March 27th.

At this point, six days had passed since the peace talks began.

The people sent by the eldest prince also arrived in the capital ahead of time.

The old Kushan king, who was playing with his concubines in the harem, once again feigned illness after receiving a report from his guards and summoned the messenger sent back by the eldest prince.

The old king lay on his side on the throne, his eyelids drooping, and pointed to the wooden box next to the messenger, asking, "What are those things?"

"Your Majesty, this contains the head of an assassin!" the messenger replied respectfully.

"The assassin's head?"

A glint of light flashed in the old king's cloudy eyes as he glanced at the messenger: "What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, during the negotiations with His Highness, a group of assassins infiltrated the Xianbei-Xiongnu camp with the intention of assassinating someone. They were discovered by the Xianbei envoy, who killed the assassins and handed them over to His Highness."

His Highness specially dispatched this humble servant to bring him back and hand him over to His Majesty for disposal!

As he spoke, the messenger took out the confession that the eldest prince had obtained during his interrogation.

The guards who were standing nearby also stepped forward, took the statement, and presented it to the old king.

After reading the confession, the old king's face darkened.

"Cough cough... That bastard second son dares to disobey my orders!"

The old king angrily threw the confession on the ground and couldn't help but curse.

It should be noted that all the Xianbei and Xiongnu people were within the territory of the Kushan Empire.

Fortunately, the Xianbei envoy was unharmed; otherwise, if war had broken out, regardless of the final outcome, the Kushan Empire would have suffered unimaginable losses, and the very foundation of their state would have been shaken.

He never imagined that his second son would resort to such unscrupulous means to prevent his eldest son from succeeding.

The old king turned to the guard beside him and said coldly, "Immediately send someone with my decree to seal off Damoti's residence. Also, send someone to summon Damoti back to the capital and have him come to see me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The guard agreed and then quickly ran outside!

After the guards left, the old king took a breath, looked at the messenger kneeling on the ground, and asked in a deep voice, "How are the negotiations with the eldest prince progressing? Have the Xianbei and Xiongnu launched any attacks?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has successfully appeased the Xianbei and Xiongnu people and signed a peace treaty!"

As the messenger answered, he took out the treaty and held it in his hands.

"The boss is more reliable; at least we avoided war!"

After reading the treaty, the old king's expression softened considerably.

Although the eldest prince promised to give the Xianbei and Xiongnu a lot of supplies, it was nothing compared to the losses caused by the war.

Subsequently, the old king ordered the peace treaty to be sent to his ministers and began preparing the materials required for the treaty.

Just as the Kushan ministers were busy preparing supplies, a rumor suddenly began to circulate.

People are talking about how the Xianbei and Xiongnu have wolfish ambitions and are preparing to use the supplies provided by the Kushans to attack them.

Yuan Shao, a Han official, also personally visited several ministers of the Kushan Empire. He cited the Han Dynasty as an example, mentioning how the Xianbei had grown strong by relying on Han resources and later plundered Han territory.

At the same time, the old and new factions of Buddhism also temporarily put aside their struggle and began to preach to their followers about the various despicable deeds of the Xianbei and Xiongnu.

In an instant, the entire capital city began to oppose providing supplies to the Xianbei and Xiongnu.

"Well, I didn't expect even the third brother to get involved. Are they trying to ruin the Kushan Empire?"

Upon learning the news, the old king was once again furious and immediately guessed that it was the third prince who was behind it.

After all, only the Third Prince could get both the Han envoy and the Buddhist sect to speak out at the same time.

"Your Majesty, although the Third Prince has fueled this matter, we must be wary of the content of the rumors!"

Just as the old king was getting angry, Yu Zheng also came over with the medicine.

"Oh? Mr. Yu means that the Xianbei and Xiongnu people really harbor evil intentions?"

Upon hearing Yu Zheng's words, the old king's expression shifted.

Yu Zheng said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Xianbei and Xiongnu are people who live by plundering and are inherently barbaric. They will certainly not be bound by any so-called treaty."

Now that the Kushan Empire is wealthy, it is a piece of fat meat in their eyes. Now that they have come, they certainly will not leave so easily.

I believe that regardless of whether you give them supplies or not, they will loot extensively before leaving!

Upon hearing Yu Zheng's words, the old king fell into deep thought.

If the rumors are true, then this batch of supplies must never be sent to the Xianbei and Xiongnu.

But what he was worried about was that the Xianbei and the Xiongnu might really just want to take the supplies and leave.

If I fail to send supplies because of rumors, it will become an excuse for the Xianbei and Xiongnu to start a war.

For a moment, the old king was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing the old king's hesitant expression, Yu Zheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a suggestion!"

Upon hearing this, the old king hurriedly asked, "Oh? What brilliant plan does Mr. Yu have? Tell me quickly!"

"Your Majesty, I believe you should immediately order the Second Prince to lead a large army to reinforce the city's defenses at the front to prevent a surprise attack by the Xianbei and Xiongnu."

At the same time, under the guise of supplying the army, they sent the supplies needed by the Xianbei and Xiongnu to the front lines to appease the people.

Once the supplies arrive, they will be delivered to the Xianbei and Xiongnu in batches!

"Delivery in batches? What does that mean?"

Upon hearing Yu Zheng's suggestion, the old king asked in a daze.

Yu Zheng explained: "The meaning of this phased delivery is to divide the supplies into several batches, and first give one batch to the Xianbei and Xiongnu people."

As they retreat, we will deliver supplies to the next few batches. Once they have all retreated, all the supplies will be delivered together!

If they don't retreat, then we'll only lose one batch of supplies. The remaining supplies can be used to replenish the main army at the front and hold off their attack!

"Great idea!"

After listening to Yu Zheng's explanation, the old king nodded in agreement.

The old king summoned his guards and ordered, "Immediately retrieve the man who went to summon the second prince, and instruct the second prince to immediately organize men to reinforce the front-line passes and city defenses!"

The guard agreed and then quickly ran outside.

After the guards left, the old king sat back on his throne and began to ponder what was to come.

If war were to break out with the Xianbei and Xiongnu, the cost to the army at the front would be astronomical. If the entire effort relied on the national treasury, it would certainly affect future stability.

After much deliberation, the old king decided to focus his attention on the third prince.

Since they dared to spread rumors and disturb people's minds, they definitely need to be punished.

Furthermore, the Buddhist sect's funds are no less than those of the national treasury, and with the support of the Nami and Kate families, procuring war supplies should not be a problem.