Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

On the walls of Kuaiji City, Shen Qing watched the group of warriors return in disarray, showing no surprise whatsoever. After all, the Chi Yue Tiger Tribe was no pushover; they were renowned for their ferocity among the Baiyue barbarians, and were not to be trifled with. Once their army launched a coordinated attack, these warriors, skilled only in individual combat, would be far more formidable.

Shen Qing was very clear about the fighting style of martial artists, so he gave them a clear role: assassination and sneak attacks, striking the opponent unexpectedly, similar to assassins. If they missed their first strike, they would immediately flee far away. Otherwise, if they were to face a large army head-on, in the face of a battlefield with arrows flying everywhere, they would not be much better than ordinary soldiers.

Fortunately, the casualty figures were still within Shen Qing's expectations. A casualty ratio of one-tenth was not much for these martial artists.

"Brother Shen, it seems your plan has worked. The Chi Yue Tiger Tribe won't be able to leave Twenty Mile Fort today." Zhao Kai watched as hundreds of warriors walked away, boasting about their bravery just now, and his smile became even brighter.

These martial artists in the Jianghu usually act all arrogant and domineering, but now Shen Qing has only offered some rewards, and they are flocking to him, Zhao Kai, to use his services.

"They'll never be able to leave Twenty Mile Fort for the rest of their lives," Shen Qing said confidently. Twenty Mile Fort was the burial ground Shen Qing had reserved for the Chi Yuehu tribe. If they didn't leave in time this afternoon, they would be stuck here forever tonight.

Since the unrest began in Yuezhou, the situation in Kuaiji City has tied up Shen Qing for far too long. Currently, apart from Yuzhang and Kuaiji counties, the rest of Yuezhou is still in chaos. Shen Qing needs to help Zhao Kai stabilize the situation in Yuezhou as soon as possible in order to minimize the losses.

To quell external threats, internal stability must come first. Only by getting Yuezhou back on track as soon as possible can Zhao Kai's influence expand to other areas. Otherwise, if he can't even manage his own base, how can he talk about other places?

The Prince Yan's Palace in Southern Xinjiang.

“Good, very good…” Nalan Youci’s slightly effeminate, fair face was now as cold as ice. The maids and servants standing around him, after noticing Nalan Youci’s expression, all trembled and dared not even breathe loudly.

Just now, a secret agent from the Prince's Palace delivered the latest message by carrier pigeon. The letter stated that after Chi Hu annihilated the Li Yue tribe, he actually disobeyed his orders and intended to attack Kuaiji City. This undoubtedly touched a nerve with Nalan Youci.

Back then, Yuan Benxi chose Zhao Dun, Li Yishan chose Xu Xiao, and Nalan Youci chose Zhao Bing, the Prince of Yan. Perhaps the world only saw that Yuan Benxi became the Imperial Tutor and Li Yishan single-handedly supported Northern Liang, but few people know that Nalan Youci chose Zhao Bing for a more long-term consideration.

Yuan Benxi's rise and fall were both due to Zhao Dun. After supporting Zhao Dun's ascension to the throne, although he held the title of imperial tutor, he was met with suspicion and, being in Tai'an City, a target of public criticism, faced numerous obstacles and was unable to escape this cage.

Compared to Yuan Benxi's achievements, Nalan Youci admired Li Yishan more. However, although Li Yishan was good at strategy, he was too bookish and idealistic. Because of Xu Xiao's kindness in the past, he still chose this deadly place even though he knew that Beiliang was inherently weak. Even though Li Yishan tried his best to support it, he could not hide Beiliang's decline. Anyone with eyes could see that as long as Xu Xiao died, Beiliang would cease to exist.

As for Xu Fengnian, the heir of Beiliang, whether he is a true playboy or biding his time, he will never reach Xu Xiao's prestige, and this will be Beiliang's biggest weakness. Beiliang's ability to maintain its overwhelming reputation is entirely due to Xu Xiao's fame. Beiliang's 300,000 iron cavalry, its three armies, and countless soldiers throughout Liyang all idolize Xu Xiao. Therefore, as long as Xu Xiao exists, Beiliang can remain stable.

Once Xu Xiao, this tiger, dies of illness, who among the soldiers in the world will truly take Xu Fengnian seriously? Even the morale of the 300,000 iron cavalry of Beiliang will crumble. It can be said that Beiliang with Xu Xiao is invincible; without Xu Xiao, Beiliang loses that domineering spirit, and even the infamous butcher Chen Zhibao will still be no match for him.

Everyone says Chen Zhibao is a master strategist, capable of maximizing the strength of his army. However, in Nalan Youci's opinion, he is still inferior to Xu Xiao. To give an example, with an equal force of 100,000, Chen Zhibao could still only exert the fighting power of 100,000, but Xu Xiao's charisma could make 100,000 troops exert the fighting power of 120,000 or even more. Under his leadership, everyone from generals to soldiers would become fearless and ruthless, enough to drive any opponent mad.

As one of the top strategists of his time, Nalan Youci chose to follow King Yan to the southern border after he realized the general trend of the world. In name, he was defeated, but in fact, he was making far-sighted plans to prepare for the future conquest of the world.

He had foreseen the future situation long ago, and thus began to plan and strategize early on. The Baiyue barbarians were one of his plans. He wanted to recruit these Baiyue barbarians to his own cause, partly to stabilize the rear, and partly because these Baiyue barbarians were also very brave and skilled in battle. Therefore, he secretly supported the rise of the Jiuchi tribe, intending to make them a sharp blade under the command of King Yan Chi.

But with the Jiu Chi tribe's continuous growth over the years, it seems this sword has become somewhat disobedient. Chi Hu's actions made Nalan Youci realize that the Jiu Chi tribe's respect over the years had likely become somewhat insincere. This made him, a strategist who always prided himself on having everything under control, feel deeply humiliated, having been openly slapped in the face by ants he had always disregarded. What Nalan Youci needed were obedient dogs, not wolves that dared to disobey his orders.

"Someone, pass on my order: stop supplying all weapons and armor to the Jiuchi tribe this year, and double the amount of tribute they are to pay." Nalan Youci issued the order with a cold face after calming his anger.

Immediately afterward, Nalan Youci's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something, and he muttered to himself, "Very well, Chi Hu's move can also be used to test the true worth of the King of Yue."

On the other side, after driving away the surrounding warriors, it was already around four or five in the afternoon for Chi Yuehu's tribe. If they insisted on advancing, it would probably be dark by the time they reached the city of Kuaiji. They couldn't very well set up camp in the dark.

Therefore, although Chi Hu was very angry, he still had to make the decision to spend the night in Twenty Mile Fort. However, in order to avoid encountering the same situation as before when he was ambushed by warriors, Chi Hu sent out all of his thousands of cavalrymen and placed hundreds of barbarian warriors among them to keep an eye on the movements around Kuaiji City.

As night fell, and the cavalry of the Chi Yuehu tribe returned to Twenty Mile Fort, there was still no movement in Kuaiji City, as if they had truly given up on the attack.

On a dark and windy night, the gates of Kuaiji City suddenly opened, and Hong Biao led twenty unharmed Xuanyuan family cavalrymen out of the city, heading towards Twenty Mile Fort to gather information about the barbarian army.

Immediately afterwards, Pan Yang led four hundred local militiamen, escorting dozens of horse-drawn carts loaded with goods, and slowly made their way towards Ershilibao with torches in hand.

Next were Shen Qing and Zhao Kai, standing in front of more than three hundred fully equipped warriors. Looking at the eager crowd, Shen Qing was filled with pride. Tonight was the chance to defeat the Chi Yue Tiger Tribe.

Further away were the surrendered Le Viet troops led by Hama. After being persuaded by Hama and Le Anh, they were all willing to surrender to the Viet King's Palace. The wounded soldiers had been treated, and the remaining fifty men were the only fighting force left in the Le Viet tribe.