Tuoba Shota's Scheme

Although they had already guessed Tuoba Xiangtai's treasonous intentions, Tuoba Ashina and the Eldest Prince were still exceptionally furious.

"You insolent brat, how dare you!"

"Old Third, you are too presumptuous!"

However, before their voices even faded, they saw the soldiers who were originally standing in the tent closing in on them.

Only then did they react.

After the battle at the left and right peaks, being chased and slaughtered by the Yu army, only a few thousand men had managed to flee back with them. Their elite forces had been completely wiped out.

Yet, Tuoba Xiangtai held nearly twenty thousand men in his hands!

The most terrifying part was that when they entered this tent, they had only brought a handful of elite guards.

Tuoba Xiangtai had made arrangements long ago. No matter how elite their guards were, how could they fight back?

Most importantly, these elite guards had been beaten into a state of panic by the Yu army and no longer had the will to fight.

Resistance was simply impossible.

Sure enough, many soldiers soon poured into the tent from outside. Aside from a few fierce grassland warriors, there were also some carrying long swords at their waists—people who clearly did not belong to their tribe at first glance!

Wa people!

Soon, the personal guards who had followed them in were slaughtered clean, and Tuoba Ashina and the Eldest Prince were firmly restrained.

They were pressed down to their knees, forced to kowtow to Tuoba Xiangtai, who sat on the tiger-skin chair.

Both of them were warriors of the grasslands; how could they willingly suffer such a humiliating insult?!

They cursed profusely, "Tuoba Xiangtai, you arrogant fool! How dare you make your royal father kowtow to you? Are you not afraid that the Eternal Heaven will send down divine punishment?"

"Old Third, I never thought you actually harbored treasonous ambitions. The words of the Central Plains dynasty are indeed correct: those not of our kin are sure to have different hearts!"

Hearing this, Tuoba Xiangtai merely gave a light chuckle.

He said, "Royal Father, Eldest Brother, you look down on me too much."

"What do you mean I have harbored treasonous ambitions?"

"I've had them for a long time!"

Tuoba Xiangtai gently fanned himself with a folding fan, his posture relaxed and casual, a faint smile hovering at the corners of his mouth, forever looking like a noble young master untouched by favor or disgrace.

He said to the Eldest Prince, "Eldest Brother, you have been trading with many merchants from the Central Plains. Yet recently, you have repeatedly been discovered by the border army, causing you heavy losses and leaving you unable to answer to our grassland nobles."

"Guess who did all of that?"

The Eldest Prince was stunned.

A rudimentary form of commerce had already emerged on the grasslands, always under his control. He had cultivated many Central Plains merchants, leading the grassland nobles to get rich together, which not only earned him wealth but also won over people's hearts.

But recently, incidents had been occurring frequently.

Even the Li family of Huaiqing, whom he valued the most, had vanished without a trace after being personally received by him.

He had always been puzzled by this.

He had thought it was the Chifeng Army tightening their border controls, but he never expected that it was actually...

Tuoba Xiangtai!

Tuoba Xiangtai looked toward Tuoba Ashina. "Royal Father, the leaders of the ten major tribes under your command have repeatedly disagreed with you. Even for the occupation of Shanhe City this time, it was I who went to mediate. Guess why it turned out like this?"

Tuoba Ashina's face was also filled with shock.

"It was you?"

"You... you, the son of a foreign woman, how did you persuade them?"

Without waiting for Tuoba Xiangtai to give an answer, Tuoba Ashina instantly realized.

Tuoba Xiangtai had money!

After all, Empress Xiao Mingzhao was willing to give even Shanhe City to Tuoba Xiangtai; privately, who knew how much wealth and benefits she had bestowed upon him.

He suddenly felt a sense of collapse.

This third son before him had never been favored by him. He had been thrown out as a hostage to various countries since childhood. Even after returning, he always maintained a refined and indifferent appearance. Who could have imagined that he had hidden himself so deeply!

There wasn't a trace of smugness on Tuoba Xiangtai's face. It was as if this act of pulling the rug out from under them and hollowing out the Northern Frontier's foundation was, to him, completely trivial.

He just said indifferently, "Royal Father, Eldest Brother, the title of the Lord of the Grasslands is already mine."

"While the grand army was invading the Northern Frontier, I had already arranged for people to distribute countless amounts of gold and silver, subjugating tribes big and small."

"Right now..."

"I have more than just twenty thousand men!"

"I have transferred another twenty-odd thousand men from the grasslands!"

"Now, I have over forty thousand troops, plus the few thousand elites you brought back. I possess a mighty army of fifty thousand!"

"Fifty thousand men!"

"Royal Father, Eldest Brother, looking at me like this, do you think I am qualified to be the Lord of this Northern Frontier?"

On the grasslands, having fifty thousand men absolutely gave one the qualifications to vie for the position of the Lord of the Grasslands. Moreover, with the most elite soldiers completely destroyed in a single battle, no one on the entire grassland could compete with Tuoba Xiangtai anymore.

Tuoba Ashina was especially clear about this point.

However, his heart felt increasingly tormented.

Was the majestic grassland really going to fall into the hands of Tuoba Xiangtai, who had half Wa blood?

He stared at Tuoba Xiangtai, seeming to muster the aura of the lion he once was on the grasslands, and said coldly, "So, all of this was your conspiracy?"

Tuoba Xiangtai shook his head and said, "How can it be called a conspiracy?"

"This is my thirst for the throne of the grasslands!"

"It's just that I didn't expect you two to be so cooperative!"

"When I told you to abandon going south and turn to attack the Northern Frontier instead, you actually went and attacked it!"

Tuoba Xiangtai shook his head slightly, his eyes full of contempt for Tuoba Ashina and the Eldest Prince.

"The Northern Frontier might have lost the Chifeng Army and the border guards, but the Great Yu and our barbarian tribes share a sea of deep hatred. How could the people of the Northern Frontier just stand by and watch us attack their lands?"

"Most of those border guards haven't left, and sooner or later, they will fight us. The Northern Frontier will soon become a vast ocean of battlefield slaughter."

"Hehehe..."

Tuoba Xiangtai rarely laughed. "But you two actually believed it!"

After just a chuckle, Tuoba Xiangtai quickly restrained his smile and returned to his calm demeanor.

"I originally planned to take Yunji City for you, establish a great merit to increase my prestige in the army, and then let you sink into the vast ocean of the Northern Frontier."

"At that time, I would sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

"When you both fought until you were mutually wounded, I would stab you in the back, seize the opportunity to absorb these elites, and become the Lord of this Northern Frontier."

"But I didn't expect that the defending general of Yunji City would be changed. Zhan Shubai, that idiot, was ultimately an idiot who couldn't even hold Yunji City."

"The newly replaced Ren Tianye wouldn't even listen to Luan'er's words."

"It's quite strange."

"It left me with no other choice!"

Tuoba Xiangtai sighed, showing a bit of interest in Ren Tianye on his face, and said, "Fortunately, you decided to attack Yunji City."

"What's even better is that you confidently and boldly handed Shanhe City over to me!"

"I was so happy that day!"

"I immediately oppressed those noble families even more crazily, giving them the chance to go and report the news, waiting for the people of the Northern Frontier to come and attack Shanhe City."

"I just didn't expect that you would lose so miserably!"

"I was still counting on you to suffer a setback attacking Shanhe City after it was occupied by others. In the end, you lost so many troops and generals!"

"The warriors of the grasslands!"

"You lost them all in one battle!"

"But, your prestige was also wiped out!"

Tuoba Xiangtai spoke mildly and unhurriedly.

Tuoba Ashina and the Eldest Prince heard him clearly. By now, the two of them no longer needed to hide anything, and their faces were filled with turbulent shock.

These events, one after another, were actually all orchestrated by Tuoba Xiangtai.

Everything else had already become unbearable for the two of them.

What's even more outrageous is... so many elites died!

The steppe would never be able to rise again.

Tuoba Ashina tried to stand up in anger, but after being pushed back down, he cursed loudly: "Tuoba Xiangtai, you have at least half barbarian blood in you, how could you be so ruthless?"

"That was an army of eighty thousand!"

"It's the lifeblood our steppe cultivated over so many years!"

"It's the foundation of the steppe!"

"You, you, how dare you let them be completely wiped out!"

"So you blame me?!" Tuoba Xiangtai said dismissively. "I didn't want it either, but there was no choice. Heaven only grants such an opportunity once."

"If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for being too stupid!"

"A petty trick by the Yu people was enough to bring you to such a miserable defeat. You have no right to point fingers at me anymore!"

As he spoke, a rare look of anger appeared on Tuoba Xiangtai's usually calm face.

The anger grew more intense, inexplicably mixed with a touch of madness.

"Besides..."

He began to speak, his tone trembling uncontrollably, as if he was about to pour out all the secrets he had hidden over the years.

"Besides, you all deserve to die!"

"Every single one of you actually dared to casually slander and insult my Luan'er!"

"You all deserve to die!"

"It's good that they died!"

"They deserved to die!"

...