Although Hu Xiaotian had not asked Xue Lingjun to intervene directly, he still had to prepare for every eventuality. A clever man never fought a battle he was not sure of winning. There were many people he could turn to in the Yong Capital, but very few he could trust. Huo Shengnan happened to be one of them.
Hu Xiaotian had not sought out Huo Shengnan to ask her to intervene directly. As a general of Great Yong, she was ill-suited to meddling in such a sensitive matter. What Hu Xiaotian wanted was a way out: if anything went wrong, he hoped her Women's Army could step in.
After learning what had happened, Huo Shengnan agreed to Hu Xiaotian's request without much hesitation. When it came to dealing with the Black Hu People, they stood united against a common enemy. Hu Xiaotian had not asked her to openly take his side and fight beside him, only to lead her troops and act when the opportunity arose.
The Red Mountain Guildhall in the Yong Capital was a guild of the Black Hu People, much like a merchants' association. Many Black Hu merchants regularly gathered there.
After his audience with the emperor of Great Yong, Wanyan Chixiong, the Fourth Prince of Black Hu, made a special visit to meet several Black Hu merchants doing business in the Yong Capital. In the inner quarters of the Red Mountain Guildhall, he sat cross-legged opposite the Black Hu merchant Zha Wan. Setting down the large bowl in his hand, Wanyan Chixiong said, "Nothing tastes quite like the mare's milk wine from home."
Zha Wan smiled. "Are you missing home, Your Highness?"
"Wherever I go, I can never leave behind the snowy mountains and grasslands of our Black Hu," Wanyan Chixiong said.
"Fine as those snowy