Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 359 Go tell that old man Deng, now I'm in charge! [Seeking monthly votes]

"Your Highness, do you really believe in that Murong Shun?"

On the way back to the camp, Pei Xingjian couldn't help but ask Li Chengqian a question.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Don't underestimate a child who isn't favored by his father. If pushed too far, he's capable of anything."

"Uh"

Pei Xingjian's lips twitched, and he unconsciously swallowed, wondering if His Highness the Crown Prince was referring to him.

However, His Majesty has indeed gone too far with His Highness the Crown Prince. It is said that His Majesty almost sent the Prince of Wei back to Chang'an just because he wrote a letter home.

In front of everyone, His Highness the Crown Prince told the Prince of Wei that he was not allowed to set foot in Chang'an without his order.

But His Majesty wants to completely ignore His Highness the Crown Prince. Isn't that a slap in the face to His Highness the Crown Prince?
Seeing Pei Xingjian suddenly fall silent, Li Chengqian turned to look at him and then spoke up, "It's been a long time since we've heard from the Prince of Shu. Do you know what he's been up to lately?"

"this."

Pei Xingjian paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, as far as I know, the Prince of Shu has not acted strangely during this period. Apart from helping His Majesty gather provisions, he has been working in Yizhou Prefecture and rarely goes out."

"Oh, that's a bit strange."

Li Chengqian smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Do you believe that someone who colludes with the guards and plots evil deeds would be so honest? I certainly don't!"

"In your opinion, Your Highness, should we intensify our investigation into Yizhou?"

Whether you strengthen it or not is your business, but I need to know his movements at all times!

Li Chengqian said calmly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, didn't you tell me a while ago that Yin Zhihong had some problems? How's the investigation going?"

"Your Highness, since Yin Zhihong went to his fiefdom with the Prince of Yan, he has kept a low profile, working from dawn till dusk."

Pei Xingjian answered truthfully: "However, there are also some puzzling things. He is clearly the Prince of Yan's uncle, but he rarely works by the Prince of Yan's side. He is not as close to the Prince of Yan as he was when he was in Chang'an."

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow, and then asked with interest, "I remember you said that he seemed to be colluding with the Shouzhulang, didn't you? Is there anything unusual about the Shouzhulang?"

"this."

Pei Xingjian hesitated for a moment, then said, "To be honest, Your Highness, ever since we forced Yang Nannan's master to get rid of that mother-child Gu worm, it's as if we've lost all clues about Shouzhulang!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's like the people guarding the city have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Even when we sent people to investigate the information we had previously gathered, we came up empty-handed."

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian laughed: "When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. If I'm not mistaken, they should be planning something big next."

"Huh? Then we..."

"It's alright, we don't need to pay them any attention. Let's just do what we need to do and see what kind of trouble they're going to cause!"

Before Pei Xingjian could finish speaking, Li Chengqian waved his hand to interrupt him, and then continued, "However, I am not completely letting them go unchecked. You should inform Yang Nannan to keep an eye on the movements of people in Chang'an, especially some inconspicuous minor officials or junior officers."

"If they really want to cause trouble, these low-ranking officials and generals are the most important targets."

"Yes!"

Pei Xingjian quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, I will immediately send someone to inform Yang Nannan."

After saying this, he rode away.

Li Chengqian, after watching him leave, narrowed his eyes slightly.

After a long while, he finally called out the system interface in his mind.

"system!"

[Here! ]

A familiar mechanical sound suddenly rang out.

Li Chengqian didn't waste any words and asked directly, "It seems I've completed my hidden quest, so why didn't I receive a reward?"

[Host, please wait a moment while the system checks.]

A few moments later, the system's mechanical voice sounded again.

[The host's hidden mission is: Use your power to banish Prince Wei, Li Tai, and Prince Jin, Li Zhi, to their fiefdoms. The reward is the ability to foresee the future; a twitching left eyelid means good fortune, a twitching right eyelid means danger.]

"I know the task details. My question is, I completed the task, so why didn't I receive a reward?!"

Before the system's message could even finish, Li Chengqian impatiently cut it off and reiterated his demands.

[Okay, the system understands. The host is asking why there was no reward after completing the hidden quest. According to the system's query, the host has not completed the quest, therefore, the reward cannot be issued to the host at this time. We apologize, please complete the quest as soon as possible.]

"What the hell? How come I didn't complete the mission? Did I send Li Tai to his fiefdom? Did Li Zhi agree to let me go to his fiefdom? Even Li Shimin compromised with me. Isn't this a done deal? Am I supposed to send a three-year-old to his fiefdom? That's too inhumane!"

Upon hearing the system's reply, Li Chengqian finished speaking in one breath.

The system responded within a few seconds.

[Okay, the system understands. The host believes that although Li Zhi hasn't gone to his fiefdom yet, his eventual fate is sealed. Therefore, according to the hidden mission, he should be considered as being forced to go to his fiefdom by the host. Is this interpretation correct?]

"No problem, give me the reward now!"

[Okay, the system understands the host's meaning, but according to the system rules, the system cannot give the reward to the host before Li Zhi goes to his fiefdom!]

"Depend on!"

Li Chengqian scolded irritably, "Weren't you very agile before? How come you're not agile at all now?"

[We apologize, the system will strive to provide a better experience for the host. Please complete the task promptly!]

"."

Li Chengqian was speechless for a moment, but he did not intend to give up so easily.

His eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, he spoke again: "System, according to the system rules, have I completed half of the task?"

[Yes, host. You have successfully driven King Li Tai of Wei to his fiefdom, which should be considered half of the mission completed.]

"If that's the case, then I'll take half the reward. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Logically, completing half the task and receiving half the reward should be fine, but there's no such rule in the system.

"That's right! There's no such rule in the system, which means it's feasible. I only want half the reward, so give it to me quickly!"

【.】

The system remained silent, as if it had crashed.

After waiting for a while, Li Chengqian became somewhat angry and said, "Don't play dead with me! I am the host. Since I have made a reasonable request, you are the system. As a service provider, you must handle it properly for me. Otherwise, I will immediately file a complaint against you!"

【.】

The system was speechless again, but this time it didn't keep Li Chengqian waiting for long.

With a 'ding' sound, a notification popped up on the system interface:

[Congratulations, host, you have received half of the reward for the hidden quest: A twitching left eyelid means good fortune is coming.]

Whether it was his imagination or not, Li Chengqian sensed a strong sense of frustration in the system's notification tone.

However, just as he was about to continue arguing with the system, his left eyelid suddenly twitched.

At the same time, a fast horse was galloping towards him: "Your Highness, shouts of battle are coming from the direction of Fu'e City. They must be fighting a civil war!"

"Great! Good news indeed!"

Li Chengqian immediately perked up and hurriedly said, "Pass on my order: mobilize all available soldiers and join me in capturing Fu'e City!"

"As ordered!"

Soon, with the help of Murong Shun, Li Chengqian successfully captured Fu'e City.

"Haha, Brother Murong, I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon!"

Li Chengqian laughed and stepped forward to greet Murong Shun.

But then Murong Shun smiled and said, "It is my honor to submit to the Tang Dynasty."

"Bah! You shameless traitor! As the prince of the Great Khan, you actually colluded with the Tang Dynasty to kill my people and seize my capital. You are not worthy of being a child of the Murong family!"

As Murong Shun finished speaking, a discordant voice immediately came from not far away.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Chengqian frowned slightly and looked in the direction of the sound.

The once vigorous and energetic King Tianzhu was now bound to the ground in a disheveled state, struggling incessantly.

But Murong Shun said coldly, "Whether I am worthy of the Murong family's children is none of your business, an outsider. The reason I haven't killed you is because you are still of some use to me. If you know what's good for you, cooperate with me, and perhaps I will spare your life!" "Bah! You traitorous traitor, colluding with the Tang Dynasty's traitors, why should I cooperate with you? If you have the guts, kill me!"

Tianzhu Wang angrily spat at Murong Shun, one mouthful of spittle after another.

But Murong Shun was not angry. Instead, he turned to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I have a plan. Would you be willing to listen to it?"

"Hehe, what are your plans? Why don't you tell me?"

Li Chengqian smiled and raised his hand in a gesture.

But then Murong Shun said thoughtfully, "I think that killing Tianzhu King now would be meaningless. Rather than letting him die uselessly, we should squeeze out his last bit of value."

"Oh, you mean?"

"This place is less than thirty li away from the third largest tribe of my Tuyuhun, the tribe of the Tianzhu King's family. They probably don't know that Fu'e City has fallen yet. Why not use the Tianzhu King to spread the news and get them to come to Fu'e City's aid? Then we can split our forces into two groups: one to raid their rear, and the other to ambush their reinforcements."

"Finally, inform Fuyun and Dayan Mangjiebo that King Tianzhu has led his family's tribe to submit to me and has enthroned me as the new Khan. What do you think?"

"Okay! This is a great plan!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian clapped his hands and cheered.

King Tianzhu, standing to the side, was furious, his eyes blazing with rage: "You beast! You are a despicable and shameless beast!!"

"Guards! Cut off the tongue of the Heavenly Pillar King! I cannot tolerate his incessant chatter!"

"Yes!"

Soon, two Tuyuhun soldiers forcibly pried open Tianzhu King's mouth and cut off his tongue.

The scene was so bloody that Li Chengqian could not bear to look at it.

Now he finally understood why Murong Shun was killed by his subordinates after killing Tianzhu Wang and declaring himself Khan in history—because this guy was indeed ruthless to his own people.

However, for Li Chengqian now, the more ruthless Murong Shun is, the more advantageous it will be for him.

But then Murong Shun said in a deep voice, "Men, go and inform Fu Yun and Dayan Mangjiebo immediately. Tell them that Tuyuhun is now under my control. If they don't want to die, they'd better surrender now!"

"As ordered!"

Meanwhile, Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun and Tuyuhun Crown Prince Dayan Mangjiebo, who had long since abandoned the major city and traveled lightly into the desert region within two thousand miles, were waiting for news from the Tang army in their camp.

Although they always believed that the Tang army could not penetrate deep into Tuyuhun, they remained vigilant about the Tang army's movements.

But Fu Yun said thoughtfully, "If that Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is really that powerful, he should have attacked Fu'e City long ago. But according to the scouts, they only stopped fifty miles away from Fu'e City and then stopped. What's going on?"

"What else could it be? It's probably just that the weather was too harsh and the Tang soldiers couldn't take it!"

Dayan Mangjiebo said with a bit of a laugh.

Upon hearing this, Fu Yun frowned and glanced at him, then shook his head and said, "If it were truly due to the harsh weather, staying put wouldn't alleviate the situation; retreating would be the sensible course of action. However, the fact that they haven't retreated indicates that they are still eyeing Fu'e City!"

"Even so, won't they still attack their subordinate city of Fue?"

Dayan Mangjiebo said noncommittally, "After all, Tianzhu King is stationed in Fu'e City. He is the number one general of our Tuyuhun. Even if we have to wear down the Tang army, we might be able to wear them down at the foot of Fu'e City!"

"Yes, you're right. King Tianzhu's abilities are indeed worthy of our trust. However, I'm worried about that rebellious son. Could he try to sabotage us?"

"this."

Dayan Mangjiebo hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "Even if my brother has other ideas, he would never betray my Tuyuhun, would he? He is a child of my Murong family!"

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Yun let out a cold laugh for no apparent reason, saying, "He is not a child of the Murong family. None of the children of the Murong family are like him!"

Hearing this, Dayan Mangjiebo was secretly delighted, but on the surface he still said with some helplessness, "Brother Wang was also misled by that Tang Crown Prince, otherwise he would never have been loyal to the Tang Dynasty."

"Hmph! Trash is trash, there's no point in saying more!"

Fu Yun seemed unwilling to discuss Murong Shun further, interrupting Dayan Mangjiebo with a cold snort. He then walked directly to a map of Tuyuhun, frowning as he said, "Even if the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is unwilling to give up Fu'e City, I have ways to make him back down."

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "I am not like Khagan Jieli, who would capture the king first if they were to capture the thief!"

"Report——"

Just as he finished speaking, a hurried report suddenly came from outside the tent: "Reporting to the Great Khan, Tang troops have appeared near Mantou Mountain!"

"what?!"

Fu Yun turned around and looked at Dayan Mangjiebo with a surprised expression.

Dayan Mangjiebo looked flustered and hurriedly ordered, "Immediately notify General Tuoba to prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

"Wait!" Before the messenger could even relay the order, Fu Yun immediately stopped him: "Do not engage the Tang army in battle! Have Tuoba Mi lure them into the Chishui Plain and inform the surrounding tribes that we will ambush the Tang army there!"

"As ordered!"

Soon, the person who reported the plan followed Fu Yun's orders and notified Tuoba Mi and the surrounding tribes to carry out his ambush plan.

Meanwhile, Su Dingfang's army, which had been operating independently from Li Chengqian's main force, had just arrived at a mountain called Mantou Mountain in Tuyuhun.

As Murong Shun analyzed, Li Chengqian had already devised a flanking maneuver strategy before deciding to attack Tuyuhun.

According to his plan, even if he captures Fu'e City, he will not seek out the main force of Tuyuhun, but will instead advance into Tuyuhun from two directions through a sweeping encirclement.

Su Dingfang's army was an army operating in another direction.

"Commander Su! We just spotted the Tuyuhun army, but they managed to escape!"

A black-armored guard captain, looking annoyed, rode up to Su Dingfang and asked in a deep voice, "Should we chase after them?"

"No rush!" Su Dingfang gestured with his hand, then asked the quartermaster behind him, "How much food do we have left? Enough for a few days?"

The quartermaster hurriedly replied, "Commander Su, according to my calculations, the current rations are only enough for three days. If we are careful with our supplies, they can last for five days!"

"There's no need to be so frugal! We're here to fight, not to suffer."

Su Dingfang shook his head, then turned to the intelligence officer in charge of military intelligence and asked, "Are there any Tuyuhun tribes nearby?"

"Yes!" The intelligence officer immediately took out a map and pointed to a tribe on it, saying, "This is Niuxindui, about thirty miles away from us!"

"Thirty miles?"

Su Dingfang frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "It's only a half-day's journey."

Then, glancing around at his generals, he added, "How about we raid this tribe first, eat and drink our fill, and then talk about it?"

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals immediately spoke in unison.

For an army deep in enemy territory with scarce supplies, nothing is more important than being well-fed and watered.

Only when soldiers are well-fed and watered can they have the strength to attack the enemy, and only when they are well-fed and watered can they concentrate.

Therefore, when the generals heard that Su Dingfang was going to take them out for a good meal, they agreed without any hesitation.

However, just as they were preparing to head towards Niuxindui, the Tuyuhun army that had just fled mysteriously turned back, and the distance between them was clearly visible.

"Commander Su! Look!"

A black-armored guard captain quickly reminded Su Dingfang to look.

But Su Dingfang didn't even bother to look at the Tuyuhun army, and waved his hand, saying, "Ignore them, let's go to Niuxindui first!"

"Yes!"

The generals immediately obeyed and left.

Those Tuyuhun soldiers who were preparing to lure them were completely bewildered, wondering what was going on.

Weren't those Tang soldiers here to besiege them? Why did they suddenly run away?

Now, all the Tuyuhun troops, including Tuoba Mi, were completely at a loss!

"General Tuoba, what should we do now?" a Tuyuhun general couldn't help but ask Tuoba Mi.

Tuoba Mi hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Immediately send someone to inform the Great Khan! The rest of you, follow me!"

"No, General Tuoba, weren't we here to lure them in? Why are we pursuing them?"

"What do you know? These Tang soldiers must have other intentions. We must not let them escape!"

After saying this, he rushed out first.

The other soldiers followed suit.

(End of this chapter)