Actually, he was secretly thrilled. He had been disgusted by the Yue Kingdom for the past two years guarding the border. Every night, a few soldiers would be missing from his camp, and the next day their bodies would be found.
Those lone soldiers were all secretly assassinated by the Yue people. Because their country was small and weak, they dared not confront the larger country head-on, but they still had the strength to kill a few lone soldiers, so they came up with this kind of trick to annoy them.
Xie Ming's cousin was killed by Yue Kingdom attackers.
"The Marshal has lost patience with your brother." Xie Ming could see it clearly; the Marshal's patience with the various countries was no longer what it was two years ago, and her killing intent now exceeded her patience.
Although the Marshal was peaceful for a while, which lulled many people into a false sense of security, those who think he has changed his nature and become a peace-loving individual are sorely mistaken!
To stop killing with killing is the lifelong pursuit of peace by military generals!
Zheng Xiu looked at his hometown, which was devastated by war, and lowered his head, speechless.
Shi Yang looked at the dilapidated Jiguang Island from the side, a hint of fanaticism hidden in his eyes, and a crazy admiration for Xie Lanzhi's figure as she commanded from the front.
"This is Xie Zhu."
A female general who commands half of the Central Plains, proving herself no less capable than any man!
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Chapter 168 Her Divided in Two
Jiguang Island was captured by Xie Jun in a single day, shocking the entire Yue Kingdom. The firearms they were once so proud of had become fire tongs used to torture them to death.
Xie Lanzhi looked down on the small Jiguang Island, but because Jiguang Island was relatively easy to defend and difficult to attack, she specifically chose to conquer this island to deter the Yue Kingdom.
When the King of Yue heard that Jiguang Island had been captured in less than a day, his last shred of confidence was shattered. The Yue ministers all advised Zheng Fu to immediately step forward and sue for peace with Xie Zhu.
Aba didn't expect Xie Zhu to be so impatient; he hadn't even brought out his chips yet.
The international conference in Tianjing was in full swing. Si Xitong personally received the envoys from various countries and promised not to use firearms against them.
In reality, firearms were not widespread at the end of the Jin Dynasty. However, the widespread rumors about the trade of firearms in Aba and Nana created a misconception among various countries that both large and small nations were beginning to equip themselves with firearms in large quantities. This caused panic among the various countries.
As Wu Qiu assisted Si Xitong, he became increasingly convinced of her potential as an emperor, recognizing her exceptional qualities.
He knew perfectly well that the firearms were merely a pretext, a tool His Highness used to buy the security of other nations. His Highness's exploitation of the widespread panic in Aba to win over the hearts and minds of the people was a landmark achievement in pacifying the chaotic world.
Compared to the fear-inducing Aqina, the various countries are paying more attention to the new ruler, Prince Fengning of the Jin Dynasty, who has officially entered the eyes of the lords of the various countries.
Previously, all the nations thought that Prince Feng Ning was merely a pawn in the hands of the Xie family, only nominally affiliated with the Jin dynasty, outwardly strong but inwardly weak. He was utterly insignificant.
Looking at it now, this is not the case. Since the birth of the Imperial Guard and the merging of the Xie clan with the newly formed Jin army, the Southern Central Plains officially transitioned from the era of the Xie ruler to the era of the Jin dynasty.
Originally a small state vassal of the State of Jin, they inherently felt a sense of belonging to their suzerain state. No longer willing to remain in the chaotic and precarious world, they returned to the embrace of their former suzerain state, gaining decades of stable development. With the suzerain state stable, the small state generally enjoyed peace and prosperity.
Beiyu Beiluo repeatedly sent messages ordering Li Li to bring Qiqi back to Luochuan.
Li Li did not reply and even wiped out his second brother Yelü Wen's firearms team, which angered Bei Luo so much that he wrote a letter overnight to scold this unfilial son for ruining the stability of the Northern Region.
Li Li had no expectations of his father, who was driven by personal motives. Everyone knew that Yelü Wen had used this as an excuse to attack Li Li first, and in the end, it was Li Li who was at fault.
The Hu people all thought that the Khan was senile.
The nobles, however, believed that the Khan was showing extreme favoritism.
Bei Luo knew his actions were inappropriate, but he couldn't help scolding Li Li for being disobedient. The Anshan King was now frequently urging him to send his daughter to the Xiongnu, otherwise it would be considered a breach of contract. In that case, the Northern Khan would have to personally apologize to the Xiongnu.
Bei Luo knew that if he really went to apologize, he would never return. The Hu and Xiongnu people now wished they could skin him alive and then use the waterways to head south.
He'd be taken hostage if he went now, and he wasn't that foolish. So, it was better to sacrifice his daughter than himself. At least he could bring stability to the Northern Region.
This deterred the eight generals from making any rash moves.
Thus, under this dual self-preservation, Bei Luo was willing to lose face in order to pressure Li Li to hand over Qi Qi in his father's name.
Li Li bluntly told Bei Luo to go to Tianjing and capture Qi Qi himself. The father and son were at an impasse; Bei Luo was furious, but he couldn't do anything about Li Li.
Yelü Wen was still restless; he even sent men to steal Li Li's firecrackers.
He even sent people from the Central Plains to deliberately kill Hu people and local barbarians, trying to incite conflict between the Hu people and the Xie clan, but all to no avail. Yelü Wen was dumbfounded; no matter how he tried to sow discord, the alliance between Yifan and the Xie clan was as unbreakable as Mount Tai.
Li Li, embracing Si Caifeng, was overjoyed in the Yu Palace. He and the Marshal had previously faced a crisis of trust, instigated by An Shan, but they had overcome it. Having learned from their past experience, the Hu people were naturally not so foolish as to believe Yelü Wen's words.
Yelü Wen even went so far as to incite conflict between ethnic groups, going through the ancestral accounts of both his own ancestors and those of the Central Plains people. In the end, his own ancestors were thoroughly humiliated by the ancestors of the Central Plains people.
Instead of inciting racial conflict, it made them a laughing stock.
This led the Hu people to talk about it every day with great relish: "A hundred years ago, our ancestors had not yet entered the Northern Regions. Moreover, a hundred years ago, it was the emperor of the Central Plains who allowed us to enclose land and govern ourselves."
"That's right, that's right. If the Second Prince wants to sow discord among us, he should find a good reason. We've been in the Northern Region for almost a hundred years, and we've been doing business with the people of the Central Plains for generations."
"They also say that our ancestors in the Central Plains slaughtered our ancestors. That's true, but we didn't invite it ourselves."
"They drove our ancestors back, but they didn't invade the northern regions. Compared to them, the people of the Central Plains are far more generous than us."
When the foreign merchants of Luochuan heard these words, they immediately cursed the Hu people: "You traitors and lackeys! How dare you slander our ancestors like this? If our ancestors hadn't occupied the land, would you still be alive today!"
The foreign merchant even specifically picked out a passing Central Plains man, pointed at him, and said, "Look at you, you don't look like the Central Plains people. You are barbarians! Not Central Plains people!"
“You need to figure out who your family members are.”
The man from the Central Plains who was being pulled back touched his face and retorted, "I have three brothers in my family. No matter how close they are, they still fight tooth and nail for my father's inheritance."
Foreign merchant: "..."
Before the foreign merchant could finish speaking, the Hu people, as if they were perfectly aware of the situation, pointed at him and said, "Look at these merchants from Luochuan. They have no conscience. They bring back goods from us and then sell them to their own people for ten times the price."
"They say they're family, but they only target their own people."
“What my friends from the Central Plains said is right. Even the closest of relatives can fight to the death. Just because someone is a member of the same clan doesn’t mean that all clan members are good.”
"Besides, we've always done business with people from the Central Plains. They value credit and never break their promises. Unlike me, who deals with my own people and still gets cheated into paying out of pocket."
The foreign merchant was furious at being pointed at and gossiped about by the local people, his face turning red with anger, but he couldn't refute them. Lately, he had indeed been repeatedly scammed out of his deposits by these foreign merchants, almost causing him to lose everything.
If it weren't for the local people from the Central Plains helping him get his deposit back, he probably wouldn't even have had the money to go back.
Thinking of all the slanderous things he had said about the people of the Central Plains, he was filled with shame. The foreign merchant had no choice but to slink away with his goods.
This further solidified Yelü Wen's trust in the Xie family, something he never expected the Hu people to trust the Central Plains people so much. He resented Li Li's growing power and influence, which was now surpassing even his own.
Even the Eight Generals began to pay attention to Li Li, and some people would whisper in his ear from time to time, starting to think that he was not as good as Li Li, who was half Central Plains man.
Enraged, Yelü Wen smashed the paperweight and ordered his men to secretly capture Yelü Qiqi. Since he couldn't get satisfaction from Li Li, he would target his sister instead!
Jianzhang Palace.
Si Xitong promised each of the small countries that depended on her that she would not be the first to use firearms and would not interfere in the internal affairs or borders of any country.
Afterwards, she specifically sent the Minister of Agriculture with a group of envoys interested in the grain varieties to collect samples, which they then took back to their own countries to cultivate. For the smaller nations, acquiring the agricultural techniques of the larger nation was undoubtedly like acquiring a gold mine.
Many small countries are simply unable to be self-sufficient. They have limited farmland and most have to rely on large countries to sell them grain, but the large countries sell it at very high prices, so it's better for them to grow their own.
Now that they have a benevolent suzerain state, the smaller states are increasingly drawn to Prince Feng Ning of the Jin Dynasty. Compared to Aqina of the Xiongnu, everyone feels only fear towards them.
Aqina did not leave the small country behind; recently he has been accelerating the efforts to improve the Red River, and his attention is focused on the Red River.
All the ministers went to entertain the various envoys.
Zhang Changle deliberately entered through the side door.
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince of the Northern Region, Yelü Wen, is dishonest. He sent assassins to approach Princess Qiqi, but the assassins have already been captured by our secret agents."
Si Xitong lowered her eyes, the vermilion pen in her hand constantly making corrections on the folded surface. The more skillfully she handled it, the colder her expression became.
Her deep pupils held an unusual light, and her black phoenix robe with its stand-up collar clung to her snow-white skin. The slight coldness in the corners of her eyes gave her an imposing presence.
"Changle," she began, "how much use are Yue and Aba to us?"
Zhang Changle said, "Master, if you want to use Aba and Yue to contain the Hu and Xiongnu, you can indeed achieve your goal."
"But Xie Shuai on the front line didn't think so. She had lost patience and was eager to destroy the Yue Kingdom."
"So Aba bypassed her and contacted me first," Si Xitong said. "Do you think the Marshal did something wrong?"
The Yue Kingdom's possession of a large number of firearms has disrupted the balance among the South China Sea states, making it the second most powerful nation after the Central Plains. If the Central Plains does not suppress the Yue Kingdom, it will inevitably trigger a chain reaction.
Aqina was so cunning that he shifted all the blame for the trouble he had created through his own negligence onto Lanzhi, forcing her to stay on the front lines.
Moreover, Lan Zhi had to do this to maintain stability in the Southern Central Plains. But Lan Zhi wasn't invincible. On the front lines, she faced Yue's firearms, which were no longer traditional weapons. Therefore, Lan Zhi's attack on Jiguang Island to intimidate Yue was intended to force the Yue king to sue for peace, and then she could seize Yue's firearms.
Considering how dangerous firearms are, a single spark could take a person's life.
Si Xitong clenched her fists beneath her sleeves; no one was more heartbroken than her. Her beloved was facing unpredictable dangers and a volatile battle on the front lines, while she could only watch helplessly from the rear.
No, she absolutely cannot delay any longer.
Finally, Si Xitong let go, the last trace of emotion in her eyes instantly extinguished by frost.
Her pupils were deep and her presence commanding without anger. She issued a command that would change the course of events: "Changle."
Zhang Changle could always sense her master's extremely cold mood; the more perfect her decisions were, the more ruthless her methods became.
He bowed deeply and said, "Chang Le obeys your command."
Si Xitong said coldly, "Send someone to the Northern Region."
"Just like in the Shi Kingdom."
The situation at the front is tense, and the battle is temporarily in our favor.
The people of Tianjing continued their daily lives in the rear, struggling to make ends meet, and things remained relatively peaceful.
Occasionally, diners would discuss the front lines, praising Xie Shuai for sweeping through the Yue Kingdom and beating them into a pulp.
When the people talked about it with great interest, they often saw merchants from all over the world moving into Tianjing and buying land there. Every day, all sorts of people would come over.
Not only merchants, but also nobles who had fled from various countries. No one knew where these nobles came from, but the first thing they did upon arriving in Tianjing was to buy land and settle down.
Just one month later, what was once a poor alley in Tianjing was transformed into a bustling place because so many wealthy people moved in.
Haiyun occasionally cooperates with the Censorate to investigate the identity of visitors, verify their background, and consider whether to grant them household registration. Generally, they are granted household registration, as long as the visitor pays taxes properly.
Despite the many rules in Tianjing, people kept moving there, all seeking peace and security.
The women of Anyi acquired more property in Lincheng. The two of them stayed in Huayin Kingdom for the time being to finish up their business before returning to Tianjing.