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

Inside the Donghu army tent.

The Wei envoy, kneeling at the entrance of the tent, had his forehead covered with a felt blanket and dared not even lift his neck.

He was Lu Song's man.

We took a detour all the way from the capital, and three horses died from exhaustion. When we entered the Donghu camp, my legs were so weak that I almost fell off my horse.

But he dared not delay; if he failed to complete the task entrusted to him by Prime Minister Lu, he would die upon returning.

"explain."

The King of Donghu leaned back in his large leather chair, a golden cup still clutched in his hand, without even lifting his eyelids.

The Wei envoy swallowed hard.

"Your Majesty, something has happened in the capital."

"The matriarch of the Wei family...is dead."

There was a moment of silence inside the tent.

"Your Majesty."

Seeing that the King of Donghu did not speak, the Wei envoy quickly crawled forward two steps on his knees.

"The Prime Minister said that if Your Majesty can defeat the Wei family army at Hangu Pass and severely damage Wei Zhao, the Prime Minister is willing to persuade His Majesty to cede the six eastern provinces to Your Majesty."

The breathing of the several Donghu generals inside the tent became heavy.

The six eastern provinces.

That's not just a few cities, or a few pastures.

That's a granary, a population center, a source of salt and iron, the fattest piece of meat in the eastern part of the Great Wei.

One of the Hu generals couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Are the people of Wei really that generous?"

The other one also grinned.

"Six provinces? Would their emperor really give them up?"

The Wei envoy, steeling himself, said:

"The Prime Minister's word is law in the court. As long as the Wei family army is defeated, His Majesty will naturally have no choice but to rely on the Prime Minister. At that time, the Prime Minister will handle the border affairs himself."

That's a well-said statement.

But the King of Donghu found it all amusing.

Wei is Wei.

With a knife to his throat, he still thought of using someone else's knife to kill his own people.

The King of Donghu placed the golden cup on the table.

"Step back."

The messenger kowtowed, bowed, and withdrew from the royal tent.

The curtains fell.

The smile on the face of the Donghu King vanished completely.

He stared at the tent flap, his eyes full of mockery.

"Wei Gou, you're really interesting."

No one responded.

Tuoba Ye could no longer contain his excitement.

He stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Your Majesty, this is a golden opportunity!"

The King of Donghu turned to look at him.

Tuoba Ye was oblivious to the coldness in his eyes and spoke faster and faster.

"With the death of the matriarch of the Wei family, Wei Zhao will surely be thrown into chaos! If he returns to the capital, Hangu Pass will be without reinforcements, and Zhao Qing's 60,000 men will not be able to hold out for long."

"If he doesn't return to the capital, the morale of the army will definitely waver!"

As Tuoba Ye spoke, it was as if he could almost see Wei Zhao's defeat.

White clothes stained with blood, kneeling in the mud.

The white wax spear broke in two.

He wanted to personally cut off Wei Zhao's head, bring it back to Western Qiang, and make that vile woman Tuoba Yue kneel and watch.

"If Your Majesty launches a full-scale attack now, you will surely annihilate the Wei family army in one battle!"

Tuoba Ye's voice was full of excitement.

"With Wei Zhao dead, the Wei family army will surely disintegrate. At that time, the eastern border of Great Wei will be wide open, and the six eastern provinces will be rightfully Your Majesty's possession."

The voice just fell.

"Snapped!"

A golden cup smashed at Tuoba Ye's feet, splashing wine all over his trouser leg.

Tuoba Ye's voice stopped abruptly.

The King of Donghu looked at him coldly.

"idiot."

Two words.

The Donghu generals inside the tent immediately lowered their heads; none of them dared to laugh.

Tuoba Ye's face turned pale and then flushed, his fists clenched and unclenched.

The King of Donghu snorted coldly.

"Do you think the Wei family army will disband just because the matriarch of the Wei family is dead?"

He stood up and took two steps forward on the thick animal carpet.

There's a saying among the people of Wei: "An army driven by desperation will surely win."

The Donghu King spoke very slowly, as if he were slamming each word into Tuoba Ye's face.

"They figured this out themselves a hundred years ago. You've been living in the Central Plains for so long, and you still don't understand this?"

The King of Donghu looked at his expression, and the contempt in his eyes deepened.

"To fight the Wei family army to the death now is to send my warriors to charge a pack of mad dogs with bloodshot eyes."

He turned to look at the general in the tent.

"I want the six eastern provinces, not to be buried with Wei Zhao."

Several generals immediately responded.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The King of Donghu walked back to his seat and sat down again.

His mind is very clear.

Zhao Qing has almost pushed Hangu Pass to its limit.

Zhao Qing's 60,000 men had been defending the area for two months, and their arrows, food, and medicine were almost gone.

Wei Zhao's reinforcements are on their way, but they haven't arrived yet.

At this point, the best approach is not for the Donghu to personally confront and directly attack the Wei family army.

Let Xianyuan go. Haven't the people of Xianyuan always wanted to prove they weren't opportunists?

Haven't you always been thinking of taking a bite out of the Great Wei, but are you afraid of biting too deep and getting bitten back?

Let's give them a chance.

The corners of the Donghu King's mouth slowly curled up.

"Someone come here."

A personal guard immediately entered from outside the tent.

"Send a message to Xianyuan."

King Donghu tapped his finger on the table.

"Tell them that Zhao Qing, the general guarding Hangu Pass, is at his last gasp. Considering the alliance between our two countries, I am willing to give the honor of being the first to invade Wei territory to Xianyuan."

The personal guard clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes, sir!"

He turned and left.

Tuoba Ye looked at the Donghu King and felt a chill in his heart.

This man is more difficult to deal with than a tiger.

The Tuwu Tiger is ruthless, but still quite fierce.

The King of Donghu was different.

He knows when to pounce and when to let others pounce first.

Such a person is the true wolf king who will survive to the end.

Tuoba Ye immediately put on a smiling face and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty's strategy is truly divine. The people of Xianyuan love empty fame the most, and they will surely be tempted upon hearing this."

The King of Donghu glanced at him.

"Keep that face to yourself."

Tuoba Ye froze.

The Donghu King's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a nail driven into his forehead.

"You didn't smile like this when you were a prince in Western Qiang."

Tuoba Ye's smile gradually faded.

That's even more hurtful than calling him stupid.

He wasn't like this before, of course.

Back in the Western Qiang royal court, he rode the fiercest horses, drank the strongest wine, and killed whoever he wanted. Who dared to make him smile?

But now, he has to laugh.

He can't live without smiling.

Wei Zhao turned him from a prince into a stray dog, Tuoba Yue seized his throne, and the Southern Barbarian Tuwu Hu abandoned him. Now he can only bow his head before the King of Donghu.

He kept track of every single one of these accounts.

As long as he returns to Xiqiang and regains his throne, he will repay all the humiliation he suffered today.

Return them one by one.

"Your Majesty is right."

Tuoba Ye lowered his head, his voice steady.

The King of Donghu stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Don't worry."

Tuoba Ye raised his eyes.

"Once the war in the east is over, I will naturally send people to protect you as you return to Western Qiang and reclaim your throne."

Tuoba Ye's fingers tightened suddenly inside his sleeve.

That's exactly what he'd been waiting for.

As long as the Donghu are willing to send troops, that vile woman Tuoba Yue will not be able to sit still.

Which of those tribal leaders in the Western Qiang wasn't a dog who reads the wind?

Wei Zhaoqiang, they knelt before Wei Zhao.

If the Donghu are strong, they will kneel before the Donghu.

Tuoba Ye bowed his head and kowtowed.

The Donghu king did not tell him to get up, but instead looked outside the tent.

"But before that—"

He paused.

A bugle call sounded outside the tent, and in the distance, Donghu cavalry were forming ranks, their hooves pounding the ground.

The Donghu King's gaze slowly turned cold.

"I want to see just how strong this Wei family army really is."