However, her overly silent attitude made Si Xitong nervous.
"Little Phoenix, what do you have to say that we can't just say directly? Why beat around the bush?"
Si Xitong immediately stated his thoughts: "I want Huayin South to become the first force stationed outside the new Tianjing."
"They must be my people."
"Furthermore, my Jin army is already equipped with fifty firearms modeled after those of the Huns."
This is a complete rejection of Xie Bing, replacing him with forces that belong solely to themselves. In other words, Little Phoenix's independence this time is about establishing its own military power and formally severing ties with the Xie family.
Furthermore, it fostered the very modern idea of stationing troops overseas. The Hun had this idea twenty years ago, and now it's a little phoenix.
It truly proves the saying, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; fortunes change like the wheel of luck."
Xie Lanzhi knew very well that if she didn't do it this way, someone else would take it sooner or later, so she might as well do it herself. The Xie family was powerful, but they were gradually falling into a disadvantage in military campaigns and battles with the advent of firearms.
This can be seen from the battle between the Iron Cavalry Guards, which foreshadows the future of both sides.
The battlefields of the future may no longer belong to the Xie family. The Xie family and she are destined for elimination. As the greatest villain of this world, even if she doesn't side with the protagonist, it's an inevitable outcome.
Moreover, her greatest enemy now is not her, but the Xiongnu in the north.
"Okay," Xie Lanzhi said happily, "I promise you."
She knew very well that everyone in the Southern Region of New Tianjing only recognized her as their master and didn't really acknowledge her as Little Phoenix. If she were to leave one day, perhaps no one would be able to loyally assist Little Phoenix.
Little Phoenix recognized reality but was unwilling to relinquish the power and force she held, so she took a different approach.
Xie Lanzhi stared at her blankly: "I don't want to be an obstacle for you."
Si Xitong told her firmly, "You won't. Not now, and never will."
"You are my wife."
The newly recruited army outside, led by Ma Hong, took Xie Shangguang away. Xie Shangguang was initially reluctant to leave, but strangely, his soldiers began to collapse on the ground one by one due to exhaustion.
When the marshal was there, everyone was full of energy and vigor, but now that the marshal is gone and someone else has come to take his place, everyone immediately can't hold on.
When you relax after being mentally stressed, the resulting fatigue overwhelms your body, making it impossible to stay awake any longer and prompting you to take a nap.
Xie Bing and his men were all sleeping soundly, except for Xie Shangguang, who was still struggling to stay awake. Soon, he saw the vanguard cavalry rushing up to scout ahead, and he was immediately terrified and wanted to inform General Ma.
As a result, he saw a small team of ten people carrying a familiar firearm, but the structure seemed a bit different. The Hun firearm had a fuse, but theirs did not.
Just as the hundred cavalry charged forward, several loud bangs rang out, and ten men displayed the firearms of a hundred men.
Xie Shangguang's eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed, "General Ma, we have firearms!"
Seeing his naiveté, Ma Hong did not correct him. The newly formed army had never been related to Xie's army, nor did they rely on it. Their grain was now supplied by the people of Jiu Jin, and they had long since abandoned the grain supply of the Southern Region.
Now he and his men, even Xie Jun, can stand tall and report to their master, daring to loudly proclaim: "I am Princess Feng Ning, the eldest princess of the Jin dynasty, and a general under the ruler of the Nine Jin!"
The newly formed army's firearms had a maximum range of 100 meters, and the power decreased beyond 100 meters, but the reloading time was around three seconds, within two breaths, which was eight times more advanced than the Hun's firing mechanism.
However, its power was not as great as that of the Hun (a type of ancient Chinese weapon), because waterproofing and speeding up loading efficiency sacrificed firepower.
The firepower was all confined to that small, pointed flame.
The two firearms salvaged in Weidu last time were both pointed fireballs. This time, the cavalry used iron balls instead of pointed ones, but they were still more powerful than the weapons in the hands of the newly recruited army.
The Ministry of Works then adopted improvements to the aiming section, enhanced waterproofing, and increased loading speed, enabling the newly recruited army's firearms to fire a second shot immediately after the first shot was fired, and to fire several more shots if one shot was not enough to kill.
Because firearms can be reloaded quickly, firing more shots in greater numbers will surely kill several. Even if they don't die, they'll be wounded.
When the cavalry encountered firearms, everyone was stunned. Why did Xie Jun also have firearms? Did they appear overnight?
When some saw that the enemy facing them was not Xie Jun, but soldiers dressed in gray-yellow uniforms, their armor conforming to the standard Jin Dynasty military uniform, many cavalrymen, perhaps having not seen the true elite army of Jin for many years, did not recognize the Jin military uniforms.
Someone was shot but didn't fall down. He clutched the wound on his shoulder and shouted, "It had no power at all!"
"Don't be afraid, everyone. Their firearms are far inferior to ours!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the man's head was instantly split open. The power of the fireball openly declared that it had no power left; if you hit someone on the head, they will still die!
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:41:48 on January 8, 2022 and 19:27:58 on January 9, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Yunhe Bugui (5 bottles); Shuyao Jinning and Fengluo (3 bottles each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 131 Where is Anyi?
After losing more than a dozen men, the vanguard of cavalry quickly retreated from the mountain.
News that the Southern Jin army in Huayin possessed firearms spread quickly.
Anshan in Beifu was restless. He learned that Jin troops had been stationed in Huayin South. He couldn't understand why this Jin army had fallen from the sky.
He specially sent people to investigate, and finally learned that the Jin army had come by waterway because a heavy rain had irrigated the abandoned canal south of Huayin.
Even the heavens seemed to be on the side of the Jin army.
This army entered Huayin South in just three days, four days ahead of schedule, disrupting his plans. What was even more infuriating was that Jinjiang also possessed firearms.
I heard that their firearms look very similar to theirs, except that the Jin army's firearms can be reloaded much faster. By the time their men fire one shot, the Jin army has already fired five or six. Although their firepower is not as strong, if it hits a vital spot, it can still kill people, not to mention that the Jin army is also more accurate.
It is now impossible to attack Huayin South.
Anshan immediately ordered the cavalry to stop wasting troops and quickly withdraw to Huayin North to hold the coal mine first.
He then went north, admitting his incompetence, admitting that he had let the wolf into the house, and dividing and ruling Huayin.
The Hu-Xiongnu Alliance Treaty was itself a policy of King Aqina. The fact that war broke out with the Yifan Xie clan and the division of southern Huayin was indeed unexpected. However, most of the smaller states, including Yue, signed the alliance treaty, becoming allies of the Hu-Xiongnu, a powerful state. While nominally allies, in reality, the Hu-Xiongnu alliance aimed to make them the dominant power.
Upon receiving the letter of apology from the Prince of Anshan, Shan Yuhou immediately went to the Baiweng Palace to report the affairs of Huayin Kingdom to King Aqina.
However, he still hadn't seen the king today. For the past three years, he had communicated with the king through a yellow beaded curtain. The king sometimes spoke very little, but when he went out, he always gave him a certain degree of autonomy and did not restrict him. A monarch who trusted and treated his subjects with such kindness was a rare sight in a thousand years.
Today, he reverently crossed his hands and performed the national salute: "Your Majesty, this is an urgent message from the Prince of Anshan."
The person behind the yellow beaded curtain was tall and leaned against the throne. The light inside cast his shadow on the curtain, which swayed slightly in the breeze, giving him a somewhat distorted and mysterious appearance.
The person behind the curtain was not surprised by the division of Huayin. Instead, he read to himself, "In October of the second year of the Jin Dynasty, Huayin was divided between the north and south, which began a ten-year process of restoration."
"In November, the Xie clan's once-prosperous fortunes declined. The patriarch of the Xie clan suffered repeated defeats and was on the verge of death at Nilupo. In December, he was captured by the Empress and imprisoned for three years. He died of illness in Hanzhang Palace in the fifth year of the Jin Dynasty."
"The great revenge has been avenged, the restoration of the country is more than halfway complete, and the most troublesome enemy is dead. The Empress's recovery of the country is imminent. She has gone north to destroy the Hu and Xiongnu, west to conquer the northern region with the traitorous son of Emperor Li Li, and south to Shiguo Prefecture, unifying the nine provinces and expanding the territory by ten provinces. In just eight years, she has laid the foundation for a vast territory of nineteen provinces and prefectures. She is an emperor with a heroic and outstanding appearance that is rare in history and unparalleled in the past and present."
"Your Majesty?" Shan Yuhou was utterly bewildered upon hearing this. What was the King muttering about? The split of Huayin in October—did the King foresee this all along?
Aqina's voice came through: "Continue to control the north as originally planned, and increase the amount of coal transported."
"king?"
"Proceed as is now, divide the north and south into two separate regions, and send Artu to Huayin North to personally negotiate with Xie Zhu."
Upon receiving the new order, Shan Yuhou immediately reported that the newly recruited army also possessed firearms, which did not surprise the people behind the yellow curtain.
"I know."
Dan Yuhou felt that the king seemed to have known all along, so he immediately withdrew and passed on the new order to the people below. Soon, the three kings noticed the movement on this side.
The three kings were Aqina's three elder brothers. Each commanded an army of 200,000. Although they were not convinced of Aqina's ascension to the throne, they dared not openly oppose him. Although the 200,000 troops were temporarily tied up at the Red River border, it did not prevent Aqina from remotely controlling the army and attacking his three elder brothers' rear at any time. The three kings were both fortunate to have the 200,000 troops at the Red River and subject to their control.
Because their main base was entirely occupied by the king's troops. Furthermore, only the king's troops could possess firearms.
Anshan received news from Artur that Huayin North was under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains.
He was utterly shocked. Artu, as the king's most powerful general, was also the only general-king in the Hu Xiongnu Kingdom. The general-king was brave and skilled in battle, the greatest warrior of the Hu Xiongnu, capable of lifting a thousand-pound cauldron and known as a strongman. He once killed a fierce bull with a single blow.
The three kings feared him greatly. Every year, the Xiongnu ranked the enemy they least wanted to encounter as Artu.
Is it an overreaction for Wang to send him?
The news of Artur's impending arrival also shook Huayin North, making the pro-peace faction feel that they had chosen the right master. The pro-war faction, unable to defeat the pro-peace faction, migrated south to seek refuge with Si Xitong.
The unexpected split of the Huayin Kingdom in less than half a month caught everyone off guard. Smaller nations that had previously traveled to Huayin to sign alliance treaties fled, secretly monitoring the situation before considering further cooperation.
Before leaving, King Zheng Fu of Yue wrote a letter to Si Xitong.
As soon as Xie Lanzhi caught a whiff of something, she grabbed the letter immediately. She wouldn't let go of anything that might lead to bad romantic encounters.
Si Xitong was completely defeated by her.
Helplessly, she reminded her, "I have never met him before. He is, after all, the ruler of a country. How could he be so foolish as to be so enthusiastic after only meeting me once?"
Xie Lanzhi nodded, but she quickly opened the letters that needed to be opened.
The letter reads as follows: Respected Princess Fengning, I feel as if we are old friends...
The letter tore instantly.
Xie Lanzhi, her face dark, crumpled the letter into a ball: "This is your letter of admiration!"
Si Xitong never expected that this King of Yue was a dissolute man who neglected his duties and indulged in pleasures and romance.
"It's a good thing he's Azi's cousin. I think Yue is doomed." Xie Lanzhi chuckled coldly. "Little Phoenix, when we unify the country in the future, don't forget the location of Yue. It's close to the sea, which is perfect for training sailors."
Faced with someone being jealous but not forgetting to focus on their career, a smile appeared on her lips: "Then we'll remember that."
Xie Lanzhi disposed of the letter. She noticed that Anshan had been inactive for ten days. Since learning that there were firearms in Huayin South, they had become much more cautious. In Huayin Kingdom, many families began to relocate en masse, specifically to what many had previously considered desolate and wild areas.
The area south of Huayin was overcrowded, and people began to develop the mountainous region.
Si Xitong relaxed the development conditions in Huayin South, and took advantage of the flooded abandoned canals after the heavy rain to transport a lot of tools back and forth to Huayin South as a gift, and the grain was not lacking either.
From that point on, the Kingdom of Huayin existed in name only.
An Yi hadn't appeared for half a month, and everyone thought she was dead. A Zi cried her heart out every day.
Si Xitong couldn't help but worry about her younger sister: "Lanzhi, none of the people I sent out have found her. Do you think Anyi might still be hiding in Huayin North?"
“She wouldn’t be stupid enough to stay there forever.” Xie Lanzhi massaged her shoulders, dispelling her jealousy. Then she remembered that An Yi had run to Huayin South after the last battle. Logically speaking, even a tortoise would have crawled to the pond in Huayin South. Why hadn’t she been seen for half a month?
At this moment, Anyi had been emptying chamber pots for half a month and washing more than 700 chamber pots. He was busy until midnight every day, and after sleeping for three hours, he was called up to carry manure.
She escaped, but she didn't expect that after a madam bought her at a low price, she would also send someone to keep an eye on her so that she wouldn't run away.
She tried to run away once, but was caught by the madam and sent to another madam as a favor. It was said that this madam was the mistress of a certain Hun lord, so the local government was very eager to curry favor with her.
An Yi once secretly denounced the government as a lackey. When the madam overheard this, she was punished by being sent to another town to wash the chamber pots of the Huns. Two men who carried chamber pots were also sent with her. The two men were afraid that she would run away, so they would watch her every day until she returned and locked the door before leaving.