Nie Wuming, backed by the Wuan Palace, returned to Northern Wei and now still wants to use the power of the Wuan Palace to influence the Northern Wei court.
As for the old members of Wuan Palace, their purpose is much simpler. They just want to expel Liu Hanyan and Nie Wuming from Wuan Palace, so that Wuan Palace can once again become a pure Jianghu organization, severing ties with the courts of all countries.
This made Lu Qingwan curious.
“If they want to sever ties, why do they still have to place spies in the courts of various countries?”
Let alone others, the King of Liang’s wife, with her status and age, Lu Qingwan did not believe she was arranged by Nie Wuming.
That person was older than Nie Wuming’s mother.
Yun Ying shook her head, "This, your subordinate has not yet figured it out."
If the matters of Wuan Palace could be investigated so easily, she herself would not have been tricked by Nie Wuming.
Lu Qingwan did not blame Yun Ying for her inefficiency, so she asked, "Then what about Xie Shiluan? She deliberately changed her style of behavior, contacting the three different forces of Wuan Palace, what is she trying to achieve?"
Yun Ying pondered for a long time before saying seriously, "Although Xie Shiluan herself has not revealed any information, your subordinate believes that her purpose in doing these things is to contact Liu Hanyan.
Or rather, it is to contact the person behind Liu Hanyan."
Lu Qingwan remained silent. In the activity records of Xie Shiluan over the past year submitted by Yun Ying, there was a very obvious phenomenon.
Xie Shiluan was imitating Xie Shiyu, or deliberately imitating the behavior of a transmigrator.
She had never met a real transmigrator, so her imitation was not very accurate, but she was extremely good at grasping the key points.
Lu Qingwan instantly thought of the great gift that the Empress Dowager Lan Tingshuang of Ji Province had given her and Si Fengwu before they left Zhongzhou.
At that time, she had already learned that many transmigrators and reborn individuals had died for no apparent reason.
When she herself was also suffering from unknown suppression, she had also wondered if someone was specifically targeting transmigrators and reborn individuals.
Then what was Xie Shiluan trying to do by deliberately imitating a transmigrator to approach Liu Hanyan?
Or, had Liu Hanyan revealed some clues that made Xie Shiluan suspect that she was related to those who suppressed transmigrators and reborn individuals?
Even so, Xie Shiluan herself was neither a transmigrator nor reborn, and Liu Hanyan could not threaten her at all. Why would she pretend to be a transmigrator to approach Liu Hanyan and the person behind her?
All these questions gave Lu Qingwan a headache.
"Make arrangements, I want to see Xie Shiluan."
A frightening yet expected request, Li Su was only stunned for a moment before asking, "May I ask in what capacity your Highness intends to meet Xie Shiluan?"
If it were to meet the Empress of Western Liang in the capacity of the Princess of Great Qin, then she would just need to submit a visiting card.
When Xie Shiluan saw Lu Qingwan's card, for public and private reasons, she would send someone to personally invite her into the palace.
If it were in another capacity, then they would have to find another way.
"Let's meet privately first. Tell Xie Shiluan that if she wants to approach Liu Hanyan, it's more effective to find me than to imitate Xie Shiyu."
Li Su nodded and walked away.
As soon as she left, Ru Yue entered.
"Your Highness, the news just received is that Adjutant Jiang and General Xu took Qiangdu three days ago.
The strategist is now sharpening his troops and preparing to launch an offensive against Western Liang and Northern Wei at an opportune moment.
Also, General Qin led a hundred thousand troops across the Yunzhong Forest to reinforce us."
Lu Qingwan's thoughts were still on the games between Wuan Palace, Liu Hanyan, and Xie Shiluan. Hearing this, she was stunned for a moment before reacting.
"General Qin's Xuan character camp only had sixty thousand troops, where did the hundred thousand troops come from?"
With all matters in Great Qin settled, Great Gan was in need of personnel. Lu Qingwan was not surprised that Qin Shixie would bring troops back to help her.
But it was surprising that he only had sixty thousand troops when he left and a hundred thousand when he returned.
Ru Yue was amused, "General Qin was originally in charge of recruiting soldiers in the Xuanjia Army.
Great Qin is vast and populous, and the Emperor intends for him to bring more people back to help our Prince, so didn't he expand his forces again unintentionally?"
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "It seems that the troop advantage of Western Liang and Northern Wei is no longer significant.
As for the Northern Wei court, is there any good news?"
Come to think of it, it had been more than ten days since she left Bei Xiaoguan. The Emperor of Northern Wei should know that Nie Wuming had been tricked by Ashina Hun.
Ru Yue couldn't hold back when she heard Lu Qingwan's words.
"According to the intelligence transferred from the Prince by Liyang, Nie Wuming made a deal with Ashina Hun, exchanging the formula for gunpowder and the newly acquired grain seeds with the Northern Wei royal family.
As a result, Ashina Hun took the gunpowder and received the grain seeds, but only gave Northern Wei three hundred usable firearms and a pair of broken metal scraps.
The Emperor of Northern Wei feared offending Ashina Hun, so he could only suffer this silent loss. However, he has confined Nie Wuming and confiscated the military power of Nie Jintang and Cheng Nanliu.
He has reappointed General Murong Tao to lead the troops south, and has also sent Nie Mingyang to Great Gan to negotiate peace. Calculating the dates, Murong Tao and Nie Mingyang should have also departed."
"Murong Tao..."
Lu Qingwan murmured the unfamiliar name.
"What kind of person is he?"
"Murong Tao can be considered an anomaly among the many generals of Northern Wei."
By staying by Lu Qingwan's side, Ru Yue, an intelligence officer, was forced to become knowledgeable in military affairs.
"Your Highness also knows that Northern Wei people are inherently brave and fierce, and among them, the Northern Wei generals are even more so.
Therefore, the generals of Northern Wei are also skilled in fierce attacks.
But Murong Tao's mother was a female slave captured from Great Gan. Whether it was the Great Gan bloodline in his bones or his inherent nature, Murong Tao was not like most Northern Wei generals who only knew how to charge forward.
Compared to frontal assaults, he is more adept at flanking tactics, defending and attacking, encircling and ambushing, and so on."
The stiff description could not highlight Murong Tao's ability. To prove that her words were true, Ru Yue boldly said.
"Our Prince of the South, Marquis Lu, and even His Highness have all suffered a lot from him.
If it were not for this person having some Great Gan blood, and not being highly valued by the Northern Wei court, the blood shed by the soldiers of Great Gan would probably have doubled."
As she finished speaking, Ru Yue directly handed over a memorial, "Murong Tao's identity information is here, please take a look, Your Highness."
Lu Qingwan took it without hesitation, but asked, "So quickly, when did you investigate it?"
Ru Yue looked like she had lost her will to live, "The Prince sent people to deliver it."
She did not tell Lu Qingwan that after Lu Qingwan left Bei Xiaoguan, she and Li Su were like two walking courier services, receiving all sorts of strange things every day.
Si Fengwu probably knew that he had gone a bit too far, and even specifically instructed them to carry other items with them at all times, except for necessary intelligence, and to give them to Lu Qingwan when she inquired.
If Lu Qingwan didn't ask, then they would have to take it back.
Lu Qingwan was unaware of Si Fengwu's peculiar behavior, but she had long been accustomed to his meticulous care.