205: Chapter 205 My lord, do you want a woman or not?

"My Lord, do you want a woman?"

Lu Jia mentioned in his letter that the leader of the Tuan Tribe stated their condition for submission: Zhao Fusu must take the leader's daughter as his woman.

Zhao Fusu frowned deeply; this was essentially a political marriage.

If he took the Tuan Tribe leader's daughter as his woman, it would mean the Tuan Tribe had a backer in Great Qin, giving their people a sense of security.

Once their submission to Great Qin was noticed by the Xiongnu Royal Court, even if Great Qin didn't deploy troops immediately, they could use their woman to persuade him to send forces to protect the Tuan Tribe.

Zhao Fusu's first reaction to this 'wife falling from the sky' situation was, naturally, to refuse.

He was already a married man.

If he were single, he might have considered it.

As long as the other party was good-looking, it wasn't impossible for him to suffer a little and accept this wicked political marriage.

But he already had a wife; taking another woman—was he supposed to start a harem!

Zhao Fusu found himself in a difficult position.

If the Tuan Tribe submitted to Great Qin, it would open a rift among the Xiongnu Tribes, potentially attracting more tribes to follow suit.

He could even use blood ties to maintain control over the Xiongnu through a policy of 'loose rein'.

This could save him so much trouble!

Zhao Fusu's main quest was to advance the development of Great Qin's heavy industry.

He didn't want to spend too much energy contending with the Xiongnu.

Zhao Fusu decided to show Lu Jia's letter to Wang Xia.

If Wang Xia vehemently opposed it, he naturally wouldn't start a harem.

He could still support a suitable Xiongnu tribe to act as his proxy on the grasslands.

It would just be a bit more complicated and require more effort.

"Husband, Xiaer wishes to meet this younger sister."

Wang Xia neither agreed nor refused.

This was a political marriage; her husband hadn't even met the girl, so he naturally felt nothing for her.

Since her husband had given her the letter, it meant he cared deeply about her thoughts.

If she were to act solely on personal feelings, she could refuse directly.

Based on her understanding of her husband, he would certainly respect her wishes.

However, occupying a high position meant the power she held dictated that she couldn't act like a petty young girl and keep her husband all to herself.

Besides being her husband, he was also His Majesty the Head of State of the Great Qin Empire!

For the sake of politics, her husband was sacrificing his own interests.

As his primary wife, she had long been prepared to sacrifice her own interests.

As General Wang Jian's granddaughter, she possessed a strong strategic vision.

She knew very well that if the Tuan Tribe submitted to Great Qin, it would mean more Xiongnu Tribes would follow.

After all, if the Tuan Tribe leader's daughter married the Paramount Leader of the Great Qin Empire, other tribes, seeing the benefits, would easily follow the Tuan Tribe and join Great Qin's camp.

As the Tuan Tribe's power grew, the Xiongnu Royal Court's influence would be continuously weakened.

Great Qin joining forces with the Tuan Tribe against the Xiongnu Royal Court would greatly increase their win rate and significantly reduce the casualties of Great Qin's soldiers.

By referring to the girl as 'younger sister', she was asserting her own status.

If the girl didn't know her place and tried to climb over her head, she certainly wouldn't agree.

If the girl was smart enough to acknowledge her as the 'elder sister', then she could accept this 'younger sister'.

If she didn't know what was good for her, then naturally, she wouldn't be accepted.

"Very well!"

Zhao Fusu nodded; he was also curious about this Jin Xishan.

This woman had taken the initiative to say she wanted to be his woman.

Zhao Fusu knew clearly that such a woman was no ordinary person!

Her choice to be his woman was driven more by interest than by love.

Whether he and Wang Xia would accept her into the family also depended on interests, as well as whether she was obedient and worth grooming as a proxy for the grasslands.

Given Zhao Fusu's status in the Great Qin Empire, not just any woman who wanted to be his could qualify!

If Jin Xishan wanted to become Zhao Fusu's woman, she would need to pass Wang Xia's test and Zhao Fusu's test!

Zhao Fusu took up his brush, wrote a reply to Lu Jia, and had a messenger arrange for a carrier pigeon to send the letter.

Watching the pigeons flap their wings and fly north, Zhao Fusu ordered the delivery of goods according to the Tuan Tribe's order list.

To prevent the delivery team from being robbed by Xiongnu Tribes, Zhao Fusu not only arranged for revolver-wielding soldiers as guards,

But also had Meng Tian dispatch a large number of scouts to operate within a hundred-mile radius of the transport route, staying alert for enemy movements.

If any scouts sent by the Xiongnu Royal Court approached, they were to be driven away or killed.

Zhao Fusu didn't want the Xiongnu Royal Court to find out so soon that he was sowing division among the Xiongnu people.

Tuan Tribe

After Lu Jia released the carrier pigeon, he would occasionally look at the sky, waiting for its return.

"Flap, flap!"

Amidst the sound of pigeon wings flapping, Lu Jia quickly stepped out of his tent.

He watched as the pigeon handler removed the specially made message tube from the pigeon's leg.

The handler then brought out sorghum, soybeans, and sesame seeds that the pigeons loved to eat.

The excited pigeon began to feast greedily.

"Lord Lu!"

The pigeon handler respectfully handed the message tube to Lu Jia.

This was the advisor to His Majesty the Head of State; he wouldn't dare be anything but respectful to Lu Jia.

"Mm."

Lu Jia took the tube handed to him.

He opened it and pulled out the slip of paper from inside.

Lu Jia carefully unfolded the paper and read the contents.

"Have Jin Xishan come to Yangshan Pass. If she is unwilling to come, then proceed to other subsidiary tribes of the Xiongnu Royal Court and lobby them instead."

After Lu Jia finished reading, he nodded slightly.

If the Tuan Tribe was unwilling to submit, then he could only look for other Xiongnu Tribes willing to submit to Great Qin.

During his interactions with Cao Jiacheng, he had learned more information about the grasslands.

The place they were currently in was a pasture near Mobei.

There were five other pastures nearby, occupied by five tribes no weaker than the Tuan Tribe.

They were the Liefeng Tribe, Qinglan Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, and Lingyu Tribe.

The sons of their leaders had all been part of Touman Chanyu's guard and were killed by Modun.

Although these tribes had no rebellious intent, they had been categorized as part of the losing side and were excluded from this southern raiding sequence.

These tribes naturally harbored hatred toward Modun.

Especially for the leaders of these tribes—it was the grudge of having their sons killed!

How could they be content?

Yet they had no choice but to suppress the hatred in their hearts.

Lu Jia believed that the enemy of an enemy is a friend.

Since these tribes had a grudge against Modun, they were targets for him to win over!