Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiang hurriedly stood up and looked in the direction of the sound.

Upon seeing Chen Zhennan holding a gun, Zhou Xiang was so frightened he almost jumped out of his skin and quickly crouched down.

"Bang!"

Another shot rang out, and a bullet flew right over Zhou Xiang's head.

"Kill him! Kill him right now!"

Zhou Xiang screamed hysterically, and the cavalrymen around him reacted immediately, leaving only about ten to protect Zhou Xiang, while the rest ran wildly toward Chen Zhennan.

Seeing this, Li Can did not hesitate at all. He slashed twice and killed the two traitors. Then he climbed onto the prison cart, flicked the reins, and sped away.

Zhou Xiang's eyes widened, and he shouted again, "Kill them! Kill Li Can!"

"yes!"

Zhou Xiang was furious. Blood kept seeping from his palms, and the intense pain seemed to add fuel to the fire, making him even angrier.

Standing up, Zhou Xiang quickly bandaged his wound and immediately ordered the mobilization of a large army.

Chen Zhennan mounted his horse, the wound on his back already causing him intense pain.

"Yan Shiyu, take men and bring Li Can and Hou Jing to me. Anyone who dares to pursue them will be killed without exception!"

Yan Shiyu nodded, then dispatched two of his men to ride off in the direction Li Can had fled.

Chen Zhennan rode alone, speeding towards Qingzhou City like an arrow released from a bow.

The warhorse's hooves flew, kicking up a cloud of dust on the road, but the jolting on its back caused Chen Zhennan's forehead to be covered with large beads of sweat, which slid down his cheeks.

Behind them, Zhou Xiang's cavalry pursued them relentlessly like a pack of hungry wolves.

The cavalrymen's eyes gleamed with greed, each one of them eager to take Chen Zhennan's head so they could return and claim credit and rewards. Their expressions suggested that Chen Zhennan was already fish on their chopping block.

Chen Zhennan gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the reins turning white.

Finally, the outline of Qingzhou City gradually became clear on the horizon.

Dong Ning, who was on the city wall, saw this scene from afar and shouted loudly, "Quickly, open the city gate! The commander-in-chief is back!"

The guards at the city gate hurriedly sprang into action, and the heavy city gate slowly opened.

Just as Chen Zhennan was about to ride his horse into the city gate, Hou Jing suddenly revealed his ferocious nature and roared like a demon, "Fire!"

In an instant, the special forces soldiers on the city wall pulled their triggers.

The submachine gun was like an enraged iron dragon, spewing out countless deadly bullets. The bullets poured out like raindrops, and for a moment the "rat-a-tat-tat" gunshots were deafening.

Zhou Xiang's cavalry was instantly overwhelmed by this sudden barrage of fire, resulting in numerous casualties and casualties.

The submachine guns were too powerful; the entire cavalry unit was wiped out in just one minute.

Chen Zhennan dismounted and stood under the city gate, looking at the fallen cavalrymen, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welled up inside him.

Dong Ning quickly walked down the city wall and came to Chen Zhennan, his face full of worry: "General, are you alright?"

Chen Zhennan shook his head slightly: "I'm fine. Get ready. Zhou Xiang will be attacking soon. Remember, don't kill indiscriminately. Just deter him."

"Your subordinate understands, Commander. You should go in and rest."

Bloodstains had seeped through Dong Ning's clothes, clearly caused by the jolting from riding the horse earlier.

At that moment, a prison van slowly approached, and Li Can, the driver, wore a relieved smile on his face.

Chen Zhennan let out a long breath and was just about to go pick up Li Can when Hou Jing, inside the prison van, suddenly vomited blood, tilted his head, and instantly lost consciousness.

Upon seeing this, Chen Zhennan hurriedly stepped forward, reached out and opened the prison van door, and crawled inside.

"Hou Jing, Hou Jing!"

Chen Zhennan called out anxiously twice, but Hou Jing remained lifeless and unresponsive.

I reached out and put my hand on his neck to feel it; his pulse was very weak, and so was his breathing.

"His lips are turning purple, is he poisoned?"

Chen Zhennan dragged Hou Jing out, while Li Can stood by, extremely nervous.

"General, General, please save him! How could he be poisoned? I gave him a sip of water, he should have eaten everything else."

Chen Zhennan frowned slightly. "Water? What kind of water?"

Li Can hurriedly took out the water bottle from his waist, opened the lid, and handed it to Chen Zhennan.

"This is my water bottle, just a regular one..."

Before Li Can could finish speaking, Chen Zhennan, who had smelled the kettle, frowned.

"The water is poisonous, and the gourd vine is beyond saving."

Chen Zhennan put down the kettle, sighed, and shook his head.

Meanwhile, Li Can, filled with resentment, crawled to Hou Jing's side with trembling lips.

"Brother Hou, Brother Hou, wake up!"

Chen Zhennan reached out and patted Li Can on the shoulder, comforting him, "It's his fate, don't blame yourself."

How could Li Can not feel guilty?

The poison in the kettle must have been given to him. If he hadn't gone to see Hou Jing, Hou Jing wouldn't have died from drinking the poison.

"Dong Ning, take Hou Jing inside and settle him in first. Li Can, help me upstairs and tell me about Zhou Xiang's situation."

Li Can wiped his eyes, reached out to help Chen Zhennan, and the two slowly went up the city wall.

"General, Zhou Xiang's army has not rested all night, and their morale is low. They only rested for less than two hours and have no fighting capacity at all."

Chen Zhennan nodded slightly: "I guessed that. Gunfire raged all night, he must be in a bad state. How many generals who can lead troops into battle are around him?"

Li Can thought for a moment and slowly said, "Besides Brother Hou and me, there are only eight others who can lead troops into battle, which is extremely rare."

Chen Zhennan nodded; what Li Can said was exactly the same as the information he had received.

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