Another wealthy family moved in today, but this time they weren't from a foreign tribe; they were from the Central Plains, and the woman was a businesswoman who, I heard, came from the Kingdom of Shi. Her entire family moved to Tianjing and was even received by the imperial court.
When the locals heard that the businesswoman had settled her assets, palace officials took her away directly. Everyone suspected that this businesswoman was no ordinary person.
The common people had become accustomed to wealthy families from all over the country moving to Tianjing.
Occasionally, some people still can't help but gossip: "When did our Tianjing become such a coveted place? So many high-ranking officials and nobles have moved here."
"That shows that Tianjing is a blessed place; otherwise, why would rich people come here?"
“A few years ago, Tianjing was still under the rule of the Yellow Bandits, and many merchants fled at that time. Now that Tianjing is safe, His Highness treats the people kindly, and we can be self-sufficient in food. How could those people not move back?”
"But I see that many of them are from other countries. They are not necessarily all from the Central Plains of the South."
"It's probably aimed at His Highness."
A group of people were discussing this when a quack doctor nearby muttered incoherently, "The nation's fortunes are in their favor; those who hear of this will come of their own accord."
The Northern Region has been restless. Li Li has maintained a steady and progressive approach. On the surface, the two sides are still maintaining a balance and have not broken off relations.
However, something soon happened that alarmed both sides.
One of the eight generals who originally obeyed Yelü Wen suddenly defected.
No one knows what this general was thinking, or why he would deliberately disrupt the balance. The reason lies in the fact that a heavy rain caused the water to change course, flowing into the territories of seven other generals, resulting in the depletion of his own water source and the death of many cattle and horses from thirst. The Hu people in his territory were originally allowed to fetch water from other territories, and the process had been smooth.
However, a very small incident triggered a crisis of trust between the two places.
That is, the water flow was illegally altered at night, leaving no clean water available in the local area, and the water that reached his hometown was muddy. The general originally intended to apologize, but his son inadvertently remarked, "Why can the water flow be changed so easily? And how can it be changed to flow somewhere else?"
"We only have one Hu person who can change the system, is he really that capable?"
The general immediately became suspicious, because his territory was the first to run out of water. At that time, he hadn't suspected anyone; after all, they were eight brothers, eight generals, all valiant and skilled warriors under the Second Prince, and they trusted each other. No one would mistreat another; if you saw your own territory was dry, you could fetch water from the neighboring territory, and your neighboring brothers didn't say anything.
Yelü A'er, the general next door, didn't say anything, and the other party also believed that it was about helping his own brother.
Soon his daughter said something that made him waver: "Father, that Hu people acted rashly in the heat of the moment, wanting to bring water to their hometown, which led to this terrible mistake."
"You should understand them; after all, they won't touch our water unless it's a critical situation."
They won't touch their interests unless it's a crisis. So, when a crisis does occur, will the Brotherhood fight for their interests?
The seed of doubt was planted.
When Yelü Sansan heard that his second brother suspected his eldest brother, he originally wanted to act as a peacemaker. However, his wife unintentionally said in her rambling, "We love our eldest brother and fourth brother. We suffer together and tighten our belts to unite all tribes and do our best for our Khan."
"But now that they have firearms, all the money they've made has gone into the pockets of Luochuan merchants. In the end, if it weren't for us guarding the border, Luochuan wouldn't have the peace it has now."
San San rebuked his wife: "You are not allowed to say anything that could undermine our brotherly unity."
The wife was so angry that she pointed at her husband's nose and yelled, "You stupid donkey, all you do is protect your brother who can't gain any advantage at all. Don't you even think about who I'm complaining for?"
"I got ripped off by the Luochuan merchants again today. That dress cost me fifty taels of silver. They said it was sourced from Weidu, but it turned out to be a fake leather product they made themselves. I can't even find anyone to refund my money!"
"I am concerned about the money, but isn't it your money that I'm concerned about?"
Yelü Sansan fell silent. He watched as his wife, who had stood by him unconditionally, happily went to buy clothes with her hard-earned fifty taels of silver, only to return disappointed. Meanwhile, the Luochuan merchant had fled back to Luochuan, and he was powerless to do anything about him! The Luochuan merchants all had powerful figures in the capital as their backers. They weren't afraid of him at all. Even if he took it to the higher authorities, at most he could only get back one genuine item.
To acquire such a genuine artifact would require countless connections and favors to repay. Therefore, he could only accept his bad luck with the fifty taels.
Yelü Sansan initially thought that he could just bear it and it would pass; it was just a piece of clothing, so he didn't care much at first.
When his cartload of grain was robbed by people from Luochuan, who left him only a few coins as if they were giving money to a beggar, he could no longer tolerate it and was about to send troops to pursue them. However, the cartload of grain was returned to him.
It is said that the people of Luochuan felt they were being unfair and returned the grain.
Yelü Sansan barely managed to suppress his anger, but when the man from Luochuan offered fifty taels of silver as compensation, he accidentally dropped the silver on the ground. In Yelü Sansan's eyes, the way the man offered the money was arrogant, and the fifty taels touched a nerve. The fact that the silver had fallen was seen by Yelü Sansan as a deliberate act of humiliation.
Yelü Sansan drew his sword and killed the man. Blood splattered everywhere. All the soldiers were shocked.
Yelü Sansan, panting, regretted his impulsive act of drawing the knife. He had initially intended to let the matter rest, but rumors circulated that the person he had killed was a friend of the Mohist leader—someone who had consistently raised funds for the leader and was closer than family.
Given that the Khan is so timid, he certainly wouldn't protect him. Furthermore, King Aqina highly values the leader of the Mohist school; he might very well harm him for the sake of the leader.
So he immediately raised an army and rushed to seek refuge with Yi Fan. Upon arriving at Yi Fan's door, he learned that the man he had killed was the Luochuan merchant who had deceived his wife. Yi Fan was not a friend of the Mohist leader at all.
But it was too late. News of his escape with five thousand men had spread throughout the entire Northern Region. Going back would only be walking into a trap.
Yelü Sansan simply pledged allegiance to Li Li.
Li Li naturally welcomed him to settle in and join his ranks. Yelü San San's territory naturally became the territory of the two generals.
Yelü Da and Yelü A'er already harbored suspicions. A'er believed that A'er was using the weather to alter the water flow in his territory. A'er thought that A'er was now poor and might steal his things for personal gain.
Once the Indian territory became vacant, the First Prince indeed sent troops to actively occupy it. The Second Prince was initially only somewhat hesitant and unsure if the First Prince would do such a thing, but when the First Prince occupied the Indian territory, the Second Prince completely lost trust in the Indians.
The two sides each control half of India's territory, and are dissatisfied with each other, each feeling that the other has taken advantage of them and is unwilling to give their brother even a penny. They both feel that they have helped each other through thick and thin, but this is all they have received in return.
At this moment, Yelü Wen was unaware that two of the eight generals had developed rifts and discord, and that Yelü Sansan had also fled. The remaining five remained at peace for the time being due to their distant territories.
Yelü Wen was so angry that he cursed Yelü San San. He called him a coward! He said that Yelü San San never consulted him on anything and that he was as timid as a mosquito.
Yelü Sansan believed that even the tribal khans were unreliable, let alone Yelü Wen.
Ultimately, it's because the Khan of Beiluo provides too little sense of security. He's constantly going back on his word. Last time, to appease Xie Zhu and form an alliance between the North and South, he temporarily suppressed Yelü Wen. Now, to maintain Yelü Wen's relationship with the Xiongnu, he's suppressing Li Li. He keeps switching sides, seemingly maintaining a balance, but in reality, he's no longer trusted by either side.
Normally, when nothing goes wrong, the Northern Region can maintain peace, which seems to be due to Bei Luo's efforts. But in reality, Bei Luo's subordinates have long lacked mutual trust.
Otherwise, the three generals wouldn't have doubted their brothers based on just a few words.
Yelü Wen was eager to gather the remaining seven generals together to resolve the issue of their defection.
The seven generals gathered together to criticize San San, which was unethical.
Although some pleaded for San San, most were too embarrassed to do so, especially since they were brothers who had always trusted each other and discovered that their trusted comrade had done things beyond their expectations. This caused the trust among the seven to crumble.
Although they all know that they are invincible as long as they unite, reality always cruelly destroys the beautiful beliefs between people.
There will always be some who cannot withstand the test and choose to withdraw, leading to a breakdown in trust.
Finally, when Ah Da and Ah Er heard that Li Li had given San San a grand welcome party and even ceded a town to his people to live in—a town known for its wealthy residents—they were astounded. The Xie family had even voluntarily given him half a percent of their profits, while Li Li had directly given him ten percent.
San San quickly became the richest general, second only to the Crown Prince.
Yelü Sansan arrived in a land where there was no shortage of water or food, and the food was plentiful. His wife was so pleased that she changed her clothes every day, and the Crown Princess Si Caifeng would occasionally bestow upon her tribute-grade silks. She spoke highly of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess in front of him daily.
Over time, Yelü Sansan gave up the idea of returning, and even the last trace of guilt he felt towards his brothers disappeared completely.
With food and clothing plentiful in Yifan, who would want to suffer hardships on the border? Besides, all the Luochuan merchants who dared to cheat him in Yifan have been caught by County Magistrate Liu Jie. No matter how powerful the Luochuan merchants are, their connections can't reach Yifan anymore. This feeling of being taken care of by the powerful is simply too good!
With the example of Yelü Sansan breaking away from the Eight Generals and becoming wealthy, the other generals, though not swayed, had long been caught in a crisis of trust among themselves.
Until, Ah Da discovered that Ah Er's people had secretly changed their allegiance in his territory and had been captured by his men, and that the people even claimed that Ah Er had ordered them to do so.
Ah Da didn't believe it at all. He brought the tribesman to Ah Er and was about to ask him when the tribesman suddenly banged his head against the ground and committed suicide, claiming that it was all his own idea.
Ah Er acted as if he knew nothing about it, hastily dismissing the matter as the suicide of a tribesman without even offering an explanation. This perfunctory attitude infuriated Ah Da, and even if he were to explain, Ah Da would still be furious.
Finally, when the second tribesmen resorted to the same trick again, Ah Da finally led a group of people to confront Ah Er.
Just then, something happened to A'er: his granary was burned down, and the people captured were A'da's people.
Ah Da arrived just then, carrying a man to question Ah Er about the water flow, while Ah Er brought another man to question Ah Da about the burning of the granary. The two were heated and unable to calm down; in their eyes, their brothers were both making excuses. He had already brought the culprit, yet the other side was turning the tables, bringing his own people to falsely accuse him.
Thus, the war between Ah Da and Ah Er was about to break out!
The two generals started fighting. Their soldiers didn't stop either; their respective leaders were fighting, and the others, caught in the crossfire, had no choice but to join the battle.
The more people joined from both sides, the fiercer the fighting became. It finally stopped when two generals were wounded and eighty of their men died, only after other troops from their own side intervened.
However, the issues of the granary and the water supply remained unresolved. Yelü Wen heard that he was going to personally interrogate the tribesmen, but the two tribesmen were killed in the ensuing struggle.
The watercourse and granary became unclaimed and unjustly seized.
Knowing that blaming the small group of people wouldn't solve the problem, Yelü Wenxin shifted the blame entirely to Yelü Sansan.
The two generals finally calmed down, but from then on they never spoke to each other again.
One night, two groups of people, led by two men, went to Ah Er's granary with gunpowder, while the other group went to Ah Da's granary with kerosene.
One group of tribesmen hesitated, saying, "Does General Ah Er really intend to kill us?"
The second team hesitated and said, "General A, is this a deliberate act of revenge against us?"
Just as the two teams were about to set the fire, the two granaries suddenly caught fire with a whoosh.
Both teams were shocked: "Wait, we didn't start the fire?!"
Unfortunately, the fire had already spread to the roof of the grain warehouse with lightning speed...
Chapter 169 Xie Lanzhi on the List
After fighting the fire that night, the armies of Yelü Da and Yelü A'er clashed directly. The two armies fought fiercely, resulting in over a thousand deaths and injuries, and property losses amounting to tens of thousands of taels of silver, causing relations between the two sides to plummet to their lowest point.
The split between the two generals resulted in the direct loss of three of Yelü Wen's eight generals. Although he tried to resolve the feud between the two, they became increasingly unwilling to listen to each other.
Finally, Yelü Da simply led his army to build a fence overnight, marking out the boundary, just like their relationship. Yelü A'er did the same.
Because of internal strife, Yelü Wen suspected that someone was plotting against him from within, so he sent people to investigate. The investigation revealed that people from the Central Plains had been frequently entering and leaving the territories of the eight generals recently. Yelü Wen suspected that it was the people from the Central Plains who were instigating trouble among the eight generals.
Yelü Wen ordered his men to arrest the wandering Central Plains people. No sooner had they been arrested than a rumor spread throughout the eight tribes' territories: Yelü Wen distrusted the Central Plains people and intended to exterminate them!
At least half of the Eight Generals' army consisted of people from the Central Plains. They were considered "retainers" or even lower-ranking soldiers than regular soldiers, and usually did not eat the same food as the regular soldiers.
Within the military, there was discrimination against the status of the retainers, yet they needed the retainers to strengthen their army. Thus, this interplay of discrimination and exploitation created a complex relationship. Even in conflict, the eight generals did not side with anyone. Because unrest originated from the lower ranks, as long as the higher-ups maintained a balance, the army's order would not collapse.
However, Yelü Wen has now arrested a group of Central Plains people who were doing business in the eight tribes' territories, causing rumors that Yelü Wen is going to purge the Central Plains people. Yelü Wen is also the head of the eight tribes, and the fact that the leader is so suspicious of the Central Plains people has led to the lower-level soldiers turning against them, viewing their own troops as a group that could turn into traitors at any time.
The Central Plains troops felt discriminated against and were indignant. Some of them were soldiers who had escaped from the Yellow Army. Ever since these Central Plains troops learned that the Yellow Army soldiers who had been recruited had either been forced into labor or promoted to regular troops, they had all become regular soldiers in Tianjing, or even officers and soldiers, and had no worries about food or water.
Tianjing even developed super rice and new fertilizers, greatly increasing yields. The Ministry of Works also invented agricultural tools to improve farming efficiency. Even now, with road construction, I've heard that most of the road construction is extending into their hometown. Even rural areas are getting road construction.
His Highness the Prince of Tianjing even bestowed a plaque upon a village known as the "Village of Good Deeds" upon it.
What does this mean? It means that the living standards of their fellow villagers have improved, and they even have the money to repair roads!
Many of the Central Plains retainers had long heard that Tianjing had become so much better in just three years. They were all from the Central Plains, yet the people of the Southern Central Plains were living a life of unparalleled comfort, while they were eating chaff and wild vegetables in a foreign land, and even suffering from water shortages from time to time. Now, they were being suspected by the prince for no reason.
The resulting imbalance between the two contrasts fueled their resentment, which in turn emboldened them to argue with their own soldiers.
The Eight Generals' army was known for its strict hierarchy; subordinates would never raise their heads to speak to their superiors, but must always bow. They were bound by unconditional obedience to any command. The fact that the subordinates were merely talking back shocked many of the soldiers.
I was shocked that these troops dared to protest.
Yelü Wen never expected that arresting just a group of suspects would shake so many of his followers, making everyone feel insecure.