Chapter 121: The Prince’s Grand Gift

Chapter 121: The Prince’s Grand Gift

Night fell.

An air of tension pervaded Yanbei City.

Firstly, there were the Turks, who were eyeing them covetously and waiting with weapons ready more than ten miles outside the city.

Secondly, supply deliveries had not come for several days in a row. Rumors were swirling. Some said the King of Northern Desert had decided to abandon this place.

Others said that the new Family Heads of the Four Great Clans in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures had betrayed them again and allied with the Turks!

No matter the rumors, they knew one piece of news was true.

That was, Yanbei City had lost its supply of food and provisions.

And just today, Han Da also ordered the soldiers to go in groups with the city’s residents to collect any edible food, which indirectly confirmed these speculations.

As for the residents here, in the past, they would have scattered like birds and beasts by now.

However, they had lived alongside Han Da and this Northern Desert Army up to this point.

They were very satisfied with this army and very satisfied with their commander.

They knew the claim that this Northern Desert Army called itself the people’s army was not an empty boast.

Especially during that desperate battle, they had fought so hard without letting ordinary civilians help. In the past, things were different.

The soldiers defending the city would first press-gang able-bodied men from among the civilians, making the civilians bear the brunt first.

They had also decided to advance and retreat together with Han Da.

Meanwhile, in the City Lord’s Mansion, Han Da had shut himself in his room and had not come out.

Many people who wanted to see Han Da were turned away at the door!

Little did they know, Han Da, together with a small team of absolute confidants,

was digging a tunnel by the side of the city wall with Jiang Xing, one of the six Deputy Generals along with Sun Qiang and the others.

Because the gate of this northern city wall had been replaced with a concrete gate. Although it could be opened and closed, it made too much noise and was too slow.

Han Da also wanted to secretly dig a passage to the outside of the city wall.

Jiang Xing was steady in his work, reliable as a person, most importantly, he didn’t panic when things happened, and his mouth was tight.

All six Deputy Generals had different personalities and each had their own strengths.

Han Da now understood why Xiao Ce had assigned these people to him.

With their help, even though he was leading new recruits, it truly saved him a lot of trouble.

Just as Han Da was watching from the side, Jiang Xing, covered in dust, came over.

“General Han, no wonder the Turks wanted to dig a tunnel to attack before but stopped halfway! This city wall extends downward for more than ten feet. We can finally dig horizontally now. We will definitely break through before dawn!”

Hearing Jiang Xing’s report, Han Da was also somewhat shocked. “I knew the wall extended downward, but I never imagined it extended more than ten feet! It seems General Ma Tie spent considerable effort building this fortress before!”

Jiang Xing nodded, his face full of anger. “Exactly! That Bao An and the others really deserved to die. With such a natural barrier, they actually let the Turks treat our Four Northern Desert Prefectures as their back garden, coming and going as they pleased! Having a few dogs guard the city could have bitten a piece of flesh off the Turks! They wouldn’t have let them come and go so easily either.”

Seeing Jiang Xing’s expression, Han Da couldn’t help but laugh.

Jiang Xing was slightly puzzled. “General Han, why are you laughing?”

Han Da said with a smile, “I always thought you were calm in handling matters. I didn’t expect you to have such emotional fluctuations too.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xing gave an awkward, helpless smile. “General Han, I saw the fortress our predecessors prepared for us to resist the Turks. We actually let the Turks freely plunder our Four Northern Desert Prefectures and, under our provisioning, managed to raise this ingrate to such a size! If the old General Ma Tie knew, he would probably be angered back to life!”

Han Da nodded upon hearing this, somewhat surprised. “You didn’t know about this before?”

Jiang Xing said awkwardly, “Before, we were all blinded and brainwashed by Bao An. Whatever he said, we never doubted it… Looking back now, we are also at fault.”

Looking at Jiang Xing’s expression, Han Da patted his shoulder. “The King of Northern Desert has come. Our days of being bullied by everyone are over! The Prince said his Northern Desert Army can only die standing, not live kneeling!”

A flicker of fervor appeared in Jiang Xing’s eyes. “General Han, are we digging this passage to the outside here to then attack the Turks and catch them off guard?”

Han Da shook his head and said, “No! Our received task is to hold our ground, no matter what happens! We cannot leave the city…”

Seeing Han Da say this, the confusion in Jiang Xing’s eyes deepened. “Then…”

Han Da said, “You’ll know later!”

Time passed minute by minute, until the early hours of the morning.

Soldiers came to report one by one: “General, it’s through.”

Hearing this, Han Da crawled through. Although the passage wasn’t large, it was barely passable.

After walking for quite a while, they finally emerged outside the northern city wall.

The place they chose was a shaded corner, overgrown with weeds.

After they walked out, they looked towards another side, where countless vultures were gnawing on the dismembered corpses of slaves. Their expressions turned grim!

Han Da looked around for a while, then set up camouflage nearby.

Then he crawled back.

After returning with Jiang Xing, Jiang Xing asked Han Da, “General Han, do you need to set up sentries for this secret passage?”

Han Da shook his head and said, “Not for now. Let’s go.”

Jiang Xing grew more puzzled, but since Han Da didn’t say, it wasn’t convenient for him to ask more.

“Tell these men to keep their mouths shut! Everyone, go back.” Han Da instructed.

Jiang Xing cupped his hands. “General Han, rest assured. These are all absolutely trustworthy people.”

Han Da nodded. “Alright, everyone go back and rest.”

Jiang Xing was still uneasy and asked another question. “We don’t need to manage this place?”

Han Da nodded.

Han Da sent everyone away. Then, a figure emerged from a hidden spot.

This figure confirmed that the surroundings were safe and no one was around before leaving through the dug tunnel.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten at dawn that this dark figure made several more trips back and forth.

…

Han Da groped his way back in the dark and quietly slipped back in.

It lasted until the next day, when the sky began to lighten at dawn.

There was a knock on the door.

Han Da hurriedly opened the door, but seeing the person outside, he was somewhat disappointed.

“What is it?”

The guard outside said, “General Han, that little beggar from yesterday came again.”

As he spoke, the guard handed Han Da another note.

Han Da directly opened the note and glanced at it. His expression became more lively.

“Go saddle a horse for this General!”

Seeing this, the guard nodded. After Han Da changed his clothes, he went out.

He mounted the horse and was about to leave. The guard was about to follow but was stopped by Han Da.

Han Da rode his horse to a desolate residential area on one side of Yanbei City. Although Yanbei City had taken in many refugees, these people were nothing compared to the vastness of Yanbei City, leaving many houses empty.

Arriving at the entrance of one courtyard, he had just dismounted.

A familiar figure stood at the door of a dilapidated bungalow in the courtyard.

“Sir Da Lei!” After clearly seeing the person at the door, Han Da hurried forward with quick steps.

This note was transmitted from Da Lei to Han Da, and it used the secret code taught by Xiao Ce for use among the Twelve Fiends and confidants.

So as soon as Han Da got the note from the little beggar, he knew the message was from Xiao Ce.

Da Lei walked to the courtyard gate, his face still calm. “You finally came!”

Han Da said excitedly, “Da Lei, has the Prince come? That’s fantastic! I can handle leading troops in battle, but asking me to govern a city practically kills me. The Prince has taught me everything in great detail, and I still made a mess of it! Now that the Prince is back, many things here can be easily resolved! The pressing problems can all be solved!”

Da Lei still said calmly, “You’re thinking too much. You’re a bit too happy too early! The Prince has not returned.”

Han Da immediately felt disappointed. “Then, Sir Da Lei, you said you would give me a surprise?”

Da Lei said, “Correct, not just a surprise, but a grand gift! Follow me…”

Han Da, full of disappointment, followed Da Lei into the dilapidated wooden house. The scene inside the dilapidated wooden house made him pause in shock.

More than a dozen Turkic women were tied up tightly in the room.

“This…”

Looking at Han Da’s astonished and puzzled gaze, Da Lei said, “This is the Prince’s grand gift for you.”