October of the following year
News suddenly spread through the streets and alleys of the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty that the current emperor had murdered his father and brother, and had even colluded with foreign enemies to hand over the northwest to the Rong and Di tribes.
The public privately sought confirmation, and many received definite information from "insiders".
The emperor's authority was immediately shattered, and some people even posted the proclamation everywhere.
The emperor on the dragon throne was furious and immediately dispatched the imperial guards to arrest those who spread the rumors throughout the city.
In an instant, the streets and alleys were filled with imperial guards, the atmosphere in the imperial city was tense, and blood flowed like a river at the execution ground.
In such circumstances, the death of the First Lady of the Northwest General's Mansion seemed less noticeable.
However, the emperor in the palace ordered several imperial edicts to summon Xie's sixth son and youngest daughter back to the capital to observe mourning.
With no one in charge of the General's Mansion, the Emperor sent palace maids and eunuchs to the mansion to assist the Xie clan in managing its affairs.
The emperor had no idea that while he was scrambling to deal with the crimes he had been accused of, something even more troublesome was about to happen.
It turns out that the people of the Great Zhou, a land of fish and rice, are paying their taxes in silver this year, and no one is paying with grain.
The emperor was quite surprised when he heard the news. There is a rule in the dynasty that if people have no grain, they can use silver instead.
Money and grain are like the chicken and the egg; if you have money, how can you not have grain? And if you don't have grain, where will you get money?
The emperor couldn't understand it, and the officials below him stammered and couldn't give a clear explanation. Since it concerned the very foundation of the nation, the emperor immediately dispatched people to investigate.
What he didn't know was that Xie Manman had already transported the grain to the Northwest and other forces.
She had even pre-ordered most of the grain for next year, and the emperor wanted to buy it? His answer was simply, "No."
Before the grain issue could be resolved, news of the emperor's treason, patricide, and fratricide had already spread throughout the Great Zhou.
Various forces immediately responded, raising the banner of punishing the tyrannical emperor, and the Great Zhou court quickly descended into chaos.
Several conflicts broke out on the border, but the enemy troops were driven out in time by the frontier generals.
Xie Ming, far away in the Northwest, knew that all of that was the result of Xie Teng's hard work over the past year.
Unlike the chaos in other regions, the Northwest appeared remarkably peaceful. In particular, Juma Town, the most difficult town to defend for the Great Zhou Dynasty, had undergone a complete transformation.
The army's training has yielded results, and it has fought many battles in the past year without suffering any defeats, making the Rong and Di tribes even less likely to invade.
Xie Ming also took the opportunity to develop infrastructure and applied the design concept of the Wulingbao to the Juma Town area.
While it may not be said that the bastion was actually built, it certainly resembles it.
The area that used to require more than 100,000 troops to defend can now be reduced by at least 30% of its original strength, which undoubtedly provides a lot of support for the uprising later on.
Xie Teng had a new ambition and was naturally delighted that his younger brother had grown up so quickly.
She had discussed it with her grandfather and father beforehand and handed over the power in her hands to Xie Ming. She then took her confidants to the heart of the Great Zhou.
After Xie Teng left the Northwest, the two generals also left with their trusted confidants to Sanyang City to "keep Xie Manman company".
The northwest defense line was completely handed over to Xie Ming. With the previous arrangements in place, he was not worried about the Rongdi invasion even with the reduction of troops.
However, he still kept his fifth brother by his side and personally taught him.
We can't rely on him alone to lead troops in battle; we still need to train more people.
As for whether the Xie family descendants will fight for power?
Xie Ming could only say: Whatever.
"Young General, news has arrived from Sanyang City."
As soon as Xie Ming returned to his tent, a guard came in and presented him with a letter. He opened the seal and glanced at it; it was Xie Manman's handwriting.
In her letter, she revealed that Xie Teng had sent the women of her family to the Northwest, along with other clansmen in need of protection. She also requested a force of 500 elite soldiers.
Guessing what she was planning, Xie Ming immediately ordered people to prepare manpower, along with "hallucinogenic incense".
After preparing the manpower and supplies, he ordered his men to take people to find Xie Manman.
With the Xie family's two treasures in charge of Sanyang City, Xie Manman has no problem managing the internal affairs of the Northwest.
The Northwest is now firmly fenced off; it remains to be seen how Xie Teng will stir up trouble.
Xie Mansion
When Xie Manman received her brother's reply, she couldn't help but smell it!
Her brother is truly a remarkable person; he hands over the knife with such speed and precision. He must have been incredibly good at hiding his true intentions in his past life, never giving himself away.
She didn't believe that Xie Teng's ambition wasn't instigated by her sixth brother.
Although the three siblings are no longer together, they cooperate with each other as if by telepathy, without the slightest mistake, as if they had planned it in advance.
Today, a tremendous storm is brewing in the world, just waiting for them to close the net and seize it in one fell swoop.
Xie Manman couldn't help but imagine how exhilarating it would be to "ascend to the summit and survey all the mountains below."
Unfortunately, her mother was arriving soon, and she wouldn't be able to play without restraint anymore.
Some things need to be arranged, and some people need to be dealt with.
Looking at the people beside her, she ordered in a deep voice, "Granny Shi, go and invite the two guests living in the back house over. I have something to tell them later."
Granny Shi respectfully accepted the order and left.
After lifting the curtain and stepping out of the room, Granny Shi's heart tightened even more.
Her master had kept everything he did from her this past year, yet he wouldn't let her see a single dirty thing.
She absolutely hates how her young lady has changed from an innocent and carefree noblewoman to what she is now!
Those who committed evil deserve to die. The master was forced to do everything. Heaven should forgive him!
Granny Shi prayed incessantly, but her steps were steady as she went out the door to personally deliver the message.
After seeing that the person had left the courtyard, Xie Manman carefully folded Xie Ming's letter and burned it.
She then went into the inner room with a maid.
Her inner room was different from other women's bedrooms; apart from a canopy bed, it was furnished much like a study.
As they approached the display shelf, a maidservant gave them a push, and the wall behind them slid open to the side, revealing a small door inside.
Xie Manman stepped inside, and the maid quickly lit a candle and followed behind. It turned out that this was a secret room in the mansion.
The room was terribly dark, and the maidservant carefully led the way for her mistress. But her mistress knew the way like the back of her hand, as if she had been there a hundred times before.
After descending dozens of steps, Xie Manman finally stood before an old acquaintance.
Cong Wuyang, limp and hanging weakly on the wall, said listlessly, "Hehe~ what other way have you thought of to torture us?"
"I've tried all the fun ones, so it doesn't seem interesting anymore!"
Xie Manman's words were like a verdict, and those locked inside immediately understood their meaning.
"No! Please! Don't kill me, please! I'm truly innocent!"
Ji Miaozhen lay on the filthy ground, still trying to save her life.
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