On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi looked at the camera and said:
"Many of you dear viewers might think Emperor Jingwu's situation was like the classic trolley dilemma, right?
"The trolley problem roughly goes: a madman ties five people to the tracks the train is originally on, and one person on another track. You can decide whether to switch tracks, sacrificing the one to save the five.
"But in fact, this wasn't a trolley dilemma at all—it was an insidious trap set by the Najie Tribe for Emperor Jingwu!
"In recent years, historians have discovered from a new batch of unearthed Great Jing historical documents that the Najie upper echelons had already decided to massacre Zhenbei City. In their plan, they wanted to turn Zhenbei City into their military stronghold, so they hoped to ease their ruling pressure by slaughtering the city.
"At the same time, they intended to 'kill the chicken to warn the monkeys'—by massacring Zhenbei City, they would intimidate the people in the other two cities they had occupied, making them submit obediently to Najie rule.
"So, whether or not Emperor Jingwu agreed to that traitorous treaty, the Najie would never have spared the people of Zhenbei City!"
Under the Sky Canopy, the commoners of Zhenbei City were so enraged by the Najie's despicability that they cursed the Najie's ancestors for eighteen generations.
In the midst of this fervor, a thin, weak young man standing at the entrance of a blacksmith's shop looked at the Sky Canopy with a complex expression, but gradually, his gaze became resolute.
He turned to the blacksmith shop owner beside him, "Master, I'm sorry. I want to join the army!"
The blacksmith shop owner was stunned: "Join the army?"
"Yes!" The young man hastily lowered his head to hide his reddening eyes. "I never told you before, but my parents died under the Najie's swords. Three years ago, we were traveling with a merchant convoy when we were ambushed by the Najie. To let me live, my parents used themselves as bait to lure away the pursuing Najie cavalry."
The young man sniffled, then suddenly slapped himself hard across the face. Clenching his teeth, he said:
"I'm a coward. Those bastards scared me so much I didn't even dare mention them. But... I don't want to run anymore!"
He looked at the blacksmith shop owner with red-rimmed eyes. "Emperor Jingwu was right. Only by thoroughly crippling the Najie can we ever stop fearing them to the point of sleepless nights! But he can't do it alone. I know I might die at their hands, but even so, if one day we can achieve the prosperity the Sky Canopy spoke of, I'll die willingly!"
"Master, take care of yourself. I'm leaving!"
With that, he bowed deeply to the blacksmith shop owner and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Hearing the shop owner's call, he stopped and turned.
The blacksmith pulled a money pouch from under the counter, walked over, and stuffed it into the young man's chest. "There's not much here—just over two hundred coins. Buy some food and build up your strength, so you can kill Najie with more power!"
The young man clutched the pouch, his hands tightening. Taking a deep breath to calm his surging emotions, he bowed again in gratitude.
He understood the shop owner didn't have to give him the money. As an apprentice, he wasn't entitled to wages; the master only needed to provide room and board.
The blacksmith sighed heavily and patted his shoulder. "Kid, come back alive. Then I'll find you a wife, and your parents in heaven will rest easy."
"Okay!"
The young man wiped the moisture from his eyes, turned, and strode off.
After he left, the blacksmith suddenly said, "He's far away now. If you don't come out, you won't even see his back."
A young woman burst through the curtain connecting the shop to the backyard. She stood at the doorway, gazing longingly at the departing figure until he vanished.
Eyes red, she turned to the blacksmith. "Dad, he'll come back, right?"
The blacksmith scratched his head worriedly. "In this messed-up world, who can say? But since the girl on the Sky Canopy said Emperor Jingwu would wipe out those Najie bastards, maybe the future won't be so bad."
"I'll wait for him!" the young woman said tearfully. "I won't marry anyone else!"
"Sigh, wait then. That kid is hardworking and steady; life with him won't be bad."
Hearing her father's words, the stubborn girl finally showed a hint of a happy smile.
At that moment, in various border cities of Great Jing, many people like that young man suddenly emerged.
Sometimes, people just need hope. And Liu Sanqi's spoilers about Emperor Jingwu on the Sky Canopy gave many who had blood feuds with the Najie a glimpse of the dawn of success.
...
On the grassland, outside the Najie camp, there was dead silence.
Moments ago, King Najie had flown into a rage over the Sky Canopy's content, killing two maids with his blade. Their bodies had been dragged away, but the fresh blood on the grass hadn't yet dried.
If King Najie had been overjoyed hearing that the Najie had breached Zhenbei City and marched to Jingshi, then hearing that the Najie were completely annihilated by Emperor Jingwu made him furious and hysterical.
He had always looked down on the Great Jing people. In his eyes, the Great Jing, always prattling about benevolence and education, were nothing but weak, cowardly sheep, far inferior to the bloodthirsty Najie.
Yet, these people he despised had destroyed the Najie Tribe.
At this moment, King Najie even felt a hint of fear, even panic.
"Father King, I think this Sky Canopy appearance is actually a great opportunity for our tribe!"
Hearing his second son Sai Huoke's words, King Najie's gaze shot toward him like arrows.
Sai Huoke had already prepared his argument. Under King Najie's glare, he spoke calmly: "Father King, since the Sky Canopy makes Emperor Jingwu out to be so formidable, if we can eliminate him, it will deal a huge blow to Great Jing!"
None of King Najie's sons were full brothers, and with King Najie aging, they were all ambitious for his throne. So as soon as Sai Huoke finished, the eldest son Yadunni retorted:
"Sai Huoke, easy for you to say! We don't even know who that damned Emperor Jingwu is now, and even if we find out, assassinating him won't be easy! Our Najie features are clearly different from the Great Jing people; we can't blend in!"
Sai Huoke had anticipated this. He raised his voice: "Big Brother is very thorough. I happened to have planted some Najie born to Great Jing female slaves in Jingshi earlier! They look exactly like Great Jing people, but were raised in our tribe and will die loyal to us!"
Yadunni hadn't expected Sai Huoke to have such a trick prepared. His smug expression stiffened.
King Najie, hearing that Sai Huoke had foresightedly planted spies in Jingshi, burst into loud laughter and exclaimed "Good! Good! Good!" three times.
To prevent leaks, King Najie told Sai Huoke to discuss the details privately in his tent later.
Yadunni and the other sons, seeing that Sai Huoke would likely gain King Najie's favor, felt envious.
...
"After all this talk, I suddenly realized I almost forgot one person!"
"Although that waste Emperor Jingli is more fault than merit for Great Jing—flaws outweighing merits*—since I thought of him, I might as well mention him."
"Dear viewers, remember when I mentioned the Najie threatened to behead Emperor Jingli while forcing the treaty? Well, they didn't behead him. In fact, they let him go two years later!"
Under the Sky Canopy, Yin Ning stared in shock at Yin Rui, who had knelt before Emperor Jingming again. "So you weren't dead? How could you have the nerve to stay alive?"
Yin Rui glared back indignantly. "Yin Ning, don't go too far!"
"Me, go too far?" Yin Ning looked at him incredulously. "Who are you to call others too far? With all the crap you've done, if I were you, I'd bash my head against the wall and die, not live on to embarrass yourself!"
Hearing this, Yin Rui fell silent, unable to retort. Even now, he still clung to his life.
Emperor Jingming glanced at Yin Rui and immediately guessed his thoughts. His expression remained calm because Yin Rui was as good as dead in his heart.
His attention quickly returned to Liu Sanqi on the Sky Canopy.
"The Najie never do anything good, so they didn't release Emperor Jingli out of kindness! They simply wanted this fatuous ruler to fight Emperor Jingwu for the throne, creating chaos in the Great Jing court!"
Under the Sky Canopy, Emperor Jingming frowned at her words.
As a longtime ruler, he knew no place was monolithic. Where there are people, there are conflicts and factional struggles. And Emperor Jingli's return could indeed impact Emperor Jingwu's rule.
Now, recalling Yin Ning's harsh words to Yin Rui, Emperor Jingming found them all the more reasonable.
Why couldn't Yin Rui have just died?!
* This phrase is a Chinese internet meme.