Chapter 54: The Great Xiao Kingdom’s Face Was Utterly Lost

Chapter 54: The Great Xiao Kingdom’s Face Was Utterly Lost

Hearing the words of the newcomer, Yan Jia tightened the reins, his face full of vigilance.

If the slightest thing seemed wrong, he ordered his entire army to charge.

Sun Qiang, upon hearing the words of the newcomer, rode forward alone on his horse.

“You come over here, I have a secret order!”

Seeing Sun Qiang approaching alone, Zhao Long came forward.

“What are you up to?”

Sun Qiang looked at Zhao Long and said, “Zhao Long, are we brothers?”

Zhao Long was confused by Sun Qiang’s sudden question: “Of course!”

Sun Qiang said to Zhao Long, “The Prince has come! Cai Wu has been taken down, and I have already joined the Prince’s Northern Desert Army. Will you follow me?”

Sun Qiang’s words made Zhao Long’s brain almost overheat.

“The Prince? Which prince? Could it be that useless prince from the Capital? Have you gone mad?”

“He is not useless! If you are my brother, trust me! Open the city gate! Just as a Centurion, your monthly military pay is fifty taels of Silver! Most importantly, we can fight the Turks!” Sun Qiang emphasized the key points.

Sure enough, this practical matter caught Zhao Long’s attention.

“True or false? What about my brothers here…”

Sun Qiang said, “Regular soldiers get five taels of Silver per month. Everyone from Yanmen Pass has pledged allegiance to the Prince!”

Zhao Long was indeed persuaded by Sun Qiang.

“Reliable?”

Sun Qiang nodded and said, “Absolutely reliable! Don’t you trust me?”

Zhao Long continued to ask, “Can we really go fight the Turks?”

Sun Qiang nodded and said, “The King of Northern Desert said that within half a month, we will attack the Turks. He said if he does not go to fight the Turks, we can rebel against him.”

Zhao Long’s eyes brightened a bit: “Then let’s do it!”

After saying that, Zhao Long turned his head and said, “Alright, open the city gate! Let them in…”

As soon as Zhao Long said this, the city gate swung wide open.

Yan Jia rode his horse past Zhao Long.

Sun Qiang introduced him, “General Yan, this is my sworn brother Zhao Long. I have talked to him, and he is willing to join us!”

Yan Jia nodded: “How many defending troops are inside the city?”

Zhao Long cupped his hands: “General Yan, there are two thousand at the four city gates combined. The main force is three thousand elite troops stationed outside the General’s Temporary Palace!”

Yan Jia nodded: “The Prince’s intention is to avoid killing our own people! Do you have people you know well?”

Zhao Long nodded and said, “Most of the two thousand troops guarding the four city gates are familiar! However, the guards outside the General’s Temporary Palace are the Grand General’s confidants. It’s unlikely we can win them over.”

Yan Jia nodded and said, “Alright, then you first try to persuade the guards at the four city gates!”

Zhao Long asked, “What about the treatment?”

“Sun Qiang told you, right. Anyone willing to join the Northern Desert Army, as long as they help us capture Lingxiao City and catch the traitor Bao An, will each be rewarded with ten taels of Silver!” Yan Jia said.

“Later, capturing a prisoner or killing one who resists can earn an extra five taels of Silver as a reward!”

Zhao Long instinctively looked at Sun Qiang, seemingly finding Yan Jia’s conditions too good to be true, feeling somewhat incredulous.

Sun Qiang nodded and said, “General Yan can represent the Prince.”

Zhao Long nodded, then immediately called his subordinates.

Though called a Centurion, he commanded five hundred men.

He promptly gathered all his men. He did not get straight to the point, but explained the matter of pledging allegiance to Xiao Ce.

Most of the men had a flicker of excitement in their eyes.

“Brother Long, true or false? Can we earn that much money? Will we get it every month from now on?”

Zhao Long instinctively looked at Sun Qiang.

“Do you all know me? For us from Yanmen Pass, regular soldiers get five taels of Silver, squad leaders get ten, platoon leaders get twenty, and Centurions get fifty! All paid in cash! But there’s a condition: we must follow military rules, and we have to fight the Turks later!”

Sun Qiang was somewhat a figure in the Northern Desert Army.

He was a tough man who had truly killed Turks.

“Brother Sun Qiang, I know you. You are Brother Long’s sworn elder brother!”

“Brother Sun Qiang, can we really fight the Turks? Damn it, as long as we really fight the Turks, I’ll do it even without pay!”

…

Sun Qiang nodded and said, “Not only will you get paid, but also, that traitor Bao An only knows how to be a dog for the Turks! I’ve long wanted out. The King of Northern Desert said not only will there be pay, but from now on, every meal will not only fill you up but also have meat! Anyway, I won’t harm you. If any promise made to you is not kept, you can have my life.”

The men below immediately said, “I’ll do it!”

“Me too!”

A group of men instantly roared with excitement.

Yan Jia watched from the side. Zhao Long soon found a few men among them who seemed less enthusiastic.

“This one! This one… and this one…”

Soon, over twenty men were pointed out.

“Tie these men up!”

These men immediately panicked and said, “Why tie me up! I’ll do it…”

Zhao Long said, “Hmph, later, I will investigate you properly! If you have no problems, I will let you join.”

“Zhang San, take a team and watch them! If any of them dares to make a move, kill them!”

As he spoke, Zhao Long led a horse and said to Sun Qiang, “Brother Qiang, I’ll go persuade the other guards at the city gates! Will you come…”

Yan Jia said to Zhao Long, “We will go with you, to boost your momentum.”

Zhao Long nodded.

Their large force moved forward in a grand manner. Since they bypassed the Temporary Palace built by Bao An.

Any patrol squads encountered along the way were all captured.

After arriving, using the same arguments, as soon as they spoke.

Hearing about the five-tael Silver military pay, although tempted, they did not immediately decide to join.

However, when these people heard they could fight the Turks, they one by one roared and agreed to join.

Actually, only the people of the Northern Desert hated the Turks more bitterly.

Many of their parents, brothers, and sisters had been killed by the Turks. They were angry but dared not speak.

Some among them who tried to stop them were directly killed by Zhao Long.

In less than half an hour, they had completely won over all two thousand men, having also killed over a hundred.

At this point, Sun Qiang and Zhao Long said to Yan Jia, “General Yan, now there are three garrison points around the General’s Temporary Palace. A total of three thousand men!”

Yan Jia said to them, “Do you want to earn money? If you want to earn money, I’ll give you the chance to lead the main attack! If you don’t want to earn money, you can watch from the back, and we will lead the main attack!”

As he spoke, Yan Jia said to the Cavalry behind him, “Everyone, switch to bows!”

The Cavalrymen stood in their stirrups, and they all readied the bows on their bodies.

Sun Qiang and Zhao Long looked at each other.

They then looked at several other Centurions.

Yan Jia knew they needed to discuss.

“You have five minutes to talk! No matter how many they are, if we take them by surprise and shoot in two rotating volleys, we can take out eighty percent of their men.”

Sun Qiang and Zhao Long nodded.

They discussed for a bit. These Centurions were not overconfident. After discussing, they chose a side outpost.

“General Yan, we choose that outpost with a thousand men!”

Yan Jia nodded and said, “Alright! We will attack first later. You set up an ambush on one side. After I attack them, the troops from the two neighboring outposts will surely come to help. Then, you just charge out from the side!”

“Remember, our men will wear white cloth strips on their hands as the signal.”

After Yan Jia gave the order, they all nodded.

As Yan Jia spoke, he took out the Lingxiao City defense map and divided the troops into more than twenty small squads. They guarded each key road.

At that moment, a person wearing special clothes appeared from the shadows.

“General Yan!”

Seeing the person’s clothing, Yan Jia recognized him at once. This was one of the Twelve Fiends by Xiao Ce’s side.

Even though this person was wrapped up tightly, Yan Jia recognized him by the two large axes on his back.

This person was the one Xiao Ce had named Fu Niu. He had immense strength. With one swing of his axe, he could cut a person in two!

“Mr. Fu Niu, is the Prince well?” Yan Jia said respectfully to Fu Niu.

He knew very well that each of the Twelve Fiends was a trusted aide of Xiao Ce.

Fu Niu nodded and said, “The Prince is well. He is waiting for your news.”

Yan Jia then explained the situation here.

“Whenever the Prince needs us, if we attack by surprise, we can secure the situation in at most twenty minutes!”

Fu Niu nodded and said, “Good. Later, a Flaming Arrow will be the signal!”

…

Back at the General’s Temporary Palace.

They were originally presenting treasures, but halfway through, a Turkic Prince suddenly arrived.

This disrupted the treasure-presenting process.

Upon hearing that a Turkic Prince had come, Bao An went out to greet him like a dog, wagging its tail.

That Turkic Prince wore animal fur. His hair was braided like messy dreadlocks.

Seeing him dressed so heavily, one would think he must feel hot in such warm weather.

After the Turkic Prince entered, Bao An bowed and scraped, saying, “What are you all staring at? Everyone, kneel and bow to Prince Mosi Ashina!”

Then, people outside the hall knelt down one after another.

But Xiao Ce acted as if he didn’t hear, standing exceptionally straight.

He stood straight, and Da Lei beside Xiao Ce stood straight as well.

This scared Shopkeeper Qian Lai, who kept pulling at them.

Luckily, their position was partly blocked by a large tree.

Also, this Turkic Prince shared a flaw with Bao An.

That was, his eyeballs seemed to be stuck on top of his head.

Seeing them walk inside, Xiao Ce pulled Qian Lai up.

“Qian Lai, remember! In the future, when you see a Turkic dog, don’t be so weak in the knees!”

Qian Lai nodded awkwardly.

Xiao Ce continued to ask, “What’s this guy’s background?”

“He is called Mosi Ashina. He is the Eldest Prince of the Ashina Tribe, the strongest tribe of the Turkic Kingdom. He can also represent the entire Turkic Kingdom.”

Hearing Qian Lai’s introduction, Xiao Ce nodded with satisfaction. “I didn’t expect that. He’s actually a big fish!”

Before he came, Xiao Ce had learned about the Turkic Kingdom. Their surnames in the Turkic Kingdom followed the Khan’s surname.

For example, if the Khan of the Ashina Tribe was called Ashina, then all the people of that tribe had the surname Ashina.

The Turks believed this made them united.

After Mosi Ashina followed them inside, Bao An truly showed his spineless nature.

Without the Ashina Khan even being present, Bao An gave up his own main seat to Mosi Ashina.

And this Mosi Ashina wasn’t polite at all. He just walked over and sat right down.

Bao An bowed and scraped, wearing a flattering smile on the side…

Watching this scene, Xiao Ce felt very uncomfortable. He spat, “That dog Bao An! Tough on his own people inside, but to outsiders he’s like a spineless worm! He has completely lost the face of the Great Xiao Kingdom!”