Ten thousand people passed directly through the four counties, without going to Jin first. Instead, two thousand went to Jin, and the remaining eight thousand began to punish those in the second and third Jin counties for interfering in other people's affairs.
The two Jin states were captured, and their rulers abandoned their palaces and fled to the four Jin states. When the ruler of the three Jin states heard that Xie Jun was going to attack them, he immediately sent an envoy to seek peace and explain the reason for sending troops.
The envoy was shot dead by Xie Jun as soon as he stepped out the door. Without saying a word, Xie Jun rushed into the capital of the Three Jin states and slaughtered the garrison.
The Three Jin forces were far stronger than the Two Jin forces; Xie's army suffered one-sixth of its men as casualties. However, the Three Jin forces suffered direct casualties of eight thousand.
After Xie Xia finished fighting, he immediately led his men to the two Jin states. The two Jin states collapsed as easily as a mud wall. The rulers of the two Jin states had all fled, and their ministers either fled or rushed to negotiate peace. Since the rulers were not present, they could only send out the prince to represent them.
But none of the princes dared to go. The princes sent their retainers in their place, but the retainers also refused to go. With both sides declining, the morale of the garrison troops of the two Jin states plummeted, and they all fled to the four Jin states.
When the rulers of the four Jin states heard that the two and three Jin states had been conquered by Xie's army without any reason, they believed that Xie was taking the opportunity to find a pretext to exterminate their royal family.
Therefore, the ruler of the four Jin states sought help from Si Lei of the seven Jin states.
Upon hearing this, Si Lei immediately wrote back to the ruler of the Four Jin states, ordering him to remain where he was, not to provide any support, and not to accept any assistance from the Second or Third Jin states.
However, the rulers of the two Jin states had already fled to the four Jin states.
The ruler of the Four Jin states informed Si Lei of this matter, and Si Lei ordered him to keep an eye on the people while he wrote a letter to Lord Xie.
Xie Lanzhi wrote a letter and asked Wu Qiu to reply.
Wu Qiu's letter to Si Lei clearly states: "The eldest son of Jin secretly abducted the daughter of the Grand General into the Eighth Jin, and his sister recklessly led troops into the country, which has already caused a great mistake. The Xie family should punish them, but the intervention of the Second and Third Jin has caused the situation to break out, turning the First Jin into a battlefield and escalating personal grudges into a war between the two countries."
"Interfering in the internal affairs of the Xie clan without authorization is an act of disobeying one's benefactor. Therefore, the Xie clan has dispatched 10,000 troops to punish their subordinates."
Si Lei received the letter and wanted to write a letter to expose the Xie family's plot to divide Jin! But as the strongest ruler of the Nine Jin, he ended up not even being able to protect the other divided Jin.
But he couldn't. Wu Qiu's reply meant he was thanking the Lord.
The interests of Xie Zhu and the Seven Jin are far greater than those of the other Jin states. If she wants to destroy a Jin state, she only needs to find a legitimate excuse. There is no need for Xie clan members to make mistakes that would give others a handle to use against her.
This move by Xie to both admit his mistake and attack the division of Jin is truly perplexing.
Xie Ying, what exactly is she plotting now?!
Si Lei knew very well that it meant unifying the nine provinces! That was Xie Ying's true purpose.
Si Lei felt he couldn't just sit and wait to die.
He needed to go to Tianjing immediately.
The next day, in the Golden Palace, Xie was furious when he heard that the Second and Third Jin states had attacked Xie's army under the pretext of sending reinforcements.
The Xie generals all volunteered: "Since the marshal has taken the lead, why don't we take this opportunity to recover the eight Jin states?"
“The two or three Jin states are far from us, and are barren lands. They have long since refused to submit to the Xie family.”
"If the Xie family doesn't take a stand after being provoked today, tomorrow someone might dare to launch a group attack against them. We absolutely cannot wait until the situation escalates before taking action!"
"We request the Marshal to issue an order allowing Xie's army to attack the Eight Jin!"
Xie Lanzhi slammed her hand on the table repeatedly and scolded, "Nonsense! This matter should have been resolved peacefully, but unfortunately, some of you have failed to properly educate your children, resulting in a serious mistake that has caused Xie Bing to suffer losses."
"Instead of reflecting on your actions, you still want to aid and abet the wicked!"
The officials remained silent, but Si Bogong hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Marshal, as the Imperial Envoy, I hope you will show mercy to my brothers. They certainly wouldn't dare to rebel against you. It was just that they made a grave mistake in a moment of panic."
Xie Lanzhi said, "Lord Sibo, you can rest assured. I will never fail my loyal subjects. However, it is inevitable that generals will not be able to fulfill their duties when they are away from home. Once Xie Xia has captured Xie Ying, the wicked daughter of the Xie family, and brought her back to the capital, we will make compensation to him."
"Yi Jin has a young master and a princess in Tianjing. Inform them immediately that I will not implicate them. The Xie family will also take responsibility for Yi Jin."
Si Bogong was immediately puzzled. If the first Jin dynasty had been compensated, what about the second and third Jin dynasties?
He couldn't understand why the two Jin dynasties had been so foolish as to attack Xie's army. Now, they had turned their capital into a battlefield, a complete loss. Just how stupid could his two brothers be to send troops to attack Xie's forces?
Xie Lanzhi suppressed the Xie clan below, and the officials in the capital did not participate, but silently observed the situation.
Now, Shanxi, Shanxi, and Shanxi are all in a mess.
At the same time, Si Lei received a private message from the ruler of the Second Jin Kingdom. The ruler of the Second Jin Kingdom said that he had received a request for help from the First Jin Kingdom, saying that rebels had attacked Wandu. As a result, when they sent people to help, they accidentally attacked Xie Bing.
It was too late to turn back, which led to a terrible mistake.
As Si Lei watched the gates of Tianjing close by, a chill suddenly ran down his spine. Someone was secretly instigating the Second and Third Jin states, urging Xie Bing to attack them.
However, Xie Zhu only made a statement regarding the Jin dynasty, while remaining completely silent about the other two Jin dynasties.
What a wonderful Sichuan opera face-changing performance!
At Lanzhang Palace, Xie Lanzhi was still in the council meeting in the Golden Palace.
Si Xitong has already issued several orders.
Li Jin of Jiu Jin received the order: "Ma Jing is appointed as the Protector-General of Jiu Jin, and he and his generals and soldiers are ranked in order of 100 households, and shall immediately participate in the training of the scattered troops of Jiu Jin."
"Jiujin has designated a sandy field for planting peanuts."
“Jiujin received the fleeing members of the Si clan in various places.”
Ma Jing was the laborer who failed to assassinate Si Xinian. Later, he sent someone to stab Si Xinian and was pursued by Xie Bing. When his life was hanging by a thread, Si Xitong came to his rescue.
Ma Jing originally disliked the former imperial family, but after being taken to Jiuyu Jin for a few days, he found that the people of Jiuyu Jin lived a more stable life than those in Tianjing. Although they were poorer and had less food, at least they lived like human beings.
Prince Feng Ning, the ruler of Jiu Jin, is also the popular choice. Ma Jing is unwilling to spend his life as a laborer. He also learns that he has misunderstood the Fourth Prince. Feeling guilty and wanting to surrender, he resolutely chooses to serve Si Xi Tong as his master.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:20:42 and 19:48:03 on December 10, 2021!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmines: Deep in 75 (2);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Xiaoyueban (10 bottles); Mi (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 61 Aren't you afraid I'm some other ghost?
The debate raged on in the Golden Palace.
Xie Wei reported the situation at the front: "Reporting to the Marshal, General Zuo has taken the second and third Jin provinces directly and has now led his troops to the first Jin province."
The battle report astonished everyone in the Golden Palace; the Xie family had conquered Shanxi in just one day and one night, proving their extraordinary fighting prowess.
Xie Lanzhi nodded: "Since the situation is serious and we have no choice but to fight, pass down the order: the rebellious ministers and the rulers of the Second and Third Jin states have disobeyed this commander without offering a single word of explanation. Their intentions are suspicious and they deserve to be punished."
"From this day forward, aside from the First Jin, the Second Jin, and the Third Jin..."
After saying this, she scanned everyone, her tone suddenly turning serious: "The Jin Dynasty must be abolished!"
The abolition of the Jin dynasty caused Si Bogong to faint.
The officials in the capital exchanged glances, and one of them asked, "After the deposed empresses of the Jin Dynasty, should the Marshal be appointed as a Pacification Commissioner?"
Xie Lanzhi said, "Let's discuss it for now."
Xie was surprised by the tacit approval of the officials in the capital; these self-righteous fellows didn't seem to care at all whether the war was just or not.
The officials in the capital all believed that apart from their own Nine Jin, which were considered the legitimate successors, the other eight Jin were merely collateral branches. It was only because the direct line of the Jin had been wiped out and its branches withered that the collateral branches had gained prominence. In the past, these collateral branches had stood idly by, causing His Majesty to die at the hands of Huang Mang, unable to find help elsewhere. Now, karma had come full circle; the collateral branches, having sought to usurp the throne, had finally met their demise.
The fact that the Eighth Jin state was punished by Heaven signifies that the Ninth Jin state is the rightful ruler ordained by Heaven.
The officials in the capital witnessed Princess Fengning reclaim Jiujin, and how she gained the favor of the Xie family and the support of the Xie clan. This was not solely due to the Xie family's favor; even if the Xie family had given her more, she would still have been incompetent if she couldn't hold onto it. Now that Jiujin has been restored to its rightful place, all the impoverished scholars in the land are flocking to Jiujin.
Even the imperial examinations issued by Xie Zhu, tested in multiple locations, only yielded results in Jiujin. And the situation was extremely favorable; these examinations became a powerful tool for Princess Fengning to win over the scholars. Once spring passed and the two seasons of sweet potatoes were harvested in abundance, then in addition to Xie Zhu's bestowal of a title, it would further prove that Princess Fengning was truly the one destined for the Great Jin Dynasty.
As long as the princess or prince has an offspring, the Si family line can continue to be passed down. Ideally, they can marry into the Xie family and have a new master recognized by both the Si and Xie families.
Xie Lanzhi's attempt to conquer Jin was not hindered, except by the Xie family's simple and crude request for battle.
The officials in the capital all argued that the Nine Jin were the legitimate lineage, while the Eight Jin were collateral lineages. They argued that the collateral lineages should not overshadow the legitimate lineages, and on the spot, they proposed a policy to weaken the power of the vassal states.
"Marshal, the Nine Jin states are the legitimate successors in the world, and rites and music must not be abandoned."
"I request that the Marshal immediately integrate the eight vassal states, and that their military system be no more advanced than that of the nine Jin states."
"We beseech the Marshal to uphold the rightful ruler of our Nine Provinces and to take over the territory that has overstepped its bounds."
Xie Lanzhi said with her hands level: "I will definitely take care of the chaos caused by the Eighth Prince acting on behalf of the Emperor. Please be patient."
The officials in the capital exclaimed, "The Marshal is wise!"
"The Marshal is wise!" the Xie family members exclaimed. Secretly, however, they were delighted that the Marshal had finally relented.
Even if it was a request from a court official, as long as the purpose was the same, they were happy.
With Xie Lanzhi's stance firmly established, troops began to be mobilized and prepared for war in various parts of Tianjing.
Si Bogong was sent back to the Si family mansion, and the members of the Si family were in a state of panic, asking him how they should conduct themselves in the current situation.
Knowing that Marshal Xie would not let Ba Jin go, Si Bogong looked at these younger generation members, gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Go to Jiu Jin! Jiu Jin is the Princess's fiefdom. She will definitely protect you if you go there."
"You can no longer stay in Tianjing!"
The Si clan members were immediately terrified and began packing their belongings. Some even rode away on horseback, without even bothering to pay their respects.
The news of the Si clan's migration to Jiujin reached the Xie clan, who then sent people to escort them there. Aside from that, they did nothing else with these people.
When Si Xitong received the news of the royal family's entry into Jin, Xie Lanzhi had just returned from the Golden Palace.
She took off her outer robe and changed into a navy blue casual dress. After washing her hands, she was about to eat.
Si Xitong ordered the meat to be removed, leaving only pickled vegetables and greens.
Xie Lanzhi didn't dare ask for meat, and ate two large bowls of white rice with pickled vegetables.
Si Xitong noticed that she didn't complain and was unusually well-behaved.
She offered, "Haste makes waste."
Xie Lanzhi paused in her hand, which was holding a pickled vegetable, and looked up somewhat awkwardly, saying, "If you don't accept your people, where else can they go?"
“I’m not talking about the same thing,” Si Xitong said with a serious face. “Now is not a good time to destroy the Eight Jin. If you take it by force, it will only prove the strength of your Xie family, but you will have even less room to maneuver in the future.”
"The Eight Jin have developed independently from the Great Jin for twenty years. It is not something that can be eradicated by simply uprooting them."
"unless...."
Xie Lanzhi put down her bowl and picked up a peanut for her: "Unless what?"
“Unless you already have a royal representative to act on your behalf.” Si Xitong put a peanut in her mouth, crunching it, then picked up a mouthful of rice. After finishing their meal, the two brewed a pot of tea.
She was being gradually predicted by Si Xitong's actions.