Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 506 If men don't defend their homes and country, we women will!
The next day, the heavy rain turned into a light rain, and the imperial edict for the marriage alliance had spread throughout the entire capital city of Shengjing.

Everyone was waiting to see the wedding procession, and the entire city of Shengjing was deserted as people flocked to the Temple of Heaven to join in the excitement.

Above the Temple of Heaven, the leaden-gray sky pressed down on the continuous camel bells, while the vermilion and gilded carriages for the marriage alliance were parked outside Baqiao Post Station.

Twelve white camels knelt in two rows, with half a lapis lazuli pendant hanging from the gold-embroidered brocade pouches tied to their humps, rustling softly against the camel hair when the wind blew.

On the city tower, the crown prince, accompanied by civil and military officials, stood on both sides, watching the scene below.

The auspicious time is almost here.

However, the envoy from Liang was late in arriving, and the Crown Prince, sitting in his high position, showed no emotion.

Lu Huai and Lin Shi'an looked at the Crown Prince's profile, their faces expressionless. Thinking of what Lin Zhiqing had said last night, they couldn't help but narrow their eyes.

Eunuch Wang had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Liang envoy's carriage, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, waving to those below.

Soon, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air, and the atmosphere became lively.

The Liang envoy, however, lingered in his carriage.

A cold wind blew by, and Eunuch Wang frowned, giving a wink to the little eunuch beside him.

The young eunuch understood and quickly moved to the carriage frame next to the main beam. He knelt down and said, "Your Excellency, the auspicious time has arrived."

Even after he finished speaking, the person in the carriage still did not react.

The young eunuch grew anxious and spoke again, but still received no response.

Those around noticed something was wrong and began to discuss it amongst themselves.

But the civil and military officials on the city wall were quieter than expected.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had no expression on his face, Eunuch Wang raised his hand towards the little eunuch.

The young eunuch had no choice but to get up and open the carriage door.

But when he saw the scene inside the carriage, he trembled and uncontrollably rolled off the carriage.

With his movement, with a "bang," the carriage split open from the center outwards at an extremely fast speed.

There was only one person inside the carriage: an envoy from the Great Liang!
But he could not speak because his whole body was bound.

His eyes were filled with terror, and his gaze as he looked around was one of anger and bewilderment.

The crowd below erupted in uproar.

"What's going on? How could someone have tied up the envoy?"

"Good job tying them up! I've had my eye on these Liang people for ages!"

"Did you see how obsequious that eunuch was just now? The newspaper is right. If this continues, I'm afraid even we will have to bow and scrape to the people of Daliang."

"I don't know what happened, but well done!"

As the crowd's voice grew louder, the eunuch Wang beside the crown prince stared wide-eyed, utterly at a loss for how to react.

But the Crown Prince seemed to have expected this, staring at the doorway.

He is waiting!
Who are you waiting for?

The eunuch was shaken and followed the prince's gaze.

But upon closer inspection, all that could be seen was a blanket of white mourning clothes, and the person in the lead was—Lin Zhiqing!

"Someone come here! Someone come here!" Eunuch Wang sensed something was wrong and immediately called for help.

But the crown prince raised his hand, stopping him.

For a moment, Eunuch Wang was stunned.

Lin Shi'an and Lu Huai exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised by the Crown Prince's performance.

Below the city gate, Lin Zhiqing, holding Lin Congrong's memorial tablet, looked at the Crown Prince on the city gate and resolutely knelt down.

As soon as she knelt down, everyone behind her also knelt down.

Lin Zhiqing bowed his head and kowtowed, his forehead pressed against the cold brick surface, but his voice did not tremble in the slightest:

"Your Highness, I, Lin Zhiqing, along with 327 other women from the capital, kneel and beg you to rescind your decree—we refuse to agree to a marriage alliance!"

"Your Highness, please rescind your order! We refuse to agree to a marriage alliance!"

Lin Zhiqing raised his hand to wipe the dust from his forehead, his gaze sweeping over the banners hanging on the city wall before settling on the Crown Prince:
"After receiving the imperial edict yesterday, I searched through the entire copy of the 'Great Flourishing Memorial' in my home. It records seventeen instances of marriage alliances from the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu to the reign of the late Emperor."

"The shortest period was three years, the longest was five years, but there was never a single time when we made a marriage alliance with the Liang Dynasty."

"Because Daliang and our Dasheng are natural enemies."

"Your Highness said that a marriage alliance could bring twenty years of peace, but what about after twenty years?"

"Send another batch of girls to fill that sandstorm? I brought them here today not to disobey Your Majesty's will, but to ask the officials on the city wall..."

She looked up abruptly, her gaze sweeping over familiar and unfamiliar faces:
"Back then, my father guarded Yanmen Pass. An arrow nearly pierced his lung, but he didn't retreat an inch. He certainly couldn't have imagined that we would now be giving a perfectly good girl to our defeated enemy in order to maintain peace."

The women behind her stood ramrod straight, their faces resolute.

Lin Zhiqing spoke again:
"The peace and stability of the Great Sheng Dynasty should be earned by the soldiers on the battlefield, not by the girls with their dowries and tears."

“If the soldiers of Dasheng are unwilling to charge into battle, we women can wear mourning clothes or don armor and wield weapons.”

"We can take those five cities back with our own hands!"

"I have said all I have to say, Your Highness. I only ask that the willows of Shengjing may grow well in the soil of Shengjing."

As soon as she said those words, all was silent.

But soon, a woman among the crowd wiped away her tears.

The cries grew louder, and more and more figures rushed forward, joining Lin Zhiqing's ranks. "Every inch of our land is bought with blood!"

Lin Zhiqing stood at the very front, her voice clear, cold, and firm:
"If you men dare not defend your homeland..."

"We women will go!"

His voice was resolute and decisive, displaying a spirit of facing death without fear.

Shouldn't men defend their homes and country?
Women on?
The crowd below the city gate was in an uproar.

"I am willing to fight, even if it means dying on the battlefield!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! We will fight until we are all dead!"

"As long as I have a breath left, how can my daughter stand in front of me!"

Whether young or old, the male soldiers either listened with righteous indignation and anger, or lowered their heads in shame, but they all spoke up in unison.

The cries and shouts of the people blended together, expressing a range of emotions including anger, sorrow, and despair.

The entire scene was in an uproar, as grand and surging as a landslide and a tsunami.

In this situation, the Liang envoy was like a duckweed in the rain, huddled in the carriage, afraid to move, his expression filled with fear, clearly terrified.

Some people who were close by could hear things like "We can't fight the two dynasties," "Da Sheng is too terrifying," and "It's impossible to beat Da Sheng."

However, these words were drowned out by the boiling public resentment, and no one paid attention to them, nor did they stir up any waves.

Because everyone knows that whether or not to fight is no longer up to Da Liang.

On the opposite side, the Duke of Pei's chest heaved as he immediately looked at the Crown Prince:

"It's a rebellion, it's outrageous!"

"Your Highness, Lin Zhiqing has ulterior motives."

“Kidnapping the envoy of Liang and damaging the diplomatic relations between the two countries is the first crime.”

"Inciting public sentiment and holding people accountable in court is the second crime."

"Disobeying imperial orders and showing no respect for the law is the third crime!"

"I implore Your Highness to order his capture to prevent future trouble!"

"Duke of Pei, you've gone too far!" Lu Huai stepped forward and said.

"You keep saying Lin Zhiqing has ulterior motives, but what she said is wrong?!"

"On the contrary, let me ask you, there are frequent disturbances on the border, and the former subordinates of the Marquis of Zhenyuan all follow your lead."

"Duke of Pei, why is this?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding ministers were filled with shock.

Duke Pei frowned: "How dare you, an ignorant child, accuse me of this?"

"If you don't want anyone to know, then don't do it in the first place." Lu Huai looked at the Crown Prince:
"Your Highness, the Duke of Pei has ill intentions; his words must not be trusted."

"Furthermore, a marriage alliance is absolutely out of the question!"

As Lu Huai finished speaking, Lin Shi'an also stepped forward and repeated Lu Huai's words.

On and below the city walls, a vast expanse of people knelt down.

"How can we men stand tall when a woman stands in our way?!"

"The men of the Great Sheng are not all dead! I would rather die than surrender!"

"If Lin Zhiqing is to go and suffer humiliation, I am willing to go with her!"

Although the voices of the people were noisy, they were all shouting at the top of their lungs.

At this moment, Wang Yuan took a deep breath, looked at Wang Shuyi in the crowd and the Duke of Pei with a terrified expression, and knelt down behind Lu Huai.

One, two, three, and more and more people knelt down.

Soon, only a few people remained standing on the city wall.

Eunuch Wang swallowed hard. He had never seen anything like this before and didn't even know how to react.

"Boom, boom!"

The crown prince gently tapped the armrest of his chair, glanced around at the ministers, and then got up and went to the side of the city gate.

He noticed Lin Zhiqing immediately, that intelligent and brave woman.

Lin Zhiqing was surrounded by many women, each with a different appearance, but all with equally resolute expressions.

Seeing that things were not going well, the Duke of Pei couldn't help but speak up:

"Your Highness, you..."

The crown prince casually stretched out his hand, showing no intention of listening to the Duke of Pei's words.

He looked at the Liang envoy who was bound hand and foot, and saw that his eyes were full of fear and he was pleading for help. He smiled slightly.

Then, he opened his mouth and said a sentence, but no sound came out.

The Liang envoy saw the shape of the Crown Prince's mouth clearly, and his first reaction was anger, followed by endless despair.

Lin Zhiqing frowned. She had been staring intently at the Crown Prince and had seen the shape of his mouth.

He made it sound like he was saying: We lost.

Who lost?