Qin Vice General's pupils constricted sharply as a thought raged through his mind like a storm.
He was fighting to protect his country and its people!
He was fighting to protect the civilians from being slaughtered by the Xiongnu!
He was fighting to protect his own family!
Gu Sang's words reminded Qin Vice General of his first time on the battlefield. Back then, all he thought about was achieving glory quickly so he could return home to his wife.
But as his military accomplishments grew and his rank rose higher and higher, his initial intentions had changed without him realizing it.
Now, his mind was filled with the notion that he couldn't betray his country!
As Zhou Qichen had said, was he now loyal to the country, or just to Pei Changying alone?
Qin Vice General finally opened his heart to Gu Sang, saying, "The late emperor showed me great favor. I once swore that whoever the late emperor deemed worthy of the throne would be the one I serve loyally!"
"I'm not loyal to any specific person, I'm loyal to the emperor entrusted to me by the late emperor!"
"And he is the one who rightfully sits on that throne!"
Hearing this, Gu Sang finally understood the crux of the matter.
She smiled and asked, "What if I told you that Pei Changying ascended to that position through underhanded means, and that he wasn't actually the one the late emperor's edict named as successor?"
"Would you still defend Pei Changying to the death?"
"You're talking nonsense!!!" Qin Vice General shouted in agitation.
This outburst startled the guards outside, who came rushing in.
"System, temporarily suspend the connection."
After the livestream room had been upgraded, it became possible to suspend the connection, though this was the first time Gu Sang had done so.
When the connection was suspended, the screen became transparent, invisible to anyone else.
But Gu Sang could still see what was happening on the other side.
The guards came in, looked around, and finding no one, left.
Gu Sang waited for five minutes before having the system reconnect.
The screen slowly materialized from its transparent state.
Qin Vice General stared at Gu Sang without blinking, clearly still processing the bombshell she had dropped.
Gu Sang pursed her lips slightly and said sincerely, "Actually, I didn't want to tell you this because I was involved. When the late emperor fell ill..."
Gu Sang quite admired the late emperor. He had seen through Pei Changying's cruel nature and knew he wasn't fit to rule the empire.
So no matter how virtuous Pei Changying pretended to be in front of the late emperor,
The late emperor refused to name him as his successor.
During the late emperor's final illness, Gu Sang discovered Pei Changying plotting something with his cronies. By the time she realized Pei Changying had secretly altered the late emperor's edict, the emperor was already at death's door.
Pei Changying had knelt before Gu Sang, swearing repeatedly that he would govern the country with all his heart.
Of course, Gu Sang agreed!
She had sacrificed so much, endured so much suffering and humiliation, all to return to modern times, to see her grandmother one last time!
"Before, my mission was to help Pei Changying ascend to the throne. General Qin, I had no choice, that was my task. But it's different now."
"Now, I want to make this ancient world better and better. I want the people in your time to have enough food and clothing. I want women to be free from the oppression of the era. I want to create a peaceful and free golden age."
"So, I implore you once again to lend your support to the Princess!"
As she finished speaking, Gu Sang gazed at Qin Vice General with sincere eyes.
Learning the truth, Qin Vice General felt a chill down his spine. He shed two hot tears of anguish, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he fell to his knees.
This genuflection.
Whether it was to the empire, to his conscience, or to the late emperor, was unclear.
"I was wrong... We truly chose wrong!"
"The Princess is benevolent. The late emperor once said if she were a man, the empire would surely be at peace. Looking back now, what does it matter if she's a woman!"
"What rules! What wise ruler! What makes a wise ruler? If Pei Changying could murder the late emperor for his own power, why can't a woman ascend to the throne!"
"Anyone with the people in their heart, regardless of gender, can be an official, can be the emperor!"
"Miss Gu, I'm willing to help the Princess claim the throne. I'm willing to gamble on a better tomorrow for the people of this land! I rebel!"
He rebelled!
Qin Vice General uttered these words with tears streaming down his face.
At that moment,
Gu Sang's face broke into a genuine smile.
She knew that from this moment on, Qin Vice General would swear unwavering loyalty to the Princess!
That night,
Gu Sang and Qin Vice General devised a plan to work from both inside and outside to defeat the imperial troops.
The next day, as the sky in the distance barely showed the first light of dawn,
Guan Pei led his army to secretly surround Plague City, hoping to catch them off guard.
But before they could reach the city walls, they were spotted by the city's defenders.
Seeing Zhou Qichen come out to meet them in battle again, Guan Pei immediately ordered his troops to fall back. After maintaining a safe distance from Plague City, they set up camp!
Zhou Qichen, seeing that Guan Pei neither attacked the city nor prepared to flee, but instead made camp on the spot!
This sight caused him to furrow his brow slightly.
A moment later, Zhou Qichen understood Guan Pei's intentions.
"Heh, so General Guan intends to lay siege?"
A deputy general beside him laughed, "General Zhou, they plan to use the imperial army's provisions to starve our Plague City to death!"
"Clever strategy, haha!"
"The imperial court is really something. I bet they don't know our sweet potatoes are already ripe!"
Zhou Qichen almost laughed out loud. Now that the sweet potatoes and potatoes were mature, even without trade with the outside world, Plague City had enough food to last for months.
Guan Pei's method wasn't bad; if it were any other city, they'd run out of food in less than a month!
But Plague City was Guan Pei's nemesis, constantly thwarting his plans.
Upon learning that Guan Pei had made no move to attack, Zhou Qichen reported this to the Princess.
When the Princess heard the news, a smile of strategic mastery appeared on her face: "Then let's see who outlasts whom."
"We'll see whether they starve first, or if my Plague City does."
At noon,
Guan Pei ordered his troops to light fires and cook meals, letting the aroma of food waft into Plague City.
During this time, Guan Pei had been studying the situation in Plague City. He was convinced that with so many soldiers to feed, the Princess must be at the end of her rope!
Forget about paying wages, even providing food was a problem!
"Creak—"
Suddenly, a small door in the city gate opened.
After a while, Zhou Qichen led over a thousand soldiers out of the city. They carried pots and brought out more than a dozen freshly hunted wild game carcasses.
Behind the Plague City lay deep mountains, where the soldiers hunted for wild game.
The imperial army troops caught sight of the game, their eyes fixed and filled with envy.
Life on military campaigns was already harsh enough, with hardly any meat to be found. Only occasionally, when the craving struck, would they venture into the mountains to hunt for wild game.
At the foot of the city walls, the soldiers of Plague City busily cleaned the wild game, preparing it for roasting. They rubbed it with salt and honey.
Before long, the sweet aroma of roasting meat wafted from Plague City towards the imperial army.
But that wasn't all. The imperial troops then witnessed the Plague City soldiers carrying sacks of something red, which they unceremoniously dumped onto the ground!
