binnovel Chapter 222 1 Thoughts of the Pass 25
Chapter 222 1 Thoughts of the Pass 25
The two looked at Yang Ying in disbelief, their hearts filled with shock.
They said that Emperor Wu, that cowardly bastard, could not possibly be so kind as to write a self-reproach edict. It turned out that the edict was not written by him at all.
Yang Ying stopped under the tree, looked up at the bright moon through the sparse branches and leaves, and spoke in a cold and ethereal tone, as if falling from the sky: "Heroes should not shed blood and tears, or even bear the stain of their name. Now their stain has been washed away, and the next step is to pay for their blood debts in blood."
"I, the King, will avenge them—no, not only them, but also all those who died at Tianmen Pass. The suffering we endured will be repaid to Anguo a hundredfold, a thousandfold."
Yang Ying turned around, her gaze firm and resolute: "You may think that my methods are somewhat cruel, but I don't care. Only by using swift and decisive measures can I deter all sides and ensure the peace and tranquility of the people of Wu Kingdom."
As the saying goes: "A single punch can prevent a hundred more."
"For the future of Wu Kingdom, and for the sake of our descendants to truly live in peace and prosperity, free from the ravages of war, I, the King, will use the most cruel and ruthless means to deal with An Kingdom, as well as other neighboring countries that are eyeing us with covetous intent."
"I, the King, want to make Wu Kingdom truly strong, so that it will never again suffer the humiliation of other countries."
"If Heaven blames me for this, then blame me alone."
As she spoke, she slightly opened her arms, as if to embrace the entire universe:
"If I am guilty, the blame cannot be placed on the people; if the people are guilty, the blame lies with me!"
boom--
Yang Ying's voice echoed in the air like thunder, every word filled with power and determination.
Hearing this was like a sudden clap of thunder in the spring, leaving Qian Zhao and Sun Lang stunned. Only their slightly trembling bodies revealed the unease in their hearts.
To be able to utter these sixteen words, what kind of spirit does Your Highness possess?
This quote comes from the Book of Documents, specifically the "Great Plan of Yu," and means: If I am guilty, I will not implicate the rest of the world; if the rest of the world is guilty, I will bear the responsibility alone.
They couldn't imagine how strong Yang Ying's heart must be, how heavy her sense of responsibility and commitment must be, to say such a thing.
"Your Highness—"
At this moment, Qian Zhao and Sun Lang felt their blood boiling and were unable to describe their excitement in words.
At the same time, they did not miss the self-reference Yang Ying used in her words—"朕" (Zhen, meaning "I, the Emperor").
"朕" is a self-reference reserved for emperors. Now that Your Highness is suddenly using "朕" to refer to yourself, the implications are self-evident.
Just as the two were caught up in their passion and were about to say something, Ning Yuanzhou suddenly ran over, his face very grim, and said directly to Yang Ying, "I have heard that Your Highness intends to massacre all 6,200 prisoners of Anguo?"
Upon seeing this person again, Yang Ying closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a long while, she opened her eyes and said, "Yes!"
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Ning Yuanzhou's expression darkened further, his eyes filled with disappointment and resentment towards Yang Ying. His voice unconsciously rose: "Your Highness, those are over six thousand living lives! How could you have slaughtered them all?"
He simply couldn't understand why Princess Ying, who used to be so timid that she wouldn't even dare to kill an ant, had become like this.
First, they insisted on starting a war with Anguo, then, relying on the power of their weapons, they wantonly slaughtered Anguo soldiers on the battlefield. Now, they have gone even further and are trying to bury all the wounded Anguo prisoners alive.
In Ning Yuanzhou's view, Yang Ying at this moment was even more cruel than Emperor An was back then.
He couldn't imagine what crazy things Yang Ying would do in the future if things continued this way.
Faced with Ning Yuanzhou's accusations, Yang Ying remained unfazed and coldly asked, "On what grounds are you questioning me?"
"Answer my question first!" Ning Yuanzhou's voice suddenly rose, his tone aggressive, as if he wanted to suppress all doubts.
A hint of impatience flashed in Yang Ying's eyes; her patience with Ning Yuanzhou had reached its limit.
“Ning Yuanzhou, don’t you think you’re ridiculous right now? You keep saying that Chai Ming and the others are your good brothers, but they are now buried far from home, and you don’t think about avenging them, or collecting their remains. You haven’t even thought about burning incense for them. You’re just trying to fake your death and escape.”
"Of course, it is your freedom to choose to retire to the countryside, and I will not stop you."
“But now I want to avenge the dead and bring back the soldiers captured by Anguo. You have no right to jump out and stop me.”
Ning Yuanzhou's face flushed red, but he still had those 6,200 lives on his mind: "There are many ways to solve things. It doesn't necessarily have to start a war, much less slaughter innocent lives."
"Innocent?" Yang Ying tilted her head slightly, thinking she had misheard. She looked at Ning Yuanzhou's expression and realized that he was serious. She was very puzzled: "You actually think these people who once trampled on the territory of Wu Kingdom and slaughtered our people are innocent?"
Yang Ying straightened her sleeves. She really didn't want to argue with Ning Yuanzhou anymore: "If you think I'm cruel, then think about Chai Ming who died tragically in Guide Plain, and those Wu Kingdom soldiers who were captured. If you still insist on your own opinion, then you don't need to stay here anymore. No, you don't need to stay on the land of Wu Kingdom anymore!"
After saying that, Yang Ying turned and left.
This is the last time!
If Ning Yuanzhou dares to point fingers at her, even the original owner of this body can't protect him.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Ning Yuanzhou still tried to persuade her, but was stopped by Qian Zhao and Sun Lang.
The situation was exactly the same as that night when Ning Yuanzhou stopped them from pursuing Ren Ruyi.
"You're going to stop me? Do you know what A-Ying is going to do? Or do you think she did nothing wrong?" Ning Yuanzhou looked at Qian Zhao and Sun Lang in disbelief.
Sun Lang shifted his gaze to the open ground in front of him and said, "If Your Highness had killed innocent civilians today, then what you did would naturally be wrong. But which of the people Your Highness is killing now doesn't have the blood of the Six Paths Brothers on their hands?"
“Sun Lang, don’t let hatred blind you. You must…”
"Enough! Ning Yuanzhou!"
Sun Lang shouted, interrupting Ning Yuanzhou's next words.
Ning Yuanzhou stood there, stunned, staring blankly at Sun Lang. Even Qian Zhao was somewhat surprised.
Sun Lang had always been the person who respected Ning Yuanzhou the most in the Six Paths Hall, and had followed him without complaint. However, since the incident with Ren Ruyi, his feelings for Ning Yuanzhou had changed. But because of the foundation he had laid before, he was still very close to Ning Yuanzhou. This was the first time he had called him by his name so sternly.
Sun Lang's eyes were now icy cold, his gaze towards Ning Yuanzhou devoid of any warmth: "Ning Yuanzhou, as the head of the Six Paths Hall of Wu Kingdom, you have fallen in love with Ren Xin, the Left Envoy of the Zhu Yi Guard. His Highness has been lenient towards you out of consideration for our past relationship. He has even turned a blind eye to your private meetings with Ren Ruyi. His Highness has already been more than kind to you. If you have any conscience left, don't come here to cause His Highness any more trouble."
Ning Yuanzhou's heart skipped a beat, as if something had escaped his control: "What do you mean by that?"
Sun Lang turned his head away from him and said, "Do you really want me to spell it out so clearly?"
Ning Yuanzhou grabbed Sun Lang by the collar: "Then say it!"
Sun Lang slapped his hand away and smiled sarcastically: "After Ren Ruyi was injured and left, didn't you often sneak away from the delegation to see her? You even helped her make proper arrangements for her adoptive mother, and even saved her apprentice Li Jiu'er—no, he should be called Li Tongguang now!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Yuanzhou felt utterly exhausted, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant. He said weakly, "Are you really that bothered by Ruyi's past? She has already betrayed Anguo and has never harmed anyone in the delegation. She even devoted herself to teaching Aying. Isn't that enough to make you let go of your prejudices?"
"As for my rescue of Li Tongguang, it was because peace talks between the two countries were imminent, and Li Tongguang was one of the few people in Angolan who supported the peace talks. In order not to affect the peace talks, I rescued him. We have no personal relationship."
Sun Lang remained unmoved, only coldly remarking, "You always have such a point!"
After saying that, Sun Lang turned and strode away.
Qian Zhao walked to Ning Yuanzhou's side and looked at him quietly. After a long while, she said with a puzzled look, "What's so good about Ren Ruyi? Why do you have to like her?"
Hearing the sound, Ning Yuanzhou didn't turn around. He moved his mouth as if to say something, but when the words came out, he felt that they didn't make any sense.
The public's bad impression of Zhu Yiwei was deeply ingrained, and no matter what he said, he could not change other people's opinions of Ruyi.
So in the end, Ning Yuanzhou simply shook his head and said softly, "If you like something, you like it. There's no reason why."
Qian Zhao's last hope that Ning Yuanzhou could turn back from the wrong path was extinguished. He said expressionlessly, "Lord Ning, His Highness Prince Li is the ruler, and you are the subject! From now on, you must always keep to your place and not overstep your bounds."
After saying that, Qian Zhao left without any hesitation.
Ning Yuanzhou looked at his resolute back and thought about Sun Lang's attitude just now. He felt a pang of pain in his heart. They were brothers who could entrust their lives to each other. Why did it turn out like this?
Just as Ning Yuanzhou was grieving, the song of a nightingale rang out in the night sky, which was the signal that Ren Ruyi and he had agreed upon.
Ning Yuanzhou hesitated for a moment, turned to look at the camp, and finally chose to rush towards the source of the sound.
After running for about three or four miles, a babbling brook appeared, and a woman in red stood proudly by the brook, adorning the scene.
"As one wishes!"
……
Yang Yingmeng, who was already resting in bed, opened her eyes, her eyes blazing with a fury capable of destroying the world: "Why are there so many people in these worlds who don't distinguish between friend and foe, indulging in love and romance? Can you die without talking about love and romance?"
"Someone come here!"
Yang Ying shouted loudly, and immediately the gatekeepers and eunuchs entered.
"Go and call everyone to the brothel, and tell them to be careful not to alert the people below!"
The eunuch accepted the order and left.
The civil and military officials who had already gone to sleep in the camp were suddenly awakened by the people around them. They were all a little displeased, but when they heard that it was His Highness Prince Li who had urgently summoned them, they did not care about anything else and hurriedly dressed and went to the place that Yang Ying had instructed them to go.
The importance of cannons and other firearms to this battle is self-evident. Qian Zhao, who was in charge of management, practically treated himself as a gatekeeper, guarding the gun room every day without leaving it for a moment. He even moved his bedding to this area and placed a small bed at the entrance of the gun room to watch over these treasures at all times.
Upon seeing someone arrive at the brothel late at night, Qian Zhao instantly raised his alertness to the highest level and gripped the Kunwu knife tightly with both hands.
As the people drew closer, he realized that it was His Highness Prince Li who had arrived with a group of officials from the camp.
At this moment, Yang Ying was expressionless, exuding a cold aura. Her whole being was as cold as frost and snow, and with her aura fully unleashed, her imposing presence was so intimidating that no one dared to look directly at her.
The moment Yang Ying appeared, everything within sight was enveloped by a unique aura, like a strong autumn wind sweeping away withered leaves. The overwhelming pressure made one's heart pound and unconsciously arouse fear.
Most of the officials behind her were military generals who had been stationed in the garrison, but each of them exuded a murderous aura that was enough to make people's hearts tremble. However, the combined aura of more than twenty generals, large and small, was still not enough to suppress Yang Ying.
Seeing that it wasn't an enemy attack, Qian Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Yang Ying, and then asked, "Your Highness, why did you come here so suddenly? Is something wrong?"
Yang Ying smiled gently, like a gentle breeze and a bright moon, seemingly both near and far, leaving people puzzled and unable to discern her true emotions: "Nothing much, I just wanted to put on a good show for everyone."
"Watch...a show?" Qian Zhao was taken aback. The gun room was filled with firearms and explosives. What kind of show could they be watching?
Yang Ying gave Qian Zhao a few instructions, her upturned lips sending a chill down one's spine: "Go and prepare as I have instructed."
Qian Zhao was alarmed and immediately led his men to do as she instructed.
……
"No! Absolutely not!" Ning Yuanzhou resolutely rejected Ren Ruyi's suggestion, shaking his head vigorously.
Ren Ruyi came to Ning Yuanzhou tonight not to express her love for him, but to ask for his help.
Her purpose in helping was to find out the location of the gun emplacement in the camp, as she was going to blow it up.
Although Ren Ruyi was wrongly accused by Emperor An of murdering Empress Zhaojie, she never thought of killing Emperor An.
Although she betrayed the Zhu Yiwei, she did not betray her country.
Now Yang Ying has brought out cannons, which are almost overwhelming on the battlefield between the two countries. If this continues, it is not impossible for Anguo to be destroyed.
She would never allow such a thing to happen.
So after several days of careful consideration, Ren Ruyi decided to destroy the cannons directly. In this way, the strength of the two countries would be back to a similar state, and the fight would be fair.
However, she didn't know the exact location of the brothel, so instead of searching aimlessly all over the camp like a headless fly, she decided to come directly to Ning Yuanzhou and ask him.