The Western Regions, upon receiving the news, united to form an allied army.
The kingdoms of the Western Regions, long oppressed by the Barbarians and the Guishuang Dynasty, had already intended to align with the Great Qian, which had extended an olive branch to them.
Last year, the Heavenly General led troops to drive away the Barbarians, establishing a formidable reputation across the kingdoms, which further solidified the desire of most Western Region nations to submit.
At this moment, representatives from the Western Regions gathered in Guizi, their faces etched with worry.
"King of Guizi, is the Guishuang Dynasty truly so unforgiving that they insist on conquering the Western Regions?" asked a minor kingdom's representative with a goat-like beard, tears welling up in his eyes.
They had extended overtures of goodwill to the Guishuang Dynasty, but for some unknown reason, the Guishuang Dynasty was insatiably greedy, demanding that each kingdom tighten its belt to support them until they starved themselves!
The King of Guizi stated resolutely, "The Great Qian's border guards in the west have already declared that they can provide military support if necessary!"
"The Barbarians are invading the northern three territories. The Great Qian has no ties to us in the Western Regions and is preoccupied with its own affairs. How could they possibly send troops to support a princess of the Western Regions..." everyone murmured doubtfully.
The King of Guizi merely pursed his lips, refraining from explaining.
Guizi still possessed some gold reserves. The matter of the ancient Xiongnu King's treasure map was absolutely not to be disclosed casually, as it could spell disaster for Guizi, and even their allies in the Western Regions might covet it and betray them!
The crowd became even more incredulous.
Just then, a swift horse arrived with a report from Guizi.
"Your Majesty! The Marquis of An from the Great Qian, commanding the Yan Province garrison, has shattered the Barbarians in Yan Province, beheading one hundred and seventy thousand. The Barbarians have fled to the Helan Mountains, and the Barbarian cavalry in Yun Province and Shuofang have retreated without a fight!"
Those present were almost speechless with shock!
"Is this true?" the King of Guizi trembled.
Beheading one hundred and seventy thousand Barbarians… this sounded like false intelligence…
The guard, with excitement in his voice, replied, "Absolutely true! I heard that the severed heads were displayed at the former camp of the Left-Wise King. A Barbarian scout who went to Yan Province to see them was so terrified that he fainted and was captured by patrolling Yan Province guards!"
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief!
One hundred and seventy thousand heads had so terrified a Barbarian scout that he fainted—this was even more preposterous…
The King of Guizi was the first to recover, exclaiming with unbridled joy, "This is the might of the Great Qian! Their western border guards are willing to provide support out of the Great Qian's benevolence. Now, do you all know who to pledge allegiance to! Look at those fools in Loulan, who insisted on colluding with the Guishuang Dynasty. They will face retribution sooner or later!"
After repeatedly confirming the news, the others finally made up their minds to defend the Western Regions with their lives. If forced, they would rather migrate their entire nation to the Great Qian than allow the Guishuang Dynasty to gain any further advantage.
The kingdoms of the Western Regions began to unite and defend themselves.
At the same time, the Grand Marshal of the Guishuang Dynasty was reviewing intelligence in his military camp, sweat beading on his forehead.
"The Barbarians are so easily defeated… We must withdraw immediately!"
A day later, the representatives, led by the King of Guizi, received another report: "The Guishuang Dynasty has suddenly and hastily retreated, moving away from the Western Regions!"
The representatives of the Western Region nations were both shocked and delighted.
The King of Guizi sneered, "It seems they also received news of the Barbarians' crushing defeat and heard that the western border was mobilizing troops, which terrified them into retreating!"
Everyone agreed, their resolve to submit to the Great Qian strengthened once more.
The news of the great victory in Yan Province, conveyed by express riders covering eight hundred li, spread throughout the country, finally reaching the areas of Xichuan, Southwest, and Jiaozhou.
The warlords of the Southwest and Jiaozhou, who had been sharpening their knives, along with the Southern King and the Huichun Sect, were utterly terrified. They were forced to shelve their plans to attack the core territories of the Great Qian and reconsider their strategies!
In Jiangnan, everyone was invigorated. Zhuo Zifang, leading his family, offered sacrifices to the ancient sages day and night, informing them of the great victory. He also sent people to the Great Liang to invite Zhuo Yun once more.
The news, traveling through Jiangnan, finally reached the Great Liang Kingdom south of the Heng River…
The Great Liang Kingdom was thrown into national consternation!
Within the Great Liang Imperial Palace, in the grand hall, civil and military officials, along with Emperor Mu Cheng, all wore grave expressions.
Even Qin Feng, the Marquis of Zhenguo, who was usually calm, found his hand holding the court tablet trembling slightly.
"What do my esteemed officials think of this matter?" Mu Cheng sighed.
The crowd came back to their senses, whispering amongst themselves, before finally cupping their hands towards Qin Feng and saying, "The Marquis of Zhenguo's foresight and wisdom in fostering good relations with the Great Qian and Liang Xiao are admirable!!"
Qin Feng finally regained his composure, torn between amusement and despair.
He had once told Liang Xiao in the capital of the Great Qian that Liang Xiao's talent surpassed his by tenfold, and that with Liang Xiao present, he would never dare to encroach upon a single city or territory of the Great Qian for the rest of his life.
Because of this, and his subsequent advocacy for friendly relations between the two nations upon his return, he had been impeached by his colleagues numerous times and faced considerable criticism from the populace.
Now, the very colleagues who had impeached him were bringing up this matter again, showering him with praise!
Everyone now understood that he had not been showing weakness or being humble towards Liang Xiao…
For the Great Liang to confront the Barbarian cavalry, even achieving ten thousand beheadings would have been a world-shattering achievement!
Yan Liu, the Left Prime Minister, stated solemnly, "Your Majesty, Liang Xiao's prestige is at its zenith. Our people will likely be deeply affected by him. It is even more inadvisable to have him as an envoy to Great Liang!!"
Mu Cheng blinked and smiled, "I will arrange this matter cautiously. We shall see."
Having spoken, Mu Cheng coughed violently, shifting the topic: "How is Consort Su?"
Qin Feng fell silent.
Consort Su was Su Wanqing, the younger sister of Su Wencheng, the Great Qian's envoy. After her captivating qin performance in Great Liang, she had a whirlwind romance with Mu Cheng and had now become Consort Su, a testament to the Great Liang Emperor's greater charm compared to the Great Qian Emperor.
Mu Cheng doted on this woman immensely, and she was now pregnant…
"Reporting to Your Majesty, all is stable!" a nearby imperial physician replied.
Mu Cheng's brow unfurrowed.
Only Qin Feng was filled with unspoken worry.
He had fulfilled all his duties as a subject, yet he had a premonition that Great Liang was brewing with hidden currents. If Mu Cheng were to unfortunately pass away, he alone would be unable to quell the ensuing chaos!
In the Imperial Study, after his coughing fit, Mu Cheng looked at his palm and smiled, "Although the blood no longer spatters, this lung is still severely injured. Son-in-law, protect the second daughter of the Zhuo family, and send someone to invite Liang Xiao! Whatever those powerful aristocratic families fear the most, I, the Emperor, need all the more! I must meet this young man within my lifetime, cough, cough…"
Qin Feng's face was filled with shame and a profound sense of desolation as he quickly agreed.
The court sessions of the Great Qian were held every ten days, with a day of rest in between.
Today was a rest day, and Xiao Qing, disguised as Princess Ning Shuang, openly followed Liang Xiao out of the Imperial Palace.
Today was the anniversary of the founding Prime Minister Zhuo Mingfeng's death. Liang Xiao had specifically brought Xiao Qing and Li Jinyu with him to the Prime Minister's ancestral shrine, dedicated to Zhuo Mingfeng, to pay their sincere respects.
It was precisely because Zhuo Mingfeng had vehemently opposed the prevailing opinion and upheld the red line of retaining thirty percent of official land that the Great Qian possessed vast surplus grain reserves in prosperous years and could provide relief to disaster victims in times of calamity, greatly mitigating the proliferation of displaced persons and bandits.
For this very reason, even the historians of the He family had smeared Zhuo Mingfeng, accusing him of "contending with the common people for profit and staining his later years."
The inscription "All sentient beings suffer, dare not forget" in the Great Qian's Tablet Forest, spanning a century, still resonated powerfully today.
It could be said that without this Prime Minister, the land annexation inherited from the Great Heng period would have been sufficient to quickly cripple the Great Qian.
Furthermore, Zhuo Mingfeng's advocacy for increased tree planting was to develop the paper industry, seemingly recognizing that the development of this industry could break the monopoly on knowledge held by the aristocratic families.
After everyone had paid their respects, Xiao Qing returned to Liang Mansion's courtyard with Liang Xiao and handed him an ancient bronze box and a key.
"Inside is the brocade pouch that the founding Prime Minister left for the Great Ancestor years ago. He said it could only be opened if a sage were to appear. Brother Xiao should take a look."