205: Chapter 205 King of Qin

He stopped caring about military affairs; when his subordinates came to find him, he simply told them to get lost.

"Bring another jar."

General Qin Bei beckoned to the innkeeper and said, his voice sounding somewhat weary.

The innkeeper hesitated for a moment, but still brought over a jar of wine, saying with some concern, "General, you have already had quite a lot... perhaps you should continue tomorrow?"

"I told you to bring it, so just bring it! Why so much nonsense!"

General Qin Bei snatched the wine jar, slapped off the mud seal, and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

The wine flowed down the corner of his mouth, soaking his lapels.

He put down the wine jar, wiped his mouth, looked at the moon outside the window, and suddenly laughed.

"Su Bai, oh Su Bai..."

He muttered to himself, "The foundation I worked so hard to build in Yunzhou has all gone to benefit you, kid."

He gulped down another mouthful of wine, his smile gradually turning into a wry one.

"However... you are stronger than me. You are younger, better at fighting, and understand people better than I do. Handing over Yunzhou and Dingzhou to you, I can rest easy."

He placed the wine jar on the table, stood up, and walked out unsteadily.

The innkeeper shouted from behind, "General, you haven't paid yet!"

General Qin Bei threw a silver ingot without looking back, "Keep the change."

He walked out of the tavern, stood on the street, and looked at the night view of the capital.

The night in the capital was very prosperous, brightly lit, with heavy traffic.

Yet, looking at all this, General Qin Bei felt like a stranger.

This was not his place.

His place was in Yunzhou, in that small border town he had guarded for over a decade.

But he could not go back.

General Qin Bei took a deep breath, turned around, and walked into the night.

Three days later. Yunzhou City, central square.

At the first light of dawn, the square was already crowded with people.

The news spread quickly; everyone in Yunzhou City knew that today, General Su was going to announce something major in the square.

"Have you heard? General Su is going to declare himself King!"

"Is that true? Didn't the imperial court just abandon us? Is General Su really going to declare himself King?"

"The imperial court doesn't want us, but General Su does! Isn't that a good thing?"

"Exactly! General Su becoming King will surely be ten thousand times better than that dog of an Emperor!"

The commoners discussed it animatedly; far from being panicked, their faces were filled with excitement.

After all, ever since Su Bai came to Yunzhou City, they knew well what kind of life they had been living.

Su Bai stood in front of the window of the City Lord's Mansion, watching the crowd in the square, and took a deep breath.

Today, he wore a brand-new set of black battle armor, a long saber hanging at his waist, his hair tied up with a jade hairpin, looking heroic and extraordinary.

Zhou Zheng stood beside him. He was also in military attire; although he was missing an arm, his Aura was as formidable as ever.

Li Han was wearing official robes, holding the already written edict for the declaration of kingship.

"Are you ready?" Zhou Zheng asked, looking at Su Bai.

Su Bai nodded and said, "Let's go."

The three of them walked out of the City Lord's Mansion and headed toward the square. Behind them, Ma Lie, Zhao Ding, Su Xing, and the others followed closely, each of them holding their heads high with high spirits.

When the commoners in the square saw Su Bai walk out, they immediately erupted in cheers.

"General Su! General Su is here!" "General Su is mighty!" "General Su! We will follow you!"

Su Bai walked to the high platform in the center of the square, turned around, and faced thousands of commoners.

He raised his hand, and the square instantly quieted down. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Su Bai scanned the crowd, took a deep breath, and began, "Fellow countrymen! Brothers!"

His voice, amplified by spiritual power, resonated over the square like a great bell.

"Today, I have gathered everyone here because there is an important matter to announce."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces.

"Three days ago, the new Emperor ascended the throne and issued an imperial edict. The edict stated that Yunzhou and Dingzhou are to be removed from the territory of Great Zhou."

The square immediately erupted in curses. "Traitor!" "Dog Emperor!" "By what right?!"

Su Bai raised his hand to silence the curses and continued, "When I received this edict, I was furious. Ma Lie was furious, Zhao Ding was furious, Su Xing was furious; every brother under my command was furious."

His voice became low, "We fought desperately on the front lines, managing to capture Mu City, Jing Prefecture, and Dingzhou, securing such a vast territory for Great Zhou. Yet, on the very first day of the new Emperor's reign, he wants to sell all these places off."

"What is this? This is treason!"

Su Bai's voice rose sharply, like a thunderclap. "Great Zhou has stood for hundreds of years; what has it relied on? It relied on generations of soldiers fighting in blood! It relied on millions of hardworking commoners! It does not rely on an imperial edict or empty talk!"

The square was deathly silent; everyone held their breath.

"Now, the Yao Race is wreaking havoc, and people are suffering. The Demon in the north is eyeing us covetously, ready to march south at any moment. Our Your Majesty was captured by the Yao Race, and his fate is unknown. The court officials are not thinking about how to rescue Your Majesty, but are instead busy fighting for power and profit. Several vassal kings have declared themselves emperors, fighting endlessly."

Su Bai's voice grew heavier. No one present spoke; everyone fell into silence.

"And what about our new Emperor? The first thing he did after ascending the throne was not to restore order to the court, not to prepare for a northern expedition, but—to sell off Yunzhou and Dingzhou!"

"He calls this a strategic retreat, a period of recuperation. But I tell you, this is not a strategic retreat; this is living in cowardice! This is being a turtle hiding its head! This is selling out the country for personal gain!"

Su Bai suddenly drew his long saber, the blade shimmering in the sunlight. Su Bai suddenly raised the long saber in his hand and roared at the sky, "I, Su Bai, do not agree!"

The square instantly erupted in earth-shaking shouts. "We do not agree!" "We do not agree!" "We do not agree!"

Su Bai raised his long saber, pointing the tip toward the sky, and said loudly, "I, Su Bai, come from humble beginnings; I haven't read many books, nor do I understand any profound principles. But I know one thing: this land was watered by the blood and sweat of our ancestors! Every inch of this land holds the heart's blood of our forebears! Every river here flows with the tears of our loved ones!"

"If the imperial court doesn't want it, we do! If the Emperor won't care for it, we will!"

Su Bai's voice grew louder and louder. "From today on, Yunzhou and Dingzhou are no longer the Yunzhou and Dingzhou of Great Zhou! They are our own Yunzhou and Dingzhou! The commoners here are no longer the commoners of Great Zhou; they are our own elders and fellow countrymen!"

"Whoever dares to come and seize it, we will fight them to the end! If the Yao Race comes, we kill the Yao Race! If the rebel army comes, we kill the rebel army! No matter who it is, as long as they dare to touch our homeland, dare to bully our elders, I, Su Bai, will be the first to charge forward and chop off their heads!"

In the square, countless commoners were moved to tears.

An old man tremblingly raised his hand and shouted the first cry, "Long live the Prince of Qin!"

Immediately after, more people joined in. "Long live the Prince of Qin!" "Long live the Prince of Qin!" "Long live the Prince of Qin!"