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

"Yes, sir!" Chen Jing's voice trembled slightly with excitement. He knew that this weapon would completely change the military landscape of the Great Yan Dynasty.

"Your Highness, please give it a name," Chen Jing requested.

Xiao Jingchen pondered for a moment and said, "Let's call it 'Yuanrong.' Yuanrong crossbow. It signifies commanding the three armies and defeating the enemy."

"Yuanrong crossbow..." Chen Jing murmured the name, his eyes shining brightly.

Just as the capital and the northern border of the Great Yan were undergoing transformative preparations for the upcoming great battle.

A swift horse, traveling at breakneck speed, galloped from the depths of the northern grasslands and rushed into Shuobei City.

The messenger bore several wounds, his lips were cracked, and his face was deathly pale, clearly indicating he had endured a fierce battle and a long journey. He fell from his horse and, after being helped up, uttered the first words: "Quickly...quickly see the Regent...the Northern Frontier...a catastrophe!"

Half an hour later, inside the General's Mansion in Shuobei City.

Xiao Jingchen looked at the intelligence report that had been obtained by spies planted on the grasslands at the cost of their lives, and his brows furrowed tightly into a deep frown.

The contents of the intelligence report made him feel a little uneasy.

Ashina Sun, the steppe Khan whose spine had been broken, was even more insane than he had imagined.

After escaping back to the royal court, he not only did not restrain himself, but became even more brutal.

Using the pretext of "failure in the south," he purged all the tribal leaders who had disagreed with him, and annexed their people and livestock.

In order to assemble a large army in a short period of time, he issued an inhumane order.

All men from all tribes aged 15 to 50 were forcibly conscripted into the military.

All the grain and livestock in the tribe, except for a portion barely enough to feed the women and children, were used as military rations.

Winter on the grasslands is already unbearable. His order was tantamount to forcing the elderly, women, and children to starve and freeze to death.

For a time, the entire grassland was filled with complaints and cries of sorrow.

But Ashina Sun used the bloodiest executioner's blade to suppress all voices of resistance. Any tribe that dared to complain was immediately subjected to annihilation.

Under such high pressure, some small and medium-sized tribes, unable to endure it, began to secretly migrate towards the border of the Great Yan. They preferred to risk being killed by the Great Yan border army rather than stay on the grassland and wait to be forced to death by Ashina Tsun.

"Your Highness, according to the last report from our scouts, there are no fewer than a dozen tribes, totaling nearly 30,000 people, wandering aimlessly around our border like headless flies. They are running out of food, cold and hungry, and many are dying every day," Chen Jing added from the side, his expression grave.

"Ashina Sun, he's gone mad!" Lei Lie slammed his fist on the table. "He's using the lives of his own people to fuel his ambition!"

Silence fell over the study.

A thorny problem was placed before Xiao Jingchen.

What should be done about this grassland tribe of more than 30,000 people?

Let them fend for themselves? That's not in Xiao Jingchen's best interest. Besides, such a large group wandering the border is a huge destabilizing factor. Who knows if they'll go crazy from hunger and turn into bandits, attacking border villages?

Should we send troops to drive them away? Or even annihilate them? Although they are a different race, at this moment, they are just pitiful people forced into this situation. It would be unjust to attack them.

"Your Highness, what do you mean...?" Zhou Wenyuan, who had also traveled from the capital to the northern frontier, looked at Xiao Jingchen and asked cautiously.

Xiao Jingchen's fingers tapped lightly on the area representing the grassland on the map.

In his mind, a bold plan began to slowly take shape.

Ashina Sun's brutality was certainly terrifying. But from another perspective, wasn't this also an opportunity?

A golden opportunity to divide and disintegrate the various parts of the grassland from within.

"Pass down the order." Xiao Jingchen's voice broke the silence of the study.

"Open a passage through the border passes."

Everyone was stunned.

Open the door? Does this mean...let them in?

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" Chen Jing was the first to object. "These people are, after all, of a different race. We don't know their background. What if they are spies sent by Ashina Sun and have infiltrated our territory? The consequences would be unimaginable!"

"Yes, Your Highness, those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts! We cannot afford to take this risk!" Zhao Kuo also chimed in, trying to persuade him.

Xiao Jingchen raised his hand to stop their discussion.

"Of course I know there are risks," he said slowly, looking at everyone. "But fortune is always found in danger. If we want to solve the grassland problem once and for all, we can't just think about how to defeat them on the battlefield."

What we need to do is dismantle the very foundation upon which they depend for survival.

"Ashina Sun believed that all the tribes on the grasslands had to obey him. So we must show him that his people have another option."

A glint of "strategy" flashed in Xiao Jingchen's eyes.

"An option that can ensure they have enough to eat and can get through the winter comfortably."

He stood up and walked to the map.

"I have decided to accept these tribes."

"However, there are conditions."