The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

"Report—"

Just then, a messenger rushed in, stumbling and crawling.

"Your Majesty! A man has arrived outside the camp, claiming to be an envoy of Princess Chang Le of the Great Yan Dynasty, requesting an audience!"

Princess Chang Le?

Ashina Sun was taken aback, then suddenly remembered something.

He had heard from his spies these past few days that the Great Yan Dynasty had sent a princess, but Xiao Jingchen blocked her outside the city and prevented her from entering.

He even treated it as a joke and laughed at it for a long time.

Now, what does this princess's messenger want with him?

"Let her in!" Ashina Sun frowned and said in a deep voice.

Soon, Liu Changqing was brought in.

He remained as "loyal" as ever, bowing respectfully to Ashina Sun.

"Liu Changqing, the envoy of the Great Yan, greets the Left Wise King."

"What are you doing here?" Ashina Sun asked irritably. "Are you here to beg for mercy on behalf of your cowardly princess?"

"No." Liu Changqing smiled slightly, "I've come to bestow upon the Left Wise King an immense fortune."

"Wealth and status?" Ashina Sun sneered. "What else can you Great Yan people do besides talk big?"

"Left Wise King, please don't be hasty," Liu Changqing said calmly. "I know Your Majesty is currently troubled by the lack of supplies and the inability to capture the city. But what if I could make Shuobei City fall without a fight?"

Ashina Falcon's eyes narrowed sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"It's very simple." Liu Changqing stepped forward and lowered his voice, "We'll cooperate."

"Our princess can represent the Great Yan Dynasty and reach an agreement with Your Majesty."

"If you can do one thing for us, we will hand over Shuobei City without hesitation."

Ashina Sun stared at him, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"What is it?"

"Kill Wei Yong," Liu Changqing said, enunciating each word clearly.

Ashina Falcon was stunned.

The scholar from the Central Plains beside him also looked incredulous.

They all thought they had misheard.

An envoy from the Great Yan Dynasty came to the enemy camp, demanding that they kill the captured Marshal of the Great Yan Dynasty.

What kind of operation is this?

"Are you... insane?" Ashina Sun finally managed to utter this sentence after a long while.

"We're not crazy." Liu Changqing's expression was extremely serious. "It's Xiao Jingchen who's crazy."

"To be honest, His Majesty originally intended to exchange Shuobei City for Commander Wei Yong. However, Xiao Jingchen is a man who holds military power and is ambitious and treacherous. Not only did he disobey the imperial decree, but he also wanted to dominate the northern frontier."

"Now, he has detained the envoy sent by our princess to negotiate, which clearly shows that he wants to break with the court."

"Therefore, we have no other choice but to resort to this measure."

Liu Changqing paused, looked at Ashina Jun, and threw out the real bait.

"As long as Your Majesty announces to the public that Xiao Jingchen colluded with you to kill Wei Yong, our Princess will immediately report to His Majesty, accusing Xiao Jingchen of treason."

"At that time, the imperial army will march south to suppress the rebellion. Xiao Jingchen will be attacked from both sides and will surely die."

"Once we get rid of this major threat, Shuobei City will naturally be yours, Your Majesty. We can even sign an alliance, open border trade, and exchange our Great Yan's grain and silk for your grassland's warhorses and cattle."

"Isn't this a win-win situation for Your Majesty?"

Inside the royal tent, there was a deathly silence.

All the barbarian leaders stared wide-eyed at the eloquent envoy from Great Yan.

They're a little slow to grasp the concept.

Has the internal struggle within the Great Yan Dynasty really reached such a point of no return, even to the point of colluding with foreign enemies?

Ashina Falcon did not answer immediately.

He looked at the scholar from the Central Plains beside him.

The scholar frowned, feeling that something was amiss, but Liu Changqing's words were logically flawless.

Xiao Jingchen defied the imperial decree, enraging the court, which was perfectly reasonable in wanting to eliminate him.

Using their own people as pawns to kill them, then framing them, and then justifying sending troops—this is a common tactic used by politicians in the Central Plains.

Moreover, this offer was too tempting for them.

Killing Wei Yong was part of their plan; it was meant to be a sacrificial offering to boost morale.

Now, not only can they kill, but they can also easily take over the hot potato that is Shuobei City.

They can also gain subsequent trade benefits.

This is like a windfall.

"Your Majesty," the scribe pondered for a long time before finally saying in a low voice, "this matter... is worth a try."

"There are risks, but the rewards outweigh them. Even if it's a trap, we won't lose out if we kill Wei Yong."

After hearing this, Ashina Sun's mind finally swayed.

He looked at Liu Changqing with a cruel smile on his face.

"Okay! I promise you!"

"How can I trust you?"

"It's very simple." Liu Changqing took out a "covenant" that he had prepared in advance from his pocket. It even had Princess Chang Le's private seal on it.

"This is Her Highness the Princess's way of showing her sincerity. Furthermore, our people will open the east gate of Shuobei City three days from now to welcome your army into the city."

"At that time, you only need to send an elite force to cooperate with us, cause chaos in the city, and rush straight to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion to assassinate Xiao Jingchen."

"Once Xiao Jingchen dies, the group will be leaderless, and Shuobei City will be within our grasp."

"Open the city gates?" Ashina Sun's eyes lit up even more.

This is much easier than them having to painstakingly conquer the city themselves.

"Alright! It's settled then!" Ashina Sun slapped his thigh. "Guards! Bring that good-for-nothing Wei Yong up here!"

Soon, Wei Yong, who had been imprisoned for many days and was no longer human, was dragged up by two soldiers.

He was emaciated and covered in filth, showing no trace of the grand marshal's imposing presence.

"Left Wise King... spare me... spare me..." Wei Yong was so frightened when he saw Ashina Sun that he knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing.

Ashina Sun looked at his pathetic state with disdain and disgust in his eyes.

He drew the golden knife from his waist and walked up to Wei Yong.

"If you have someone to blame, blame yourself for being born in the Great Yan Dynasty, blame your empress, and blame that guy named Xiao Jingchen!"

After saying that, he swiftly brought down the knife.

"Pfft!"

A large, healthy human head shot into the sky and rolled down to Liu Changqing's feet.

Blood splattered all over Liu Changqing.

He didn't even blink, and even had a slight smile on his face.

"Your Majesty is wise."

He bent down, picked up the head that was still staring blankly into the ground, and put it into a wooden box that had been prepared beforehand.

"Then I will take Your Majesty's 'sincerity' with me and return to report to the princess."

"We'll meet in the city in three days."

After saying this, he picked up the wooden box, turned around, and calmly left amidst the strange gazes of all the barbarians.

Only after his figure disappeared outside the tent did the scholar from the Central Plains finally speak.

"Your Majesty, I have a feeling... that this Liu Changqing is a little too calm."

"A civil official, upon witnessing such a bloody scene, remained completely unfazed."

Ashina Sun, however, casually wiped the blood off his knife.

"Who cares!"

"Anyway, Wei Yong is already dead. In three days, we just need to wait for them to open the city gates."

"Pass down the order! Make sure the men are well-fed and watered, and have plenty of rest!"

"Three days from now, I'm going to personally twist Xiao Jingchen's head off!"

"The most beautiful woman sleeps in Shuobei City!"

Inside the large tent, the barbarians' rough and unrestrained laughter erupted once again.

They seemed to have already seen the dawn of victory.

Little did they know, a vast net, tailor-made for them and woven from countless conspiracies and bloodshed, had already been quietly unfurled.

And they, in high spirits, plunged right in.