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

Yan Jia looked at Xiao Ce with confusion, not understanding what Xiao Ce meant by "increasing the stakes".

Xiao Ce smiled slightly and said to Xiao Zhan beside him, "Go and call those Slavic people over, let them come and watch the battle too!"

Xiao Zhan was somewhat surprised: "Call them over?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "Let them know, let them know! Weapons are one thing, but excellent combat skills are another. It's also a way to deter them, to let them know that we didn't win against them through underhanded means."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce looked at Yan Jia and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Yan Jia smiled and nodded, giving a no-questions-asked gesture.

"Your Highness, just you wait and see."

...

At this moment, Nikolayevich Ries and Rochasky Bind were chatting in the courtyard.

They originally intended to go to the front lines to see how they fought.

However, Xiao Zhan refused, citing the need to protect them.

This made them feel that Xiao Zhan and his group were somewhat guilty, and that they were afraid that they had seen their weakness.

However, Nikolayevich Riess was somewhat puzzled.

After all, he was very familiar with Xiao Zhan and his group's strength.

Rochaski Binder said to Nikolayevich Ries, "It's actually quite simple. Either Xiao Ce has some kind of battle strategy that he doesn't want us to know, or Xiao Ce doesn't have any real skills and is afraid that we'll discover his weakness."

Nikolayevich Ries nodded: "That's quite possible... By the way, Lord Bind, didn't you come here to spy on his battle tactics? Did you do it?"

Rochaski Bindt laughed and said, "Of course we did it... They didn't want us to go, but how could they stop our men? The battlefield was right ahead... It wasn't that they didn't want us to go, so they just wouldn't..."

Before Nikolayevich Ries could respond, a servant hurriedly came over from the doorway.

Nikolayevich Riess said to the servant at the door, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? Have they attacked?"

The attendant shook his head: "No! It was His Highness Xiao Zhan who sent someone to invite you to participate in the war."

Both Nikolayevich Ries and Rochasky Bind were astonished upon hearing this.

They glanced at each other.

They almost said in unison, "What's the catch with inviting us to join this war?"

The two expressed their doubts.

However, after briefly expressing their doubts, they all decided to go.

They quickly arrived at the city wall and greeted Xiao Zhan and Xiao Ce warmly.

Although their previous negotiations were not exactly pleasant.

However, now that they have reached an agreement, they have done a good job of putting on a show.

Nikolayevich Riess asked Xiao Zhan, "Your Highness Xiao Zhan, how is the battle going?"

Xiao Zhan said with a smile, "You would never guess who those enemies not far from us are."

Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Nikolayevich Ries still speculated, "Could the enemy be... from Japan?"

Xiao Zhan nodded: "Indeed, Your Highness Rhys, you are very intelligent..."

Before Nikolaevich Ries could speak, Rochasky Binder asked, "Judging from the way they've set up camp, their forces definitely don't exceed ten thousand. They're really confident."

Nikolayevich Riess, upon hearing this, was also surprised: "What? Less than ten thousand people..."

Xiao Zhan continued, "It wasn't less than ten thousand... it was exactly five thousand. We also lost a thousand to our minefield, so now only four thousand remain..."

Nikolayevich Ries and Rochasky Bind immediately wore expressions that were both amused and exasperated: "Have they gone mad?"

"This isn't madness...it's that they have an extremely high level of confidence in their own abilities..."

Xiao Ce then walked up from one side and spoke.

He had just gone with Yan Jia to give some instructions, since they were now laughing at the Japanese for looking down on them.

They cannot afford to underestimate their opponent.

Xiao Ce felt that since the general of the opposing Fusang Kingdom dared to play such a game, he must have had his own confidence.

Nikolayevich Ries and Rochasky Bind bowed to Xiao Ce: "Your Highness, King of the Northern Desert."

He then said, "Even without Your Highness the King of Mobei's help, with the support of His Highness Xiao Zhan and us, they couldn't have conquered it with just five thousand men. Even if these Japanese don't understand, doesn't Xiao Xiangqing know?"

Seeing this, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "This shows that there are internal conflicts among them... they are not a monolithic entity..."

Nikolayevich Ries nodded: "Indeed... Your Highnesses, in this kind of war, there's really no need for us to watch... No matter what the situation, unless you deliberately let them win, they will ultimately suffer a crushing defeat..."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That's right, that's indeed the case. If it were a normal war, we wouldn't have invited you. After all, there's nothing to see. That's why we didn't invite you before. However, after discussing it, we suddenly changed our minds... which might make this war more interesting."

Nikolayevich Ries asked in confusion, "Oh?"

Xiao Ce continued, "We plan to capture them alive..."

Nikolayevich Riess looked surprised: "Capture them alive? Even though there are only so many of them... it's probably not very likely they'll be captured alive..."

Rochaski Binder said, "Indeed, and the people of Fusang believe in the Bushido spirit! They would rather die than be captured..."

Xiao Ce didn't explain: "I'm not sure if it will succeed either, so I'm just giving it a try. You guys can all watch and see..."

They nodded and didn't say anything more.

...

Over time.

Takeda Nobunaga's side also sensed something was wrong, since their supplies should have arrived long ago under normal circumstances.

They sent out several scouts to investigate, but none of them returned.

This made Takeda Nobunaga sense that something was wrong.

He summoned several of his lieutenants and began to discuss the matter.

"General Takeda, things are getting weird here. Without weapons and artillery support, it will be very difficult for us to take down a city now."

"General Takeda, before we officially start the war, we can go back and take a look."

"Yes, General Takeda, I'm not worried about anything else right now, I'm just worried that Xiao Xiangqing and the others might betray us... They're inherently fickle and treacherous people, what if they sabotage us behind our backs, preventing our supplies from reaching us, causing our defeat..."

"It's not that we've failed; it's entirely because Tanguy's side didn't send enough artillery support in time..."

These people talked one after another, each of them trying to find an excuse.

In fact, their purpose was already very clear: they wanted to retreat.

They were all trying to find a legitimate excuse for Takeda Nobunaga.

Takeda Nobunaga saw that everyone had already prepared their escape routes.

"Something is definitely amiss... But if we rashly remove ourselves now, won't those despicable Xiao Kingdom parasites mistakenly think we're afraid of them?"

The lieutenant shook his head and said, "Of course... but, General, I think it's a good thing."

Takeda Nobunaga, standing to one side, asked in confusion, "Good news?"

The lieutenant nodded: "Of course it's a good thing. The more they underestimate us, the more they'll look down on us next time we come... That way, we'll be able to win even more easily..."

Takeda Nobunaga nodded in agreement: "That makes sense... Then let's go back first, resupply, and then come back!"

The lieutenant nodded: "That's right, General. Our round trip won't make much difference, just a few days. It will only give those vermin from Xiao Kingdom the wrong impression that we're in control again!"

The group of people echoed this sentiment.

"General, when should we retreat? Should we leave now? After all, if we leave now, no one will know..."

Takeda Nobunaga waved his hand and said, "Of course not. If we're going to leave... we should leave openly and honestly. We're not retreating; we're going to resupply. Even if we retreat, we should do so openly and honestly. If we leave secretly, we'll be laughed at by these Xiao people."

The lieutenants listened to Takeda Nobunaga's words and the group nodded in agreement.

This also shows their approval.

Takeda Nobunaga said, "Everyone, go and let your men get some rest... Tomorrow, even if we leave, we must leave in good spirits!"

One of the lieutenants said, "Should we be more vigilant? After all, they've been provoking us for so long... What if they launch a sneak attack while we're resting..."

Takeda Nobunaga snorted coldly, a disdainful smile on his face: "No need... They wouldn't dare to come even if they had a few extra lives. If they dared to launch an attack, they wouldn't provoke us with underhanded, street-smart insults. Normal defenses will suffice."

“There are already some complaints within our army. If we continue to act all tense and overly cautious, wouldn’t that just be telling them… we’re afraid? Morale is more important right now!”

After listening to Takeda Nobunaga's words, the adjutant next to him also felt that they made sense.

"Okay, we'll do as you wish..."

Takeda Nobunaga waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's getting late. Everyone should go back and rest... When we get back this time, we must settle accounts with Tang Ji..."

The adjutant nodded: "We must also inform Lord Tojo Shōki that the vermin of the Shō Kingdom are always vermin... and can never be trusted!"

...

Time quickly passed and it was already past midnight.

At this moment, below the city wall, an army dressed in special camouflage uniforms, five men per squad, spread out in all directions in a very orderly manner.

Nikolayevich Ries, who had been dozing on the city wall, heard a soldier beside him shout, "Move out!"

He jumped up with a whoosh.

From a distance, the soldiers were spread out in a very orderly fashion in the darkness.

They then proceeded.

They are still using this method of breaking down the whole into smaller parts.

They moved quickly, riding their horses to a place a few miles away from them.

So they all dismounted and began to walk.

They moved quickly and lightly, and soon they were close to the Japanese soldiers on night duty.

Although the soldiers of Fusang were all drowsy, they had multiple sentry posts.

To infiltrate silently, everything must be done simultaneously.

So the special forces soldiers in the shadows waited for them all to arrive at their designated positions.

Once they arrived at their destination, they began to use sign language and gesture.

After gesturing for a while, they found a suitable opportunity to set off while covering each other.

Immediately, all the Japanese sentries were taken down.

Since Xiao Ce said he wanted them alive, they only knocked them unconscious.

After the sentry was knocked unconscious, the subsequent special forces soldiers infiltrated in an orderly manner according to the prophecy.

All three layers of sentry posts were silently eliminated without exception.

The biggest threat was actually the sentries; the sleeping soldiers were utterly vulnerable. They simply released some sleeping gas and knocked them unconscious...

Even if a few people occasionally got up at night, they were all silently killed.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

The people on one side of the city wall claimed to be watching the battle, but after they had traveled a certain distance, they started to move.

You'll never see it again, you can only think about it and listen to the sounds.

But after more than an hour, there was still no movement.

Not even a single gunshot was fired.

Nikolayevich Riess subconsciously said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, what are your men waiting for... If we don't fight now, it will be dawn... Are you planning to wait for them to wake up before we attack?"

Xiao Ce estimated the time and smiled slightly: "The answer will be revealed soon..."

Nikolayevich Riess looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Ce stood up, stretched, and then said, "Come on, it's about time we counted our spoils from this battle..."

Nikolayevich Riess said, even more puzzled, "Your Highness, are you confused...? The war hasn't even started yet. What have you gained?"

Although Rochasky Binder found it somewhat unbelievable, he still asked according to his guess: "Your Highness, do you mean that the war is over?"

Xiao Ce revealed a meaningful smile, gave Rochasky Bindt a thumbs up, and said with a smile, "As expected of a general, not bad... it should be the end of it."

Just then, a sharp sound rang out above the Fusang Kingdom's camp, followed by a beam of light shooting into the sky, turning it crimson...

Upon seeing the signal flare, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "The war is over!!"