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Chapter 94 The Hun Envoy's Barbarian Customs
Three days later.
The long-mysterious Hunnic Kingdom has finally made a move.
Xie Lanzhi had a seven-day honeymoon leave. The Hun Kingdom sent an envoy to personally deliver a cartload of jade artifacts to congratulate the southern overlord on his marriage.
However, the jade artifacts were all engraved with erotic scenes, depicting muscular men who seemed to be mocking Xie Lanzhi's gender and physique. The Xie generals were furious upon seeing this. Officials in the capital condemned the barbarians' disrespect towards the southern overlord.
The envoy sent to the Xiongnu was a man from the Central Plains, refined and cultured, dressed in a style that was half Central Plains and half Xiongnu, a mixed style that had been established for centuries. This influenced the vassal states to the north of the Xiongnu, all of whom adopted this mixed-style clothing as their official attire.
The Hun envoy called himself Shan Yuhou.
Dan Yuhou's manner of performing Hu etiquette was extremely distasteful to the Jingchen officials. "Southern overlord, my Hu Xiongnu king has sent a cart of jade artifacts as a congratulatory gift for your wedding."
"These jade artifacts are clearly an insult to our lord!" Li Ling, along with the officials of the capital, condemned the Hu Xiongnu for their rudeness.
"Although my lord is a woman, she has overpowered all heroes and swept across the south, becoming an equal to your kingdom. How dare you blaspheme my new ruler of the Great Jin!"
Xie Guang was so angry that he almost drew his sword.
Xie Lanzhi looked at the pile of jade artifacts, her eyes cold and her smile forced: "A grand gift from the Xiongnu, indeed befitting the status of the Northern Overlord."
"The Northern Overlord Aqina is mighty and majestic. I have heard that the Hun people are open-minded and unconcerned with trivial matters. Today I see that this is indeed the case. I suppose this jade artifact depicts Aqina and his concubines enjoying a moonlit night. Giving it to me shows my sincerity."
Having said that, she waved her sleeve and said, "In return, ten cartloads of monkey-faced, human-bodied sculptures from the Southern Region!"
This statement is clearly a satire of the customs and rudeness of the Hu and Xiongnu barbarians, and even more so a satire of the Hu and Xiongnu as uncivilized savages.
As the saying goes, it is impolite not to reciprocate. When Jing Chen and the Xie family saw the marshal return the greeting, they immediately felt relieved.
When Shan Yuhou heard that the return gift was a monkey-faced human, he was extremely shocked. He never expected that the southern overlord would dare to provoke the superior country like this. For hundreds of years, only the Hun superior country had ever bullied others. No one had ever dared to resist. Even when they received a humiliating gift, they would justify it by claiming it was from the superior country and then accept the gift under a legitimate name.
This way, they wouldn't offend the Xiongnu, and they could save face. But being oppressed is oppression, and small countries can only endure it. Even the Khan of the Northern Regions, Beiluo, didn't dare to complain when he received these gifts.
Shan Yuhou wasn't there for a social gathering, so since he received the gift, he naturally wanted to take it back with him.
"I will certainly deliver the return gift from the Southern Overlord!"
Xie Lanzhi said in a calm and kind tone, "You've worked hard, envoy. I will have someone escort you out of the capital immediately."
The Southern Overlord's order to evict him.
Dan Yuhou's face darkened. This woman was indeed as arrogant and disdainful of others as rumored; she would surely pay the price for it later. But it was just as well; the Hun had given them a gift, so it was a reciprocal gesture. So what if they provoked them?
But the southern overlord dared to retaliate with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
The arrogance of this small southern country will come at a heavy price.
"This envoy will certainly convey Xie Zhu's words to the King verbatim!" Shan Yuhou then withdrew from the Golden Palace.
Wu Qiu and his entourage offered to escort Shan Yuhou away from the capital, and then loaded ten carts with the monkey-faced, human-bodied statue as a return gift, tenfold. However, the monkey-faced, human-bodied statue was dressed in clothes, which was quite ironic, like a monkey wearing a crown.
Since Shan Yuhou couldn't throw away the gifts she received on the spot, she had no choice but to take them back to the north with a dark expression.
Wu Qiu first saw Shan Yuhou off, then returned to the Golden Palace to report that the man had left.
The officials in the capital began to chatter incessantly: "Marshal, the Hu and Xiongnu have been barbaric and uncivilized for a long time. Even though they have occupied the north for a hundred years, they have not been assimilated by the people of the Central Plains. On the contrary, they have barbarized the people of the Central Plains in the north."
"The newly appointed King Aqina further promotes the assimilation of barbarians and the integration of the Central Plains, cloaking himself in the guise of the unity of Chinese and barbarians to confuse cultures. His intentions are despicable!"
"They even distorted Confucianism and Taoism, and all of that belongs to them."
"Now that the Xiongnu envoys are provoking us, it seems they intend to invade our southern region. Marshal, please reconsider. The south needs to conserve its strength and should not start a war for the time being."
"The Xiongnu are militarily powerful and pose a threat to our army. It would be better to be patient for now and launch a campaign another day! Marshal!"
Xie then spoke up: "Let's fight then! Are we afraid of them?"
"The Xiongnu have insulted my lord; a scholar can be killed but not humiliated!!"
"We must make the Xiongnu taste the might of the Xie family!!"
Xie Lanzhi looked at the people below. Xie Shi immediately ordered a battle, while Jing Chen suggested that they rest and recuperate first.
Wu Qiu then stepped forward and said, "Marshal, in my opinion, both sides have valid points."
Xie Lanzhi said, "The Xiongnu military is powerful, and has been causing alarm among the surrounding neighbors for a century. How could I, the commander, not know this?"
Now she still needs to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the Hu and Xiongnu. Currently, she has obtained one clue: the Hu and Xiongnu have begun to develop at sea and have acquired treasure ships. However, development takes time and cannot be accomplished overnight.
The maritime trade chain cannot be established overnight.
The strongest territory of the Hu and Xiongnu was in the north, but their geographical weakness was also in the north.
That is because the north is inland with no deep-water ports or inland harbors, and is not near the coastline. Their treasure ships must have gone through many twists and turns to reach the sea. In other words, if they wanted to develop their maritime power, they had to disembark at the coastlines of some small countries.
The Great Jin Dynasty's vast coastline, inner harbor, and deep harbor are all located in the south, connecting with the northern regions.
The former capital of the Seven Jin states was a place where a huge inland harbor and a deep-water port were combined. Further south of the Xie clan's southern region was the coastline, separated by the Shi Kingdom.
In other words, among all the current rulers, only the Shi Kingdom has the longest coastline. Next are the Southern and Northern Regions.
The closest point of the Xiongnu to the Yellow River was the Red River, but separated from it by three mountain ranges. Two hundred thousand troops were exhausted from defending these three mountain ranges.
Thinking of this, Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but smile.
Hu Xiong chose the right skill points but missed the geographical advantage.
However, it's hard to guarantee that the Xiongnu haven't developed rapidly in other places. She needs to be wary. The great power in the north, which has existed for a century, not only has a large granary like the southern region, but also a million-strong iron cavalry that is even more powerful than the Xie clan. In every respect, the Xiongnu's national strength is far superior.
With Mohist disciples remaining in the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu held all the advantages, and their geographical disadvantage was only temporary. If the Xiongnu wanted to continue developing, given their domineering methods, they certainly wouldn't stoop to begging small countries near the coastline; they wouldn't even bother buying ports. Their only thought was to destroy and seize them—they would be theirs.
Now that the Xiongnu have seen Xie Lanzhi buy the Red River as a commercial capital, build a river port, and establish a three-year alliance between the North and South, they are extremely envious. In the past, they would have definitely sent troops south to occupy the coveted place.
Then, the Crown Prince's power was not to be underestimated, and the Southern Overlord's 500,000 troops were not just for show. Both forces were at their peak. Twenty years ago, these forces would have been easy to manipulate, but they were too busy fighting among themselves and missed the opportunity to march south.
Now that the new king, Aqina, has ascended the throne, he has almost quelled the internal strife.
Shan Yuhou transported these statues back to the Xiongnu. Of course, he dared not hand them over to the new king. The new king had a very erratic temper, unpredictable and fickle; who knew if he might kill him?
They simply presented a list.
The new Hun king, Aqina, did not appear in person. Instead, his younger brother, Anshan, accepted the gifts and took the initiative to cover up for Shan Yuhou's misdeeds.
Anshan said, "In such a chaotic world, no one dares to provoke our Hun Kingdom. I never expected that a female general from the south would dare to go against the tide. It's really laughable."
Shan Yuhou said, "This man is extremely arrogant. Not only did he refuse our gifts, he also insulted us as...uncivilized savages!"
Anshan looked at the monkey-faced, human-bodied statue, which was still dressed, and instantly crushed the statue's head with his large hand.
How interesting! No one has dared to speak to the Xiongnu like that in the last hundred years!
Chapter 95 Improvements to Artillery and Increased Food Production
The story of Xie Lanzhi returning the monkey-faced human statue and her relationship with the Xiongnu spread far and wide. Some praised her for retaining the integrity of the people of the Central Plains, refusing to bow down to the Xiongnu, and calling her a model for outstanding individuals to emulate.
Although the territory of the Hu and Xiongnu has expanded, it is only a temporary triumph. They will surely be driven back to the northern grasslands in the future. When they fall, everyone will turn against them. Those who were oppressed in the past will rise up and launch a massive attack, which will inevitably severely damage the Hu and Xiongnu.
The once-prosperous scholarly families of Jin, who had initially looked down on the Xie family and feared Xie's notorious reputation, are now seeing Xie's courage and fearlessness in the face of powerful enemies. These prominent scholars are now moving their entire families to Tianjing (Nanjing), with each faction's members jointly drafting a policy treatise on governing the country before petitioning to follow and serve him.
Some criticized Xie Lanzhi for being arrogant and reckless, fearing she might invite invasion from powerful nations and suffer calamity. Others wrote letters condemning Xie Lanzhi's behavior, suggesting she should emulate King Goujian of Yue and learn to endure hardship and humiliation.
Xie Lanzhi accepted them all; whether they were pro-war or pro-peace factions, they were all working for the new Tianjing.
Currently, her and Little Phoenix's territory is not large, equivalent to two provinces.
When Little Phoenix learned of this, she hinted to the scholar who had come to her aid to write a letter denouncing the pro-peace faction.
The two worked together to create public opinion, gradually shifting the focus of the new Tianjing from the busy farming season and the imperial examinations to the support of the Northern Expedition among both students and ordinary people, especially the younger generation.
The officials in the capital and the Xie family formed two separate groups in the imperial court. Some members of the Xie family advocated for peace, while others in the capital court advocated for war. For a time, they argued fiercely.
Xie Lanzhi did not attend court.
Si Xitong dealt with some immediate matters and then left the court, leaving the two groups to argue amongst themselves.
Seeing that both superiors had left, Wu Qiu couldn't help but sigh, knowing that Marshal Xie was now avoiding suspicion. She was beginning to transfer power to His Highness, which was why she had provoked the Xiongnu to return the favor.
Perhaps it wasn't just for this reason; the Marshal never acted for petty gains or to attract attention for a good reputation. She was always cautious and far-sighted, and wouldn't fly into a rage over a minor humiliation. She wasn't the kind of person who couldn't tolerate things.
When she changed her fighting style in the Southern Region, and even altered her personality, many within her tribe and vassal states were restless and questioned her, yet she still managed to conquer it. She relied on sheer patience to wait for the right opportunity.
But this time...
Is the marshal creating an opportunity? Testing the waters?
Xie Guang and others have always been advocates of war and have never backed down.
On the contrary, the peace faction is constantly arguing with its own people, more courageous than when they are on the battlefield. But in reality, when faced with an enemy attack, they certainly wouldn't have the same fighting spirit they have now.
"Fine, I'll just cooperate with the Lord." Wu Qiu quietly withdrew.
At this time, Xie Lanzhi was at the Ministry of Works, where Vice Ministers Wei Zhao and Wei Gong presented the newly made fire-starting device for inspection.
Xie Lanzhi touched the fire tube and felt that the quality of the semi-steel was not bad. It seems that the iron smelting technology of the Great Wei is also advancing by leaps and bounds. If the steel produced by the light furnace converter is used, it can make a truly terrifying cannon!
She explained the principle of Xie Ying's cannon-firing technique. In fact, Wei Zhao and Wei Gong had already figured out the principle of the cannon-firing technique. It was nothing more than pressing the cannon barrel with bamboo, then making an iron ball-like cannonball to ignite it, and then exploding the barrel after three uses.
The last test injured ten people, but fortunately the explosives were not very powerful and their lives were not in danger.
Wei Zhao reported this matter to Xie Lanzhi: "Last month, we tested the cannon. It was slow to ignite and had a range of only 200 meters. At most, it would be destroyed after five shots."
Xie Ying's killing of the three Xianbei generals with his cannons wasn't due to the cannons' performance at all; it was mostly luck. The Northern Regions were similar to the Xiongnu cavalry, relying on their powerful cavalry to bully smaller states. Those people in the Northern Regions had probably never seen cannons before, so the three Xianbei generals might have thought the cannons were just for show when they charged right under their feet, blasting them to pieces.
This ignorance stems from arrogance. However, since the outbreak of the war, the Northern Region has become much more compliant with the Southern Region.
She gave the Ministry of Works the black powder, gunpowder, and ammunition ratio of 15:2:3, and asked them to mix it. The Ministry of Works quickly produced it, and its power was acceptable. The question still revolved around cannons.
Only the ignition tube has made progress.
Xie Lanzhi held the flintlock pistol that she had hit by sheer luck. With one shot, the muzzle emitted a puff of smoke, and the recoil was extremely strong, requiring a great deal of strength to control.
"The spring is missing from the chamber, the spark plug's performance is poor, applying the medicine is troublesome, and it's also difficult to aim accurately." She felt the handle was burning hot as she gripped it.
Wei Zhao wrote down what she said and asked what a reed was and how to aim it.
Xie Lanzhi explained the general structure of each item. Modern regulations strictly prohibit such mechanical devices, so she had almost never come into contact with them, at most having seen design drawings. Toys and [unclear - possibly referring to a specific type of object or device].