March 20th.

Following the invitation, Li Ru led his men to a place twenty miles north of Mohan City, where they formally met with the eldest prince and began peace talks.

As soon as the two sat down, the eldest prince asked, "On behalf of the Kushan king, I have come to inquire about the purpose of your army's sudden incursion into my Kushan territory."

Li Ru replied with a smile, "There's no particular reason. Our army has been pursued by the Han and has no fixed abode. We just want to find a place to rest!"

The eldest prince then asked, "Does your army have a target location?"

Li Ru shrugged: "Not right now!"

The eldest prince frowned: "If that's the case, why does your army linger on our territory? You should find another place to go!"

"We also want to leave, but unfortunately we've run into supply problems and need to replenish our resources temporarily!"

Li Ru spread his hands, looked at the eldest prince with a big smile, and looked like he was begging for a reward.

"What does your army need? Our country can certainly offer some assistance!"

The eldest prince didn't beat around the bush and directly asked Li Ru what conditions he needed.

Li Ru took out a list and said calmly, "Four million shi of grain, six hundred thousand bolts of silk, two million taels of gold, and two hundred thousand able-bodied slaves!"

"What……?"

Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Li Ru, the eldest prince's face immediately darkened.

The things Li Ru wanted—the grain—were enough to supply an army of 400,000 for two years, while the silk and gold were equivalent to two years' income for the Kushan Empire's treasury.

The most important thing is the 200,000 able-bodied slaves. Where will the Kushan Empire find so many people?

Are you suggesting we seize the people and enslave them? If we do that, the people will probably revolt immediately.

It would be strange if the eldest prince could look pleased with Li Ru's outrageous demands.

"Your army is asking for too much. Our country simply cannot provide that much. Can we discuss this further?"

The eldest prince took a deep breath and looked at Li Ru with hopeful eyes.

Li Ru raised an eyebrow: "I wonder what Your Highness wishes to give?"

"One million shi of grain, one hundred thousand bolts of silk, and five hundred thousand taels of gold. As for slaves, we can try to buy some, but we can't guarantee the exact number!"

"Your Highness's conditions are a bit too harsh, aren't they?"

Upon hearing the number announced by the eldest prince, Li Ru frowned, a displeased expression appearing on his face.

"This is the highest condition I can agree to. Besides, these things are enough for your army's expenses for three years. That should be enough for you to find a new place to rest, right?"

The eldest prince's expression hardened, showing no sign of backing down.

After all, Jia Xu had told him before that the Xianbei and Xiongnu had no intention of staying long, and if he showed too much weakness, he would definitely have to pay a higher price.

Even if a peace agreement is reached, I will inevitably be branded as a traitor, which would be terrible.

"It's clear that Your Highness is quite sincere. However, I need to consult with my King. Perhaps we can continue our discussion tomorrow?"

Seeing this, Li Ru did not continue to exert pressure, but instead looked at the other party with a smile.

"Alright, let's talk again tomorrow!"

The eldest prince nodded in agreement, then leaned closer to Li Ru and whispered, "Have you received the letter I sent to your side?"

"Thank you for reminding us, Your Highness. We have already seen it!"

Li Ru responded in a low voice, then took out the original letter from the eldest prince from his sleeve.

"That's good, take care, sir!"

The eldest prince took the secret letter and breathed a sigh of relief.

After temporarily ending the negotiations, both sides set up a temporary rest camp at the negotiation site.

After returning to his tent, Li Ru took out another secret letter from his pocket and placed it in a conspicuous position on the table.

This secret letter was the very one that Li Ru had forged by imitating the eldest prince's handwriting.

The letter revealed that the eldest prince had colluded with the Xianbei and Xiongnu, planning to use supplies as leverage to have the two armies defeat the second prince's army, thus taking the opportunity to bring down the second prince.

After arranging everything, Li Ru also stepped out of the tent and hid in the shadows with his men, waiting for the fish to come and bite.

As night fell, seven men in black silently infiltrated the camp where Li Ru and his group were located and headed straight for Li Ru's tent.

Hidden in the shadows, Li Ru instructed his men, "Except for the leader, don't let any of the rest escape. It would be best to leave two alive!"

The leader of these assassins was Amira, who had previously attempted to assassinate Ellie Morin.

Of course, the original Amira had already been killed by Yu Zheng. The current person was just someone arranged by Xi Zhicai, disguised as Amira, to continue to infiltrate the Second Prince's side.

"yes!"

Several subordinates agreed, and then each took out a finely crafted crossbow and silently surrounded the assassins.

At the same time, the assassins sneaked into Li Ru's tent.

Four assassins stayed outside to keep watch, while Amira led two others into the tent.

After entering the tent, Amira made a hand gesture to the two assassins.

The two assassins understood each other. The assassin immediately took out his dagger and reached for the bed, while Amira went to the table and put the secret letter that Li Ru had placed on it into her bosom.

"There's no one on the tatami!"

Upon reaching the two assassins by the bed, and lifting the covers, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"Oh no! Run!"

Amira let out a soft cry and turned to run out of the tent.

"Gentlemen, since you're already here, why don't you stay?"

As soon as Amira and her group ran out of the tent, Li Ru emerged from the shadows, followed by fifteen men carrying crossbows.

"run!"

Seeing Li Ru approaching, Amira didn't have time to think. She gave a low shout and ran south, with several assassins following closely behind.

"Release the arrows!"

At Li Ru's command, a series of crossbow bolts rang out, and arrows shot out, whistling towards the assassins' descendants.

In an instant, the five assassins at the back of the pack let out painful groans and then collapsed to the ground.

Amira, who was running ahead, and another assassin also ran one after the other towards the outside of the camp.

Just as Amira ran out of the camp, a rope suddenly appeared on the ground, tripping the assassin behind her.

Before the assassin could even get up, several Xianbei soldiers rushed forward, pinned him down, tied him up, and brought him before Li Ru.

Looking in the direction Amira had fled, Li Ru's lips curled up slightly, then he turned to look at the bound assassin.

"Break his limbs, and then hand him over to their eldest prince tomorrow!"