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

The leader of the Helu soldiers held a knife to Steward Cai's neck.

"What, do I look that stupid? You're trying to fool me?"

Butler Cai shook his head: "No...no...how could that be..."

The leader roared, "Then tell me honestly, what are you doing here? Sneaking around like this, if you don't tell the truth, I'll chop off your head. Are you going in to offer condolences? Do you need a doctor to offer condolences? Speak! Otherwise, I'll chop you down with one stroke!"

Butler Cai trembled like a leaf; he dared not go in, for the sake of his life...

Now, with a knife to my throat, I dare not utter a single word.

"No...no...Sir, I didn't mean to lie to you...it's just that we're not sure...we suspect there's been a plague in the Fang family!"

Upon hearing this, Chief Helu's face turned extremely grim: "What? Plague?"

This terrified the group of Helu soldiers.

It should be noted that plagues also occurred frequently among Turkic tribes.

Once infected with the plague, it would almost wipe out an entire small tribe before the disease would stop.

They connected this to Fang Haoshan's actions just now.

"Your mother forced you! Why didn't you say so sooner, you old bastard?" Chief He Lu cursed.

Butler Cai said with a pained expression, "I...I'm not just doubting, am I? I'm not...uncertain..."

Just then, several doctors rushed out, stumbling and staggering.

The Helu soldiers' leader ordered his men to quickly disperse.

Butler Cai stopped them, saying, "Don't come any closer!"

"How about it?"

Several doctors looked distressed: "Steward Cai, it must be the plague... but we can't determine which kind!"

Several trusted butlers beside him chimed in, "That's right, almost the entire Fang family has blisters and coughs all over their bodies. They're also weak... even the old master Fang's corpse is completely decomposed..."

Butler Cai turned pale with fright upon hearing this, and seeing them about to come out, he shouted, "None of you come out... Go back now!"

Seeing this, the group said, "Butler, didn't you say you wouldn't leave us here? Besides, we've all taken precautions...we won't get infected by them!"

Butler Cai's face was grim: "Times have changed... Don't move!"

Before Steward Cai could speak, He Lu's soldiers were more direct and to the point.

They took out their bows and arrows and aimed them at them.

"Get back, or we'll shoot you all dead! Go back!"

According to the Turks.

These people were terrified and retreated to the doorway. They seemed equally afraid of going inside and dared not enter.

The leader of the Helu soldiers ordered his men: "None of you should come near this area, and even more so, do not approach our army... I will go and report to the acting Khan."

The soldiers nodded.

At first, Steward Cai didn't dare to leave, but seeing that the Turks ignored him...

Only then did he dare to leave in a hurry.

...

At this time, Cai Yong went to Ashina's residence and asked Ashina to invite several khans over.

After they heard that Cai Yong had brought news of the hidden dragon.

I'm in a very good mood.

They immediately prepared to lead their troops to attack again.

The group, no longer looking dejected, chatted with each other in a relaxed manner.

"Tesa, have you been in contact with Yanbei City recently?"

Tesa shook his head and asked, "No, Ashina, what's wrong?"

Ashina said, "I sent many raven messages to our base camp, but there has been no reply. Logically speaking, they should have delivered the first batch of supplies I requested long ago, but I haven't seen a trace of them."

Ashina said this, and Batu Helu, who was standing next to him, said, "That's right, we also sent ravens to the tribe to tell them about Father Khan's death. We haven't received a reply yet. Could something be wrong?"

Gesa said, "Whatever problems or troubles might arise in the rear, it'll be at Yanmen Pass."

As they talked, everyone looked at Tesa.

Tesa quickly said, "You don't suspect me of obstructing your supplies, do you? Am I crazy?"

Seeing Tessa's appearance, everyone abandoned the idea.

After all, Tesa was very adept at dealing with people in this tribe, which is why he built such a large business.

He wouldn't do something so foolish.

Ashide asked Batu Helu, who was standing to the side, "Batu, do you know how your mother, Wuqimu, was captured? Your mother, Wuqimu Gesa, has been missing in your tribe for so long, have you not received any news?"

Batu Helu shook his head: "We haven't received a single piece of news. Actually, there's been a persistent rumor that Xiao Ce has already unified our rear..."

Batu Helu's words immediately caused a burst of laughter.

“Batu, I thought you were the smartest person among the Helu people. You think this kind of rumor is true? Ask Fan Gang, he would know it’s false,” Ashina said.

As Ashina spoke, he looked at the giant man beside him, Fan Gang Ashina, who was as big as a small mountain.

Fan Gang Ashina shook his head with an honest expression: "We haven't seen any people from the Xiao Kingdom go to our rear along the way, how could they possibly go to unify our rear!"

Ashide chimed in, "Fangang is right. Our army has been advancing all the way, there are no troops passing by... Even a three-year-old wouldn't believe such a rumor."

Gesa said, "That's right! Batu. What does Xiao Ce have to attack our tribe with? His mouth?"

Batu Helu didn't say anything after seeing what everyone said.

Just then, a shout came from outside the house.

"Khan! Something terrible has happened! A plague has broken out in the city of Zhenda!"

The Khans heard the sound and looked in the direction of it.

Before long, the leader of the Helu soldiers guarding the Fang family came over in a great hurry.

Cai Yong, standing to one side, looked tense and unpleasant, but Cai Yong didn't take it seriously.

Now that the Helu people had spoken, he immediately became nervous.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Batu Helu immediately asked, "Zhending Helu? What plague are you talking about?"

The man named Zhen Ding He Lu bowed and explained the situation over there.

Finally, he turned his gaze to Cai Yong: "Cai Yong, you should know about this too, right?"

As he spoke, Batu Helu cupped his hands in greeting: "Khan Dai, he has sent his steward and doctor over. It was their doctor who confirmed... that it is undoubtedly the plague."

All the khans looked at Cai Yong.

Cai Yong immediately became nervous and explained, "My lords, I am not sure either. I suspect it is a trick by the Fang family, which is why I thought I would report to you after confirming it."

Zhen Ding Helu cupped his hands and said, "Now that it's confirmed... Khan, what do we do now?"

Batu Helu subconsciously looked at the other Khans.

"Ashina Khan, look..."

Batu Helu was very clever. He was considered a junior among these people, even though he had temporarily assumed the position of Khan.

His father's example was still fresh in his mind: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. So after he came to power, he decided to stay behind the crowd no matter what.

Ashina's expression was wary: "Our entire army is in Chanda City. First, order all troops to withdraw! Then, maintain distance between the various tribes. In particular, keep Ashina and Helu away from those who have had contact with the Fang family!"

"You all hurry up and go... Also, those people from Cai Yong who are afflicted with the plague, you're all in charge of dealing with them! Kill them all and cremate them. Otherwise, your city of Zhenda will become a dead city!"

After Ashina gave the order, everyone nodded in approval.

Ashide chimed in, "What if they're imposters? Wouldn't that be too much of a fuss? It might also demoralize the troops!"

Ashina said with great certainty, "We cannot take this matter lightly. Let's get away from here first, and let's not talk about the plague for now. Let's talk about the upcoming attack on Lingxiao City again. This way, we can avoid panic among the main force as much as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Ashina said nervously, "Let's leave first."

He then turned to look at Cai Yong.

"First, lock up the entire city of Zhenda and thoroughly inspect it. Kill anyone who seems suspicious! Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"

Cai Yong nodded with a grim expression.

I rushed back, and on the way I ran into Butler Cai.

He then summoned Steward Cai to his carriage and inquired about the situation.

Cai Yong's face darkened. "How could there be a plague when everything was fine..."

Butler Cai said, "Was it brought over by those Turks? After all, they came into contact with many dead people on the battlefield..."

Cai Yong nodded.

"Go and seal off the Fang family's residence."

Butler Cai nodded, then said with a grim expression, "Master, it's not just the Fang family anymore. There's also the Zhao family, the Zhou family, the Sun family, the Li family... people have died in their families, all with the same symptoms. I've sent doctors to check on them!"

Cai Yong, his face dark, ordered all the other family heads to come over.

As a result, the heads of the four new major clans received the news early on and all claimed illness to avoid coming.

Cai Yong had no choice but to send his guards to surround those families and conduct a thorough investigation.

Cai Yong truthfully sent someone to report this.

The Turks retreated very quickly; in less than an hour, their entire army had withdrawn from the city.

Ashina, along with all the people from the Helu tribe who had been in contact with several families suffering from the disease, were all locked up together.

Xiao Ce's method immediately caused panic among these people.

After descending from Longhu Village, Xiao Ce went straight back to Lingxiao City.

Seeing Longhu Village gave Xiao Ce confidence and assurance.

Now that they've returned, Xiao Ce is ready to close the net.

As soon as they returned to the city, Yin Pan'er hurriedly followed Xiao Ce and told him two things.

One was that Nie Bing left a letter and followed Qianlong, saying that she was going to join Qianlong Society as an undercover agent.

There was also a letter from Yang Changlin, who said that the plan had started off quite smoothly.

However, things are getting a bit out of control now.

Because some people in the city heard about the plague and secretly fled.

The Turks discovered it, and they were terrified that these 'false plagues' would spread everywhere and infect the four prefectures of northern Mongolia.

They then besieged the city of Zenda.

Furthermore, they had already discussed it with Cai Yong, and the members of the new four major clans would quietly leave.

Then, the Turks prepared to massacre the city and completely eradicate this 'false plague'.

We must prevent this 'fake plague' from spreading.

After Yin Pan'er finished speaking, she said with some worry, "Your Highness, what should we do next? There are more than 100,000 innocent people in the city."