"General, the Second Prince's words are pure slander. When His Majesty was alive, His Highness had already left the capital to handle matters outside. How could he have done that?"

Moreover, the Nami family, the Kate family, and the Buddhist Church are all fully supporting Your Highness. Why would Your Highness need to do anything unnecessary?

After hearing what the city garrison officer said, the messenger sent by Damoshi hurriedly explained.

"Moreover, General, you see, the army outside the city, although they are flying the banner of the Second Prince, their appearance and clothing are clearly those of Xianbei and Xiongnu people!"

This must be because the second prince, having learned of the upheaval in the capital, has colluded with the Xianbei and Xiongnu in an attempt to seize power by force!

After listening to the messenger's words, the garrison officer looked closely and realized that the cavalrymen were indeed Xianbei and Xiongnu people.

I was so scared that I didn't really look closely.

The officers guarding the city couldn't help but believe the messenger's words to some extent.

Of course, most importantly, it is because he is a follower of Buddhism.

Now that the Buddhist sect has sided with the Third Prince, he naturally has no doubts.

However, whether one believes or not seems to be less important at this point.

Faith is truly powerless in the face of force.

The garrison officer sighed helplessly, "The enemy army is besieging the city, and my thousand old and weak men are powerless to resist. I'm afraid we won't be able to fulfill the Third Prince's orders!"

"While there's still time, you should hurry back and inform the Third Prince to prepare!"

"Thank you, General!"

Upon hearing this, the messenger bowed gratefully to the city guard officer and then hurried towards the east of the city.

After the messenger left, the garrison officer immediately ordered the city gates to be opened.

After the army entered the city, Li Ru also ordered his men to gather the city's garrison officers and officials together.

Glancing at the crowd, Li Ru said expressionlessly, "Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

"We want to live! Of course we want to live!"

"We are willing to pledge our allegiance to His Highness and serve him!"

Officials in Canno also spoke out, expressing their willingness to serve.

"Heh~, who said you were to pledge allegiance to the Second Prince?"

Li Ru chuckled lightly, glancing at everyone with a playful look in his eyes.

"this……"

Seeing Li Ru's appearance, everyone present was somewhat puzzled.

Li Ru gave a cold laugh and then said, "If you want to live, leave Kanno City right now. Also, you are not allowed to take a single grain of food or a single copper coin with you."

If you want to die, then stay here!

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Li Ru, wondering what he meant.

"What? Didn't you hear what I said?"

Seeing that no one was moving, Li Ru's face darkened.

The soldiers following behind Li Ru immediately drew their weapons and glared fiercely at the crowd.

"Let's go, we'll leave right away!!"

Upon seeing this, the officials of Canno City also hurriedly turned around and ran outside.

After everyone left, Li Ru summoned several of his men and instructed them, "Go and inform the people of the entire city that we have been ordered by the Second Prince to destroy the Third Prince's territory."

Our army will begin the massacre of the city in two days; not a single person, young or old, will be spared!

"yes!"

Several of his men agreed, and then each led their men to break down the doors of the city's residents' homes, one by one.

Upon learning that the Xianbei and Xiongnu were preparing to massacre the city, the people inside panicked and fled out of the city with their families. Their food and valuables were all looted by the soldiers.

Since the west, south, and north city gates were all guarded by cavalry, the people had no choice but to go through the east gate and run eastward.

Two days later, the entire city of Canno was deserted, except for a dozen or so elderly people who could not walk.

The grain and property left behind by the people were all gathered together.

"Take everything you can, and burn the city to the ground along with what you can't take!"

After giving his men some instructions, Li Ru got up and walked out of the city.

Not long after Li Ru left the city, large fires broke out in the city behind him.

"Let's keep going!"

Feeling the warmth emanating from behind him, Li Ru led his army eastward without turning back.

Two days later, the messenger from before arrived at the city where the third prince was located.

This city is located southwest of Dayuan, only about 300 li away. It is an exceptionally prosperous commercial center with a permanent population of about 200,000. Even in the entire Kushan Empire, it is one of the largest cities.

Since the third prince became king, this city has been renamed Dongdu.

Inside the city, in the temporary royal palace.

Upon hearing the news that the Xianbei and Xiongnu were launching an invasion, the third prince was quite frightened.

Although with the support of the two major families and the Buddhist sect, he had recruited 150,000 men.

However, apart from the 30,000 guards from the two major families and the 5,000 disciples sent by Hachi, the rest of the people were untrained slaves and ordinary young men.

Furthermore, these men were all infantrymen, and their weapons were not yet fully equipped. How could they possibly be a match for 40,000 elite cavalrymen?

The thought of being defeated before he even began filled the Third Prince with panic, and he completely lost his composure.

"Your Highness, didn't the Han Dynasty issue that pursuit order back then? Currently, there is a group of Han troops stationed in Dayuan. Why don't you ask them for help?"

Just as the third prince was at a loss for what to do, one of his subordinates suddenly offered a suggestion.

"Oh right, how could I forget about that!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's suggestion, Damoshi's eyes lit up.

In his view, since he had already promised Yuan Shao to submit to the Han Dynasty and asked the suzerain state to send troops to help him, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

Then, Damoshi summoned one of his men and instructed him: "I order you to go to Dayuan immediately and ask the Han army stationed there for help."

At the same time, we told the Han army that as long as they were willing to send troops, we would bear all the costs and expenses incurred by the army!

"yes!!"

After the subordinate official agreed, he quickly left.

Subsequently, while urging his officials to expedite the takeover of the eastern cities and continue recruiting able-bodied men, Damoshi also dispatched 100,000 troops to defend several large cities in the western part of the Eastern Capital.

Damoshi's intention was clear: he wanted to rely on the Eastern Capital and several other major cities to temporarily hold off Li Ru's army in order to hold out until the Han army arrived.

As for the people in the small towns and villages within his territory, he had no time to care about them.

As for the army led by Li Ru, they proceeded at a leisurely pace.

Along the way, they trampled on any fertile fields they encountered; when they came across villages and towns, they looted all the people's property, burned their houses, and then drove the people eastward.