Xie Lanzhi was the last to appear.
Zheng Xiu and Shi Yang stood on either side and bowed to her, saying, "Greetings, Marshal!"
Xie Lanzhi pointed to the negotiating tables on both sides and said, "You sit down and talk first, and then talk to me."
When Zheng Xiu and Shi Yang looked up upon hearing this, the two sides were irreconcilable, their words were laced with barbs, and they threatened to fight at the slightest provocation.
Zheng Xiu felt that the new ruler of the Shi Kingdom was shameless and simply bullying others by relying on their power. They only dared to be arrogant in front of the Yue Kingdom because they had powerful backers. The Yue Kingdom's rulers had all been bullied by the Shi Kingdom, and they had finally regained their dignity, but now they had attracted the covetous eyes of a great power. They were really unlucky.
Shi Yang was indeed abusing his power; he even threatened to demand that Yue Kingdom cede three islands to him.
Zheng Xiu immediately refused, and the two refused to give up an inch of their territory. The argument was clearly getting out of hand.
"Bang!" Xie Lanzhi slammed her right hand on the table, slamming it down hard, and the two of them immediately stopped talking.
Xie Lanzhi said, "Now that you've all finished talking, it's my turn."
Zheng Xiu clearly lacked confidence in Xie Lanzhi: "Please, Marshal, speak up."
Xie Lanzhi pointed out Yue's weakness: "Are your firearms imported from the northern Xiongnu?"
"This..." Zheng Xiu hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to answer.
"No need to answer," Xie Lanzhi said calmly. "Tomorrow, I will personally lead troops into the Yue Kingdom's palace to ask Zheng Fu, and then we will know everything."
These words immediately sparked a tense atmosphere, leading to potential armed conflict.
Zheng Xiu quickly replied, "Our country originally purchased firearms from the Xiongnu kingdom. The Xiongnu king gifted us three treasure ships and a hundred firearms, granting us the right to dock in our country."
"This is the origin of firearms."
Xie Lanzhi added, "Your country has more than a hundred firearms."
Zheng Xiu immediately broke out in a cold sweat, wondering where the marshal had gotten the intelligence in such a short time. Could it be that there was a spy from Yue Kingdom who had infiltrated the country?
He said, "Adding the five hundred new firearms and thirty thousand fire flares that Prince Aba gave me in private, there are a total of six hundred."
"Prince Aba Na has acquired our delta port in the northern sea area."
Upon hearing this, Xie Ming and Shi Yang both gasped in shock at the sheer number, feeling a chill run down their spines.
No wonder the Yue Kingdom was able to kill 5,000 soldiers of the state overnight! Those firearms were simply the army's butcher's knife!
Xie Lanzhi got the answer she wanted.
She finally learned the whole story.
It turns out that it wasn't Aqina who caused the proliferation of firearms in Yue, but rather that Aqina shot himself in the foot by his own brother.
At the same time, it is worth noting that there seem to be some loopholes in Aqina's control over firearms, which is why firearms have been leaked and abused by those with ulterior motives.
Xie Lanzhi thought to herself, "Aqina, you really underestimate the ancients."
"You thought you could do whatever you wanted just because you knew the trajectory of history in advance. Now, Aba is the backlash of your arrogance."
Chapter 167 Everyone Wants to Control the Situation
The Yue Kingdom's war was quelled by the ten cannons brought by Xie Lanzhi. Zheng Xiu brought up the Shi Kingdom's invasion, stating that the Yue Kingdom only succeeded in its counterattack. Logically, the Yue Kingdom's resistance against the invasion was a just act.
Xie Ming then used the example of Yue State crossing the border of the Southern Central Plains, entering the Shi State capital, and injuring Xie's soldiers to demand an explanation from Yue State.
Only Shi Yang suddenly admitted defeat, saying, "The Shi family was indeed at fault for my father and elder brother's invasion of Yue."
"However, since my father and elder brother have passed away, I, Shi, as the new ruler, hereby promise that I will never again set foot in the Yue Kingdom."
Zheng Xiu then said, "Then your country should compensate for the invasion."
"More than half of the casualties in the Shi Kingdom were caused by the Yue Kingdom," Shi Yang said. "Seventh Prince, your country's cross-border pursuit has already infringed upon the interests of the superior nation."
After going around in circles, the two eventually ended up with Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Lanzhi was losing patience. When she learned that the firearms in Yue Kingdom were not caused by Aqina, but by Aba, she worried that the butterfly effect triggered by Aba might lead to the widespread dissemination of firearms.
In this way, the disciples of the Mohist school will become very sought after. At that time, not only in Tianjing, but also in various countries and regions, people will be eyeing firearms.
People aren't fools. Neighboring countries are arming themselves; how can we sit idly by and wait for them to grow stronger and invade us? Firearms are undoubtedly like hot oil in this chaotic world; even if they're too hot to handle, people are still eager to get their hands on them.
This is not a good thing. The chaotic world will become even more chaotic then.
Xie Lanzhi stalled for time, allowing Zheng Fu and Shi Yang to continue their negotiations.
Because of the Aba Incident, the Hunnic Kingdom, led by Aqina, began to strictly prohibit firearms in an attempt to plug this huge loophole. However, fifty members of the Hunnic Kingdom's firearms battalion disappeared overnight, and they were all key personnel.
Disagreements among the Mohist disciples led to their secret departure from the Xiongnu and their dispersal to various regions. The exodus of these elites greatly angered Aqina.
He sent men to capture the Mohist disciples who had fled, but these disciples vanished without a trace once they entered any of the various states. Aqina's men not only failed to catch them, but also suffered heavy losses.
Countries, as if they had eaten the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard, hid the disciples of the Mohist school within their own borders. With the example of the Yue state, which was a powerhouse in firearms, they began to compete in developing firearms.
Enraged, Aqina stopped the firearms assassination squad, declaring that anyone who dared to possess firearms would have their entire country destroyed.
The best way to make an example of someone is to start with the state of Yue.
Aqina originally intended to send troops to attack the Yue Kingdom.
However, Zheng Fu of Yue preemptively dissolved the alliance with him and declared to the world that Yue and the Xiongnu were no longer subordinate to each other. Yue would become a powerful nation in the South China Sea.
Aqina's attempt to steal a chicken backfired, and he ended up shooting himself in the foot.
Just as he was about to send men to attack Yue, news that Aba Na had arrived at Zhuqing Island in Yue with his large treasure ship and stationed troops there changed the course of the world once again. King Zheng Fu of Yue personally welcomed Aba Na.
Furthermore, they cooperated with Aba Na, intending to use the islands of Yue as a base to develop maritime power.
Although Abana failed on land, he seized the Yue Kingdom from Aqina. King Zheng Fu of Yue fully cooperated. He was willing to give Abana half of the island, provided Abana possessed the technology to manufacture guns.
Meanwhile, Aba Na utilized the delta port bordering the northern region to collect customs duties from the tribes of the northern region, and began to rise again from the Zhuqing Island in the delta.
In just a few days, Aba's fame seemed to have overshadowed that of Aqina. The name of Aba's defeated army was ignored.
Just as Aqina had suppressed the ambitions of various countries to develop firearms, a new way out soon emerged: Aqina announced that he would manufacture firearms for anyone willing to pay a large sum of money, selling them for one thousand taels each.
A single sword costs a thousand taels, a price even merchants can afford.
As a result, the southern Central Plains, including the northern regions and the western regions that had no presence, began to send envoys to Yue to discuss arms trade.
Even bandits and river bandits from all over the country have their eyes on this thing called a firearm.
Upon receiving this news, Xie Lanzhi completely lost her patience.
She overturned the negotiating table on the spot.
Xie Ming was immediately excited and waited for her to give orders.
Xie Lanzhi pressed down on the sword at her waist and coldly announced to the world: "Contact the Southern Region of the Huayin Kingdom and the Yifanshi Kingdom. From today onwards, block all roads and prohibit all countries from entering the Yue Kingdom."
"Anyone who disobeys will be executed by firing squad!"
Zheng Xiu was driven back to Yue. When King Zheng Fu of Yue heard that the negotiations had failed and that the Xie clan had been in power, he wanted to sever all ties between Yue and other states.
Zheng Fu immediately became furious. He went to Aba Na and accused him of revealing his existence too early and undermining the balance of power among the nations, saying that he would suffer disaster sooner or later.
Aba Na calmly replied, "Marshal Xie will soon choose to cooperate with me."
"Why are you so confident?" Zheng Fu was pacing anxiously. He now truly regretted cooperating with Aba Na, who was a complete madman, even more insane than Lord Xie Ying Aqina.
At least these two had some sense of the spirit of the covenant, but Aba was inherently a place where violence was used to suppress violence.
Aba Na seemed very confident and said, "Go ahead and send the Seventh Prince to negotiate peace. This time, I will propose the conditions, and she will definitely agree."
"Even if Xie Ying doesn't agree, the mistress of New Tianjing is so intelligent and cunning. She knows the benefits involved and will definitely be eager to cooperate with them."
Upon hearing "Your Highness Feng Ning," Zheng Fu asked uncertainly, "Do you really think things will develop in this direction?"
"Send someone!" Aba Na seemed confident. He seemed completely unconcerned about the disaster that would result from disrupting the delicate balance between nations.
Every nation has its own ambitions to become powerful. Some may simply be concerned with defending their own country, but many more are focused on expansion and conquest. The fall of the Kingdom of Xi serves as a cautionary tale for smaller nations.
Despite being blocked from going to Yue by Huayin Kingdom, Southern Region, Shi Kingdom Prefecture, and other places, all countries were unable to do so.
At this time, the Khan of the Northern Regions, Beiluo, secretly opened a passage, allowing small countries to pay high prices to pass through him. The Khan of the Northern Regions also used his own money to buy firearms, and Aba sold them thirty, limiting the quantity.
Bei Luo wasn't satisfied with that, so he used smaller countries to buy weapons and then extorted money from them. These smaller countries would often get 30% less, sometimes even 50%. But there was nothing he could do; he had chosen the path of the Northern Regions.
Faced with Beiluo's bandit-like extortion, he actually managed to gather eighty firearms. Half of these eighty firearms were seized by Yelü Wen.
Yelü Wen was an ambitious man. As soon as he got a gun, he used it to stage an accident with Li Li.
Li Li didn't tolerate his younger brother's behavior. He used an old-fashioned mortar to blast Yelü Wen's army into pieces. Yelü Wen's hard-won firearms were blown up a kilometer away before the gunners could even fire a few shots.
Having learned from Yelü Wen's mistake, countries immediately abandoned their desire to purchase firearms and began to fear the overwhelming power of the great powers.
At this time, Si Xitong, using his own identity, advertised to the world and convened a grand international conference in Aicheng, Tianjing. Smaller nations that wished to participate in the conference could obtain a promise from larger nations that they would not be the first to use lethal weapons to bully them.
The international conference instantly rallied nations, with over twenty small countries sending envoys to seek a promise and dispel their fears.
When Aqina learned that the future empress had proposed holding a conference of all nations, he did not send an envoy to attend the conference, but instead sent someone to infiltrate Tianjing without permission, the purpose of which is currently unknown.
Now, the so-called alliance treaties of the Hu-Xiongnu have been basically broken by Aba, and the Yue Kingdom is still an accomplice. Other small countries that signed alliance treaties with the Hu-Xiongnu can no longer trust the Hu-Xiongnu.
The smaller countries dared not break the agreement themselves, but Aqina itself had indeed broken the agreement first. Therefore, most of the alliance agreements signed in Huayue were null and void because the countries lost trust in Aqina.
Aqina suffered heavy losses, but he did not immediately attack Yue. He continued to send his own men to occupy the Red River border, because the Red River border was the gateway for the Huns to march by water, and also the fastest shortcut to the interior. The Red River and the Yi River were like the Huns' external buttons, and were strategically vital positions that the Huns had to fight for.
Prince Li Li of the First Prince has always regarded the Hu and Xiongnu as enemies, and there are still 50,000 elite troops of the Xie clan at the riverbank. If Aqina wants to advance south by stepping on the First Prince, he still has to take down Li Li's Xieji, the last stronghold.
The Xiongnu, moving south by land, would have to pass through Huayin, Lu, and other states, most of which were vassals or neutral states of the Southern Central Plains. If the Xiongnu were to move north, it would likely take a year or more to reach Tianjing (Nanjing). This would only prolong the battle lines, increase logistical costs, and ultimately be more disadvantageous for the Xiongnu. Therefore, a northward advance would require enormous resources, while a southward advance would only require the destruction of Li Li and Xie Ji.
Now that Huayin Kingdom has firearms, Lu Kingdom, being an annex of Tianjing, is also protected within it. If they were to move further north, the cost would be far greater than it was during the era of cold weapons.
But now, the mess that Aqina and Aba have made has to be repaired by Si Xitong.
Seeing Zheng Xiu risking his life to come and beg for peace, Xie Lanzhi led a thousand men and pushed Type 94 tanks to take Mingbao, right in front of Zheng Xiu.
The shells were fired one after another as if they were free, and Mingbao was captured in an hour. The second stop was Jiguang Island. The advantage of the Type 94 wheeled vehicle was that it was easy to disassemble and small, and one person could push it. It was even simpler than a handcart, but the shells it fired were extremely powerful.
Xie Ming pressed Zheng Xiu down, wanting him to see with his own eyes just how powerful their marshal and their Southern Central Plains were now! This would dissuade these neighboring countries, who were afraid of power but lacked virtue and had only petty righteousness but no great righteousness, from their inflated ambitions.
Zheng Xiu witnessed firsthand how the Xie clan leader led a thousand men in a simple, roofless boat and bombarded the Jiguang Island naval base with cannons without charging a penny.
The Vietnamese navy abandoned the island, and the crowds on the way caused a shipwreck, resulting in twice as many deaths as those caused by bombing.
Zheng Xiu looked at the flames and smoke covering the island, the panicked navy, and the islanders fleeing in their boats. He knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.
Xie Ming pulled him up from the ground: "You're a prince, you should be mindful of your image."