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

The group nodded in agreement.

Mos Ashina began, “Father Khan, when the time comes, all those two-legged sheep, including those in the four northern prefectures, will be slaughtered. When their guards arrive, we ordered them to enter the city and kill them all to prevent future trouble, but they have made all sorts of excuses and are delaying..."

Ashina nodded: "These two-legged sheep will only behave if we kill them. Otherwise, they'll always be like weather vanes, swaying back and forth! If we leave them here when we invade the Central Plains, they will indeed be a hidden danger!"

Ashide and the other khans nodded in agreement.

"Ashina, do you now have a foolproof plan?"

Ashina nodded: "According to Mr. Qianlong's letter, he has already tricked Xiao Yang, the second prince of Xiao Kingdom and Xiao Ce's mortal enemy, into coming here! Judging by the time, Xiao Yang should have arrived at Maoming City outside Yanmen Pass by now!"

"Xiao Ce is now facing not only food shortages and internal and external troubles, but also attacks from all sides. What we can do now is launch another massive attack! This time, we'll bring plenty of siege weapons..."

Before Ashina could finish speaking, Gesa couldn't help but interrupt: "A direct assault wouldn't be appropriate. They have those explosive devices; even a direct assault would result in heavy losses for us!"

Seeing this, Ashina said, "Gesa, don't be hasty. Let me finish! What I mean is, we should prepare for a full-scale attack!"

"The real strategy is to besiege without attacking. Our army will set up camp outside the city, and every day we will simply cook our meals as usual, and shout into the city every day, telling them that as long as they surrender and open the city gates, we will guarantee them food... and guarantee that they will not die!"

“Those of them who are starving won’t care about anything else. I believe they will be easily turned by us.”

"We'll tell them that whoever opens the city gate first will become the ruler of Beiwang County, and I believe Xiao Ce's men inside will definitely rebel... Once the city gates are open and we occupy those nine cities, we can kill those two sheep inside however we want?"

Ashina's plan was quickly agreed upon by everyone!

If Ashina were to launch a full-scale attack, it would inevitably provoke their unanimous opposition! After all, the shadow of the previous bombing was still fresh in their minds!

Moreover, their cavalry are not particularly adept at siege warfare. This method is indeed the best course of action!

Batu Helu asked, "Ashina, what about the city of Chanda behind us?"

Ashina said nonchalantly, "Let their clan guards stay here and let them fight like dogs."

Batu Helu nodded: "Ashina, don't you think the plague in that city of Zhenda is a bit strange?"

Ashina looked at Batu Helu: "What do you mean?"

Batu Helu said, "Since a few days ago when a few people ran out and were shot dead, no one has come out again."

Ashina explained, "Given the cowardly nature of these two-legged sheep of the Xiao Kingdom, it's natural they wouldn't dare to come out. After all, they'd die so quickly inside, and coming out would mean certain death under our encirclement. It's not surprising that they wouldn't dare to come out!"

Batu Helu continued, "You're right, but according to their custom, they would definitely throw out the plague corpses! They did that before... but they've never done it before. Do you think it's possible that there's no plague inside at all?"

Ashina couldn't help but laugh: "Batu, you and your father are truly two extremes. Your father, Helu, thought too little... while you... thought too much. I believe other Khans could explain this..."

Ashide nodded in agreement: "That's right... The people of Xiao believe in 'burial for peace.' We've observed the corpses that were thrown in before; they were all those who escaped but were shot and killed. They stole them back and then threw them in. Clearly, they wouldn't leave the bodies of those who died inside to rot in the wilderness."

Batu Helu nodded thoughtfully. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Ashina chimed in, "Alright, none of that matters... Whether it's a real plague or a fake one, they're all surrounded by those guards now. Even if those powerful families and their guards don't go in, they're all doomed."

"If none of you have any objections to what I've said, we'll go back and gather our troops, then set off and surround Lingxiao City!"

The group nodded: "It's time to set off, otherwise the longer we stay, the lower the morale of the soldiers will become."

Ashina waved his hand and said, "Then let's set off tonight!"

Everyone nodded.

"Should we inform those powerful and aristocratic families?" Ashide asked.

Ashina nodded: "Give them a heads-up! If they haven't killed all the plague victims in Chanda City before we breach Lingxiao City, then we'll kill them all..."

Everyone nodded.

...

Not long after, news of the Turks' departure reached the ears of the four new powerful clans.

They breathed a sigh of relief; just a few hours earlier, they had been worried.

Unexpectedly, their army set off a few hours later.

As for the Turks' threats, they didn't listen to them at all.

They felt that by the time they captured the city, most of the people in Zendar would be dead.

The heads of several powerful families wanted to see them off, but the Turks were now afraid that they might be carrying the plague and wouldn't let them get close.

"Do you think the Turks will be able to break through Lingxiao City this time?" Lin Nan asked.

Cai Yong nodded: "This time it's almost certain... All the granaries in Lingxiao City have been burned down, they have no food! There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city... Without food, they will starve to death. Even if Xiao Ce has a thousand and one plans, there's nothing he can do."

The others nodded: "Who cares who wins or loses? We just need to stick to our own little corner. We haven't even had a proper chance to enjoy ourselves since we took office..."

Lin Nan nodded and said, "Yes, our current situation is that we depend on whoever is stronger..."

When Cai Yong saw that Lin Nan, who was usually not very talkative, suddenly said this, he looked at Lin Nan and said, "Lin Nan, there seems to be something behind what you said."

Lin Nan adopted a mysterious air and then said, "Gentlemen, I think we've been through thick and thin together until now, so I thought I'd share this with you. I just received definite news that the situation in the entire Turkic Khaganate and even in our northern desert region is likely to undergo a major change!"

Everyone turned to look at Lin Nan, who was usually the quietest, as he suddenly spoke. "Lin Nan, a big change? What do you mean?"

Lin Nan didn't waste any words and said bluntly, "Gentlemen, I have received definite news that a huge change has occurred in the rear of the Turks. A tribe called 'Urgen' has emerged among the Turkic tribes, calling themselves the Turkic God Clan. They have unified Ashina, Helu, Tesa, Gesa, and all those scattered small tribes!"

"Not only that, they have occupied Yanbei City, the most fortified pass on the border between the Mo and Tu regions! Moreover, the Khan of Urgen claimed that he and Xiao Ce, the King of Mobei, are sworn brothers!"

When Lin Nan said this, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Lin Nan, where did you get this information from?"

"Yeah, is it reliable? Who told you that? What does the Urgen tribe do? I've never heard of them before."

Everyone looked puzzled.

Lin Nan just received a secret letter from Xiao Ce.

When he first went to Lingxiao City, he was the one chosen by the Hidden Dragon.

However, ever since he learned about Xiao Ce's actions over there...

Lin Nan then clearly understood that this was a prince who could truly help Mobei.

He confessed to Xiao Ce back then, and Xiao Ce kept him as a trump card all along.

After Xiao Ce went to Fei Du and gathered the information, he felt that Lin Nan could lend a hand, so he sent a letter to Lin Nan.

Cai Yong asked Lin Nan, "Lin Nan, where did you get this news from?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Lin Nan remained calm: "I'm afraid it's inconvenient for me to tell you how I got the news. What I can tell you is that this news is guaranteed to be true!"

Seeing that no one responded.

Lin Nan said to Cai Yong, "Haven't you noticed that the Turks haven't received any supplies at all during this period? Especially the Ashina tribe's cavalry, their military supplies were attacked, but so much time has passed and their cavalry still haven't been replenished... Not only that, none of their tribes have any supplies, they're just robbing us on the spot?"

Cai Yong nodded upon hearing Lin Nan's words: "That's true. Mr. Qianlong asked us before if we had launched a surprise attack on Yanbei City and asked me to investigate what problems had occurred in their rear, causing their supplies to be delayed. Later, the Turks suffered a great defeat, and I haven't had a chance to check. According to what you're saying, Lin Nan, not only did they have problems in their rear, but they were also raided while they were out!"

Liu Qi immediately spoke up: "If that's really the case, what do we do now? If we go and help the Turks now, aren't we just courting death?"

Kan Shanyue said, "Isn't that simple? According to the old rules, if the Turks gain the upper hand, we'll stay put. If the Turks are retreating, we'll block them and wipe them out! At that time, Xiao Ce won't do anything to us. After all, we were the victims!"

Lin Nan said, "You've all met Xiao Ce, right? He's ruthless. If we make a move at the last minute, he definitely won't show us any mercy then."

Cai Yong looked at Lin Nan with a hint of suspicion: "Do you mean we should launch an attack on the Turks?"

Lin Nan ignored Cai Yong's suspicious gaze and nodded: "That's right, everyone knows that offering help in times of need is truly precious. Everyone can add flowers to brocade... I'm just giving you a suggestion."

Cai Yong glanced at the people beside him.

Kan Shanyue addressed the crowd, saying, "I'll just follow the crowd and do whatever you say. But to be honest, I don't want to serve Xiao Ce! He's very likely the one who killed my whole family and wiped out all the noble families in our county! I don't think he'll let me go if I help him."

Liu Qi nodded: "That's right, and we all know that Xiao Ce's policies are all for the benefit of the people. If we're in his hands, we'll definitely not have a good ending."

Cai Yong nodded and began to analyze: "I think so too. Although those Turks are a bit beastly, they are only good to the common people. Those Turks are actually alright to us! Aren't those ordinary people born to suffer? It doesn't matter if they suffer a little. As long as our own interests are not harmed, that's fine!"

"As for what Lin Nan said about the Urgen tribe unifying the rear of the Turks, that news is probably true! However, the claim that he's Xiao Ce's brother... I think it's very likely that the newly risen Urgen tribe is just fooling that fool Xiao Ce, using him as a tool to eliminate Ashina's army..."

"So, even if we're doing them a favor, we should find a way to get in touch with that guy from Urgen! We should sell to him!"

After saying that, they looked at Lin Nan: "Lin Nan, what do you think?"

Kan Shanyue added, "Or do you mean you want to support Xiao Ce?"