Xie Ying heard from Jack that Mu Ye had abandoned them and run away. It turned out that after Mu Ye learned that Joseph's pirate crew had been defeated by the Imperial Guard, he took the opportunity to relieve himself and slipped away.
They abandoned five thousand pirates in the desolate wilderness of a foreign land. Lost and disoriented, the pirates wandered aimlessly, attacked by tigers and wolves at night. Because of their haste, Makino ordered them to discard their rations. Unexpectedly, discarding the rations led them to a dead end.
They had no choice but to surrender and hoped that Xie Ying would forgive them.
Xie Ying was instantly enraged. These enemy bandits had killed so many of their people and yet they expected them to forgive them!
Xie Ying immediately drew her knife and was about to kill Jack.
Jack hurriedly told Xie Ying that surrendering and being treated with courtesy was a tradition in their Anluo Kingdom. Besides, they had never killed a single civilian except when fighting.
They comprised eight mercenary battalions in total, some commanded by retired soldiers, others by genuine pirates.
Those who were originally pirates were led by Joseph, Hans, and Ralph. The rest were retired soldiers. Moreover, apart from attacking enclaves, they never set foot in civilian areas.
They were still marines.
Xie Ying heard that Jack was a marine and thought that the imperial court was in dire need of experienced marines. Since he claimed to be a marine, she figured she could just send him to the Ministry of Works for verification.
The pirate named Jack was imprisoned separately. The other pirates were imprisoned in the dungeons of the State of Lu.
Xie Ying quickly reported to Si Xitong about capturing five thousand pirates. Now that Xie Ying was a general under Si Xitong, according to his duties, he could only report to her first.
When Si Xitong learned of this, Xie Lanzhi naturally knew as well.
Xie Lanzhi heard that there were experienced marines among them, and she had other ideas. But she couldn't tolerate the other pirates, because there must be murderers among them who had killed ordinary people.
Si Xitong thought this matter was easy to handle; she would send people from the Western Guard to investigate and they would find out everything.
Once the truth is uncovered, those executioners can be brought to trial.
"Xie Ying has rendered a great service. Do you think I should elevate her status first?"
Xie Lanzhi guessed that she was trying to make plans for Qiqi. The Northern Region was in chaos due to the civil war, and Li Li, being the eldest brother, wouldn't easily agree to his sister marrying Xie Ying.
She said, "Let's put it aside for now and talk about it later."
Si Xitong said, "As for Mu Ye, I have already sent the Zhang brothers to personally pursue him."
She paused, then her eyes darkened: "Muye must not live!"
This man is ambitious and treacherous; no one knows his true identity. He seems to have appeared out of nowhere, harboring hostility and hatred towards the Central Plains.
Although Xie Lanzhi believed this was an inevitable historical event, no one expected that the sea monsters would be led in by the people of the Central Plains themselves.
She and Xiao Fenghuang must nail Mu Ye to the pillar of historical shame to warn the world.
Xie Ying began leading her men to search the mountains relentlessly, attempting to capture Mu Ye. During this time, a question arose in her mind: why did Mu Ye possess such clear knowledge of the terrain?
If the other party has a clear location, it must mean that they have an acquaintance in the Central Plains.
Makino might go and seek refuge with someone he knows.
There is very little information about Muye now; nobody knows where he's from.
When asked about the pirate Muye, he gave a place name called Haidong.
Xie Ying found no concrete evidence. She discovered that Mu Ye had deceived the group. Therefore, the pirates' leads regarding Mu Ye naturally dried up.
Xie Ying searched deep in the mountains, while a small boat had already gone there. After arriving at the first flank, it escaped directly across the city moat. It was discovered by the soldiers of the first flank, who fired a cannon at it, and it rolled into a valley on the border of the Northern Hu and Xiongnu before disappearing without a trace.
The soldiers sensed something was wrong and immediately reported it to Li Li.
When Li Li heard about the other person's characteristics, he also felt something was wrong and immediately contacted Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Lanzhi learned of this and confirmed once again that the escapee was dressed in strange clothes and fled to the territory of the Northern Xiongnu with almost no time to change.
They fled in a very hurry.
It seems that Muye's hometown should be in the Northern Xiongnu.
She contacted Lu Qing.
With mixed feelings, Lu Qing asked, "Marshal, are you really sure?"
Xie Lanzhi knew that she had a husband who was also the leader of the Mohist school, and they hadn't been in contact for two years.
Now that Aqina is dead, the situation of the Mohist leader must be much worse.
I heard that the Empress Dowager of the Northern Hu and Xiongnu attaches great importance to the leader of the Mohist school and is trying to get him to develop and upgrade firearms so that they can march south.
"You just go ahead and make the contact; I'll handle the rest."
Lu Qing turned away to wipe her tears; she really missed him.
She finished writing the letter quickly, and despite her speed, she had five sheets of paper in her hand.
Xie Lanzhi immediately handed it over to Si Xitong.
Si Xitong dispatched an envoy from the Western Jin Dynasty, who immediately boarded a boat at Luerqu and traveled ashore to the Northern Hu and Xiongnu.
Commuting to the Northern Xiongnu is difficult. This letter was sent five days ago.
On that day, Lord Anshan and Liu Zi vied to see the envoy from the Western Jin Dynasty.
When the two men heard that the other claimed to be from the Western Jin Dynasty, their expressions were quite strange.
It seems that the new Tianjing has already changed its name. Although Si Xitong has not yet ascended the throne, the name of the Western Jin Dynasty has already been recorded in various states, and the birth of the Western Jin Dynasty will be officially confirmed when she ascends the throne.
The Western Jin Dynasty's replacement of the Great Jin Dynasty inevitably led to an increase in territory.
Anshan Jun and Taihao Liu Zi's expressions immediately turned ugly. They guessed that Si Xitong was incorporating the Central Alliance into the territory of the Western Jin Dynasty. With the territory expanded, it was natural to re-establish its name.
What could they do if they didn't admit it? They had just suffered a defeat when the Western Jin Dynasty defeated the formidable Haikou. By now, their influence had likely spread to the outer seas and even to neighboring regions.
Faced with the resurgent Western Jin Dynasty, the neighboring states could only bow down and submit. These states, which bowed to the powerful, naturally stopped interacting with the Northern Xiongnu.
Liu Zi was somewhat unwilling, but that was all. She was old. She didn't have much energy left for expansion. She only wanted to protect the north for the late king.
It now appears that the North could be in imminent danger.
"The envoy has traveled a long way and must be tired," Liu Zi said. "Since your country requests to see the leader of the Mohist school, then go and see him."
Anshan Jun was surprised that the Empress Dowager agreed so readily. He was about to speak when Liu Zi interrupted him.
"Besides this, does Your Majesty of the Western Jin Dynasty have any other requests?"
The Prince of Anshan was furious that the Empress Dowager had adopted such a humble posture from the very beginning. They, the Northern Xiongnu, were not so destitute as to have to bow down and submit to the Western Jin.
The Western Jin envoy felt immense pleasure at seeing their humiliated expressions.
The Western Jin envoy did not offend the Empress Dowager, after all, the Empress Dowager was quite pragmatic, unlike the Prince of Anshan.
He then said, "Our emperor requests to meet the leader of the Mohist school, and also hopes that your country can lend me an army."
"Because I need to find someone!"
Beihu Xiong Dong Hutong is where the leader of the Mohist school lived. It was a quiet and peaceful place, and there were also suburban areas where he could test his new weapons.
However, Xu Xie, the leader of the Mohist school, hadn't produced any particularly noteworthy weapons in two years, and rumors circulated among the Northern Hu and Xiongnu that he had run out of creative ideas. Furthermore, with the king recently becoming engrossed in his harem and no longer involved in politics, Xu Xie's status had plummeted.
Those who used to reject Xu Xie now dare to openly shift the blame for the war onto Xu Xie, now that Aqina is gone.
Xu Xie's funding chain was thus cut off.
He himself remained extremely calm, occasionally drinking tea and chatting with ordinary people, who couldn't understand a word he said. Often, they would get bored and stop visiting.
But he was very popular among the people because he would distribute his money to the poor. When someone heard that the palace had cut off his funding and worried that he would go hungry, they gave him half of their own vegetables and rice noodles.
Xu Xie accepted it without hesitation, and then he returned to his residence to continue studying firearms.
Although the Northern Xiongnu had already set their sights on the Central Plains, intending to steal cannons from there and replicate them, unfortunately, the Northern Xiongnu's coal reserves were already insufficient.
It wasn't that there was less coal; it was that it all ended up in the pockets of the nobles. Only a basketful was left for his public use. And even when he reported it, no one paid any attention.
Xu Xie felt that the future of the Northern Hu Xiongnu was probably over.
To prevent Xu Xie from escaping, the Northern Hu and Xiongnu had already arranged for many sentries to keep watch nearby. If there was any suspicion of him trying to escape, they could kill him first and report later.
Xu Xie never intended to run away.
Today he heard that New Tianjing had defeated the Sea King and become famous overseas.
Xu Xie's feelings were very complicated. He went back into the house, where the closed windows made the room very dark, and he was about to open them.
Suddenly I felt a chill on my neck; something sharp was pressing against it.
Xu Xie said calmly, "Whether you want money or goods, just turn right. Those are all government property, take them all, I won't mind at all."
Upon hearing this, the person behind him suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you're still as cunning as ever. Turning right is the whistleblower watching you; the inspection room there is indeed of the imperial court."
"You really don't care, after all, the weapons you invented are just trivial and useless."
"If I really need money, all I have to do is take you out the door and I'll be spotted by the whistles."
Xu Xie was immediately embarrassed: "I know many people. May I ask which of Liu Cheng's generals this righteous man is?"
"I'm not a traitor either." The other person's smiling tone came almost from the back of Xu Xie's head. Even though Xu Xie couldn't see what the other person looked like, he could imagine how arrogant the other person was.
"And who are you?"
"Senior brother, it's been a long time. I'm Sanliangzi."
Suddenly the weapon was removed, and Xu Xie quickly turned around and took two steps back. He did not run away, but stared wide-eyed to confirm the other party's true appearance.
Because the room was too dark, the man who called himself Sanliangzi was shrouded in shadow.
When the other person stepped out and stood in the sunlight streaming through the window, his true face was finally revealed.
Makino appeared openly and honestly before Xu Xie.
Xu Xie's face darkened. He immediately closed the door and pressed his back against it: "Twenty years have passed. If you hadn't looked so much the same since you were a child, I probably wouldn't have recognized you."
"How did you get here?"
"It seems my senior brother isn't too happy to have me as his fourth junior brother." He paused, recalling the past, and a rare expression of hatred appeared on Mu Ye's face, instead of a smile: "Have you forgotten when my second senior brother died?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xie turned his head away and remained silent.
Seeing his silence, Makino realized that he was cowardly escaping reality.
He immediately grabbed Xu Xie by the collar: "Have you forgotten how Master died, how Second Senior Brother died?!"
Xu Xie looked up and grabbed his hand. There was no joy between the two brothers after being separated for twenty years. On the contrary, there was a rift between them due to their differences in their paths and aspirations.
“You’re still so extreme. Twenty years have passed, how come you haven’t changed?” Xu Xie gripped his hand tightly: “Do you still hate the Great Jin? Don’t be silly, the Emperor Emeritus is dead, and the late Emperor is dead too. He is our senior brother…”
"Shut up!" Mu Ye shoved him away abruptly. His face darkened, but he quickly regained his composure. He turned to Xu Xie and said, "Back then, I fled to the sea to lure away the deserters for you."