Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 268 Justice is in the hearts of the people
"Your Highness, please don't believe what he says. We have never blamed you." An old soldier with a wrinkled face suddenly stood up, and his excited voice seemed to be able to shake down the city walls.

"Yes, I have always believed that His Highness will never abandon us and run away." Another Xueyuan Pass soldier hurriedly agreed, as if afraid of being misunderstood.

"Whoever tries to escape will give birth to a son without an anus!" The burly soldier slapped his chest and swore, the flesh on his face trembling with his movements.

"Damn it, do you think everyone is like you? Do you even dare to make up His Highness?"

Looking at the righteous expressions of these people, it was as if they had never said such words before. They stood up straight, held their chins high, and tried their best to show their loyalty.

Chu Shizhao interrupted these people with a helpless look.

"I understand your loyalty. If you hadn't fought to the death, Xueyuan Pass would have been lost long ago." Chu Shizhao's voice was gentle but a little helpless.

Looking around, at these soldiers covered in blood and exhausted but still sticking to their posts, a warm feeling welled up in my heart.

"Soldiers!" Chu Shizhao suddenly raised his voice, and his voice echoed on the city wall.

He took a few steps onto a wooden box used to transport arrows, and the box creaked under the heavy weight.

He said loudly to everyone on the city wall: "I think many of you don't quite understand..." He paused, and his eyes swept across every face, young or old: "What a great thing I have done."

"I can tell you..." Chu Shizhao said forcefully, "Everything you have done here today has saved the entire Great Zhou and the world."

"It is a heroic feat that should be written into history books." These words were like a flash of lightning, illuminating the eyes of every soldier.

"Once Xueyuan Pass is lost..." Chu Shizhao's voice suddenly became low and heavy.

"There is hardly any city in our rear or even in most of the Great Zhou that can withstand the iron cavalry of the Northern Di people."

"Thousands of people from the Great Zhou will die under the iron hooves of the barbarians." Chu Shizhao's voice gradually choked.

"Countless villages and cities were burned to ashes by them. I don't know how many women were tortured to death by these invaders."

At the end, Chu Shizhao's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, and everyone could clearly feel his grief.

The originally noisy city wall fell into an unprecedented silence. Even the sound of breathing became barely audible, with only the rustling of flags in the wind.

They certainly had thought about the consequences of failure, but when Chu Shizhao put it so bluntly, everyone still felt suffocated.

It’s just that most people’s nature is not to think carefully about the worst possible outcome.

They would rather fight hard than face the possible tragedy.

When Chu Shizhao tore everything apart and showed it to them, those bloody possibilities suddenly became extremely real.

The soldiers at Xueyuan Pass all felt the bone-chilling cold. Some shivered unconsciously, while others bit their lips tightly.

Chu Shizhao continued to speak. His voice was no longer passionate, but it was more deeply rooted in people's hearts.

"Among these people, there may be your parents, your wife, children, relatives and friends."

This sentence is like a blunt knife, piercing everyone's heart slowly and deeply.

"Every extra hour you stay here will give them a little more hope of survival."

The soldiers' confused eyes,

Gradually they became more resolute, and the hands holding the weapons no longer trembled. They looked at each other, silently conveying their determination.

Seeing that everyone's emotions had been aroused by me.

Chu Shizhao's gaze swept across every face on the city wall, and those originally confused eyes rekindled their fighting spirit.

Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief.

In the distance, in the direction of the Beidi camp, their army seemed to be almost assembled. In the dust, cavalry formations could be vaguely seen, and siege equipment was slowly pushed out.

Chu Shizhao immediately struck while the iron was hot and continued passionately: "In order to relieve you of your worries, I, Chu Shizhao, swear to heaven that I will live and die with all the soldiers of Xueyuan Pass, and I will never abandon you and leave alone!"

"If I break my oath, I will never be able to ascend the throne of emperor in this lifetime!" These words were spoken with great force.

The effect is naturally quite good.

No one expected that His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince would swear such a vicious oath.

For Xueyuan Pass, he even gave up the throne of the emperor.

"We will fight the enemy to the death here and never retreat!" Chu Shizhao pointed to the Beidi camp, his eyes more determined than ever before.

The soldiers who were originally in despair, when they saw that the four princes were so brave, the confusion in their eyes disappeared.

Their blood boiled over and they shouted in unison: "We swear to live and die with Xueyuan Pass!"

The roar was so earth-shaking that even the Northern Di army camp in the distance fell silent.

Zhao Wenguang, who also roared and lived and died with Xueyuan Pass, looked passionate on the surface, but secretly sighed in his heart.

As expected of His Highness, you have a great ability to control people's hearts. With just a few words, you solved this difficult problem.

Zhao Wenguang was secretly glad that he could concentrate on dealing with the foreign enemies. He was already thinking about how to rearrange the defense line to deal with the upcoming attack.

But he heard Chu Shizhao say that he wanted to give an explanation to the soldiers. This sentence was like a basin of cold water poured on Zhao Wenguang's head.

"Palace..." Zhao Wenguang subconsciously wanted to stop Chu Shizhao.

The hand had already been stretched out, but it froze in mid-air.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

He realized it was too late to stop it.

To stop them at this time would be to go against all the soldiers at Xueyuan Pass. The morale that had just been boosted would immediately collapse.

If he really dared to say this, he would never be able to command these soldiers to fight again.

He cannot bear this responsibility.

He could only find an angle where most people couldn't see him, and while adjusting his armor, he tried desperately to wink at Chu Shizhao.

My Lord, this matter has finally come to an end, why are you bringing up something irrelevant? Zhao Wenguang was so anxious that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Unfortunately, his seductive eyes were destined to be seen by the blind. Chu Shizhao's eyes never turned to him.

Chu Shizhao acted as if he didn't see anything and waved at the murderous Ice Wolf Rider: "Come here."

The Ice Wolf Knight stepped forward silently, his armor making a slight clanging sound. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head in greeting: "Young Master!"

"Tell me the truth," Chu Shizhao's voice suddenly became stern, "What happened? Why did you suddenly attack and kill people?" His eyes were as sharp as a knife, staring directly at the face of the Ice Wolf Rider.

"Is it really because this person is a bandit from the Dark Night Cult, or is it because he said he wanted to be a deserter?" The question was asked in a resounding voice, causing all the soldiers to prick up their ears.

As he was talking, Chu Shizhao's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he suddenly shouted: "Or do you have a grudge against this person? So you are venting your anger?" This shout was like a bolt from the blue, exploding on the city wall. Everyone was stunned by this sudden change.

The angry rebuke startled everyone. The soldiers looked at each other, not knowing what the Fourth Prince was up to.

Only the Ice Wolf Riders maintained a frightening silence, their armor glowing coldly in the sunlight, their expressions without the slightest fluctuation.

"Reporting to the young master, this is the first time I have met this person today, and I don't have any personal grudges against him." The Ice Wolf Rider's voice was as calm as if he was stating an ordinary fact, without any eagerness to defend himself.

"As for what he said, although it was too disrespectful to the young master..." At this point, his voice paused slightly: "But you did not give us the right to kill the soldiers here because of disrespectful words."

Upon hearing this, Chu Shizhao couldn't help but admire in his heart.

These Ice Wolf Riders did not disappoint his expectations. Even when being criticized by thousands of people, they still remained absolutely loyal and calm.

Their every move will never deviate from their orders and ideas.

However, it was obvious that his words could not convince the soldiers at Xueyuan Pass.

The faces of those soldiers were full of suspicion and distrust, and some even curled their lips in disdain.

"Nonsense, I think you are just quibbling."

"Why do you say that Feng Laosan is a thief from the Dark Night Cult? Is he a thief from the Dark Night Cult?"

"These people are really arrogant. They even dare to talk nonsense in front of Your Highness."

"Your Highness, they are committing crimes knowingly. You must not believe their lies." Someone even spoke directly to Chu Shizhao, his voice filled with anger.

No matter how many legitimate reasons the Ice Wolf Riders had, they were all shameless excuses in their eyes.

For a moment, there were all kinds of things being said. The city wall was once again filled with noise, with all kinds of accusations and questions coming one after another.

Those who originally supported the Ice Wolf Cavalry were now resentful of the Ice Wolf Cavalry's sudden action before.

Few people stood up to speak for the Ice Wolf Riders.

Only a few soldiers whose lives had been saved by the Ice Wolf Riders moved their lips as if to speak, but were suppressed by the noise around them.

Just when the Ice Wolf Riders were being pointed at by thousands of people, a sharp sound of breaking through the air suddenly came from the city wall.

Everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn to it.

A long spear suddenly shot out, so fast that one could hardly see its trajectory. The tip of the spear tore through the air, making a sharp whistling sound.

With a dull thud, the sharp tip of the spear penetrated deeply into the bluestone of the city wall, three inches deep.

The huge impact force caused fine cracks to appear in the surrounding bricks and stones.

The remaining gun handle was still shaking, making a buzzing sound.

This sudden change made everyone quiet down, and they looked at the still trembling spear in horror.

"My Ice Wolf Riders never tell a lie. If anyone disobeys my orders, I will personally take his head!" Huo Qinghuang's voice was sonorous and powerful, and every word was like a hammer hitting a steel anvil, causing pain in the eardrums of the soldiers on the city wall.

There was a flame of anger burning in her phoenix eyes. She was extremely angry that these people dared to question the Ice Wolf Riders' loyalty to the young master.

Chu Shizhao stopped Huo Qinghuang who was about to stand up and gently raised his hand to press on her shoulder.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes soothing.

"Your Highness..." Huo Qinghuang whispered unwillingly.

His fingers were clenched tightly around the hilt, his knuckles turning white.

Chu Shizhao leaned close to her ear and whispered to comfort her: "I understand your thoughts. I believe in the Ice Wolf Rider just as much as you do."

"But now is not the time to explain. The soldiers at Xueyuan Pass need concrete evidence, not promises."

"Don't worry, I will clear the Ice Wolf Riders' name." He said this softly, but Huo Qinghuang's tense shoulders finally relaxed.

After calming down the angry Huo Qinghuang, Chu Shizhao turned to the crowd and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the murdered Feng Laosan? Has anyone come into contact with Feng Laosan's body since the incident?"

"Your Highness, the body is here." Zhao Wenguang hurriedly stepped forward and waved to the people on his left to move aside, revealing the body of Feng Laosan lying on the ground.

The body was still in the same position it had been in when it died, and even the bloodstains had not been touched.

Zhao Wenguang was indeed thoughtful. As soon as he arrived here, he arranged for trustworthy people to protect the body.

He knew that this matter was of great importance and he had to make sure that everything went perfectly.

The only people he could really trust at this moment were Fang Tang, He Yundong, Wei Bing, and Shen Dao, the four guys who had just been promoted.

These people are just like him. Although they now have real power, they are still verbally appointed by Chu Shizhao.

Their future and destiny all depend on this prince.

As for whether he can be converted to a regular employee, it naturally depends on whether His Royal Highness the Prince can safely guard Xueyuan Pass.

The outcome of this battle is directly related to their future.

If Chu Shizhao died here, no matter how many contributions they made, it would be useless.

The bigwigs in the court would never recognize the appointment made by a dead prince.

Therefore, they had no other choice but to follow Chu Shizhao wholeheartedly.

Therefore, Zhao Wenguang trusted them very much and asked them to guard the corpse.

Chu Shizhao walked slowly to Feng Laosan's body.

Huo Qinghuang did not dare to be negligent at all, and she flashed and stood between the bodies of Chu Shizhao and Feng Laosan.

Her movements were so fast that even the soldiers around her couldn't see how she moved.

"Young master, be careful!" Huo Qinghuang's voice was full of vigilance.

"The Dark Night Cult's methods are cruel and vicious. There might be something wrong with this corpse."

Her hand was already on the hilt of the sword, ready to deal with any emergency at any time. Her sharp eyes kept scanning the corpse, not missing any suspicious details.

Chu Shizhao did not show off his strength at this time.

Previously, the Dark Night Cult had set up such a large trap at Xueyuan Pass specifically targeting him, but they didn't do anything to him.

If I were to capsize here and be tricked by a small soldier from the Dark Night Cult, wouldn't that be a laughing stock?

"Don't move the body first. Check to see if anything has been done wrong." Chu Shizhao said to Huo Qinghuang.

(End of this chapter)