We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

The night passed quickly.

The next day at noon, on their escape route, they indeed encountered a small group of cavalry, who were likely reinforcements from surrounding tribes.

Even with only a thousand or two people, they dared not act recklessly and went to join the main army of the Kaka tribe.

As a result, by evening that day, large numbers of Kaka tribe members began to fall behind.

It wasn't that they couldn't keep up with the supplies; their commander understood that continuing the pursuit would be too costly, so he deliberately abandoned the main force, leaving only 20,000 men to keep chasing Zhou Tiancheng and his men.

That night, the Kaka tribe still didn't behave and launched a night raid.

One shot of gunpowder silenced the night raiders, who slunk back to their base.

The more panicked they became, the more excited Zhou Tiancheng and his group became.

The Kaka tribe's food supply is probably running out, so they are desperately trying to find an opportunity.

This is great news!

Zhou Tiancheng broke into Lin Tong's tent.

"How many days will our dry rations last?"

Lin Tong looked up with a smile on his face.

"We were a little better prepared; each of us brought fifteen days' worth of rations."

"It took us two days to get from Dayue Pass to Xinshicheng. Now we've been traveling on the grassland for three days, and we can still travel for about ten more days."

Zhou Tiancheng was immediately delighted.

"It seems the Kaka tribe won't be able to hold out for more than two days."

"I estimate that the food rations for these 20,000 people were brought by those small tribes. Three groups of members from small tribes arrived this afternoon, totaling only four or five thousand. How many days will that be enough to feed these 20,000 people?"

Lin Tong's lips also began to curl upwards unconsciously.

"Now we're just waiting for news from the bandits."

"Without the support of smaller tribes, these people from the Kaka tribe wouldn't even have enough to eat. How could they possibly fight us?"

"Let's wait two more days; they'll probably give up soon."

"I will summon the Ten Generals now to plan the route to the Northern Xia Imperial Court and the strategy for attacking the city."

Zhou Tiancheng didn't leave immediately; instead, he plopped down on a chair nearby.

"I have a plan."

If it were anyone else, Lin Tong would definitely tell them to get lost.

But Chou Tien-cheng is no ordinary person.

Although he was terrible at fighting, his strategies were truly brilliant!

"What plan does Your Highness have?"

Lin Tong took the initiative to move closer.

Zhou Tiancheng chuckled.

"Let's try to contact those bandits and see if they can find a way to transport troops or supplies to the imperial court."

"It would be difficult for us to attack an army of 600,000 men head-on, and the casualties would likely be heavy. It would be better to impersonate those men and infiltrate the imperial court, and secretly kidnap the emperor of Northern Xia."

Lin Tong frowned and didn't speak immediately.

He felt this method was not good.

But Chou Tien-cheng looked confident.

"I know what Instructor Lin is worried about. It's simply that we Daqian people and Beixia people look different."

"But have you forgotten?"

"The Ten Demons of Fengcheng are from Northern Xia!"

"Furthermore, the factions within the Imperial Court will also speak on our behalf."

Lin Tong sighed.

"This is still too risky."

Zhou Tiancheng rolled his eyes.

"We originally numbered ten thousand. Coming into Northern Xia to rescue the Emperor Emeritus was an adventure in itself. If we want to maximize our profits, how can we do it without taking a gamble?"

Lin Tong then realized what was happening.

He is no longer the commander-in-chief of the 700,000 to 800,000 troops in the northern frontier. Now, he is just the commander of 10,000 soldiers, and he doesn't have to worry about whether the city will be captured.

All they need to do is wreak havoc!

"Your Highness is right. As people get older, they become more timid. I almost forgot that I am no longer the Great General of the Northern Frontier."

Lin Tong relaxed. His inner self told him to be careful, so it was difficult for him to engage in any reckless or adventurous behavior.

But the last thing they need right now is to be careful.

Because they are currently within the territory of Northern Xia, surrounded by enemies, what's the point of being careful!

Zhou Tiancheng's plan was immediately put into action, and that very night someone rode off on horseback to find the bandits.

Two days later, the Kaka tribe launched a fierce attack.

Lin Tong simply refused to fight them, leaving behind fifty cans of gunpowder, which blew up the Kaka tribe and turned them pale.

Lin Tong and his group had already headed northwest.

Yes.

northwest.

Starting from Xinshi, they drew a large circle on the territory of Beixia, and now they have secretly changed direction, while the Kaka tribe is unaware of their true purpose.

……

Meanwhile, while Zhou Tiancheng was maneuvering skillfully in Northern Xia, Zhou Tianze in the capital was in dire straits.

The poison Zhou Tiancheng had given Zhou Rui before he left had taken effect. Now, Consort Qin in the harem was as if she had been banished to the cold palace, and the new favorites were Consort Yi and her three-year-old son.

Qin Zhi'ang was also dismissed from his position as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat by order of Zhou Rui. The position, which had been vacant for five or six years, was filled that very day by a promoted official from the Qingliu faction.

People in the imperial court noticed that the wind was blowing in a different direction.

The Third Prince also began to be neglected.

The number of officials who used to visit us has decreased by 90%, and those who remain are the ones who have already boarded the pirate ship and can't get off.

How could Zhou Tianze tolerate this?

He immediately found his maternal grandfather, Qin Zhi'ang.

Qin Zhiang closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain.

"We were all wrong, we were all wrong."

"I told you from the beginning not to do anything. The more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make. The position of crown prince will be yours sooner or later. Now look what's happened, it's too late to regret it!"

"If Zhou An hadn't been beaten up by the Crown Prince, and if you hadn't stood up for him and agreed to the assassination plot, we wouldn't be in this situation today!"

Zhou Tianze was also somewhat angry.

"Grandfather, how can this be my fault?"

"From beginning to end, I never intended to kill the fake prince!"

"Weren't you going to murder him?"

Qin Zhi'ang gave him a speechless look.

"Tianze, don't you understand yet?"

"Even if you just wanted to beat him up, such a trivial matter would be seen as an attempted assassination in the eyes of the world!"

"From the day you started fighting, only one of you could survive!"

"Since you're going to take action, what's the point of talking about assassination now? Do you think the fake crown prince will listen to your explanation? Do you think the Emperor will listen to your explanation?"

Zhou Tianze immediately fell silent.

Even if he didn't admit it, he knew in his heart that Qin Zhiang was right.

He lowered his head helplessly.

"So what should we do now?"

"If things continue like this, I reckon in a few days I'll have to leave Kyoto and prepare to take up my fiefdom!"

Qin Zhiang took a deep breath.

He felt sorry for him too.

The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was a first-rank official, while the Minister of Rites was only a third-rank official.

Previously, he had been concurrently serving as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhou Rui decided to take action against them, he immediately stripped him of his official robes as a first-rank official.

This has made him lose face in front of his colleagues.

He thought for a moment, then squinted and spoke.

"We can't wait any longer."

"His Majesty is already stripping us of our wings, wanting us to make way for the Crown Prince."

"We have to do something."