Perhaps his net worth is not low.
But we need to ask Little Phoenix first: "This isn't Tianjing, so we all need to be more mindful of our behavior."
“But Huayin North is different; it is already truly under the control of the Huns.”
Si Xitong sensed the hidden meaning in her words and asked, "You want to keep Anshan?"
"I cannot let him go until I have thoroughly investigated this person," Xie Lanzhi said. "Besides, Li Li wants to kill him. I will not allow him to continue to wreak havoc on the world."
Si Xitong's eyes flickered. She had heard everything from Li Jun: this person had taken control of the richest man in just one year, and within a month had stirred up a storm of rumors, infiltrating the Yu Palace. He had already touched Li Li's sore spot.
"Should I send someone to investigate?"
Xie Lanzhi was somewhat surprised. She knew that Little Phoenix had an intelligence office in Jiujin. Could this intelligence office really uncover secrets from such a distant place?
"I'll let you try it."
Si Xitong nodded.
Just as Xie Lanzhi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Xie Shangguang screamed from outside: "Something terrible has happened!"
Xie Shangguang stumbled and fell to the ground as he entered. Without even getting up, he shouted, "Marshal, our ship has been sunk! The prisoner almost escaped! Luckily, His Highness the Crown Prince transferred him to the mistress's ship beforehand, otherwise we would have sunk together!"
He believed that the marshal was using Anshan as a pawn because he had some value, so he was in a hurry to report.
"Li Li?" Xie Lanzhi hadn't expected him to take precautions in advance. Her brows furrowed again, thinking that she had just left and trouble had occurred so soon; the Anshan side had really acted quickly.
"Furthermore, His Highness the Crown Prince said that this person cannot be kept alive any longer. Keeping him alive would only cause trouble!"
Xie Lanzhi said, "Of course I know it's troublesome. This man is extremely cunning and has harmed countless people. No matter what connection he has with the real Anshan, it is a given fact that he assists the master in bringing disaster to other people. We must not let him live lightly."
But before that, she had to figure out exactly how Hu Xiong's drug trafficking and supply chains were set up!
Chapter 123 Is she vengeful?
Xie Lanzhi knew that hiding people in the gallery's treasure ship would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later.
Since the other party was playing dirty tricks on her, how could she not return the favor?
"Little Phoenix, Anshan's identity is now in your hands."
"Leave the rest to me," Xie Lanzhi said, dividing the tasks.
Si Xitong first advised her, "This person cannot be kept for long, but he cannot be let go either. I understand Li Jun's desire to kill him, which is to eliminate future troubles. But Lanzhi, can killing him really eradicate the Xiaoyao Pill completely?"
"Does Little Phoenix mean that I should keep him alive and make him work for me?" Xie Lanzhi felt that this was harder than climbing to heaven. Judging from An Shan's repeated attempts to commit suicide after being captured, she knew that he was not a pragmatic person.
"Don't forget what the purpose of the founding of the Western Guard was," Si Xitong said. "It was to use underhanded methods to judge matters by the Qing people."
Xie Lanzhi suddenly looked up and rubbed her temples. She began to reflect on her recent overbearing attitude. Li Li could have killed An Shan earlier and settled things, then it would have been useless for her to blame him later. But he restrained himself and went to the trouble of keeping this menace alive, just to cooperate with her.
Killing Anshan might be a temporary solution, but it's better than letting him live and be rescued.
"Little Phoenix, I'm entrusting him to you." Xie Lanzhi said, "You can do whatever you want. If you really have to kill him in the end, just do it."
Si Xitong rubbed her temples and said, "You might be a little tense lately. Why don't you just let things take their course?"
"I..." Xie Lanzhi wanted to say that she actually wanted to eradicate the root of the problem and stop the opium trade beforehand. But upon reflection, she realized that this couldn't be achieved overnight. She was being too hasty.
"Maybe you're right, I should loosen up my muscles a bit recently."
Yelü Lili kept an eye on the man, asking about his identity almost daily, but the man always showed disdain and had to force-feed him food. Only then could he barely keep his life.
His subordinates repeatedly asked him why he didn't kill them, but guarding them was more dangerous than they had imagined.
Li Li smiled wryly: "I have always been indecisive, so I often cannot do things efficiently. But is Marshal Xie overthinking things this time? I am only staying here to repay her favor."
The strategist then said, "There are many mysteries surrounding this man. People in the Hu and Xiongnu region are already keeping an eye on him. If he is still in Huayin, he will probably fall into the hands of the Hu and Xiongnu sooner or later."
"Perhaps you should act first and inform them later."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a man on the treasure ship, claiming to be a secret agent of the Tianjing Western Guard, asked Li Li to hand over the man. He also presented Si Xitong's token.
Yelü Lili glanced at the token and immediately ordered his strategist to send someone to fetch the person.
Soon the spy entered the prison and led the man out of the deck. After not seeing the sun for many days, the blinding light made Anshan unable to open his eyes.
When he and his spies disembarked and boarded a small boat, three other boats were already approaching, brazenly making their move in broad daylight.
Even Yelü Lili witnessed it firsthand, and he immediately ordered people to assist with the transportation.
Seeing that something was wrong, the strategist spoke up to stop them, saying, "Wait a minute, look what that spy is doing."
Li Li turned to look at the small boat and saw the spy suddenly push someone to the bow of the boat, and then hold a knife to An Shan's neck in front of everyone. The approaching boat slowed down immediately, but still did not give up the pursuit.
Finally, the spy grew extremely impatient and slit Anshan's throat. Blood splattered, staining the river surface with spots resembling blood flowers.
The people on the other side of the boat were shocked to see this. As Anshan fell on the boat, the spy sneered and then ruthlessly cut off a finger and threw it to the Hun boat.
The three ships never approached again. Since someone was dead, there was no reason to get close, and pursuing accountability would be a matter of internal affairs for the South; they simply couldn't extend their reach that far. The South was no small country, and it had a ruthless leader who treated them harshly. And the lord of the neighboring region was no pushover either.
The three ships were unwilling to retreat.
Li Li and the strategist watched helplessly as the secret agents took the man away.
Even the strategist couldn't help but praise, "The West Guard's secret agents truly live up to their reputation. Although they were established not long ago, they are already famous far and wide."
Li Li had also heard about it and thought it was founded by the princess to restrain the Xie family. He did not expect that the Western Guard was in charge of matters not only in Tianjing, but also covering the south and extending to Huayin Kingdom.
It's better to kill him now, so he won't be remembered by anyone anymore.
"Anshan is dead, and the Xiongnu should be able to put their doubts to rest."
"In any case, you no longer need to worry about Anshan falling into the hands of the Hu and Xiongnu," the strategist said. "What you should be worried about now is the alliance treaty signed between the Second Prince and the Hu and Xiongnu prince Anshan. His arrival signifies that the Khan has also agreed."
"If Xie asks you to give an explanation next, you will probably be under considerable pressure."
Yelü Lili sneered, "My father and second brother have been holding me back for quite some time now. As for the marshal, I will speak to him."
"I will never make a deal with the enemy."
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Kingdom's guest house and the Northern Kingdom's residence, the Northern Kingdom's Anshan Lord heard that the person using the alias Anshan was killed right before his eyes by the secret agents of Tianjing, who took away even the body, leaving only a finger for him.
Their own men retrieved the finger and identified it as Anshan's. Afterwards, they retrieved the blood and confirmed it was human blood, so they concluded that Anshan must be dead.
Anshan was furious: "The one who did this was Princess Fengning's man?! This woman is truly ruthless. Even her wife has to consider Anshan's worth, but she doesn't care at all."
The envoy said, "Your Highness, I have heard that Princess Fengning established a military government called Xiwei in Tianjing. Xiwei's spies are spread all over the south. I did not expect that they have now extended their reach to Huayin."
"Since its founding, the Western Guard has been known for its ruthlessness. Even if a major prisoner is suspected of escaping or is at risk of being robbed, the secret agents can exercise their privilege to kill him first. I had only heard about it before, but now I have seen it with my own eyes, and it is indeed true."
They pushed too hard, allowing the secret agents to strike first.
Anshan said, "We've missed another clue about the real Anshan. He's been missing ever since he left Weidu. Where could he have gone?"
"And how much silver did he ultimately hand over?"
"A total of thirty million taels of silver was transported from Yue Kingdom by waterway to the border of the Northern Region near Shi Kingdom. The Second Prince Yelü personally took over the shipment and then transferred it to Baiweng Palace."
Baiweng Palace was the city of the Hu Xiongnu Kingdom.
Hearing this figure in private, Anshan was still quite shocked, yet secretly admired Anshan's ability to amass wealth. No wonder his brother valued him so much, even describing him as a brother and praising him. All the merchants below fawned over him, even calling him the "White Jar Money Demon."
There is nothing in the world that he cannot turn stone into gold.
“Anshan, Brother Anshan, where have you gone?” Anshan sighed, “Now we still have to face Xie’s accountability. As long as we don’t admit it, there’s nothing they can do to us.”
"But I've heard she's a vengeful person. It's not in her nature to leave this grudge unavenged."
The envoy nodded: "What are your plans?"
Anshan: "Since we've already offended them, we might as well do something in Huayin that will benefit our motherland."
At this time, the King of Anyi sent someone to invite Xie Lanzhi to the palace, and also invited Anshan to dine with him in the palace.
When the two groups met again, the atmosphere was no longer as friendly as when they first met.
Both of them knew he had thoroughly offended her. Why bother to lower himself to beg for reconciliation? It would be better to lose face for her than to lose face for himself.
An Yi seemed to be trying to ease the tension between the two, but it appeared to be somewhat superfluous.
The two entered the banquet hall, and An Yi, holding a wine glass, walked around them, acting as a guest despite being the host.
Anshan looked down on her, and even when drinking, they only praised the brewer for his skill.
Xie Lanzhi didn't drink any more Huayin wine, but she chatted happily with Anyi, talking about the beautiful mountains and rivers of Huayin. It was practically a larger version of Weidu.
If the ruler of Huayin hadn't been controlled by others, Xie Lanzhi would have liked to cooperate with Anyi to build an international commercial center, a mutually beneficial arrangement.
After a drinking session, Anshan resigned and left.
Before leaving, he made a point of glancing at Xie Lanzhi.
As soon as Xie Lanzhi turned her head, he quickly looked away and left.
"Whenever someone does something wrong to others, they will feel particularly guilty at some point."
After her cousin left, An Yi whispered, "Marshal, my cousin didn't mean it."
Xie Lanzhi said, "You're going to plead for him? I didn't expect you to be so forgiving of someone who looks down on you."
“No.” An Yi shook his head and said, “My cousin is a suspicious person. Sometimes he will make things up even if they don’t exist. That’s why he often gets into trouble.”
"So he really wants to kill you, Marshal, or you to kill him, so that he can sleep."
Xie Lanzhi's lips twitched slightly: "You're here to stir up trouble."
“No, I’m just telling the truth.” An Yi’s eyes were sincere and she wasn’t lying. She even added, “My cousin looks very imposing, but he’s actually quite timid.”
This honest man doesn't seem so honest after all.
Aside from some pointless chatter from Anyi, the banquet yielded no progress for either side.
That night, the Northern Mansion became noisy because the servants and guards were bitten by poisonous snakes as they passed by. Even Anshan's bed was filled with a large number of water snakes, turning it into a small snake den, densely packed and filled with a foul stench.
Anshan was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.
When this news reached the Dongguo Guest House, Si Xitong even gave a special look at someone.
Xie Lanzhi felt wronged; she hadn't done any of those little tricks.
She explained in a low voice, "It really wasn't me."
"Okay, I understand," Si Xitong replied calmly. Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but scratch her head a few times and say, "I'm really not that petty."