Chapter 134: Prince, I Am Truly Impressed

Chapter 134: Prince, I Am Truly Impressed

Xiao Ce walked out of the tent. On the vast grasslands, snowflakes had already begun to fall.

Xiao Ce, wearing his armor, stretched out his hand. A snowflake landed on his palm.

Then it slowly melted.

Xiao Ce took a look at the entire bustling tribe and said to Zhang Yunqing, “This marks the official start of winter.”

Zhang Yunqing bowed. “Prince, today is the ‘Snow Descent Day’ on the grasslands. It means the Turkic Kingdom has officially entered winter and must prepare for it. From now on, snowy days will become more frequent.”

Xiao Ce nodded and said to Zhang Yunqing, “So, you have all made preparations.”

Zhang Yunqing clasped his hands. “Prince, everything is already prepared.”

As he spoke, Zhang Yunqing smiled and added, “Prince, it wasn’t just us who prepared. Each tribe has already readied their winter supplies! Our winter provisions are now very plentiful! Prince, if you need any supplies, just let us know! Even if we go hungry, we will supply you!”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “I naturally won’t stand on ceremony with you about that! Take care of everything.”

With that, he mounted ‘Iron Egg’, which Xiao Jiu had led over.

After mounting Iron Egg, Xiao Ce waved his hand grandly. “The entire army, move out!”

Following him closely was Yan Jia’s unit of Ghost Cavalry, dressed in camouflage uniforms, their faces smeared with paint.

Wei Wuji rode a horse and led a force of thirty thousand cavalry to follow.

Xiao Ce kept this cavalry force under Turkic command. Firstly, because this area was in a state of rebuilding and still needed a large army.

Secondly, he already had quite a few troops of his own. If all of them had to be supported by the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, the burden would be too heavy.

Finally, if he wanted to train cavalry, this vast grassland was the most suitable place.

Xiao Ce rode his horse as they advanced.

Yan Jia, riding beside him, asked, “Prince, should we send scouts ahead to investigate?”

Xiao Ce waved his hand. “No need to rush… We are still four days’ journey from Yanbei City. If we go slower, it will be five days. By then, they will certainly all have passed through… If we send scouts and they are discovered, it would alert them!”

After hearing Xiao Ce’s words, Yan Jia clasped his hands in agreement.

…

Everything proceeded roughly as Xiao Ce had predicted.

Three days later, in the Turkic camp.

Helu gathered all his troops. They had already formed up their battle formations.

“Everyone, warriors of the Turks. You made me the leader this time, so I will show you the might of us Helu Tribe warriors!”

“This time, the assault troops from all tribes are in the first wave. Our Helu Tribe will take the lead.”

“Following them will be the Mounted Archers providing cover from the rear.”

“The second wave will be the heavy cavalry charging forward, with various cavalry units rushing into the city to attack. Shield Cavalry will provide cover.”

…

Helu spoke with flying spittle.

“Brave warriors of the Turks, our previous defeat was due to faulty intelligence. Now, I will lead you forward to slaughter all those trash, those useless two-legged sheep of the Xiao Kingdom!”

While Helu was rousing his troops, he kept making indirect digs at Ashina.

Not only that, Ashina’s forces were placed at the very rear.

The people of the Ashina Tribe were filled with righteous anger!

Ashina said, “Alright, what are you all upset about… He who laughs last, laughs best! I say this now, with Helu’s character, there will come a time when he won’t be smiling.”

“Father Khan, what if… what if he advances successfully? Actually, the hardest part is Yanbei City. Once Yanbei City is breached, the road ahead will be clear…” Mosi Ashina asked worriedly.

Ashina smiled and waved his hand. “Don’t worry. Mr. Hidden Dragon said that without his help, we cannot conquer the Xiao Kingdom. This means that without our help, Helu also has no hope of breaching it…”

While the Ashina Tribe was whispering among themselves, the Turkic army set off.

Under Helu’s command, they advanced in an organized manner this time, pouring out in full force, leaving not a single person behind in the camp.

…

On the city walls of Yanbei City were the captured Turks who had been left behind.

They now leaned against the wall.

Their wounds had mostly healed, thanks to the medicine left by Han Da.

These past days, they had just eaten and slept here, resting when not sleeping.

“Do you think they have attacked yet?”

“Sooner or later. I’m so bored I could fart.”

“Probably soon. But, this whole situation really shows that those Turkic leaders talk better than they sing… when it comes to real fighting, they’re no good either.”

“True. Actually, over the years, our Turkic cavalry have been spoiled by those surrender factions from the Northern Desert before. We Turkic cavalry think we are fierce, but in recent years, we haven’t fought a real war…”

“Right. Now that the King of the Northern Desert leads a skilled fighting force, I have a feeling they are no match. What do you all think?”

“What do you mean, what do we think? Damn it… that bastard Ashina treated us worse than livestock. We fought for him, and he wanted to kill us. So I fought for the Xiao Kingdom people instead. Besides, I’ve heard many things about their Northern Desert King from the Xiao Kingdom. This Northern Desert King is very powerful. Perhaps good things await us if we follow him.”

The group nodded in agreement.

Just as these men were idly chatting, a Turk shouted, “They’re coming… they’re coming… they mean business this time.”

Hearing this, they all poked their heads out from the battlements.

Then, they looked out over the battlements.

They immediately saw a dark, dense mass.

“Judging by their formation, they really have come out in full force.”

“What should we do now?”

“Are you all stupid? Do you still want to fight them? Didn’t General Han Da tell us before he left? He told us to hide in the tunnels they dug.”

“Retreat?”

Everyone said, “Everyone prepare to retreat, then get ready seven days’ worth of rations and water!”

With that, the people on the city walls began to descend one after another.

After a while.

Helu arrived with his army a few miles outside Yanbei City.

On Yanbei City’s walls, helmet tops could now be seen, but no people were visible.

The city gates of Yanbei City were wide open. Previously, there had been a few people sweeping the ground.

Now, not even a sweeper remained.

The city was deathly quiet, like a ghost town.

Helu observed for a while, then asked Ashina beside him, “Ashina, do you think this is an empty city before us?”

Ashina replied to Helu, “Yes, from the beginning until now, I have always thought it’s an empty city.”

After hearing this, the expression of disdain on Helu’s face deepened. “But didn’t you personally come to investigate before? If it was empty, why didn’t you occupy it?”

Ashina said to Helu, “Aren’t you the Chief Commander now? We must all listen to you… What I say doesn’t count!”

Ashina said this purely to vent his frustration…

After all, if he just went along with Helu’s opinion now,

it would mean he had been wrong all along.

He was gambling. If it truly was an empty city, then it would prove Helu wrong for letting the Northern Desert Army slip away. The blame would ultimately fall on Helu’s head. After all, during this time, Helu had been the one repeatedly saying this city might be empty.

The Prefectural Assistants of the Four Great Clans had been writing to him constantly, telling him the Northern Desert Army’s retreat route.

At first, Ashina didn’t quite believe it, but over time, it made him uneasy.

He said one thing, but felt another in his heart. At this moment, he wasn’t sure either whether Yanbei City was truly empty or not.

Helu smiled at Ashina and said, “You’ll soon find out that your so-called intelligence is completely inaccurate. The Four Northern Desert Prefectures have already changed. Ashina, your old ways are completely useless now. To deal with the trash of the Xiao Kingdom, we must trample them under our horses’ hooves!”

“My brave warriors, charge! Since they’ve opened the city gates, they probably want to ambush us inside the city. That saves us a lot of trouble…”

“Assault teams, enter the city first and seize the high ground…”

Helu gave commands for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then shouted the order to attack.

Everyone surged forward in a massive, very cautious wave…

Meanwhile, on a small high mound elsewhere, two men stood.

One was Xiao Ce, the other was Yan Jia.

“Prince, after they enter the city, what if they find it’s empty?”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “They will definitely fly into a rage, then send a large force to pursue! They’ll leave behind only a small detachment, maybe even no garrison at all. After all, behind them is their homeland. They would never imagine their own base is being raided!”

Yan Jia laughed and said, “Prince, I am truly impressed with you!”