Chapter 782: 779: The Country is Not Peaceful_1

Chapter 782: Chapter 779: The Country is Not Peaceful_1

Lin Kangle nodded and added, “Maybe it’s because the Princess of Zhen knew that General Liu fought this battle to clear his name of cowardice. So she didn’t want to contend for the credit. After all, the Princess of Zhen is not one to covet merits! Otherwise, during the Battle of Wengshan… why would she willingly conceal her identity and disguise herself as a man to go to the battlefield? Later… if the Crown Prince hadn’t been afraid of taking the blame for the massacre of a hundred thousand surrendering soldiers at Wengshan and pushed the Princess of Zhen forward, who would have known that the great victory over Xiliang was achieved by her!”

Wang Xiping quickly elbowed Lin Kangle, signaling that there were people around: “Why do you say everything? Can’t you keep your mouth shut? Are you not afraid that someone will report you to the Crown Prince?”

Lin Kangle nervously glanced around and laughed awkwardly, “What’s there to fear? I’ve said this not just once. If the Crown Prince needed to know, he would have known long ago!”

“Better safe than sorry, you should talk less!” Wang Xiping finished speaking to Lin Kangle and then cupped his hands towards him, “General Liu just ordered me to check the prisoner camp. I’ll go now… you take care!”

Lin Kangle also cupped his hands towards Wang Xiping.

Inside the command tent, Liu Hong placed his hands on the edge of the table, looking at Bai Qingyan. After some thought, he asked, “The Princess of Zhen didn’t let me mention you in the report. Is it… because she knew that my intention in this battle was to clear my name from cowardice, so she gave the credit to me?”

“General Liu worries too much.” Bai Qingyan’s voice was calm. She picked up the hot tea beside her and spoke to Liu Hong, “This battle was indeed not planned by me. I dare not claim credit.”

Liu Hong’s hand on the edge of the table tensed slightly, then he asked, “Then… is it that the Princess of Zhen doesn’t want His Majesty, the Crown Prince, or the people of the Jin Kingdom to know… that the soldiers trained in Shuoyang are not the motley crew as others speculate, but a rare elite force? Is the Princess of Zhen afraid that His Majesty and the Crown Prince would suspect her loyalty, seeing that she holds such elite soldiers yet hasn’t eradicated the mountain bandits?”

Liu Hong finally asked the question he wanted to ask.

At dawn during the siege, the bravery of the soldiers Bai Qingyan brought was truly heart-stirring. They faced the world’s most formidable pass head-on. The elite soldiers led by Bai Qingyan climbed up straight and unyielding.

What kind of tough bandits had they encountered that they hadn’t eradicated yet? Liu Hong thought… there shouldn’t be such formidable bandits in the world.

If there were, they must be the soldiers under Bai Qingyan!

Or perhaps, Bai Qingyan didn’t want to eradicate the bandits because she needed them to train her soldiers without arousing suspicion from His Majesty and the Crown Prince.

The thought made Liu Hong shiver. He feared that the Princess of Zhen might harbor rebellious thoughts because of the deaths of her grandfather, father, and brothers.

If Bai Qingyan, with her extraordinary wit and military talent, who could train commoners into elite soldiers, harbored rebellious thoughts, Dadu City would be in danger.

“Yes…” Bai Qingyan nodded firmly, neither hiding anything from Liu Hong. She placed the teacup on the table and faced Liu Hong, “His Majesty is very wary of the Bai family. General Liu must know this better than anyone else! I just don’t want His Majesty to know, not that I don’t want the Crown Prince to know!”

Liu Hong was a bit confused, “Please enlighten me, Princess of Zhen.”

“The silver coin for training soldiers in Shuoyang was said to be from my Bai family, but… the one who actually transported the silver coins to Shuoyang was the Crown Prince. Most of the military funds for training soldiers in Shuoyang came from the Crown Prince. Bai Qingyan dares not lie about this.” Bai Qingyan looked at Liu Hong.

Liu Hong nodded. Before Bai Qingyan took an arrow for the Crown Prince and got injured, the Crown Prince had been sending silver coins to Shuoyang irregularly to support her in training soldiers. Liu Hong, realizing this, said, “So, the Crown Prince knows about the elite soldiers in Shuoyang, and it was under his instruction that the Princess of Zhen trained these soldiers?”

“A country’s Crown Prince, while His Majesty is still alive, holds a significant force for what purpose? Therefore, even if the Crown Prince knows, he cannot know explicitly, nor can it be recorded in military reports for His Majesty to see!” Bai Qingyan spoke slowly, “General Liu, by the Jinghe River in the southern territories… I asked the Crown Prince about his aspiration in this life. The Crown Prince answered… ‘My aspiration is for all people to live in a prosperous and peaceful world.'”

Liu Hong was stunned. He had known the Crown Prince for quite some time. Did the Crown Prince really have such an ambition?

“I asked the Crown Prince that question because His Majesty once told my grandfather about his ambition for the world. My grandfather was loyal to His Majesty, hence… he planned and prepared for His Majesty’s ambition, bringing the sons of the Bai family to the battlefield to train them for His Majesty’s future conquests of other states! But, to speak candidly, His Majesty has betrayed the Bai family’s complete loyalty! Therefore, I must know clearly the Crown Prince’s ambitions. If he aims to unify the world, I must not only strategize for defending the kingdom, to avoid the tragedy of my family’s loyal blood being shed again due to a lack of understanding between the sovereign and his ministers!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was firm.

Liu Hong understood and believed that Bai Qingyan, with her courage, dared to speak such words before pledging loyalty to the Crown Prince.

“So, I train elite soldiers for the future… unification of the world!” Bai Qingyan looked solemnly at Liu Hong, “Every word Bai Qingyan says is true.”

Indeed, every word Bai Qingyan said today was true. However… she was very selective in the truths she revealed to Liu Hong, guiding him to think in a certain way.

“Does the Crown Prince truly have the ambition to conquer the world?” Liu Hong still found it hard to believe.

“General Liu can write to the Crown Prince and ask how he answered by the Jinghe River!” Bai Qingyan made a light gesture with her hand and continued, “But the matter of the elite soldiers in Shuoyang must not be recorded on bamboo slips or in military reports. His Majesty is already highly suspicious, especially in his later years, indulging in elixirs, seeking immortals! After the Wude Gate Rebellion, his paranoia has only grown! If General Liu reports this matter… either it’s my death, or… the Crown Prince’s position might be at risk, causing chaos in Dadu.”

Liu Hong slowly sat back behind the table, his fingers stroking the edge of the table, contemplating Bai Qingyan’s words.

If the Crown Prince truly had such grand ambitions, he could be a wise ruler. Besides… among the grown princes, there was no better candidate than the Crown Prince. Oh… there was also King Liang!

But King Liang…

Liu Hong thought it’s better not to mention him.

The Princess of Zhen was right about one thing. If His Majesty found out that the Crown Prince secretly had Bai Qingyan train soldiers, he would become suspicious. The Monarch and the Crown Prince were both sovereigns… If there was distrust between them, the royal court in Dadu would be unstable. An unstable court would lead to a troubled nation.