Chapter 198 After a period of waiting, Brother Wu
However, since she got together with Xie Ying, she seems to have come to understand the princess's sister's feelings a little better. She always felt a sense of unease and anxiety about losing the person she loved.
The marshal loved his sister very much, so she didn't need to worry that he would leave her.
As Xie Lanzhi chased after him, she didn't forget to carry her golden halberd on her back. She even stopped halfway to adjust the halberd's height. Then Si Xitong stopped, glanced at her, and then at the halberd in her eyes. Immediately, Xie Lanzhi puffed out her cheeks, as if comparing who was more important to her, even to the halberd. Seeing that she still considered the halberd more important than herself...
She angrily lifted her skirt and ran towards Lanzhang Palace.
Xie Lanzhi: "......."
"Wait!" Xie Lanzhi quickly caught up and explained, "Of course you're the most important!"
"Wife!!"
Si Xitong had just entered the room when Xie Lanzhi followed closely behind. Suddenly, the palace doors of Lanzhang Palace slammed shut, nearly causing Xie Lanzhi to bump into them.
She managed to save her nose by pulling back from the brink.
Xie Lanzhi handed the golden halberd to the imperial guards to take good care of it, and then used her free hand to keep banging on the door: "Little Phoenix, Fu Feng, Tong'er."
Old Lady Xie and Xiao Xiu curiously peeked out, wondering what kind of drama the Marshal and His Highness were putting on now.
This was the first time they had ever seen the marshal locked out by His Highness.
Fortunately, the marshal pleaded with the prince in a gentle voice at the door, and the prince finally opened it. The marshal then slipped into the palace and closed the door behind him.
The couple then began to snuggle together in their bedchamber again.
Xie Lanzhi picked up Si Xitong, preventing her from hiding from her anymore. Si Xitong always felt that Xie Lanzhi was cunning and would use her strength to bully her, leaving her with nowhere to run.
Xie Lanzhi said, "I know my sudden visit to Hanzhang Palace frightened you. But I'm not alright."
"Let's not go to that place next time. Let's tear down Hanzhang Palace."
Si Xitong's eyes lit up instantly: "You said it yourself."
"Of course I said it." Xie Lanzhi's eyes were full of affection, her reflection in her gaze. "I just made peace with the past. I will never be affected by any evil magic again."
As soon as he finished speaking, Si Xitong's expression immediately became tense.
Xie Lanzhi carried her around the Lanzhang Palace, telling Si Xitong about her dream. She also explained that the reason they went to the Lanzhang Palace was to allow Xie Ying to make her final decision in this mortal world.
That was at Hanzhang Palace.
Xie Ying ultimately died in Hanzhang Palace. Following the original trajectory, she only needed to relive the experience one last time, to comfort Xie Ying and complete this final chapter for him.
What will happen to Xie Ying after that? She doesn't know. Just as she can no longer go back, Xie Ying will no longer remain in this world.
Si Xitong wasn't sure, so she cautiously asked, "Xie Ying, has she really left?"
"It's gone." Xie Lanzhi thought of the golden halberd. Its sudden appearance in Lanzhang Palace was quite mysterious; she hadn't actually seen anyone bring it in. Yet, it had appeared.
"No matter what happens, I will never leave you again."
Si Xitong instantly tilted his head back and kissed the corner of her lips, as if it were a reward.
Xie Lanzhi smiled sweetly. If it weren't broad daylight, she would have been quite impolite.
The entire army was on high alert. Spies from all directions were constantly running back and forth. Qiankun and his companion came from the Eight Generals' side and told Li Li that the Eight Generals were assisting Yelü Wen in planning a surprise attack.
Li Li smashed a wine glass on the spot, and said angrily, "Once this place falls, what good will it do for Luochuan and the other eight tribes?"
"Now, the Luerqu people are all Hu and Xiongnu merchants, and they may have already infiltrated every corner of the land. The Northern Regions have no shortage of traitors. Don't Father Khan and Second Brother understand this?"
Since experiencing the incident with the Grand General, Xie Ji had come to see through the darkness of the court politics.
He advised, "It's not that they don't understand, nor are they stupid; it's just that they're more interested in immediate gains than long-term benefits."
"Then they thought they had the ability to resist, or that if the Northern Regions surrendered directly, the Hu and Xiongnu would let them go."
Xie Ji could sense that the Northern Hu and Xiongnu's actions this time were different from before. The Northern Hu and Xiongnu might still have some patience towards Huayin Kingdom, but not necessarily towards other kingdoms. Huayin Kingdom was chosen because of its coal reserves.
What is in the Northern Region? It's just that it occupies the central and western parts of the country, with half of its borders bordering the open sea. However, the Northern Region is a semi-desert area. Many places are mixed with sand. It's completely unsuitable for agriculture.
Once the Northern Region is conquered, it will be of no use whatsoever.
Since they had no further use, why would the Northern Hu and Xiongnu keep any manpower to rebel against them in the future? Therefore, once the Northern Regions fell, they could never be taken back.
Yelü Lili still couldn't believe it. He tried to negotiate with his father and second brother for personal gain. But it wasn't that simple. Yelü Wenzheng resented Lili for instigating his eight generals, causing them to fight each other and turning against each other. Beiluo resented the crown prince for disobeying him and marrying his sister to the Xiongnu, which gave the Xiongnu an excuse to invade.
Moreover, a letter came from the Xiongnu king, offering him half of the Red River if he didn't provide any support, after which the Northern Xiongnu would conquer the region. The Xiongnu king also sent him a hundred firearms and five thousand fire-starting tools as gifts. The Xiongnu envoy also stayed in Luochuan as a hostage, showing great sincerity.
Moreover, the arms deal at Luerqu and the large amount of gold transported from Anshan through Luerqu were all facilitated by Beiluo. Letting Xie Lanzhi's enemies go made Beiluo extremely uneasy. Du Han felt that Xie Lanzhi would never consider him an ally again.
Especially Princess Feng Ning of the new Tianjing; she was the first to break the North-South alliance. How can we blame her first? We should blame Lord Xie for breaking his promise.
With the mindset that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Therefore, Beiluo was very confident and chose to believe in Aqina.
When Bei Luo's actions reached Wu Yuejun's ears, she immediately notified her mother. As the mother of the ancient Yelü clan, her words immediately caused divisions within the Yelü family.
Beiluo also faced considerable obstacles.
Soon, merchants from all over the Northern Region fled, and the Yelü clan, represented by Wu Yuejun, even contributed 100,000 taels of silver as a form of assistance.
Bei Luo was furious when he learned of this aid. He ordered the route to Yi Fan to be cut off, leaving Wu Yuejun with nowhere to go.
Wu Yuejun was not one to back down. He then approached the two young generals of Yelü, bribed them with two chests of gold, obtained a ship, and set off directly.
It's a pity that all his troops were trapped in the northern region.
Wu Yuejun came alone and showed the jade tokens of the secret agent and his mother.
The entire noble family and Yelü Lili personally went to receive him.
Lee Yeo was even more grateful for the royal family member's foresight: "Wu Yue-jun, your support and great kindness will surely be remembered by the people in the future."
Wu Yuejun patted his shoulders with both hands and sighed, "Li Jun, we will never give up on you."
"Besides you, no one else in the Northern Region can save our people."
"The people of the Central Plains have now learned to save themselves. If we do not unite, our nation will disappear from the world like the barbarian slaves of the past."
The Hu people were once among the most barbaric nomadic tribes in the Central Plains. They were different from the northern Hu people and the Xiongnu; they were truly a different race. They spoke a language from the other side of the ocean, ate raw meat and drank blood, and practiced a cruel system of slavery.
The Hu people conquered their land using their slave army. They were later wiped out because of the same slave army.
Because the Hu people did not consider people outside their own ethnicity as human beings, when Emperor Taizu of Jin rose up in rebellion, he raised the slogan of opposing the Hu people and abolishing slavery. He united slave armies from all sides to join his forces, strengthening his power and ultimately destroying the Hu people.
Li Li was deeply moved. He even introduced Xieji to Wu Yuejun.
Wu Yuejun scoffed at Xie Ji's surname a few times, but he also greeted Xie Ji politely. He then explained that he was angry because he disliked a woman who had stolen his brother's fiancée, and that the woman also shared the surname Xie.
For some reason, Xie Ji had a feeling that the person the other person was talking about was their marshal.
Given that he now needs external support, he can only pretend to be stupid.
"Wu Yuejun, how did you manage to get here so smoothly?" Yelü San San, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
Wu Yuejun glanced at him and said, "They are your eldest and second eldest son's daughter and son. They have both raised two traitors."
Upon hearing this, Yelü Sansan's face immediately turned extremely ugly.
He then realized that he had been tricked by two young men. His elder brothers were still completely unaware. But things could never go back to the way they were, even if it was a misunderstanding that had caused the rift between them.
Seeing this, Li Li walked over with his wine cup and patted Yelü San San, saying, "This matter should not be blamed on you, nor on Ah Da and Ah Er. If anyone should be blamed, it is my second brother who only knows how to command you and has never brought you any benefits."
"How about this, if you can contact them, I'm willing to treat them with the same respect and hospitality you would show them."
Yelü Sansan immediately raised his wine cup, expressing his deepest gratitude to Li Li.
Behind her back, Wu Yuejun couldn't help but admire Li Jun. He had learned to seize opportunities and win over talented generals. It was such a waste to leave the Eight Generals to that bastard, the Second Prince Yelü Wen.
Xie Ji smiled without saying a word, but his eyes were filled with gloom.
He needed to report the situation here to the Marshal immediately. Wu Yuejun. It seems she has a younger brother. Does that brother have some connection with the mistress?
To prevent the marshal from being deceived by not receiving the message.
That evening, Xie Ji contacted a spy and asked the spy to pass on a message to Xie Lanzhi.
The spies were very efficient.
When Xie Lanzhi received the letter that evening, the first thing she did was glance at the woman lying next to her.
She put the letter away, thinking to herself, "Little Phoenix is actually quite cunning."
Seeing that she never mentioned the fiancé chosen by her mother-in-law, Little Phoenix simply pretended that such a person did not exist.
However, some things and some people cannot simply disappear just because they are not there.
Xie Lanzhi immediately glanced into the room: "Little Phoenix."
The person beside her seemed oblivious as she opened her eyes, still sleepy, and even raised her hand to rub the corner of her eye.
In a coquettish tone: "My dear wife..."
Chapter 199 The Man Named Wu Shang
In the end, she felt sorry for her daughter-in-law and told her to go to sleep first.
When Xie Lanzhi woke up, Si Xitong had already gone to court. After she finished breakfast, Xie's personal guards asked her if she wanted to attend court with them starting tomorrow.
Xie Lanzhi knew it was Xie Shi making trouble again; in the past, she would have been ambiguous in her response.
This time, she gave Xie a formal answer: "Go, why wouldn't I go?"
The Xie family's personal guards cautiously observed the marshal's expression, seeing no displeasure on her part. The guards dared to speak frankly with their own clan. Although the Imperial Guard and the court were very accepting of the Xie family, something felt off. It was as if their own people, who should have been in charge, had suddenly become someone else.
But the mistress is no ordinary person; she is very tolerant of the Xie family, and those who can be given important positions are basically in place.
Until someone in the Xie family brought up the topic of offspring, everyone started focusing on the Marshal and Princess's next generation. This sensitive topic was tantamount to suicide, and many people were extremely wary of it.
Naturally, no one dared to mention it.
Now that General Xie Guang is no longer there to protect them, many of Xie's requests cannot be conveyed to the Marshal through others. Although the Marshal's temperament has become much gentler than before, she will not back down on matters of principle.
The Xie family then heard that Xie Ying, who had been abandoned by the Xie clan, had been promoted to the rank of centurion by Ma Hong and officially joined the capital's guard. The ambitious members of the Xie family were filled with regret, having lost a major potential asset to their clan.
There was no way to express his regret. The Imperial Guard now had a Grand General, Ma Hong. The Xie family's position as Grand General was naturally nominal.