Kun said, "The Achina faction's mercenaries could stab you in the back at any time."
Please reconsider.
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Chapter 170 Si Xitong actually has a fiancé
Xie Lanzhi had made up her mind, and she asked Xie Ming to escort the two of them out.
Before they left, the two men specifically told her that the split in the Shi Kingdom and Shi Yang's rise to power were both orchestrated by them behind the scenes. However, Shi Yang was an unpredictable factor; he admired the strong and would submit to whoever was powerful. His sense of loyalty was weak.
Xie Lanzhi remembered Shi Yang; the secret agent wanted her to be wary of him.
After the spy left.
Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but complain in the main account: "I just hope they don't take a fancy to me, because if they do, they're doomed."
Shi Yang and Zheng Xiu were still arguing, with Shi Yang praising Xie Lanzhi while constantly belittling Zheng Xiu. Zheng Xiu simply stopped arguing with him. He wanted to return to Yue, but feared dying en route. So Zheng Xiu stayed near the main tent. Fortunately, Marshal Xie treated him politely and sent people to protect him.
Zheng Xiu, however, was bewildered. Bewildered about the future of the Yue Kingdom. From the beginning, when the Yue Kingdom was able to stand alone and earn the respect of the Zhou Kingdom, to now, the Yue Kingdom had unexpectedly fallen into a state where everyone hated it.
Zheng Xiu was suddenly furious. He was furious that his elder brother, the king, harbored ambitions of domination and had acted as an accomplice to the tyranny of Aba, thus pushing the Yue Kingdom into its current isolated and helpless state.
Now, the neighboring countries around Yue are distancing themselves from Yue and have even cut off previous trade with Yue.
Originally, Aba was in Yue Kingdom under the guise of selling firearms and inviting various countries to purchase them. However, Marshal Xie only brought 10,000 men, along with the more than 100,000 men from Shi Kingdom, who completely sealed off Yue Kingdom.
Not only could the other states not buy firearms, they also regarded the Yue state, which possessed firearms, as a thorn in their side and requested that the new Tianjing send troops to annihilate the Yue state.
The Yue Kingdom has at most 30,000 troops on its own territory, and Aba will bring another 20,000, for a maximum of 50,000. Even if there are 50,000 troops, they are now being bombarded by ten cannons and dare not come out.
Zheng Xiu grew increasingly alarmed by the thought. He felt that the fate of the Xi Kingdom was the future of the Yue Kingdom.
At this moment, Xie Lanzhi walked out of the main tent and saw Zheng Xiu squatting on the ground, his hands covering his head and scratching his hair, seemingly filled with anger with nowhere to vent.
Xie Lanzhi still had some goodwill towards this person, simply because he was known as one of the Seven Wise Kings of Yue and was beloved by the people of Yue.
She struck up a conversation, saying, "Seventh Prince, are you worried about your elder brother?"
Zheng Xiu immediately stood up and bowed, then sighed and said, "Brother Wang is stubborn and deliberately delays in seeking peace. His intention is to take a chance and wait until there is no longer any possibility before surrendering."
Zheng Fu's fantasy of seizing control of firearms and establishing a maritime power during this war was destined to be shattered.
The marshal could not delay any longer.
Zheng Fu was no different from someone who was stubbornly ignorant.
Xie Lanzhi specifically reminded him: "The Yue Kingdom has more than just Zheng Fu as its heir."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiu immediately understood her meaning.
"Seventh Prince, you'd better stay in the rear. Only my men can protect you." After Xie Lanzhi finished speaking, she had Xie Bing lead a horse, and she slung her silver halberd over her shoulder, mounted the horse, and quickly disappeared into the woods.
When Zheng Xiu met Shi Yang again, she didn't argue with him. Instead, she obediently found a safe place to read.
Feeling bored with no one to argue with, Shi Yang inquired about Marshal Xie's whereabouts. Upon learning that Marshal Xie had gone to Mingbao, he thought to himself, "This time, I'll miss another chance to admire the Grand Marshal's heroic figure."
He asked Xie Ming, "What if we encounter danger?"
"If I were by the Marshal's side, I could even shield her from bullets!" he said with a longing expression. He seemed to consider shielding someone from bullets an honor, which terrified Xie Ming, who took several steps back. Good heavens! This guy must be crazy!
As soon as Xie Lanzhi arrived at Mingbao, she sneezed violently, almost twisting her neck, and her body couldn't help but shiver.
Xie Bing from Mingbao came out and informed them of the current situation on Jiguang Island: "The Marshal launched a counterattack on Jiguang Island last night, which was just wiped out this morning. Then our men discovered that it was not a regular army, but a group of fishermen."
"So, the Vietnamese army didn't dare to come out, but a group of fishermen did?" Xie Lanzhi pondered the value of Jiguang Island. Its location could indeed block the route from Zhuqing Island to Nanyang, but the occasional harassment from a group of fishermen would increase her burden.
Her soldiers aren't made of iron; they simply couldn't withstand the strain in the long run.
So Xie Lanzhi ordered, "Go immediately and invite the Seventh Prince to the island to take charge of order on Jiguang Island."
"Yes!" Xie Bing immediately rushed to the main camp.
When Zheng Xiu led a thousand unarmored soldiers to Jiguang Island, they were attacked by fishermen. Zheng Xiu saw a sharpened spear about to pierce his throat. He froze on the spot, his mind went blank, and he was even a beat too slow to escape.
A silver halberd missed its target, its blade slicing through the fisherman's throat. A jet of blood sprayed into the air, splattering like raindrops onto everyone around Zheng Xiu.
The fishermen and Xie Bingtong met the dark figure standing on the giant rocks on the coast. She was alone, charging forward bravely, wielding her long halberd, leaving blood and flesh flying wherever she went.
The soldiers looked at the figure with surprise and delight, as if the former Grand Marshal had returned.
Zheng Xiu was rescued by her. Sitting on his horse, he stared blankly as Xie Lanzhi fought her way through, shattering the fishermen's will to resist and becoming a force to be reckoned with. This is the power of the invincible strong in chaotic times. The mighty are respected—this is the eternal truth of this world.
Xie Lanzhi fought her way ashore, into the island's forest, until the fishermen dared not resist any longer. Finally, she laid down her halberd, drank the blood with her bare blade, and salivated. Her towering figure instantly intimidated the resisting forces.
When Zheng Xiu was carried ashore in a sedan chair by Xie Bing, she saw the fishermen huddled in a stone cave, trembling and covered in blood. The corpses lying around them filled them with despair.
After dismounting, Zheng Xiu was finally able to speak properly with the fishermen who had put out their fire: "I am Zheng Xiu, the Seventh Prince Zheng Xiu."
When the fishermen heard this name, they seemed to find a glimmer of hope for survival: "Yes, it's our Seven Wise King!"
"Wasn't he captured by Xie Bing?!"
"Is it really the Seventh Prince?"
"If it were us, we could have survived!"
Zheng Xiu emphasized that he was Zheng Xiu. He was negotiating with the fishermen's resistance forces, while Xie Lanzhi behind him looked at herself covered in blood, and then at the fishermen who were trying to find a way to survive.
She was afraid of frightening the fishermen, who would think she didn't trust Zheng Xiu.
Xie Lanzhi then quietly withdrew.
Two hours later, persuaded by Zheng Xiu, and with Xie Lanzhi protecting him from behind, Zheng Xiu's requests for food were all met.
Seeing that the Seven Wise Kings were treated with respect by Xie Bing, the fishermen, with mixed feelings of grief and a desire to live, left the cave.
Following this, Xie Bing returned Jiguang Island to the fishermen and uncovered the reason why the fishermen frequently attacked Xie Bing on Jiguang Island.
It turned out that the Yue army had threatened their wives and children, ordering them to seize the island or face being killed. Similarly, due to the war, Yue was facing a severe food shortage across the country. The king had been plundering the people, squeezing every last grain out of them. Those without food were forced to join the army. But as the number of soldiers increased, food became even scarcer.
The islanders who fled into Vietnamese territory had no food. They faced two dilemmas: personal safety and the inability to survive without rice. They were caught in a bind. The fishermen could only desperately rush to Jiguang Island, hoping the army would spare their families out of consideration for their desperate act.
Upon hearing his elder brother's words and the Yue army's brutal actions, King Zheng Xiu of the Seventh Kingdom was enraged!
Finally, Xie Bing relayed Xie Lanzhi's order: the fishermen should bring their wives and children to Jiguang Island, and at the same time, bring in the Yue army. Once they were brought in, Jiguang Island would be ceded to the Seven Wise Kings, who would then rule it. The Southern Central Plains would never interfere in the internal affairs of Jiguang Island.
The fishermen had heard of the Central Plains of the South. They were even more terrified of the tyrannical reputation of the Xie clan's ruler.
Xie Lanzhi's actions were simply aimed at severing the last remaining connection and hope between the fishermen of Jiguang Island and the Vietnamese army, binding them completely to Jiguang Island.
The fishermen currently have someone to guide them, or rather, the Seventh Prince Zheng Xiu is advising them.
The fishermen immediately went ashore to tell the Vietnamese army that they had captured Jiguang Island. The Vietnamese army did not believe that a group of commoners could retake Jiguang Island. In addition, they were already short of food, and feeding these commoners would only increase their burden.
So some members of the Yue army devised a plan: to send all the fishermen back to the island. They intended to use the fishermen as bait to probe Xie's army. This would both reveal whether Xie's army had any ambushes and eliminate any extra mouths to feed.
The fishermen's families, one by one, wept and followed them to Jiguang Island. When they arrived on Jiguang Island and saw that Xie Bing was still there, everyone was filled with despair.
They were indeed abandoned by both sides. In utter despair, everyone awaited death, until Zheng Xiu appeared on horseback and then directed Xie Bing to stockpile grain and repair houses.
This scene seemed out of place on Jiguang Island, where corpses littered the ground.
The fishermen breathed a sigh of relief, feeling they had made the right bet. They later told their families that the Seventh Prince and Marshal Xie had reached an agreement, with the Seventh Prince willing to cede Jiguang Island to the Seventh Prince's rule.
No one had any unrealistic fantasies about defending their country on their own; all they wanted now was to survive, especially since their army had just abandoned them.
Zheng Xiu captured Jiguang Island in one fell swoop, saving its five thousand inhabitants. This news spread throughout the Yue Kingdom, and accusations of treason and betrayal were hurled at Zheng Xiu.
Faced with powerful figures, Zheng Xiu believed he had only done what he was supposed to do: at least protect the five thousand islanders. He no longer wanted to hide in the Xie family's main tent and eke out a living.
We will do our best to save as many people as possible.
Zheng Xiu, burdened with the label of a traitor, coordinated affairs on Jiguang Island. During this time, Xie Bing did not go to the island, but he separated the Yue army at the edge of the island.
With Xie Bing there, the Yue army was like mice before a cat, and dared not set foot on the island.
Jiguang Island finally enjoyed a temporary period of peace during the month-long stalemate in the Vietnamese kingdom.
Xie Lanzhi moved Zheng Xiu to Jiguang Island, and then she abandoned Shi Yang there as well. Xie Bing and the Jingwei Army quickly felt the relief of the reduced pressure at the front lines that night, as no one risked their lives to ambush them during their patrols anymore.
The Yue army, like cowards, hid behind the Ming fortress, becoming the worst regular army in history, even worse than a ragtag army.
Another change occurs at night.
One night, Xie Lanzhi went out and saw a wisp of fire floating behind the shadow of a tree a hundred paces away. At first, she thought it was a will-o'-the-wisp, since people died everywhere during the war and many people would find a place to bury them on the spot. It was normal to see will-o'-the-wisps at night.
But the flames were hissing and burning, and they weren't even a deep blue color. She immediately realized something was wrong.
Xie Lanzhi dodged behind a tree, and the firearm struck the tree trunk in front of her with a bang.
Assassination?! The word flashed through her mind. Xie Lanzhi immediately crawled on the ground behind the flame, drew her sword, and stabbed the shadowy figure. The figure screamed and fell to the ground.
Xie Lanzhi took the opportunity to hide behind a tree. Then she saw with her own eyes that the dark figures hiding behind the trees lit the fuses in the tangled bushes. This time it was much more exciting than firearms. The fuses crackled and popped, and in the end they were all thrown in her direction.
She darted quickly through the woods, finally finding a protruding rock to use as cover. She lay down behind it, while a series of explosions erupted around her, splashing her with sand and stones.
Xie's soldiers quickly returned to their positions. They withdrew their Type 94 wheeled cannons and fired a shot at a nearby location, instantly silencing the woods.
After that, Xie Bing and his men dared not open fire recklessly, for fear of blowing up their own men.
Xie Lanzhi thus escaped safely from behind the rock. Before leaving, she glanced at the corner that had been bombed by the Type 94 wheeled cannon, where four or five corpses lay on the ground.
That shot was very accurate!
We should go back and encourage the artillery!
Xie Lanzhi returned to the military camp covered in mud, startling Xie Ming and the others, who thought their cannon fire had hit the marshal.
Xie Ming stammered, "Marshal, Marshal, are you alright?"
"It has nothing to do with you." Xie Lanzhi told Xie Ming about the attack she had suffered, and said, "The miscellaneous mercenaries sent by the Hu and Xiongnu have already infiltrated the border. You must be careful at all times."
Xie Ming immediately stopped stammering and said decisively, "Marshal, the Western Guard has given us intelligence that the Huns have launched a decapitation plan to kill you and Aba Na on the front lines!"
"But I think they're dreaming."
Seeing that the marshal could still escape under the artillery fire, they began to believe that the marshal was a divine warrior descended to earth, which was why he had an indestructible body.