Si Xitong had gathered intelligence on the Northern Region in Jiu Jin. Apart from the disagreements among the eight generals, the Northern Region was actually rife with internal strife and infighting. No one was willing to submit to anyone except Bei Luo. Once Bei Luo died, countless tribal khans would quickly rise up in the Northern Region, potentially splitting it into pieces even more severely than Jiu Jin.
But that's not the most fatal flaw. What's truly frightening is that Beiluo is facing an even greater crisis. Internal divisions can be stalled for time because Beiluo still has influence to maintain for a few more years. But now Beiluo doesn't dare to delay at all, acting as if a single moment's delay would lead to catastrophic disaster.
The only possibility is obvious.
Si Xitong said, "The most prominent border between the Hu and Xiongnu is adjacent to the Red River, but separated by three mountains. The terrain is at a disadvantage. Although it is closer to enter from the first line, it is also the most dangerous place."
"The attitude of the Northern Khan is indeed intriguing; perhaps there are some inside stories we don't know about."
Xie Lanzhi learned from the first half of the original novel that the Hu Xiongnu would be the biggest obstacle to the Empress's unification of the world, and she also remembered that the Mohist disciples raised by her father-in-law had all defected to the Hu Xiongnu.
She suddenly fell into deep thought: "Perhaps there is a sword hanging over the head of the Khan of the Northern Regions, no, it may soon be hanging over the heads of the entire world."
Chapter 76 A Crisis That Arises for Both of Them
Besides their philosophical theories, the disciples of the Mohist school were also most skilled in mechanical arts, a fact known to all.
A hundred years ago, the Mohist school was one of the two prominent schools of thought alongside the Confucian school in the Great Jin Dynasty. However, the Mohist school disappeared almost entirely within the Great Jin Dynasty a century later. Now, it has been adopted by the Hu Xiongnu and has become the dominant school of thought advocated by the Hu Xiongnu, leading them to gradually establish their state based on the Mohist school.
However, since the Hu Xiongnu truly regarded the Mohist school as the foundation of their state, why was this never mentioned in the original text?
Is the rise of the Mohist school among the Xiongnu a matter for the second half of the story?
There are too many possibilities; it's like a sieve full of holes.
The author can easily create a foreshadowing element and emphasize it, as long as they want to.
The author pulled this stunt at the end of the first half; who knows, they might add more plot twists in the second half to increase the difficulty of the Empress's unification in order to boost popularity.
Because "The History of Empress Jin" is a novel about a strong female protagonist who rises to power, she will encounter many obstacles in the process of rising to power. These obstacles will become desperate situations in front of the little phoenix. To put it simply, it is about torturing the female protagonist. The group of people who like "The History of Empress Jin" are very loyal to her.
To put it bluntly, these people are masochists.
Xie Lanzhi looked at the beautiful and graceful little phoenix. The childishness between her brows hadn't faded, and she occasionally liked to act coquettishly towards her. When she pursed her lips and puffed out her cheeks, she looked just like a pampered daughter.
She is still a few years away from the original character's setting of a deeply scheming and mature woman.
“It seems we need to understand the Hu and Xiongnu before agreeing to the alliance with the Northern Region.” Xie Lanzhi asked the woman beside her, “I haven’t inquired about the Hu and Xiongnu all these years. Logically speaking, the Hu and Xiongnu in the north are powerful, and whatever they do should be known throughout the world. How come I haven’t heard anything from them in the last two years?”
Si Xitong also felt something was amiss. She was so busy with matters in Tianjing that she would occasionally hear about other small countries from her neighbors. But the most powerful country was even less noticeable than the smaller ones.
When the Jin dynasty was established, she sent someone to send a message to the Xiongnu in the north, but the message was ignored.
Such quietness was hardly in keeping with the fierce and unreasonable nature of the Hu Xiongnu.
"Lanzhi, is there any news from the Xie family?" Si Xitong frowned, looking somewhat worried: "In earlier years, the Hu Xiongnu were busy with internal affairs, which was already known to the world, but recently they seem to have disappeared without a trace."
"I always had a feeling that even the slightest breeze in this vast country was like a thunderstorm, but now it has all disappeared without a trace."
"I fear that the Huns and Xiongnu are already preparing for war!"
She knew what the little phoenix was referring to.
That is: "The calm before the storm".
Unlike a hundred years ago, when nations would issue declarations of war before declaring war, in today's world, war is fought with swiftness and precision, catching the enemy off guard.
The Hun cavalry, numbering a million, marched with the drums of Yuyang, slaughtering the entire land and becoming a source of fear for all sides.
The Hunnic king Aqina is now the sixth ruler.
News about Aqina is scarce, less noticeable than the internal strife between the Xiongnu and the Xiongnu, so much so that much information about Aqina has been buried under the radar.
The smaller states tacitly submitted to whoever was powerful. After the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Xie family, Shiguofu, Beiyu, Tianjing, and other small states became the rulers of these smaller states.
A small country can have six or seven rulers. The death of one ruler is one less ruler, which is actually a good thing for the small country. Small countries are always more cautious and meticulous in their governance than large countries, so news from Hun Aqina will naturally be taken seriously by the small country.
Xie Lanzhi quickly sent instructions to the various small countries, ordering them to compile and report all the news about Aqina and Hu Xiongnu.
As soon as the Lord gave the order, the small kingdoms in each county and district quickly mobilized their national resources to expedite the transmission of the message.
In a short time, Xie Lanzhi received news about what the Hu Xiong had left behind.
Most small countries remember trivial matters, as well as scandals and anecdotes between major powers—a wide variety of things, but very little useful information.
Only one small country recorded a single instance of trade between the Xiongnu and the Xiongnu by sea. The record states: "In the eighteenth year of the Western City reign, the Supreme Ruler A ordered a tribute of 8,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), to be transported by sea. The treasure ship carried a thousand people, was 43.4 zhang long, 17 zhang wide, and four stories high, with nine masts, twelve sails, and an anchor weighing a thousand jin (a unit of weight). Grain, horses, and war horses were transported by four routes to deliver tribute to the small country, saving the small country significant costs." This was something the country boasted about.
Other small countries, lacking the habit of keeping records, were not as cautious as this one. This small country, impressed by the four giant treasure ships, began to visit the Xiongnu every year.
The Xiongnu hastily dispatched two people to receive the small country, and then abandoned the country. However, the small country still went to pay homage to the Xiongnu ruler every year.
"Treasure ships? Zheng He?"
Xie Lanzhi exerted a little force, and the veins on her arm stood out like trees. She said with a forced smile, "Such a good configuration, all given to Hu Xiong?"
She didn't know why her lover was so angry; it seemed he was complaining about being treated unfairly.
"You don't need to be angry."
In just two years, she herself became the overlord of the south, almost unifying all the directly administered areas in the south, and surpassing Shiguo Prefecture to stand on equal footing with the Northern Region.
Si Xitong did not forget his ancestors' past as barbarians, and regarded the Mohist disciples as having strange skills and frivolous tricks, so he arbitrarily suppressed and persecuted the Mohists, causing them to lose all hope and turn to the Xiongnu.
The Mohists originated from the Central Plains; they were the Mohists of the Central Plains, yet they were driven by the emperors of the Central Plains to distant and remote regions to conspire with the Hu and Xiongnu.
Logically speaking, the Mohist disciples came from the Central Plains. As people of the Central Plains, they generally possessed a certain national pride and would not associate with the barbarians they regarded.
The customs and etiquette of these barbarians alone were unacceptable, let alone the Mohist disciples who were raised with the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, who would never bother with such etiquette. Yet, the Mohist disciples were indeed serving the Hu and Xiongnu.
“The grave mistakes made by our ancestors must be eradicated by me to prevent them from harming our neighbors and to eliminate any future troubles.”
She wasn't actually angry at her father-in-law's grandfather, but rather at the original story's arrangement. The arrangement was extremely unreasonable. Even if there were logical and evidence-based explanations that the disaster was caused by Little Phoenix, Ancestor, and Elder, it shouldn't have left Little Phoenix to face it all alone. So Xie Lanzhi felt sorry for her and was almost laughing at the reality.
"Little Phoenix, this is not your fault. We can eliminate the trouble, but you don't have to bear this sin."
Si Xitong felt a sweet warmth in her heart; she knew how much this person loved her and didn't want her to suffer any injustice.
She said, "You're right. It's not my fault, so I don't have to take responsibility, but the world is my responsibility. Just because I consider myself a phoenix, I have to live up to that title."
Xie Lanzhi held her soft, jade-like hand: "I believe you. But you can't keep your grievances to yourself, otherwise you might suffer in silence again next time."
No one can make Little Phoenix suffer in silence. Little Phoenix is unlucky. She inherits only the messes left by her ancestors.
Even if the Mohist disciples served the Xiongnu and even invented the treasure ships used by Zheng He on his voyages, she would not let any enemy stand in her way on her path to conquering the world go unpunished.
They are neither loyal to the Great Jin, nor do they dare to hinder the unification of the Great Jin.
Even if they are disciples of the Mo family, she will trample them under her feet and crush them into mud!
This is the only useful piece of information from a small country.
The Southern and Northern Regions of Shiguo Prefecture are located inland, and the only places that are connected to waterways are the Xie family of the Southern Region and the current Xintianjing.
Because they live far from the sea, they know nothing about the coastal areas. They are even less aware that a nascent form of development already exists at sea, and this nascent form is the key to unlocking an unprecedented era. Whoever grasps the key first will be able to sweep across the land.
If the Xiongnu were to seize the opportunity of the maritime era...
Xie Lanzhi fell into deep thought again: "Little Phoenix, I'm saying, what if, what if our world is in a great era of land-sea exchange?"
"Land-sea exchange?" The new term caught Si Xitong's eye. She went to the bed between the two of them, found the notebook, and sat down next to Xie Lanzhi again, waiting for her to speak before she wrote it down.
Xie Lanzhi softened her tone: "It's just an analogy. In the past, when all countries were land-based, military and manpower only needed to be related to land. But what if one day we encounter a major power that is primarily based on sea power? They would use naval forces to fight against land forces."
"The land soldiers are not good at water. If they encounter a naval battlefield, they will drown if they enter the water. Then the land soldiers will be completely powerless."
"Especially when marines have long-range weapons, they can fire from across the shore, while land troops are afraid of the water and unable to retaliate. Aren't they just left to be beaten?"
As Si Xitong was taking notes, her hand paused, and the ink splattered across the page, forming a black blob.
A sense of impending doom and impending doom washed over me.
No wonder there's been no news from the mainland; their development has all been at sea. The land-based nations rarely interact with the sea and are therefore completely ignorant of its secrets, let alone the Xiongnu at sea. So, what the Xiongnu are doing at sea remains a mystery. These Xiongnu are essentially lurking in a hidden, uncharted territory, eager to seize the opportunity to develop the treasures, devour all the benefits, and claim them for themselves.
Over the years, the Xiongnu have largely developed their land-based operations. The sea, however, remains a mysterious realm.
Land powers are not interested in the sea, and the Xiongnu, as an iron-cavalry empire, should be even less interested, yet they are developing in the opposite direction.
It's hard to say that someone might be guiding the Hu and Xiongnu to prioritize maritime power. These people might even be the Mohist disciples trained by my father-in-law.
"I think the troubles sown by our ancestors are more deeply rooted than I imagined."
Si Xitong's brows furrowed with anxiety about the crisis. Xie Lanzhi hugged her with one arm and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. Our Ministry of Works and warehouses are still developing. We are not completely unprepared."
Si Xitong's sense of crisis stems more from the future. She cannot change the past, but she still has enough opportunities to deal with her enemies in the future.
She said, "If it were the Mohist disciples that Father Emperor trained, who began developing powerful mechanical arts from the day they joined the Xiongnu, then twenty years would have been enough for them to reap the rewards."
"In that case, we need to speed up our pace even more."
Xie Lanzhi and Si Xitong had the same idea: to combine the warehouse and the engineering department into a single technical department.
"Let me name it first, let's call it the Ministry of Industry. The sub-sections are Mozi, Gong, Jiang, Ke, and Biology."
Si Xitong originally wanted to be more elegant and pay attention to the symbolism, but now that she heard that the world was about to face the overwhelming power of the Huns, she no longer cared about such things.
Moreover, Lanzhi's choice of these names is very similar to the style of the Mohists.
She still remembered that when her father was still the crown prince, he would always take her to visit the Mo family's workshop. The nameplates inside had a real feel to them, meaning they were names that lacked humor but were fitting.
For example: abacus calculation is called calculation, bow and arrow is called shooting, and firearms are called "guns".
She once asked her father why firearms were called guns. Her father told her that if, a hundred years from now, common weapons like spears and lances were phased out on the battlefield, then a weapon would surely emerge to replace them.
Furthermore, this weapon possesses the versatility of a long spear, a lance, and a long lance, as well as the long-range capability of a bow and arrow.
As the name suggests, it means "gun".
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:22:46 on December 15, 2021 and 12:32:54 on December 16, 2021!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Asi (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Wu Yumao (20 bottles); Bababalu (10 bottles); Xiangcaijun (6 bottles); Xinxin (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 77 Xie Lanzhi Makes a Pact
Tianjing issued another new decree, which was already commonplace among the various government departments. However, no one expected that this time it would be the merger of the Ministry of Works and the Southern Treasury. Furthermore, five new government departments were created: the Ink Department, the Works Department, the Craftsmen Department, the Science Department, and the Biology Department.