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

In the Xianyuan army camp, the Xianyuan king slammed the sheepskin letter sent by the Donghu onto the table, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"The King of Donghu said he was willing to cede the glory of being the first to breach Hangu Pass to me, Xianyuan?"

Inside the tent, a group of Xianyuan nobles and ministers all looked up, but no one spoke.

Unaware of the silence in the tent, King Xianyuan picked up the sheepskin letter again and looked at it once more, unable to suppress the smirk on his face.

"Okay, okay!"

He looked up, his face full of excitement.

"We, the Xianyuan, have been caught between the Donghu and the Great Wei for so many years, when have we ever had such an opportunity?"

"To breach Hangu Pass and occupy Wei territory—this is a momentous event worthy of being recorded in history!"

Xiao Guanyin closed her eyes.

She knew that her father had always had a hidden worry.

The Xianyuan people were partially Sinicized, learning the Wei people's writing, etiquette, and official system, but in the eyes of the Wei people, they were ultimately a foreign race.

In the eyes of the Donghu, they were spineless cowards who had imitated the Wei people in a haphazard and incoherent way.

Neither side takes Xianyuan seriously.

Therefore, the father really wanted to do something that would be remembered by future generations.

But the more you do this, the easier it is to be led by the nose.

"Father."

Xiao Guanyin stepped forward, her voice steady.

"This is not glory, it is the Donghu King's scheme."

The smile on King Xianyuan's face paused for a moment.

Some people in the tent looked up at her, while others looked away.

"Zhao Qing, the general guarding Hangu Pass, held out for two months. His 60,000 men held off the 700,000-strong army of Xianyuan and Donghu. They were already at their last gasp."

"If the King of Donghu truly desires this honor, why doesn't he take it himself?"

She looked up at the people in the tent.

"Because the Wei family army is already on its way."

"Wei Zhao led more than 200,000 Wei family soldiers to Hangu Pass. Whoever attacks the city first will run into Wei family soldiers first."

"The King of Donghu gave us the so-called glory, but he just wanted me, Xianyuan, to test the strength of the Wei family army and to deplete the Donghu's forces."

"At that time, the 500,000-strong Donghu army will rest and recuperate, sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. If we win, they will divide the land; if we lose, they will swallow us up."

"Father, this is not the magnanimity of the King of Donghu."

Xiao Guanyin said, word by word, "This is like using a tiger to devour a wolf."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was finally some movement inside the tent.

The young nobles' expressions changed; they thought of Jiangnan.

The 430,000-strong army of the Southern Barbarians was completely annihilated.

The barbarian king Tuwuhu is dead. This is not a rumor, but a bloody case confirmed by a series of military reports.

The name Wei Zhao is no longer a personal name.

He is a wicked star capable of crushing the armies of the five tribes one by one.

"Guanyin".

King Xianyuan frowned.

"You have been married into the Wei family for many years, and your heart is with the Wei family. Your father can understand that."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guanyin's fingers suddenly gripped her sleeve.

It's here; this is what she fears most.

She said Dong Hu was scheming, but others heard her speaking up for the Wei family.

But if she doesn't speak up, Xian Yuan might be used as a pawn by the Donghu.

If she tells him, people will suspect that she doesn't have her heart in Xianyuan.

Those caught in the middle feel like they're committing a crime just to tell the truth.

"Father, I did it not for the sake of the family."

Xiao Guanyin suppressed the tremor in her throat.

"I did it for Xianyuan."

Sure enough, a minister in a blue robe stepped forward from the left.

"Your Highness, those are nice words."

Xiao Guanyin looked at him.

The one who spoke was Helian Cuo, the Right Chancellor of Xianyuan.

This person is not stupid; on the contrary, he is one of the few people in the Korean court who can truly understand the situation.

Therefore, Xiao Guanyin's heart sank even further.

Even a fool who disagrees can be woken up by being scolded.

If a smart person disagrees, it means the situation has deteriorated to the point where there's no option to choose.

Helian Cuo cupped his hands in greeting, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"Your Majesty is not blind to the Donghu King's scheme."

King Xianyuan was stunned for a moment.

He looked at Helian Cuo, his expression somewhat bewildered.

Helian Cuo's eyes twitched, but he forced himself to continue.

"Your Majesty is wise; you certainly understand that the King of Donghu may not have any good intentions."

Helian Cuo turned to look at Xiao Guanyin, his voice becoming more subdued.

"May I ask Your Highness?"

"What if Xian Yuan doesn't send troops to attack Hangu Pass?"

"Should we turn around and fight the more than 500,000-strong army of the Donghu?"

Upon hearing this, those in the tent who had just agreed with Xiao Guanyin all lowered their heads.

No one responded.

Yelü Cheng's voice became even lower.

"That would be suicide."

Xiao Guanyin's fingertips dug into her palm.

Helian Cuo hit the nail on the head regarding Xian Yuan's most fatal flaw.

Xianyuan was neither a northern Rong nor a southern barbarian.

Xianyuan is sandwiched between the Great Wei and the Donghu. Its territory is not small and its troops are not few, but its location is too awkward.

To the west lies the Hangu Pass of the Great Wei, and to the north are the iron cavalry of the Donghu.

The Donghu brought an army of 500,000 to the border, claiming to form an alliance, but in reality, they were holding a knife to the back of Xianyuan.

If Xian Yuan does not send troops to the Great Wei, the Donghu will immediately ask: Are you going to side with the Wei?

By then, without waiting for Wei Jiajun to arrive, the Donghu will have already eaten Xianyuan.

Helian Cuo let out a long sigh.

"Your Highness, I do not disagree with the statement that the King of Donghu used a tiger to devour a wolf."

"But we are now that tiger being driven away."

"Ahead lies the Wei family army, behind lies the Donghu swords."

"Want to remain neutral?"

He smiled, but it was an ugly smile.

"dream."

The faces of the old ministers in the tent turned ashen.

Of course they were afraid of Wei Zhao.

But they were even more afraid that the Donghu king would turn on them on the spot.

The Donghu cavalry were not far away.

Five hundred thousand—that's not just a number on paper, it's a hoofprint that could flatten the royal court of Xianyuan.

Xiao Guanyin gritted her teeth.

She really wanted to argue back.

But the words caught in my throat.

Because what Helian Cuo said was true.

This is the greatest tragedy of Xianyuan.

Knowing full well that there's a pit ahead, you still have to jump in.

Knowing full well that the Donghu were using them as weapons, they still had to sharpen their own blades.

This isn't stupidity, it's weakness.

The weak don't even have the right to refuse.

Looking at the gloomy faces of everyone in the tent, King Xianyuan finally became somewhat displeased.

"What are you doing?"

Everyone looked up.

Xianyuan Wang pointed to the sheepskin letter on the table.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

"We will storm Hangu Pass, occupy the land of the Wei people, and display the might of our Xianyuan Kingdom."

"When future historians write their records, I will be recorded as the first king of Xianyuan to conquer the Central Plains."

The more he talked, the more sense it made, and excitement returned to his face.

"This is a matter of bringing honor to our ancestors!"

Why are you all unhappy?

No one answered.

The tent was deathly quiet.

Looking at her father, Xiao Guanyin felt a sudden chill in her heart.

She used to think that her father was just weak and just too eager to find a balance between the Donghu and the Great Wei.

I've only just realized now that it's not just weakness.

He was still naive.

So naive as to think that the meat handed to you by someone else wasn't poisonous.

So naive as to think that the glory in history books is more important than the lives of living people right before their eyes.

Helian Cuo stood there, opening his mouth.

The minister who had just been vehemently refuting Xiao Guanyin was now speechless.

He looked at the expectation on Xianyuan King's face, and his eyes gradually dimmed.

After a long while, he lowered his head and let out a long sigh.

"Xianyuan... is beyond saving."