Chapter 271 Shen Lanxi and Liang Shao communicated!

Che Mingyuan's plan wasn't clever; anyone could figure it out with a little thought. If it were her, she certainly wouldn't have cooperated as calmly as Liang Shao.

It makes no sense to help others while having to pay out of your own pocket.

After Shen Lanxi arrived, the three Turkic armies held their ground. Upon seeing Liang Shao arrive as well, they immediately withdrew.

As early as the first day Liang Shao arrived in the Northwest, the three Turkic tribes sent people to make contact, but as expected, they were unsuccessful.

In Hiroshi Abe's view, they are either allies or enemies.

Now that Liang Shao has come here, he must have already formed an alliance with the Zhenbei Army. If the three Turkic tribes don't run away now, are they waiting to be surrounded and annihilated?

Fortunately, Liang Shao and Shen Lanxi didn't exchange many pleasantries and quickly caught up with the three Turkic tribes.

Two hours later, a scout came to report.

"General, Liang Shao has annihilated most of the foreign tribes. A small number of them ran too fast, and Liang Shao probably didn't pursue them because he was worried about a trap."

Shen Lanxi could understand; if they ran too far, what if they were wiped out by the three clans?

Che Mingyuan nodded: "Liang Shao has the air of a great general. He doesn't seem like a mob leader."

"I just saw Liang Shao commanding the troops with great skill; he must have led troops in battle before!" Che Mingyuan said, expressing his opinion.

Xiao Fang also thought it made sense: "Could he be some general who is hiding his identity?"

Shen Lanxi glanced at Xiao Fang, then turned and ordered her men to go to Qinglong Lake to appease him.

A short while later, Liang Shao rode up to Shen Lanxi.

"General Shen, I have completed my mission!"

Shen Lanxi: "After I go back, I will write to the court to speak on your behalf. You have made a great contribution to our Great Zhou Dynasty."

Liang Shao looked at Shen Lanxi's face and then looked away uncomfortably.

"Thank you, General Shen, for giving me the opportunity to make a contribution!"

Shen Lanxi: "There will only be more opportunities like this in the future." After giving her approval, she discussed the Second Prince's return with Liang Shao.

"I wonder if Brother Liang knows anything about the Second Prince Zhou Ru'an?"

Upon hearing the prince's subconscious frown, Liang Shao said, "I already know he's come to the Northwest. I'd like to say that if he's commanding the Zhenbei Army, I'll definitely have to reconsider my decision to join the army!"

Shen Lanxi was very satisfied with this answer. Whether Liang Shao was flattering her or not, they would find out soon enough.

"Since Brother Liang puts it that way, I have a suggestion."

Liang Shao: "Please speak!"

Shen Lanxi gestured for him to dismount and go to the side to talk.

Liang Shao understood, and the two of them immediately found a more open space to start a conversation about how to deal with Zhou Ru'an.

Half an hour later, Shen Lanxi led her men back to the city, and Liang Shao also left with his men.

...

After entering the city, Zhou Ru'an immediately convened a meeting to discuss Liang Shao's matter.

"Wu Tong, what do you think of Liang Shao?"

Wu Tong thought to himself, "What is he looking at? He's never even met Liang Shao."

“This man rebelled in Dongchuan and harbors wolfish ambitions. His surrender this time must be for some other purpose!” Wu Tong immediately stated his opinion, siding with the Second Prince.

Wei Dongzhu and the others remained silent. They were already used to centering their lives around Shen Lanxi and had discussed this matter long ago. Now they were simply listening to Zhou Ruan's nonsense.

"And you guys?" Zhou Ruan asked, focusing her attention on Wei Dongzhu.

The latter had already prepared an excuse.

"We need to observe Liang Shao's performance; it's best to prevent him from being won over by the three Turkic tribes!"

Zhou Ru'an's eyes lit up; he thought so too.

The Zhenbei Army is already struggling to deal with the three clans. If the three clans were to join forces with Liang Shao again, he would be committing suicide here.

"General Wei is right. We will send a messenger to Liang Shao tomorrow."

Wei Dongzhu: "Second Prince, what message do you want to convey to him?"

Zhou Ruan was very satisfied with Wei Dongzhu's subservient attitude towards him, and said arrogantly, "Naturally, we should lure him with benefits!"

Qian Feng: "The Second Prince is wise!"

Wei Dongzhu: "We have nothing to give them!"

Zhou Ru'an's eyes flashed with disdain. Wei Dongzhu had the talent to govern an army, but he was overly pedantic. Indeed, warriors' minds were never quick enough.

“They are traitors now. Didn’t you say before that they wanted to join the army? We can promise to restore their status as law-abiding citizens and remove the traitor label from them!”

Traitors will be torn apart by five horses, their entire family executed, and they will be scorned by the world.

Qian Feng said with difficulty, "It doesn't feel attractive enough!"

Wei Dongzhu nodded.

Zhou Ru'an looked displeased. These two warriors didn't understand the art of imperial power at all.

From criminals to ordinary citizens, what immense grace that is! Even a general amnesty cannot compare.

They still think it's not enough?

Zhou Ruan said with a straight face, "Negotiations must be conducted step by step. This is only the beginning. If Liang Shao is unwilling, we can raise the stakes and continue the discussion."

"You can't promise too many benefits right off the bat. You're supposed to be commanders of troops, yet you don't even know how to negotiate!"

A makeshift team is still a makeshift team. Even with Wei Dongzhu in charge, it can never become the Wei family army of the past!

Qian Feng rolled his eyes subtly: "Second Prince, you are truly exceptionally intelligent. We ordinary people are simply no match for you!"

Zhou Ru'an was in a great mood. These warriors weren't very bright, but they were quite good at flattery.

Wei Dongzhu: "I wonder who the Second Prince intends to send? Is there anyone suitable?"

Zhou Ruan's eyes fell on Wu Tong, who quickly lowered his head and shrank his neck to minimize his presence.

Zhou Ru'an gave a silent snort and turned his head to look at Wei Dongzhu and the others.

He glanced at her and said, "Let's leave it to Shen Lanxi. The recruitment process has been slow lately. She can't even handle something as simple as this. It seems she's not suited for recruitment."

"Let her go and deliver the message to Liang Shao. I have already taken care of the most difficult task. If she fails to handle this simple matter, then she will have to be dealt with according to military law."

A flash of anger crossed Wei Dongzhu's eyes. Fearing he would lose his temper, he immediately made an excuse to leave.

Shen Lanxi saw Wei Dongzhu waiting at the city gate.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Wei Dongzhu raised the corners of his mouth and said gently, "It's not hard work, everything has been arranged."

Shen Lanxi raised her chin towards the city and said, "Tell me about the origins of those two women."

Wei Dongzhu rode alongside Shen Lanxi and said, "Sun Miaoling is Sun Maoshan's illegitimate daughter, and Chen Mianmian is the most beautiful courtesan at Chunmanlou."

Shen Lanxi chuckled: "Isn't Chen Xiong afraid that Zhou Ru'an will find out and make an enemy of him!"

Seeing the smile on her face, Wei Dongzhu felt much better and his tone became much lighter.

"Chen Xiong is very secretive. Chen Mianmian always wore a veil when she was at Chunmanlou. She only showed her true face after she started working with Chen Xiong!"

Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow: "Chen Xiong actually had his woman impersonate his daughter just to get close to Zhou Ru'an. What kind of fetish is that?"

Wei Dongzhu said, "I thought you would say that Chen Xiong was willing to spend a lot of money!"

Shen Lanxi smiled easily: "It means the same thing, they all came back with Zhou Ruan?"

Wei Dongzhu: "The two of them started whispering in your ear before even entering the city, making things difficult for Zhou Ruan!"

Shen Lanxi's eyes flashed, and she urged her horse on, saying, "Let's go, I'll go and smell whether it's a fragrant breeze or a demonic wind!"