Ping'an City!
After Lin Yi's men entered the city, Tuoba Yu's troops immediately fled, as Lin Yi's advantage in manpower and weaponry was simply too great.
Even the Martial Divine Minor Titled King couldn't withstand the relentless bombardment of the catapults, so he chose to retreat without a fight.
After taking control of the entire Ningchuan Commandery, Lin Yi looked at the trembling civilians and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He said softly, "Gentlemen, I'm too late! If only I had borrowed troops earlier, you wouldn't have suffered such a calamity. Now, the enemy has been repelled!"
He felt somewhat guilty, but in this day and age, hesitation meant defeat. If he didn't want millions of people in Northern Liang to die, then someone had to be sacrificed.
He may have made mistakes, but the biggest fault lies with Li Sansi and Li Anlan; their incompetence led to this.
Upon hearing Lin Yi's words, a glimmer of light appeared in the numb eyes of the people of Ningchuan Commandery.
Is it dawn yet?
"It's dawn!"
Waaaaaah!
In an instant, the entire Ningchuan Commandery was filled with sorrowful weeping, but the cries also contained joy, as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
For them, they've finally made it through.
"God, you've finally opened your eyes!"
"I thought it was the Emperor who saved us, but it turns out it was the Heir of Northern Liang who saved us in the end. We are so grateful!"
"Hmph, the Emperor only sent ten thousand men, and they were wiped out by Tuoba Yu as soon as they crossed the river."
"Hope for the Emperor? He probably doesn't even have time for us right now. Two hundred thousand troops are at the gates of Mountain and River Pass."
"Your Highness is kind. I heard that in order to borrow troops to help us, Your Highness gave all your possessions to the White Horse Clan, which finally enabled you to support Ningchuan Commandery. It was truly not easy."
"So that's how it is. I thought the prince didn't want to save us, but it turns out it's because he doesn't have any troops."
"Nonsense! The Crown Prince only brought a thousand men into Xiliang Commandery. How many do you think he could have? These troops are about the same size as ours now; they're either borrowed or civilians."
"No wonder most of those soldiers were on white horses; even Northern Liang couldn't produce tens of thousands of white horses."
Watching the Xiliang soldiers constantly moving through the city, the common people had a hint of fear in their eyes, afraid that they would be humiliated by these soldiers again.
However, seeing that the other party had no intention of attacking him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Sure enough, it was better to be on his own side. Those Northern Region Barbarians were all people who wanted to eat people.
As some "insiders" revealed the details, they understood the general outline of the matter and were deeply moved.
It turns out that Lin Yi, the Heir of Northern Liang, gave all his possessions to the White Horse Clan in order to save them. He is truly a great man.
Zhang Huizu was one of them. He was an ordinary man from Ningchuan Commandery. He was extremely grateful to the Crown Prince because just as Tuoba Yu was about to arrest men everywhere, the Crown Prince arrived.
This was a great favor, and he silently remembered it in his heart.
Looking at his trembling son in his arms, he patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, son. We're on our own now, and the enemy has been driven back."
Unfortunately, all his money had been robbed by Tuoba Yu's men, and his future days would likely be quite difficult.
Just then, a group of Xiliang soldiers took out a bunch of notices and started posting them, which made Zhang Huizu's heart stir, and he couldn't help but walk over.
He himself was illiterate, but he could sense the joy in the hearts of others, so he quickly asked the people around him.
"Brother, what does this say? I can't read."
Waaaaah!
His response was a burst of sobbing. The old man, tears streaming down his face, said emotionally, "It says that from now on, Ningchuan Commandery will belong to Xiliang Province, and will be under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Liang Province Prefecture, who is also Lin Yi, the heir Heir of Northern Liang."
Forehead!
Zhang Huizu was speechless. He thought it was some good news, but what's with this news? Why are you crying? It has nothing to do with us.
"This has nothing to do with us. It should be a matter for the Emperor and the Heir of Northern Liang to discuss." He sighed, somewhat disappointed.
The older brother wiped away his tears.
"Don't be impatient, brother. I haven't finished yet. There's more good news to tell you."
"Good news?"
"The Crown Prince intercepted Tuoba Yu earlier and recovered some of the money, so he has decided to distribute it to us common people. Everyone, hurry up and collect your money!"
ah?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Huizu was stunned.
Should it be distributed to us ordinary people?
It's truly bizarre that there are officials in this All Under Heaven who don't need money.
With doubt in his heart, he went to the place to collect the money. The moment he received the money, tears streamed down his face. He thought of his son, his wife, and his parents.
Bang!
He immediately knelt on the ground, wailing, "Long live the young master! How could my family survive without this money?"
Waaaaaah!
At this moment, there were countless Zhang Huizu in Ningchuan Commandery, all of whom were moved by the Heir of Northern Liang who returned the money to them.
There's no other reason than that this is the first time I've seen officials who don't rob them of their money.
Ping'an City!
Hearing the heartfelt exclamations of the common people, and seeing the look of disbelief from the Princess Consort of Beining, Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. He thought to himself, "What use is money to me? Resources and troops are all generated by the system!"
Money is useful these days, but there are some things that money can't buy.
Warhorses and weapons are things that money can't buy, at least not the best ones. But they can be easily obtained through the system.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Princess Consort of Beining looked somewhat haggard; she had been captured when Ping'an City fell.
Although the other party refrained from humiliating her because of her status, all the money from the Northern Ning Prince's Mansion ultimately ended up in Tuoba Yu's hands. Now, Lin Yi had actually given her some money, which left her somewhat dumbfounded.
Is this man really that noble?
Lin Yi waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "That's all I can do. Most of the money was taken by Tuoba Yu, and I could only stop a portion. Also, I feel very sorry about what happened to the Prince of Beining Commandery, but unfortunately, my Xiliang Commandery was powerless to help him at the time!"
"This is not the Crown Prince's fault; he brought it upon himself because he was inferior in strength!" Princess Consort of Beining gave him a complicated look.
As the Princess Consort of Beining, she came from a prominent family and was naturally not as naive as ordinary people.
She was also aware that her husband was targeting Lin Yi, but unfortunately, Lin Yi ultimately defeated Tuoba Yu.
However, even with superior military strength and geographical advantages, her husband still failed, which can only be attributed to his inferior skills.
She remained silent regarding Lin Yi's claim of insufficient strength.