He had always wanted to forget this memory. Who would have thought that Bai Zheng would dig it out today!
He had no idea where Bai Zheng had heard this rumor.
He opened his eyes and looked at Bai Zheng with a complex look in his eyes. He felt that this younger sister was extremely strange.
Bai Zheng knew what he was thinking and didn't bother to argue with him about those things. She simply continued,
"Brother, you're different from Eldest Sister and Second Sister. You should be an eagle soaring in the sky, not a sparrow caged in the backyard.
You don't have to sacrifice your bright future for the affairs of the General's Mansion.
This isn't what Grandpa would want to see, nor would it be what Uncle would want to see.
If you're really a filial son and the legitimate eldest grandson of our Bai family, you should return to the battlefield.
Reviving the General's Mansion doesn't depend on marrying our daughters to some prince with a chance of seizing the throne, nor does it depend on secretly raising troops with hundreds of thousands of silver obtained through intrigue.
Instead, you should earn real military achievements on the battlefield, so that the Emperor will not only remember Bai Qiying and Bai Yizhang of the General's Mansion, but also get to know Bai Nianyin of the General's Mansion!"
When Bai Zheng said these words, she sincerely wanted to persuade him.
In the past few days, Feng Linyuan had sent a lot of information about Bai Nianyin, which made her understand her elder brother better.
She knew that when this elder brother first joined the military camp, he had been personally trained by Grandpa Bai Qiying for several years. His character was extremely upright, and he was a loyal and good person. So later, Bai Yizhang didn't tell him about his shady deeds.
It could be said that his mind was much simpler and more upright than Bai Sheng's and Bai Di's.
He grew up on the battlefield. He understood best how tragic the sacrifice of flesh and blood on the battlefield was, and he also understood best how hard - won peace in the country was.
Although his serious and unsmiling personality made it difficult for Bai Zheng to say more than a few words to him every time they met.
But thinking carefully, from childhood to adulthood, this elder brother not only never made things difficult for her like Bai Sheng, but also occasionally helped her out when Bai Di bullied her.
Even regarding what Bai Nianyin had done in the war against Nanshu that she had just mentioned, she knew the whole story.
At that time, they were outnumbered. Bai Nianyin proposed that once the northeast wind blew, they would surround the enemy and then use fire attacks with the help of the wind.
The leader of the middle - route troops didn't listen to his advice. In order to grab credit, he sent troops without permission and was massacred by the enemy.
At that time, the wind hadn't come yet. Even if they went to rescue, the huge disparity in the number of the enemy and themselves would only cause the soldiers under Bai Nianyin to lose their lives in vain.
For this reason, Bai Nianyin had to bear the pain and watch as the soldiers of the middle - route army were almost completely wiped out in front of him. It wasn't until a strong northeast wind swept in that he held a torch, his eyes blood - red, and rushed forward first.
So, this incident couldn't really be blamed on Bai Nianyin. In fact, he should be rewarded.
Moreover, from the obvious pain in Bai Nianyin's eyes when Bai Zheng deliberately mentioned this war just now, it could be seen that he was indeed a smart, brave, good general who loved his soldiers and considered the overall situation.
For such a person, if it wasn't necessary, Bai Zheng didn't want to be his enemy.
Nor did she want to ruin him.
Bai Nianyin seemed to be persuaded by Bai Zheng.
He raised his eyes. Although he was looking at Bai Zheng, his gaze passed through her and was cast towards the distant sky.
It seemed that the bugles of the battlefield were ringing in his ears, along with the sounds of fighting, the neighing of horses, and the clashing of swords and spears, which suddenly made his blood boil.
If he could, he also didn't want to stay here. He also wanted to return to the battlefield.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Bai Zheng, saying, "If you promise that from now on, you'll have no more..."
"Master Bai," suddenly, the coachman called out to him from afar, interrupting his words. "The General is still waiting at home!"
Bai Nianyin instantly withdrew his thoughts, and the image of Bai Yizhang lying weakly on the sickbed appeared in his mind again.
"Protect the country? I can't even protect my own family now. How can I have the face to talk about protecting the country?" Bai Nianyin angrily waved his sleeve and left.
"An ant can never shake a big tree!" Bai Zheng frowned. Her cold gaze swept over the coachman. Facing Bai Nianyin's back, she said earnestly, "Brother, surely you don't really think that by dealing with me, you can protect the big tree of the General's Mansion? Or have you only known how to lead troops to fight in these years and can't even see through the basic situation of the Great Zhou court?"
Bai Nianyin's steps paused. "What do you mean?"
"Now, the Third Prince has married Princess Yunxi of Xiliang. The Great Zhou and Xiliang have concluded a friendly alliance. Nanshu surely won't dare to act rashly. In this way, at least the border of the Great Zhou can enjoy peace for ten years.
May I ask, when there's no war on the border, what use does the Emperor have for Uncle, the great general? Wait for Uncle, who has nothing to do, holds heavy troops, and has impure thoughts, to start a rebellion?"
Bai Nianyin's eyes suddenly widened. He said in disbelief, "You mean..."
Bai Zheng took a step forward, staring intently at Bai Nianyin, and continued, "Moreover, once the General's Mansion becomes in - laws with the Third Prince, the Third Prince's strength in seizing the throne will increase greatly. In this court, there are many people who don't want to see this result.
They don't want this to happen, so they will rack their brains to destroy this marriage.
Have you never thought carefully about how Chen Jianzhi ended up in Second Sister's bed? Or do you think that Chen Jianzhi was really found by me?"
Listening to Bai Zheng's words, Bai Nianyin closed his eyes tightly. His head suddenly hurt as if it was about to explode.
During this period, his two younger sisters, along with his grandmother and mother, had been accusing Bai Zheng of her crimes, especially Bai Di and Bai Sheng.
One of them played the good - cop role, challenging his endurance with an image of grievance, magnanimity, and forbearance. The other played the bad - cop role, sternly scolding him for being an unfilial son and a useless elder brother who couldn't even protect his own family.
Bai Nianyin was thus forced into a self - blaming mood and couldn't extricate himself.
As a result, he hadn't really thought about whether a big tree like the General's Mansion could be easily cut down by some schemes set by Bai Zheng.
Thinking like this, he opened his eyes and carefully sized up this younger sister whom he had never really looked at and never taken seriously.
Bai Zheng met Bai Nianyin's gaze with a smile. Flames danced in her clear black - and - white eyes.
"Brother, you're different from those women in the mansion. Your vision shouldn't be as narrow as that of Grandma, Aunt, Eldest Sister, and Second Sister. You only see the surface things but fail to see the underlying essential reasons.
Now, there are still many scattered small tribes on the northeast border of the Great Zhou. From time to time, they harass the border of the Great Zhou and rob the food, cattle, horses, and cloth of the Great Zhou people.
And the Emperor is fully focused on the alliance with Xiliang, so for the time being, the Great Zhou doesn't have a suitable general to protect the peace of the northeast border.
I'll give you a piece of advice here, Brother. If you really want to protect the General's Mansion and revive it, you should take the initiative to ask for battle and lead troops to the northeast.
Instead of fighting with your family in the inner courtyard, you should make contributions and achievements on the battlefield. This is what a good son of our Bai family should do!"