Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Ashina listened to the tribal chief's words in the tent, his face hardening as he pulled a dried finger from his neck.

There was also a ring on her finger; Ashina had made this dried finger into a pendant and hung it around her neck.

Mos Ashina, who was standing to the side, saw this scene and immediately recognized that the finger was his.

Morse's expression shifted slightly.

Ashina held up the finger, his face cold: "This is a finger that the people of Xiao cut off from my son! This is an insult to our Ashina clan! I made it into a necklace and wore it around my neck to always remind myself! No matter what happens this time, I will fight the Xiao Kingdom to the death!"

Upon hearing his words, and especially after seeing the dried-out finger, his expression turned solemn, and the entire room fell silent.

Ashina asked the messenger, "What does that person look like?"

The messenger seemed to be recalling: "Reporting to the Khan, the man was wearing a white monk's robe from the Xiao Kingdom, a bamboo hat with a black veil on it! Oh, and he was also carrying a silver monk's staff as tall as a person."

Upon hearing this, Ashina suddenly stood up.

"Mr. Qianlong?"

Seeing this, someone nearby asked curiously, "Who is Mr. Qianlong?"

Ashina addressed the group, saying, "This is a distinguished guest. Gentlemen, please continue eating and drinking here. I will go and greet him!"

Hearing Ashina's words, everyone became even more curious: "Ashina, who is it that you have to personally go to greet them?"

“That’s right. Bring that person over here so we can see him. We’re not outsiders.”

"Yes, coming here at this critical juncture would definitely mean begging for mercy!"

Ashina listened to the crowd, each offering their own opinion.

He then addressed the crowd, saying, "Gentlemen, you wish to see him. However, he may not necessarily wish to see you!"

Everyone's faces stiffened, and they all revealed fierce expressions: "What the hell is he? We're only seeing him out of respect, and he doesn't even want to see us."

"Not bad... Ashina, does the Xiao Kingdom really have such pretentious people? I'd love to see..."

Ashina interrupted them before they could finish speaking.

"Alright! Even I have to show some respect to this Mr. Qianlong! If you're not afraid of getting into trouble, you can come along. But if anything happens, don't come looking for me! You should know that although Mr. Qianlong is from the Xiao Kingdom, he's not the same as the other Xiao Kingdom people you know!"

After Ashina said this, the tribal leaders were curious about who this Mr. Qianlong was.

However, they did not continue the conversation.

"Ashina, don't let him convince you that we've made a wasted trip!"

Ashina listened to their words and said with a sneer, "If they are willing to hand over the throne of Xiao Kingdom to me, I can agree to their conditions!"

The group burst into laughter.

After Ashina left, he walked to the outside of their camp.

Under the moonlight, a man dressed in a white monk's robe, holding a staff as tall as a person, and wearing a black vine hat, stood motionless outside the camp!

Seeing this, Ash rushed forward in two or three steps.

Upon seeing the newcomer, he respectfully clasped his hands together and said, "Mr. Qianlong, what brings you here! I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Upon hearing this, the man known as Mr. Qianlong said calmly, "Ashina, your willingness to come see me makes my trip worthwhile!"

Seeing this, Ashina said to Mr. Qianlong, "Mr. Qianlong, you are my benefactor! How could I possibly refuse to see you? Let's talk in private."

Mr. Qianlong waved his hand: "No need! Actually, I came here just to say one thing."

Ashina listened with a hint of doubt in his eyes and said respectfully, "Mr. Qianlong, please speak frankly."

Mr. Qianlong said to Ashina, "I'm here to ask you to withdraw your troops. Your attack on the four prefectures of Mobei is not the right time! You need to wait for the right opportunity! If you do withdraw, you may gain unexpected benefits!"

Upon hearing this, Ashina smiled and said, "Mr. Qianlong, are you serious? Now, we're already at the point where we have no choice but to release the arrow; once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back!"

When Mr. Qianlong heard Ashina say this, he said nothing more.

He turned and walked away, leaning on his silver monk's staff.

"Mr. Qianlong, is this all you're going to talk about?"

Mr. Qianlong said, "That's right. Since you won't listen to what I've told you, I have no other choice!"

Ashina said, "Didn't you say that the 100,000 troops were not trained by Xiao Dingshan? How could a group of refugees be a match for our Turkic cavalry? You want me to withdraw my troops, you have to give me a reason."

Mr. Qianlong said, "My words are my reason! If you do not withdraw your troops, you will surely suffer heavy losses and return empty-handed!"

After listening, Ashina scoffed at the mysterious and eccentric Mr. Qianlong.

Because he simply couldn't imagine how they could lose!

"Mr. Qianlong, I'm willing to listen to you. But the Turks aren't under my sole command! I'm afraid..."

Mr. Qianlong waved his hand: "There is a way to everything. I've told you, and that's enough for our friendship. Whether to withdraw your troops or not is your choice!"

As he spoke, Mr. Qianlong slammed the silver staff in his hand heavily onto the ground.

A young pageboy drove a carriage and stopped in front of Mr. Qianlong.

Mr. Qianlong flicked his sleeve and looked at Ashina, who was standing still: "Ashina! The path has been shown to you; how you walk it is up to you!"

As he spoke, Qianlong, dressed in a white monk's robe, boarded the carriage.

The young pageboy brandished a whip and drove the carriage away.

After driving a few hundred meters away, the young servant said while driving, "Sir, they don't want to retreat, do they?"

Sitting in the carriage, Qianlong had already removed the hood from his head and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Naturally, these Turkic soldiers have been spoiled by the people of the four northern prefectures!"

The young page asked with a hint of doubt, "Sir, if you know this, why did you still come to advise me?"

Qianlong said calmly, "My purpose in coming here is not because I believe there is a way to make them retreat. My purpose is to make them remember my advice after they suffer a crushing defeat. After their defeat, when they recall my advice, won't they regard me as a prophet? And if I give them some more advice after their defeat, won't they listen to me without question?"

The young pageboy looked enlightened: "Mr. Qianlong, you are wise! Then why were you so certain that they would suffer a crushing defeat?"

Qianlong sat in the carriage, his eyes slightly narrowed: "You talk too much!"

The young pageboy's face immediately showed fear, and his voice trembled: "Sir, I know I was wrong!"

Qianlong said slowly from inside the carriage, "If the president has any questions, he can come and ask me directly."

The young page trembled upon hearing Qianlong's words: "Sir, I..."

“You don’t need to explain. The first time you were assigned to my side, I knew you were the president’s person! I don’t mind! However, you know my rules!” Qianlong’s emotionless voice came from inside the carriage.

The young pageboy, his forehead already covered in sweat, urged the cart: "Sir...I...I was wrong!"

"Let's hurry back to the Central Plains. We'll avoid getting involved in this mess in the northern desert for now!" Qianlong said calmly.

The young page responded and dared not say anything more.

...

"Father Khan, is that the Mr. Qianlong you mentioned?"

Just as Ashina was staring blankly in the direction Qianlong had left, a voice came from beside him.

"Moss, what brings you here, kid?" Ashina asked, somewhat surprised, as he came to his senses.

Mos Ashina gave an awkward smile: "I'm worried about Father Khan..."

Ashina saw through his thoughts: "You're worried that someone will persuade me to give up the idea of ​​attacking Xiao, aren't you?"

Morse gave an awkward smile, a hint of hatred in his eyes, and nodded.

Ashina patted Moss on the shoulder: "Don't worry! No one can stop the iron hooves of our Turkic cavalry!"

Moss also looked in the direction Qianlong had left: "Father, who exactly is that person? He's acting all mysterious!"

Ashina shook his head and said, "All I know is that he is from an organization called the Hidden Dragon Society. I don't know what this organization does, but Mr. Hidden Dragon speaks highly of it! And the fact that our Ashina tribe has become the most powerful tribe among the Turkic tribes is also closely related to him!"

"If it weren't for their matchmaking and advice, which led to an agreement between the four powerful clans of the four prefectures of the northern desert and me, we wouldn't have been able to advance so quickly with the support of the northern people! We even managed to surpass the most warlike Helu tribe among the Turkic tribes! It's no exaggeration to say that without Mr. Qianlong, there would be no Ashina tribe as we are today!"

Upon hearing this, Morse was deeply shocked: "So you're not going to listen to his suggestion this time?"

Ashina said to Moss, "Although he helped me, I don't know his stance. Clearly, he wants me to become stronger, but he's also afraid I'll become too strong. After all, if I become too strong, he'll lose control of me! And in this war, I really can't imagine what those people will use to fight us! How will they possibly defeat us!"

Moss listened and nodded repeatedly: "Father Khan is wise, I think so too. If their Hidden Dragon Society were truly powerful, they wouldn't hide in the shadows like rats in a gutter, not daring to even show their faces!"

Ashina nodded approvingly; Mr. Qianlong had indeed helped him.

In Ashina's eyes, it was nothing more than a mutually beneficial arrangement. Although he thought Mr. Qianlong had some ability, Moss had spoken his mind.

If someone is truly capable, why wouldn't they dare to hide their face?

After Ashina returned to the central command tent, all the tribal leaders asked him questions.

"Ashina, what does your old friend want with you?"

"Yeah, you're being all mysterious? You're not unwilling to tell me, are you?"

...

Ashina returned to his seat and glanced at everyone present.

"They've come to persuade us to surrender!"

Those present fell silent immediately.

Ashina continued, "However, I made him get lost! In this battle, we will never back down! We will not rest until we reach the capital and sit on that dragon throne! Martial!"

"Wu! Wu! Wu!"

Upon hearing this, all the tribal chiefs raised their arms and shouted.

Ashina said, "We won't wait any longer! Let the provisions and supplies arrive slowly, and we'll attack Yanbei City at dawn tomorrow! Once we break through this gateway city, the gates to the northern desert will be wide open for us! Tomorrow, we'll celebrate our victory in Yanbei City! How about it!"

"Tomorrow we enter the city, and we must implement the 'Three Alls' policy! Kill all, burn all, loot all! Let those two-legged sheep of the northern desert know the consequences of offending us Turks!"

Ashina raised his arms and shouted.

Everyone, like the gorillas, raised their arms and shouted: "Martial arts! Martial arts! Martial arts!"