As expected, the reaction on the street became even more intense when Xiao Xiuning finished speaking.
All the people present at that moment were like a taut string that could snap at any moment.
Below the platform, Liu Rushi looked at Xiao Xiuning with some nervousness.
If public anger is stirred up, the capital may descend into chaos even before the Xiongnu arrive.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, Xiao Xiuning took a deep breath and drew the sword from her waist.
Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the longsword was tinged with a crimson hue.
Xiao Xiuning shouted to the audience.
"Today, in this capital city! Your parents and brothers are here! Your family property and fields are here! Your ancestors are buried here!"
"Outside the city, the rampaging Xiongnu bandits are coming! They want to plunder our wealth and kill our brothers and sisters!"
"And this land beneath our feet, this city we live in, was built through decades of conquest since the founding of the Great Li Kingdom! It was forged with the blood and sweat of three generations!"
"At this moment! Our ancestors are watching over us from heaven!"
"Are we to abandon our ancestral heritage and allow thieves to trample and plunder it?"
Xiao Xiuning's voice was passionate and stirring!
The once noisy surroundings began to quiet down.
The words "ancestors" are an honor etched in the blood of every Chinese son and daughter, an honor they are determined to defend at all costs.
But today they can escape, they can leave.
However, the tombs of their ancestors still stand in the capital city and its surroundings.
Beneath the prosperity of this capital city today lie the bones and blood of countless ordinary people and soldiers.
Xiao Xiuning's gaze sharpened and went straight into the distance.
"The Huns outside the city! They wield scimitars and ride warhorses!"
"They dream of burying our bones in their ranch!"
"They want your parents, wife, children, brothers, and sisters to become nourishment for their horses and sheep. Do you agree to that?"
Xiao Xiuning's voice was deafening, and the street under the setting sun was eerily quiet.
After a long while, Zhao Dahu, who had been standing in the crowd, roared angrily.
"No way!"
"Yes! I won't allow it! Anyone who dares to touch my family, I'll kill them!"
"That's right! No way! No way!"
Instantly! The people on the street began to shout!
Parents, wife, and children are a person's Achilles' heel and also their forbidden zone, no matter when or what era they are in.
Xiao Xiuning continued.
"I am a woman! But I am also a person of Dali! I deeply love this land beneath our feet!"
"I will not allow him to be trampled on by foreign races! Nor will I allow them to run rampant on our territory!"
“I am afraid too! But I have nowhere to retreat! If we retreat, our ancestors will weep bitterly under the iron hooves of the Huns.”
"Because of their unworthy descendants, because of cowardice! Because of fear! They abandoned them! And lost the land they won with their blood and lives!"
“If you retreat, your wives, children, and elderly parents will become victims of the Xiongnu's swords! They will become slaves to their sheep!”
"You will suffer oppression your whole lives! Your descendants will also be huddled in dark, narrow sheepfolds for generations to come! Suffering from bullying for their entire lives!"
"Before the sun rises tomorrow, the Xiongnu will be at the walls of the capital!"
"Whether we let them slaughter us or we take up arms and fight back is entirely up to you!"
"That's right! Fighting back might result in many deaths! But if we don't fight back, we'll have no face to face our ancestors in the afterlife!"
"If tomorrow you see me die beneath the scimitars and arrows of the Huns, there is no need for sorrow or mourning! Grip your weapons tightly and kill all these invaders!"
"Whether you are a commoner, a street vendor, a scholar, or a king or general, today I have only one order! That is to fight to the death! This is not only for you, but also my promise to the world!"
Having said that, under everyone's watchful eyes!
Xiao Xiuning gripped the sword hilt with one hand and held her flowing hair behind her with the other.
A flash of sword light! Long hair fell to the ground!
This move left everyone present speechless.
Even the two princes inside the teahouse were taken aback.
In this era, we must understand that our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare to do this, let alone a princess of a country.
While everyone stood there stunned, Xiao Xiuning raised the severed hair and spoke.
"Today I, the Empress, shave my head to show my resolve! I will live and die with the capital! Anyone who sees me retreat may be beheaded!"
With that one sound, a thunderous roar of agreement followed.
"Where are the true men of Dali?!"
"Defend our land! Protect our homes! Defend our country!"
"Kill all these Xiongnu traitors!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
The angry shouts surged outwards from the center like ocean waves.
Xiao Xiuning is a woman, and it is precisely because she is a woman that men's passion is aroused even more.
If a woman knows to shave her head to show her determination to defend her country, how can a dignified man be willing to fall behind!
Inside the teahouse, Xiao Mei and Xiao Zi's expressions turned extremely grim.
The more outstanding Xiao Xiuning is, the more incompetent the two of them appear in comparison.
With a snap, the tea in front of her was swept to the ground by the Third Prince Xiao Mei.
Anger surged forth like a flood bursting its banks.
The shouts of the people outside the window seemed to be mocking their incompetence.
Upon seeing this, the Second Prince Xiao Zi clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"It's alright, this is just the beginning. We have plenty of opportunities. Let's play along with Ninth Sister."
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