"Watching how one's mother blossoms."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing immediately exclaimed in terror, "I'll talk!"
How could Your Highness appoint such a madman!
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "As expected, Big Brother is too soft-hearted. With the Censorate in my hands, it won't take long to get valuable intelligence."
With that, he turned and ordered his men to take the mother and daughter away to give their statements.
Before long, Jianzhang Palace received new intelligence. Seeing that his new master had become much more restrained, Zhang Feile respectfully presented the intelligence.
Si Xitong listened to his report and smiled faintly: "Why would the wife and daughter of the current leader of the Mo family go to Tianjing?"
Zhang Fei said with a smile, "According to the woman, she came to Tianjing to fulfill her father's mission. As for why she was being hunted down, it's because she poisoned the Hun royal family, killing a prince, which is why she was being hunted down."
"Her husband sent her out of the Xiongnu to protect her, but then turned around and sent assassins to kill them. It's really intriguing."
Si Xitong said, "This scene was truly spectacular. The matter of poisoning the prince was of great importance, yet she, who knew no martial arts, was able to arrive in Tianjing unharmed."
“Based on her abilities, she probably wouldn’t be able to reach Tianjing.” Zhang Feile quickly provided new information: “Master, you guessed right. She simply doesn’t have the ability to reach Tianjing. She should have been killed on the way. The reason she wasn’t killed is because descendants of the Mo family members received them along the way.”
"I know you value the Mohist disciples, so I have already sent people to find them."
Si Xitong was very satisfied with his efficiency; this was exactly the kind of person she needed so she could get what she wanted faster.
Her eyes were like frost, and the coldness in them enveloped Zhang Feile: "I only need to obey."
"You can do whatever you want with it afterwards."
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Feile received the order. He roughly assessed his master's tolerance level and realized that some people needed a good amount of torture.
And the new master is really nice; I know he loves to torture people.
"Then what about my elder brother?" Zhang Feile's eyes were icy cold. How could he possibly return the position he had worked so hard to obtain to its rightful owner?
Si Xitong saw his thirst for blood, like a wild beast lurking in the darkness, a beast she herself had unleashed.
She smiled nonchalantly: "What's the rush? Get your business done."
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Feile left Jianzhang Palace.
No sooner had Zhang Feile left Jianzhang Palace than a Xie soldier, who had been monitoring the situation inside, overheard the man inside talking about replacing Zhang Ju. This Xie soldier thought it was valuable intelligence and planned to leave the palace to report it to his clan.
As soon as Xie Jun circled around to the palace road, he was at the corner of a palace when his mouth was covered from behind. He was dragged to a secluded courtyard, his neck was twisted violently with a cracking sound, and Xie Jun immediately lost his breath.
Zhang Feile, like a wild beast, dragged the corpse into a dark corner and began to dispose of it.
Si Xitong received the list of executions from Zhang Feile. She burned it herself, thinking that she had found a good helper, one who would not be subservient to the Xie family.
The chapters and sentences were far beyond her grasp.
At midnight, news of Xie Jun's disappearance reached the Xie clan. The clan sent people to investigate, and they eventually found his naked body in a small alley. Almost all the valuables in his money bag had been stolen, and his neck had been twisted.
The Xie family sent people to investigate, but they all stopped near the brothel, indicating that the woman had been robbed of all her money after leaving the brothel and then murdered in a secluded place.
The Xie family discovered Xie Jun's whereabouts in the brothel and fell into deep thought: how come he died right after leaving the brothel? The same goes for the one in the military camp.
Many men of the Xie clan enjoy frequenting brothels; it's not just the Xie clan, but practically any man with a little money goes there to spend money. Now, some people, seeing that the Xie clan is wealthy, dare to set their sights on them.
Soon, someone in the clan issued a curfew, forbidding anyone from entering places frequented by shady characters.
But the Xie family was used to freedom and was inherently arrogant, so initially no one listened to them. Most people believed that no one in Tianjing dared to offend the Xie family, and everyone would only rush to curry favor with them and lick their boots.
This prosperous scene made many members of the Xie family feel elated and spend their days simply enjoying themselves.
As more and more Xie soldiers secretly escaped from the palace, more died, and Jianzhang Palace was gradually replaced by another group of Xie soldiers. They replaced the original group almost silently.
Rumors circulated within the Xie clan, leading many to question whether it was related to the Jianzhang Palace.
This suspicion was fleeting, but news of Zhang Feile, the acting clerk of the Shenxing Division, capturing and killing the Xie family bandits and making great contributions spread throughout Tianjing.
Furthermore, all of Xie Jun's missing belongings were recovered from the bandits' residence. There were even money bags belonging to more than a dozen ordinary members of the Xie clan.
The entire Xie family was immediately in an uproar. Bandits with a specific target then turned their attention to the Xie family.
Xie, who used to frequent brothels, became afraid to go out at night, fearing that she would be the next to be killed. The patrol army protected Xie with great care, which also improved the security of Tianjing.
Many cases in Tianjing are related to the Xie family. Shuntian Prefecture's Hai Yun had to go through a lot of trouble to negotiate with the Xie family every time he tried to arrest them. If it weren't for Jianzhang Palace's support, every case he handled would probably have become very difficult.
Under Xie Shuai's rule, the Xie clan had become much more law-abiding, but a group of them still repeatedly acted recklessly, relying on their own connections. And after a period of calm, they would come out and cause trouble again.
When news of what happened in Tianjing reached Xie Lanzhi's ears, Xie Guang, who was still by her side, was suspicious: "These bandits must have eaten the heart of a bear and the heart of a leopard to dare to attack us."
Xie Lanzhi knew all too well what kind of people the Xie family were in private; they were skilled in battle, but when not fighting, they were still a group of vicious bandits.
While the Xie family's martial spirit was both an advantage and a disadvantage, it was also a weakness, as these people were inherently restless.
The bandit incident has actually deterred the Xie family, making them less likely to act arrogantly in Tianjing and putting them under some restraint.
In the past few days, Xie Lanzhi has stabilized the base camp, and no one dares to get restless and run away anymore, because running away means certain death.
Xie Lanzhi took strict precautions against the epidemic.
The plague broke out again in Shiguo Prefecture and the Northern Region, and this wave of the plague was even larger than before, with even the main capital of the Northern Region, Beiqu Town, being infected.
After things calmed down for the time being, Yelü Lili, in order to avoid delaying the journey to Honghe Commercial City, directly closed the city gates and no longer allowed foreign merchants to enter Honghe. They had to undergo inspection and quarantine by doctors before they could enter.
Surprisingly, the isolation was very effective, and not a single person contracted the disease.
The biggest loss was suffered by the Shi Kingdom Prefecture. The people of the Shi Kingdom Prefecture moved away with their families and fled. The Southern Region gathered troops and set up a barrier line to prevent outsiders from entering. The control was strict, and anyone found was shot dead.
The southern region also kept the epidemic firmly at bay.
As if cursed, Shi State was struck by an epidemic, followed by an even more severe one; once infected, death was inevitable. Already plagued by famine, the people of Shi State, driven to desperation by the epidemic, rose in rebellion and stormed the capital, Bing City. This resulted in heavy casualties among the city's lower-class soldiers and civilians.
The army repeatedly marched out of its camps to suppress the rebellion, but then contracted a plague.
Beset by internal and external troubles, Shiguo Prefecture was attacked by neighboring counties. Before Shiguo Prefecture could annihilate the enemy in its hasty dispatch of troops, the vassal states that had been bullied in the past united to cut off Shiguo Prefecture's water supply and diverted the flow of water, resulting in water shortages, drying up of farmland and severe losses.
After Shi Yangping quelled the invasion of a neighboring country, he fell ill and was bedridden. The next day, the doctor diagnosed him with an epidemic.
Shi Yang's son, Shi Jian, immediately sought help from Tianjing.
When Xie Lanzhi received the letter, she tossed it to Xie Guang.
Xie Guang immediately said, "I've long been unable to swallow the insult of Shi Yang colluding with the Northern Region to attack the Southern Region, and now they still have the nerve to beg us! Of course, we won't give in!"
“No.” Xie Lanzhi had other considerations. Now was not the time to watch her opponents and potential rivals have a good time. Epidemics do not know borders. If she wanted to control the spread of the epidemic, she needed a strong leader to suppress it.
Although the methods used by the Shi Kingdom government to suppress the epidemic were brutal, they at least controlled its spread.
Now that the Southern Region is nearby, we have to think carefully about the future for our old base.
Xie Guang asked in confusion, "Why?"
Xie Lanzhi told him, "If the Shi Kingdom is in chaos now, it will only promote the spread of the epidemic, thereby increasing the pressure on the Southern Border Defense Army. It seems that the Shi Kingdom's vassal states have the upper hand by attacking at this time, but in fact they lack the strength to sustain it. They rely on catching the Shi Kingdom off guard. Once the Shi Kingdom reacts, all these neighboring countries will be wiped out."
“If Shi Yang dies, his good-for-nothing son will not be able to survive the plague. If the Shi Kingdom is in chaos, the border near the Northern Region may also have to be replaced. So people can be saved.”
She is now the ruler of the Shi Kingdom, and naturally cannot stand idly by. The methods of these vile little countries are utterly despicable; instead of focusing on saving their lives and resisting the plague, they've launched a war. Lacking any will to survive and only concerned with petty gains, they will face dire consequences later.
Xie Guang agreed, saying, "The Shi Kingdom's government can still withstand some of the pressure from the eight northern tribes. It doesn't matter if it's not there, but it can't be now."
Xie Lanzhi said, "Go and do it. Also, send another thousand shi of grain over."
As for the smaller countries, that's Shi Guofu's internal affair; why should she interfere?
Xie Guang sent the letter to the Southern Region, which prepared medicinal herbs and a thousand shi of grain and sent them to Bingcheng. Shi Yang received the herbs and suppressed the epidemic. Two days later, the Shi Kingdom government indeed adjusted its situation and began to counterattack the invasion of the neighboring country, directly destroying it. However, the acquired territory was far from the Shi Kingdom government and closer to the Southern Region. Some areas were also remote, making management too costly, and the Shi Kingdom government had no intention of investing in it.
Shi Yang was unwilling to return the occupied land to these small countries and allow them to restore their kingdoms, so he handed it over to the Southern Region.
When another letter arrived from the Southern Region, Xie Guang was dumbfounded.
He rushed into the tent holding the letter and shouted to Xie Lanzhi, who was sitting in the seat of honor reading the memorial, "Marshal, I have some good news to share."
Xie Lanzhi took the letter and quickly put it down. Thinking that the two neighboring countries mentioned in the letter contained Nomura, she included Nomura in the list and also asked someone to find the woodcutter's remains so that Little Phoenix's benefactor could be given a proper burial.
"We can take the land, but not all of it." Xie Lanzhi asked Xie Guang to take out a map and mark the areas where crops could be grown. The remaining stone sheep would definitely not be returned to the neighboring clan.
So she deliberately divided the land into north and south sections, keeping the land and river in the south and leaving the rest in the north untouched.
Shi Yang saw that Xie Lanzhi wanted all the fertile lands, but the north was the only exception. The Shi Kingdom was far from the north, and sending troops there would be more costly than sending troops to the south.
So he chose to return it and asked the neighboring country to compensate for the losses, paying money to redeem the right of return.
In this war in Shiguofu, the biggest winner turned out to be Xie Lanzhi.
News of the war in Shiguo Prefecture reached Jianzhang Palace.
Si Xitong has promoted Zhang Feile to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Censorate.
After Zhang Ju returned to the Shenxing Division, half of his power was given to his younger brother. Unwilling to accept this, he could only report to Commander Xie.
The private message was sent to Xie's headquarters.
Xie Lanzhi had already planned to return to Beijing the next day when she immediately received a private message from Zhang Ju.
She thought something had happened in Tianjing, but it turned out that Zhang Ju had written in great detail about Zhang Feile's appointment as deputy envoy.
She raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn't so many things happen to me in a short period of time?"
“That’s right!” Xie Guang said, “Even when you’re not in Tianjing, people dare to lay a hand on the Xie family.”
Xie Lanzhi glanced at him. Had this guy been by her side the whole time?
What was said in jest may have been unintentional, but what was heard was taken to heart.
She was not in Tianjing and the deputy envoy was replaced. The affairs of the Censorate were neither big nor small, but they relied on real power. Now half of it has been taken away, and by someone else.
Could it be... a little phoenix?
Xie Lanzhi narrowed her eyes slightly, pondering something.
"It's time to go back to Beijing for a visit."
Let's hear what words Little Phoenix has prepared to explain all her actions to her.
Si Xitong was preparing tea at the moment. Every day in her spare time, she would brew a pot of orange tea and place it on the table, and also prepare pastries and place them on the tatami mat so that someone could enjoy them whenever they came back.
Even though he's been away at the military camp for a while now, she still can't break this habit. It seems that as long as she brews tea, the longing in her heart can be lessened.
Zhang Feile rushed into the palace, looking as if the situation was urgent. His gloomy eyes showed little sign of panic.
"Your Highness!"
Si Xitong was sitting at the tea table. She glanced up and saw that he looked flustered, as if he had gotten into a big mess for her.
For example, he couldn't resist replacing the original text with his own.