Xie Lanzhi said, "Very good, then I'll entrust you with something next."
Xie Shangguang immediately straightened his back: "This humble general is willing to go through fire and water for the marshal without hesitation!"
"Um."
Changing the subject, Xie Lanzhi glanced at the kneeling figure outside the tent and suddenly ordered Xie Shangguang, "Drag the culprit Xie Ji to the drill ground and give him fifty lashes!"
"Yes!" Xie Shangguang immediately turned around and took a few steps, then his legs stopped and he could no longer lift his feet.
He couldn't help but wipe his face and pick at his ear. Then he turned around and said in a terrified voice, "Marshal, did you hear me right?"
Xie Lanzhi said, "What? Didn't you say you were willing to go through fire and water for me?"
She paused, her face darkening, her eyes unfathomable as she stared at him: "Shang Guang. Is this how the mistress teaches you?"
Xie Shangguang's temples began to sweat, and his mouth trembled slightly: "Master, the mistress told me to think twice before doing anything, otherwise, otherwise I will be easily taken advantage of. She also told me to go to Lanzhang Palace to get whatever I want to eat in the future, otherwise I will be forbidden to eat outside."
The mistress said that one should not easily accept food from others while on official business.
Although it was just a casual remark, he wrote it down.
Xie Lanzhi asked, "Anything else?"
"The mistress instructed me to handle this officially," Xie Shangguang managed to squeeze out. He finally took another step and walked out, no longer daring to disobey orders.
As Xie Shangguang went outside, he saw Xie Ji staring at him with a gloomy expression. Xie Shangguang swallowed hard, feeling the pressure from a general for the first time. In the past, he could rely on his grandmother's status as the matriarch to make the clan members treat him with deference.
In the Northern Regions today, Grandma's influence couldn't possibly extend that far. Therefore, for the Marshal to order him to fight the Right General, who is also my Fifth Uncle, is tantamount to offending my Fifth Uncle.
However, the marshal's orders could not be disobeyed.
For the first time in his life, he experienced the fear of offending people.
The moment Xie Shangguang raised his whip at Xie Ji, he closed his eyes, not daring to look at Xie Ji's threatening gaze.
One lash of the whip.
Snap!
Two lashes down!
Snap!
Three lashes down!
Snap!
...
After thirty lashes, Xie Ji finally let out a painful groan. Xie Shangguang's hand trembled upon hearing this, and the whip struck even harder, bending Xie Ji's back beneath the weight.
The soldiers below gathered around, their faces filled with fear and worry, and their gazes toward Xie Shangguang turned hostile.
These people were all Xie Ji's confidants.
Xie Shangguang felt uncomfortable under their gazes. After being lashed forty times, he knelt down and pleaded, "Marshal, although my fifth uncle committed dereliction of duty, his crime does not warrant death. It is I who should be punished for recklessly trespassing into Fushougao's camp and attracting attention!"
"Let me bear the remaining ten lashes!"
Xie Lanzhi's cold voice came from inside the tent.
"Did I tell you to stop?"
"But this humble general..."
"So you think fifty lashes aren't enough and want fifty more?"
Xie Shangguang immediately stood up, raised his leather whip, gritted his teeth, and lashed it at Xie Ji: "I'm sorry, Fifth Uncle!"
After the last dose was administered, Xie Ji collapsed to the ground covered in blood. Without Xie Lanzhi's orders, even the military doctor dared not approach to examine his injuries.
Xie Ji stood outside in the sun for about an hour.
Xie Lanzhi said, "What are you still standing there for? Take your general back to camp."
"Marshal Xie!" Xie Ji's confidants rushed over, lifted Xie Ji up, and hurriedly walked towards the military doctor.
Xie Shangguang walked into the tent with his head down, looking sullen.
Xie Ying remained silent throughout.
A moment passed in silence inside the tent.
Xie Lanzhi finally spoke: "Do you know why I asked you to hit him?"
Why not have someone else do it for you?
Xie Shangguang had a vague idea of what was going on, but he dared not say it outright. He had learned to think things through carefully before acting.
"You wouldn't speak when I told you to, and you'd interrupt and spout nonsense when I told you not to. Is this the kind of child Little Phoenix raised?" Xie Lanzhi looked at Xie Shangguang's dejected appearance.
I should be able to consider the pros and cons now, which is why I haven't said anything.
Xie Shangguang dared not be overtly direct, but he said tactfully, "As a general of the Xie family, Fifth Uncle bears a heavy responsibility in defending Shangdu for the Marshal, which is his duty. Now that this has happened, it is beyond Fifth Uncle's control, but I don't know about the people below. Have they been deceiving their superiors or covering up the truth?"
"Yes, deceiving superiors and concealing the truth. Isn't that all?" Xie Lanzhi's tone was cold and sneer. Whether it was deceiving superiors or concealing the truth or not, she knew very well in her heart. She had sent Xie Ji with 50,000 troops to this front because she valued him. She had given him a certain degree of autonomy, making him essentially a general of the Xie family, on par with Xie Guang.
How could he not know what his subordinates were up to? Today, he came to apologize with thorns on his back not because he was truly guilty of dereliction of duty, but to show the whole army what he was capable of.
Since he wanted to gain a reputation for loving his soldiers like his own children, she would grant his wish. The soldiers would be more restrained if they were punished because of him. Regardless of who had used the "Longevity Cake" or was hiding it, the Right General's fate would serve as a warning to those who would voluntarily give up the "Longevity Cake."
Xie Shangguang dared not say anything more.
Xie Lanzhi added, "Also, because you are my personal guard, who else has the right to order my personal guards to do things for me?"
Xie Shangguang was utterly astonished: "How could this be? Fifty thousand men all serve you as their master, how dare they disobey you?"
"If you listened to me, would you have hit me as hard as you did?" Xie Lanzhi said, "Do you know that it was also part of your duty to tell you to hit Xie Ji?"
Xie Shangguang understood in an instant.
As the marshal's personal guard, he only needed to follow the marshal's orders. He could not plead for mercy just because the marshal was an elder, nor could he scare himself because of the elder's gaze.
Simply because he was a bodyguard.
It seems he was too idle before and had somewhat forgotten his duties as a bodyguard.
So next time, can he hit his second uncle Xie Guang? Xie Shangguang secretly glanced at Xie Ying. Xie Ying had already minimized her presence, but because of this glance, she still managed to get away with it.
Xie Lanzhi stared at her: "I taught Shang Guang a lesson. Have you learned anything from it?"
Xie Ying: "......"
Xie Ying didn't say much, only two sentences: "There are quite a few people in the army who have been influenced by the Fushou Cake."
"This humble general believes that even Fifth Uncle is willing but unable to do so."
Xie Lanzhi didn't ask any more questions. She thought the child was very clever and resembled Wang Shi. As for whether his martial arts skills were as high as those of the Tianjing martial arts champion, that remained to be seen.
Last night, Xie Ying remained on the defensive after her initial attack, which is unusual for her. Could it be that she's intentionally holding back in public?
However, she had just deliberately made Xie Shangguang stand out, which revealed a hidden motive. Xie Lanzhi looked at the clueless young man beside her and couldn't help but sigh, "He's far from being a scholar-general."
"During this period, Xie Ying served as the commander's personal guard, assisting Xie Shangguang."
Xie Ying clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Yes!"
Xie Lanzhi dismissed the two men, and afterwards Yelü Lili sent an envoy to see her, inviting her to the Yu Palace to discuss the events of the previous night.
The Fushou cake was not as widely known in the Northern Regions as it was in Weidu. People had only heard of Xiaoyao pills, but they never expected that the Hun people would change the name and sell it, and that it would be enjoyed by nobles and soldiers.
This move undoubtedly touched Xie Lanzhi's sore spot.
Xie Lanzhi took Xie Ying and Xie Shangguang to the Yu Palace.
When the news reached Xie Ji's tent, he lay on a blanket while the army doctor cleaned the whiplashes from his wounds.
With a stern face, Xie Ji asked his advisor, "Will this action of mine anger the Marshal?"
His advisor Xie Xiu analyzed for him from the side: "General, you did a good job. By first showing your attitude by carrying thorns on your back, you can reduce the Marshal's suspicion of you."
"The most important thing right now is not dealing with the people who consume Fushou cakes, but your image."
"If you don't handle this well, you might be accused of dereliction of duty in front of the Marshal, and you'll lose face in front of your brothers, who will think you only know how to flatter the Grand Marshal."
Xie Xiu was right. He was now a general. Although his troops were still fewer than Xie Guang's, he had the authority to recruit soldiers. When the mission was completed, he would just need to recruit and replenish the ranks.
But today was extremely dangerous. If he didn't personally apologize, the marshal might not blame him, but the marshal would subconsciously consider him a derelict of duty. The impact on him then would be far more significant.
Xie Ji was very glad that he had hired a smart advisor. Even if Wu Qiu was gone, he had someone else to replace him.
"Then, according to your advice, what should this general do next?"
Xie Xia's eyes flashed, and he offered a suggestion: "The Marshal has always been a man who hates evil and cannot tolerate even the slightest injustice. Now that she has discovered the harm of the Longevity Cake and you have stopped it, she will not blame you. But it's different in the Northern Region."
"You might as well start from this point, using the advantage of the North-South alliance to propose compensation to Xie Jun to the Northern Barbarians, and also let them internally limit the range of the Fushou Cake. As long as Xie Bing doesn't get involved with anything else, we don't need to bother with him."
Xie Ji thought this plan was feasible and would also allow him to gain merit and prestige in front of the marshal.
However, the impact of Fu Shou Gao (a type of rice cake) cannot be avoided simply by drawing a clear line.
On her first day in the North, Xie Lanzhi hadn't noticed the ubiquitous presence of Fu Shou Gao (a type of rice cake) in the region. But today, people are openly selling Fu Shou Gao on the streets, completely unregulated.
Upon arriving at the main hall of Yu Palace, she saw Yelü Lili lying on his side on the couch, smoking a cigarette. His expression showed no sign of enjoyment, but he was indeed smoking, and a palace maid beside him skillfully replaced the cigarette butt.
Upon hearing this, Xie Lanzhi coughed lightly and said, "Your Highness invited me here, did you intend to have me smell poisonous fumes?"
Yelü Lili chased away the palace maids, sat up from the couch, and lazily reached out to her: "The marshal will know what this tastes like when he comes over."
Xie Lanzhi frowned as she walked to the bedside, and Yelü Lili immediately tossed her a piece of longevity cake.
She leaned closer to smell it, then smelled the cigarette smoke that Yelü Lili was exhaling. It was very similar, but completely different.
Seeing her puzzled, Yelü Lili explained, "I sent people to the Southern Regions to find a herb that tastes similar to Fushou Cake. It's used to calm the nerves. It's less harmful than Fushou Cake and easier to take with medicine."
“But it can be addictive.” Xie Lanzhi tossed the longevity cake aside and asked him, “What tricks were you up to last night? I don’t think you couldn’t handle those people.”
"I only cooperated with you because I saw how ruthless you were towards the Xiongnu."
Xie Lanzhi needed an explanation at this moment, and Yelü Lili did not hide anything from her.
He sent someone to lead her to the longevity cake tent last night to tell her that someone in the Xie family had been infected. He wanted her to take care of her own people.
As for Ichiban, recently, the Khan of the Northern Regions, Beiluo, has sent many people to Ichiban to monitor him, fearing that he might take action against the North-South Alliance and strive for independence.
Most of the Northern people in that tent were sent by Luo Chuan. Of course, there were some of his men as well, but they were executed last night.
After learning of his intentions, Xie Lanzhi was first grateful to him for telling her about the chaos. Then she remembered that it was Yelü Lili who had told her about the chaos, not Xie Ji. Considering that she had only been there for two days and had some things to deal with first, it was reasonable that Xie Ji hadn't had time to report it.