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

grassland.

The National Protection Army marched slowly forward, as if taking a stroll on the land of Northern Xia.

Zhou Tiancheng, riding a horse, stuck out his tongue, looked at the tip of it, and turned his head away somewhat dejectedly.

"Xinhua, is the blister on your tongue better yet?"

"I've eaten so much fruit, why haven't I lost weight yet?"

"If you accidentally bump into it, it hurts so much that you cry; you can't help but want to cry."

Xinhua chuckled.

"Your Highness, are you under too much pressure?"

"The blisters on our side have all subsided, but yours hasn't gotten better yet. It must be because you've been overthinking things and your temper is too strong."

Zhou Tiancheng fell silent.

The pressure is indeed quite high.

He looked back.

Apart from the 10,000 troops of the National Protection Army in the center, there were a total of 600,000 Northern Xia troops surrounding them on the left, right, and behind.

How can there be no pressure from this?

He raised his head and sighed deeply.

"As expected, the world is just a giant makeshift operation."

"When we attacked the Northern Xia Imperial Palace, we originally thought we would face 100,000 imperial guards, but in the end we only had 20,000 left."

"We've gone to the wrong place, damn it!"

"This war was fought like children playing house. Now, what's worse, we told them not to send any more troops, but they still sent 600,000 men to escort us back to Daqian. How can they accept this!"

"And those officials from Northern Xia, they insist that I kill Tuoba Lie first. I'm not stupid. If Tuoba Lie dies, these Kaka tribe's imperial guards will fight me to the death. Who will care about my life then?"

Lin Tong glanced at Zhou Tiancheng thoughtfully.

"Is Your Highness still worried?"

Zhou Tiancheng opened his mouth, then nodded helplessly.

How could he not worry?

They were able to leave because they had hostages, but how would they hand them over? Once they reached the border, how would they safely leave Northern Xia? Would the people of Northern Xia really let them go?

Those officials and emperors each had their own ideas, and each of them commanded troops, while he only had ten thousand men, which was simply not enough to withstand the chaos of war.

These are the problems.

Of the 10,000 people, Zhou Tiancheng himself had no idea how many would survive.

Lin Tong smiled slightly.

"Your Highness, the hostages are now in our hands. We can demand benefits from Northern Xia."

Zhou Tiancheng rolled his eyes.

"I don't know if it's good or bad, I only know that I brought you out here, and I must bring you back safely."

"The problem now is, once we reach the border of Northern Xia, their hundreds of thousands of border troops will join our hundreds of thousands of troops. Whether we can escape will be a question!"

Lin Tong then understood the source of Zhou Tiancheng's pressure.

The crown prince didn't want so many brothers to die; his sense of responsibility was too heavy.

Lin Tong spoke calmly.

"They are all death row inmates, so it doesn't matter whether they are dead or alive."

"Your Highness, a compassionate ruler cannot command an army. If you care about every single life, then you won't need to lead troops into battle."

Zhou Tiancheng opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

He knew Lin Tong was right.

However, after spending several months with his brothers, they not only trained together but also developed a strong bond of brotherhood.

He simply couldn't bear to watch these people die.

Just then, Xiao Shi rode over on horseback.

"Your Highness, there's an emergency ahead!"

"A group of Northern Xia border troops have surrounded a mountain. I asked around and it seems that the Third Prince also led his men into Northern Xia and is now trapped on that mountain."

Zhou Tiancheng was stunned.

The third brother is here too?

What is he doing here?

"What's going on? The Third Prince has led troops into Northern Xia? I just can't believe it!"

Xiao Shi nodded.

"I've already sent someone to contact them. We'll find out what's going on later."

After a moment's hesitation, a bold idea suddenly came to Zhou Tiancheng's mind.

He turned to look at Lin Tong.

"General Lin, I have an idea."

"Do you think if we were to hand over the Northern Xia emperor to the third prince, wouldn't the Northern Xia army kill him first?"

Lin Tong's heart stirred, and he nodded slightly.

"That's a good idea."

"We have a grudge against Tuoba Lie, but we don't have much hatred for these officials. We can make a deal. Tuoba Lie is in charge of the Northern Xia Imperial Guards, while these officials are in charge of the border troops."

"In this way, we can still extract benefits from the border troops. As for the Imperial Guards, there are many who want to kill Tuoba Lie. His life or death is none of our business. If we want to fight, let's fight there. We can be much more at ease here."

What is Zhou Tiancheng worried about?

Because Tuoba Lie has become a hot potato!

Some people wanted to kill him, while the Kaka tribe wanted to protect him. Tuoba Lie was still in the hands of their National Protection Army, and they probably had nothing better to do than kill them.

Therefore, the situation is quite complicated.

In fact, both Lin Tong and Zhou Tiancheng could foresee that when they arrived at the border of Northern Xia to exchange hostages, there would inevitably be chaos and war would be unavoidable.

But what if we hand over Tuoba Lie?

All that was left were a group of Northern Xia officials who wanted to live. At that time, there was no hatred between the two sides, so they were more sincere in exchanging hostages.

This is truly a peaceful return to the Great Qian Dynasty!

"Your Highness, in that case, why don't we wait for news from the reconnaissance battalion?"

Lin Tong turned to look at Zhou Tiancheng, awaiting Zhou Tiancheng's command.

Zhou Tiancheng readily agreed.

Now, as long as they throw Tuoba Lie out, they will be safe.

"I never expected that the third brother would do us such a big favor."

As Zhou Tiancheng spoke, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

The National Protection Army immediately set up camp.

Zhou Tiancheng, however, was no longer in a hurry and strolled towards the officials from Northern Xia.

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but you guys are always eating grapes and watermelons. I'm so tired of these fruits. Can't you change things up?"

He entered the crowd without the slightest discomfort.

These officials from Northern Xia were also having some headaches.

"Crown Prince of Daqian, when are you going to let us go?"

"The previous agreement didn't include kidnapping us too!"

"Why don't you just kill Tuoba Lie? We'll guarantee your safe departure from Northern Xia then!"

Zhou Tiancheng chuckled softly.

"We'll let you go soon."

"I know you want to kill Tuoba Lie, and Tuoba Lie wants to kill me. When the hostages are handed over, I'm afraid there will be another battle, won't there?"

"Now I have some good news. I have an enemy in Northern Xia, and I plan to hand Tuoba Lie over to them. Can you kill Tuoba Lie and go fight over there? Don't bother us!"

The officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

They were naturally members of other factions in Northern Xia that Lin Tong had contacted.

Hearing Zhou Tiancheng's words, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, Crown Prince of Daqian, how do you plan to conduct the hostage transfer?"

"By the way, could you contact that enemy of yours and have him kill Tuoba Lie?"

"Can we send troops to ambush them in advance? You just need to tell us the location."

See, isn't this much more sincere?

Previously, when Zhou Tiancheng consulted with them, these people were all trying to persuade him to kill Tuoba Lie.

Upon hearing that Zhou Tiancheng intended to abandon Tuoba Lie, these people immediately changed their tune, their minds filled with the idea of ​​taking matters into their own hands.

Zhou Tiancheng was too lazy to argue with them and spoke directly.

"Just casually send me hundreds of thousands of Xia horses. When I meet the Duke Protector of my Great Qian, with their army in command, they will naturally let you leave. As for Tuoba Lie's life or death, that's none of our business. How about it?"

The group was about to explode.

"Hundreds of thousands of Xia horses? Crown Prince of the Great Qian Dynasty, why don't you just rob them?"

Zhou Tiancheng chuckled.

"You don't have to provide them; you can simply ask the Kaka tribe to provide these warhorses!"

The officials looked at each other, exchanged glances, and then burst into laughter.

Yup!

They could demand that the Kaka tribe deliver goods in exchange for their safety!

As for whether the Kaka tribe will agree, that's easy. With Tuoba Lie away, they have the final say!

The key point is that when the Kaka tribe went to prepare warhorses, it was the best time for them to assassinate Tuoba Lie!