Zhao Huan was furious when he received news of the defeat at the front. He Guan had been killed in battle, the Cangzhou army was gone, and the towns surrounding Baoding had fallen into the hands of the Jin army.

Zhong Hong's main force was crippled by the Jin army in Gangzhou. The elite troops of the Song Dynasty, the Zhong family army, were over half destroyed, leaving only Nangong Wentian's 20,000 to 30,000 men.

What was even worse was that the Dezhou army, led by Zhao Huan with 200,000 soldiers, suffered another crushing defeat.

In this battle, except for the great victories in Panlong Town and Luoyadang commanded by Nangong Wentian, the other fronts of the Eastern Route Army of the Song Dynasty suffered heavy defeats.

Zhao Huan wanted to cry; in fact, he had secretly cried under his covers. He deeply understood the helplessness and despair of being the last emperor. Sometimes, a dynasty is on its last legs, and the chances of a single wise ruler turning the tide are slim. The Ming Dynasty's Chongzhen was diligent and a role model for hard work. He lived a frugal life, abstaining from women. But no matter how hard he tried, the Ming dynasty still ended.

If a wise ruler emerges to save the empire from collapse, this person must be smart, wise, brave and courageous.

Zhao Huan looked at himself, his whole body full of loser vibes. He had no potential as a wise ruler, but his loser temperament was exposed.

Zhao Huan was furious. The Song army was well-equipped, with advanced weapons and several times the number of Jin soldiers. Aside from their cavalry, the Jin soldiers' swords were no longer than the Song's, yet they were ultimately defeated. In his rage, he finally realized the problem lay with himself.

"Wu Ge, Wang Zongchu! Announce to all the armies supporting the emperor that they establish a supervisory team. Anyone who dares to desert the battlefield will be exterminated along with his entire clan! Any army that receives a deserter will be subject to military law and will not be recruited."

"I will obey your order!"

Zhao Huan currently had only 100,000 soldiers and generals at his disposal, with another 70,000 stationed in Yanzhou and Xuzhou to prevent the Jin troops from advancing southward through Shandong, which would have put Bianjing in jeopardy. Furthermore, the Jin troops still numbered over 40,000 along the eastern route, making the situation even more critical.

Mingzhou, a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, holds an extremely important strategic position. If Mingzhou were lost, the gates would be wide open, and the Jin army would use it as a springboard to attack Bianjing.

Zhong Hong was dismissed by Zhao Huan and demoted to the post of Shui Huaixuan Fushi. The remnants of the Zhong family army were actually taken over by Nangong Wentian.

The battle between the two sides reached a fever pitch. Wanyan Gao deployed his troops outside the city, aiming to capture Mingzhou.

At this moment, Nangong Wentian was stationed in Mingzhou. Zhao Huan gave him a death order, requiring him to hold on for seven days, and Zhao Huan would personally lead the imperial guards to support him.

Wanyan Gao sent Wanyan Jiu and Maji to attack Mingzhou several times, but they were all repelled by the army commanded by Nangong Wentian, with both sides suffering heavy losses.

Wanyan Jiu used the same trick again and rushed to the gate of Mingzhou city after counting the people.

Nangong Wentian stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the desperate Jin soldiers: "It's foolish to use the same trick twice. Open the city gates! Let the people in!"

Suddenly, the gates of Mingzhou City opened wide and the people rushed in like crazy.

A hint of smile crossed Wanyan Jiu's lips: After all, the Song people were too soft-hearted, and they still made the same mistake.

Wanyan Jiu, a fellow disciple of Jin Wushu, was resourceful but conceited. Conceited, he failed to observe the situation, and so Wanyan Jiu led his troops to charge the city gate.

It went more smoothly than expected, and Wanyan Jiu led thousands of elite soldiers into Mingzhou City.

After rushing into the city, Wanyan Jiu realized something was wrong. Apart from the panicked civilians, there was not a single Song soldier to be seen in the city.

Suddenly, countless Song soldiers rushed out from the hidden caves in the city. Wanyan Jiu thought it was not good and wanted to retreat.

Two teams of Song soldiers had already rushed out from the hiding cave at the city gate and blocked the gate. After killing the Jin soldiers at the city gate, they closed the city gate again.

The wengcheng, also known as the moon city, was one of the main defensive structures of ancient cities. It was built outside the city gate, a small wall of the same height as the main city wall, and its shape was either round or square. The round one resembled a jar, hence the name wengcheng. If the enemy entered the wengcheng, closing the main city gate and the wengcheng gate would allow the defenders to capture the enemy in a "turtle in a jar" situation.

However, Mingzhou City did not have a garrison, so Nangong Wentian did the opposite. He ambushed his soldiers in various places inside the city, waiting for the Jin soldiers to enter the city and then surrounding them.

Wanyan Jiu's army, which massacred Baoding, received its retribution and was now trapped in Mingzhou City by Nangong Wentian's Song army.

Wanyan Gao, who was outside the city, was horrified. Seeing Wanyan Jiu leading his troops into the city, he thought the city had been captured. Unexpectedly, the city gates were shut again, and countless Song soldiers emerged from the walls.

"Charge!" Wanyan Gao led the Jin soldiers to attack the city desperately in order to rescue Wanyan Jiu's army.

The Song army on the city wall fired thousands of arrows and shot Wanyan Gao's army back.

The Song army in the city roared with killing sounds, and surrounded Wanyan Jiu's army and killed them fiercely.

The Song army, which outnumbered the Jin soldiers by several times, divided the Jin soldiers into groups of three or five and surrounded them.

In an instant, blood flowed like a river, and the Jin soldiers were lying in a mess of dead and wounded. Wanyan Jiu rushed forward on his horse, aiming for the Song army's chief general, Nangong Wentian. Suddenly, a red shadow flashed, and a young woman appeared beside Nangong Wentian. With her long whip raised, she lunged at Wanyan Jiu.

Wanyan Jiu was secretly on guard, for he knew that this was the girl who had killed Abuhanbu.

Nangong Lian'er raised her long whip and wrapped it around the two front legs of the horse under Wanyan Jiu's crotch.

The warhorse neighed loudly, knelt on its front legs and fell over. Wanyan Jiu had already jumped off the horse before it fell over.

Nangong Wentian secretly admired her and warned her, "Lian'er, be careful!"

Wanyan Jiu did not dare to be negligent. He held the sword with both hands and used stillness to control movement.

Nangong Lian'er did not dare to attack rashly, and the two of them waited quietly to repel the enemy.

Nangong Lian'er was getting anxious, but she couldn't help herself and finally attacked. She swung her whip in a circle, and with a "swish!", she attacked.

There are no martial arts novels like the grunting, hawing, punching and kicking fighting scenes. On the battlefield, basically, every move is a killer, and they will never tangle with you.

Wanyan Jiu, observing the whip's direction, also swung his sword in a flower pattern. With a 'swish' sound, he severed Nangong Lian'er's whip.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!