Chapter 247 Renamed the Northern Garrison!
The next day, Shen Yuanhao, sporting dark circles under his eyes, went to report to Shen Lanxi.
"General, we've found out. Yinxing is one of Empress Qi's people."
Shen Lanxi: "Anything else?" On their way to Dongchuan, they were assassinated and poisoned. Was it the Empress's doing?
Shen Yuanhao said regretfully, "No, she doesn't know much either. After Zhou Yunyue was made a princess for a political marriage, she was assigned to Zhou Yunyue's side. She only received the mission before setting off. 'The target is the eldest sister.'"
Thinking of Yinxing's crazy rants, Shen Yuanhao wished he could really retaliate against her tenfold.
Looking at her younger brother's angry face, Shen Lanxi said bluntly, "Did she say that she was ordered by the Empress to ruin my reputation, but she can't kill me?"
Shen Yuanhao glanced cautiously at his older sister, then nodded silently. He then said resentfully, "She got off too easily." It was too easy for her to die.
Shen Lanxi: "Qi Yingqun has no sons and has not brought any princes to her side all these years. What is her purpose in doing this?" Although the Qi family seems to be prosperous, none of its descendants are capable, and it is already showing signs of decline.
Could it be that Qi Yingqun is thinking of having her good-for-nothing brothers and nephews replace her?
It seems I need to inform my sixth senior sister and have her investigate this empress thoroughly.
...
The newly married princess suddenly died of an illness, and everyone naturally assumed that the princess's identity would return to Zhou Yunyue.
Even Zhou Yunyue herself felt that way.
No, that lowly servant girl is dead, so be it. We can't let her be implicated.
Zhou Yunyue immediately started making a fuss about finding Shen Lanxi.
After the guards reported back, they took her there.
"I heard that that lowly maid Yinxing died of a sudden illness," Zhou Yunyue said bluntly.
Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow with amusement: "What, are you reluctant to give up your princess title again?"
Zhou Yunyue had been waiting for these words, so she hurriedly explained, "Who wouldn't want to part with me? I'll be a member of the Shen family from now on, your sister-in-law. If you dare to push me out for a political marriage, you'll be letting down your own brother!"
Shen Lanxi: "So, are you going to keep pushing away the heavy responsibility of marriage alliances and handing over the princess's identity to others?"
Zhou Yunyue frowned. Why was Shen Lanxi speaking so harshly?
What do you mean she gave the princess's title to someone else? That's a princess's title, an honor that countless people would burn incense for lifetimes to obtain.
She gave this title to someone else, and that person should kneel down and kowtow to thank her.
Shen Lanxi: "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you unwilling again?"
Zhou Yunyue scoffed, "Who said I don't want to? I just don't want to talk to you!"
Shen Lanxi: "Then let another palace maid beside you take your place as princess and continue the negotiations!"
Zhou Yunyue didn't expect Shen Lanxi to agree so easily. Sure enough, what woman doesn't care about her family? She would still have to rely on the Shen family in the future, and she dared not offend her own younger brother.
"General, should I give her some medicine so she can never talk nonsense again?" Ban Sicao's brows were furrowed.
Shen Lanxi said indifferently, "Let her make a fuss, it won't last much longer anyway!"
Ban Sicao still felt that it was too good for Zhou Yunyue, so she quickly turned around and went to find Shen Yuanjing.
She'll be Shen Yuanjing's woman from now on. Outsiders can't discipline her, but he himself can, right?
The second wave of exchange teams arrived, and after seeing off the third wave of the Northern Expeditionary Army, Shen Lanxi wrote a grand gesture and renamed the new army.
"Let's call it the Zhenbei Army!"
The three characters "Zhenbei Army" were written on Xuan paper, and someone would take it away in a while to find an embroiderer to sew it onto the flag.
Some of the people below looked puzzled; they thought it would be called Shen Jiajun.
Shen Yuanxu and others were among those who were puzzled.
They quickly realized that the Zhenbei Army was more prestigious than the Shen Family Army, and also, their eldest sister might still harbor resentment towards Zhou Ruyuan.
Zhou Ruyuan was given the title of Prince Zhennan, and his elder sister was called Zhenbeijun.
One from the south and one from the north, it seems the eldest sister wants to challenge Zhou Ruyuan!
At the same time, I had a feeling that my older sister was leaving Dongchuan, such a secure place, and instead went to the Northwest, a place where she knew no one and had no roots.
They definitely wanted to see Zhou Ruyuan make a fool of himself.
After all, Zhou Ruyuan has been here for almost three years without achieving anything. If the older sister makes a difference here, in the eyes of the world, she will be seen as more capable than Zhou Ruyuan.
The older sister just wanted to vent her anger!
No matter how valiant the eldest sister may be, when it comes to matters of the heart, she is still a woman at heart!
Shen Lanxi was unaware of what the Shen family members were thinking, and even if she had, she would have scoffed at it.
The exchange of soldiers between the two sides, and the sheer scale of the event, quickly spread throughout the Northwest, including to the foreign tribes that coveted the Great Zhou.
"General, we've captured six spies this morning!" Xiao Fang reported to Shen Lanxi.
Shen Lanxi didn't hold back her praise: "You have a pair of sharp eyes!"
Xiao was secretly delighted, and before evening he found four more.
The way these spies were dealt with was simple and brutal: they were hung on the city wall as a warning!
A sandstorm blew overnight, leaving a thick layer of ice and snow on the ground.
The scouts hanging from the city wall stood stiff with cold, colliding with each other and making a thumping sound when the wind blew.
When the wind blows, it sounds like ghosts wailing and wolves howling, which is both terrifying and frightening.
Even the spies lurking nearby didn't dare to look up.
"General, Huangtu City is like an iron barrel; our men can't get in. But the scouts who followed the Great Zhou army reported back that they post a conscription notice at the city gate of every city they visit. They must be there to recruit soldiers!"
After listening to the vice-general's words, Hiroshi Abe's large belly kept heaving up and down.
"On the surface, the Great Zhou army wants to negotiate with us, but in reality, they are secretly recruiting soldiers and horses, wanting to fight a desperate battle against our three Turkic tribes."
"General, the internal strife in the Great Zhou court has not been resolved. I think there might be something strange about this matter!" The deputy general analyzed to Abe Hiroshi.
Abe Hiroshi's eyes flickered as he said, "I will continue to negotiate with the Great Zhou. Send more people to check on the Great Zhou's conscription situation and then find out if the internal strife in the Great Zhou court has been resolved!"
"yes!"
A few days later, the Zhenbei Army received a message from a Turkic envoy.
"Our esteemed General Abe Hiroshi said that your Great Zhou Dynasty does not take peace talks seriously, nor does it respect the envoys of the three tribes. You have shown contempt for him by sending a woman to negotiate with him, which is an insult to the warriors of the three tribes. He will unite with the envoys of the Tatars and Persia to hold the Great Zhou Dynasty accountable!"
Shen Lanxi: "I warmly welcome their arrival. Please also pass on a message to General Abe Hiroshi: bring two thousand dan of grain with you when you come!"
The Turkic envoy, who had been so arrogant just moments before, left in a rather humiliating manner.
"How dare he disrespect the general? Do you think I'll let him walk out of Huangtu City unscathed?" Ban Sicao was furious and wanted to chase after him.
Shen Lanxi: "Making threats is just a tactic in bilateral negotiations, a way to provoke conflict." There's no need to take it to heart; anyone can make threats!
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