I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"T-no, big brother, what brings you here?"

"If I don't come, am I just going to stand by and watch you die?"

"Did Father send you?"

"Exactly!"

In the midst of the chaos, Murong Jin and Murong Bo reunited.

Upon seeing Murong Bo, Murong Jin was overjoyed and deeply moved.

Just now, he thought he was going to die here tonight, but who knew that there was always a way out.

All of this is thanks to his father and his elder brother.

He had made up his mind. When he returned, he would definitely support his elder brother Murong Bo and would never again have any thoughts of seizing the throne.

"Alright, let's not talk about that now. Once we win this battle, we'll have plenty of time to talk when we get back."

"good!"

Murong Jin nodded emphatically.

In the following period, with the two brothers working together to attack from both inside and outside, the Great Zhou army gradually began to show signs of defeat.

In the end, the Empress and Jin Ge's troops were surrounded, and even the Empress was wounded, with several cuts on her body and bleeding profusely.

Seeing this scene, Murong Jin, his eyes bloodshot with rage, brandished his golden sword and laughed loudly, saying:

"Cousin, this won't do. You want to be the one whoops at the end, but in the end, our Northern Mang is the one who's the best. My eldest brother is the one whoops at the end, and the final victory belongs to our Northern Mang."

"Murong Huang, we advise you to put down your knife and surrender. We might spare your life if you do. But if you resist to the end, you will only face death!"

On horseback, the Empress glanced at the wound on her arm, completely unconcerned.

His face showed no other expression, only occasional cold laughs, showing no sign of defeat.

Murong Bo realized something was wrong and frowned, asking, "What are you laughing at?"

The Empress said, "Before we make our move, I'd like to ask if you have any reinforcements? Or rather, has that old scoundrel Murong Qingcang arrived?"

Murong Bo's brows furrowed deeply, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "What exactly do you mean? Explain yourself clearly."

Before the Empress could answer, Murong Jin casually waved his hand and said, "Brother, what could she mean? She must know she's been defeated and has no way out, so she's started talking nonsense."

"Murong Huang, you think you can make a comeback and seek revenge? Wait for the next life. Of course, even the next life is impossible, hahaha."

"You're a woman, you should get married, be a good wife and mother. The battlefield is our men's domain!"

"Pass on my order: Take it down immediately!"

The Northern Mang army surrounding the remnants of the Great Zhou army was about to shout "Yes!" in unison.

Suddenly, the earth shook violently, and everyone lost their footing. Their warhorses pawed at each other in distress.

"If you want to be the last one standing, have you even asked this general?"

With a sharp rebuke, Wei Hongying led even more troops from the Great Zhou Dynasty to surround them from all directions.

There seemed to be nowhere in the world where the Northern Mang army could escape.

Murong Bo's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered his army to break through the encirclement.

"Oh no, we've fallen for their trap!"

Even if it wasn't Murong Jin who fell for the trap, he would have fallen for it too.

He wasn't the last mantis to fall; Wei Hongying was.

The Empress's appearance was merely a ploy to lure him into rescuing Murong Bo, so that she could capture him in one fell swoop.

In other words, the Battle of Tucheng was not just one trap, but several traps, one inside the other.

If other Northern Mang troops were lying in ambush on the outskirts, such as Murong Qingcang leading his own troops, then the Northern Mang might be the ones to win.

The reality is that Murong Qingcang didn't come; he was still at the Northern Mang camp outside Xuanque Pass, waiting for his good news.

Murong Qingcang did not come, but someone from the Great Zhou did. They had just fought a fierce battle with the Empress and were definitely no match for Wei Hongying.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Protect the second young master and get him out of there!"

Murong Bo shouted anxiously, "It's better to get one out of here than to lose them all!"

Someone needs to break through and tell Murong Qingcang what happened here.

Otherwise, in this war between the Great Zhou and the Northern Mang, the Northern Mang will surely lose.

"Retreat? Retreat to where?"

"By order of this general, leave no one alive!"

Wei Hongying took the lead and led her troops to surround the enemy.

"Capture the Murong brothers alive, and you'll receive a reward of ten thousand taels of gold!"

The Empress, not to be outdone, spurred her horse forward to meet her.

This time, it was their turn to attack from both inside and outside.

……

early morning.

In the Northern Mang army camp, cooking has begun in various places, with smoke rising from the cooking fires.

With Murong Bo not returning for a long time, Murong Qingcang paced back and forth in the central command tent, his hands behind his back, a deep sense of unease rising in his heart.

Inside the tent, many Northern Mang generals had already arrived, unaware of what had happened.

Last night's plan was top secret; Murong Qingcang did not tell the generals.

They simply sent out scouts, one after another, to investigate the situation.

As the sun rose fully in the east, illuminating the entire Northern Mang army camp, news finally arrived.

The scout dismounted outside the main tent and scrambled in.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"The Crown Prince and the Second Prince have been captured alive, and the army that left the camp last night has been completely annihilated!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Qingcang paused, nearly collapsing backward.

Inside the main tent, the Northern Barbarian generals stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

What is that?

Murong Bo and Murong Jin were both captured alive?

How is that possible?

The hot-tempered general lunged forward, grabbed the scout by the collar, lifted him up, and roared angrily:

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

The scout was so frightened that he turned pale and almost wet his pants.

Murong Qingcang took a while to recover, but his heart was still pounding.

He cannot fall now; if he falls, the battle will be truly lost.

Waving his hand to dismiss the scouts, Murong Qingcang forced himself to calm down and addressed the generals inside the tent:

"Issue my military order: all troops, prepare to prevent the Great Zhou army from launching a surprise attack on our camp!"

Now is the time when the morale of the Great Zhou army is at its peak.

The stalemate between the two armies has long been broken, and such preparations must be made.

Otherwise, if the Zhou army were to launch a surprise attack on our camp, we would not be able to withstand it.

Several generals immediately went out to convey Murong Qingcang's military orders.

However, many generals remained in the camp, asking Murong Qingcang what had happened.

How could the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have been captured alive?

They were still in the camp last night?

What exactly happened last night?

Murong Qingcang knew that at this point, not telling the truth was no longer an option.

So, he then told the generals what had happened the night before.

Upon hearing this, the generals did not criticize him too harshly.

Because everyone could see that the Battle of Tucheng was not a result of the Northern Barbarians underestimating their enemy.

It was the people of the Great Zhou who were too cunning, making them impossible to guard against, which is why the Crown Prince fell into their trap.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

One of the generals asked anxiously.

After calmly considering the matter, Murong Qingcang gave the following instructions:

"You go to the front lines in my place. It is not appropriate for me to show myself at this time. I need to personally deal with someone."

The generals nodded; those captured were Murong Qingcang's two sons.

Murong Qingcang's premature appearance will only put him in a passive position.

As for the person Murong Qingcang was going to deal with, even a fool could tell it was Wu Da, an undercover agent sent by the Great Zhou.