Chapter 971 - 967: Our Aspirations for Strength
Cheng Yuanzhi recalled the various atrocities the people faced during wartime, his eyes reddening: "Who among you had to flee the city with your entire family because the enemy attacked, and became refugees and beggars? Who had to gnaw on bark due to lack of food... or even exchange their children... to survive!"
Cheng Yuanzhi couldn’t bear to say more, swallowing his words about eating their children, choked with emotion.
"Where were you when Xiliang slaughtered the city? Do you know how many generations of border people were killed? Men were slaughtered like livestock... Women were abused to death, countless in number! When Yan attacked our cities back then, slaughtering our people, they may not have allowed slavery, but they treated our people like cattle and horses, forcing them to build the Imperial Palace. Unless they died, they were not allowed to stop working, not even sparing the children. Have you all forgotten?"
"Back then, the Yan Kingdom was a formidable power. I was a mere soldier when they occupied our cities, forcibly recruiting the people to build the mausoleum for the Yan Emperor’s dog. You might not know... why the Bai family army nearly annihilated the Yan? It was because Yan... after conquering all the cities, took away men like animals, turned women into military prostitutes, and the children... those children who were too weak to work and were deemed a waste of resources to feed, those Yan dogs hung the children on trees for the Yan Army to practice archery! Have you ever seen such young children with arrows piercing their bodies? I have!"
At that time, still a soldier, Cheng Yuanzhi followed Bai Qishan to take those children down from the trees and bury them. Then... Cheng Yuanzhi, a rough man, understood why the Commander always said that only through unification could the world achieve peace.
Cheng Yuanzhi’s eyes filled with tears: "Now that Yan is strong, even a rough man like me knows that Yan’s attack on Wei is for unification! It is to ensure that the west and south of Yan have no more worries, fighting boldly for unification! If Yan starts on the path to unification, based on what the Ninth Prince of Yan did to Wei, think for yourselves... the people of Zhou! And you scholars of Zhou, do you still have a way to survive?!"
"Stay vigilant in times of peace... these four words are what our Commander Bai Weiting taught us, the Bai family army, during his lifetime! Even a poorly educated man like me knows what it means, don’t you? Do you really think that after destroying the Liang, Zhou can rest easy and have eternal peace?"
"Relax guard-free..." another student completed for Cheng Yuanzhi.
"Make sure to open your eyes wide and think carefully with your brains! You want to cease war and make peace, but will Yan allow you to do so? Xiliang is currently in trouble; will Xiliang allow you to make peace when they get back on their feet? Can the Rong not come to burn, kill, and plunder our border people?"
"I, Cheng Yuanzhi, deeply believe what my Commander Bai Weiting said, that only through unification can we give the people eternal peace, only through unification can we provide the people with a worry-free and peaceful land! The Vice Commander once said that whoever can bring peace to the people, the Bai family army will be their sword, even willing to be a pawn in their hands. That is why the Bai family army is willing to follow the Bai family generals to the death, to fight and risk life without regret!"