Xie Ying put down her chopsticks and went to open the door, only to find Xie Jun, a personal guard of the marshal.
The soldier presented her with two New Year's gifts: "Miss, these are from the Marshal and Princess Qiqi."
"Thank you." Xie Ying handed over the New Year's gift, feeling that the other one was twice as heavy.
The guard whispered a reminder to her, "This bag was prepared for you by Princess Qiqi."
When the imperial guards came to deliver the gifts, Qiqi personally weighed and packed the New Year's goods down until they were firmly packed before letting go. When the guards delivered them, their arms felt like they were about to break from carrying her portion.
That princess really thinks highly of Miss.
Xie Ying said, "Please say thank you for me."
She didn't say who she was thanking, but the guards assumed it was a thank you to the marshal.
Afterwards, Xie Ying took the New Year's gift back to her room and told her father that the gift was sent by the Marshal.
Xie Guang was chatting and laughing with his son-in-law when he suddenly heard Xie Lanzhi deliver the New Year's gift. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and burst into tears. The burly man shed tears and cried so hard that it was like a thunderstorm. Si Maogong was so frightened that he dared not breathe.
Madam Wang wiped away her tears, then opened the gifts and found that they were all top-quality New Year's goods. In particular, another pile of gifts seemed to fit into one package, almost like three New Year's gifts.
Xie Ying deliberately kept the New Year's gift: "Mother, can I keep this New Year's gift?"
"Keep it, of course keep it! You can't give away what the marshal sent!" Xie Guang wiped away his tears and shouted, "I want to eat it! I'll just give it to them when I get my monthly salary."
They were the families of the 30,000 soldiers who died. Some families had children to take care of them, while others were only children who could only rely on their clan for support in their old age. In addition to distributing money to poor families, most of the money was given to these families as pensions.
Si Maogong said, "Father, the Marshal's gift to you is less a gift and more a way of showing his attitude towards you."
"As long as she remembers you, the others know what to do."
At least things will be a little easier. However, Xie Ying's future will have to wait another three years, and by then, she may no longer have a chance to rise again.
Si Maogong sighed deeply at this.
After wiping away his tears, Xie Guang picked up the yellow wine and took a few gulps. He said, "I will never forget the Marshal's great kindness."
The family had a good New Year this year.
This year, the snow in Tianjing didn't fall on people, but on rooftops, thatched roofs, and chimneys. Every household, even the poorest, had dozens of kilograms of sweet potatoes as stored grain.
The soldiers on the southern border of the Central Plains breathed a sigh of relief as fewer refugees arrived.
Anyway, the refugees who come are all sent to repair canals and roads. Everyone comes for a meal, so there's basically no chance of them causing trouble. The border guards are all grateful for the introduction of sweet potatoes. Now, sweet potatoes have been transformed into all sorts of delicacies by the border residents. Grind the sweet potatoes into powder, add a few slices of pork, and a bowl of hot soup—it's incredibly comforting.
Xie Bing's troops continuously received supplies from Tianjing and the Southern Region. Tianjing specially sent one hundred white-skinned pigs, which were mostly lean with little fat. At first, Xie Bing's troops thought these pigs wouldn't be very palatable. However, they later discovered that the meat was silky smooth and perfect for making soup; it was incredibly delicious.
Just as Xie Bing and his men were enjoying their meal at the border, the neighboring Shi Kingdom suddenly raised an army and crossed the border, rushing into the Yue Kingdom's border.
Upon learning of the battle situation, Xie Ming, the highest-ranking military officer in the area, immediately ordered the Shi Kingdom's army to withdraw from the Yue Kingdom's border, questioning the purpose of fighting during the New Year. However, the Shi Kingdom's army completely disobeyed and charged directly into the Yue Kingdom's territory, engaging the Yue army in battle.
Xie Ming's face immediately turned extremely ugly. The Shi Kingdom, as a vassal state, actually disobeyed his orders. Disobeying his orders was tantamount to showing contempt for their marshal!
Xie Ming immediately dispatched troops to attack the Shi Guofu army from both sides. However, halfway through the attack, he was surprised to find that the Shi Guofu army was surrounded by cannon fire and gunfire. Of the 10,000 troops that had entered the country, 5,000 were instantly wiped out.
The remaining five thousand men escaped to Xie Ming's territory and were captured, thus saving their lives.
Xie Ming looked at the wounded soldiers carried back from the Shi Kingdom's residence; their injuries were clearly from being bombarded by firearms and cannons.
His expression immediately turned extremely serious, and he asked his advisors, "Why does the Yue Kingdom have cannons and firearms?"
"Firearms aren't only for our Imperial Guards, they're only found in the Southern Central Plains!"
The staff member was also terrified and stammered, "General, the Yue Kingdom certainly doesn't have the capability to manufacture cannons and firearms, unless they were given to us by the Huns."
In the Hu-Xiongnu alliance treaty, the Yue state was listed as the biggest beneficiary. If they acquired their firearms and cannons at that time, the quantity would be enormous! Someone must be up to something!
Those are firearms capable of killing five thousand soldiers of the Shi Kingdom's army!! How could they be given away so easily, especially to a small country?
"No, we must report this to the Marshal immediately!"
"The Yue Kingdom may have possessed a large number of lethal weapons."
The border region began to descend into turmoil again, and the number of refugees surged once more as they migrated south to the Central Plains.
Xie Ming and others sent messengers to Tianjing to report.
Meanwhile, in the Shi Kingdom, Shi Yang heard that half of the army he had sent to the Yue Kingdom had been wiped out. The fact that the Yue Kingdom, as a vassal state, had managed to defeat its ruler, Shi Guofu, filled him with rage and he fell ill.
Chapter 164 Xie Lanzhi Leads Troops to the Border
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, a conflict broke out between the Yue Kingdom and the Shi Kingdom, which led to a war between the two countries. The conflict has now been settled after the Shi Kingdom suffered a defeat in the first battle.
On the first day of the third year of the Jin Dynasty, Shi Yang fell seriously ill and was bedridden. The Shi State Mansion faced both external and internal troubles, and the eldest son and the illegitimate son began to vie for the throne. Shi Jian, as the eldest son, disagreed with his younger brother Shi Yang on political matters, which divided the Shi State Mansion into two factions.
If Shi Yang dies, the Shi Kingdom will surely fall into internal strife. Shi Yang, clinging to life, sought help from his lord, Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Lanzhi received Xie Jiang and Shi Yang's letters in just two days. She learned that the Yue Kingdom possessed a large number of lethal weapons, and a strange feeling welled up in her heart.
Furthermore, Shi Yang's request for help was not to seek justice from the Yue Kingdom, but rather to ask her to send troops to aid the Shi Kingdom.
After receiving the two letters, Xie Lanzhi felt an even stronger sense of unease.
She clearly learned the second half of the original story from Aqina's dream and believed the plot would remain largely unchanged. Now, even a small kingdom like Yue could exert its presence at the end of the Jin Dynasty; she couldn't believe it wasn't deliberately instigated. And that person was very likely Aqina.
The firearms were definitely given by Aqina, but why did the Shi Kingdom suddenly attack the Yue Kingdom? If the Shi Kingdom hadn't attacked the Yue Kingdom in advance, no one would have known that the Yue Kingdom had a large number of firearms hidden in its possession.
But that strange feeling still lingered; she had a feeling that the person who started this trouble wasn't Aqina.
Because the timing was wrong.
Why was the timing wrong? The original historical account states that two years later, foreign enemies in the South Central Plains would collude with internal rebellious forces to cause enormous damage to the coastal areas, while also depleting the national strength of the South Central Plains.
However, this war sowed the seeds of future trouble, and the Western Jin Dynasty, which had been painstakingly established for two hundred years, would soon fall into division.
If we consider the current timeline, her appearance advances the plot and shortens the timeline. This means that in the original story, the story might only enter the modern era two hundred years later. Her appearance would cause Little Phoenix to mention ascending the throne, which might also shorten the timeline of unification. As a result, the modern era might enter the modern era a hundred or several decades earlier.
The current progress is stable, so the world order, or Heaven's Way, no longer rejects her. This is because she proactively removed the Xie clan from the historical stage, doing her best to preserve the Xie clan's remaining strength.
After that, even if she knew what was going to happen, she couldn't interfere much.
But if she doesn't intervene, can Little Phoenix manage? Xie Lanzhi felt a strange feeling, followed by deep worry.
"Am I lacking confidence in Little Phoenix?" Xie Lanzhi murmured to herself. She shook her head, realizing that she had always believed in Little Phoenix; it was just that she had become insecure.
Everything is just my own subjective conjecture.
The Imperial Guard had been formed for less than a year and was about to be deployed to war. For the first time, Xie Lanzhi felt lost about the role she would play in the future.
But she did not hesitate or waver; no amount of confusion could stop her. She still chose to raise an army and go to the border.
When Si Xitong learned of this, she did not stop her.
She found her and said, "Lanzhi, the problems that have broken out in Yue are far more serious than I imagined, but it's okay."
"Everything will be good."
"Good news?" Xie Lanzhi said, "Tell me, who benefits from the chaos in the Shi Kingdom?"
The now-defunct Kingdom of Xi is a case in point. The Xiongnu army could station troops freely within its vassal states, and every vassal state targeted by the Xiongnu would agree to their presence. As a sovereign nation, such a decision was undoubtedly insane.
This also made Xie Lanzhi increasingly aware that many states at the end of the Jin Dynasty lacked territorial dignity. Their admiration for power was blind, so blind that they allowed foreign troops to remain on their territory at any time, and even paid to support foreign armies. They were selling out their national sovereignty.
They admire the strong to the point of being shameless and undignified, even aiding and abetting evil and creating more turmoil.
Such a country will ultimately become a plaything of the strong, manipulated at will.
Utilize what has value, discard what has no value. Not worth mentioning.
Xie Lanzhi said, "Little Phoenix, there are many sick people in this world. They have no bottom line or dignity in order to curry favor with the powerful. They only know how to do things that harm others for their own benefit. They are only interested in profit and have made the world a mess. So I can no longer let these people help the wicked."
“Madam Lu is right. Once a change occurs, humanity will perish, and now this sign is beginning to appear. Although I have escaped this calamity, I still have an inescapable responsibility.”
“Aqina is not only the enemy of the world, but also my enemy.”
Si Xitong gazed intently at her, her dark eyes clear and bright. Her calm demeanor suggested that she had already anticipated Xie Lanzhi's response.
She reached out and gently stroked Xie Lanzhi's right forehead, her fingertips brushing aside a strand of her dark hair. She said to her, "Aqina is an enemy, but not an enemy of this world. He is not qualified yet."
"The greatest enemy of the world is division."
For some reason, when Xie Lanzhi heard her incredibly calm answer, the strange feeling in her heart became even stronger.
She grasped her wrist and asked, "Little Phoenix, do you have anything to say to me?"
Si Xitong said, "Whatever you want to do, I will agree to it."
"Just because I am your wife, I love you, and I hope you can do what you want to do with a clear conscience, whether it is a responsibility or not, or just an excuse to take responsibility."
Laneige will always be my Laneige.
After speaking, she freed her wrist, straightened Xie Lanzhi's collar, and added, "I plan to support the illegitimate son, Shi Yang, at the Shi State Mansion."
"Shi Jian inherited Shi Yang's stubborn character. He is inflexible and associating with him will only be a waste of time."
Each sentence, seemingly an explanation, felt like a reminder to her.
Xie Lanzhi suddenly felt a mix of emotions. She nodded: "I will take ten thousand men with me, and you give me fifty of our Imperial Guard's firearmsmen."
"Take the cannons with you," Si Xitong decided for her. "Wei Gong and Azha from the Ministry of Works have already cast ten cannons; take them all with you."
Ten doors? Xie Lanzhi hadn't expected things to progress so quickly. She decided to bring them all.
Afterwards, Xie Lanzhi went to the sword rack to change Eshi into a sword and Ebai out of it. She left Lanzhang Palace with Eshi, which represented killing, hanging on her arm.
The news that Xie Lanzhi had led 10,000 troops to reinforce the Shi State Mansion spread throughout Tianjing immediately, and the capital's guards left Tianjing with her in a grand procession that very day.
While the people of Tianjing were still celebrating the New Year, news suddenly broke that a border war had broken out and that Grand Marshal Xie was leading his troops to attack on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
When the people heard that war was imminent, they were filled with anxiety, fearing that their hard-won peace would be shattered once again. Everyone prayed that the marshal would return victorious and bring them peace.
Meanwhile, Shi Yang, who was seriously ill in bed, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Xie Lanzhi had personally led troops across the border. At least the external troubles could be left to Xie Lanzhi to deal with. As for the internal troubles, as long as he recovered a little, he would immediately cripple that traitorous son, Shi Yang!
Shi Yang's illness was a stroke, and only two people knew about it: his wife and eldest son, Shi Jian. Everyone else was unaware. The official story was that he was simply seriously ill and unable to get out of bed, not that he had suffered a stroke and become a disabled person unable to speak.
Shi Yang tried to move his mouth, and the lady outside brought in a bowl of medicinal soup, personally serving Shi Yang. Shi Yang smelled that the medicine seemed a little different today, and he immediately refused to drink it.
Soon someone pushed the door open and entered. The person couldn't help but cover their nose when they smelled the bitter medicine in the air. When Shi Yang saw him, he looked at him as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes filled with a hint of fear.
It seems to be asking why you were allowed in?
This man was the wicked son he wanted to ruin, Shi Yang.
Shi Yangsheng was refined, unlike his elder brother Shi Jian and father Shi Yang, who were rough and uncouth. Since childhood, he had suffered a lot of contempt because he looked like his mother who came from a brothel. Even his status as an illegitimate son was something his lowly mother had obtained by bumping into the back gate of the Shi family.