Geng Chun handed over the power to defend the city, and Di Qing then arranged for troops to guard all parts of the city and prepare for defense.

"Zhang Yi, you lead your 1,000 men to guard the east gate. Li Er, you lead your 1,000 men to guard the west gate. I will guard the north gate myself!"

"Pile all the powerful crossbow bolts on the city wall and shoot them back."

"Commander Geng, your troops are resting and regrouping in the city, providing support from the center."

"......"

The series of military orders issued left Geng Chun in awe.

This masked general was not only fierce in battle and led from the front, but also had a well-organized defense of the city, far superior to him.

Regardless of their origins, Geng Chun could tell that they were genuinely determined to defend Juyan City and prevent the Xianbei cavalry from occupying this strategic location.

Holding Juyan and repelling the Xianbei cavalry is of utmost importance.

Geng Chun had made up his mind not to bring up the matter of doubt again; the Han people would never lie to the Han people!

......

"What?"

"Bald devil Li is dead! How could you be such a useless piece of trash?"

Looking at the disheveled and wounded Yu Chi Jiong before him, Yu Chi Gu was momentarily dazed.

Having watched his brother-in-law die, how could he explain this to his two younger sisters when he returned to the northern desert?

Yu Chi Gu gave Yu Chi Jiong a good scolding.

"Brother, this is not my fault. We were about to capture Juyan when suddenly this army appeared."

"And I never expected that so many crazy bulls would appear!"

Yu Chijiong also looked helpless.

Such an outcome was beyond his control.

The siege had already resulted in heavy losses, and then the fire oxen charged into the enemy lines, coupled with the pursuit of Han reinforcements, left him with only a little over a thousand men out of his ten thousand. It was a truly tragic sight.

"They're now joining us in the city. We already paid a heavy price to get onto the city walls with just over a thousand men, and now they've added another three thousand. What are we going to do?"

Yu Chijiong was utterly miserable. If he were asked to attack a city again, he would rather die than go.

"Our army of 40,000 has already suffered losses of nearly half before we even captured Juyan Lake."

Yu Chi Gu was heartbroken. "The only option is to besiege the city and starve them out!"

“Collect the dead horses and their carcasses, and throw them into the river to destroy their water source.”

Seeing his people die tragically, Yuchi Gu conceived a wicked plan.

"You lead ten thousand men to surround them here. If they dare to leave the city, you know what to do!"

"I will lead ten thousand men to bypass the desert and invade Dunhuang!"

"Another heavy snow is coming, and we must not let this hinder our progress."

When Yuchi Jiong heard that his elder brother had assigned him another 10,000 men to lead and had not punished him too much for the failure of the siege, his heart was filled with excitement.

"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely keep this place firmly surrounded and not let a single fly out."

For Yuchi Jiong, attacking cities was very difficult, but he was not afraid of open field battles.

If that masked general in the city dares to lead his troops out, he will surely retaliate in kind and avenge the nearly 20,000 clansmen who died under the Fire Ox Formation.

"Brother Jiong, don't worry, after this battle we go back, your big brother will definitely help you marry Bald Ghost Li's little sister!"

"Thank you, Brother Xie!"

Yu Chijiong felt a surge of heat when he thought of his younger sister's swaying, graceful figure.

......

The Xianbei soldiers outside Juyan City did not launch an attack rashly, but gradually retreated under the orders of Yuchi Gu.

Yuchi Jiong led 10,000 men and set up camp on the grassland five miles west of Juyan City.

Then countless soldiers came to clear away the dead horses, cattle, and human corpses.

Thump thump!

One by one, the corpses were thrown into the Weak Water River.

The Ruoshui River originates from the Qilian Mountains in the Hexi Corridor, flows through the desert, and merges into Juyan Lake.

It is also an important water source for irrigation for the people of Juyan City and the Juyan Lake area.

Therefore, the water in the river above ground is not deep, and one can cross it barefoot.

Now that the Xianbei people have thrown so many corpses into the river, it will inevitably affect the water supply for the people.

Inside the city, Di Qing had already received intelligence that the Xianbei had not attacked the city, but instead withdrew their troops and set up camp outside the city, and even sent a portion of their troops away. He pondered this and guessed the Xianbei's intentions.

Upon learning that the Xianbei people had thrown the corpses into the Ruoshui River, Zhang Yi and Li Er were furious and shouted that they were going to attack.

Geng Chun was even more anxious and uneasy.

The Ruoshui River is both a natural barrier and a weakness of Juyan City.

The contamination of drinking water was a fatal blow to the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city.

"Drill a well and get groundwater!"

Di Qing, however, did not take it to heart and smiled slightly, "The deeper it is, the cleaner it is, unaffected by the river water."

"Now that so many days have passed, our lord, who is far away in the Hetao region, must be worried about us. The troops he has sent are probably on their way!"

"We can only wait!"

"The lord of the Hetao region?"

Upon hearing this, Geng Chun was filled with shock and disbelief.

Could this masked general actually be the legendary prince, Marquis Yinshan, who defeated the Xianbei and drove out the Xiongnu?

Geng Chun learned about the prince from merchants traveling between the Hetao region and the northern desert.

If this masked general was sent by that prince, then will Juyan Lake also become his prey?

If that's the case, which side is Geng Chun on?

Seeing Geng Chun's unpredictable expression, Di Qing ignored it and ordered his two subordinates to carry out their tasks.

Some may ask, before setting out, Di Qing only had one hundred prisoners as his subordinates, so why did he suddenly have three thousand soldiers and even collected more than two thousand oxen to form a fire ox formation to defeat the enemy?

In fact, Di Qing led these hundred men not directly west to Juyan Lake, but south to Beidi County.

He promised these 100 men that if they recruited five, he would appoint them as squad leaders, and if they recruited ten, he would appoint them as platoon leaders.

Once he had a hundred men under his command, he was appointed Marquis of Qu.

The hundred people were immediately excited. They first elected two leaders, Zhang Yi and Li Er, each leading fifty people.

Subsequently, following Di Qing's method, they recruited familiar people in Beidi County and continuously expanded their team.

As the number of people increased, Zhang Yi and Li Er went from being squad leaders to sergeants, and then to captains.

When they crossed the Helan Mountains, there were already more than two thousand people.

Di Qing led them directly to Zhangye, infiltrated the city, killed the prefect and Luan, and seized their weapons and equipment.

They also intercepted a large number of cattle and horses at a grassland at the foot of the Qilian Mountains in Zhangye.

With the equipment they had when they set out, they formed a cavalry force of a thousand men.

Di Qing straightened his back considerably and sent out scouts to inquire about the movements of Juyan Lake.

Upon learning that 40,000 Xianbei cavalry had arrived, he set his sights on the cattle herds in the Qilian Mountains grasslands.

Just as Geng Chun was about to die for the city and Juyan City was about to fall, Di Qing arrived nearby with three thousand soldiers and two thousand cattle.

"As night falls, Zhang Yi, send out scouts to investigate the movements of the other Xianbei tribe."

"Their westward journey is likely headed towards Dunhuang!"