The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 194: Competing
Chapter 194: Fighting for People’s Hearts
“Absolutely not!” Qin Shangzhi bowed to the prince, “Your Highness, burning and killing the surrendered prisoners… The other nations are already dissatisfied with your Highness. If your Highness asks His Majesty to behead General Bai, the other nations will think that your Highness wants to shirk the responsibility and put all the blame on a woman!”
The prince nodded imperceptibly, his eyes thoughtful.
“Besides… General Bai fought bloody battles with the Jin army. If Your Highness does this, it will chill the hearts of the soldiers! This will make Your Highness a nobody. Mr. Fang thinks carefully, isn’t this the truth?”
Qin Shangzhi knew how important Mr. Fang was to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so when he gave this advice, he showed great respect to Mr. Fang, whom he despised very much. He only hoped that the Crown Prince could listen to what he said… If he could save Bai Qingyan’s life, then the advice would be worth it.
Mr. Fang glanced at Qin Shangzhi and stroked his goatee. Perhaps he felt that Qin Shangzhi, who had always been unyielding, had actually learned to give in. With a look of contempt in his eyes, he said slowly, “What Mr. Qin said does… make some sense.”
“I have a plan! The Crown Prince can present a memorial to His Majesty to ask for merit for General Bai, and strongly state the merits of General Bai in this battle, and ask for a title for General Bai… and send a letter to the world to prove that General Bai burned and killed the prisoners because the 50,000 soldiers of our Jin army were worried that the prisoners of war from Xiliang would rebel! In this way, all the countries will know that our Great Jin is behind the King Zhenguo… and there is also General Bai Qingyan, who is unparalleled in wisdom and military genius, guarding the country! Secondly, Your Highness can also gain a reputation for trusting people when you employ them, and not employing people when you doubt them! There will be no need to worry about no one following Your Highness the Crown Prince in the future!” Qin Shangzhi bowed to the ground and bowed to the Crown Prince, “The generals of a country, the sharp weapon of a country, must be brave, iron-blooded, and ruthless in order to intimidate other countries! The crown prince, the cornerstone of a country, must be virtuous, benevolent, and upright in order to stabilize the country! So Your Highness should not compete for military merit, but for character, benevolence, and people’s hearts!”
Mr. Fang narrowed his eyes and thought carefully about what Qin Shangzhi said…
Yes, Your Highness is already the Crown Prince, and it is not the case that you need military merits to increase your chances of succession when the position has not yet been established. Looking at your majesty’s princes… Prince Xin and Prince Liang have been abolished, Prince Wei is only a five-year-old child and is not necessarily very smart, and the baby in Concubine Luo’s belly is still unknown, so the Crown Prince’s position as the Crown Prince is now secure.
Moreover, even though Mr. Fang is unwilling to admit it… Qin Shangzhi’s plan is indeed good. Instead of killing Bai Qingyan and apologizing to other countries, it is better to use this method to put all the credit on Bai Qingyan alone. Then, Your Highness can come forward to guarantee Bai Qingyan, and he will surely be able to bring Bai Qingyan under his command. In this way… he can gain both fame and fortune, and also have a brave and powerful general loyal to him.
“Your Highness, I think Mr. Qin’s method… is feasible!” Old Fang said slowly.
Seeing what Mr. Fang said, the prince felt relieved. Although he was unwilling to not get any military merit, it would not be a big loss if he could use it to gain the loyal following of a talented general like Bai Qingyan.
The prince nodded and said, “I also think that what Mr. Qin said is absolutely right. I am the crown prince, not a general. Military achievements are useless… I should win the hearts of the people!”
After hearing what the prince said, Qin Shangzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. So… Bai Qingyan’s life is saved, right?
·
Bai Qingyan led 30,000 Jin troops and 10,000 Bai family troops plus the Tiger Eagle Camp to camp at the border of Xiliang. The two armies were separated by the Jing River and faced each other, but neither of them fought again.
The Xiliang Army was afraid of the black sails and white python flags fluttering in the wind in the opposite camp, while Bai Qingyan was waiting for news from her seventh brother, ninth brother and Shen Qingzhu, so she did not act rashly.
The prince was planning to put all the blame on Bai Qingyan for the military achievements and the crime of burning and killing the surrendered prisoners, in order to clear him of all charges. Qin Shangzhi had already sent a letter to Bai Qingyan by express horse.
Of course, in order to avoid being read by the prince’s people, what Qin Shangzhi wrote was all from the prince’s perspective, explaining how the prince was magnanimous and felt that he could not seize her military merits, and how the prince trusted her and would protect her innocence in front of the emperor.
She knew that this was the result of Qin Shangzhi’s efforts to save her life, and she accepted Qin Shangzhi’s favor.
Bai Jinzhi took the letter from her and read it quickly. She was furious and said, “This prince is so shameless! If there hadn’t been the burning and killing of prisoners in Wengshan Gorge, he would have definitely taken the military merit! But now that this has happened… he actually shamelessly said that he couldn’t forcibly take away his elder sister’s military merit. It’s obvious that he’s afraid of taking the responsibility for burning and killing prisoners!”
“It’s something that was expected. Why should I be angry?” She was open-minded. The royal family has always been like this. Haven’t they done this kind of thing often?
Although Bai Qingyan was not a gentleman, she was not a villain who went back on her word. She had agreed to give the military merits of the battle in Southern Xinjiang to the prince, and she really wanted to give them to him. After all, she had already used her military merits to exchange for Bai Jinxiu’s title of a first-class lady in advance.
Therefore, when she dared to burn and kill the surrendered prisoners in the Battle of Wengshan, she had a plan and excuse to help the prince absolve himself of responsibility after burning and killing the surrendered prisoners.
But… since the prince was so impatient, she would accept his kindness sincerely and thank him later… to show her so-called loyalty.
She stood on the bank of the Jing River, looking at the rushing water that had not yet frozen in the dead of winter, and her mind was filled with thoughts of her seventh and ninth brothers who might still be alive.
Not long after, Xiao Ruojiang suddenly rode towards Jinghe River on horseback.
Without waiting for the horse to stop, Xiao Ruojiang jumped off the horse and clasped his fists, saying, “Miss! Miss Shen… just sent someone to deliver a message saying that Liu Huanzhang had set up an ambush, and the Seventh and Ninth Young Masters were intercepted halfway before they reached the capital of Xiliang. She has found out that the two were injured and escaped under the cover of the Bai family army, but their whereabouts are still unknown. Miss Shen is looking for them.”
A few days ago, Xiao Ruojiang received news that the Bai family army led by the Seventh and Ninth Young Masters who raided Xiliang was completely wiped out. He had been holding back and didn’t dare to tell the eldest girl. Fortunately, the eldest girl asked him about it that day, but he was worried that she couldn’t hold on, so he didn’t say a word! Today’s news… This is like a ray of hope!
Hearing this, she turned her head sharply, her heart beating violently. He ran away?! This meant that… the seventh and ninth brothers were very likely still alive!
Not to mention her, even Bai Jinzhi almost jumped up when he heard it, his eyes shining: “Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother escaped! That means… they are still alive?! Really?!”
Xiao Ruojiang tightened his hands hidden in his sleeves, unable to suppress his joy, and nodded vigorously: “Really!”
She suppressed her ecstasy and asked Xiao Ruojiang: “Where were the seventh and ninth brothers intercepted? Where is Shen Qingzhu now? Where is the messenger? Do you need to send someone to help?!”
“Replying to Miss, the messenger Miss Shen sent didn’t say anything, and the messenger has already left!”
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