Chapter 281 Zhou Ru'an is assassinated!

Liang Shaoxin readily agreed, but also made a request.

"We have no foothold or land in the Northwest. The Zhenbei Army must supply us with our food and provisions!"

Zhou Ru'an thought for a moment and realized that if Liang Shao and his soldiers were to join the Zhenbei Army in the future, they would be the Zhenbei Army's own people, and he would naturally supply them with food and fodder!

"That's only right. We can't use you to fight without giving you food. From now on, you'll be part of the Zhenbei Army, and we'll be on the same side. I won't treat you differently!"

Liang Shao: "Thank you for your consideration, Second Prince."

Zhou Ru'an was even more confident after submitting to Liang Shao. With the two cities he had recently recovered, he now controlled six cities in the Northwest. If he could take back the ones that had been taken by the three Turkic tribes, he would be the undisputed King of the Northwest.

As for the remaining small cities, they are opportunists; they listen to whoever controls the military in the Northwest.

Zhou Ru'an prepared to fight, and the first thing he did was to send away the envoys sent by the three tribes.

In war, envoys are not to be killed. Zhou Ru'an unilaterally announced the termination of peace talks and said that he would soon retake the lost city.

The envoys from the three tribes rushed back overnight to report the news!

That night, Zhou Ruan was assassinated, something that even Shen Lanxi hadn't anticipated!

Everyone in the council chamber stared at Shen Lanxi, their eyes seeming to say, "It was their general who did it."

She is most adept at using unconventional tactics.

"I didn't order it!" Shen Lanxi said directly to avoid her subordinates' speculation.

Clearly, most people don't really believe it.

"It wasn't the general who did it?" Che Mingyuan's tone clearly showed disbelief.

Ban Sicao: "So what if the general did it? Zhou Ru'an is dead, so what? It's just like crushing an ant, what's the big deal!"

Liu Yan glanced at him: "Don't you say you did it?"

Ban Sicao immediately denied it: "It wasn't me, don't make wild guesses. If I wanted to give him medicine, I would have done it already!" Besides, Shen Lanxi had warned him before that he was a trump card, a secret weapon, and could not be used casually!

Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow: "What, you don't believe me at all?"

Several people denied it.

"We believe you, General! We will definitely believe what you say!" The general always lies openly and will speak directly about anything. Since she says she didn't do it, then she definitely didn't do it.

"General, if it wasn't us, then who did it?" Ban Sicao asked curiously.

Shen Lanxi: "I received a message that not long after Zhou Ruan's incident, they had Sun Miaoling dealt with!"

The group stared wide-eyed.

"Didn't Sun Miaoling kill her father with drugs? Why would she attack Zhou Ru'an?" Liu Yan asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

Such a ruthless and scheming woman, wouldn't she have lost her backer if she killed Zhou Ru'an?

Shen Lanxi: "Zhou Ru'an is inherently suspicious. If someone stirs things up even slightly, her suspicions will only grow stronger!"

Che Mingyuan sighed: "Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. Sun Miaoling brought this upon herself!"

“General, Zhou Ru’an’s life is in danger. The Zhenbei Army cannot function without someone in charge!” Liu Yan replied.

Shen Lanxi: "Wait a little longer, it's not the right time yet!" With Zhou Ruan in trouble, she has to adjust her subsequent plans.

News of Zhou Ru'an's assassination attempt and subsequent unconsciousness quickly reached the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince has terminated peace talks and even threatened to attack the three tribes. We must quickly appoint a commander-in-chief for the Northwest to oversee the overall situation!"

Emperor Renxiao was furious. Dongchuan had suffered repeated defeats, with each urgent report announcing a resounding loss. Just when things were starting to look up in the Northwest, their commander-in-chief was assassinated.

Is it truly Heaven's will to destroy the Great Zhou Dynasty?

"My esteemed ministers, do you have any suitable candidates? Please feel free to recommend them!"

Even in a large hall filled with talented people, no one responded!

Emperor Renxiao was furious again. Just as he was about to unleash his anger with a dark expression, the Left Chancellor stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, I recommend General Shen Lanxi. General Shen previously captured a city with her wisdom and brought peace to the Northwest. Although she is not as brave and resourceful as the Second Prince, who has made many outstanding achievements, she has the advantage of having experience in dealing with the three tribes.”

The Left Chancellor's faction immediately stepped forward to echo their sentiments.

"I also recommend General Shen Lanxi. I believe that General Shen will be able to resist the foreign tribes!"

Emperor Renxiao glanced at the Left Chancellor with satisfaction; the old minister truly understood his thoughts.

"Granted! Also, let the Second Prince retreat to the inner city to recuperate from his injuries. Once he has recovered, he can take over the Zhenbei Army!"

The ministers knew perfectly well that Shen Lanxi was, in all things, only a temporary figurehead.

After Emperor Renxiao left the court, all the ministers in the hall looked at Shen Congwen with a knowing look. His Majesty valued his daughter so much, but this old man didn't say a word. He was quite good at keeping his composure!

Shen Congwen was far from being able to keep his composure; he gritted his teeth and dared not utter a sound.

Upon returning home, he immediately went to his parents' room to tell them the news of the day.

"Has she been pushed up again?" Old Madam Shen asked sternly, her right hand rapidly turning the prayer beads.

"Mother, Lanxi is bound to get into trouble sooner or later. The day the world is at peace, we might very well be held accountable!"

Madam Shen glanced at her eldest son with annoyance. Since returning to Beijing, her eldest son had not only failed to learn to be more tactful, but had become increasingly rigid.

"We still need to clear our names as soon as possible!" Although I don't like my eldest granddaughter, I have to admit that her request to thoroughly investigate the Wei family army case was the right thing to do.

Whether the investigation is complete or not, at least it's a statement.

"Eldest son, did you investigate the Wei family army case that I asked you to do secretly last time?" Old Madam Shen asked.

Shen Congwen: "We investigated, but we have no leads." If we could investigate, we would have found out long ago. The fact that so many people couldn't find out means this is an ironclad case.

As soon as Madam Shen heard her son's tone, she knew he hadn't done his job. Just as she was about to give him a few words of reprimand, her eldest son continued, "Many eyes are on our Shen family. It's better to avoid trouble at this time."

After a moment of distraction, Madam Shen let out a long sigh and waved for her eldest son to go and rest.

In the past, she would never have imagined that the fate of the entire Shen family would be tied to a single woman.

What kind of fate does the Shen family have?! What kind of fate does her eldest daughter have?!

After receiving the imperial edict, Shen Lanxi gave it to Wei Dongzhu.

"It seems that our Emperor is still wary of the Wei family army!"

Wei Dongzhu: "It's the same approach we used when we took over the Southwest!"

Shen Lanxi chuckled lightly: "What's the situation with Zhou Ru'an?"

Wei Dongzhu: "He's lucky. Although he was stabbed in the heart, he didn't hit any vital organs. At most, he'll bleed a lot. He'll recover about halfway in a year or two!"

Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow: "What about the other half?"

Wei Dongzhu raised the corners of his mouth: "He'll probably be frail and sickly from now on, keeping Zhou Yunyue company!"

Shen Lanxi smiled and said, "What a coincidence! It's perfect timing to send them back to the inner city to recuperate. Yuanjing should be much quieter without Zhou Yunyue!"

Shen Yuanjing, who was standing to the side, immediately burst out laughing.

"By the way, the imperial decree also said that we should thoroughly investigate the assassins. Do you have any leads on those assassins?" Shen Lanxi looked at Wei Dongzhu and Shen Yuanjing.

At the time of the incident, the two were inside Huangtucheng.