The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 783: Extremely contradictory
Chapter 783: Strong Contradiction
When Zhao Sheng was a teenager, he followed his grandfather and father to the battlefield and had seen the Bai family army…
The soldiers of the Bai family army all had a fierce aura, which he did not see in other Jin armies and was easy to identify.
“Let’s go!” said Zhao Sheng.
Zhao Ran carried the half-wet Zhao Sheng out of the dark and cold dungeon passage. When the Daliang generals who were imprisoned in the prison saw Zhao Sheng, they all crowded to the prison gate and shouted “General Zhao”.
But Zhao Sheng, who was ready to die, did not even turn his head. He guessed… Princess Zhenguo asked the Bai family army to take him for interrogation, and perhaps he would be treated in the same way his grandfather dealt with the Bai family army, just like he had treated his brother before.
However, to Zhao Sheng’s surprise, he was not taken to the interrogation room with a strong smell of blood, but to the barracks where he temporarily lived when he had just recaptured the Qingxi Mountain Pass.
The Princess Bai Qingyan, who was rumored to be dying, was kneeling in front of his desk, holding a lamp in her hand… and looking carefully and slowly at the map she found in his box.
Zhao Ran came in first to report to Bai Qingyan that Zhao Sheng had arrived. He also said to Bai Qingyan, “After a fierce battle last night, the defeated generals near Daliang had already eaten up all the cakes that were sent to them… not even a crumb was left. But Zhao Sheng didn’t even touch a single piece of cake.”
Bai Qingyan nodded, put down the oil lamp in his hand, and asked Zhao Ran to invite Zhao Sheng in.
After a night of fierce fighting, Zhao Sheng was exhausted with bloodshot eyes and untidy beard, looking extremely dishevelled. Bai Qingyan, on the other hand, had changed into clean clothes. Although his eyes were also bloodshot, the dark circles under his eyes were made more obvious on his snow-white face. However, Bai Qingyan did not look dishevelled at all. His back was straight and his manners were calm and elegant.
Seeing Zhao Sheng coming in, Bai Qingyan picked up the teapot warming on the small red clay stove and poured a cup of tea for Zhao Sheng: “General Zhao, please.”
He walked to the opposite side of Bai Qingyan, knelt down opposite Bai Qingyan across a table, his eyes swept over the map that he had marked in detail, and his palms tightened.
The Jin army attacked the city suddenly, and Zhao Sheng did not have time to destroy these things.
However, there is nothing special about this map. It is just a map that includes Daliang, Jin, Xiliang, Wei, Rongdi and Dayan, and marks the important checkpoints of each country.
“I wonder what Princess Zhenguo wants to ask?” Zhao Sheng stared at Bai Qingyan. He looked disheveled, but still proud like a king in distress.
“I would like to ask General Zhao for a favor…” Bai Qingyan folded the map and put it aside. He looked at Zhao Sheng and spoke softly, “There are some Liang soldiers infected with the disease in the infirmary. They refuse to take medicine… They want to die for their country. I would like to ask General Zhao to persuade them.”
Zhao Sheng was stunned. Ever since the epidemic broke out in Jin and Daliang, the price of this herb has skyrocketed… Would the medicinal herbs from Jin be used on the surrendered prisoners from Daliang?
Zhao Sheng thought that according to Bai Qingyan’s personality, after breaking through the Qingxi Mountain Pass, they should directly execute all the Liang army soldiers infected with the disease and burn their bodies to avoid wasting food, but she… gave medicine to the surrendered prisoners of Daliang. What does that mean?
A ridiculous idea suddenly occurred to Zhao Sheng, and he asked without even thinking, “Princess Zhenguo, do you want my Liang soldiers to serve you, Jin?”
Bai Qingyan, under the bright candlelight, looked calm and steady, his eyes deep, and his voice was particularly calm and natural: “Hundreds of years ago, we already… had the same track, the same writing system, and the same ethics. All countries are one family. Why should we distinguish between your country and my country?”
Zhao Sheng felt as if a raging storm had risen in his heart.
The same wheel gauge, the same writing system, the same ethics - this is the foundation of unification. Is Princess Zhenguo telling him that… the State of Jin intends to unify the world, or… does she have the ambition to unify the world?
“So, the reason why Jin State sent Princess Zhenguo out this time is… to destroy my Liang State?” Zhao Sheng deliberately made a teasing expression, but he was very unconfident. The louder he raised his voice, the more he was trying to cover up his guilty conscience.
The Qingxi Mountain Pass, the most important pass of Daliang, was lost. If Liang State does not have strong soldiers to resist, and if the people of Jin State are united, within a few years… Daliang will be destroyed.
Bai Qingyan had a faint smile on her lips. This smile did not contain any murderous intent, but was calm and composed, which made people unconsciously let down their guard. She said, “General Zhao, have you ever thought about why we, the generals… kill and fight?”
Without waiting for Zhao Sheng to answer, Bai Qingyan said, “It’s for… protecting the country and the people, and for gaining benefits for the country, right?”
Zhao Sheng pursed his lips tightly.
“How many soldiers will die just to seize a city or a piece of fertile land? Which soldier is not someone else’s son, and which soldier is not someone else’s father? Good men who have grown up after more than ten years are recruited into the army. Some of them are willing to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the country, while others are willing to fight to the death on the battlefield to protect their own people! Watching his soldiers die one by one… doesn’t General Zhao feel sad?” Bai Qingyan picked up the teacup beside him, with a sigh in his voice, “Take Yushan Pass for example. Jin and Liang fought for a hundred years at Yushan Pass. General Zhao must know how many bones of Liang soldiers are buried there. I also know how many lives of Jin soldiers are buried there.”
Did he feel sorry for the dead soldiers? Undoubtedly… Zhao Sheng did!
He still remembered that when he was young, the first time he fought on the battlefield with his grandfather was against the Bai family army. His uncle, who had watched him grow up, was shot through the throat by Bai Qishan’s feather arrow in order to save him, and was killed!
When he was young…the young men who played Cuju with him and were not much older than him during the journey to war, later fell one by one in a pool of blood and never returned home. Zhao Sheng was also heartbroken!
But while he felt heartbroken, he also felt that this was the mission of the soldiers, and the best destination for the soldiers… was the battlefield!
But what the Princess Zhenguo said today made him feel extremely conflicted!
Hundreds of years ago, when the world was unified, they were all one people, with the same wheel gauge, the same writing system, the same customs, and even the same solar terms. So what were they fighting about? What were they fighting for?
Is it to defend the country, or to… fight for land and profit for the king and the royal family?
“If the world is united as one again, with no more states governing themselves, no more generals fighting hundreds of battles just to gain profits for their motherland, then there will be no more wars, the whole country will be safe, the world will be peaceful, there will be no more separation of flesh and blood, no more old people without support, no more broken homes, no more nine out of ten empty houses!” Bai Qingyan stared at Zhao Sheng, whose pupils were trembling, and continued, “The people are busy with farming, the merchants are focused on trading, the scholars are at ease studying, the world is one country, all the people are citizens of one country, the seas are calm and the rivers are clear, the world is peaceful… doesn’t General Zhao want to see such a day?”
Third update! Continue to ask for monthly votes…
Ding——Subdue the enemy general Zhao Sheng and gain the Zhao Family Army.