When the Duke of Lu saw the King and Xie, the military commander, going to the military camp together, saying they were going to reward the soldiers with the marshal, no one suspected anything.
In the new Tianjing, the sky is clear and the crops have yielded another bumper harvest in August.
The officials in charge of agriculture crowded together in the Golden Palace, reporting their achievements. These officials were now more prominent than the high-ranking scholars and officials of the capital, thanks to the policies favored by Si Xitong, many of whom had gained recognition. Some had even been exceptionally appointed as assistant officials in the Grand Council.
An assistant official is considered a helper.
Many high-ranking officials and Confucian scholars are now considering whether to send their children to the Ministry of Agriculture. After all, promotions in the Ministry of Agriculture are stable; one can simply accumulate seniority without the need for infighting. Performance is the only factor.
Moreover, the Ministry of Agriculture is stable and unlikely to be dismissed unless easily dismissed. Salaries are high, and there are annual subsidies at the end of each year.
I heard that last year, each of the officials in charge of agriculture received 300 catties of peanut oil. The aroma of that oil could be smelled from their residences all the way to their neighbors' houses. The neighbors were usually high-ranking officials of the court, who naturally envied these officials.
Si Xitong received another bumper harvest of grain this year, and even the greenhouse vegetables she had experimented with during the winter were now ready for harvest. She would have vegetables to eat every winter from now on.
Agricultural advancements brought vitality to New Tianjing and even the southern Central Plains. New Tianjing was probably the only place capable of such a bountiful harvest amidst chaos.
Si Xitong was very pleased.
One by one, the officials under his command advised, "Your Highness, this is the second year of a bumper harvest, and we believe that next year will also bring another bumper harvest."
"With a bumper harvest every three years, we must immediately pay attention to water conservancy projects and build up reservoirs to prevent drought."
The Jin Dynasty had a basic saying: three years of good harvest, three years of drought, and three years of floods. While not entirely accurate, it served as a fundamental early warning system. Even in good seasons, prevention is paramount.
Si Xitong nodded: "Now that cement is selling like hotcakes, our rear is stable, and we only need to free up our resources to focus on development."
Once she has stored up enough grain for three years' harvest next year to fill all the granaries she has designated, she will be free to expand her territory! She will no longer need Lanzhi to risk her life alone outside.
Then we'll hand it over to her Beijing Guard!
"How is the situation on General Ma's side?" Si Xitong asked the ministers deliberately. In fact, she had already received intelligence, and she was only asking this question now to test the ministers' attention to the war.
If she were to discover anyone who was indifferent to this, Si Xitong's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.
This made Si Bogong's eyelids twitch, and he discovered something amiss.
He simply said he wouldn't attend court. His imperial niece is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. And yet, some people still cling to the hope of fooling His Highness!
Soon, the officials each had their own version of events. Si Xitong didn't say anything outwardly, but then inquired about other political matters. Finally, he asked where Wu Qiu had been on his inspection tour.
The ministers have mostly finished their assigned tasks. Any difficult matters should be reported and handled by Si Xitong.
Finally, the court session ended in the Golden Palace. Many ministers breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they could go home and rest. But some of them, once they went home to rest, truly rested, and never had to attend court again the next day.
This time, at least eight officials of the fourth rank were dismissed. The dismissals were delivered directly by the Ministry of Personnel, without even a chance to enter the palace.
Si Xitong promoted another batch of promising young people. Suddenly, the young faction of fourth-rank officials overwhelmingly sided with Si Xitong.
Of the eight fourth-rank officials, three were from the Xie family, two from the Si family, and the rest were people recommended by the Duke of Zheng.
No one questioned it, because removing one person would give them a chance to take power, and they didn't care why those people were removed.
Now all the officials have learned their lesson. They just need to do their own job well. The cost of being an official is high now; connections are useless. Look at His Highness, he doesn't even spare his own relatives, let alone others.
However, Si Xitong's fair and just dismissal won over many people.
After court today, Si Xitong returned to Lanzhang Palace. Looking at the empty hall, there was no sign of him. She sighed wearily, then glanced at Eshi and Ebai on the sword rack. And Xixian.
Looking at her sword, Si Xitong finally felt some comfort.
Zhang Changle came to Lanzhang Palace again, but he came to Lanzhang Palace less and less often than usual. He usually went to Jianzhang Palace when he had business to attend to.
He came to Lanzhang Palace to explain that he was inquiring about Xie Lanzhi.
Si Xitong suppressed her emotions and said, "Speak."
Zhang Changle told Si Xitong everything Xie Lanzhi had done on the border of Lu State.
After listening, Si Xitong sighed and said, "Don't worry. That person doesn't just keep one trick up her sleeve. The reason she wants to exchange some conditions to redeem those people may be due to other considerations."
Of course, Lan Zhi is soft-hearted, and she will not stand idly by while her subordinates and allies are given the chance.
Zhang Changle said, "The Marshal's actions in Lu are somewhat puzzling. The sun and moon are also secretly watching."
"How are things going with Wu Yuejun's side?" Si Xitong said she knew, and then asked about another matter.
Since supporting Yi Fan, Wu Yuejun had stood by him through thick and thin. However, the Sun and Moon spies secretly brought him to the Northern Desert. The Northern Desert was the territory of the lower-middle tribes, who greatly admired Wu Yuejun, a member of the Mu clan. Soon, Wu Yuejun himself became known for his generosity and friendliness. His personal charm had already won him many followers among the lower-middle tribes.
With Si Xitong's secret support, Wu Yuejun was already considered half a master of Mobei.
Zhang Changle said, "There are quite a few exiled nobles in the northern desert. In recent years, Bei Luo and Yelü Wen have eliminated dissidents and sent them to the northern desert."
"Now the number has grown to 200,000. Bei Luo and Yelü Wen are afraid that they will unite, so they often arrange spies in the middle and lower tribes to incite them to kill each other."
Unexpectedly, the infighting between Bei Luo and his son has given Mo Bei an opportunity to reach a consensus. And Wu Yuejun is that consensus.
People in the northern desert began to gravitate towards Wu Yuejun.
Si Xitong thought for a moment and said, "The six towns in the northern desert are of paramount importance. No matter who they serve as their master in the future, they will only recognize the Hu people."
These people have too strong a populist mentality and are difficult to assimilate. The reason they are difficult to assimilate is because Bei Luo forcibly eradicated nomadic customs. Bei Luo has also accomplished a lot over the years, barely managing to promote the Northern Region. However, there are also many drawbacks. His desire for assimilation is not supported by everyone, so he can only unite the major tribes and grant them high positions to barely turn the Northern Region into a semi-agrarian society.
Now Bei Luo is old. Gone are his former ambitions; he lives a life of luxury in his later years. He still can't see the bigger picture and tries to have his cake and eat it too. Now look what's happened—he's ended up being exploited by both sides.
Si Xitong realized that Bei Luo's methods were indeed feasible for completely assimilating the Hu people. However, it couldn't be rushed. The only way was to first divide the population into several groups and relocate the Central Plains people there gradually to assimilate them.
"Go and inform Wu Yuejun that we will take action next month."
"yes!"
On the Lu side, Li Li was dejected after losing the opportunity to besiege Dali Luo. He took two bottles of wine to find Xie Lanzhi.
Unexpectedly, Xie Lanzhi was not in the main palace of the State of Lu at all.
He braved the heavy rain to go to the military camp again, only to find that Gongfuling was being held captive there. He assumed it was an order from Marshal Xie. Little did he know it was a private order from Lieutenant Xie.
Despite the immense pressure, Captain Xie spoke politely to the Imperial Envoy, saying, "I had no choice."
"You've gone too far! I'm a ruler, after all!" Gongfu Ling was extremely dissatisfied. He hadn't expected that after coming to help, he wouldn't even get to see Marshal Xie, and instead, he'd be controlled by this group of roughnecks in the military camp.
When Li Li entered the tent and heard their conversation, he soon found himself caught in their trap as well.
Li Li's face darkened immediately: "You guys have some nerve!"
He looks exactly like Marshal Xie! If they weren't allies, he would have flipped the table on the spot.
Xie, the captain, also spoke to Li Li in a polite manner, explaining the pros and cons.
Li Li then gave up, but he was puzzled as to where the marshal would go when he was scolding him.
Meanwhile, the two ships heading towards the Red River suddenly encountered a thick fog. The fog enveloped the two ships, and they did not know where to go next.
The sailors were extremely nervous as they analyzed the course, only to find that they were drifting further and further away. Even though they were on the Red River, which was just a river, they felt as if they were on a vast, boundless ocean.
"Why isn't it time yet?" Normally, we can hear the gong being struck nearby.
Whenever a boat appeared, the commander would sound a gong to signal it; this was a custom of the Xiongnu soldiers when traveling by boat. Now, they were applying this to the battlefield.
The Hun envoy stood on the deck, feeling the thick dampness on his face, and when he touched his palm, it was wet with dew.
"It's unbelievable that such a heavy fog would rise from the river."
"This ship trip today was too strange."
Inside the ship, Dilro had been feeling uneasy for a long time, not knowing why until now he finally understood. It was the weather!
He had long heard the national sorcerer say that if a substitute encounters a variable, the heavens will see it, and if the heavens discover them, they will surely be punished. And being struck by lightning or experiencing a hurricane is the most common form of divine retribution.
Artur was struck by lightning after his death.
And then there was Anshan, who met the same fate. She was punished by heaven and died on the spot.
Now, Dali Luo's body... His expression grew increasingly grave. Something was wrong. The national sorcerer had clearly stated that he would succeed as long as he possessed a body. But the body he possessed was Dali Luo's.
It's a pity they couldn't take Xie Ying's body. If Xie Ying's body had been there, surely she could have avoided divine retribution?
On this point, Dali Luo was extremely jealous. Xie Ying was clearly also a variable, so why was only Xie Ying pardoned!
As the fog grew thicker, they found themselves trapped in the middle of the river, going around in circles.
A newly built lookout tower on the opposite bank saw two ships circling in the same spot, refusing to dock.
The soldiers were very puzzled, and some even went to inform Lord Anshan.
When Anshan Jun heard that the two ships that were supposed to pick up Dali Luo were stuck in the middle of the river and wouldn't come over, he ordered the Xiongnu soldiers to beat the gong and either set sail to pick up the man.
The Hun soldiers did as instructed, and just as one of them was about to strike the gong, a bolt of lightning struck him, killing him instantly.
The Hun soldiers were stunned by the sudden thunderclap. Some boats even capsized after only fifty meters of sailing.
The bizarre scene made everyone afraid to make a move. Just when someone thought it was just an accident and picked up the gong again to strike it, they found that the gong was broken in two. They tried to strike another gong, but the thunder was louder than the gong and was completely drowned out.
All the ships sent out sank. In the end, those who fell into the water couldn't swim back up and drowned.
The Xiongnu soldiers were terrified as they watched their comrades' corpses float to the surface. Faced with this bizarre phenomenon, they immediately informed Lord Anshan.
Anshan Jun didn't believe it at all. He put on his clothes and wanted to supervise in person. Unexpectedly, when he went out the door, a carriage hit him and broke his leg.
Moreover, it was an empty carriage, and the horses suddenly charged at him like madmen.
Unable to find the owner of the carriage, Lord Anshan had no choice but to have him helped back to his residence and then summon a doctor to treat him. Chaos ensued.
The Hun soldiers at the dock were terrified. They dared not beat drums or gongs, because it was useless. A torrential downpour further swelled the riverbanks, turning the river into a dark, menacing mass that seemed determined to swallow people whole.
The Xiongnu soldiers dared not approach the riverbank.
The clouds in the sky concealed boundless, surging lightning, its thunderous roar echoing in all directions.
The two ships spun around in circles before finally colliding, and the sailors on deck fell into the water instantly. Another ship was smashed open, with a large hole punched in it. That ship was the one Daryl was on.
The Xiongnu envoy was also on board. When he saw the ship taking on water, he cried out in terror, "Help! Help! The ship is sinking!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The Hun soldiers were thrown into chaos, but some clever ones managed to stretch a plank between the two ships and escape to the other ship for refuge.
The Xiongnu envoy hadn't forgotten Dali Luo and went into the cabin to find him. Just then, Dali Luo emerged, leaning on a piece of wood. The two met, and Dali Luo, his face grim, coldly demanded, "What on earth is going on outside?"
The Hu and Xiongnu envoy had barely settled in his seat and hadn't even had a chance to answer.
Dali Luo impatiently grabbed his collar: "I have a question for you!"
The Hu Xiongnu envoy's eyes widened immediately. "What? The King?!"
How dare he call himself "I, the lonely one"?!
A note from the author: