Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1581 - 1576: Revelation
The father of the Crown Prince of Xiping, King of Xiping, along with his two younger brothers and his wife, perished in this war.
The sorrowful cries within the Xiping Palace rose and fell in waves, causing the Princess of Xiping to faint from grief several times. The Crown Prince of Xiping remained by the Princess’s side, exhausted.
Two white lanterns inscribed with the character for mourning hung above the grand gates of the Xiping Palace. White silk and plain mourning cloth adorned the blue-tiled roof ridges, dangling from the eaves carved with auspicious beasts, swirling chaotically in the wind.
After finally settling three children, the Crown Prince of Xiping knelt before the wide-open spirit hall. The wind grew fiercer, and the light flickered violently as the window lattice slammed shut with a loud sound, scaring the attendant keeping vigil to prostrate without making a sound. The Crown Prince of Xiping slowly clenched his fists, looking at his father’s memorial tablet, feeling as if the wind carried threats from all directions.
In a daze, the Crown Prince of Xiping seemed to hear war drums resounding from the east gate direction.
Exhausted, the Crown Prince of Xiping stood up abruptly, his scalp taut.
Since returning yesterday, he had been worried that the Emperor of Zhou would retaliate once he returned. After all, considering how decisively and cleanly the Emperor of Zhou had fought the southern border battle before.
Having been on edge all day, no sign came from the Emperor of Zhou. He was just about to let down his guard to properly arrange the funerals for his father, two younger brothers, and his wife, when the Emperor of Zhou suddenly launched a midnight attack with his forces.
"Report!" A soldier guarding the east gate leaped off his horse and rushed into the Xiping Palace, kneeling outside the spirit hall and loudly reporting, "Your Highness, the Emperor of Zhou is leading troops to attack the city!"
The Crown Prince of Xiping removed his mourning clothes and loudly commanded, "Bring me my battle armor! Order the soldiers...to defend the city gates to the death, and send someone to request reinforcements from the King of Jiujiang!"
Just as the soldier was about to relay the orders, the Crown Prince of Xiping suddenly grabbed him and quietly whispered in his ear, "Tell the King of Jiujiang, if he doesn’t come... I will not keep the secret of the private mine and give it to the Emperor of Zhou to ensure my survival."
In the third year of Yuanhe, on the first day of February, King of Xiping of Yan Kingdom, ambushed by the Yuntai Mountains with fifty thousand troops intending to assassinate the Emperor of Zhou, died in battle. King Gaoyi and the Regent Prince of Yan came to the rescue, forcing Xiping’s army to retreat by holding King of Xiping’s family hostage.
On the second day of February in the third year of Yuanhe, King of Zhongguo led his troops to Shequ, while the Emperor of Zhou led the attack, battling fiercely for two days, decisively breaking Xiping City and capturing the Crown Prince of Xiping alive. From then on...war ignited between Yan and Zhou, and the agreement of gambling the nation quietly ended.
The heavy and worn city gates were smashed down, with the soldiers of Zhou marching over the gates to enter... Some of the city wall defenders surrendered their weapons in despair, while others cried out in hopelessness, but there were also those with unyielding spirits who ultimately fell under the blades of Zhou’s soldiers.
The common people kept their doors closed, hiding inside with their children, afraid that the Zhou army might slaughter them as well once they entered the city.
The front gate of the Xiping Palace was charred black. The white silk in the yard was stained red with splattered fresh blood, strewn in disarray everywhere, except for the spirit hall, which remained intact, undestroyed by anyone.
Reflecting in the puddles of blood and firefighting water was the broad daylight sky.
Washed in the golden morning sun, Xiping City seemed about to be reborn from the ashes.
Bai Qingyan sat in the main hall, while the Princess of Xiping knelt on the ground, holding her grandchildren, repeatedly begging Bai Qingyan to spare their family. The Crown Prince of Xiping, resigned to his fate, said nothing, kneeling on the ground, covered in blood.
She held a cup of strong tea, looked at the Crown Prince of Xiping, and spoke slowly, "The fate of the people of Xiping Palace depends on whether the Crown Prince of Xiping can honestly answer my questions."
The Crown Prince of Xiping looked up at Bai Qingyan, an uncertain expression in his eyes.
"I wonder what benefits Xiping Palace promised the Monarch of Tianfeng Kingdom, Sal Khan, to make him offer the unique Tianfeng black powder to Xiping Palace for crafting weapons..."
The Crown Prince of Xiping’s pupils quivered, his face unable to conceal his shock, not understanding how Bai Qingyan knew.
"Perhaps...as a precaution against the event of gambling the nation losing to our Zhou! If gambling the nation lost, you vassal kings would refuse to acknowledge the debt and fight us Zhou again! Since Zhou has already weakened the vassals, if Yan Kingdom merged into Zhou... whether Xiping Palace or the King of Jiujiang, you can’t avoid weakening! And...if Yan Kingdom lost the gambling nation, you would rebel against Yan Kingdom...not only avoiding weakening, but restoring the old governance, although with smaller territory." Bai Qingyan pressed the tea leaves with the lid of her delicate porcelain cup, raising her eyes to look at the Crown Prince of Xiping, "Isn’t it so?"
What Tianfeng Kingdom most wants to see is Yan Kingdom and Zhou getting drawn into war, with Tianfeng Kingdom surviving by exploiting the gaps between the two nations in conflict.
But Sal Khan knows Yan’s troops are no match for Zhou, so... he provided something like black powder to Yan, giving them a chance to compete with Zhou in weaponry.
Bai Qingyan mentioned the King of Jiujiang just to probe...
The Crown Prince of Xiping was initially surprised at how the Emperor of Zhou discovered their collaboration with Tianfeng Kingdom, then he recalled the batch of arrows!
But how did the Emperor of Zhou find out?
Could it be that Zhou also had black powder, coincidentally... sending someone to inspect the arrows used by the Xiping troops?
Having already converged with Bai Qingyan and also armored, Shen Tianzhi glanced at Bai Qingyan, speaking softly, "Since King of Xiping was preparing for the future, it naturally couldn’t be known by the Emperor of Yan and the Imperial Court. So it seems...Xiping Palace has some mines and weapon workshops undocumented and unknown to the Emperor and the Yan Imperial Court!"
Shen Tianzhi knew... back when Bai Qingyan was still Princess of Zhen, she concealed the existence of mines within Niujiao Mountain from the Imperial Court.
Shen Tianzhi and Bai Qingyan were too familiar with this tactic. Back then, Xiao Rongyan bought mines near Niujiao Mountain and even collaborated with Bai Qingyan. The Shuoyang Army’s weapons mostly originated from there.
Bai Qingyan covered her teacup, looking up at the Crown Prince of Xiping, "Whether the people of Xiping Palace can survive depends on if the Crown Prince of Xiping is willing to reveal... the whereabouts of the mine and weapon workshops?"
Although the Princess of Xiping was just a household woman, she was the pillow partner of King of Xiping, knowing a little about the affairs of Xiping Palace. Yet, she couldn’t comprehend such crucial matters, even she, the Princess of Xiping, was left in the dark. Not many of King of Xiping’s counselors knew the truth. How did the Emperor of Zhou know?
The Princess of Xiping looked at her son, seeing beads of sweat form on his forehead, softly called out to him, "Your two brothers and wife have already died! Do you want your mother also to die with her grandchildren?! Speak quickly!"
