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

After confirming that they had left, Night Owl also left.

Upon arriving in Lingxiao City, inside the City Lord's Mansion.

With a major battle imminent, Yin Pan'er has even more to do.

On the one hand, we need to calm the people's emotions, and on the other hand, we need to mobilize resources from all sides.

There are many things to deal with.

Yin Pan'er inherited her father Yin Weiyong's talents.

Under her guidance, even the most complicated matters become remarkably clear and organized.

Just as Yin Pan'er was talking to some officials, she saw a night owl at the door.

Yin Pan'er gave a brief and concise explanation and then told the two officials to leave first.

After the official left, Yin Pan'er stepped forward personally: "Mr. Night Owl, please come in."

Night Owl bowed slightly and went inside.

Seeing that Night Owl looked a little haggard, Yin Pan'er said to him, "Mr. Night Owl, you've suffered a lot these past few days... Please have a seat."

Night Owl bowed slightly and sat down beside her without any hesitation: "Your Highness, you are too kind. This is what I do."

Yin Pan'er looked at Night Owl: "Mr. Night Owl, you must have made some progress on your end."

Night Owl nodded: "That's right, the man wearing a straw hat and monk's robe is called Qianlong. He should be the leader of an organization."

"This Qianlong is not only connected with the Turks, but also with the new clan leaders of the four northern prefectures. The Turks' all-out attack and the rebellion of the new four clan leaders are all related to him."

Yin Pan'er nodded: "Then what does he want with Sister Bing?"

Night Owl replied, "This Mr. Qianlong has taken control of Miss Nie Bing's family, using them to blackmail her into moving to our Nine Cities' granary..."

Yin Pan'er's expression immediately turned very ugly, and she was also surprised.

"Her family? Wasn't Sister Bing's entire family executed? Are you sure you didn't mishear?"

Night Owl nodded with absolute certainty: "Absolutely certain, and Miss Nie Bing must have met some of her family members, which is why she was willing to work for that guy named Qianlong."

Yin Pan'er's expression changed slightly: "Sister Bing, did you give him all our granary land? That's impossible, she couldn't possibly know."

Night Cat said, "I'm sure she gave Qianlong a few maps, but I'm not entirely sure if they're our granaries. However, they should be real! Your Highness, so you should make plans as soon as possible."

Yin Pan'er nodded: "Night Owl, I understand! Is there any other information?"

Night Owl continued, "There's also some news about the prince. They say he seems to have launched a surprise attack on the Ashina tribe, and is even trying to sow discord between the powerful clans of the four northern prefectures and the Turks!"

Yin Pan'er listened with a hint of excitement on her face and said, "It seems that the fire in the Turkic camp yesterday was the Prince's doing... The Prince is here... We will definitely be able to overcome this crisis."

As Yin Pan'er spoke, her face was filled with unwavering determination.

"Mr. Night Owl, do you look like Mr. Hidden Dragon? Why don't we just arrest him now?"

Night Owl shook his head and said, "That person never shows his face even when he sleeps, and their whereabouts are unpredictable. Moreover, he is always accompanied by several experts, whose skills are no less than those of Da Lei and his group. Fortunately, I am good at concealment, and I also made sure to locate his residence in advance. That's how I managed to hide. If he had stayed there for a few more days, I would have suffocated there. Or I would have exposed myself."

Yin Pan'er said, "You mean it's difficult to catch him?"

Night Owl nodded: "Based on my observation, this person is very cunning. He's not as simple as he seems. There's another thing... that is, he has planted many of his people within our existing system."

Yin Pan'er frowned: "Do you know the list?"

The night owl shook its head.

Yin Pan'er didn't press the matter further: "Mr. Night Owl, you should get some rest. I'll take care of the rest."

Night Owl didn't stand on ceremony; he really needed a good rest. "Your Highness, I still have an apprentice with Miss Nie Bing. If anything unusual happens, he'll let you know immediately."

Yin Pan'er nodded.

After seeing the night owl off.

Qian Lai walked over, bowed, and asked Yin Pan'er, "Your Highness, is there any news from Nie Bing?"

The money came from Xiao Ce.

I've been working for Yin Pan'er for a while now, so I guess I'm considered one of her people.

Qian Lai knew that Yin Pan'er was investigating Nie Bing.

Yin Pan'er did not hide anything from Qian Lai, because it had been since Xiao Ce left.

She discovered that there were very few people she could truly confide in.

She then recounted the whole story, focusing on the money involved.

After listening, Qian Lai asked, "Your Highness, did Miss Nie Bing mention this matter to you?"

Yin Pan'er's expression was unnatural, and she shook her head.

"Uncle Lai, he's never mentioned it. Not even about the fact that their family members are still alive! Did the Prince give you any instructions before?"

Qian Lai nodded: "Before the prince left, he said that if Nie Bing did anything to offend Lingxiao City, she should be eliminated."

Hearing Qian Lai say this, Yin Pan'er asked in surprise, "Did Your Highness already know this?"

Qian Lai nodded: "Now that you know, Your Highness, you must not know that the person who let Mos Ashina go was Miss Nie Bing."

Yin Pan'er listened with an extremely grim expression and nodded.

"Your Highness already knew?"

Qian Lai nodded.

"However, Miss Bing later reached some kind of agreement with the Prince, so the Prince didn't touch her. But before he left, the Prince instructed me that if Nie Bing were to do anything to betray Lingxiao City, I should eliminate her. Do you think we should go and find Yan Jia?"

Yin Pan'er frowned: "No need for now. Killing her now won't help. We need to protect our food supplies!"

Qian Lai asked, "How about we move the grain and fodder tonight?"

Yin Pan'er shook her head and said, "This method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Whenever we move, no matter where we move to, we will be discovered... There is no such thing as a thief who can be on guard against thieves for a thousand days! If they want to raid and burn our supplies, we will always have moments of carelessness. We must think of a way to solve this once and for all."

"Furthermore, I'm not sure if the address Yin Pan'er gave us is the real one. The location of this granary is known only to those bound by a death pact. I'm worried she might have deliberately let us know so we could make the first move and find the location..."

The source of the money is uncertain for the time being.

"If only His Highness were here now, he would surely have a solution!"

Yin Pan'er frowned deeply: "Yes, what would His Highness do if he were here?"

After spinning around in place several times, Yin Pan'er returned to her room and went to look through the booklet that Xiao Ce had left for her before he left.

"Uncle Lai, go and tell the guards at each granary to be on high alert. Don't come looking for me unless it's something serious."

As she spoke, Yin Pan'er locked herself in her room.

...

The next day.

The Turks have reached an agreement that each tribe will provide 10,000 men to be handed over to Helu for a unified siege.

The remaining men held the line at the rear.

Their hastily assembled siege army, numbering over 50,000, was at the forefront.

They did not ride horses, because their scouts already knew.

To defend against them, they dug many horse traps.

Moreover, horses were useless during sieges, so they simply converted the cavalry into siege infantry.

Only the leading leaders were on horseback.

He Lu said to the four tribal leaders beside him, "Gentlemen, I'll show you how we will break through the city of these Xiao people! You can wait to enter the city and slaughter them."

Ashide said to Helu, "Helu, I wish you a great victory. We'll be here to support you."

Musa and Tesa were saying similar things, and when it came to Ashina, they said, "Helu, you must not underestimate them... These people are not the weaklings they used to be. Remember, they are Xiao Dingshan's army!"

He Lu snorted coldly: "So what if it's Xiao Dingshan's army? Even if Xiao Dingshan himself came today, it wouldn't make a difference! I've already exposed them. Ashina, if you yourselves are incompetent, don't praise the other side."

Seeing this, Ashina stopped talking.

He Lu waved his hand and said, "All catapults, battering rams, and siege engines are ready!"

They prepared a lot of siege equipment this time. It was all made in the past few days using the manpower of their four northern prefectures.

A dense array of siege weapons came forward.

He Lu said with a proud expression, "Tell me, how can we possibly lose like this!"

He Lu then shouted, "The vanguard shield bearers, line up and move out! The catapults, take your positions..."

"The supervisory team will oversee the battle from the rear. Anyone who shows cowardice will be killed!"

After He Lu made his arrangements, the mighty army of 50,000 began to line up.

Han Da on the city wall was also on high alert, especially after seeing that the enemy had used a lot of siege weapons, he dared not relax in the slightest.

These days, they have prepared all the equipment for defending the city.

"Soldiers, we've trained for this moment! It's time to protect the people behind us! This is our last line of defense; we have nowhere left to retreat! Shout with me! Kill the Turks! Protect our homeland!"

Han Da shouted sternly.

The entire city wall erupted in shouts: "Kill the Turks, protect our homeland!"

Such shouts echoed to every corner, and the people of the city shouted in unison: "Long live the Northern Army! We will live and die with you!"

"Long live the Northern Desert Army! We will live and die with you!"

The soldiers on the city wall, having won the support of the people, couldn't help but show fervent enthusiasm.

In a grove of trees outside the city, Xiao Ce, Da Lei, Yan Jia, and Fu Niu stood in the dense forest.

“Han Da and his men are going to have a tough battle this time! They are fully equipped for this siege, and judging from their posture, they are not as careless as before,” Yan Jia said.

Xiao Ce said, "Just listen to that shout, and we can't lose... Besides, you have to understand, they have the support of the Tiger and Leopard Stronghold Armory Factory here. After this period of accumulation, every defender should have a repeating crossbow or something."

"And heavy crossbows and such should be made by now! You must have faith in our own people."

Seeing this, Yan Jia smiled and said, "Your Highness, if you say you have confidence, then we have confidence!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said to Yan Jia, "We should set off now. There are still several thousand men guarding their Ashina camp. On average, one against five, let's go head-to-head and fight them! Do you dare!"

A fervent glint flashed in Yan Jia's eyes: "Your Highness, of course we dare!"

Axe-Bull rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, "Of course! With our equipment, we could easily take on ten, let alone five!"

Xiao Ce said, "Then let's set off too. This time, we'll be playing the role of Kan Shanyue's guards!"

...

At this moment, there was a great commotion both inside and outside the city.

In a private room of an inn on one side of the city wall, a woman was playing the zither.

Qianlong sat to one side, sipping his tea.

The young page boy came in, looking travel-worn: "Sir, the Turks have mobilized over 50,000 troops to attack the city, and they seem to be on a winning streak! Helu may look rough and tough, but he's quite capable in warfare. Perhaps they really will break through the city in one fell swoop!"

Qianlong shook his head: "If that's the case, then that would be best! However, you've forgotten one major variable."

The young page looked at Qianlong: "Sir, are you talking about the King of the Northern Desert? Hasn't he been hiding in his shell all this time?"

Qianlong shook his head and said, "He's not that simple... Look at the materials they used to reinforce these city walls. This stuff called 'cement,' after being mixed with sand and stones, becomes harder than mountain rock. Not only that, their weapons are things we've never seen before... I heard from Ashina in a letter that they have a wooden box containing arrows that can fire in rapid succession..."

"And listen to that deafening shout. He kept talking about the close bond between the military and the people, which I didn't quite understand before... but at this moment, I feel it!"

The young page asked, "Then, sir, do you think they can be breached?"

Qianlong shook his head: "I don't think so! Have you verified the locations of those granaries that Nie Bing gave us?"

The young page nodded: "Everything has been verified, and it's confirmed to be correct. Should we have our people take action?"

Qianlong was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Not for now! I need the Turks to come begging to me before we make our move. A few more days won't make a difference! Have all our men keep an eye on things! I want the Turks to know that with me, they can be invincible; without me, they can't move an inch!"

...

At this moment, Xiao Ce returned to the Ghost Cavalry.

They divided a thousand men into four squads and launched an attack on Ashina's camp from four directions.

Thousands of people waited a few hundred meters away from them, awaiting Xiao Ce's orders.

Xiao Ce held his breath and listened intently.

He could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting coming from the front lines.

Holding a repeating crossbow and pulling on the reins, Xiao Ce shouted, "Soldiers, let us fight alongside the defenders! Kill!"