Chapter 282 Did I beg you to negotiate?
Knowing that she would definitely ask about the assassin when she returned, Wei Dongzhu intensified his search.
"It's strange, those assassins seemed to have vanished without a trace!"
Shen Lanxi, recalling an incident from Dongchuan, immediately raised an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't two others die? Did those two have any obvious distinguishing features?"
Wei Dongzhu shook his head: "They don't have anything on them that can identify them. I suspect they are related to the assassins from Mosang Town!"
Shen Lanxi also realized this. She connected all the events and felt a chill run down her spine.
How could she forget the people who had been chasing them all the way after their exile?
Could these people be the same group of people?
If they really are the same group of people, doesn't that mean someone has been eyeing the Shen family for a long time?
Her death was not a simple case of mistaken identity; it was very likely premeditated.
Shen Lanxi slowly clenched her fists.
"Has the city been searched?"
Wei Dongzhu: "We investigated and found several secret passages. If you follow the passages, they lead directly to the outside of Huangtu City!"
Something flashed through Shen Lanxi's mind quickly, but it was too fast to grasp.
She sensed its importance and immediately pressed for details: "Where is the secret passage located?"
Wei Dongzhu: "If I hadn't personally searched the abandoned houses this time, I probably would have found nothing!"
Who would have thought that there would be a hidden paradise in an abandoned house?
Shen Lanxi suddenly remembered the secret passage dug by the people who called themselves the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect when she was exiled, and how they sent all the refugees to the mountains to forge iron.
Connecting all these clues together, she came up with a bold hypothesis.
This man called Zhou Tianzi had long planned to use the chaos in the northwest to stir up the political situation. His ultimate goal was to rebel!
But there was still one problem she couldn't figure out.
Why did the Zhou emperor poison her?
Why are they relentlessly pursuing the Shen family? Did they offend this person, or did they get in their way?
"General, I've had soldiers guarding the secret passage!" Wei Dongzhu thought Shen Lanxi wanted to go and check.
Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and said, "Seal it off completely. Keep a close eye on the Zhenbei Army these next few days and see if any shady characters have managed to sneak in!"
Wei Dongzhu understood: on one hand, they needed to investigate the assassins, and on the other hand, they needed to get rid of Zhou Ru'an's people.
"Yuan Jing, you and General Wei should handle this matter together. The Zhenbei Army should still be led by our own people. As for the people who came with Zhou Ru'an, let them go and recuperate!"
Of course, they couldn't say they were going to recuperate; they had to say they were escorting someone.
"yes!"
Holding the imperial edict, Shen Lanxi leaped forward and stood in front of the Zhenbei Army once again.
While the Zhenbei Army was being reorganized, the three Turkic tribes were not idle either. They assembled a large army and soon their troops were at the city gates.
Shen Lanxi had Wei Dongzhu on her left and Liang Shao on her right.
Holding the Moon-Companion Blade, she gazed intently at the three clans in the distance. With a flick of her blade, she let out a deep shout.
"Soldiers, it's time to retake our city and avenge the fallen citizens of Great Zhou, as well as the soldiers who defended the Northwest!"
"Revenge! Revenge!" The shouts shook the heavens.
The three Turkic tribes never expected that Shen Lanxi would actually do it. How could a mere young woman dare to command her soldiers to fight the enemy?
Has she seen blood and dead people on the battlefield?
Isn't she afraid of angering those three clans, causing them to mobilize their entire forces and pacify the Northwest?
If she dares to make any rash moves, she will become a criminal subject of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"To avoid widespread bloodshed and rivers of blood, I will give them another chance and send someone to negotiate with Shen Lanxi." Abe Hiroshi said with a stern face and a disdainful tone.
"Changing generals in the middle of battle is a major taboo in military strategy. Tell our soldiers that the Great Zhou is commanded by a woman. This woman is timid and cowardly, and not worth mentioning!"
"yes!"
Skilled generals know that whether you win or lose, it's still about making peace.
It would be better to let the Great Zhou cede the spoils now without losing a single soldier, as this would benefit their three clans.
"Their Great Zhou may seem to have many soldiers, but in reality, half of them are women and the other half are elderly. They are not as strong and well-equipped as our three clans, whose soldiers are all strongmen and great warriors!"
So what if Shen Lanxi is strong? She's just one person, not the entire Zhenbei Army. He can simply send more soldiers and use a war of attrition to exhaust her!
Shen Lanxi encountered envoys from the three tribes a mile outside the city.
"Peace talks?"
"Can!"
The envoys from the three tribes were about to smile when they heard Shen Lanxi say, "Return all the cities you have occupied, and then compensate my Zhenbei Army with 100,000 dan of grain, 10,000 cattle and sheep, funds for their departure, and release the slaves you have taken from various tribes and the Great Zhou. Then I will accept the peace talks!"
The envoy immediately retorted angrily, "You have absolutely no sincerity in negotiating peace!"
Shen Lanxi: "Did I beg you to negotiate?"
One sentence left the envoy speechless.
The envoy knew that if he relayed this message back, General Abe Hiroshi would surely kill him.
"General Shen, the peace talks we're discussing are the same as before, involving a marriage alliance!"
Wei Dongzhu said coldly, "There will be no more marriage alliances in the future!"
The envoy's expression changed. He glared at Wei Dongzhu, his face flushed, and said, "Is this the will of your Great Zhou Emperor, or just yours alone?"
Shen Lanxi: "This is the will of our entire Zhenbei Army!"
The envoy's eyes darted between Shen Lanxi and Wei Dongzhu, and he gritted his teeth as he angrily said, "Your Great Zhou Emperor's intention was to establish a marriage alliance with our three clans, but now you two are saying no. Does your word count, or does the Great Zhou Emperor's word count? Do you think your words have more weight than the Great Zhou Emperor's?"
Liang Shao angrily retorted, "You, a mere envoy from three clans, dare to try to sow discord between the ruler and his subjects of the Great Zhou? Do you think no one can see your blatant wolfish ambitions?"
Wei Dongzhu's men were about to attack the envoys from the three tribes.
Seeing their menacing expressions, the envoys from the three tribes dared not linger any longer and hurried back to report.
Liang Shao asked Shen Lanxi, "General, shall we really fight or negotiate?"
He realized that a real fight wouldn't be so easy!
Wei Dongzhu: "Of course it's a real fight. The three Turkic tribes must pay for their blood debts!"
Liang Shao glanced at the calm and collected Shen Lanxi, then at the sharp and murderous Wei Dongzhu. Why didn't these two agree on this?
Shen Lanxi said, "If peace talks fail, then let's fight!"
Liang Shao thought to himself, "Just as I thought." His younger brother's thinking was still a bit naive; no wonder the two of them were still like this.
Shen Lanxi led her army on a sweeping campaign, ultimately forcing the three Turkic tribes to retreat ten miles.
"The three Turkic tribes are afraid of our Zhenbei Army!"
"Once the three clans hand over the city and pay us compensation, then we'll kill them!"
This incident boosted the morale of the Zhenbei Army to an unprecedented level.
Council Hall in Huangtucheng
Che Mingyuan pointed to the map and said, "This route we chose just happens to avoid the three Turkic tribes. Old Cheng, your idea is excellent!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
