Many of the generals of the Nine Provinces did not have high hopes, but they had already reported to His Highness, and His Highness had agreed, so they could only continue recruiting, as many people as they could.
Surprisingly, a thousand people enlisted on the first day, which the generals considered the peak of recruitment. They believed that there would definitely be fewer people enlisting in the future.
As a result, three thousand soldiers arrived on the second day, five thousand on the third, and so on on the fourth, fifth, and eighth days. The generals all closed their recruitment offices and refused to recruit any more soldiers.
However, quite a few young and middle-aged people still desperately want to get in.
The generals of Jiujin stayed up for three days and three nights to count and record the names, and then distributed military uniforms. They discovered that they had recruited a total of 50,000 people, many of whom were deserters who had fled from other countries.
At this point, the generals of Jiujin informed Li Ling of the situation.
Li Ling was so frightened he almost fainted. He then discovered that out of the 300,000 people, four out of ten were young adults, and some were soldiers from other countries who couldn't survive and had secretly joined the army.
It is said that the generals also captured three hundred soldiers who knew martial arts, and they were just as good as the enemy in a fight; they were practically handpicked troops. They would be considered elite troops in other countries.
Finally, Li Ling decided to take charge and let the three hundred men set up their own arena to compete. The winner would then lead a thousand new recruits and train them according to his own methods. If they could train a strong army, it would become the New Army—a true government army.
The treatment of government troops was not good, but the prestige of government troops and the possibility of being served in the emperor's palace made them irresistible. Many people fought each other for this possibility, hoping to make a name for themselves.
Li Ling couldn't control these people, so he wrote a letter to Si Xitong to apologize.
Despite his busy schedule, Si Xitong instructed Li Ling to use them as practice subjects, offering no rewards initially, and allowing anyone who disagreed to leave voluntarily. He said they would stay based entirely on their own willingness to contribute, and they would be dealt with later when they were more wealthy.
Upon receiving His Highness's new order, the new recruits of Jiujin found the competition to be increasingly fierce. Although some were forced to resign and return to civilian life, 80% remained and continued to compete. Soon, 50,000 recruits were selected to form ten captains and eight cavalry captains, each commanding 50,000 new recruits.
Li Ling, displaying the same self-imposed but unrewarded spirit as Si Xitong, resolved a major problem.
Soon, new troubles arose.
When Li Ling heard his generals report that the new captains had clashed with the Xie clan, the reason was that the Xie clan had always come to collect protection money and grain from the Nine Jin regions as tribute.
Normally, the collection process goes very smoothly, but this time they encountered obstacles. The new captains argued that the land of Jiujin was Prince Fengning's fiefdom, and that they should stand on equal footing with Marshal Xie in the Golden Palace, forbidding the Xie family from levying taxes on them as their masters. This was because it was unreasonable.
At first, the Xie clan laughed at these people for being naive, thinking that the land of Jiujin belonged entirely to the Si clan. So they forcibly levied taxes, which resulted in a small-scale dispute between the new captains and the young generals of the Xie clan. The captains even beat many members of the Xie clan bloody.
Although no criminals were killed for the time being, the Xie family suffered their first hardship.
These newly recruited soldiers were exceptionally capable fighters, and the Xie family had been living a life of ease for two years without fighting, so they all enjoyed themselves like royalty. Because they never had to worry about food or drink due to internal allocations, some of them even began to neglect their training.
As a result, they encountered a group of people who wouldn't listen to reason and ended up getting punched.
The Xie family had assembled an army to attack the captains of the Nine Jin, hoping to establish their authority. A thousand men went, and they were all beaten; no one was killed, but their swords were confiscated.
Xie Bing never expected that he would lose to a bunch of ragtag soldiers, especially military officers who had come from various small countries across the land. Although these men came from small countries, they were all men of unwavering integrity.
Now, with the protection of the new master, Prince Fengning, they are loyal to their posts and, even though they have never met Si Xitong, they believe that since they are eating the emperor's food and sharing his worries, they will not avoid Xie like the soldiers of Jiujin.
Xie Guang was furious when he heard about this and demanded an explanation from Li Ling.
Li Ling felt that the Xie family was arrogant to begin with, and now that they couldn't defeat Tie Ding, they were blaming them instead. At the same time, he greatly admired the toughness and martial prowess of the new captains. If 50,000 men could be led by these fearless and reckless men, how could the Jin dynasty not be restored!
Since his subordinates were so capable, he naturally wouldn't let them lose face. As the sole Grand Councilor of Jiu Jin, he immediately ordered the new captains to guard Jiu Jin, ensuring that not a single member of the Xie clan who overstepped their bounds was allowed to enter. Otherwise, they would be executed without exception!
Xie Guang was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the old man to be so tough, showing him no respect whatsoever.
Now, Xie has willingly offered himself up to be slapped and can't even get any real respect. This scene feels very familiar. Isn't this just like Ma Hong's situation?
Xie Guang didn't want another bunch of Ma Hongs to appear, otherwise how could the Xie family maintain its reputation in Tianjing! He wanted to personally take charge, but Wu Qiu dissuaded him. Wu Qiu also secretly reported to him various complaint letters about the Xie family's recent neglect of management and training.
Wu Qiu also specifically reminded him: "If the Marshal returns and finds the Xie family to be lazy and disorganized, the first person he will discipline is you, General."
Xie Guang immediately trembled all over. Even without Xie Lanzhi, her iron fist was still terrifying. Especially for him, he didn't know how many beatings he had suffered at the hands of the marshal, even though she had ordered the beatings to be done. It was no different from her being there in person.
He took the initiative to suppress the conflict in Jiujin and focused on training first. However, strangely, the Xie clan had more than one problem. Although the Xie clan had been living peacefully recently and had little friction with the people, they were generally wealthy and powerful families in both county towns and small villages in the Tianjing area. They didn't need to work to receive feedback from the clan. They were waited on hand and foot, and with so much good life, their willpower naturally became lax.
Many people even began to abandon martial arts training in private and embrace Confucianism.
Xie Guang suddenly realized that the Xie family's internal structure was softening without him noticing.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:45:04 on January 11, 2022 and 19:32:56 on January 12, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Yu Sheng Ke Hao 20 bottles; Hong Yan, Mi Hotel, and Mr. Ze 10 bottles; Ba Ba Ba Lu 2 bottles; Ye 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 138 The Xie Family's Terrifying Misfortune
Although Xie Guang wanted to use training to bring them back to the right track, the Xie family not only refused to cooperate but also outwardly complied while inwardly resisting.
Xie's luck gradually began to run out, and everything he did went wrong.
For example, Xie family merchants would frequently have their ships capsize. While the people on board would be unharmed, the losses would be enormous. Several times, the Xie family sent people to inspect the capsized ships and found nothing wrong with them, yet accidents would still occur.
The grain being transported from the Southern Region to Tianjing was en route under clear skies and in good weather. Suddenly, in broad daylight, a bolt of lightning struck, hitting the Xie clan's iron flag and killing more than a dozen Xie clan members instantly. The ten thousand shi of grain being transported was also burned by the lightning.
When news of this reached Xin Tianjing, the entire Xie clan was shocked, and the people of Xin Tianjing were abuzz with the story, initially thinking it was an accident.
Unfortunately, the heavens were unkind, and another torrential rain fell that night. The floodwaters from various reservoirs and channels flowed around to safer areas, but they diverted to the Xie family's stronghold, directly flooding the Xie family's headquarters at the South Gate and causing the deaths of a thousand people.
The Xie clan was once again shocked. Although they were descendants of Xie Yan, they were still their own clansmen.
Xie Guang then went from the North Camp to the South Gate to offer condolences to the Xie family. The entire Xie family camp there was wailing and mourning. Xie Guang was extremely heavy-hearted and, seeing his men, was at a loss for words.
That night, he stayed at the South Gate to comfort his brothers. However, his North Camp also suffered a disaster that night. The gatekeeper, Xie Fengling, was swept away by the flood. Fortunately, she was rescued by a merchant's boat and did not die. However, all one hundred of her men were swept away and their bodies could not be found.
He then fell seriously ill.
This time, the people of Xin Tianjing and the Xie clan finally had no choice but to believe in the superstition.
Beimen Beidaying was a well-known land area with highly developed canals and waterways. Even during major floods, flood discharge routes avoided the terrain around Beimen Beidaying. The floodwaters were practically nonexistent; at worst, there were two waterways to handle them. But no one expected the flood to flow upstream.
Although no one drowned at Beidaying, the military camp suffered heavy property losses, amounting to at least tens of thousands of taels of gold.
Upon hearing this, Xie Guang fainted right there in the South Gate military camp.
The sudden fainting of Xie's second-in-command threw the Xie family into complete disarray. No matter how much Li Ling disliked the Xie family, he never considered them enemies, but rather as colleagues he disliked.
Now that such a big thing has suddenly happened to the Xie family, he, as a minister of the Grand Council, cannot sit idly by.
Soon, rumors spread throughout the Nine Provinces that a major flood might occur. The local people believed it and rushed to the new Tianjing. The Xie family, having suffered a great misfortune within their clan, had no time to care about anything else, so at least 200,000 people crowded into the new Tianjing.
As expected, a major flood occurred in Jiujin that night, but no one died.
Just when everyone thought it was a natural disaster or man-made calamity, a gold mine suddenly appeared in a town in the Nine Jin region. The newly promoted captains raised their troops and surrounded the town, waiting for Li Ling to return and give orders.
Li Ling originally intended to visit Xie Shi, but upon hearing that a gold mine had appeared in the area he was in charge of, he disregarded Xie Shi and sent his son Li in to take a look.
Li Jin saw a town full of gold, and next to it there was something that looked like coal. He immediately sent his troops to dig, and they ended up finding a coal mine in the town next to the gold mine.
The land of Jiujin was originally unsuitable for growing grain, and was mostly used for building houses and living quarters, considered as barren and remote. But no one expected that the lack of grain in many parts of Jiujin was not due to a lack of fertile land, but rather to something else entirely.
Especially coal. It's said that only Huayin Kingdom possessed it, and Huayin Kingdom lost its territory because of coal, with half of it being taken by the Xiongnu. Prince Fengning and the Marshal managed to reclaim half of Huayin Kingdom, but it still has no coal mines.
The news spread like wildfire, and the local government moved its offices and the army moved in, treating the two towns as key resource centers and forbidding unauthorized personnel from approaching.
In the same night, the land of Jiujin was transformed from a remote and impoverished area into a gold mine, a gold mine that even the Xie family coveted.
Meanwhile, the Xie family was in disarray internally and had no time to manage the Nine Provinces.
The officials of Jiujin reported the matter to Si Xitong, who ordered the new recruits to guard the area and that no one was allowed to develop the area without her permission.
Some members of the Xie family had their own ideas, but the clan was in such disarray that they couldn't organize anyone to rob it.
Xie Guang was diagnosed by the doctor as having a terminal illness, a condition called blood poisoning. Xie Guang and Wang Shi collapsed on the spot.
They never imagined that the head of the family would not die on the battlefield, but instead fall seriously ill in peaceful times and die from his illness, instead of sacrificing himself heroically on the battlefield like a man.
Xie Guang suddenly found himself gasping for breath and was bedridden that day.
Wang cried all night and immediately wrote letters to her daughters in both places, and also sent one to Xie Lanzhi. However, this letter ended up in Si Xitong's hands.
When Si Xitong opened the letter, her lips trembled, her eyes filled with undisguised shock: "General, how could this be..."
Lu Qing glanced at her from the side and shook her head with regret, saying, "Marshal Xie is the only hope for the Xie clan. When she was at her peak, the Xie clan naturally enjoyed the blessings. Now Marshal Xie is facing a great calamity."
"The Xie family, whose fortunes rose and fell because of her, would naturally also be implicated."
In short, the Xie family's good days are over.
Si Xitong closed her eyes in sorrow, then received good news from Jiu Jin. Her feelings were mixed, with both good and bad news. Her luck was getting better and better, while Lan Zhi's was going downhill, which made her even more miserable.
Upon seeing this, Lu Qing was unsure whether to report good news or bad news, so she simply kept quiet.
When Xie Ying and Xie Ji, who were far away, received the news that Xie Guang was seriously ill, Xie Ying immediately asked Li Li to send a boat to take her back. Xie Ji, on the other hand, was stunned. He never thought that the rough and tough guy he had been competing with all his life would not be defeated by him, but by a serious illness.
He tore up the paper and shouted incredulously, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! That old bastard eats well, sleeps soundly, and has no bad habits other than drinking!"
"What? How can you just get sick like that?!"
Xie Ying paused for a moment, her eyes red as she asked him, "Fifth Uncle, I want to go back and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Li Li sent his strategist to inform him of another important matter.
Xie Lanzhi went to Nilubei to discuss the upcoming battle with the Hun general Wang Ertu.
Upon hearing this, Xie Ji and Xie Ying were both stunned, as if struck by lightning.
The strategist, who was a believer in ghosts and gods, now considered the recent events surrounding the Xie family, and how, after the Xie family patriarch agreed to the agreement at Nilubei, the new Tianjing had been plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities that harmed no one but the Xie family, except for ordinary people.
Even a fool can understand what Heaven means.
Li Li even detained Xie Ying, ordering her to lead 5,000 members of the Xie clan to Jinghua Prefecture to assist Prince Fengning in guarding the rear and to keep watch for Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Ying thought that the mistress was suffering greater pain and pressure than anyone else at this moment, so she didn't say anything more and led five thousand people to Jinghua Prefecture that very day.
Xie Ji could only stay in the first district to continue maintaining order. But he was always restless and had nightmares every night. He would dream of Xie Guang dying in bed and Wang Shi committing suicide by crashing into a coffin, or of the marshal's headless corpse standing by his bedside, or of the marshal being chained to the execution ground, with no one else around, but two things, one black and one white, constantly haunting him.
Otherwise, the marshal would have two spears stuck in his chest, crawling on the ground and leaving a trail of blood that was quite gruesome.
Xie Ji was so frightened that he didn't dare to sleep for two nights.
The ancestral hall in the southern region also has problems. Xie Shangguang's grandmother, the matriarch, dreams every night that Xie Zhengrong blames her for not being able to distinguish between truth and falsehood and for serving a chaotic master.
The matriarch went to burn incense every day, and soon dreamed again of the marshal standing by her bedside. Xie Lanzhi's hair was disheveled, her whole body was soaking wet, her black armor was dripping blood, and there were three bloody holes in her body, with bones faintly visible inside.
The matriarch was so frightened that she went to the ancestral hall that very night to pray for the protection of the marshal.
Xie Shiyi even lost control of his bladder due to a nightmare.
The great harvest in the Southern Region this year should have been a cause for celebration, but then a riot suddenly broke out among the lower levels of the Xie clan, who vented their long-accumulated resentment and looted most of the grain.
When the Xie clan of the Southern Region sent troops to suppress the rebellion, tens of thousands of refugees from the Shi Kingdom entered the border region, causing chaos and unrest both inside and outside the Southern Region.