I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 120 This prodigal son!
"Is this matter related to Liu Ju, the rebellious son?"

Gradually coming to his senses, Liu Che immediately thought of another possibility.

As the saying goes, "It is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature." He knew very well what kind of people Li Xi and Xu Ziwei were.

He could even assert that if he had not been influenced by someone, given the temperaments and leadership styles of these two men, his plan should never have encountered such an unexpected event.

And if we were to ask who among these 100,000 Han troops could influence the decision-making of these two people.

Then it could only be the Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Liu Ju was both the crown prince and the military inspector.

If he was determined to interfere with Li Xi and Xu Ziwei's battle strategy, even if these two people disagreed in their hearts, they would probably have to make some compromises...

and.

In the past six months, every time Liu Ju went out to do business, he would get into trouble. It is very likely that he will not be so safe this time.

"This traitor!"

Thinking of this, Liu Che gritted his teeth unconsciously.
"He came up with the brilliant strategy of 'one country, two policies'. I was just planning to use it in Western Qiang and the Western Regions, but he started to act up again. I can't rest for a moment!"

"But that's the end of the matter."

"The Qiang people will definitely not dare to fight against the Han Dynasty after suffering such a heavy blow. The deterrent effect is even better. It has not completely destroyed my plan."

"And the hateful thing about this rebellious son is that he forced me to confer two more titles of marquis and several generals, and reward them with thousands of gold."

"This prodigal son!"

"With a spendthrift like him, the Han dynasty will be ruined sooner or later!"

"When he comes back, I will definitely teach him a lesson and let him know the difficulties of being the head of the Han family. Otherwise, how can I hand over the Han Dynasty to him with peace of mind..."

……

At the same time this imperial edict was delivered to Chang'an.

North of the Huangshui River is the city of the Xianling Qiang King.

After these days of communication and marching, Li Xi and Xu Ziwei's northern and southern armies, totaling 35,000 soldiers and horses, have successfully joined forces and arrived at the royal city.

In the royal court.

"Leader, the Han army outside the city is calling for surrender!"

"The Han army said that they would only give the leader two hours to consider. If the leader still refuses to surrender after two hours, they will start to attack the city!"

After hearing his subordinates' report, the Xianling Qiang leader Liang Zhang flew into a rage:
"What a joke! Just over 30,000 Han soldiers dare to attack the city?!"

"Even though our army suffered a loss in Daxia County a few days ago, we still have 90,000 soldiers and horses in this stone city. Do the Han army think that we Qiang people are made of mud?!"

"Go tell the Han army that even though their bows and crossbows are powerful, our Qiang archers can now shoot back at them from the city walls. They may not be able to shoot farther than the Han army. If they are not afraid of death, tell them to come over!"

He probably didn't know that the Han army actually had crossbows that could shoot farther and were more powerful...

Wait for your subordinates to leave and pass on the order.

Liang Zhang looked at the Xiongnu Tuye Captain Wu Kun standing beside him and snorted coldly:

"Even this king knows that attacking a city is a bad idea. Without troops several times the size of the defenders, it is simply wishful thinking!"

“Even if the Han army is strong, they should not be so arrogant. If the emperor of the Han Dynasty sent 100,000 Han troops to attack, I might still be worried, and maybe even give up this royal city. But you want to scare me with just over 30,000 soldiers and horses, and even dare to talk about attacking the city. You underestimate my courage!”

"Captain Wukun, do you think so or not?"

Wu Kun smiled slightly after hearing what he said, and followed his meaning and said:
"Leader Liangzhang is right. The Han army is too arrogant. The leader is very courageous and will not fall into the Han people's evil schemes easily."

For the Huns, it would naturally be a great thing if the Han army could really engage in an offensive and defensive tug-of-war with the Western Qiang around this stone city.

Especially if the Han army attacked the city by force, it would definitely take more than one day to capture it.

They would also face huge casualties, which would be enough to make the Han Dynasty unable to take care of itself and give the Huns an opportunity to cause chaos in the north.

As for the Western Qiang, it doesn't matter even more.

As long as the Qiang people played the restraining role that the Xiongnu hoped they would, it didn't matter whether they lived or died.

"It's natural. It's no accident that I became the leader. I wasn't brought up by being scared by others!"

Liang Zhang, however, had not yet realized the Xiongnu's sinister intentions, and was still patting his chest and laughing complacently.

But it didn't take long.

The subordinate who had come to report earlier came in again:
"Chief, Chief, this is bad. The Han army said they suddenly decided not to attack the city."

"What's wrong with not attacking the city?" Liang Zhang couldn't help but ask.

The subordinate quickly explained:
"The Han army said that they planned to defend a few city gates but not attack them. If any Qiang people came out of the city gates, they would shoot them all. They wanted to see how much food there was in the city and how long they could hold out!"

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Zhang was immediately shocked and stood up quickly.

At this moment he finally realized the seriousness of the problem!
If the Han army really chose to besiege this stone city and fight with him, his food and grass would only last for three months at most.

The Han army will certainly have a steady supply of supplies, and can even continuously mobilize troops from all over to increase the intensity of the siege. By then, not only will he be defeated, but the Qiang people will also be annihilated!
"I have the courage to defend the city, but the Han army does not have the courage to attack it. Do the Han generals have no dignity left?"

Liang Zhang gritted his teeth and cursed, then had to look at Wu Kun beside him.

"Captain Wukun, do you have any countermeasures?"

"Leader Liangzhang, don't panic. I think the Han army is still bluffing."

Wu Kun smiled again and said calmly,
"Please think carefully, Chief Liangzhang. The Han army has only 30,000 people, and your city has four gates in the east, west, south and north. If the Han army wants to besiege the city, they need to split into four groups. In this way, each gate cannot even have 10,000 soldiers. Chief Liangzhang only needs to hold on and wait for the right opportunity to break out from one place. With 90,000 soldiers, how can they stop him?"

"So in my opinion, this is still a method used by the Han army to persuade people to surrender. Don't take it to heart..."

Even if the Han army chooses to besiege but not attack, as long as the Qiang people hold out long enough.

It can still consume a large amount of the Han army's military supplies. After all, the daily loss of the Han army just to maintain this supply line is not a small number. This is also a good thing for the Huns.

That’s all I have to say.

Another person walked in quickly from outside the court. He just happened to hear Wu Kun's last words, but he just glanced at him and said to Liang Zhang:

"Leader Liangzhang, you must not listen to this Xiongnu man again. He has bad intentions!"

"I think we should take advantage of the fact that the Han army has not yet completed its deployment and quickly organize the Qiang people in the city to rush out from the west gate and migrate all the way west. This way, there may be a way to survive!"

"Otherwise, once the Han army forms a siege, the longer it takes, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

"If Chief Liangzhang insists on waiting until the people are in panic and food supplies are running out before breaking out, not to mention whether the Han army will send reinforcements to consolidate the siege, our army's morale will be greatly affected by then, and we may not be able to break out of the city in the rain of arrows from the Han army."

"Does Chief Liangzhang still want to listen to this Xiongnu man and lead all the Qiang people to die here?"

"If that's the case, I will just take my people and leave first!"

This person is not someone else.

It was the Fengyang Qiang leader Nacuo who witnessed with his own eyes how the Laozu Qiang leader Dangji "opened his heart" to the Han army.

Ever since he came back that day, he had a lot of opinions about Wu Kun. This man kept saying that the Huns and the Qiang people were brothers, but when he and Dang Ji led the Qiang people to fight bravely, he seemed to have known the power of the Han army's crossbows. He quietly hid behind and watched them go to their deaths!

How could such a person be the brother of the Qiang people?

Unfortunately, after Liang Zhang learned about this, he seemed to be bewitched by Wu Kun and still treated him as a guest of honor.

But Nacuo had no idea.

Liang Zhang was actually also using Wu Kun. After all, Wu Kun's visit this time not only brought him considerable supplies, but also helped him promote the unity of the Xianling, Fengyang and Laozu tribes, and also supported him to the throne of the Qiang King.

He even planned to use the power of Wukun and the Xiongnu to further suppress the leaders of the other two tribes and consolidate his position as the King of Qiang.

But it's up to now.

Liang Zhang not only realized the problem that Nacuo mentioned.

He also knew that if he continued to keep Wu Kun by his side, it would only cause Nacuo and his Fengyang Qiang tribe and the Laozu Qiang tribe, which had already lost their leader, to turn against him. Naturally, Wu Kun would lose his value and would only bring harm.

So he immediately frowned and looked at Wu Kun:
"Captain Wukun, Nacuo said that you have bad intentions towards us Qiang people. Do you have anything to explain?"

"Chief Nacuo may have some misunderstandings about me. The Xiongnu and Qiang are brothers who depend on each other for life and death. Could it be that Chief Liangzhang has forgotten the sincerity I brought with me this time?"

Wu Kun had also realized that something seemed amiss, but he still smiled without changing his expression.

"Since we are brothers, I would like to borrow something from Captain Wukun on behalf of the Qiang people. I believe Captain Wukun will not refuse, right?"

As he spoke, Liang Zhang suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it into Wu Kun's chest before he could dodge.

Then, in Wu Kun's horrified and frightened eyes, he turned back and said to Nacuo:

"Well, I have a plan."

"We cut off the head of this Xiongnu and presented it to the Han army, claiming that we were bewitched by the Xiongnu and pretending to ask for peace with the Han army."

"While taking advantage of the Han army's laxity, he led his people to rush out from the west gate."

"As long as we flee westward to the West Sea, it will be difficult for the Han army to do anything to us. What do you think of this plan?"

(End of this chapter)