Council Hall of the Wusun Kingdom.

"What? You're saying the Xianbei people have come too?"

Upon hearing Cheng Xu's report, the King of Wusun stood up abruptly, his face turning slightly pale.

Inside the hall, the expressions of the nobles and officials changed repeatedly.

The Xiongnu to the south alone were enough to frighten them, and now the Xianbei have come as well. How are they supposed to survive?

"Your Majesty, General Yuan Shao has agreed to help stabilize the Xianbei. Please order the immediate mobilization of supplies to prevent the Xianbei from using this as an excuse to launch an attack..."

Just as the King of Wusun and the others were alarmed, Cheng Xu hurriedly told the King of Wusun about the Xianbei people demanding supplies.

"this……"

Upon hearing that the Xianbei people were demanding supplies for 100,000 troops to get through the winter, the fear on the face of the Wusun king immediately turned into hesitation.

He could provide enough supplies for 100,000 men, but the problem was that there was just too much; the treasury was already nearly 70% full.

To guard against the Xiongnu, the King of Wusun has gathered nearly 40,000 soldiers to defend the capital. The daily food and supplies for these soldiers and horses are astronomical.

If we give another 70% of our supplies to the Xianbei, we will run out of food soon. What will our soldiers eat then?

Thinking of this, the King of Wusun hesitated and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to provide these supplies, but given the current situation, there's really no way I can do it!"

"Your Majesty, if we do not come out, not only will we invite an attack from the Xianbei, but we will also lose face for Yuan Shao, who helped our country mediate. At that time, we will be surrounded by enemies on three sides, and Wusun will be in real danger!"

Upon seeing that the King of Wusun was unwilling to provide these supplies, Cheng Xu became anxious and quickly explained the implications.

Yuan Shao has already stepped in to buy you time, and you're still thinking of not giving a penny. Even the most good-tempered person would be furious at this!

Upon hearing this, the King of Wusun's expression changed, and he looked at the ministers in the hall with some confusion.

The Right Chancellor stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I do have a solution that may resolve this predicament!"

"oh?"

The King of Wusun frowned and said urgently, "What is the method? Tell me quickly!"

"Your Majesty, these Xianbei people were defeated by the Han Dynasty and fled westward to this place. They must be just like the Xiongnu, eager to find a place to settle down."

Cheshi has been decimated by the Xiongnu, making it an unsafe place to stay. If Kucha could lure the Xiongnu here to protect itself, then we can do the same to protect ourselves by leading the Xianbei to Dayuan…”

Upon hearing this, the King of Wusun's eyes lit up: "Good, good idea! Dayuan, relying on the support of the Kushans, has repeatedly invaded our borders and plundered our people. This time, we can use the Xianbei to wipe them out..."

"Your Majesty is wise!!"

Seeing that the King of Wusun had accepted his opinion, the Right Chancellor also flattered him with a happy expression.

Cheng Xu frowned and said, "The Xianbei army and civilians number in the hundreds of thousands. It is difficult for Dayuan to accommodate them. What should we do if they turn around and attack our country again?"

The Right Chancellor laughed and said, "The Kushan Empire paid a great price to control Dayuan. Once it is destroyed by the Xianbei, it will certainly not let it go."

When the Kushan Empire attacks, how can the Xianbei, with their small force, possibly withstand it? Let alone attack our country!

"That makes sense!"

Upon hearing this, the King of Wusun on the throne nodded in agreement.

"But how can we lure the Xianbei people to Dayuan?"

"That's very simple!"

The Right Chancellor smiled confidently and then said, "Your Majesty, didn't the Left Chancellor just say that Yuan Shao wanted our country to work with Dayuan to procure the supplies needed by the Xianbei people? We can manipulate that!"

"oh?"

The King of Wusun raised an eyebrow: "How?"

The Right Chancellor's expression hardened: "Your Majesty only needs to send someone to kill the messenger sent by the Han Dynasty to Dayuan..."

"What……?"

These words shocked everyone present. Everyone stared wide-eyed and gaped, looking at the Right Prime Minister with disbelief.

"No, Your Majesty!!"

Cheng Xu exclaimed, “Your Majesty, the messenger sent by the Han Dynasty represents the majesty of the Han Dynasty. If we intercept and kill him, we will surely anger the Han Dynasty, and then we will be in danger of losing our country!”

"The Left Prime Minister is overthinking it!"

The Right Chancellor smiled and said, "As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. We can say that Dayuan was unwilling to hand over those supplies, so they sent people to impersonate our people to intercept and kill the Han messengers."

"As long as we make proper arrangements and shift the blame for intercepting the messenger onto Dayuan, how could the Han Dynasty possibly take its anger out on us?"

"Excellent, a good idea. Let the Right Chancellor handle this matter!"

Upon hearing the Right Chancellor's words, the King of Wusun nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Then the King of Wusun glanced at his ministers and said in a deep voice, "Although we have halved the amount of supplies we need to raise, it is still a considerable sum and will have a significant impact on the treasury. If the Xiongnu do not withdraw their troops for a long time, the remaining supplies may not last long. I wonder if any of you have any good ideas?"

Upon hearing this, all the nobles and officials in the hall immediately lowered their heads.

They realized that their king's question meant he wanted them to share the burden of the supplies.

Although they could provide these supplies, they were all hard-earned savings, and no one would willingly give them away so easily.

"The national treasury has plenty of funds, why should we have to pay out of our own pockets?"

Everyone had the same thought in their hearts, yet no one spoke a word.

"What? Have you all become mute?"

Seeing the sudden silence from his ministers, the King of Wusun's face darkened.

In the past, when the Han and Xianbei traded and shared profits, these guys were all incredibly eager, wishing they could kick out their own king. Now that the situation is so critical, and all they have to do is contribute some money to the country, they've all become cowards.

With such a group of ministers under his command, anyone would be so angry that they would want to kill.

"Your Majesty is right. The supplies in the treasury are needed to support the soldiers defending the city and should not be moved lightly!"

The speaker was the Right Chancellor of Wusun. He said with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, I believe that the supplies needed by the Xianbei people should be levied from the common people."

Will there be an increase in taxes?

The King of Wusun frowned: "But the people just paid their taxes not long ago. If we increase them again, I'm afraid it will cause unrest!"

"Your Majesty, given the current situation, Wusun is in imminent danger of being destroyed. We are collecting some supplies to ensure our safety. I believe the people will understand!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the people will understand!"

As the Right Chancellor finished speaking, the nobles and officials in the hall all chimed in with their own words of agreement.

Even Cheng Xu, who always liked to contradict the Right Chancellor, kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything more.