Qin Shen was extremely anxious. After deflecting several arrows, he immediately ran to Lu Yanzheng with red eyes.

Just now, Lu Yanzheng was shot by an enemy arrow while trying to save some of his soldiers.

When Qin Shen saw this, he felt his eyes widen in fury.

Lu Yanzheng, however, remained calm and indifferent as he continued fighting, shouting, "Stop them! Don't let them into the city!"

The city gate had been destroyed by explosives from the combined forces of Dayuan and Xiqiang. At this time, the border troops were fighting hard, and the two sides were engaged in close combat. No one dared to use gunpowder weapons anymore, and they relied entirely on fighting.

"General, this can't go on!" Qin Shen felt a chill run down his spine as he watched more and more enemy troops surge toward the city gate.

Lu Yanzheng shouted forcefully, "Brothers, don't panic! We have a backup plan. Just follow me and hold them off!"

The morale, which had plummeted, quickly rose again because of Lu Yanzheng's words, and even Qin Shen was invigorated.

What trump card does the general have? Qin Shen didn't know, because Lu Yanzheng hadn't told the military commanders.

But he trusted Lu Yanzheng; if he said it existed, then it must exist.

At the same time, the Fifth Prince of Western Qiang, enraged, kicked a soldier who had come to report, "Useless! Didn't I tell them to make more explosives? How come there's no more?"

"Your Highness," the soldier who had been kicked away quickly scrambled to his feet and knelt down, "our raw materials are running low. The nearest saltpeter mine on the grasslands is five hundred li away, but Lord Wang said there's a saltpeter mine in the border town. If we can take the border town, we can make more explosives..."

The Fifth Prince paced back and forth, both angry and annoyed. "Do you think I don't know this? But we've run out of explosives. How are we going to take the border city now?"

"Your Highness, although we've run out of explosives, their city gates have already been blown up! As long as all our men charge in, no matter how brave they are, they won't be able to stop us!"

The staff members in the military tent quickly stepped forward to offer their advice.

After hearing this, the Fifth Prince stared grimly at the outside of the military tent. He hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Have someone fire rockets doused with oil at the city gate and take advantage of the chaos to storm the city..."

"Does Your Highness not intend to take the lives of those soldiers who charged ahead?" the aide asked worriedly.

The Fifth Prince said calmly, "It is their honor to be able to contribute to the great cause of Western Qiang."

As soon as he said this, everyone knew that he would not care about the lives of the soldiers who were charging into battle.

“I think Your Highness’s decision is correct,” Wang Bo said as he entered from outside. He bowed to the crowd and looked at the Fifth Prince. “As far as I know, Lu Yanzheng often takes the lead and rushes to the front to show off. Your Highness’s decision just now will definitely throw them into chaos. They might even kill Lu Yanzheng in one fell swoop.”

The Fifth Prince now trusts Wang Bo greatly, and gave him an appreciative look, saying, "Then I'll leave this matter to you. Let me see your true strength."

Wang Bo led his team to conduct experiments for one or two months before they were able to develop a gunpowder weapon. Moreover, the weapon they developed was not very reliable and could easily blow up their own people.

Even such a thing kept the border troops busy, which achieved the Fifth Prince's goal.

Sending Wang Bo to the front lines now would allow him to see if the Dayue people had truly submitted to him.

Wang Bo cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

He had long wanted to have a battle of equal strength with Lu Yanzheng, and today he finally got the chance!

...

"Qin Shen!" Seeing the enemy's offensive growing increasingly fierce, Lu Yanzheng shouted to Qin Shen, who was not far away, while fighting desperately. "Take some men and help the people in the city evacuate, quick!"

He had already given an order, but the surrounding people did not leave; they all rushed to help without hesitation.

Watching those ordinary people fall one by one in front of him, Lu Yanzheng felt extremely heartbroken and hated himself for showing mercy to Wang Bo earlier.

At the time, out of consideration for Wang Bo's ancestry in Dingshui Village, and because deserters were not guilty of a crime punishable by death, he did not immediately take Wang Bo's life, but instead sent him to work in the mine.

Unexpectedly, instead of repenting, he fled to the border region and became a weapon for the allied forces of Dayuan and Xiqiang to deal with the border troops!

Lu Yanzheng really didn't understand the thinking of someone like Wang Bo. How could he betray the country that gave him birth and raised him like this? Did he really have no conscience at all?

"General, I won't leave! I want to follow you to fight the enemy and never let them set foot in the border town!" Qin Shen knew that Lu Yanzheng just wanted to get rid of him so that he wouldn't die here.

But how could he let go? The people he admired most were still here, so many of his brothers who had shared life and death with him were still here, all fighting bravely against the enemy. How could he possibly become a coward?

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanzheng unleashed his aura, swung his sword, and reaped the lives of three enemy soldiers. Only then did he look at Qin Shen and say, "This is an order! Qin Shen, quickly lead the ordinary people in the city and leave!"

"General, I..." Qin Shen wanted to say something more, but Lu Yanzheng didn't give him a chance at all.

Lu Yanzheng coldly said, "If you don't go, I will immediately subject you to military law!"

Qin Shen really didn't want to leave, but he also knew that since Lu Yanzheng had said so, if he didn't follow orders, he might disrupt Lu Yanzheng's plans.

After struggling and hesitating for a moment, Qin Shen gritted his teeth, cupped his hands towards Lu Yanzheng, and said, "Take care, General!"

After saying that, he broke through the encirclement and went to organize the city's residents to evacuate.

Seeing that he had left, Lu Yanzheng fought even harder, his eyes bloodshot.

He didn't know if he could survive this battle, but he knew that if he fell, then the border town would be finished, and the Yongshan County and Yukang Prefecture behind him would also be finished.

"It's bad! They're using fire!" a soldier suddenly shouted.

Xiao Wu also went to the battlefield today. He was young and had sharp eyes. He immediately spotted the enemy commander who was directing the arson in the back. "It's Wang Bo!"

He knew Wang Bo; he had known this man, who always tried to get close to him by claiming to be from the same hometown as the general, back when they were both in the military.

"Xiao Wu, come back!" Lu Yanzheng shouted immediately upon hearing Xiao Wu's voice. "You step back!"

He never expected that Xiao Wu would actually run out to fight the enemy.

Xiao Wu was the son of his old comrade-in-arms. He had been injured in the army and was taken in by him at the general's mansion after retiring.

To ensure his old friend has a descendant, Xiao Wu must not get into trouble.

Just then, Xiao Wu saw three rockets flying towards Lu Yanzheng and immediately rushed forward without hesitation to block Lu Yanzheng's path.

"General, be careful!"

"Xiao Wu!"

"Bang!"

"..."

Countless voices suddenly rang out at this moment. Lu Yanzheng watched as a rocket hit Xiao Wu. When he looked up again, he saw a huge crater emitting thick smoke suddenly appear in the direction of Wang Bo!

He turned his head sharply and saw Jiang Qinyu, her face pale, carrying something that looked like a bamboo tube, looking like she could barely stand... "I haven't recovered even after resting for a day, I feel terrible~"