RWNEFE -Chapter 285 Once Again Compared to Zhou Ruyuan!

At the Imperial Court

Emperor Renxiao had been receiving news of Zhou Ruyuan’s continual defeats. His face had darkened long ago, and he hadn’t smiled for quite some time.

At today’s court session, an urgent dispatch arrived—eight hundred li at full speed—reporting that the Zhenbei Army had fought a bloody battle against the Turkic Three Tribes and won a narrow victory.

This news instantly dispersed the dark clouds hanging over the court, letting in a burst of light.

“Excellent! The Zhenbei Army has done well. The pacification of the Northwest is just around the corner!” Emperor Renxiao praised angrily, laughing several times in succession before finally venting the pent-up frustration in his chest.

The civil and military officials in the hall all lowered their heads, their expressions hard to describe.

One was the once-mighty Prince of Zhennan; the other was a formerly spoiled noble lady renowned throughout the capital. The key point was that the two had once been husband and wife.

Although they had divorced only days after their marriage, they had still shared the title of spouses.

Whenever anything happened to either of them, the two were inevitably compared.

In the past, it was always the woman who was criticized by the masses. This time, however, the one suffering defeat was the man—and given their identities, it was impossible not to draw comparisons.

The so-called God of War of Great Zhou couldn’t even measure up to a woman. That title now seemed downright laughable.

After his moment of joy, Emperor Renxiao’s heart once again filled with anger and disappointment.

What was the third prince doing? How could he not even compare to a woman? The troops he commanded were all elite soldiers, while half of Shen Lanxi’s forces were female guards, and the other half old and weak. If this got out, wouldn’t it become a public joke?

“Your Majesty is wise—this is all due to Your Majesty’s brilliant planning!” A court official immediately stepped forward to flatter him.

Emperor Renxiao withdrew his smile and said nothing.

“The Northwest’s victory is entirely thanks to Your Majesty’s concern for the frontier. At the slightest disturbance, Your Majesty personally gives instructions!”

“The victory in the Northwest is all due to imperial grace—”

Hearing the officials repeatedly cry “Long live the Emperor,” Emperor Renxiao’s mood improved considerably.

“The grain and supplies the court dispatched—has it been some time already?” he asked.

An official from the Ministry of Revenue immediately stepped forward. “Reporting to Your Majesty, if there are no delays, the provisions should arrive in the Northwest within the next two days!”

Emperor Renxiao thought to himself that since the Zhenbei Army had won a victory, he had also fulfilled his promise by granting rewards.

“As long as supplies are delivered on time, the Zhenbei Army will fight bravely and expel the Turkic Three Tribes from the Northwest as soon as possible!”

In his mind’s eye, Emperor Renxiao already saw the Three Tribes driven out of the region.

“Your Majesty,” another official said, “this minister believes more supervising eunuchs should be dispatched. Shen Lanxi is but a woman, lacking sufficient resolve. Sending supervisors will urge the Zhenbei Army to reclaim the cities as soon as possible!”

Emperor Renxiao frowned, then listened as other officials spoke.

“Your Majesty, this minister believes the Zhenbei Army has fought with great courage and should be rewarded, to display both imperial grace and authority.”

Emperor Renxiao nodded. With the emperor far away by thousands of li, he couldn’t allow the soldiers to recognize only their commander and not the sovereign.

“The Zhenbei Army has meritorious service in battling the Three Tribes. In addition to rewards based on military merit, grant them another thousand taels of gold, several residences in the capital, and a thousand jars of imperial wine.”

“Boundless imperial grace! The Zhenbei Army will certainly give its all to defend Great Zhou!”

…

Che Mingyuan once again entered peace negotiations with Abu Khan.

Shen Lanxi said, “No rush. Reclaim one city every three months—that will suffice.”

Che Mingyuan and Wei Dongzhu—one civil, one military—negotiated when possible, and fought when negotiations failed.

After night fell, a detachment set out toward the capital.

Three days later, they met up with Xiao Fang and the others.

Looking at the winding convoy of transport carts, Shen Lanxi asked, “Have the provisions been inspected?”

At the mention of this, Xiao Fang and the others’ faces turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

“They’ve been checked. It’s inferior grain—mixed with weeds, stones, and sand.” If this were Xiao Fang in the past, he would have already fought the officials responsible for the handover.

Now… the fact that the court was willing to send them grain at all was already something.

Shen Lanxi was furious as well. “How much clean grain can be sifted out?”

Xiao Fang replied grimly, “Probably a bit over half.”

“Years of warfare,” Shen Lanxi said, “have left many regions full of starving corpses. The court is probably just keeping up appearances.”

Even if higher officials wanted to embezzle, there was no grain left to steal.

Dongchuan and the Northwest—two major grain-producing regions—had paid no taxes for years. Among the remaining grain-rich regions, two were occupied by rebel princes.

Xiao Fang sighed helplessly. “The grain transport officials who handed over to us kept complaining the moment they saw us. Their pay hasn’t been issued for almost a year, and they can’t even afford white flour anymore—they’re surviving on coarse grains.”

As he spoke, Xiao Fang laughed. They sounded less like transport officials and more like beggars.

“At least things are good on our side!” Not only did they have white flour, but also meat and vegetables.

Shen Lanxi asked, “On your way here, did anyone keep an eye on you?”

Xiao Fang shook his head shamelessly. “We walked and sifted the grain at the same time. If someone still wanted to rob us under those conditions, then let them!”

After all, they’d only be robbing a pile of stones and sand—and would still have to sift it themselves.

Shen Yuanxu added, “Let’s not be spoiled by good fortune. Those transport officials we dealt with—their horses were so thin they looked like mules.”

Shen Lanxi couldn’t help but laugh. Whoever came up with the idea of sifting grain while traveling was truly something else.

By the time their group returned to the city, Wei Dongzhu had already clashed with the Turkic Three Tribes three times.

The situation had completely reversed. Before, the Three Tribes had been besieging the city; now it was Wei Dongzhu and Liang Shao leading troops to press against the city walls.

They weren’t in a hurry. Every day, they took turns hurling insults beneath the walls—setting out in the morning, returning to camp at noon to eat, heading out again after resting, and only withdrawing at nightfall.

This slow, deliberate pressure finally made Abu Khan anxious.

“If they want to fight, then fight. If not, continue peace talks. What does it mean for them to do this every day?”

“Do they really think they can force me to hand over the city without losing a single soldier?”

“Impossible! Tomorrow, we open the gates and fight them!”

“General, please calm down,” a subordinate urged. “What if this is a psychological tactic? I’ve heard that once Great Zhou’s Second Prince Zhou Ruan recovers, he’ll return to replace Shen Lanxi. Why don’t we bypass Shen Lanxi entirely and negotiate directly with Zhou Ruan?”

Abu Khan thought for a moment, then slapped his own head hard.

He’d been so anxious that he’d forgotten about this.

Great Zhou was far more rigid in ritual and propriety than the Turkic lands. Women were expected to stay within their homes, while men were the heads of families. Women’s status was low—lower even than cattle and sheep.

How could such a court possibly allow a woman to command the army?

Previously, he had gotten along quite well with Great Zhou’s Second Prince, who had expressed plenty of dissatisfaction with Shen Lanxi in their conversations.

He could completely use this to stir things up—using Great Zhou’s own people to eliminate Shen Lanxi.

“Arrange for someone to deliver a message to Great Zhou’s Second Prince.”

“Yes!”

Three days later, a rumor spread throughout the Northwest.

“Do you know why the Zhenbei Army has been holding position outside the city without attacking?”

“They’ve colluded with the Turkic Three Tribes—they want to rebel!”

“I heard the assassination attempt on Second Prince Zhou Ruan was also connected to them. They’ve long been in cahoots, plotting to dominate the Northwest!”