Hearing this suggestion of a win-win situation, Xie Guang figured that if His Highness intervened, his pressure would be reduced. It was simpler than just killing Ma Hong. After all, killing Ma Hong alone wouldn't undo the fact that the Xie family had been defeated by him in a five-on-ten battle.
It would be just as embarrassing if word got out.
Anyway, Xie Baihu is dead. He was wrong to begin with. The Xie family raised him for so long, so he should repay the kindness of the clan. Since he was the one who made this mistake, let him make one last contribution to the Xie family's reputation.
"Your Highness, I will follow your orders!"
Si Xitong nodded and said, "I know you are unwilling, so I will give you a chance to vent your anger on Ma Hong's side."
Xie Guang's eyes lit up again. What a great opportunity! He could both save face and beat up Ma Hong to intimidate these outsiders!
Si Xitong brought up another matter: "I have not forgotten the clan rules established by my wife after she attacked Xie Yan. No one of the Xie clan is allowed to fight privately. If anyone is dissatisfied, he can choose a ring and issue a challenge. In the end, he can get justice in a fair and square manner!"
Xie Guang still remembered this rule, which greatly prevented internal strife within the Xie family and was highly praised by those in the Xie family who disliked fighting. He himself didn't think much of it, but his dog Ying's daily beatings of this young master and that young master were a major headache for him.
As soon as he said he would make her submit in the ring, Xie Ying would become much more restrained. This was because there was a special rule in the ring: unless both sides were willing to sign a death waiver, the other side could not kill the person if one side had not signed the death waiver, otherwise they would be subject to military law.
Xie Ying utterly despised this unpleasant fighting style; if it couldn't be a fight to the death, she simply stopped making a scene. This actually had some effect.
Xie Guang thought it was a good idea, showing that the mistress's heart was still with Xie Shi. Even though Ma Hong was her subordinate, she would still give Xie Shi a chance to save face and also intimidate these outsiders by winning the arena. It was a win-win situation.
Xie Guang immediately clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness's decision is beyond my objection! Let's do it this way!"
And speaking of Xie Ying, her father hasn't seen her come home for several days. Where has that brat run off to?
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:39:07 on December 28, 2021 and 18:58:29 on December 29, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Dudufish and Cat Lover (1 person);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Windmill (15 bottles); 46418181 (14 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 109 Xie Lanzhi Arrives
The news that Ma Hong had been arranged to fight in the arena by Si Xitong spread throughout the Xie family. Xie Guang was chosen as the first choice to select three Xie family masters to fight Ma Hong in the arena.
He also signed a life-or-death agreement with Ma Hong.
At this time, Si Xinian was still working in Bingzhou. Upon hearing about this, he immediately contacted his elder sister.
Si Xitong's reply was simply: Wait patiently.
Si Xinian did not ask any further questions.
On the day Ma Hong went to the arena, his bruised and swollen face was all done by his men to make him look pitiful. After all, he had killed Xie Baihu without suffering any injury, which would further damage Xie's self-esteem.
He knew very well that this was the best course of action His Highness had taken, and most importantly, His Highness had faith in him. Therefore, Ma Hong was now fearless except for losing His Highness's trust.
The arena held three rounds. He personally signed life-or-death contracts with the three members of the Xie family.
The matches last for one hour each, with a half-hour break. During the matches, Zhang Changle and Xie Guang act as referees, watching from the sidelines. Regardless of who wins and leaves the arena, Xie Guang will personally ensure the opponent's safety.
If Ma Hong wins, under Xie Guang's control, the Xie family will dare not lay a hand on Ma Hong again, not even in private, especially since Zhang Changle is also watching. Who could be better at handling things behind the scenes than him?
On the day the life-or-death match was held.
Si Xitong is busy with the peanut harvest, and the piglets are already a hundred days old and ready for consumption. However, someone is away, having been in the Northern Region for three days.
She told the piglets to stay and not to touch any of them.
In the afternoon, she heard that Ma Hong had faced three top fighters from the Xie family: Xie Wen, Xie Wu, and Xie Shuang—two men and one woman. It was said that Xie Shuang was an assassin within the Xie family, inflicting great harm on Ma Hong, but Ma Hong endured it, kicking her off the stage and rendering her unconscious. Only then did Xie Guang declare him the winner.
The other two martial arts practitioners left, but they insisted on competing with Ma Hong in long spear and other martial arts, and wanted to challenge the Ma family army's staff techniques. This was because the Xie family had wiped out the three generals of the Northern Region, and Ma Jing of the Ma family army had also repelled the three generals of the Northern Region.
Everyone knows that before the three generals of the Northern Regions were killed by the marshal's cannon fire, they were a force to be reckoned with by all the other nations. They had never lost a battle against the Xiongnu army. Therefore, the Khan of the Northern Regions, Beiluo, valued the three generals highly and protected them, hoping to use their strength to resist the pressure from the Xiongnu on the Northern Regions.
As a result, the three generals disobeyed orders and invaded the southern region first, and were killed by Marshal Xie with a cannon shot. With the death of the three generals in the northern region, their army scattered in all directions.
The formidable reputation of the three generals thus vanished.
The Ma family army had once managed to drive away three generals by sheer force. Ma Hong, wielding a long spear, used a set of staff techniques, which greatly impressed the two Xie family masters. So, after about a hundred rounds, the Xie family masters fought to a standstill with Ma Hong. The Xie family masters lost because Ma Hong was too resilient, with astonishing stamina as his grandfather Ma Jing.
After the two Xie family masters lost, they bowed to him instead.
Xie Guang's face darkened at the sight, while Zhang Changle beside him chuckled sinisterly, "Isn't it a wonderful thing for the General to act as referee and watch his opponents shake hands and make peace?"
"Yes, yes, I never expected Ma Jing's descendants to be so capable." Xie Guang realized that his own family lacked stamina. They were already very strong, and their physical strength surpassed that of ordinary people, but unfortunately, Ma Jing's descendants did not follow the usual path. It could be considered that they were inheriting their grandfather's legacy.
Xie Guang shared a common language and feelings with tough guys, especially those from families like the Ma Clique, who had served as generals for generations. The Xie family, too, had been a military family for generations, but it only rose to prominence with the old marshal's generation. Later, the old marshal became obsessed with pleasure and lost his edge, so the Grand Marshal replaced him.
She became the leader whom everyone in the Xie family admired from the bottom of their hearts!
"Fine, I've already laughed it off. I'll speak to the Xie family." Xie Guang noticed that when Ma Hong stepped off the stage, he could barely stand. Based on his strength, he was equivalent to three men. Even three Ma Hongs wouldn't be able to handle him. According to the clan's combat strength ranking, this man was probably second only to him and Xie Ji, on par with Xie Xia.
With such a capable general in His Highness's household, his future is immeasurable. It might not be too late to suppress him now, but considering that the Marshal's goal was to integrate the Xie family into the imperial family of Tianjing, Xie Guang abandoned the idea.
Your Highness is family after all.
"Commander Zhang, I'll trouble you to protect General Ma for the time being." Xie Guang specifically reminded him, "The Xie family has a bunch of brats who are just like my daughter. They don't care about martial ethics, so just keep an eye on them."
Zhang Changle flattered, "The Xie family is indeed full of talented people! Especially your daughter, General. I have heard that she went from a lowly lieutenant to an invincible opponent and won first place in the martial arts examination. She is a person with a promising future."
Xie Guang was not happy at all. He said helplessly, "If only it were a son."
"What do you mean?" Zhang Changle asked curiously. "The young general's martial arts skills are stronger than those of his peers, and even stronger than those of adults. Within the Xie clan, he is also known as the 'Marshal replica,' which is a compliment from any perspective."
Xie Guang shook his head and said, "She will only restrain herself after she has a son who has started a family and established himself. That child is just like me. Before I met the child's mother, I was also fearless."
That's why he said if his son were just any random woman, he could force him into the bridal chamber and that would be one thing. But she's a woman, and a strong one at that. Ordinary men wouldn't dare marry her, and she's ruthless, caring nothing for status; she could even stab a husband to death. Her strong sense of female chauvinism... makes her rarely harm young women, thanks in large part to her wife's upbringing. If it were his son, with that weakness for chivalry, he'd already have a grandson by now.
Zhang Changle smiled faintly and remained silent upon hearing this. The Xie family were indeed all monsters. Especially His Highness's son, who was the strongest of the strong; it truly proved the saying, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too."
The leaders didn't set a good example.
In the end, Xie Guang pardoned Ma Hong from the internal persecution of the Xie family. He even personally escorted Ma Hong to the Imperial Hospital. After Ma Hong was bandaged up, Xie Guang personally welcomed him to his residence, protecting Ma Hong as if Xie Guang had taken a liking to a son-in-law.
The Xie clan dared not harbor any more ulterior motives, because the Western Guard had uncovered the grain robbery, and many of the Xie clan's separatist settlements had been raided. The Xie clan's upper echelons, who could not tolerate their subordinates betraying them—after all, it was their rice that was being stolen—strictly forbade the Xie clan's troops from engaging in commerce; grain would be purchased by clan merchants instead. At worst, the government would handle it; the army had no say in the matter.
Because the military gets involved, everything becomes more serious, so the military can only become everyone's strongest support, and this support can only be put to use when it is needed.
Si Xitong repeatedly divided and restructured the functions of the Xie family's army, and now he has even taken away their financial power, leaving another part of it to be managed by the Xie family.
Xie believed that as long as it was managed by family members, any division of power was acceptable. Moreover, His Highness's allocation of power to each person was both reasonable and unconvincing.
It seems that wealth doubles as soon as it passes through His Highness's hands.
The peanut oil merchants quickly received the news. The Minister of Agriculture used this year's bumper peanut harvest to press 30,000 catties of oil. The Xie family received 10,000 catties to sell on their own, and the remaining 20,000 catties were in Si Xitong's hands, where he could make a fortune by buying and selling them. The national treasury instantly received two million taels.
Xie Guang investigated Xie's 10,000 jin of oil and found that everyone had eaten it, so even if he tried to sell it, no one would want it. He was so angry that he snatched the remaining oil back, intending to have Si Xitong sell it.
Si Xitong refused. Xie Guang was dumbfounded.
After much discussion, Xie Guang finally agreed to pay 30% of the commercial tax as compensation, which barely convinced Si Xitong to accept.
After that, oil was produced one after another. The Xie family made money but could not see the oil. Having tasted peanut oil, they were still craving it, so they all used their share of the money to buy peanut oil.
Si Xitong took the opportunity to earn another five thousand taels of silver.
Xie Guang muttered to himself, "So whether the marshal left or not has no impact on the current political situation."
Perhaps only when she's busy can Si Xitong's longing be lessened. These days, apart from Lu Qing occasionally bringing Qianqian over to keep her company because she was worried about her being bored, she spends most of her time working.
It's been five days since Xie Lanzhi went to the Northern Region. I wonder how she is doing now?
Looking towards the newly built, towering fortresses in the northern region, constructed of piled-up stones, they resembled castles, yet not quite; rather, they possessed the characteristics of nomadic peoples of the East. In the Shang capital, many buildings resembled a combination of a yurt and a tower. As the magnificent buildings drew ever closer, the boat on the Red River was about to dock.
Xie Lanzhi then walked to the deck of the ship. The ship was rocking a bit. She steadied herself and looked up. She saw that the dock was getting closer and closer. In the middle of the shore, there was a pedestrian road with a long line of fast horses galloping towards the shore.
Leading the group was Yelü Lili, dressed in a white aristocratic robe. He stopped his horse on the shore and waved to her.
Hsieh Lan-chih waved in response.
"Marshal, please return to the ship; we are about to dock," her personal guard reminded her.
Xie Lanzhi returned to the cabin and saw Si Caifeng still sitting cross-legged on the chessboard, playing Go by herself. She sat opposite her and placed a piece for her, losing the game with the white piece.
Si Caifeng won the black piece, and she nodded slightly to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Marshal."
"You're welcome," Xie Lanzhi said. "Your husband has come to pick you up."
Si Caifeng's gaze grew increasingly complicated, but she still nodded.
Xie Lanzhi understood Si Caifeng's feelings. Marrying a man she had never met and having children with him was an incredibly nerve-wracking thing. It seemed she had never had the power to choose her own destiny.
"Do you still remember what I told you?"
Si Caifeng's eyes flashed, and she nodded: "Caifeng remembers."
The marshal said that we should maintain the same look in our eyes as we do now, so that we can take control of our own lives once we get what we want.
Her brother's only concern was whether she could give birth to a son who could inherit the position of crown prince.
Only the Marshal taught her to endure before doing what she wanted. She wasn't the kind of woman who indulged in romance and pleasure, nor could she be. Because she had never had anyone to rely on. Even though the Marshal was her support now, it was only temporary. In the end, she still had to rely on herself.
Because she is not Si Xitong.
She wasn't the woman Marshal Xie would willingly protect for life. That lucky woman.
Looking into her indomitable eyes, Xie Lanzhi was momentarily stunned, as if she were seeing her own little phoenix.
Therefore, she couldn't help but add: "Whether it's you or any other woman, no one can rely on anyone else for a lifetime, which is why she tries so hard to catch up with others, and even surpass them."
Si Caifeng paused for a moment, then nodded and asked, "Where is the Marshal?"
She felt she had asked a foolish question. Who was the Marshal? Gender, as perceived by the world, was irrelevant to her; she was a being beyond the constraints of societal norms. Or perhaps, to others, she was an unattainable figure.
“Caifeng is being rude.”
Xie Lanzhi smiled deeply: "No matter what your mood is when you ask this question, I just want to remind you to be yourself and do your best. Others will always be other people's."
"Similarly, you are also the master of your own life."
You are the master of your own life. Si Xitong's pupils constricted; these words struck her heart like a thunderbolt, creating ripples on the surface.
Yelü Lili, standing on the shore, watched as the boats arrived and Xie Jun's troops walked ashore in batches, but no one had yet come out of the middle boat.
He couldn't help but ask, "Which ship is Marshal Xie on?"
Xie Ji, who was waiting beside him, was very excited, but he did not forget to remind him: "Your Highness, do not forget that tonight is your wedding ceremony."
Yelü Lili raised an eyebrow: "I know, General Right need not worry."