One family is happy while the other is sad. When Emperor Yonghe was filled with anger, He Shuting was happily sending someone to Longnan to propose the day when Wu Guochang, the prince of Chang'an, turned one year old, he got engaged to Xiao Muyan, the second princess of King Xiao of West. From now on, he was the future son-in-law of King Xiao of West and the brother-in-law of the Tartar emperor. When the good news spread, congratulations came from all directions, even the Queen Mother Man of the Tartars sent envoys to deliver gifts. In order to show his respect for his young son-in-law, King Xiao Wenyuan of Xixiao sent people to sign an alliance with the Chang'an Palace. From then on, the two families became allies, supporting each other and working together for great achievements. Interestingly, the envoy sent by Xiao Wenyuan to sign the contract was Luo Yun, who used to guard Qianzhou. He was an old subordinate of the Wu family. Back then, Wu Ji was willing to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers to go to Xianyang to find He Shuting. For this reason, Luo Yun turned against Wu Ji. After unsuccessful persuasion, Luo Yun surrendered to Xiao Wenyuan. Luo Yun has complicated feelings towards the Chang'an Palace. The Wu family was very kind to him, but he eventually betrayed the Wu family. Human beings are often unable to face up to their own mistakes and like to blame their own faults on others, as if this way they can face everything without guilt. This is the case with Luo Yun. He believes that the reason he betrayed the Wu family was all because of He Shuting. In this matter, he was not wrong, and Wu Ji was not wrong either. The only one who was wrong was He Shuting. He Shuting is the Su Daji who brought disaster to the country and the people, and both King Zhou of Shang and Wu Ji are poor people who were harmed by the evil concubine. It is conceivable that Xiao Wenyuan sent Luo Yun to sign the contract because he looked down on He Shuting from the bottom of his heart.
The person He Shuting sent to sign the contract was He Zongqun. Ever since He Zongqun came, He Shuting has been doing smoothly. All the difficulties she encountered have been easily solved, and opportunities for what she wants to do often come as soon as she thinks of it. The brother-sister relationship between He Zongqun and He Shuting allows them to appear together in front of the public in broad daylight. Those who used to call He Shuting a vixen behind her back have now shut up, because she not only has a godfather, but also her own family. Upon learning that Xi Xiao had sent Luo Yun, He Zongqun volunteered. He Shuting also wanted to know how this former rebel would plan to deal with her, so she readily agreed. It took five days from the beginning of negotiations to the formal alliance. After five days, Luo Yun and He Zongqun became close friends and became good brothers. Luo Yun also brought the wish of King Xi Xiao. King Xi Xiao wanted the two families to get married as soon as possible. After all, the second princess was already thirteen years old, and the prince was already one year old. If it was delayed for a few years, the young prince would only listen to his mother in everything. When the second princess married in by then, the child's personality and preferences would have been formed, and it would not be easy to change them. This made He Shuting a little annoyed. She only wanted to arrange a marriage for her son but never thought about getting married. Her son has just turned one year old. Does marrying a thirteen-year-old woman mean she has to be his mother? The so-called engagement is just a cover for the alliance between the two families. However, Xiao Wenyuan was determined, and He Shuting finally had to take a step back and agree to let Xiao Muyan marry him at the end of the year. However, Xiao Wenyuan refused to give in and demanded that the Chang'an Palace marry Xiao Muyan three months later. Now that the alliance has been signed, the two families have become allies, but they each hold their own views on this matter and neither side is willing to give in. After a month of stalemate, the two families finally reached an agreement and set the wedding date on the second day of August. He Shuting smashed a few cups. She was so angry. She knew without guessing that when Xiao Muyan married, she would definitely bring a few powerful maids and old women with her, and maybe even a guard army of several hundred or even thousands of people. By that time, her son would be in the Xiao family's possession. He Shuting cried and asked He Zongqun to find a solution: "Brother, Guochang is not only my son, he is also your nephew. You don't want to see your nephew fall into the hands of others." He Shuting could foresee that after Xiao Muyan married her, it would be difficult for her to see her son. He Zongqun was silent in deep thought until He Shuting was about to faint from crying. Then he said, "If it doesn't work openly, let's do it secretly." He Shuting was confused and didn't understand what He Zongqun was talking about.
After all, she knew nothing about military strategy. He Zongqun said: "If you trust me, please leave this matter to me. As long as I am still alive, I will not let Guochang become a prey to others." He Zongqun immediately told He Shuting his idea. He Shuting was surprised and happy, thinking that she had really found a treasure. But she was also jealous that He Ran had so many capable people under her. It was a fight between the gods, and there was no place for a strategist like He Zongqun. If He Zongqun already has such ability, then wouldn't the legendary Feng Xieying and Nie Chen be even more powerful? No wonder He Jiang and He Zongqun both advised her to avoid He Ran and not to confront her head-on. After He Zongqun left, He Shuting complained to herself that He Ran was too strong, while she still had to conserve her strength. She didn't know how many more years she would have to wait before she could compete with He Ran. They are all daughters of the He family. Why is God so unfair that he gives all the good things to He Ran, while she has to fight for them through hardships. However, He Shuting felt that, at least in one aspect, He Ran could not compare to her. She has a son! He Ran didn’t! Her son is her confidence. With a son, she can inherit everything from the Wu family and she can rule the court like Queen Dowager Man. As for He Ran, she still needed the help of King Zhao Zhou Jian to raise an army. Now that Zhou Jian is dead, it depends on where He Ran can find an obedient man to be the emperor! Such a great fortune, which man would not be tempted? Obedient? Dream on! When all her power is taken away, what is waiting for He Ran is only the lonely cold palace! Therefore, the husband is unreliable and it is better to have a son. If she has a son, she can be the empress dowager; if she has a husband, she can only be the queen. The emperor can have three palaces and six courtyards, but he only has one mother. He Shuting thought all this through and temporarily suppressed the jealousy and grievance in her heart. She was still luckier than He Ran. Thinking that He Ran was almost married but still unmarried, while her own son was already engaged, He Shuting felt more balanced. Not long after, Empress Dowager Man received a handwritten letter from He Shuting. In the letter, He Shuting cried about her pity as an orphan and a widow, and about Xiao Wenyuan's arrogant face in forcing her to marry him. She hoped that Empress Dowager Man could lend her a helping hand. Empress Dowager Man closed the letter with satisfaction. The grudge between He Shuting and Xiao Wenyuan was exactly what she wanted to see. The Han people are cunning, so how can she let them dominate the world? That’s why she promoted Xiao Wenyuan, and now she wants to promote He Shuting too. Are they allied? What's the good of forming an alliance? Do you want to team up against her? dream! Queen Mother Man believed that there was a foundation of love between her and He Shuting, and now it was time to let this love blossom. So Queen Mother Man asked the young emperor to issue an imperial decree, recognizing He Shuting as his sister and conferring her the title of Princess. Along with this imperial edict, five Dala cannons were also sent to Longxi! These five cannons were given for free. They were given by her, the elder sister, to her younger sister and nephew. Before the appearance of the Benlei Cannon, the Dala Cannon was the best weapon in the world. When Meng Zhong was alive, he always wanted to own one, but at that time even Wu Dongming only had two cannons for show, and they were from the Taizu period and could no longer be used. The predecessor of the Chang'an Army was the Meng Family Army. During those years, the Meng Family Army only did two things: one was to fight the Tartars, and the other was to fight the horse bandits. The generals' military exploits were all built with the heads of the Tartars.
The previous alliance with Xiao Wenyuan had already made many generals dissatisfied. After all, it was no secret that Xiao Wenyuan's daughter was the Queen of Tartar. However, He Zongqun did a lot of work to make the generals understand that this was just a temporary measure, and they gave up. But now the Tartar's imperial edict has arrived, and these generals no longer want to endure it. However, due to the five cannons, the generals did not act rashly. But He Zongqun did not give them time. Once the five cannons were tested, the Chang'an army led their troops to attack Xixiao! Moreover, by the time Xiao Wenyuan learned about this, the Chang'an army had already captured two cities in succession. The speed of their march and the accuracy of their attacks surprised Xiao Wenyuan. In fact, the Meng family army was also very famous in the early years, but in recent years, they have changed their commanders one after another, and later even the military flags were changed. It is said that many good generals have left, and now the Chang'an army is just a group of drunkards. Therefore, Xiao Wenyuan did not take the Chang'an Army seriously at all. He married his daughter to the Chang'an Army and had no intention of engaging in a head-on confrontation with the Chang'an Army. He even wanted to take over the entire Longxi County without losing a single soldier. If Xiao Wenyuan had not underestimated the enemy, the Chang'an Army would not have won today. The soldiers of the Chang'an Army were holding back their anger. He Zongqun did not lie to them. Everything before was just a delaying tactic. Now they could finally start fighting. The Chang'an Army regarded the Xixiao Army as Tartars. Who was Xiao Wenyuan? He was the father-in-law of the Tartar Emperor. He was not only a Tartar, but also a traitor! With successive victories, the morale of the Chang'an army was high. They had not had such a thrilling battle for several years, and this battle was extremely enjoyable. Xiao Wenyuan never expected that he would be pecked by the weakling in his eyes. He was furious and sent his eldest son Xiao Ying to lead the troops to fight. Although Xiao Ying was the eldest son, he was not the crown prince. Xiao Wenyuan was reluctant to confer the title of crown prince. For this reason, Xiao Ying's mother and his maternal family were very dissatisfied. Xiao Wenyuan was in his prime, and the concubines in the harem were still giving birth to him, while Xiao Ying was only sixteen years younger than Xiao Wenyuan. A hundred years after Xiao Wenyuan, Xiao Ying would also be very old, and by that time, Xiao Wenyuan would most likely make the young prince the crown prince. Therefore, Xiao Ying was also holding his breath in his heart. He had already sensed his father's liking for his other brothers and his indifference towards himself. Normally, when good things happen, he is never thought of. Now that a war is about to break out, they ask him to fight. Are they treating him as a fool? Xiao Ying's uncles were originally generals under Xiao Wenyuan. After Xiao Wenyuan became king, these uncles only got empty positions and had long been resentful. Now that they heard that Xiao Ying was going to lead the troops, they ran to Xiao Ying to offer advice. Xiao Ying asked for 30,000 military expenses before sending out troops. Only after getting the silver did Xiao Ying send out his troops. Xiao Wenyuan was furious in the palace, scolding this unfilial son and even threatening him with sending troops. He regretted letting Xiao Ying stay in the army. Xiao Ying has military power, which is a very dangerous thing. Xiao Ying had followed the generals to fight bandits when he was eight years old, so he did have the capital to threaten Xiao Wenyuan. Xiao Ying led his troops to fight, and the Chang'an army retreated a hundred miles. The victory report was sent back to the royal city. Xiao Wenyuan was overjoyed, but he also became more determined to take back the military power from Xiao Ying. When Xiao Wenyuan returned to the palace, he went to visit his favorite concubine, Xianglan. Unlike Emperor Yonghe who only wanted to marry into aristocratic families, Xiao Wenyuan, who grew up in the northwest desert, only liked seductive and hot beauties. Xianglan's mother was a Hu woman and her father was a Han Chinese. She had skin as white as cream, soft and plump lips, and a well-proportioned figure. Xiao Wenyuan was deeply fascinated by her at the first sight. But although Xiao Wenyuan liked her, he didn't want her to give birth to a child with Hu ancestry. The descendants of the Xiao family had noble blood, so how could they be confused? Therefore, as soon as Xianglan entered the palace, she drank the abortion soup. No matter how favored Xianglan was, she would not get pregnant. Xianglan didn't care about it. What she was best at was dancing, and pregnancy would only make her dancing less graceful. Xianglan sat in Xiao Wenyuan's arms and breathed softly in his ear, making Xiao Wenyuan feel itchy.
In the mandarin duck tent, Xianglan confided her sorrow to Xiao Wenyuan. The eldest prince had won, and everyone was praising his bravery, but she was very scared. The next morning, Xiao Wenyuan reluctantly left the land of gentleness. As soon as he walked out of Xianglan's yard, a confidant ran over. Xiao Ying wants money again! Yes, since they had won, they had to reward the meritorious officials. Xiao Ying asked for another 30,000 taels! Xiao Wenyuan was furious. Xiao Ying, that beast, was sucking his blood. If this continues, one day, Xiao Ying will lead his troops to force the emperor to abdicate! Judging from Xianglan trembling in his arms last night, Xiao Wenyuan could almost foresee that once Xiao Ying, the rebellious son, gained power, he would definitely not let him survive. He did not die at the hands of the Tartars, nor at the hands of the Ran army, nor at the hands of the Chang'an army, but in the end, he became a prisoner of his own son. Xiao Wenyuan gritted his teeth and said to his confidant: "Give him some money. I want to see how many lives he has to spend my money!" After seeing Xiao Wenyuan off, Xianglan yawned lazily. He Zongqun wanted to use her, and she also wanted to be used by He Zongqun. She dreamed that someone would use her to deal with Xiao Wenyuan. If someone took her away immediately after she killed someone, she would definitely stab Xiao Wenyuan to death without hesitation. She hated that old beast! She had never thought about having children, but not wanting to have children was different from not being able to have children. Xiao Wenyuan actually forced her to drink the sterilizing drug. Just based on this, Xiao Wenyuan should be put to death and should have no children or grandchildren. He Zongqun said that as long as Xiao Wenyuan fell, he would send her away. She could go to the capital or find her fellow Hu people. The world is so big that she can fly freely. She has her beloved man, who has been waiting for her. One day, she will ask He Zongqun to send her to that man. (End of this chapter)