"Great Zhou Martial Saint? Liang, Liang Xiao?!" The Xianbei ruler turned pale, his voice trembling.
The two shared the same name, making him suspect this was Liang Xiao's past life.
It wasn't just him; after the Great Zhou historical records were made public, armies and civilians of all nations held the same belief.
This was why Liang Xiao commanded awe among nations, and the noble clans of Great Liang dared not oppose him.
A man who achieved the highest office, simultaneously controlled military and political power, and possessed divine authority—only rulers understood the implications of this.
Therefore, Mu Cheng's act of holding the nation hostage, though seemingly absurd, did not earn him the reputation of a foolish monarch.
The alliance of the two nations, Liang Xiao's return home, and the retribution from the wilderness unequivocally showed the world that the Great Liang Emperor's actions were truly far-sighted.
This person must not be offended!
Valentine's face grew increasingly grim. "Back then, when my people invaded Great Zhou, two noble clans of the former dynasty, the Wu Dynasty, the Gongyang and Dugu families, remained. They sent people to inform us of the Nine Cauldrons' location, and our King Tianri obtained the Nine Cauldrons, proclaiming my people as the true inheritors of that land."
"With the Nine Cauldrons in hand, my people believed they could sweep across that land under the leadership of the God of War. Who would have thought the Great Zhou Martial Saint, at a young age, took command of the army and swept ours away, slaying the invincible God of War, Achilles! My people were forced to retreat to the desert, hoping to use the harshness of the deep desert to repel the Great Zhou army. But the soldiers of the Great Zhou, led by this man, slaughtered our warriors, and only King Tianri narrowly escaped!"
Valentine's voice grew increasingly mournful, filled with endless hatred and fear.
"King Tianri left behind his last words and the legend of the Nine Cauldrons, but for the next several hundred years, my people dared not encroach upon that land again... Later, we found some Great Zhou historical records in Xichuan. It turned out the Great Zhou Martial Saint discovered that transporting the Nine Cauldrons was too taxing on the populace, so he expanded the territory to the desert, using the Nine Cauldrons as treasures to defend the borders!"
The Xianbei ruler took a deep breath and sighed. "So, later, Great Zhou fell apart. Perhaps the Nine Cauldrons were hidden by the people of the Great Zhou dynasty first? Did Heluo Fu, attacking from the north of the desert, accidentally find the Nine Cauldrons that the Great Zhou people couldn't move?"
Valentine nodded. "Precisely! According to the historical records of the Great Heng Kingdom in the Xichuan region, the King of the East Sea of the Great Heng Kingdom led his troops to defeat Heluo Fu and pursued him, but eventually returned without success. I suspect Heluo Fu, fearing the King of the East Sea would continue the legend of the Great Zhou Martial Saint and recapture the southern desert, buried the Nine Cauldrons and gold in advance!"
"But what truly terrified us was the portrait of the Great Zhou Martial Saint left by King Tianri..." Valentine's voice suddenly trembled noticeably, his whole body shaking. "When I combine it with the recent portrait of Liang Xiao, the Marquis of An of Great Gan, they bear a five-point resemblance..."
The Xianbei ruler, along with the guards and ministers beside him, swallowed with difficulty.
A long silence fell upon the hall. The Xianbei ruler, gathering his courage, broke the stillness.
"Regarding the matter of gold, I believe you..."
Valentine blinked, becoming somewhat curious. "Your Majesty doubts nothing?"
The Xianbei ruler said angrily, "Great Gan suddenly became strong and prosperous. The expenditure on military equipment alone exceeded hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Where did the money come from? Guizi Kingdom suddenly prospered for several decades; where did the money come from? Why did Great Gan suddenly send hundreds of thousands of laborers to the desert? Your legends of the three treasures perfectly explain all this! We Xianbei have indeed fallen for Great Gan's delaying tactic!!"
At this moment, the Xianbei ruler's face was flushed with shame.
Out of reverence for Liang Xiao, he dared not offend Great Gan too much, thus missing the greatest leverage.
If they had marched their troops into the desert, forced Great Gan to negotiate and offer gifts, or even seized the treasures directly, the boost to Xianbei's national strength would have been unprecedented!
"The Guishuang Dynasty and the Peacock Dynasty are preparing for a decisive battle with Great Gan, luring Liang Xiao to fight! As things stand, Your Majesty, do I need to make my suggestion?" Valentine sneered.
"If Great Gan obtains this gold and becomes powerful, and considering our past slaughter of people in the Yan Prefecture borderlands, will we Xianbei have any chance of survival?" The Xianbei ruler, with a grim expression, immediately summoned his generals.
"Notify the front lines to withdraw their troops, march towards the desert, and seize the treasures! We cannot let Great Gan feast alone!"
The Xianbei began urgent mobilization, first dispatching fifty thousand troops north of Yinshan as a deterrent, while also recalling troops from Taiji Kingdom and the northern desert.
In Liaodong, Lü Changhe guarded the front lines, while Mo Hongming and others were responsible for the administration of various counties, aiming for self-sufficiency.
Great Gan, in the northeast and north of Yinshan, was about to face the fury of the Xianbei.
At the same time, the Guishuang Dynasty gathered three hundred thousand troops, twenty thousand of whom were combat soldiers.
There were one hundred thousand cavalry, wearing golden-bordered battle robes, with their horses armored.
And at the forefront of this Tianri cavalry was a heavy armored iron cavalry personally led by Achilles, each man wearing a golden battle robe. The robes were embroidered with a rising sun pattern, with a soaring eagle in the center of the pattern.
Without the pressure from the Guishuang Dynasty, rebel forces in various western regions accelerated the expulsion of invaders from the Tianri clan. However, facing the Tianri clan's siege crossbows, city after city fell. The fallen cities had all their inhabitants massacred by the Tianri clan, with women and children forced into military prostitution and sustenance.
Cities that surrendered voluntarily also had all their young women and children taken away by the Tianri clan under various pretexts, and some young and middle-aged men were forced to become slave soldiers...
General Lü Yi of Great Gan in the western territories, upon receiving the news, immediately reinforced the defenses of all checkpoints, and urgently manufactured heavy weaponry using the diagrams of catapults and three-string bed crossbows sent from the capital via urgent courier.
Liang Xiao was urgently training troops in Yan Prefecture while also commanding the northern forces to reinforce various regions.
The northern territories, with the desert, western regions, and Liaodong as barriers, could ensure safety. However, the security of the three passes was crucial to Great Gan's gold and horse farms, and they absolutely could not be lost.
Half of the Central Plains troops brought by Zhuo Wulüeh rushed to the western territories.
The King of Guizi and other key figures from the Western Regions finally arrived in Yan Prefecture, receiving a warm welcome from the military and civilians.
The nations of the Western Regions were small countries, but their submission to Great Gan held significant importance.
"Father King!"
Father and daughter reunited, Kristie was both surprised and delighted. Just as she was about to step forward, she was signaled to stop by the King of Guizi.
"We are of humble status. We pay our respects to the Marquis of An. We request the Marquis of An to escort us to face His Majesty, and henceforth, as subjects of Great Gan, we shall pledge loyalty to His Majesty!!"
In front of the military and civilians of Yan Prefecture, the kings of the Western Regions knelt before Liang Xiao, crawling forward and offering jade and crystals from their respective countries.
On their way, they had already heard the miracle of the Nine Cauldrons being recovered, further strengthening their resolve to submit to Great Gan.
Liang Xiao immediately asked everyone to rise and promised to arrange for troops to escort the kings of the Western Regions to the capital to receive their rewards.
Inside Liang Mansion, the King of Guizi remained somewhat restrained.
"Father King..." Kristie looked dejected.
"A daughter should avoid her father. Moreover, I am merely the adoptive father of Princess," the King of Guizi said sincerely.
Liang Xiao smiled. "My esteemed father-in-law, you jest. You treated Kristie as your own child, with great kindness and debt. You have also brought treasures to my Great Gan. You are indeed a worthy father-in-law, and His Majesty will surely bestow great rewards."
The King of Guizi was overjoyed but still insisted on addressing Kristie as Princess and Madam Marquis of An, refusing to be too familiar.
Liang Xiao and Kristie did not insist further.
The King of Guizi's humility, restraint, and avoidance of impropriety were actually for the consideration of the people of Guizi Kingdom.
Guizi Kingdom's population was comparable to a large county in Great Gan. Now, they relied on Great Gan's protection and truly had no capital for pride.
Regardless, this father-in-law relationship was now acknowledged by Liang Xiao.
Under Liang Xiao's arrangements, the King of Guizi led the kings of the Western Regions to the capital.
Concurrently, a pigeon post arrived from Liaodong, urgently notifying the northern territories.
"The Xianbei cavalry has been mobilized on a large scale, withdrawing from the Taiji Kingdom area and heading west. They may threaten the desert!"