Gu Yuzhi chuckled and said, "Once Xiaobai captures the prefect, bring him out immediately, and then we'll attack the city!"

He looked at Chief Secretary Xie with a smile, a hint of smugness on his face: "Under normal circumstances, all the weapons in the city are locked in the armory. Now that Jiangzhou has no garrison commander or prefect, these city guards don't have any spare weapons."

They certainly wouldn't keep weapons like bows and arrows on hand.

Chief Secretary Xie stroked his beard and nodded: "Your Highness, how about something simpler? After Black Python is captured and brought back to the Prefect of Jiangzhou, our elite troops will immediately go into the water, open the city gate on this side of the moat, and, with the help of both inside and outside, quickly take over the city gate."

Once the prefect of Jiangzhou is captured, Jiangzhou will be in a situation where there are no officials in charge and no weapons available, making it more likely that they will take it over.

As Xie Changshi pointed to the map, he said, "After entering the city, the navy will split into three groups to go to the other three city gates, while the elite troops will go to the Chu King's mansion, the prefect's office, and the mansions of the Chu King's staff. We must pacify these mansions as quickly as possible."

He glanced at the Chu Prince's residence: "Especially the Chu Prince's residence. Gu Yufan is not here, but if the Chu Princess is a strong-willed person, she can easily mobilize the city's armory."

With the prince absent, the princess has the most influence in the city, so they have to be wary of her.

Gu Yuzhi clapped his hands and looked at Guard Zhang, saying, "Let's arrange it as Chief Secretary Xie suggested."

Guard Zhang turned to make arrangements, while the others waited quietly in the forest.

Gu Yuzhi lowered his head and took a bite of the unpalatable rice cake, silently communicating with Shu Xiaohan: "This winter, after we defeat the Northern Di people, I will tell my brother that we will go to the Northern Di to find wheat!"

Teacher Shu said that wheat flour pancakes not only won't hurt your throat, but they also have a slightly sweet taste when you eat them.

Looking at the rice cake in his hand, Gu Yuzhi could only imagine that it was a dish from Baoyuezhai or a meal prepared by Granny Xu.

Shu Xiaohan felt heartbroken seeing Gu Yuzhi's pained expression, but still said softly, "It's always better to avoid war if possible."

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head, swallowed a mouthful of rice cake with difficulty, and muttered softly, "I don't want to fight either. But if we don't fight them, they will fight us! We might as well take the initiative."

"Mr. Huo said that the Northern Di people are barbaric and rude. Even if they are beaten and afraid, they are still resentful in their hearts."

Otherwise, they wouldn't have continued to invade Sangchao after recovering.

Gu Yuzhi's little face puffed up: "So Mr. Huo said that for a race like the Northern Di who eats raw meat and drinks blood, stopping war with war is the best way!"

At this point, Gu Yuzhi seemed to suddenly understand why his father disliked Mr. Huo.

He had heard Xu Mama and his mother mention more than once that many civil officials in the court felt that the Huo family army's military pay was too high and that too much silver was spent on fighting. They suggested that it would be better to give some silver to the Northern Di people every year, which would ensure their safety and save a lot of money.

The Empress Dowager secretly scolded the Minister of Revenue.

He was young then and thought money was very important, so he didn't understand why his mother was angry, but now he does.

Fortunately, the emperor's elder brother is not the father, and he also hates the Northern Di people just as much!

Gu Yuzhi took a sip of water, and seeing that it was almost time, he tapped Xiaobai's head. Xiaobai turned around and led the black python and black leopard silently toward the moat.

He then continued to say to Shu Xiaohan, "Destroying most of the Northern Di forces will not only ensure peace on the borders of my Sang Dynasty for another ten years, but also allow us to find wheat seeds. For me, it's killing two birds with one stone."

Looking at the confident young prince, Wen Xiuzhu finally couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what if we can't find the kind of crop that Teacher Shu mentioned within the territory of the Northern Barbarians?"

Gu Yuzhi froze on the spot for a moment before blinking and saying, "How could I not find it?"

Wen Xiuzhu sighed softly: "After all, according to Teacher Shu, the Sang Dynasty did not exist in their history. In other words, we may not have what they possess, right?"

"Therefore, Your Highness, I think you should not have too much hope."

Not only did His Highness fail to find the wheat, but he also failed to find it on the snowy night. Wen Xiuzhu really didn't want His Highness to have too much hope anymore.

After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Gu Yuzhi's expression changed instantly. He rested his chin on his arms and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Shu Xiaohan suddenly pulled Wen Xiuzhu aside and scolded him with her eyes for saying such things at this time. Wasn't this shattering the little prince's beautiful fantasy?

Wen Xiuzhu rolled his eyes, and the two immediately exchanged glances and started cursing at each other.

Gu Yuzhi suddenly sat up straight: "I don't think so!"

He clenched his little fist: "Teacher Shu said I'm incredibly lucky. I have a strong feeling that the wheat seeds are in the Northern Di!"

Although he didn't go out much during his stay in Huizhou these past few days, the voices of the people outside the mansion still reached his ears through various means.

The people were grateful to him, not only for his help in relieving the siege of Huizhou, but also for his selfless donation of sweet potatoes and potatoes to the Ministry of Revenue.

Gu Yuzhi wanted to be a beloved prince, and even more so, he wanted to help his elder brother, the Emperor, protect the Sang Dynasty's territory.

He looked at Manager Wen, who seemed hesitant to speak, and gave a soft hum: "I know what Manager Wen means, but I just believe I can do it!"

If the Northern Barbarians don't work, then we'll search even further north. I refuse to believe we can't find them!

Gu Yuzhi's big eyes darted around, and he suddenly became happy again. Once the Northern Barbarians were defeated this time, the Northern Desert Army would surely become even stronger and more powerful under General Lu's leadership.

He glanced to the side, thinking that with Xue Ye and his beastly army, they might actually be able to subjugate the Northern Di into their Sang Dynasty's territory.

Gu Yuzhi scratched his chin, just as he was thinking, when he heard a slight noise not far away.

It was Xiaobai and Heimong who returned, followed by the black leopard, which was still dripping water.

A slender snake twisted itself into a rope, binding the Jiangzhou prefect firmly to the black python's body.

The prefect's face was deathly pale, and he could barely breathe.

Guard Zhang checked the prefect's pulse and found that it was so weak that it was almost undetectable.

Qin, the Imperial Physician, who was resting nearby, was called over. After taking his pulse, he shook his head slightly and said softly as everyone gasped, "It's nothing. He just drank too much water from the moat and can't recover yet."

It's already quite impressive that these beasts were able to bring the Jiangzhou prefect across the moat so quietly. They even fantasized that they could show up halfway and let the Jiangzhou prefect catch his breath.

Judge Qin glanced at the slender snake and thought to himself that perhaps the more the Jiangzhou prefect struggled and choked on water, the tighter the snake would bind him...