Chapter 178 The Turmoil in Weidu, The Substitute Monster?
Business in Weidu was booming, and laborers were constantly unloading cargo at the docks, all working hard to make a living.
Sailor patrols were stationed at the docks, and at each checkpoint, they strictly controlled and inspected merchants from various countries.
Xie Xia received news that Xie Ying had secretly come to Weidu. As her third uncle, he should have treated his niece well. The problem was that his niece had deserted her post.
Not only could he not entertain her, he also had to grab her with his own hands.
Xie Xia told his men to bring out Xie Ying's portrait and that if they saw this person, they should immediately arrest him and bring him to their residence.
As soon as Xie Ying stepped ashore, she saw a sailor holding a portrait and comparing it to passersby. She immediately took a step back and bumped into an elderly man who was getting off the boat.
The old man said, "Young lady, watch where you're going."
Xie Ying quickly said, "Please go ahead."
The old man hurried past, glancing at Xie Ying as he passed by.
Xie Ying went back to the boat and found a gray shirt with short sleeves and long back. She changed into it without saying a word, then wrapped a piece of cloth around her head to cover her most delicate forehead.
When they set sail again, the shore was in chaos, with sailors holding portraits surrounded by crowds of people.
The sailor was so frightened that he raised his hands and said, "I, I really didn't push him. He just suddenly fell down."
“I saw it. The old man was feeling unwell and collapsed on his own. It has nothing to do with my brother,” another sailor hurriedly explained.
Most of the people were just watching the spectacle, but two young men kept arguing with the sailors.
Xie Ying took the opportunity to evade the body search.
The dock was in chaos for a while, but the local military officer came to restore order and took the old man to the clinic before the crowd calmed down.
The bustling streets were filled with people until the sun set.
Xie Xia hadn't found Xie Ying yet, and he couldn't help but worry about whether the child had eaten, why she hadn't come looking for him, and what she was doing in Weidu.
In the royal city of Weidu, Si Lei was having a meal with the Queen and the Crown Prince.
Soon, the delicious delicacies that had traveled across the ocean were delivered to the table.
The prince looked at the glistening white flesh on the glass plate and said, "Father, it is said that this fish can only be found in the deep sea. I wonder which navigator caught it?"
Si Lei said, "Tang'er, this fish is called Haili. Its flesh is delicious and sweet. You may try it."
"I understand, but it is only right that Father should start eating first," the steward said. "Father, please try it."
Si Lei looked at his son with doting eyes. He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite; it was indeed fresh and sweet. Si Tang then placed chopsticks on the princess's plate, and the princess lovingly picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth.
The family was enjoying a happy time together.
Suddenly a city soldier rushed into the house, shattering the atmosphere of the family of three.
"Report!" the city guard shouted in panic, "Your Highness, the Second Young Master's boat was attacked by river bandits, and the Second Young Master fell into the water in fright. His fate is currently unknown!"
"What? Hong'er!" The princess quickly got up, then fainted.
Si Lei's face turned deathly pale. How dare the pirates rob Wei Du's ship? They must have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard!
"Quickly inform General Xie and order him to send troops to suppress the bandits!!"
The city guard replied, "I have already informed General Xie, and he has already gone to Sishui to suppress the bandits!"
Sishui? Sitang immediately stood up, his expression grave. “Father, Sishui is near Twin Islands, and Twin Islands are not our territory.”
"If we rashly send General Xie to attack Sishui, it might alert the bandits in the vicinity."
The area north of Weidu has always been a land and water region. The small Weidu is like a round island close to the mainland, but Twin Islands are different. They are close to the Red River and Deer Canal in the northern region.
Twin Islands are a gathering place for all sorts of people from the underworld, with unknown origins. They have been robbing people on both land and sea for ten years, and have long since made themselves incredibly wealthy.
It is said that Twin Islands recently plundered firearms stolen from Yue by various smaller countries, enough to form a firearms battalion. Each country fears retribution from Xie Zhu, so they can only turn a blind eye to the looted weapons, accepting their misfortune and even trying to distance themselves from the situation, lest they get burned.
However, because of the small size of the Twin Islands, the fighting power of the horse and water bandits instantly increased dozens of times. Previously, they did not dare to attack Weidu because they were afraid of being attacked by the navy.
Now that they have firearms, they dare to come to the Sishui River and rob the royal family's ships.
Upon hearing this, Si Lei staggered back a few steps. Si Tang immediately ordered his men to send his mother back to the backyard. He then helped Si Lei up and said, "Father, you have only recently recovered from your illness. You should not overwork yourself."
"Leave this to my son. I will definitely bring my brother back safely!"
Si Lei had no choice but to nod: "Tang'er, I'm entrusting your brother to you."
"Hong'er absolutely cannot get into trouble."
The Weidu sailors began assembling ships and heading towards the Sishui region. The fleet consisted of ten ships in total. Just as the sailors reached the vicinity of the Sishui region, unidentified cannons opened fire from all directions around the reeds, directly blasting the ships to their deaths.
Ten ships were instantly reduced to ashes, the entire fleet perished. The remains drifted downstream and were discovered by the people of Weidu. Xiexia received the report from the sailors before he could even set sail.
All ten ships they sent out were blown up by cannons!
Xie Xia finally realized that the kidnapping of the royal family in Sishui and the Twin Islands incident were not so simple.
He immediately ordered the sailors to return to their posts and not to go to Sishui again. He also sent word to block all waterways leading to and passing through Sishui, and then set up warning lines in various places, as this area was the territory of river bandits and horse bandits.
Upon receiving the news, most of the common people dared not pass through Surabaya and instead took a detour to Weidu. Some merchants from various countries received the news only to find that they had already been kidnapped by river bandits and taken to Twin Islands.
Bandits also robbed many merchants on the land route.
The kings and nobles of various countries immediately wrote to Xie Xia for help in rescuing the kidnapped merchants, and Si Lei also kept urging him to rescue his son as soon as possible.
Xie Xia's head was about to explode by the end of the day.
The news that the Western Guard had been stationed in the new Tianjing quickly spread throughout the city. People and merchants alike knew that there were bandits in Sishui, and that they were very powerful bandits, each with cannons.
Xie Lanzhi sent someone to determine if the tragedy was caused by her own cannon being poorly inspected.
The Ministry of Works searched the entire place thoroughly, but not even a single wooden nail was missing.
Wei Zhao, from the Ministry of Works, wrote to Si Xitong every day to prove his innocence. The new Tianjing was not thrown into panic by the river bandits, but rather by the cannons.
Once the investigation was completed, local government offices reported that the cannons had been lost by the Yue Kingdom.
The people of Xin Tianjing angrily cursed the Yue Kingdom for their misdeeds, which led to the leak of firearms that fell into the hands of the two bandits on Twin Islands. The smaller kingdoms, feeling guilty, ordered their merchants to avoid visiting Sishui in the future, fearing they would be discovered.
The Western Guard investigations revealed that the main source of the trouble lay with the smaller states. Their attempts to cause trouble on the Yue battlefield failed, resulting in the loss of a large number of firearms, which allowed river bandits to use weapons to burn, kill, and plunder.
Si Xitong knew it was too late to mend the fence after the sheep were lost, so she secretly warned Xiao Guo and then sent spies to infiltrate Twin Islands to gather information.
Xie Lanzhi received a letter from Xie Ming, hoping she would once again lead the Yue Kingdom battlefield. Aba Na was also urging her to go there quickly, at least to see him one more time before a cooperation treaty could be signed.
Xie Lanzhi wasn't trying to delay; she simply had more important things to do.
She found Si Xitong: "Little Phoenix, I have to go to Weidu myself."
"You should stay in the palace; there's no need for you to make the trip yourself," Si Xitong said. "With you here, the enemy won't dare to act rashly!"
Xie Lanzhi stared intently at her, saying only one thing: "With you here, the enemy will not dare to act rashly."
Trust my judgment.
Si Xitong pursed her lips and finally agreed.
Xie Lanzhi gently hugged her and whispered in her ear, "I'm leaving the opportunity to make a contribution to Xie Ying, not just to test the little princess."
"There's something else I haven't told you yet, but I'll tell you now."
"A stand-in may be important, but I'm afraid some things will happen faster than I expect."
Upon hearing this, Si Xitong gently pushed her away, gazed into her eyes, and after a while, released Xie Lanzhi.
"Go ahead," Si Xitong said. "I won't ask any more questions."
In fact, she had already guessed that it was probably the suffering that this era was about to experience.
Currently, the central defense line and the southern Central Plains, primarily consisting of both land and water routes, have been effectively halted by Si Xitong's actions to stop Aqina's southward invasion. This has sealed off Aqina's southward advance and can hold out for a while longer.
At least Aqina can no longer openly cross into other people's land.
No matter how ambitious the Northern Region was, it fell behind because of firearms.
As a major power moving westward, Beiluo would certainly not abandon the development of firearms. It's safe to say that Aqina's attempt to continue developing in a lowly manner is now impossible. The new Tianjing has grown into a powerful firearms force that he cannot ignore.
This was already beyond Aqina's imagination. If the Northern Region also rises later, Aqina's dream of unification will be even more thwarted.
The battle between Si Xitong and Xie Lanzhi has reversed. Si Xitong now has complete control, while Xie Lanzhi will be tasked with overcoming the predicament!
“Little Phoenix, firearms have developed faster than I imagined in this era,” Xie Lanzhi said. “I originally thought that Aba Na was the backlash of Aqina, but I didn’t expect that it has now spread to every corner of the world.”
"If we let it continue to develop, something unpredictable may happen."
"So I have to eliminate some of these hidden dangers."
Si Xitong said, "Weidu will definitely be a strategic location fought over by military strategists during wartime."
Xie Lanzhi nodded.
She sent a letter to Aba, instructing him to return to the Delta to control the export of firearms. The Delta and Twin Islands are neither too far nor too close; as long as the Delta sends troops, it will surely be able to cut off the Twin Islands' Achilles' heel.
When Aba received her letter, he muttered to himself, "The cooperation agreement hasn't even been finalized yet, and she's already trying to order me around!"
Xie Ming immediately retorted with displeasure, "If you don't want to follow orders, then get back here right now!"
"What if the Xiongnu king attacks and you have no allies to help you? Besides our marshal, who else in this world has the ability to save you!"
Aba glared at him, and he put away the letter, saying, "It's just Twin Islands? At most a thousand people. You can just send a few cannons to bombard me and that will solve the problem!"
"Do you still need me!"
Xie Ming said, "You're not chickening out, are you?"
"I told you, you can use cannons, why can't you understand human language!" Aba Na couldn't help but grin, "Don't you know what a quick victory means?"
Although Xie Ming also felt that a quick victory was the best course of action, he simply did not want to submit to Aba.
"Whatever our marshal says goes! You, a surrendered soldier, just obey orders!"
Aba Na thought the people of the Central Plains were simply incomprehensible; no wonder their ancestors were able to conquer the Central Plains and occupy the north. The people of the Central Plains themselves were a disorganized mess.
Aba immediately sent representatives to the Delta to control firearms exports and cut off orders from the Northern Region to reap huge profits, preventing weapons from proliferating too quickly and leaving them without an advantage.
However, Aba was puzzled. Why would Twin Islands have cannons? He wasn't foolish enough to sell such weapons.
He didn't care anymore; the people of the Central Plains were stubborn and self-willed, and in the end, they would be the ones to suffer!
Xie Ying sneaked into Weidu and became a laborer. While she was moving goods, she heard that the second son of the Prince of Li had been kidnapped by river bandits.
Occasionally, you can still hear news about things like Twin Islands.