, "This subordinate is unworthy of the title ’general’ from the Princess of Zhen. I did not expect the Princess of Zhen to remember a nobody like me!"

"Of course, I remember. You accompanied me to Huoshen Mountain to rescue Commandery Princess Gaoyi. I have yet to properly thank you. Please rise!" Bai Qingyan said with a smile.