A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

When Su Qingyun entered, Xiao Guanyin had already put away the rattle drum on the table.

She was afraid that if she saw that thing again, she would remember how stupid she had made Wei Xuan cry.

Fang Fuyao followed behind, dressed in clean white, holding a half-finished scroll of imperial examination regulations in her hand.

As soon as she entered, her gaze first fell on the child in Tuoba Yue's arms, and then she looked at Xiao Guanyin.

"The palace maid said that the two ladies have urgent business."

Tuoba Yue handed Wei Xuan over to the wet nurse, and only after the child was carried into the inner room did she sit up straight, leaning on the edge of the bed.

Su Qingyun frowned immediately when she saw her action.

"You're not fully recovered yet, don't push yourself."

Tuoba Yue smiled.

"Sister Su, if I lie down any longer, I'll become completely useless."

Xiao Guanyin, too lazy to beat around the bush, said directly, "She wants the five major alien races to pay homage to the new Wu and submit to His Majesty."

Su Qingyun's fingertip hovered over the ledger.

Fang Fuyao raised her eyes.

The room fell silent immediately.

It's not that nobody understands, it's that this statement is too grandiose.

Su Qingyun was in charge of money and supplies, and knew best how bad the border was.

The Northern Rong, Western Qiang, Eastern Hu, Southern Man, and Xianyuan—these five groups have been restless since the end of the old Wei dynasty.

When the old Wei dynasty was lenient, it would give money; when it was tough, it would send troops. As a result, even when money was given, people were still robbed; even when troops were sent, border residents still died.

Now, with a single sentence from Tuoba Yue, the five ethnic groups are to submit to him.

This is not as simple as writing a letter.

This is like slamming decades of bad debts onto the table and telling everyone that the old rules are obsolete.

Fang Fuyao looked at Tuoba Yue, her voice very soft.

"The five great alien races have all been defeated by His Majesty before, but they still maintain their independence. How confident are you two in bringing them to submission?"

That was a cold, but also very practical question.

"There's no need to persuade the Western Qiang."

Tuoba Yue spoke, her voice not loud, but her words were delivered with great steadiness.

"I am the King of the Western Qiang."

Su Qingyun's eyelids twitched slightly.

Fang Fuyao also looked at her.

Tuoba Yue placed a royal token on the table.

That was something the former king of the Western Qiang had personally given her; the bronze edges were worn and worn, and the Qiang king's seal was engraved on it.

Xiao Guanyin chuckled.

"There's no need to persuade Xian Yuan for too long."

She sat up straighter and tapped her fingers on the spot where the fresh buds were.

"My father and brothers are all dead, and the remaining uncles are the most shrewd. They used to be able to sway between the two sides because the old Wei was corrupt, the emperors of the Central Plains only knew how to write edicts of peace, and the Northern Rong were good at fighting. Now the Northern Rong have been crippled by His Majesty, the old Wei is gone, and the new Wu Dynasty is rising. They can see that clearly."

At this point, Xiao Guanyin's eyes held a hint of sarcasm.

"If they still don't understand, I'll go back and help them understand."

Su Qingyun tapped the ledger lightly with her fingertip as she listened.

two.

The Western Qiang and the Xianyuan are no longer just possibilities, but two things that can be held in one's hands.

This is scary.

Of the five alien races, two bowed their heads first, and the remaining three could no longer pretend to be blind.

Especially with the Northern Rong just defeated, the Eastern Hu being opportunistic, and the Southern Barbarians being strong, it was impossible for them to simultaneously hold off the Western Qiang, Xianyuan, and Xinwu Dynasty across thousands of miles of miasma-ridden land.

Fang Fuyao looked at the two of them, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in her eyes.

"What about the Northern Rong, Eastern Hu, and Southern Man?"

Xiao Guanyin looked up.

Give me a thousand soldiers.

Su Qingyun stopped pointing.

"one thousand?"

Fang Fuyao narrowed her eyes.

"A thousand soldiers to persuade three clans to submit?"

Xiao Guanyin almost burst out laughing when she saw their expressions.

"You think I'm going to lead a thousand men to fight the southern barbarian elephant cavalry?"

Tuoba Yue also smiled, but the pain in her waist and abdomen made her face turn pale.

Xiao Guanyin immediately frowned.

"Stop laughing, lie down."

Tuoba Yue rolled her eyes.

"Go on, ignore me."

Xiao Guanyin then looked at Su Qingyun and Fang Fuyao again.

"These thousand soldiers are not going to fight the three tribes, but to escort me back to Xianyuan."

Her fingertips landed heavily on the location of the Xianyuan Royal Court.

"Once I reach Xianyuan, I can gather the Xianyuan troops. Then, with Tuoba Yue's royal decree, I can mobilize the Western Qiang army."

She looked up, her tone suddenly turning cold.

"We'll ask the Northern Rong, Eastern Hu, and Southern Man then."

"Surrender is the best course of action."

"If they don't submit, then beat them until they do."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Su Qingyun looked at Xiao Guanyin without saying a word for a long time.

Fang Fuyao's gaze shifted from Tuoba Yue's face to Xiao Guanyin's, and she suddenly asked:

"Aren't you afraid of being accused of treason?"

Xiao Guanyin scoffed.

"I was scolded on the very first day I married into the Wei family."

Tuoba Yue also looked down at Wei Xuan, her voice becoming somewhat subdued.

"After I give birth to this child, the insults from the Western Qiang will only get worse."

She looked up, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Let them curse. Will cursing reduce the number of deaths among the Western Qiang? Will cursing prevent the Northern Rong from swallowing up the Xianyuan? Will cursing stop the Southern Barbarians from interfering?"

Fang Fuyao did not answer.

Tuoba Yue continued:

"If they truly cared for their people, they should know that bowing their heads now is not shameful. Xinwu offers military merits, trade markets, pastures, registration for border residents, and enlistment of children from other tribes. In the past, the old Wei treated us like wolves to be guarded against, and the other tribes treated the Central Plains like meat to be devoured. If this continues, who can survive?"

She gently pressed her fingers on Wei Xuan's swaddling clothes.

"I don't want this child to grow up while people are still dying every year at the border."

Xiao Guanyin's expression stiffened for a moment upon hearing this, but she remained defiant.

"Don't be so soft-hearted. I'm not as kind as you."

She looked at Su Qingyun.

"I just feel that His Majesty will deal with them sooner or later. Making them kneel now is sparing their lives. Once His Majesty has dealt with Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao, and is free to go to the border, it won't be just a thousand soldiers escorting me."

She sneered.

"That's the million-strong army of Xinwu going to exchange their heads for land."

Su Qingyun finally smiled.

"I like hearing that."

She placed the account book on the table, and the abacus beads moved quickly under her fingertips.

"A thousand soldiers are not difficult to manage. They must be elite, not newly recruited troops. When escorting you back to Xianyuan, provisions, horses, messengers, and travel documents must all be prepared in advance."

Xiao Guanyin looked at her.

"how long?"

Su Qingyun said:

"Three days."

Xiao Guanyin's eyes lit up.

Su Qingyun looked at her, but her tone was anything but relaxed.

"But you need to give me a list. Which tribes in Xianyuan can be recruited first, which people should be bribed, which people must be killed, and which people can be spared as a show. Don't tell me you can fight them all; war costs money."

Xiao Guanyin was momentarily speechless, but finally nodded.

"for you."

Fang Fuyao picked up the Western Qiang King's token and looked at it for a long time.

Tuoba Yue looked at her.

"You disagree?"

Fang Fu shook his head.

"I was just thinking about how to write the imperial edict."

Su Qingyun looked up.

Fang Fuyao put Wang Ling back on the table.

"We cannot write about seeking peace, nor can we write about pacification. Xinwu cannot now appear to be afraid of unrest among the border tribes."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

"You need to write the command."

Tuoba Yue's eyes flickered.

Fang Fuyao said:

"Emperor Xinwu issued an edict ordering the five ethnic groups to come to court. King Tuoba Yue of the Western Qiang and Princess Xiao Guanyin of the Xianyuan Kingdom went north to demonstrate the power of the nation, register the border people, open trade markets, and establish military registers."

Su Qingyun continued.

"Those who wish to submit will be granted the fiefdom of Xinwu, permitted to engage in trade and commerce, and their bravest warriors will be recorded in the military merit register. Those who disobey the imperial decree and refuse to submit will be treated as traitors to the border."

Xiao Guanyin grinned.

"How should we deal with border incursions?"

Fang Fuyao glanced at her.

"Execute the ringleaders, relocate the tribesmen, and seize the pastures."

Tuoba Yue held Wei Xuan in her arms and slowly smiled.

"This is more like a decree from the new emperor."

Fang Fuyao looked at them, and the hesitation in her heart finally dissipated.

She had previously heard that the nine women of the Wei family each had their own unique abilities, but she thought it was just embellishment in the rumors.

It wasn't until I entered the Wei family home that I realized the rumors were far too polite.

Liu Jingshuang could wield a sword to suppress a city, Huo Qingluan could use a battle formation to defeat 30,000 soldiers, Xie Daoning could snatch a life from the brink of death in the delivery room, Su Qingyun could force grain merchants in the capital to kneel with just an account book, and Shang Wanqing could disassemble the weapons of a million-strong new army into the cheapest and most lethal designs.

Now that Tuoba Yue has just given birth, Xiao Guanyin is so bored in the palace that she wants to curse.

The moment these two opened their mouths, they demanded that all five ethnic groups submit to them.

This is clearly a group of ruthless characters dressed in plain palace dresses.