I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Within the Great Reed Sea, a dense network of waterways exists, but the thorns are now frozen solid, which is precisely what troubles the allied forces of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.

This place is located north of the Huai River, and it freezes over every winter. However, the ice is not thick enough to break easily. If you step on it, it will break, and your shoes will be soaked through with the icy water. If you are not careful, you will fall in.

If your shoes get soaked in cold water, or you fall in completely, you're in for a tough time; it's even harder to endure than being hungry.

The two sides faced each other across a frozen river more than ten feet wide.

When the King of Kucha and the Crown Prince of Yuezhi arrived with their entourage, they were filled with shock and disbelief.

On the opposite bank of the river, the Zhou army was not large, numbering only a little over a thousand.

But behind them were rows of trucks loaded with grain and cotton clothing.

"Uncle, what are these people from the Central Plains up to?"

The Yuezhi prince scratched his head, completely baffled.

The King of Kucha scratched his head. "You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?"

However, he still turned to the people behind him and ordered, "Without my order, no one is allowed to make any rash moves. All of you, put your bows away!"

Tread!

Before long, several leaders of the other side came out, all riding tall horses.

"Uncle, there's even a woman in it."

The Yuezhi prince grinned.

Bang bang bang.

The King of Kucha, annoyed, reached out and struck the Yuezhi prince's helmet several times, leaving the prince dazed and confused.

Straightening his helmet, which had been askew, the Yuezhi prince asked, puzzled, "Uncle, why did you hit me?"

"Cough cough."

The King of Kucha coughed twice, clenching his fist, before saying, "You, the crown prince, can't you speak more politely? A female general is fine, but why call her a woman?"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince of the Yuezhi felt extremely aggrieved.

He speaks rudely, and the King of Kucha isn't much better; he was just using vulgar language all the time. The King of Kucha was much more refined, and he was just imitating him.

"Do you believe it or not? I bet you that if you went up to fight this female general, you would be captured alive in less than a hundred rounds."

The King of Kucha said, "So be careful what you say later, and don't offend the other party."

Although the Yuezhi prince was full of resentment, he nodded because the King of Kucha had said so and wouldn't harm him.

After they were ready, the two of them led a small number of soldiers forward.

"May I ask what this means?"

The King of Kucha didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

The Empress gave Jin Ge a wink.

Jin Ge immediately stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Our army is aware that your army is short of food and cotton-padded clothing, so we have come to deliver food and cotton-padded clothing to you."

The King of Kucha couldn't help but sneer: "Would you really be so kind?"

Since the 200,000 Liangzhou cavalry left Liangzhou City, the allied forces of the 36 kingdoms were freed from their shackles and marched eastward, first breaking through Yumen Pass and then heading straight into the heart of the Great Zhou.

They burned, killed, and looted along the way, causing considerable damage to the Great Zhou.

The people and soldiers of the Great Zhou must hate them to the bone and want to tear them apart alive. Why would they be so kind as to send them food and cotton clothes?

Needless to say, this must be a treacherous scheme by the Great Zhou.

"If you don't want it, we'll turn around and leave."

After saying that, the people of Da Zhou made a move to turn around and leave.

Seeing this, the Yuezhi prince quickly stepped forward and whispered to the King of Kucha:

"Uncle, we can't let them leave!"

"We've reached the point of being completely out of ammunition and food, especially food. There are over a thousand cartloads of grain here, enough to feed us for a while. If we just let them leave so easily, how are we going to survive the rest of the year?"

Now, even if cartloads of gold and silver were placed in front of them, they would not be as precious as these grains and cotton-padded clothes. These are things they desperately need.

After thinking for a moment, the King of Kucha reached out his hand and said, "Wait a moment."

The people from Great Zhou stopped in their tracks: "What, have you figured it out?"

The King of Kucha said, "I don't quite understand. Our armies are sworn enemies. Why would you be so kind as to send us food and clothing? Tell me, are there any conditions for our surrender?"

"Let me tell you, don't waste your time. We will not surrender. Even if we die, freeze to death, or starve to death here, we will not surrender!"

"Yes, we would rather die than surrender!"

The Yuezhi prince and his men quickly echoed this sentiment.

At this moment, the Empress addressed her followers:

"Leave the food and cotton-padded clothes for them, and let's go back."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone immediately got to work, unloading the grain and cotton-padded clothes from the cart.

After unloading everything, everyone turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Watching them leave, the King of Kucha and the Crown Prince of Yuezhi were completely dumbfounded.

After a while, the Yuezhi prince couldn't help but say:

"Are we just going to leave like this? Will there be some kind of ambush?"

"What kind of ambush could there be? We haven't seen them set up any traps right under our noses."

"Uncle, what do we do now?"

"Wait and see how things go."

As time went by, the people from Da Zhou walked further and further away, and their figures soon disappeared from sight.

The people from the Western Regions were completely dumbfounded. The other party had actually left, leaving them with food and cotton clothing before leaving.

Looking at the piles of grain and cotton clothes that resembled small mountains on the opposite bank of the river, the people from the Western Regions felt a mix of emotions.

If it weren't for the fact that orders hadn't been given from above, the taxi drivers would probably have rushed over and scrambled for the taxis.

Across a frozen river, the King of Kucha paced back and forth, knife in hand, occasionally scratching his head.

"Damn it, this is really weird. They just put the stuff down and left without saying anything about us surrendering."

Looking again at the Yuezhi prince, he was already impatient, and the people below him were even more so.

"Uncle, stop with all this useless talk, just give the order to move the things back!"

"What's the rush? Wait a little longer."

After waiting a while longer, seeing that the people of Da Zhou showed no intention of returning, the soldiers rushed over as soon as the King of Kucha gave his order.

At this point, there's no fear of breaking the thin ice on the river and getting soaked.

They were packed together, like dumplings being boiled in a pot.

Soon, everyone carried back all the piles of grain and cotton clothes.

"Uncle, what should we do with all this food and cotton clothing?" the Yuezhi prince asked.

"Distribute the cotton-padded clothes. As for the food, find a few military doctors to test for poison first."

"Okay!"

As dusk fell, wisps of smoke rose from the reed marshes.

The aroma of rice porridge wafted for miles.

After so many days, everyone finally got to eat a hot meal.

"Uncle, here you go."

After taking the bowl of porridge served by the Yuezhi prince, the King of Kucha smelled it and his face was full of delight.

Before drinking, however, he said, "This is really damn weird. The grain isn't poisoned. What do you think these Central Plains people are up to?"

The Yuezhi prince was already feasting, and mumbled indistinctly:

"Uncle, you're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?!"

The King of Kucha slapped him on the head in annoyance, laughing and scolding:

"You brat! You've really grown up, daring to talk to your uncle like that now."