I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Wang Long loosened Judge Wu's collar and lay back down, as if he had used up all his strength.

However, he wasn't lying. Even if he were crippled, he could still deal with Judge Wu.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Wang Long said weakly:

"I know that the situation is not good. Some of you are considering retreating."

"But I must tell you, even if we retreat to Liangzhou, death will be the only thing waiting for us."

"Therefore, it's better to stay here and give it your all. If you succeed, you will all be credited with the success of the founding of the dynasty and will be granted titles and honors."

Judge Wu was the first to speak, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect:

"We will obey the prince's orders. Whatever the prince tells us to do, we will do it without fail."

Shadow Snake quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes."

As for Night Owl, he was a step behind in action, but even if he didn't express his opinion, Wang Long believed that he would not have any ulterior motives.

The reason I made that scene just now was to intimidate Judge Wu and Shadow Snake.

"Alright, you may all leave."

Wang Long waved to them and closed his eyes.

He needs to think carefully about what to do next.

The three of them didn't know what to say, so they left the main hall together.

On the way back, the night owl couldn't understand it at all.

He looked at Judge Wu and said, "Brother, how come the grain reserves in the city only last for one year? We counted them together when we were calculating them, and they should have lasted for two years."

Upon hearing this, Judge Wu shook his head slightly, not wanting to answer the Night Owl's foolish question.

The reason he mentioned a year was to make the problem seem more serious.

This would allow Wang Long to order a retreat so that everyone could return to Liangzhou.

Now everyone can see that they are no match for the Empress outside the city.

Continuing to waste time here will only lead to bad results.

It would be better to hurry back to Liangzhou; perhaps there is still a way to survive there.

"Second sister, what do you think?" Seeing that Judge Wu did not answer his question, Night Owl turned to Shadow Serpent for help.

Shadow Snake didn't bother with Night Owl. He and Judge Wu must have been blind to have become sworn siblings with Night Owl back then.

The night owl was so stupid that he was ashamed to associate with it.

Seeing that neither of them answered his question, the night owl decided not to make a fool of himself.

After a while, he suddenly said:

"Big brother, second sister, I have a way to turn the situation around."

The two didn't take it seriously at all. What good ideas could a night owl possibly have? It would be a miracle if he did.

But the next moment, the night owl said:

"If His Highness could order the entire Liangzhou army to be transferred here, wouldn't we be able to easily turn the tide?"

"Two hundred thousand Liangzhou cavalry, who in the entire world can rival them?"

Upon hearing this, Judge Wu and Shadow Snake both stopped and looked at each other.

It must be said that this is indeed a good method.

The problem is, those cavalry can't move.

Once the movement begins, the Western Regions will no longer be able to be suppressed.

Even when Qin Li borrowed troops to quell the rebellion in Jiangnan, Wang Long didn't borrow much.

The Wang family has suppressed the Western Regions for generations. If the Western Regions were in chaos under Wang Long's control, how could Wang Long face the ancestors of the Wang family?

Moreover, if they could mobilize the entire Liangzhou army, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? Therefore, they did not believe that Wang Long would mobilize the Liangzhou army.

……

Another two weeks have passed.

On this day, an extremely urgent military report was delivered to Qin Li at Xuanque Pass.

After reading it, Qin Li couldn't help but stand up abruptly and smash the table in front of him to pieces.

No one knew what had happened, but it was definitely related to the military report that had just been delivered.

Qin Li looked at the crowd and said, "The Western Regions have rebelled!"

Although it consists of only four characters, it conveys a great deal of information.

For so many years, the Western Regions have been at peace.

At this point, the Western Regions rebelled. There can only be one possibility: Wang Long had transferred all the Liangzhou Iron Cavalry away. Without the Liangzhou Iron Cavalry to suppress them, the Western Regions rebelled.

"Wang Long deserves to die. For his own sake, he completely disregarded the Wang family's generations of hard work."

"How can you face the ancestors of the royal family in this way!"

One of the generals couldn't contain his indignation and started cursing.

Wang Long is a sinner to the Wang family, and even more so to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They'll definitely be cursed behind their backs and remembered with infamy forever!

But the most urgent matter is not to scold Wang Long. A general asked anxiously:

"Your Majesty, where have the Western Region troops advanced to?"

Qin Li did not hide anything and told the truth: "Yumen Pass has been breached, and we have entered Henan."

These words greatly surprised the generals.

Yumen Pass was a crucial pass guarding the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions. Once this pass was breached, the Western Regions troops could advance unimpeded and head straight for the capital.

Wang Long's retreat has caused a major incident.

Without giving the generals time to discuss, Qin Li decisively gave the order:

"Your Majesty, what should we do about the Northern Barbarians?"

A general asked.

Now is the crucial moment to pursue and defeat the Northern Barbarians.

With Qin Li gone, things are likely to get messy here.

Qin Li replied, "With the Grand General and General Wei here, I believe Murong Qingcang can't cause any trouble."

"The most urgent task is to deal with the Western Regions, which are advancing unimpeded. If I cannot stop them, the capital will be in danger."

"I will depart for the capital immediately."

Seeing that Qin Li had said so, the generals had no other objections and all bowed and said, "We will obey Your Majesty's decree."

……

At this very moment, in the capital city.

The Empress and Qin Feng, who were stationed outside the city, also received the news.

The two had different expressions. Qin Feng was furious and was about to ride out of the city, beat drums and gongs, and curse Wang Long's mother. The Empress, on the other hand, frowned and was thinking about what to do next.

"The thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions have already breached the Jade Gate Pass and entered Hanoi. Presumably, the two hundred thousand Liangzhou cavalry are not far from the capital," Qin Feng said.

They meant no other than that they should take action.

Otherwise, once the 200,000 Liangzhou cavalry arrive and join forces with Wang Long's army inside the city to attack from both sides, their situation will be in danger.

The Empress decisively ordered, "Assemble the army and retreat twenty miles north!"

It is still unknown whether the 200,000 Liangzhou cavalry will launch an attack against them.

Maintaining a distance of twenty li is just right.

If 200,000 Liangzhou cavalry arrive in the capital to attack them, they can escape in time and avoid being surrounded and annihilated.

"What about the Western Regions? Are we just going to watch them advance unimpeded?" Qin Feng asked.

The Empress couldn't help but scold, "What time is it? Why are you still worrying about them? Let's take care of ourselves first and preserve our strength."

Seeing this, Qin Feng didn't say anything more.

Given the current situation, they are barely able to protect themselves, so they really don't have time to care about others.

As dusk fell, the army surrounding the capital quietly assembled and began to retreat northward...