"May I ask what your conditions are, sir?"
Looking at the smiling Xi Zhicai, the Xianbei queen's heart calmed down.
Because Xi Zhicai's smile was warm and his eyes were clear, she did not feel uncomfortable at all.
Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "My condition is very simple: I ask the Queen to take all the women and children in the royal city and leave this place, heading south!"
"Alright, I can agree to your terms, sir!"
The Xianbei queen nodded and then said, "But sir, the journey south is long. Could you leave us some food?"
"sure!"
Xi Zhicai readily agreed to the conditions proposed by the Xianbei queen.
"Thank you for your kindness, sir!!"
The Xianbei queen also bowed to Xi Zhicai with a happy expression to express her gratitude.
Having followed Tan Shihuai for over twenty years, she was naturally aware of the losses the Xianbei people had caused to the Han Dynasty over the years.
When the capital was breached, she foresaw her tragic fate and prepared herself mentally.
Unexpectedly, the Han army not only did not humiliate them, but also allowed them to leave and gave them food.
This was undoubtedly an immense act of kindness for them, who were in dire straits.
After rising, the Xianbei queen bowed to Xi Zhicai again: "The Han army is a truly benevolent and righteous force. After I meet with Your Majesty, I will certainly persuade you not to be an enemy of the Han!"
"Let's talk about it after you see it!"
Xi Zhicai smiled and waved his hand, then looked at the guard officer beside him: "Take them outside the palace!"
"Here you go!"
The guard officer agreed and then directed his men to lead the Xianbei queen and others out of the palace.
Watching the departing figures of the people in the palace, Sun Jian frowned and looked at Xi Zhicai.
"Brother Zhicai, we can let the queen and the women and children go, but should we keep Tan Shihuai's sons too?"
"Let's keep them. They're no longer a threat to us, and we might need them in the future!"
Xi Zhicai smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, let's go inside and take a look!"
With that, Xi Zhicai and the other two continued walking towards the palace.
As the three walked, the soldiers occupying the palace carried out boxes of gold and silver treasures they had looted from inside the palace.
Xi Zhicai and his two companions paid little attention to the gold and silver treasures, and instead headed towards the palace library.
"This Tan Shihuai is truly remarkable. If he hadn't encountered His Majesty, he might have actually succeeded!"
Seeing the vast collection of books in the library, Xi Zhicai was filled with emotion, but also subtly praised his own emperor.
Liu Bei picked up a few scrolls and flipped through them casually, then said, "Brother Zhicai, these are just ordinary classics, all of which are included in the Great Han Library. They are not of much use!"
Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "It might not be useful to us, but it will be useful to He Lian. Let him learn about Han etiquette so that he will know what reverence is!"
"That makes sense!"
Liu Bei smiled and nodded, then casually put the books back on the wooden shelf.
As the three talked, they arrived at a wooden shelf at the deepest part of the library, where several parchment scrolls were displayed.
Liu Bei stepped forward, picked up a scroll of parchment, and slowly unrolled it.
"Huh? This looks like script from the Western Regions?"
Upon seeing the text on the parchment scroll, Liu Bei couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.
"oh?"
Xi Zhicai's expression shifted, and he stepped forward to take the parchment scroll from Liu Bei's hand and examined it closely.
Liu Bei couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhicai, what does it say on this?"
Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "Oh, it's nothing, just a geographical record of the Western Regions!"
Liu Bei's brow furrowed: "Oh? So, Tan Shihuai has long harbored ambitions to seize the Western Regions?"
"It should be, after all, there are many supplies that the grasslands in the Western Regions urgently need. If he controls the Western Regions, he will have the strength to contend with the Han Dynasty."
However, the information recorded here is very vague, far less detailed than what the Investigation Division has gathered, and therefore of little use to us!
As Xi Zhicai spoke, he put the parchment back on the wooden shelf and then picked up a few other parchments to look through.
Upon seeing the contents of the trade between the Xianbei and Wusun, Xi Zhicai's expression changed.
"Brother Zhicai, have you discovered something?" Liu Bei asked as he stepped forward.
Xi Zhicai said solemnly, "This record shows that the Wusun exchanged a large amount of ironware, grain, salt, and dancers for a large number of horses from the Xianbei."
"Wusun?"
Liu Bei was slightly taken aback: "Wusun seems to be not far from Dayuan, right? And their horses are better than Xianbei's. Why would they go to such lengths to trade with Xianbei?"
Xi Zhicai said solemnly, "It must be that there has been some conflict between Wusun and Dayuan. Perhaps the two countries have already turned against each other!"
Liu Bei's expression shifted: "This matter is of great value. We need to inform His Majesty as soon as possible so that our people in the Western Regions can prepare!"
“Xuande is right!”
Xi Zhicai nodded, put away the parchment, and then turned to look at the staff officer beside him.
"Have the soldiers move all these books out as well, and then hand them over to the Xianbei Queen to take away!"
"Here you go!"
Upon hearing Xi Zhicai's order, the staff officer immediately led dozens of soldiers to begin moving books from the library.
Xi Zhicai, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian went together to the council hall of the palace and wrote a battle report on the capture of the Xianbei capital and the situation of Wusun. They then sent the report to Juyan by messenger.
After everything was arranged, an advisor came over.
"Master Xi, as per your orders, all the women and children left behind in the Xianbei capital have been brought to the palace. Among them are 4,000 old women, 18,000 young women, and 8,000 children under the age of twelve, totaling more than 30,000 people."
The soldiers were all very well-behaved and did not commit any evil deeds.
"good!"
Xi Zhicai nodded, then looked at Liu Bei and Sun Jian, "Let's go take a look too!"
Let's go!
Liu Bei and Sun Jian responded in unison, and then followed Xi Zhicai out of the palace.
Before long, the three of them left the palace and arrived at the square in front of the palace gate.
Soldiers from the Red Ribbon Army and the Wuhuan cavalry formed human walls around the square, while more than 30,000 Xianbei women and children stood helplessly crammed into the center of the square.
From time to time, the sobs of women and children could be heard from the crowd.
Xi Zhicai immediately approached the Xianbei queen and said gently, "Your Majesty, everyone is here. Please tell your people to take them away."
As for the food you need, I will have it prepared outside the south gate of the city; you can go and collect it yourselves!
"Very well, on behalf of all my people, I thank you, sir!"
The Xianbei queen bowed sincerely to Xi Zhicai, then walked to the group of women and children and told them that the Han army had let them leave.
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