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

After news spread that the leader of the White Wolf tribe was about to enter the capital, the atmosphere in the capital became subtle.

Three layers of people had already gathered outside the city gate.

"I heard he has a wolf's head?"

"Who told you that? The White Wolf Clan aren't monsters!"

"Then why is it called the White Wolf Tribe? It has to look like a wolf, right?"

"I heard from the courier that the horse he rode was taller than our city gate."

Several ordinary people crowded on the roadside, and their talk became increasingly outrageous.

The soldiers guarding the city turned pale upon hearing this, and despite several attempts to drive the man away, they were unable to do so.

The message traveled from the Western Regions to the capital, and within just two days, it had already changed more than a dozen times.

Some say the White Wolf tribe leader came to submit, leading his people to beg Xinwu to take them in.

Some say his brother died at Yangguan Pass and that he came to the capital to assassinate the emperor.

Some whispered that the White Wolf tribe was hiding a cavalry force, just waiting to overturn the table once they entered the city.

No one in the imperial court dared to say these things openly, but in private they said even harsher things than the common people.

Li Huai personally went to the post station outside the city.

He first inspected the walls, then the gate, then had someone measure the stables, and finally the distance from the outer courtyard to the main hall.

The official in charge of the repairs followed behind, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Lord Li, the walls of the post station are already high enough."

Li Huai squatted against the wall with a ruler in his hand, without even raising his head.

"How tall is 'tall'?"

"Six feet."

"Can the White Wolf tribe's cavalry cross the river?"

The official got stuck.

Li Huai stood up and handed the ruler back to him.

"Add two more feet."

"But this is just a guesthouse for receiving envoys..."

"He brought two hundred guards with him."

Li Huai looked at the wall, his expression unchanged.

"If you think they're just guests, then tear down the wall. Guests don't need walls, and prisoners don't need walls either."

The official opened his mouth, but dared not say anything more.

Li Huai took a few more steps forward and pointed to the alley next to the post station.

"Block it."

"Even the alleys are being sealed off?"

"The White Wolf tribe will move in, and the alley will be their escape route. The capital cannot allow two hundred people who have been through battles to move around freely."

He spoke toughly, but he knew in his heart that he couldn't push people too hard this time.

Bai Tukui was no ordinary envoy.

His brother, Jin Guanren, died at Yangguan, and the White Wolf tribe and Xinwu had already formed a blood feud.

The reason the other party is now willing to bring people into the capital is not because he is afraid, but because he is still willing to give Xinwu a chance to talk.

If the inn is set up like a prison, Bai Tu Kui will see not courtesy, but humiliation when he enters.

But if no precautions are taken, no one knows whether those two hundred guards will cause trouble in the city.

It's not easy to strike the right balance.

Li Huai stared at the main gate of the post station for a moment and then gave the order:

"Raise the walls, thicken the gates, and forbid placing long weapons in the courtyard. The Imperial Guards will guard the outer perimeter, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards will keep watch, but they are not allowed to deliberately show themselves in front of the White Wolf Tribe."

"What if they find out?"

"So what if we found it?"

Li Huai turned around.

"As long as there's no evidence, they'll pretend they didn't see it. If someone really makes a move, they'll take them down within three steps."

After he finished speaking, he added another sentence.

"Don't hurt Bai Tu Kui."

The official asked in a low voice, "What if he resists?"

Li Huai glanced at him.

"Then break the guard's legs first, but don't touch him."

The words were harsh, but Li Huai felt no relief whatsoever.

The leader of the white wolves has come to see the man who killed his brother.

If he were to actually draw his sword in the capital, more than just a few people would die.

The White Wolf Clan's three-hundred-year journey home will also be severed with a single stroke.

In the imperial study, Wei Zhao had been staring at the map of the Western Regions all day.

The map was laid out on the table, with Yangguan Pass, Yumen Pass, and the old territory of the Bailang tribe marked with vermilion ink.

The road that runs across the desert originally belonged to the White Wolf tribe, but it has now been regained by the Xinwu army.

Fang Fuyao sat beside her, holding a cup of tea in her hands.

"Your Majesty, the news has spread throughout the capital."

"What was sent?"

"Some say Bai Tu Kui has a wolf's head, some say he's going to come into the city to kill you, and some say he's nine feet tall and can eat three sheep in one meal."

Wei Zhao looked up at her.

"I'd like to meet this person."

Fang Fuyao's lips curled up slightly.

"If it were truly nine feet tall, Li Huai would probably raise the gate of the post station by another two feet."

Wei Zhao didn't laugh for long before turning his gaze back to the map.

It doesn't matter what the common people call the White Wolf tribe. The real problem is Bai Tu Kui himself.

This man carried neither a sword nor his usual longbow, yet he brought two hundred guards with him into the capital.

He didn't come here to risk his life.

But he certainly didn't come to kneel down and beg for mercy.

Bai Tu Kui wanted to see Xin Wu, Wei Zhao, and the place where his brother was killed—what it really looked like.

Only after seeing it will he decide whether the White Wolf tribe should acknowledge Xinwu as their leader or lead the rest of the tribe into the desert.

Wei Zhao was not afraid that he hated her.

If it were Wei Zhao, even if his nine elder brothers had died at the hands of outsiders, he wouldn't have admitted defeat just because of an imperial edict.

What's frightening is that after Bai Tu Kui finishes reading it, he won't say anything and will continue to guard the broken road with his people.

In that case, the map will be returned and the road will be sent back, but the hatred will still remain.

"He's not here to fight." Wei Zhao closed the map and handed it to Fang Fuyao.

"We're not here to surrender."

Fang Fuyao took the map and looked up at him.

"Then what is he here for?"

Wei Zhao got up and walked to the window.

"His brother died in Yangguan, and he had to come and see for himself what place and who killed his brother."

He paused for a moment.

"After watching it, I realized whether or not I should have given up my people's lives."

Fang Fuyao lowered her head and touched the edge of the map.

"What if he still refuses to submit after reading it?"

"Then let's continue talking."

"What if the negotiations don't go well?"

Wei Zhao turned around and his gaze fell on her face.

"It's okay if the negotiations don't go well, but they can't break down completely."

The words were spoken very plainly, but Fang Fuyao could hear the weight behind them.

If Bai Tukui dies in the capital, the White Wolf tribe will immediately hold Xinwu accountable for this blood debt.

If he were sent back humiliated, the White Wolf Clan would never believe a word Xinwu had ever said.

The new warriors can defeat the White Wolf tribe, but they cannot resolve the 300-year-old grievances with just one battle.

"I will go and inform Li Huai."

Fang Fuyao stood up.

"In terms of etiquette, we cannot afford to lose even a little."

"Um."

Wei Zhao glanced at the map of the Western Regions on the table again.

Next to that picture were the shipyard ledgers sent from Quanzhou.

Before the envoy from the west even arrived in the capital, news had already arrived from the sea route in the southeast.

As evening fell, an urgent report from the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion was delivered to the Imperial Study.

Hua Jieyu didn't beat around the bush and placed the secret letter in front of Wei Zhao.

"Liu Jingshuang's letter."

Wei Zhao opened the package, but after reading only two lines, his brows furrowed.

"Ke Zhenchuan's remnants have appeared south of the Qiongzhou Strait and are resupplying and resting on the islands of the South China Sea. They number about 7,000 and may return in three months."

Hua Jieyu stood by the table, her voice lowered.

She said the defenses along the southeast coast were complete, and Shang Wanqing's new ship was still under construction.

Wei Zhao did not speak immediately.

Seven thousand people.

This number may not be large, but it's enough to cause trouble at sea.

Ke Zhenchuan was not a bandit.

He understood naval affairs, supply lines, and how to bring together a group of desperados.

Burning his grain ships would only force him to retreat south, not kill him completely.

Give him three months to resupply, three months to repair the ship, and three months to regroup the workforce. The southeastern coast will have to endure another ordeal.

Did Liu Jingshuang say whether the islands in the South China Sea could be sealed off?

She said it couldn't be sealed off.

Hua Jieyu answered very quickly.

"There are too many islands and reefs; the existing fleet cannot pursue them. She can only guard the coastal trade routes for now and wait for Shang Wanqing to build the ships."

Wei Zhao held the secret report in his hand, his knuckles pressing a crease into the edge of the paper.

It's a boat again.

What Shin-euk lacks most right now is not soldiers who dare to kill, but ships that can deliver the sword to the sea.

Shang Wanqing's demand for 60,000 taels of silver to build a ship was not just a sum of money, but also a way for Xinwu to assert its authority in the South China Sea.

It now appears that this amount of money is far from enough.

He picked up a map of Quanzhou and drew a red circle around each of the three places: Mingzhou, Yuezhou, and Quanzhou.

Next, Wei Zhao spread out the map of the Western Regions and circled a point in the old territory of the White Wolf tribe.

Two circles, separated by thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, fall on the same table.