Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 461 The Beauty is Gone (11,000 words)

Under the bright moonlight, the once quiet Xiongnu camp suddenly became restless.

Seeing this scene from afar, Zhu Xiancai was startled, thinking that the second prince of the Xiongnu, who had been behaving himself for so long, was finally about to reveal his sharp fangs.

He hurriedly took out a gong and started banging it loudly, waking everyone up.

Zhu Xiancai was frantically arranging for the able-bodied men and constables of Yangchuan County, figuring out how to defend the area and how to fight later. He was so anxious that his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

There was nothing he could do; after all, he was just a civil official.

A gentleman may know half of the six arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics, but he knows nothing about military strategy and tactics. It would be too difficult to ask him to command a battle.

Just when Zhu Xiancai was in a state of panic, the opposing camp suddenly closed up, and tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops retreated.

That's right, they withdrew just like that, cleanly and decisively, without any hesitation, as if there were thousands of tigers behind them.

All that remained was a sky full of smoke and dust.

There was also Zhu Xiancai, who stood foolishly and motionless on the city wall until dawn, when the sky was beginning to lighten and no more Xiongnu figures could be seen. Only then did Zhu Xiancai shudder and slam the bronze gong in his hand onto the ground.

"grass!"

"What exactly is this second prince of the Xiongnu trying to do?"

Having completely forgotten the etiquette he had learned, Zhu Xiancai could no longer hold back and began to curse.

He would rather the second prince of the Xiongnu come and attack the county town at all costs than suffer the agony of trying to figure out what the other party was thinking... Of course, this was just wishful thinking; if the second prince of the Xiongnu was determined to attack Yangchuan County, he would be a thousand times unwilling.

……

the other side.

Haixi Grassland.

Anche bone section.

In the past month, Zhang Yaohui has been arguably the most distinguished guest in the Anche Bone Department.

The weapons and food were all handed over, but Zhang Yaohui was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he chose to stay in the tribe.

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to find someone even remotely intelligent in the Jurchen tribes. Even if Anchegu were given weapons and food, he would likely still be no match for Wanyan Guangzhi, who is now a madman.

The majority of the caravan members had already evacuated and returned to Pingyang.

Zhang Yaohui only retained some skills in agility.

As the weather warms up, the snow gradually melts.

These people wandered the Haixi Grassland and gradually gathered a lot of information, such as how six small tribes were wiped out this winter, with their tents, food, and even corpses all disappearing without a trace.

For example, although the Wuji tribe was completely burned down and many people died that winter, the number was much smaller than expected, and they seemed to have enough food to fill their stomachs.

For example, Wanyan Guangzhi had an additional force of several thousand men under his command. This force was like a pack of wolves, with each member being ferocious, violent, and fearless, like madmen.

It is said that the reason why most of the Wuji tribe survived this winter was because Wanyan Guangzhi led his group of madmen to hunt and search for food everywhere.

Based on various intelligence reports and rumors, Zhang Yaohui roughly knew what Wanyan Guangzhi had done that winter. He led a group of his most elite troops to conquer and hunt in the snow. Those vanished small tribes were Wanyan Guangzhi's prey.

Wanyan Guangzhi used all the food in the tribe, even the corpses, as food and brought them back to the Wuji tribe. It was because of these corpses that so many people in the Wuji tribe were able to survive.

When Zhang Yaohui came to this conclusion, even though he was incredibly audacious, he still got goosebumps all over.

This... is truly insane.

Zhang Yaohui had a premonition that this Wanyan Guangzhi would become the new Houxian, Pingyang Prefecture, and even the Marquis, an extremely troublesome enemy.

Although he had no soldiers at his disposal, Zhang Yaohui always wanted to do what he could. So, for the next month, Zhang Yaohui temporarily became the strategist of Anchegu Jilie Khan Sarilang. On his advice, Sarilang led the able-bodied men of Anchegu to launch a surprise attack from behind while Wanyan Guangzhi led the Wuji tribe to the seaside to receive the grain and weapons provided by the Yang family.

Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet.

A fierce battle ensued, darkening the sky and plunging the earth.

It lasted from noon until evening.

Corpses littered the beach, turning the azure sea crimson.

Even the grain that Wanyan Guangzhi ordered people to move down but couldn't transport in time was burned by Zhang Yaohui's men.

The Anche tribe suffered over a thousand casualties, and the Wuji tribe suffered similar losses.

In Zhang Yaohui's eyes, this is a win-win situation.

Because they failed to obtain the grain, the Yang family made another shipment. This time, Wanyan Guangzhi was well prepared, bringing all six thousand of his elite troops. If the Anchegu tribe dared to come out, they would surely make Sarilang bleed on the spot.

Who would have thought that this time, under Zhang Yaohui's leadership, Sarilang led 10,000 elite troops of the tribe straight to the Wuji tribe's stronghold. The poor Wuji tribe's royal court had just been rebuilt, but it was once again trampled to the ground, the camp was destroyed, the stored grain was all looted, and countless men, women, and children of the tribe were killed or wounded.

Especially young children.

The Wuji tribe suffered heavy losses, and Wanyan Guangzhi was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

With the remaining strength of the Wuji tribe, wiping out Anchegu would be no problem, but if the two sides fought to the death, no one could guarantee how many people would be left in the Wuji tribe... Even if Wanyan Guangzhi was angry, he would not do such an irrational thing. He knew very well that once the Wuji tribe and Anchegu fought to the death, the other tribes, such as the Heishui tribe, Mohe tribe, Baishan tribe, Boduo tribe, and Funie tribe, would probably not let go of this opportunity to devour the Wuji tribe alive.

On the Anchegu side, the atmosphere was electric, with bonfires burning every night to celebrate the victory of avenging their great grudge.

As a result, Zhang Yaohui's status in Anchegu also rose, and Sarilang found Zhang Yaohui more and more pleasing to the eye, even planning to marry one of his daughters to Zhang Yaohui.

Anchegu's two attacks dealt a heavy blow to the Wuji tribe and greatly damaged Wanyan Guangzhi's reputation, making him quite infamous on the Haixi Grassland. Many tribes on the Haixi Grassland could also sense that the situation was gradually changing. The disappearance of six small tribes laid bare the bloody reality before every Jurchen... Now, there was no place for the weak to survive on the Haixi Grassland.

To survive, they must either join forces or rely on a powerful force.

Among the seven tribes, those with good relations began to gradually grow closer.

Even weak tribes began to attach themselves to powerful entities.

Once upon a time, the situation of dozens of tribes scattered across the grasslands no longer existed. Now, the Jurchens have vaguely formed four major forces, led by Wanyan Guangzhi's Wuji tribe, Anchegu of Sarilang, the Heishui tribe, and the Mohe tribe.

Chaos has already emerged.

The envelope was sealed with sealing wax.

"Send it to Pingyang and give it to the Marquis." Zhang Yaohui stuffed the envelope into the hand of a man who was a seventh-rank martial artist from the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect and was most skilled in lightness skills: "If the Marquis is not in Pingyang, then give it to Princess Yuheng or Liu Yisheng, they will know what to do."

The man nodded vigorously, stuffed the envelope into his chest, then pushed open the curtain and stepped out of the tent.

Seeing the man's figure disappear, Zhang Yaohui breathed a slight sigh of relief. His face was gloomy, and he rubbed his face vigorously, only to find that his skin had become quite stiff.

Although he was Zhang Ci's son born out of wedlock, he was still a nobleman's son. While he could not be described as handsome and dashing, he was at least dashing and elegant. But now his face looked much more haggard.

The wind and frost on this snowfield are indeed quite severe.

I hope the letter arrives in time; those Xiongnu wolves are not easy to deal with.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the tent. Not long after, the tent flap was pushed open again, and a figure walked in—it was Sarilang.

Zhang Yaohui frowned slightly, somewhat displeased that Sarilang had barged in without an invitation, but he didn't show it. As his hands fell from his face, a gentle smile spread across his face: "Is Jilie Khan looking for me?"

Sarilang laughed and sat down opposite Zhang Yaohui: "Mr. Zhang, your words are too hurtful to me. What kind of relationship do we have? If there's nothing wrong, can't you come to see Mr. Zhang?" Zhang Yaohui scoffed at these words. How come he didn't know when he had become so close to Sarilang?

“However, there really is something,” Sarilang said without changing his expression.

Zhang Yaohui curled his lip. Sarilang had been pestering him these past few days, wanting to learn the etiquette and culture of the Central Plains. Unfortunately, he was a rough man with barbarity in his bones, and he could never learn it.

Thinking this to himself, Zhang Yaohui didn't show much on his face, only raising an eyebrow: "Oh? What is it?"

“Today, the tribal warriors on patrol discovered a large Xiongnu army that has crossed the snowfield and entered the Haixi Grassland,” Sarilang said slowly.

Zhang Yaohui frowned slightly, but his expression didn't change much: "And then?"

“If I am not mistaken, this Xiongnu army’s target should be Xinhou County,” Sarilang continued.

It was absolutely impossible for the Xiongnu army to pass through the Jurchen territory without being detected by the Jurchen tribes living on the Haixi steppe. As for the Xiongnu, their goal was the Central Plains, and they had little interest in the barren land of Haixi, which was not much better than the Gobi Desert.

As long as the Jurchens don't cause trouble, they won't attack Jurchen tribes on their own initiative.

In addition, the Xiongnu were powerful, which created a delicate balance between the two sides.

Zhang Yaohui merely curled the corners of his lips into a slight smile: "Oh? Is that so? But so what?"

“My lord is not someone to be trifled with.”

"Could it be that the Khan of the Xiongnu intends to take advantage of the Xiongnu's attack on Pingyang to get involved as well?"

Sarilang's thoughts were exposed, and his expression immediately became somewhat embarrassed. However, he was a very thick-skinned man, and he simply coughed and said, "Cough cough, how could that be? I have a prior agreement with the Champion Marquis. How could I do such a treacherous thing? I am just worried that Wanyan Guangzhi will not be able to sit still and may make some moves."

In any case, no matter what bad things happen, just push it all onto Wanyan Guangzhi. This guy is a very qualified scapegoat.

Yu Sarilang did indeed have such thoughts in his mind.

If the Xiongnu were to breach the Pingyang pass, he might be able to take this opportunity to raid the Central Plains to the south.

After all, the Central Plains are full of silver, grain, and women.

Every time they went to plunder, they returned laden with spoils.

Zhang Yaohui naturally knew what Sarilang was thinking, and upon hearing this, he merely sneered: "I cannot stop Jilie Khan from doing whatever he wants, but out of consideration for our previous friendship, I can offer him a few words of advice."

"Who was more brutal, the Han Chinese or the Xiongnu?"

“Naturally, it’s the Xiongnu,” Sarilang said without the slightest hesitation.

He couldn't help but add in his mind that before this, the Han people were all sheep, but since Song Yan arrived in Pingyang, this flock of sheep has gradually shown a tendency to evolve into wolves, and their ferocity is not much less than that of the Xiongnu.

"Between the Jurchens and the Xiongnu, who was more powerful?"

"They are the Xiongnu." Compared to the Xiongnu, the Jurchens were as weak as ants, utterly insignificant.

“If that’s the case, how could Jilie Khan believe that the Xiongnu would allow him to lead his men to plunder their spoils?” Zhang Yaohui scoffed and slowly said, “Moreover, does Jilie Khan really think that the Xiongnu can defeat my lord?”

"What if the Xiongnu are defeated?"

"Even if the Xiongnu succeed, as long as my lord is alive, does the Jilie Khan have enough confidence to face my lord's wrath?"

“I know what the Khan wants to do, but I would like to remind him that he should think about the consequences before he does so.”

Sarilang's forehead was covered in a bead of cold sweat.

Feeling a lingering fear, he realized that he had been so focused on the greed for the wealth of the Central Plains that he had forgotten that neither the Xiongnu nor Song Yan were beings he could afford to offend.

The Xiongnu were alright, but the Jurchens were in dire straits, so the Xiongnu were too lazy to raid the Haixi grasslands, since they couldn't get much anyway... But Song Yan was a living devil.

In just one year, the Jurchen population on the Haixi Grassland has been reduced by nearly half, and this is almost entirely due to Song Yan's actions... If Song Yan survives the Xiongnu's attack, the subsequent retaliation will be something I will never be able to withstand.

"As for Wanyan Guangzhi, we don't need to worry about him." Zhang Yaohui smiled. "If he wants to go to the Central Plains to plunder, let him go. If he goes, won't the Wuji tribe be empty? Isn't this an opportunity for Jilie Khan?"

Upon hearing this, Sarilang's eyes suddenly brightened.

That's right. If we can't plunder the Central Plains, it's not a bad deal to raid the Wuji tribe.

Sarilang then left in a hurry, presumably to gather the able-bodied men of the tribe, so that he could raid their home once Wanyan Guangzhi and his men left the Wuji tribe.

Watching Sarilang's retreating figure, Zhang Yaohui cursed inwardly: idiot.

Wanyan Guangzhi had already been raided once, how could he possibly give Sarilang a second chance?
Wanyan Guangzhi was a clever man; he must have known that the Xiongnu were not to be trifled with. His deliberate spread of rumors that he was preparing to march south with the Xiongnu was most likely just to lure a fool like Sarilang into a trap.

Once Sarilang gathers his forces and prepares to raid the Wuji tribe again, he may very well fall into Wanyan Guangzhi's ambush.

By then, there will be no more Anchegu on the Haixi Grassland.

Of course, there was no need to tell Sarilang these things.

In the words of the Marquis, the Jurchens who kill each other are the good Jurchens.

Zhang Yaohui let out a breath, his expression somewhat solemn. Stopping Anchegu and inciting conflict between Anchegu and the Wuji tribe, while also stalling Wanyan Guangzhi to prevent these people from causing trouble for Pingyang at this time, was the best he could do.

However, it is unknown what the situation is like in Pingyang now, and whether it can withstand the attack of the Xiongnu army.

……

at the same time.

Meanwhile, the Khan of the Blackwater Tribe also received a letter from Nakhtoya.

……

The next day.

It's just dawn.

Song Yan opened her eyes.

As always, the beauty beside him was no longer there, only some strands of black hair remained on the pillow.

A faint fragrance seemed to linger in the bedroom.

The bathtub remained quietly on the floor, with some water stains still visible.

Bathtub, bed, table, wardrobe...

Last night was rather crazy.

Song Yan could sense that the woman seemed to be venting something.

Although we don't know who this woman is yet, one thing is certain: she is definitely not the same woman in white in the cave, and she is definitely not my sister-in-law.

That slightly husky, magnetic voice seemed to linger in my ears.

It feels somewhat familiar.

(End of this chapter)