"Is that really true?" Corden found it unbelievable.

"General Ke can send someone back to the city to take a look. It is estimated that the city is full of rattan armor soldiers at this time. Once the fighting starts outside, the rattan armor soldiers inside the city will immediately take action."

Corden turned his horse around, preparing to leave, as he wanted to send someone into the city to check things out.

Just then, a Jin general rushed over in a panic and said:

"General Ke, something terrible has happened. A large number of enemy troops, at least 10,000, have been discovered inside the city. We don't know when they entered the city, but they are currently gathering at the city gate and confronting our soldiers."

"Oh, is that really true?" Corden was immediately dumbfounded.

There are only two thousand men in the city. As soon as the rattan armor soldiers in the city make a move, our men will be defeated quickly, and the city will fall.

The 10,000 troops outside the city will have nowhere to escape. If they are attacked from both inside and outside, they will be completely wiped out.

Thinking of this, he immediately told the Jin general to instruct all soldiers not to act rashly and to obey his orders.

"Yes, sir."

Upon receiving the order, the general immediately went to deliver the message.

At this moment, Corden looked at Li Guang and asked:

“I can now see that General Li is indeed helping me. So, what do you think I should do next?”

Li Guang was overjoyed. This was exactly what he wanted to hear. As long as there was no major conflict, many historical sites in Shitai City could be preserved.

"General Ke is willing to listen to what I have to say."

"Of course I would like to hear General Li's advice, but only if we do not surrender. Otherwise, we would rather die fighting."

Li Guang nodded and said:

"I have already made considerable efforts to avoid a major conflict with General Ke, and I do not need General Ke to surrender to us."

As long as General Ke leaves Shitai City with his more than 10,000 troops, we will not pursue him, nor will we ambush him on the way.

But I hope General Ke will not return to Panzhou. We will ultimately fight the final battle against Somelon in Panzhou, and I don't want to meet General Ke there. Even if I wanted to help him then, I would be powerless to do so.

Corden didn't speak. He pondered for a while, then looked up at the sky and sighed. The Jin Dynasty's unjust invasion of the Central Plains was a mistake in itself.

He planned to lead his more than 10,000 soldiers northwards, directly back to the Jin Kingdom, hoping for a safe journey.

Thinking of this, Corden spoke up:

"Thank you, General Li. I will lead my troops back to the Jin Kingdom now and never set foot in the Central Plains again."

After Corden finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Li Guang and spurred his horse to leave.

Soon Corden assembled his troops both inside and outside the city, and led this army of over ten thousand men away from Stone Terrace, heading rapidly north.

At this moment, Yue Heng spurred his horse forward, came to Li Guang's side, and said:

"General Li, you're really something. You managed to get Corden to leave Shitai City with all the Jin soldiers with just a few words. Should we go after them and wipe them out?"

"No need. Corden will take these Jin soldiers directly back to the Jin Kingdom. They will never be enemies with our Great Northern Dynasty again."

The outbreak of this war is also closely related to our court. If the court had sent envoys to the Jin and Luo kingdoms to explain the advantages and disadvantages and persuade them not to be enemies of our Great Northern Dynasty, this war might not have broken out.

With only foreign states, they were not capable of a full-scale invasion of the Great Northern Dynasty; at most, they could only harass the borders.

This time, it was entirely to protect the ancient city that Corden was coaxed and frightened away.

After Corden returns to the Jin Dynasty, he will conduct some positive propaganda for the Great Northern Dynasty, and some people will no longer be enemies of the Great Northern Dynasty.

But we cannot let Someron get away with this. He led his troops to this wealthy southern land and committed countless atrocities; he must be punished.

"General Li is far-sighted and all his actions are for the benefit of the country and its people. The Great Northern Dynasty is fortunate to have Li Guang."

Li Guang smiled and said, "General Yue, please don't flatter me. Let's go into the city and see the historical sites in Shitai City."

After they finished speaking, the two led their large group of men into Shitai City.

After taking a stroll around the city, Li Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The city's historical sites, including houses, city walls, and some sacrificial sites, remain as they were thousands of years ago and have not been damaged.

After entering the city, Corden did not engage in arson, murder, looting, or set up camp. Instead, he stayed in government offices and civilian houses, and did not damage the city's grounds or ancient trees.

The small river that flowed into the city from outside was transformed into a series of ditches, and the clear river water was delivered to various parts of the city, providing convenient water for the city's residents.

No wonder Corden was scared half to death when he said he had poisoned the river outside the city.

News of the recapture of Shitaicheng spread quickly, and some people who had been hiding in the mountains began to return to the city. It will take some time for Shitaicheng to fully return to normal.

Li Guang left behind some soldiers to help govern the ancient city of Shitai.

After resting for a night, the soldiers returned to Panzhou Lake.

Without losing a single soldier, Li Guang spread the news of the recapture of Shitai City to Panzhou Lake. Ding Tong was very excited and lined up to welcome Li Guang's triumphant return.

Similarly, the news reached Pan Zhoucheng, and Somailon was furious upon receiving it.

"Corden, you coward! I was blind to have let you lead troops to guard Shitai City."

When the army of the Great Northern Dynasty arrived, you were so frightened that you abandoned the city and fled. If you were going to flee, you should have fled back to Panzhou. Unexpectedly, you fled directly back to your hometown. You have completely disgraced the soldiers of the Great Jin Kingdom.

"Once I've finished what I need to do here and return to the Jin Kingdom, I will tear you to pieces."

Someron's fury left his soldiers bewildered, unable to comprehend why Corden had led the Jin troops directly back to the Jin Kingdom.

If he brings these 10,000 troops back to Panzhou, then the city's military strength will reach 50,000, giving it the strength to contend with the reinforcements from the Great Northern Dynasty.

In the eyes of the Jin soldiers, although the navy on Panzhou Lake still had tens of thousands of men, they were basically a bunch of useless people and could be ignored.

The 10,000 reinforcements brought by Li Guang, plus the 20,000 rattan armor soldiers from the ancient castle, only amounted to 30,000 men in total, and their overall strength was far inferior to that of the Jin army.

But now things are really messed up. Corden led his troops back to the Jin Kingdom, and Someron was suddenly put on the defensive, unsure of what to do next.

With his current strength, it would indeed be difficult to defeat the army of the Great Northern Dynasty. In addition, there was Li Guang, who was highly skilled in martial arts and a genius in commanding troops. He was no match for Li Guang at all.

Someron was starting to struggle with how to fight the next battle.

Since encountering Li Guang as their opponent, the Jin army has suffered defeat after defeat, with only 30,000 remaining out of its original 100,000 troops. If things continue like this, they will become the second Shang Wei, and the final result will be the annihilation of the entire army.

Someron began racking his brains to ensure that such a thing did not happen again.