Jinling, the imperial city.
"My lord, a large crowd has gathered outside the imperial city," Zhang Liao reported.
Qin Ze withdrew his gaze from the night sky, and could already hear the bustling noise coming from afar.
He nodded and tossed Kim Geon-in's head to a soldier:
"Keep it safe."
As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly walked out, and the generals followed him step by step.
Before long, surrounded by the crowd, Qin Ze arrived at the main gate of the imperial city.
At this moment, the noise surrounding the door disappeared without a trace, replaced by silence.
When Qin Ze took the first step—
"Welcome back to the capital, Your Highness!"
A thunderous cheer suddenly erupted, a continuous roar that momentarily drowned out the crackling sounds of the explosions.
Men and women, stretching as far as the eye could see, all knelt down on the ground.
At the very front of the crowd were some ministers dressed in official robes, with an elderly man in the center.
It was none other than Zhang Li, the Minister of Personnel, who was "ill with typhoid fever and bedridden"!
Although he was kneeling on the ground, Zhang Li's face was full of energy, and he did not look sick at all!
"Get up, everyone," Qin Ze nodded.
The people still dared not stand up. At this moment, Zhang Lilang said in a loud voice:
"The people have suffered from gold shortages for too long! They are living in misery!"
"His Highness loves the people like his own children, and treats them as his own. In recent days, he has saved the people from dire straits many times. Who does not know or understand the depth of his feelings and his benevolence!"
"The people have been longing for a way to be saved, day and night. Today, Your Highness's return to the capital is truly what they have been hoping for!"
At this point, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd.
Zhang Li became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his voice even trembling slightly. He continued:
"Think of Jin Fengluan, he only ascended to the throne because of the blessings of his ancestors."
"Although she is the ruler of the country, this woman is incompetent and tyrannical! She is narrow-minded, jealous of the virtuous and capable, and appoints people based on her own connections! Her shortsightedness is even worse than that of a three-year-old child!"
"Since seizing power, the once mighty Daqian has declined steadily and is now riddled with wounds!"
Qin Ze nodded and waved for Zhang Li to stand up and speak.
Zhang Li then stood up, his face flushed, turned to face the crowd, and then loudly proclaimed:
"During the chaos in Xijing in the past, she actually ordered that Xijing, which our ancestors had gone through countless hardships to reclaim, be ceded!"
"This is our land, the land our ancestors fought tooth and nail to protect! Gentlemen, tell me, can we just give this away?"
"cannot!!!"
"Absolutely not!" The people responded enthusiastically.
Zhang Li's eyes reddened as he continued:
"Our old ministers' earnest advice is useless!"
"She went her own way and was even smug about it, thinking she had done something good for the country and its people!"
"She doesn't know how she could possibly sacrifice even a single inch of this vast land! This land is soaked with the blood and tears of our ancestors!"
"I ask you, throughout history, which emperor, no matter which country, has ever done anything like what she did!"
"There's no one left!!" Zhang Li gritted his teeth and shook his head repeatedly.
"The Tu Yuan Kingdom has led its troops to attack. The poor people of Xijing have been abandoned by this tyrannical ruler and have no one to rely on but themselves. They have no choice but to fight to the death to defend their land!"
“Those Tu Yuan people are fierce and brutal, no less so than those Hu horses, and perhaps even more vicious. How many of the people of Xijing are actually hardworking soldiers? They are all ordinary, hardworking commoners!”
"That tyrannical ruler can't see the lives of the common people! Instead of sending troops to defend Xijing, she only thinks about building more palaces to satisfy her own selfish desires!"
"Looking back over the past thousand years, she can be considered one of the most incompetent rulers!"
"Bah! How can such a tyrannical ruler not be cursed!" someone shouted.
"This tyrant is truly one of a kind!" someone exclaimed.
The next moment, Zhang Li suddenly turned around, pointed at Qin Ze, and shouted to the crowd:
Who is it?
"Who stood up for the people of Xijing in their time of crisis and repelled Tu Yuan?!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the people shouted with excited faces:
"It's Your Highness!"
"It was the Prince who traveled all the way from Beiliang to Xijing to save the people of Xijing from their suffering!"
Qin Ze stood with his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged.
The generals behind him all looked at Zhang Li and nodded repeatedly.
Zhang Li continued:
"That's right! It's the prince!"
"When the tyrannical ruler abandoned the people, it was the prince who stepped forward! At that time, the prince was still in Beiliang, having just wiped out the Hu horses on the Beiku Grassland. The scourge of the Hu horses on the Beiku Grassland was a chronic problem for our Dagan!"
"It was Your Highness! He completely cured this stubborn disease, but who knows the hardships involved?"
"He has only been in Beiliang for a short time, everyone. Look, the prince is only twenty years old!" He pointed at Qin Ze again, his expression even more excited.
"Gentlemen, at such a young age, who else could accomplish such a great feat?! Looking back at the late emperors, none of them could achieve such accomplishments at this age!"
"This is absolutely unique!!!" Zhang Li raised his voice.
The generals turned to look at Qin Ze.
Qin Ze touched his nose, moistened his slightly dry throat, and prepared to speak.
And Zhang Li's voice could still be heard:
"Even so, after annihilating the Hu cavalry, the prince did not linger at all and rushed to Xijing without stopping!"
"The journey from Beiliang to Xijing is long and arduous. Your Highness has just led your army to quell the Hu hordes and now you must go to Xijing to save the people from their suffering. How can Your Highness and your soldiers not be exhausted?!"
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