Of course, later this tribe was completely subdued by Ashina Shali.

The key to their subjugation was the daughter of the leader of the Zhuxie Tribe—it is said that Ashina Shali and she were in love for over ten years, and not even the war between their two tribes could stop their romance. To meet her lover, this woman revealed much of the Zhuxie Tribe’s military situation to Ashina Shali; afterward, using this information, Ashina Shali led his forces into the Zhuxie Tribe, slaughtering the tribe’s leaders without exception, marking the end of the Zhuxie Tribe.

That woman also committed suicide on the night of the tribe’s downfall.

No one knew how much pain and regret she felt before dying. She even set her own tent ablaze, leaving not even a complete corpse for Ashina Shali, who came to find her amidst the victory, cloaked in the blood of her father and brothers.

However, she left Ashina Shali a son.

This child was Ashina Zhuxie.

Because he couldn’t admit that his birth father was the enemy of the Zhuxie Tribe, Ashina Shali, this child remained a bastard, scorned by the people of the Zhuxie Tribe. After his maternal tribe was destroyed, he was brought back by Ashina Shali. Although the son of Shali Khan, because of his origins, he wasn’t valued by the Turkic people, not even having an official name; thus, he was named "Zhuxie" as a survivor of the Zhuxie Tribe.

No one expected that he would appear in Qi County and even abduct Shang Ruyi!

But why did he appear in Qi County?

And why did he abduct Shang Ruyi?

Could it be—

Yu Wenye suddenly looked up. Although the light was dim, he could clearly see that his eyes were somewhat bloodshot, causing alarm. He said in a deep voice, "How many troops has Ashina Zhuxie brought?"

The personal soldier immediately replied, "Although it’s hard to see in the dark, there are quite a number of them, at least nearly ten thousand."

"..."

"At that time, the guards at Qi County were terrified, thinking the Turkic people were coming to attack Qi County. But, when they reached the city gate, they happened to encounter the Princess leaving the city. It seems they recognized the Princess and abducted her. Afterwards, they circled the city gate once and left Qi County."

"..."

"Moreover, judging from their appearance, it looked like they had just gone through a battle. Some were even injured."

"..."

"By the way, among that troop, there was also a squad of Heavy Cavalry."

"Heavy Cavalry."

These four words made Yu Wenye’s gaze even colder.

He squinted his eyes slightly, a cold light flashing within, and said, "So, this time, the reinforcements sent by the Western Turks to Taiyuan are led by Ashina Zhuxie."

Beside him, Shen Tu Tai and others snapped back to their senses.

Ashina Zhuxie appearing here should mean he’s leading reinforcements to support Taiyuan. But why did he not reach Taiyuan and instead went to Qi County?

Yu Wenye thought for a moment and said, "If I’m not mistaken, they should have entered Taihang Road from Jingxing Pass, originally intending to reinforce Taiyuan; but before reaching Taiyuan, they likely took a detour to Shouyang County to restock on water and grass."

"..."

"And my Imperial Brother, heading north from the eastern line, should reach Shouyang County faster than them."

"..."

"Thus, they must have encountered each other."

Everyone immediately understood. This was what they had discussed earlier, that the Turkic reinforcements would enter Taihang Road through Jingxing Pass, and before reaching Taiyuan, would likely take over the resource-rich Shouyang County to replenish their provisions. This would mean encountering the forces led by the Han King, since Shouyang County was also the hometown of the Han King’s birth mother, Mrs. Dong, where he would likely defend against the Turkic army.

The fact that the Turkic army reached Qi County means they lost.

Could it be—

Shen Tu Tai showed a slightly surprised expression and said, "This time, Ashina Zhuxie came with Heavy Cavalry. Can the Han King really fight such a force and win?"

The ordinary people might not understand, but we soldiers know all too well.

The gap between infantry and cavalry, ordinary cavalry against Heavy Cavalry, is like that between fish and the chopping block, with almost no chance of victory. This time, because the mission was to capture Taiyuan, both the eastern and western forces only consisted of ordinary cavalry.

But Han King Yu Wenqian was able to defeat Ashina Zhuxie’s Heavy Cavalry?

The people surrounding him were also surprised or even a bit terrified, but Yu Wenye showed not the least surprise, only a flash of cold light in his eyes, as if recalling something.

After a moment of silence, he said, "In the Buddhist Hall, your heart is in chaos."

"..."

"My Imperial Brother is no ordinary person."

Hearing this, everyone said nothing, but their expressions became grim.

Although they didn’t know what strategy that Prince Han used, to fight against Heavy Cavalry in such circumstances and defeat them must require a highly sophisticated strategy.

To be enemies with such a person—dangerous!

In an instant, the entire forest was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, even the howling cold wind seemed less chilly.

After a long silence, Shen Tu Tai looked at Yu Wenye: "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"..."

Yu Wenye said nothing, but his gaze became frostier.

And the crowd became even quieter, their breathing tense and anxious.

Everyone understood that there were two paths now before Yu Wenye; one was to continue waiting here. After all, with less than an hour to go, the appointed time with Nie Chong would arrive. Once the time came, they could coordinate with those inside the city to capture Taiyuan, achieving victory in this battle!

The second path was to rescue Shang Ruyi.

But—

Yu Wenye looked up, his eyes coldly directed at the personal soldier who came to deliver the message, and asked, "Where did the Turkic people go after abducting her?"

The personal soldier thought for a moment and immediately replied, "North."

"North."

"When did this happen?"

"It was in the evening."

"Evening..."

Repeating these words, Yu Wenye’s face darkened.

The troops led by Ashina Zhuxie had clashed with Yu Wenqian in Shouyang. Whether they were defeated or retreated, they came near Qi County, probably intending to find out the situation here, as Lei Guo, due to Lei Yu’s affiliation, had already joined the Western Turks, becoming one of their own.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching outside Qi County, they saw Shang Ruyi leaving. With Ashina Zhuxie’s keen sense, he must have instantly realized that Qi County had been taken by Yu Wenye.

So, the reinforcements from Western Turks didn’t enter the city, just circled and left.

And took Shang Ruyi away.

The troops headed north, but as they didn’t encounter us here, it means Ashina Zhuxie didn’t follow the road to Taiyuan, probably knowing the situation had changed here and that Taiyuan could not hold, thus returning directly to Turkic territory.

And Shang Ruyi...

At this point, Shantong’er, who had forced himself to stay calm for a long time, couldn’t hold back any longer and trembled as he quietly said, "Your—Your Highness, what will you do? Sister Ruyi—oh no, the Princess, she’s been taken."

"..."

"We need to rescue her."

"..."

"Your Highness, we need to save her!"

Everyone around knitted their brows. Shen Tu Tai reached out and squeezed Shantong’er’s shoulder, signaling him to shut up.

At this time, no one should and could speak out.

For a moment, everyone held their breath, even stopping their heartbeat, eyes fixed intensely on Yu Wenye.

Now, with less than an hour left to the agreed time with Nie Chong, if Yu Wenye leaves here to rescue Shang Ruyi, it would be tantamount to giving up on Taiyuan!

But the outcome of Taiyuan is tied to the Crown Prince’s position!

What will he choose?!