The Marquis Is Innocent

From the first day the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao, became the new lord of Bingzhou, the Beihe leader, Yuan Wang, began to pay attention to him. This man had defeated the Chen family that controlled Bingzhou for decades. Yuan Wang knew the next move of this Han man would affect the fate of all Qiang people living in Huangshui, including his people.

Yuan Wang heard something about this new lord of Bingzhou. This great northern warlord seemed different from the ruthless Chen Xiang. But Yuan Wang has always been under illusions about the Han people.

The exception was Li Gong, the Qiang Protector from a few decades ago. However, Li Gong was not a warlord who held power. Li Gong eventually died because of the suppression of these warlords.

Although he knew Wei Shao’s intention to recruit the Qiang people, he maintained a cautious attitude. Neither united with the Shaodang tribe nor accepted Wei Shao’s solicitation. He was somewhat surprised when Wei Shao dispatched Gongsun Yang to his territory as an emissary.

Gongsun Yang was a very charismatic man, refined and fluent. He spoke eloquently with people, never aggressively imposing coercion, but like a graceful spring. Unknowingly, he could make the other party accept his beliefs.

Gongsun Yang had stayed here many days and made Yuan Wang slightly move. He had not met Wei Shao in person, and all his impressions of this great northern warlord, whose reputation was so well known, had previously come from hearsay. Yuan Wang had heard of one of his actions.

Rumor has it that in his early years, he lynched his father’s enemy, who died in battle. After he stabbed him thousand times with knives, he was still not relieved and chopped him into mush. Although the rumors were mostly exaggerated, it was evident that this person’s hostility was heavy and made people shudder. It was one of the reasons why he was wary of Wei Shao’s recruitment last year. A person full of hostility, what was the difference between him and Chen Xiang?

But these days, he felt the charisma of Gongsun Yang’s personality. He was similar to Li Gong, whose valued by the Qiang and slowly eliminated some of his previous fears about Wei Shao. Especially last night, he talked again with Gongsun Yang under the candlelight. After returning, he discussed with several elders in the clan. Although there were still doubts among the elders, Yuan Wang decided to join Wei Shao.

But unexpectedly, early in the morning, the messenger from Diao Mo passed him a piece of heartbreaking news. His only grandson, Yuan, who had disappeared half a year ago, was kidnapped by the Han and taken to Jinyang. He was sold as a slave and then fell into the hands of Chen Xiang’s son, who might be dead by now.

The messenger conveyed another letter from Diao Mo. In the letter, Diao Mo said that Feng Zhao and Wei Shao were vicious wolves. Feng Zhao befriended the Qiang tribe to make the Qiang soldiers work for him. As for Wei Shao, he was an ambitious wolf, not to be trusted. Diao Mo advised Yuan Wang not to trust the promises of the Han Chinese. He said that although he had dealings with Feng Zhao, he used the conflict between Feng Zhao and Wei Shao to take back Shang County, where the Qiang had stayed for generations, but the Han occupied it now.

When Diao Mo was young, they forced his father to send him to Bingzhou as a hostage. He was held captive for several years before being released in exchange for a large amount of money, cattle, and horses. Diao Mo had great ambition and was brave and resolute. Yuan Wang had always regarded him as his son. When he heard the news of his grandson, who had been missing for half a year, he was so convinced that he fainted on the spot, overwhelmed with grief and anger.

The Han Chinese kidnapped his only beloved grandson then he died in the Han land!