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

The messenger replied, "Khan, they seem to say it's urgent."

He Lu said to the messenger, "What urgent business could a bunch of lowly people have? Let them wait."

The messenger bowed in agreement and ran out, speaking to the two men standing at the door.

"You two wait here. The Khan is discussing military matters."

Kan Shanyue was already seething with anger: "Did you tell the Khan that it was urgent? Extremely urgent!"

The Turkic messenger frowned upon hearing this and immediately drew his sword: "Do you take me for your servant? The prince said that if you lowly commoners have any urgent business, just wait."

Kan Shanyue was furious, but Cai Yong stopped him, forcing a smile at the Turkic soldiers: "It's...it's...it's us...we'll wait..."

After saying that, he pulled Kan Shanyue aside and advised, "Old Kan, calm down. He Lu is on our side now. You don't need to offend them all, do you?"

Kan Shanyue's face was grim as he said, "Damn it, even a watchdog here dares to bark at us! These Turks don't even consider us human... That useless Northern Desert King at least showed us some courtesy."

Cai Yong said with a forced smile, "Hey, that's not important. What's most important is our own benefit. After they conquer Lingxiao City, they'll leave, and we'll be in charge here, won't we? Our own benefit is the most important thing. A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan."

Kan Shanyue said with a livid face, "Our people are all dead. What good are benefits then?"

Cai Yong said, "Old Kan, you're still young and vigorous. You can marry dozens of wives and have your lineage continue. Besides, aren't there some powerful families in your prefectures who have grievances against you? In a way, they've helped you by eliminating your enemies. As long as you live, won't your Qingshan Prefecture be your sole domain?"

Kan Shanyue's expression softened considerably upon hearing Cai Yong's words.

They waited outside for more than two hours, until they saw that it was almost time for them to have dinner.

Cai Yong then gave a reminder.

He Lu had completely forgotten about this, which is why he called them over.

At this moment, the members of the Helu clan were eating meat and drinking wine in their tents.

After Cai Yong and Kan Shanyue went inside, they immediately knelt down to pay their respects.

The people of the Helu tribe saw these people sliding to their knees, and their eyes were filled with undisguised contempt.

He Lu said, "You two say something terrible has happened. What is it? And Cai Yong, are your territories related to us? They have nothing to do with us, right?"

Before Cai Yong could speak, Kan Shanyue knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to do us justice..."

Kan Shanyue embellished the story and recounted what had happened to them in Qingshan County.

Upon hearing this, He Lu's face turned ashen, his eyes practically spitting fire, and he asked Kan Shanyue, "Are you sure?"

With a bitter expression, Kan Shanyue said to Helu, "Your Highness, I have no reason to risk so many lives to frame Ashina! Many people witnessed this scene..."

He Lu's sons, who were standing nearby, were immediately filled with righteous indignation.

"Father Khan, I told you, Ashina was up to no good. I knew he wouldn't say anything... just pretending to listen to us? Turns out, he was plotting against us behind our backs..."

"Yes, Father Khan, Qingshan County will be our territory from now on. If these lowly people are to be killed, it will be us who do it, not him... Father Khan, this is like slapping us in the face repeatedly..."

He Lu's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened.

“That’s right, we can’t let them get away with this. Every wrong has its perpetrator! Come with me. I’ll help you get justice.” He Lu said, pointing at Kan Shanyue as he stood up and started walking out.

Kan Shanyue got up and followed, and Cai Yong said, "Khan Helu, what are you going there for?"

He Lu raised his head high: "Go ask Ashina what they want to do."

Cai Yong said awkwardly, "Even Helu Khan can't admit it."

Kan Shanyue said, "They dared to do that in Qingshan County, on the territory of Helu Khan, and they clearly stated that it was Mos Ashina who sent them this great gift. They dared to say it then, and now they still dare not admit it?"

He Lu, having only one son, is still quite rational.

He stepped forward, bowed, and said.

“Father Khan, Cai Yong is right. If we go there now, we won’t have any evidence! Given Ashina’s temperament, she will definitely not admit it… At that time, with the great war imminent, the people from the other tribes will all advise us… At that time, we can’t do anything to her.”

"Moreover, according to them, Ashina did this clearly to lure us into a trap. Why did Ashina kill these people right before attacking Lingxiao City? And so blatantly, just to provoke us!"

"If we clash with them, and they deny killing those people in Qingshan County, the other tribal leaders will naturally side with Ashina. Our position as chief commander will likely have to be handed over to someone else..."

This son's name is Batu Helu.

He was one of He Lu's most valued sons, and one of the few intelligent people in He Lu's tribe.

He Lu had always groomed her as his successor.

Although Batu Helu was the sixth son, he was quite prestigious among Helu's brothers.

After his analysis, several princes said, "Father, the sixth prince is right! Those Ashina people are treacherous."

“Father, what Lao Liu said is right. We can’t go there... These people are dead, so be it. We can deal with this matter later.”

“That’s right. We’ll settle this score with him after we take over Lingxiao City. We won’t fall for his tricks.”

Listening to what the princes were saying.

Kan Shanyue's expression was as if he had eaten shit. The people of the Helu tribe were anxious just now because they had been humiliated, not because they were angry about so many deaths.

"So we just have to suffer this loss in silence?" He Lu asked.

Batu Helu said to Helu, "Father Khan, of course not... I do have a way that satisfies both sides."

He Lu asked curiously, "Then hurry up and tell me."

Batu Helu asked Kan Shanyue, "Kan Shanyue, does your Qingshan County have a prefectural guard?"

Kan Shanyue vaguely guessed something: "That's right, Your Highness. We have a total of 30,000 imperial guards."

Batu Helu said, "Then you are fully capable of taking revenge yourselves. We will soon be leading our elite troops to attack Lingxiao City. Some of their troops will remain here. You will lead your men to fight them. Their main force is not here, only more than 30,000 men! Perhaps we can still annihilate them."

"annihilating all those Ashinas in the rear will be avenge for your families. After you've finished fighting, we'll stand by you!"

He Lu's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he said, "That's right, by then, Ashina will only have those few people left. If they dare to attack you, we'll help you!"

Kan Shanyue's expression was unnatural.

"What? You're too scared? If you don't even have this much backbone, no wonder they dared to do this to you! All of you deserve to be killed..."

"I've given you the solution. Figure it out yourself."

Kan Shanyue gritted his teeth: "Fine... then I'll go and reorganize the troops!"

He Lu and the others nodded and said, "Okay, then hurry up."

With that, Kan Shanyue and Cai Yong turned and left.

After they left, Kan Shanyue, with a gloomy expression, said to Cai Yong, "Cai Yong, why didn't you say a word just now?"

Cai Yong's face was grim: "Old Kan, how dare I say that... These Turks don't treat us like human beings at all... I dare not advise you. They are determined to use you as a pawn... If I try to advise you, they'll kill me!"

Kan Shanyue said with a gloomy expression, "You mean you don't want me to send troops?"

Cai Yong nodded: "Are you stupid? Didn't you understand Batu Helu's analysis? Ashina killed so many of you to provoke Helu into seizing power. And now Helu is sending you to take revenge, which is also helping them fight Ashina. In the end, you'll be played by both sides!"

"The palace guards are your trump card. As I analyzed with you before, although so many people have died, it's not entirely a bad thing. At least your mortal enemies are all dead. You're in complete control now. If the palace guards are weakened by this incident, even if He Lu and the others say they'll stand up for you, they probably won't. They might even kill you to quell their anger..."

After hearing Cai Yong's words, Kan Shanyue's expression turned ugly, but he managed to calm down.

"So what do you mean?" Kan Shanyue asked.

Cai Yong said to Kan Shanyue, "I was hoping that those Helu would stand up for you. Now it seems they won't stand up for you and Ashina... In the eyes of the Turks, we are not even as useful as some cattle and sheep... Let's go ask Mr. Qianlong."

Kan Shanyue's eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying, "That's right... Go ask Mr. Qianlong. See what he has to say... You're right! Cai Yong, thank you!"

Cai Yong smiled and said, "Old Kan, Mr. Qianlong said that if we people from the four prefectures of Mobei want to gain a foothold here, we must unite!"

Kan Shanyue nodded: "Then shall we remain still? Should we go and talk to He Lu?"

Cai Yong shook his head and said, "Don't go yourself. Send someone to tell them. Even if they get angry, they can't kill you..."

Kan Shanyue nodded approvingly.

The two of them rode back on their horses.

...

Inside He Lu's military tent.

"Batu, you're so clever... As long as Kan Shanyue leads the guards to fight Ashina... Ashina's strength will be greatly reduced. We won't be afraid anymore, and he won't be a threat to us when he enters the Central Plains later." He Lu praised approvingly.

Batu Helu laughed and said, "Father Khan, this was Ashina's plan to trap us... We're just playing along. My only concern now is whether those palace guards are a match for them?"

He Lu said, "Who cares about them... we can kill some of them! I'm just afraid they'll change their minds and won't dare to go anymore."

Batu Helu nodded and said, "That's quite possible! However, let's not worry about it for now. If he backs down, we can go to Ashina and demand an explanation. The other leaders will naturally support us then. We don't need to do anything; we'll always benefit!"

He Lu nodded: "However, I still hope that those lowly people can defeat Ashina."

Batu Helu smiled and said, "Of course... If we can defeat Ashina, that would be the best."

...

Night falls.

Xiao Ce appeared outside Ashina's camp with his research team of Ghost Riders.

They had already dealt with the sentries on the perimeter.

With a repeating crossbow, it pierced their throats.

Looking at the Ashina tribe's camp, it was quite large.

Yan Jia asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, we only have a thousand men, what's the best way to fight? We can't just go head-to-head with them, can we?"

Xiao Ce revealed a wicked smile: "Of course... If it's a head-on confrontation, we're no match! Our main objective is to disrupt their internal order. Let's launch a volley of rockets first, setting them all ablaze. Then we'll run..."

Yan Jia nodded.

Xiao Ce stretched out his hand to feel the wind direction: "We'll shoot at the tents on the east side later, and then run away."

Yan Jia bowed and agreed.

It wasn't until late at night that the entire camp became much quieter.

The wind has picked up considerably.

Yan Jia asked in surprise, "Your Highness, you also know about astronomy?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "I don't know anything about it, but even the heavens are on my side. Everyone, remember to fire two rounds! Then run..."

The group agreed in hushed tones.

Xiao Ce took out a composite bow, followed by a rocket soaked in kerosene and wrapped in kerosene cloth.

After it is lit.

The once dark forest was instantly illuminated.

The soldiers saw the firelight that suddenly appeared in the dense forest in the distance and rubbed their eyes.

By the time they finished wiping their eyes, the rocket was already airborne.

It landed in their camp.

The eastern camp was set on fire, and only then did the defenders realize what was happening.

By the time they shouted that the enemy was attacking, the second wave of rockets had already been launched.

Then Xiao Ce had a thousand people shout in unison.

"A blood debt must be repaid with blood!"

Xiao Ce originally wanted to target Kan Shanyue and his group, as he knew these people very well.

After they hear the news, they might get angry out of nowhere, but then they'll back down.

He needs to add fuel to the fire!

After shouting, Xiao Ce and the others quickly ran along the subsequent retreat route.

Meanwhile, in Ashina's camp, fire, fueled by the wind, swept across the entire camp.

Many horses were tied up and burned alive.

The soldiers escaped immediately, intending to put out the fire.

However, they were some distance from the water source, and relying solely on drinking water to fight the fire was simply a drop in the ocean!

After salvaging some supplies, they could only watch helplessly.