Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1599 - 1: The Grand Finale (Part 1)

Was it a spy from his side, or did the King of Jian deceive him?

The bright moonlight illuminated the ground...

"Whoosh—"

A feathered arrow appeared out of nowhere, piercing through a gap in the heavy shield, narrowly grazing the King’s nose, startling him into falling backward, nearly toppling the soldier holding the shield for him.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

Inside the "tortoise shell" of heavy shields, the deputy and guards rushed to support the King of Huangshan.

The King of Huangshan had no time to think, and without even getting up, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "We surrender! We surrender! I want to see the Emperor of Zhou!"

If they don’t surrender, his Huangshan army will perish here.

Surrendering... at least they can keep a life, and they will have to surrender sooner or later. It’s better to do it earlier so that fewer soldiers die, resulting in fewer widows and orphans.

Shen Liangyu didn’t expect the King of Huangshan to surrender so quickly. The archers had just been deployed, and the Bai family army had yet to fully unleash their potential, let alone reveal the true prowess of the Huying Army.

The rain of arrows stopped, and the Huangshan army laid down their weapons and surrendered.

The King of Huangshan, also emerging from the shield "tortoise shell" that had been shot full of holes, was helped to his feet, and the Huangshan army gathered in his direction...

After the unceasing arrow rain ceased, the mountain path was filled with the corpses of the Huangshan army.

On the high slope, a figure in silver armor emerged on horseback from the towering trees, holding a bow and arrow, looking down toward him. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The moonlight cast a silver frost upon her, and despite the distance, the King of Huangshan could feel the breathtaking beauty of the woman’s features, standing apart from the world in that sacred and bright light, yet appearing so high and aloof, exuding an air of nobility.

On March 26, the third year of Yuanhe, the King of Huangshan of Yan Kingdom led his troops out of the city intending to battle with Zhou, only to be ambushed on the Yuming Mountain path and suffer a crushing defeat.

On the 27th of the same month, the Dongyi Kingdom’s navy defeated Yan’s navy, landed on Yan territory, rapidly capturing two cities, and swiftly advanced toward the capital of Yan, news that quickly spread back to the capital, and everyone knew that Yan’s fate was sealed.

News of the King of Jian’s death and the King of Huangshan’s capture soon spread throughout Yan Kingdom.

The first to receive the news, the King of Yongjia, after much deliberation, understood the determination of the Emperor of Zhou to unify the world and, realizing he had no ability to resist Zhou, handed over military authority, taking his entire family with the Yan envoy to the capital, merely hoping to preserve their lives and wealth.

Within the vassal kings, the most powerful King of Xiping and King of Jian were already dead. Even if they resisted, the Emperor of Zhou would surely send troops to annihilate them. The entire Yan nation could not withstand Zhou; how long could they last? Ultimately, they might still end up with broken homes and fallen lives.

After receiving news of the King of Jian’s death and the King of Huangshan’s defeat in one night, the King of Yiling and the King of Tongqiu deliberated and decided to enter the capital of Yan together, abandoning any hopes of contending with Zhou.

On April 9, the third year of Yuanhe, the Emperor of Zhou led the main Zhou forces to the capital of Yan, with Emperor Murong Li of Yan and Yan’s Regent Prince Murong Yan, leading officials, bringing jade tablets and sheep, out of the city to welcome them, formally surrendering to Zhou and declaring the fall of Yan Kingdom. Zhou, in a few short years, achieved the great feat of unifying the world.

Meanwhile, the envoy from Dongyi Kingdom, having captured four cities of Yan, met with the Emperor of Zhou in Yan’s capital, expressing Dongyi’s complete submission to Zhou, and since Yan had already surrendered, Dongyi withdrew its troops unconditionally.

In the Imperial Palace of Yan, Bai Qingyan finally saw her third sister Bai Jintong.

Inside the grand hall, where the copper lamps’ flames flickered, Xiao Rongyan and Murong Li saw Bai Jintong, dressed in men’s clothing with a heroic demeanor, enter their sight, genuinely unable to discern that Bai Jintong was a woman.

"Eldest Young Lady!" Bai Jintong entered, first paying respects to her eldest sister, then turning to look at Xiao Rongyan, calling out, "Brother-in-law..."

Murong Li understood it was a family meeting today, so he politely stood up to greet Bai Jintong, unsure of how to address her, saying, "Third Young Lady!"

Bai Qingyan beckoned to Bai Jintong, "Ah Jue still has some matters to deal with; you will see each other later."

Bai Jintong’s eyes reddened, and she quickly ran to Bai Qingyan’s side, solemnly saluting her, "Congratulations to Eldest Sister, on unifying the world..."

"Congratulations to all of us, on finally achieving our hearts’ desires!" Bai Qingyan smiled at Xiao Rongyan and Murong Li, "It’s because we worked together that this world is united. Jintong... you’ve been wronged!"

Bai Jintong shook her head, "Eldest Sister knows me well, now that I’m dressed as a man, doing business... I’m very willing to gather intelligence for Zhou!"

"If not for your timely delivery of the Yan clan and vassal kings’ coalition plans back to the Capital, into your eldest sister’s hands, I’m afraid Yan would have seen more conflict!" Xiao Rongyan said, "Your contributions are enormous."

"If not for the Third Young Lady’s timely message, who knows if I would have survived, and if Ninth Uncle hadn’t rushed back in time, my...my mother would have been used by the clan and vassal kings, and the Yan soldiers would have turned into...tools for the vassals and clan princes, making the people suffer even more." Murong Li added, "Ninth Uncle is right, Third Young Lady’s contributions are enormous."

Bai Qingyan smiled, patting Bai Jintong’s head, "When you return, you should be conferred a title! Third Aunt will surely be delighted!"

When Bai Qingyan sent Bai Jintong out to do business, she once said... Bai Jintong’s fortune is the Bai family’s fortune!

This time, the key to Zhou’s victory over Yan was Bai Jintong sending the news back to Dadu City, allowing Zhou to amass forces early, catching those vassal kings off guard.

On April 10, the third year of Yuanhe, the Emperor of Zhou conferred the title Yanshan King on Emperor Murong Li, and Yanshan Prince on Yan’s Regent Prince Murong Yan, and set out with them for Dadu.

An army led by the King of Zhen and another led by the King of Zhennan also set out to return to Dadu City, scheduled to meet with the Emperor of Zhou at Jade Belt.

An army led by the King of Zhen Kingdom and the King of Auxiliary Forces met with the Emperor of Zhou at the Yan border, escorting the Emperor back to Dadu City.

Shen Qingzhu and Xiao Ruohai, stepping onto Yan Kingdom territory with the Dongyi army, received the news and withdrew their troops back to Dongyi.

Returning with Bai Qingyan from Yan Kingdom were the Minister of Zhou who had previously overseen the Yan domain, Shen Tianzhi, and Xue Renyi.

The heavily guarded journey escorting the Emperor of Zhou back to Dadu City saw citizens lining the roads, kneeling and shouting "Long live," hoping to catch a glimpse of the emperor who had once again unified the land engulfed by war for so long.

And there the Emperor sat inside a chariot carved with grand reliefs of sun and moon, and the revival of all things. They did not see their majesty’s gallant equestrian presence, nor did they see the rumored figures of the King of Zhen Country, the Auxiliary King, and the Loyal King. Leading at the forefront on horseback was the High Righteous King, the emperor’s fourth sister, exuding heroic charm despite her youth, displaying a woman’s mighty force.

Bai Qingyan reviewed memorials along the way, discussing with Xiao Rongyan, Bai Qingyu, Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jintong, Bai Qingjue, Murong Li, and Shen Tianzhi, the matters post-unification.