"Although I have a personal grudge against the Marshal, there is no conflict between our countries. I urge the Marshal to consider this carefully."
They used the banner of the Xiongnu Motherland to send sarcastic messages to Xie Lanzhi, who was still on her honeymoon, criticizing her for being indecent, neither male nor female, bullying the weak, and being unreasonable.
This change in attitude makes it hard not to have suspicions.
Yelü Lili understood Xie Lanzhi's move in Weidu perfectly. She intimidated Shan Yuhou with her tough attitude and unyielding military force. Shan Yuhou was frightened, and he would have to carefully consider how he would report back to his superiors after returning home. This was unlike her provoking a small country and offending Xie Lanzhi.
Such politeness now is clearly a continuation of the traditions of the Hun ancestors, showing fear of power rather than gratitude.
Yelü Lili scoffed at Shan Yuhou.
He and the 200,000 troops on the Red River border were sworn enemies. An alliance was impossible, but his father's side was a real hindrance.
The purpose of Hu and Xiongnu sending out alliance treaties and arranging to meet in Huayin was certainly not as simple as forming an alliance.
When Xie Lanzhi heard that the Hu and Xiongnu had changed their brutal image and learned the tactic of first being polite and then resorting to force, and had widely distributed alliance treaties, they also prepared gifts according to the regulations of various countries.
They received a large treasure ship, ten flintlock muskets, and ten thousand bushels of grain, making them a truly generous family.
Other countries either received food to alleviate their famine or sent troops to aid smaller nations in suppressing their rebellions. Within just three months of her arrival, she had already gained the allegiance of several smaller nations. As for what gifts the Tianjing Society would send, she didn't care.
Tianjing is indeed short of food, but it's only a matter of time. She just needs to delay for two years to allow the Southern Region and the former Jin territories of Tianjing to stabilize and produce grain. Food will definitely not be a problem, and neither will flintlock muskets.
Xie Lanzhi put down her wine glass and said, "This commander has no experience in dealing with the Hunnic kingdom."
"Marshal, how could you be so modest? Our King has always longed to meet you, the overlord of the South." Shan Yuhou's tone suddenly became somewhat obsequious, causing Yelü Lili and Xie Lanzhi to shrug slightly.
If this person went to Sichuan, he would definitely master the art of face-changing.
Shan Yuhou coughed lightly: "His Highness Feng Ning, the ruler of Jiu Jin Kingdom, has also accepted the invitation and will be departing for Hua Yin Kingdom soon."
Upon hearing this, Yelü Lili reacted quite strongly.
Xie Lanzhi gave him a cold glance and then fell silent.
Did Little Phoenix accept the invitation?
How did the Xiongnu manage to persuade her to come? And why didn't she write to him?
All sorts of doubts, though separated by thousands of miles, were directed at the woman in Tianjing.
Shan Yuhou tried his best to persuade them to meet in Huayin, but whether or not they would form an alliance was up to them. There was no coercion involved.
After that, Shan Yuhou got up to take his leave.
Xie Lanzhi suddenly spoke up: "A few days ago, I caught the culprit who caused all the chaos, and coincidentally, he is also a Hun."
"He even called himself Anshan."
Dan Yuhou's eyes widened immediately; he seemed suspicious, as if he knew nothing about the matter. Xie Lanzhi noticed his reaction and became increasingly suspicious of the fake Xie Xiu's identity.
"It seems he's just an ordinary perpetrator," Xie Lanzhi said deliberately. "Would the envoy like to see him?"
Shan Yuhou adopted a posture of impartiality and sternness, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xie Lanzhi: "Since he is a criminal, even if he is a Hun, there are laws between countries and family rules. If he commits a crime, he should naturally be punished according to the law."
"Although our Hunnic Kingdom cherishes its people, those who are law-abiding citizens are the ones we cherish."
"With these words from the envoy, I am relieved." Xie Lanzhi turned her face toward Yelü Lili.
Yelü Lili agreed, saying, “My law is naturally to punish such people. This person has committed numerous evils and harmed many people, causing great losses to Yifan and the Xie family. According to the law, he should be executed.”
The sentence, "According to the law, he should be executed," forced Shan Yuhou to reconsider his relationship with the Xie family.
It seems the Northern Regions don't entirely obey the old Khan; this is certainly a tough nut to crack. Not to mention the Xie family!
Dan Yuhou left, suspicious and distrustful.
Seeing that the unlucky person had left, Yelü Lili took the initiative to raise his wine cup to toast her: "When the Marshal heard about the alliance agreement, did he think that I would go back on my word and break my promise?"
Xie Lanzhi raised her wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. She said, "The Xie family will inevitably have doubts, but I don't believe that decay can turn into magic, or that one thing can immediately make something safe. That's ridiculous."
As the chief of the Northern Region, it is impossible for Yifan to adopt the same policies as the Northern Region. It is the business of Luochuan for Beiluo to form an alliance. The Northern Region itself is a tribal system, with each tribe managing its own affairs.
This was Yelü Lili's territory, and the immense pressure he faced from the 200,000 troops of the Hu and Xiongnu along the Red River was something no one could comprehend.
Only Xie Lanzhi knew the extent of the danger he was in.
If the Xiongnu were to intend to launch a southern expedition, the first place they would pass through would be Yifan, and the first place they would attack would also be Yifan.
The person who has the most friction with the Hu and Xiongnu now is Yelü Lili.
"I suspect that the Hu and Xiongnu are forming alliances in various regions and putting on a friendly facade, but they probably have ulterior motives." Xie Lanzhi was well aware that the Hu and Xiongnu's ambition to replace the Central Plains remained undiminished. Therefore, everything the Hu and Xiongnu were doing now seemed like an act.
Yelü Lili, who had the most encounters with the Hu and Xiongnu, said: "I think they may genuinely want to form an alliance, but forming an alliance may only be one of their purposes."
"I've also discovered something suspicious."
Xie Lanzhi said, "Tell me about it."
"The Hu and Xiongnu widely issued alliance letters, and each country sent gifts. In particular, the Yue Kingdom, which is close to the sea, not only presented a large ship, but also personally sent a new envoy to receive the Yue king."
"As a small peninsula country, Yue is poor in land resources and relies entirely on fishing and trading for a living. It is extremely dependent on trade with the mainland country. To others, it would be of no benefit to host this country in a grand manner."
But who would believe it if it had no practical value?
The Hu and Xiongnu must have discovered something special about the Yue Kingdom to treat it so well.
After their conversation, Xie Lanzhi began to speculate on the upcoming plot. She had previously made contact with the Hu Xiongnu, who harbored ambitions for the opening of a maritime era, but unfortunately, they had no land access, so geographically they must have been able to stop them.
Now that they are actively engaging with the Yue Kingdom, could it be...?
Just as Xie Lanzhi was about to pour herself some wine, Yelü Lili got up and poured it for her himself, watching the wine continuously flow into the cup.
She suddenly said, "Your Highness, have your ancestors, or my wife's ancestors, ever sent troops to other countries to protect their security?"
Yelü Lili was momentarily stunned, and he accidentally spilled the wine from the cup, scattering it all over the table.
"Does the Marshal mean that the Xiongnu want to set this precedent?"
"This is just a simple guess."
It seems that such things haven't happened in this era yet; most of the time it's about allied forces sending reinforcements, and even the smallest countries are independent and autonomous. Unlike her era.
She suddenly sensed the presence of a stranger in this era.
Such foresight would be impossible without modern thinking. It seems that both the new leader of the Mohist school and the new king of the Xiongnu are highly suspicious. One of them is certainly a prime suspect.
At the same time, a letter arrived from the new Tianjing.
Xie Ying personally delivered the letter. In the instant Xie Ying lowered her head, Xie Lanzhi took a good look at her. When she opened the letter, she found that it was written by her beloved wife.
Her gaze softened instantly. After reading the letter, she put it away and said, "Xie Ying, now can you tell me who sent you?"
Xie Ying was taken aback, but she quickly confessed, "Mistress."
Did Little Phoenix send her?
"What are you here for?"
Xie Ying was unaware of this, but she thought to herself, "This humble general is here to rid the marshal of all the beautiful women!"
"The mistress said that Shang Guang is easily tempted by beauty, so he may be reliable in other matters, but he is absolutely not up to the task in this one."
Xie Lanzhi: "......"
Yelü Lili, who was standing nearby, turned his face at the right moment and coughed lightly: "The barbarians once wanted to send beauties to your bed, but I know you love Princess Fengning, so my men blocked them for you."
Xie Ying continued, "On the very night you entered the grotto base, a foreign dancer was waiting for you at the entrance. I was the one who knocked her unconscious and carried her out of the palace."
"Marshal...you really need to be careful. This is not the Central Plains, and beautiful women with boundless enthusiasm often come uninvited."
Xie Lanzhi's lips twitched. With so many beautiful women watching her, how come she was the only one who didn't know?
Yelü Lili saw that she was still unaware of her own charm.
He specifically reminded her: "My family has a custom of serving and warming the bed. Whenever there is an honored guest, a beautiful concubine will be sent to warm the guest's body. If the honored guest appreciates her, he can take her back, and the concubine's status will naturally rise accordingly."
"Hello, you are a marshal and the overlord of the south. I think that compared to those middle-aged men, more people would prefer the young and passionate Lady Xie."
Xie Lanzhi trembled upon hearing this. She had never been particularly wary of women, perhaps because she herself was a woman and knew that women in this era had little personal freedom, so she naturally felt compassion for them. But if this compassion were misunderstood, wouldn't she inadvertently attract countless suitors?
Even a single peach blossom from Little Phoenix bothered her for a long time, let alone her own peach blossoms. If it were Little Phoenix's turn, she might even tear the ground up.
Chapter 119 Si Xitong's Treasure Ship
In her letter, Little Phoenix indicated that she would attend the Huayin meeting.
The Kingdom of Huayin, situated on the northern and southern borders, was neither a powerful nor a small state. Strategically, it remained neutral. It was valued by the Xiongnu king, who arranged for his favorite daughter to marry the former ruler of Huayin, thus forging an alliance between the two nations. The current young ruler of Huayin was the former king's grandson. Therefore, it was a neutral state closely related to the Xiongnu by blood.
After traveling north by boat through the internal waterways of Huayin, you will reach the Kingdom of Huayin. The entire journey will take three days.
Xie Lanzhi took this opportunity to examine Xie Bing and found that Xie Bing and Yi Fan Bing got along well. After the last incident, the Hu people felt guilty and began to privately send fruits and vegetables to apologize, intending to make peace with the Xie family.
Xie Ji did not refuse, but he did not move back to his old base camp either. He simply arranged for 5,000 people to live there, because the old base camp had too much of a shadow over him.
Xie and the local residents became acquainted through a series of misunderstandings, and their relationship grew closer than before. The soldiers of the first district also became more trusting of Xie's steadiness.
Before setting off, Yelü Lili and Xie Lanzhi took Anshan with them. Regardless of whether the other party was Anshan or not, he was working for the Hu Xiongnu and was very capable. They had only two choices: kill him or detain him for life.
at the same time.
After leaving the Xiongnu, Shan Yuhou hurriedly wrote to his superiors to inquire whether any Xiongnu merchants had been captured, especially those from the Prince of Anshan, who had the most merchants and was responsible for earning funds for the king and recruiting many talented people to send to various places.
King Aqina highly valued these merchants. Five Hun merchants had been arrested in Weidu last time and were still imprisoned. The useless Weidu ruler, Silei, had no authority to release the merchants, so these five merchants were essentially lost at the hands of the Xie ruler.
Now, another merchant has been arrested. Shan Yuhou sent a message to inform them, and soon the upper echelons of the Xiongnu sent a message saying: Anshan has disappeared.
Dan Yuhou was dumbfounded. If the merchant named Anshan mentioned by Xie Zhu was really Anshan, then wouldn't he have missed the opportunity to save him?
Shan Yuhou immediately sent a letter to Xie Lanzhi, hoping to have a good talk with her and meet the merchant.
In response, Xie Lanzhi and Yelü Lili were already on their way to Huayin Kingdom, and the merchant named Anshan was on their ship.
Dan Yuhou immediately wanted to curse Xie Lanzhi for always opposing the Hu Xiongnu! Anshan was the head of the Hu merchants; although he was corrupt, the king would at most kill his associates as a warning, not kill him outright. After all, he still needed Anshan to make money for him.
Now that Anshan has been captured, the business of Fushou cake in the south has been half wiped out. It is not something an ordinary person can do to send new people to rebuild this business chain.
Only Ansan can do it!
Dan Yuhou tried every means to contact Xie Lanzhi.
Most of the letters destined for Yifan ended up in Xie Ji's hands, who would simply tear up the envelopes without even a word. Shan Yuhou could only report this further to his superiors, suggesting that the missing Anshan might be in Xie Ji's possession.
The Xiongnu reacted quite strongly. It wouldn't be for the sake of a mere merchant, but this merchant had once made a fortune of tens of millions of taels of silver for the new king, and was a model and a miracle among Xiongnu merchants.