A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Just as Tuoba Ye slammed the wine bowl on the table, the scout outside the tent rolled in.

Report—Jiangnan City has changed its commander at the last minute!

The aroma of meat still lingered inside the tent.

The roasted lamb leg, browned to a golden brown, was placed on a copper plate, with fat dripping down the cut.

Tuoba Ye, still clutching the bone in one hand and with wine foam at the corner of his mouth, stopped moving upon hearing these words.

"Who should we replace them with?"

The scout knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"A large banner bearing the character 'Wei' has been raised atop the city wall; the city defense troops have withdrawn, and the Wei family army has taken over!"

The Wei family army.

These three words were like a red-hot needle, piercing into Tuoba Ye's ear.

The drunkenness on his face gradually faded, and what rose up next was not fear, but an irrepressible excitement.

The Wei family army has arrived.

Did Wei Zhao come?

He fled from the Western Qiang all the way to the Southern Barbarians, as if someone was constantly chasing and slashing him with a knife.

Tuoba Yue's royal decree, Wei Zhao's white wax spear, and Batu's open eyes before his death.

These things were making it hard for him to sleep.

He thinks about one thing every day—how to fight his way back.

The barbarian king, Tuowuhu, was a reasonable man. He took him in and even gave him 30,000 troops to participate in the Battle of Jianmen Pass.

When Jianmen Pass was breached, Tuwuhu patted him on the shoulder in front of a tent full of barbarian generals and said that as long as he entered Jiangnan, he would lend him 100,000 troops to help him return to Xiqiang.

When Tuoba Ye knelt down to express his gratitude, he knew better than anyone else what was going on.

Whether the southern barbarians believe him or not is not important.

The important thing is the soldiers. As long as he has soldiers, he can go back and tear Tuoba Yue apart and hang her head at the gate of the royal court.

But now, the Wei family army has arrived.

The opportunity for revenge was presented to him ahead of schedule.

Tuoba Ye suddenly laughed.

At first, he only grinned, but then his smile grew wider and wider, making several of the southern barbarian generals in the tent frown.

"Okay, okay."

He tossed the lamb bones back into the plate, stood up, and grabbed the scimitar.

"I was worried they wouldn't come."

The scout looked up at him, then quickly lowered his head again.

Tuoba Ye ignored him, lifted the tent flap, and strode out.

He wanted to see Tuwuhu.

I must see him immediately.

……

The barbarian king's tent was larger than the Western Qiang king's tent, with three layers of animal hides laid out. Inside the tent hung ivory and snakeskin, and several bare-chested barbarian generals were arguing around a sand table.

Tuwuhu sat in the main seat.

He was in his forties, with frighteningly broad shoulders, a string of animal teeth hanging around his neck, a wine cup in his hand, and small but bright eyes.

When Tuoba Ye entered the tent, Tuwu Hu raised his eyes.

"Prince of the Western Qiang, why are you in such a hurry? Has Jiangnan City opened its gates and surrendered on its own?"

Several barbarian generals inside the tent laughed.

Tuoba Ye didn't laugh.

He walked to the sand table and pointed the scabbard of his curved sword at the location of Jiangnan City.

"The Wei family army has arrived."

The laughter paused for a moment.

Tuwuhu tapped the rim of the wine cup twice with his fingers.

"The Wei Family Army?"

"right."

Tuoba Ye's eyes lit up, and his voice couldn't contain his excitement.

"The banner bearing the character 'Wei' has already been raised atop the city wall. Jiangnan City has changed its commander in the midst of battle, and the city is now defended by those women from the Wei family."

One of the barbarian generals scoffed.

"Women defending the city?"

"Is there no one left in the Great Wei?"

Tuoba Ye suddenly turned his head and glanced at him.

The ruthlessness in that glance made the barbarian's smile fade slightly.

Tuoba Ye knew that these southern barbarians looked down on him.

A defeated general of the Western Qiang army, living under the roof of others, could be trampled on by anyone.

But he doesn't care.

Once he conquers Jiangnan and borrows troops to fight his way back to Xiqiang, he will remember the true faces of these people.

For now, I'll just have to be patient.

"Barbarian King"

Tuoba Ye turned around and knelt on one knee.

"Please lend me a Yongzhen soldier."

The tent fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, the tiger narrowed its eyes.

"Yi Yongzhenbing?"

"I will lead my 30,000 elite troops, plus one Yongzhen soldier, to attack the city."

Tuoba Ye looked up, his voice steady.

"Within three days, we will surely conquer Jiangnan."

The expressions on the faces of the barbarian generals changed.

Elephant soldiers are not ordinary infantrymen; each giant elephant is paired with a hundred men. Training, feeding, and taming them all cost money and resources.

Yi Yongzhenbing is the hardest tooth of the Southern Barbarians.

Should we hand this tooth over to a defeated general from the Western Qiang?

What a joke.

Just as someone was about to speak, Tuwuhu raised his hand and pressed it down.

He stared at Tuoba Ye, not in a hurry to speak.

Tuoba Ye understood that look in his eyes.

This barbarian king didn't believe he could win.

That's right. He was defeated at Yumen Pass, and then chased and beaten by Wei Zhao after Yingzui Gorge. In the end, he even lost the throne of the Western Qiang.

If it were him, he wouldn't easily trust a stray dog.

But he also knew that Tuwuhu would be tempted.

Because giving it a try won't hurt.

We won. The city of Jiangnan has fallen, and the southern barbarians have expended little effort.

Even if we lose, it's just the death of an outsider, and we can also take the opportunity to probe the strength of the Wei family army.

Sure enough, Tuwuhu took a sip of wine, and a slow grin spread across his face.

"Prince of the Western Qiang, if you breach the city in three days, I will remember your merit."

Tuoba Ye clenched his fists.

Tuwuhu placed the wine cup on the table.

"I'll give you 30,000 troops for headquarters, and transfer another soldier named Yongzhen."

The barbarian generals inside the tent looked grim, but none of them dared to object.

Tuoba Ye lowered his head and spoke in a very low voice.

"Thank you, King of the Barbarians."

When he stood up, a fire was already burning in his eyes.

Wei Jiajun, Tuoba Yue, Wei Zhao.

This time, he's going to make up for the mistake he missed in the valley, with interest.

……

The city walls of Jiangnan.

When Liu Jingshuang saw the Western Qiang wolf flag outside the city, her hand was already on the hilt of her sword.

"Tuoba Ye."

The three words were squeezed out from between her teeth, and the cold made the city guards next to her shrink their necks.

The army is arrayed outside the city.

The Southern Barbarian infantrymen were shirtless, with black and red patterns painted on their faces. The elephant corps was at the forefront, with giant elephants clad in thick leather armor. Wooden platforms were placed on the elephants' backs, where archers and spearmen stood.

The person at the very front rode a gray-maned warhorse, wore a fur cloak, and had a scimitar held horizontally at his side.

Who else could it be but Tuoba Ye?

The image of Tuoba Yue unconscious flashed before Liu Jingshuang's eyes.

The bandage on his left shoulder was soaked with blood, his face was as white as paper, and he lay on the couch barely breathing.

If Tuoba Ye's strike had been just a fraction off, Xiaoyue would be dead.

She had promised Xiaoyue that the Wei family would remember the dog's debt.

Now the dog has been brought to the city by itself.

Liu Jingshuang's fingers tightened little by little.

"Open the city gates."

The captain next to him was stunned.

"lady?"

"I'll go and kill him."

That's too mild a statement.

Ping Dao sent a chill down the captain's spine.

He knew Liu Jingshuang wasn't just saying that out of anger; this woman really dared to lead three thousand men out and kill Tuoba Ye right under the noses of a 400,000-strong Southern Barbarian army.

But that won't do; the city can't be thrown into chaos.

Just as Liu Jingshuang turned to leave the city, a hand grabbed her wrist.

Huo Qingluan.

She had appeared beside them at some point, clutching a letter in her hand.

"Read the letter first."

Liu Jingshuang's eyes turned cold.

"Let go."

Huo Qingluan did not release it.

She was half a head shorter than Liu Jingshuang and usually spoke very little, but at this moment her grip was not loose at all.

"Wei Zhao's letter".

Liu Jingshuang stopped in her tracks.

Wei Zhao.

This name is more effective than any military order.

She stared at Huo Qingluan for a couple of moments before finally removing her hand from the hilt of the knife.

Huo Qingluan handed over the letter.

Liu Jingshuang opened the package, her gaze sweeping over the first line, and her brow twitched slightly.

Shang Wanqing, Mojiabao, and 50,000 sets of rattan armor.

One hundred and twenty ballistae.

Specialized in defeating poison troops and elephant troops.

She read on, word by word, the suppressed killing intent in her eyes not dissipating, but shifting in direction.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder Wei Zhao took a detour to Mo Family Fortress.

No wonder he had them take over the defense of Jiangnan first, and forbade them from rashly going out of the city to fight.

So that's where the trump card was.

Huo Qingluan had also read the letter, her fingers tapping lightly on the city bricks, her eyes fixed on the elephant formation outside the city.

"Rattan armor can block poison, and ballistae can shoot elephants."

She still spoke in that flat tone, but Liu Jingshuang could tell that her mind was already working.

This woman only acts like this when she's arranging formations.

His eyes brightened, he spoke less, and his whole being resembled a taut bow.

Su Qingyun also came up from behind.

She had just returned from the granary; her skirt was dusty, and she was clutching an invoice in her hand.

Seeing the letter in Liu Jingshuang's hand, she asked:

"Has Wei Zhao arrived?"