Chapter 258 The Great Warrior of the Turks!

The soldiers of the Great Zhou were protecting their homeland; from the perspective of the Turks, it was about expanding their territory.

These people were all conscripted to the battlefield, far from their homeland.

Some people may not want to come; some have wives, children, and elderly mothers at home, and some may have fiancées or childhood sweethearts waiting for them to return.

From both sides' perspectives, neither of them is wrong!

Xiao Fang looked at Shen Lanxi with admiration. Based on her usual military rules and style of doing things, he thought she was going to whip the corpse again.

The general may be ruthless, but he always has principles and a bottom line!

He didn't choose the wrong person!

Xiao Fang gave Shen Lanxi a deep look, then turned around and went to make the arrangements.

Although Abe Hiroshi and the three clan generals left, they both left behind scouts to keep a close eye on the Zhenbei Army.

When they saw the Zhenbei Army dragging the corpses of the Turkic soldiers to a place ten miles outside Huangtu City, burying them, and erecting signs, they all fell silent.

They didn't emerge from their hiding place to dig until nearly fifteen minutes after the Zhenbei Army had left.

"The Zhenbei Army didn't strip them of their armor!"

"The shoes are here too." And all the other items, which were clearly gifts from the soldiers' families, are also here!

The Turkic scout stared blankly at the words on the tombstone: "Great Warrior of the Turks!"

Were the dead men great warriors?

Yes, that's true in their hearts, but is it true in the hearts of the Great Zhou people?

Don't they all see them as evil barbarians who seize territory?

"Should we report this to General Hiroshi Abe?" a scout asked cautiously.

"Report it! Our general's spirit can't be inferior to that of a woman!"

...

After Shen Lanxi feinted and recaptured the city, everyone thought she would press her advantage and pursue the enemy. But to everyone's surprise, she ordered the settlement of farmland!

"You don't actually think those supplies were sent by the imperial court, do you?" Shen Lanxi glanced around.

Those around her all know who she's saying these things to.

To the envoy for the marriage alliance, and to Zhou Ru'an, the newly appointed military supervisor of the prince.

Shen Lanxi let out a long sigh: "The Zhenbei Army is about to run out of food!"

Zhou Ruan glanced at Wu Tong, who immediately said angrily, "Don't you know very well why the Zhenbei Army has no food? If you hadn't ceded Huangtu City before, why would Father have given food to the third prince?"

Shen Lanxi's cold gaze swept over him: "Are you blaming His Majesty?"

Zhou Ru'an clenched his fist, his eyes flashing, and said, "If you had informed the court in advance instead of acting arbitrarily, those grains wouldn't have been handed over to others. And we wouldn't be in this situation where we have no food to eat now."

Shen Lanxi: "So, you're blaming me for not informing the three Turkic tribes when I left Huangtu City, saying that this was a strategy to lure the enemy deep into our territory?"

Zhou Ruan'an said with a dark face, "Shen Lanxi, you're just making excuses!"

Shen Lanxi glared at him angrily: "You are just being unreasonable and making trouble. Should I report to the court and inform His Majesty that the Second Prince feels that His Majesty gave the Third Prince the grain too quickly, resulting in the grain that should have been given to the Zhenbei Army being given to the Third Prince Zhou Ruyuan?"

"Second Prince, are you dissatisfied with His Majesty, or with the Third Prince? Or are you dissatisfied with His Majesty giving the grain to the Third Prince?"

Zhou Ru'an glared angrily at Shen Lanxi. How could she frame him in order to evade responsibility?

"Shen Lanxi, this is not a reason for you to let the three Turkic tribes go! Don't try to fool me with the excuse of not having enough food. Now, I, the prince, order you to immediately send troops against the Turks and reclaim the cities that originally belonged to my Great Zhou!"

Shen Lanxi was also furious and immediately slammed her hand on the table.

"Very well, since the Third Prince is so insistent and so devoted to the Great Zhou, if you can get the court to send supplies, I will immediately send troops to attack the city!"

Zhou Ru'an: "..."

"I don't believe it. How could the Zhenbei Army be without food? If they weren't, what were they eating before I arrived?"

Liu Yanhui immediately and skillfully brought out the account book. Upon seeing this, Wu Tong quickly bent over and shrank his shoulders to minimize his presence.

"These are General Shen's ledgers for borrowing grain from merchants. Since the Third Prince is now the military supervisor, these should be handed over to him for inspection and processing!"

Che Mingyuan also had his men move the account books. He had already collected a whole box of these account books, and any investigation would yield concrete evidence. Now he could finally hand over this hot potato!

Zhou Ru'an didn't believe it.

"With the war in the Northwest escalating, how could merchants possibly lend you their provisions?"

Shen Lanxi smiled: "What a coincidence, no wonder we're brothers, Zhou Ruyuan asked the same question."

Liu Yanhui took over the conversation and said with a smile, "Because our general has taken in many adopted sons and daughters, all of whom are legitimate sons and daughters of these merchants."

Zhou Ru'an felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Che Mingyuan showed no mercy to the prince who had seized his position as military supervisor upon arrival, and immediately began to mock him.

"The Third Prince can also do the same. By borrowing provisions, the Zhenbei Army will surely be able to strike straight at the heart of the Turkic capital and reach the Turkic court!"

Zhou Ru'an was already enraged and said angrily, "I don't believe it! I'm going to go see where the grain is stored right now!"

Shen Lanxi glanced at Liu Yanhui, who calmly stood up.

"This humble official will take the Third Prince there immediately!"

After the Third Prince left, the envoys for the marriage alliance also left, leaving only Shen Lanxi's people behind.

"General, this prince is getting in the way. Should we give him some medicine?" Ban Sicao thought to himself. He still had some left over from the sick beauty last time, and since they were siblings, they should share the burden.

Wei Dong glanced at the unreliable Ban Sicao and for the first time found him somewhat pleasing to the eye.

“I think it’s a good idea!” Wei Dongzhu said truthfully.

Shen Yuanjing: "I think that's fine too!"

Qian Feng: "As long as I don't die in our Zhenbei Army, anything is fine!" He treated all the princes and princesses equally, without any affection for any of them!

Even Cheng Zheng and others seconded the motion and agreed with Ban Sicao.

After they finished speaking, Shen Lanxi said, "The prince has become sickly since arriving in the Northwest. That's not good! It's too easy for people to suspect him. It's too obvious, and the traces are too heavy!"

Wei Dongzhu was unaware of her thoughts; he merely expressed the inconvenience caused by Zhou Ruan's arrival.

“Zhou Ru’an is not Wu Tong. After he arrives, he will definitely interfere in military affairs.”

Shen Lanxi nodded and listened attentively.

Xiao Fang: "If he dares to spout nonsense, I won't listen. If he makes me unhappy, even if he's a prince, I'll beat him without hesitation!"

Qian Feng sneered: "Princes are all just people who rely on their status to give orders recklessly!"

Shen Lanxi and the others knew his background, and when they said this to him, they felt that he must have suffered greatly because of it!

Cheng Zheng wrote: "We can send him to request provisions and pay from the imperial court!"

Wei Dongzhu and others all agreed and expressed their own views.

"Zhou Ru'an might not listen!"

"Didn't you hear what he meant when he first arrived? He came in and immediately tried to seize power, making our general recruit soldiers. Who does he think he is?"

"He's dreaming if he wants to control our Zhenbei Army!"

The group launched into another round of cursing at Zhou Ru'an.

Shen Lanxi suddenly smiled, and everyone who was on edge was suddenly taken aback.

"I think Zhou Ru'an would be very useful to stay here!"