The Qin Dynasty perished after only two generations? My Great Qin also needs an Emperor Taizong!

From Bai Yu's perspective, the Qin King's study was only half an hour away from the Bai residence. If the Qin King had known that his grandfather had volunteered to lead troops, the messenger would have arrived long ago. Why would he have let his uncle (grandfather) wait here for five hours? Since he had already waited for five hours, what else could it be?

It must be that the King of Qin was blind to the true value of a person…

But in truth, the Bai family members did not reject leading troops into battle from the bottom of their hearts. This is the underlying reason why Bai Zhong sincerely accepted Ying Mu as a disciple after he won the sand table simulation before Bai Zhong could react, even though Ying Mu only relied on the sudden change in horse tack and the potential influence of the battle tactics accumulated over thousands of years.

So, back to the present, Bai Zhong and his grandson were unaware that the King of Qin had locked them in the ancestral temple, but the example of the old general Lian Po was right there, leaving them no choice but to think about it.

Just as the three generations of the Bai family were sighing and lamenting in their mansion, a four-horse royal carriage was speeding through the sparsely lit streets of Xianyang.

The night was hazy, and two rows of imperial guards could be barely seen following the carriage.

As the royal carriage sped into the blue brick street, it attracted the fleeting gaze of the East Gate Commander of the royal city. Before it even came to a stop at the carriage and horse yard in front of the Bai residence, four fine horses neighed, and a figure dressed as an eunuch drifted toward the gate. Then, a muffled conversation faintly reached the ears of the East Gate Commander, who had already turned his back.

"May I ask, eunuch, what is your intention?"

"I am merely seeking the summons of the master of this place. I have no other intentions."

"In that case, please wait a moment, Your Excellency."

A moment later, footsteps sounded outside the door. Bai Shan was taken aback when he saw the four-horse carriage, then stepped aside to invite it in, "My uncle is waiting inside the hall. Please come in, sir."

Zhao Gao replied as before, "His Majesty himself said that General Bai must personally hear the imperial edict."

"In that case, please wait a moment, eunuch." Bai Shan was taken aback again, then instructed, "I will open the main gate wide and invite the eunuch into the mansion to announce your arrival."

"Please hurry, young master."

After a commotion, torches were lit around the Bai family courtyard. The old general, unusually, stood with his sword in hand and armor on his back, flanked by Bai Shan and Bai Yu.

The figures of the three were reflected in the bronze cauldron by the firelight in the courtyard.

The commotion woke up Gongzi Mu and the others who had just lain down in the side room. They rushed over from the side room, but were also puzzled by the scene and could only watch quietly from the side.

"Amu, what is this...?" Wang Li rubbed his eyes and whispered in Ying Mu's ear.

"I don't know either... let's take a look anyway."

The group turned their heads and saw that the gate of the Bai residence was wide open. Zhao Gao, holding a scroll, followed by two eunuchs, walked in quickly.

"His Majesty has summoned us!"

Zhao Gao first gave a soft shout, and seeing the three men bow and clasp their hands in unison, he then unfolded the scroll and read aloud: "Bai Zhong has volunteered to fight and is willing to relieve the crisis of Great Qin. Therefore, Bai Zhong is hereby promoted to General of Martial Peace of Great Qin and granted the title of Right Vice Minister."

"Right Grand Master!?" Bai Zhong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He had thought that King Ying Zheng of Qin was already being very generous by casually bestowing upon him the title of temporary military general during wartime...

The name Wu'an is quite a pleasant surprise...

"General Bai, this isn't over yet." Zhao Gao smiled and took out another scroll from his bosom: "King Zheng of Qin has granted you a promise: once the world is at peace, you will be granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an and your ancestral temple will be re-established in Shangdang."

General of Wu'an, Right Vice Minister!

He's been granted a marquisate! And he'll still use the title of Wu'an?!

Everyone stared wide-eyed, frozen in place.

"Marquis Wu'an? The prefect didn't misread it?" This time, Bai Zhong couldn't help but tremble.

"The old general smiled and said, 'This is the king's decree. How could I, Gao, dare to speak so presumptuously?'" Zhao Gao said lightly, which was enough to confirm that the old man had not misheard. In an instant, Bai Zhong was already in tears. Looking at the world over the past few hundred years, such a bold and extremely daring strategy could probably only be matched by the current King of Qin.

With such a monarch, why would he hesitate to sacrifice himself?

In truth, over the years, no one has been able to understand the bitterness in his heart, nor has anyone been able to comprehend the despair he felt as he watched the Bai family decline.

Thirty-two years of hope and resentment turned to sorrow; thirty-two years of being emaciated and turning white-haired; thirty-two years of suffering; thirty-two years like a dream, a dream from which he awoke with a bloody knife piercing his heart. Countless days and nights, he stood alone before the bronze cauldron symbolizing the glory of Lord Wu'an, carefully guarding the military treatise left by his father. So, he kept waiting, waiting for the day when someone could lead Bai Shan Bai Yu and once again display the Bai family's military banner before the world.

He had once thought this person was a gifted young master.

But now, looking back, he never expected that the person was actually the King of Qin, whom he had always resented...

The absurd reality, like a sharp blade, ripped open his long-dormant thoughts. The young master's innocent voice from two years ago echoed once more in the old man's ears: "My father wants me to learn from the old general and become a great general who gallops across the battlefield. Rest assured, old general, if you impart your knowledge to me, as long as I am still alive, no one in the world will look down on the Bai family..."

It turns out that person had already appeared;

It turns out that it wasn't the Qin Dynasty that abandoned the Bai family, but rather the Bai family that abandoned the Qin Dynasty.

……

The next morning, in a courtyard west of Xianyang, the one-armed old soldier woke up early. He sat down on a wooden stump outside, leaning on his cane, and was just dozing off when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Old brother, up so early?"

The old soldier's spirits lifted; the young general had arrived again.

"Hehe, young master, you wouldn't dare call me that. I'm just an old soldier with a missing arm..." He muttered as he looked up, but his chuckling suddenly stopped.

Bai Zhong, who used to always be dressed in hemp clothing, was now wearing a battle robe!

"Oh dear, why is Young Master wearing armor this time? It's easy for people to see him."

"So what if I see it? What's there to be afraid of? Old brother, didn't you say you wanted to see me wear armor again?" Bai Zhong swayed his body, causing a series of clanging sounds from the armor plates.

In an instant, the old soldier's mind went blank.

Since he survived the battlefield, how could he be a fool?

"Young Master, the young master has taken command of the troops?"

Bai Zhong nodded and gave a soft "hmm".

The old soldier's withered body trembled violently. In the blink of an eye, his face was covered in tears, but he chuckled and said, "To see the young master in his armor, I feel I've lived enough in this life."

"Young General, if I may be so bold as to ask, then this armor is perhaps..."

Bai Zhong said softly, "It is indeed my father's old home."

The old soldier's withered body staggered, almost falling off the wooden stump.

He hurriedly braced himself with his cane with his one arm, his cloudy old eyes wide open, staring intently at the black armor—the dark red plume, the heavy black breastplate, and the faintly visible beast-face patterns on the shoulder guards…

Isn't that the same outfit that Lord Wu'an wore when he fought his battles in the south and north?!

Bai Zhong said softly, "The king has issued an edict ordering me to lead 100,000 old Qin people from Guanzhong to the Central Plains. My dear brother, this journey may involve bloodshed."