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

Ashina said, "Mr. Qianlong has always been there to help us when we need it most!"

Mos Ashina listened and nodded, "Ashina is right."

Over the years, Mr. Qianlong has always offered to help them during their most difficult times, without asking for anything in return.

Ashina initially thought there was no such thing as a free lunch, but Qianlong indeed didn't do anything as he asked.

This message was received the day after Qianlong left, just before their major offensive.

Qianlong said that he had persuaded the heads of the four new major clans to obey Ashina's orders!

They also made them secretly withhold the money, food, and military supplies that were being transported to them.

Ashina's condition was that after conquering the four prefectures of Mobei, their original interests should not be harmed!

The Hidden Dragon Society will wait there for five days. If they agree, they will return to Raven; if they disagree, they will not need to reply.

Five days later, if Qianlong does not receive a letter, he will have those people deliver all the withheld money and grain to Han Da.

...

When Ashina found out, he knew that Qianlong meant well.

However, he felt that Qianlong's efforts were completely unnecessary, and he could do without their help.

After all, in his eyes at that time, breaking through Yanbei City would not require much effort.

However, it turns out he was wrong! And very wrong.

After listening, Mos Ashina nodded: "Father Khan, have you decided to agree? The four great clans control the four prefectures of the northern desert. If we preserve their power, what use is it for us to conquer the four prefectures of the northern desert? Wouldn't we just be doing the work for others?"

Ashina sneered, "Shortsighted! Our target is the Xiao Kingdom. Once we conquer the entire Xiao Kingdom, won't we have them completely under our control?"

Mos Ashina listened, and suddenly understood.

"Father Khan, you are wise."

Ashina waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may leave. I need to go and reply to Mr. Qianlong."

Morse nodded, bowed, and withdrew.

After taking a few steps, he turned back and said, "Father, Master Qianlong said before that we would fail. But now he's willing to help us! Does this mean we're sure to conquer the Xiao Kingdom?"

Ashina nodded and said, "Of course, Master Qianlong's plans are flawless. With his help, how can we not succeed!"

Mos Ashina: "Father Khan, however, be careful of Helu and his men."

Ashina scoffed, his face full of disdain: "That brute. I still need to use his people. After I'm done with them, I can kill them with a flick of my little finger."

After hearing Ashina's words, Mos Ashina's expression regained its confidence, as if he had recovered from that crushing defeat.

"Father, I've embarrassed you this time. Next time..."

Ashina waved his hand: "This battle has nothing to do with you. No one can defeat the elite army of their King Xiao Dingshan! Alright, don't overthink it. The Helu tribe is good at fighting, isn't it? They didn't just swallow this injustice silently. Otherwise, with such heavy losses, would they accept it?"

Morse nodded, a cruel glint in his eyes: "Let me see how awesome they are, let's starve them..."

...

Three days later, in Yanbei City.

Under Han Da's command, all the corpses on the city wall have been cremated.

After all, if so many corpses are not dealt with in time, there is a risk of a plague.

In this battle, they suffered tens of thousands of casualties. Including the slaves who fought desperately, a total of 20,000 people died in this battle.

On this day, Han Da stood on the city wall facing the four prefectures of Mobei and looked out.

Because, since the day the Turks attacked, not a single supply truck has come.

You should know that the money, food, and various military supplies that Yin Pan'er approved for him will be delivered every day, no matter how delayed it may be.

But it hasn't happened for five days in a row.

Originally, he was planning to repair the damaged sections of the city wall at night after the cement arrived.

As a result, not only was cement not delivered, but not even a single grain of food was transported.

At this moment, Sun Qiang, whose arm was wrapped up, asked worriedly, "General Han, could something have gone wrong? We've had a continuous supply of food and provisions since we arrived... If it's been cut off for so many days now, could something have happened?"

Han Da shook his head: "I've already sent out scouts to gather information. We should have news soon. Is the city currently lacking anything?"

"General Han, what we're short of right now is medicine! We're short of everything else, but it's not that critical. The refugees here have started going up the mountain to gather herbs, pick wild fruits, and dig for wild vegetables."

Han Da frowned slightly as he listened: "Picking wild fruits? Digging for wild vegetables? Are we running out of food here?"

Sun Qiang shook his head: "There's enough to eat for now, but when I asked them, they said that these refugees have experienced many rulers! Before those rulers fell from power, this place was just like this. They also think we're about to run away, and they're making plans for their own future."

As they were talking, a horse galloped in from outside the city and was only allowed in after being checked at the city gate.

Upon seeing this, Han Da and Sun Qiang quickly descended the city wall.

Han Da rushed forward, taking three steps at a time: "How is it? Any news?"

The scout bowed to Han Da and said, "General Han! I've run around to several counties to inquire! They're all under martial law! No one can enter or leave any of the cities!"

Han Da frowned slightly as he listened: "All the cities are under martial law? We can't enter or leave? Why? What happened?"

The scout replied, "Reporting to the General, I've inquired and it seems that a plague has broken out in various parts of the four prefectures of Mobei, and many people have already died. To prevent the plague from spreading, the prefectural officials have temporarily suspended all movement within the cities... I suspect this is why our supplies and provisions haven't arrived yet!"

"Plague? How could there be a plague out of the blue? So many people have died here and we haven't had a plague... How come they have a plague over there?" Han Da muttered to himself.

Sun Qiang, looking anxious, asked the scout, "Have you been in contact with any of those people who have been infected with the plague?"

The scout quickly waved his hand: "Deputy General Sun, I didn't! Don't worry, I only contacted merchants who had been turned away and had nowhere else to go. I'll be fine!"

Seeing this, Han Da said, "For safety's sake, you should stay outside the city for a few days..."

The scout bowed and agreed.

Sun Qiang then said to Han Da, "General Han, if it really is a plague, what should we do? This plague can't be resolved in ten days or half a month... We are an isolated city. If no more supplies arrive, we'll starve to death in less than ten days or half a month, even without the Turks attacking us..."

Han Da's face turned ashen, and he didn't answer for a moment, his eyes sharpening: "Yes! But a living person can't be killed by holding their urine. If a plague really breaks out, we must find a way to save ourselves as soon as possible!"

Then, Han Da said to Sun Qiang, "Sun Qiang, go and find some experienced people among the refugees... and have them take our soldiers with them! If so many of them could survive as refugees, so can we!"

After listening, Sun Qiang clasped his hands in agreement.

Han Da hurried towards his residence, as he needed to write a letter to the princess to inquire about the situation.

He always felt that this matter was too suspicious.

As soon as Han Da returned to the city lord's mansion, a child who looked like a beggar walked up to him.

Before Han Da could speak, the little beggar stretched out his hand, pulled out a piece of paper, and said in a childish voice, "Here, for you!"

Seeing this, Han Da was puzzled and didn't dare to take it.

"What is this? Who told you to give it to me?"

The little beggar looked around, shook his head, and said, "That person told me not to say... It's for you."

At this moment, a guard beside him stepped forward warily to take it, but the little beggar pulled his hand back and protected the note to his chest.

"That person said, 'I'll deliver it to you personally!'"

Seeing this, Han Da stepped forward and examined the thickness of the paper. It didn't seem like it could be used to hide a hidden weapon.

At most, it might contain some poison or something, but he can just hold his breath.

He took the note while holding his breath.

When the little beggar saw Han Da take the note, he took off running!

Han Daton sensed something was wrong and opened the note while holding his breath.

Fortunately, there was no poison, but the contents of the note caused his expression to change repeatedly.