The fragrant breeze from Xiangyang Mountain woke up the exhausted bodies of the soldiers. The sun rose as usual on the fifth day. The sunlight shone through the dense woods, onto the dewdrops on the leaves, refracting strands of light.
It was fresh and dreamy, so dreamy that it seemed as if 30,000 soldiers had really relied on the hilltop to resist the attack of the main force of Xue’s army.
The messenger horse sent by Shen Xu had already arrived in front of the fortress where Song Lin was stationed.
Song Lin opened the letter excitedly. Seeing the familiar and kind words written in smooth and gentle cursive script, his heart immediately calmed down.
She was fine, and the words were full of concern and worry for herself.
He wanted to run to her immediately, hug her tightly, and tell her that he was fine and that he was worried too.
He read the letter over and over again. She said that Xue's army had agreed to withdraw, that there was no need to fight anymore, and that no one would be hurt or bleed anymore.
She really withdrew the troops in five days, saving the royal army and the country at a very small cost!
"Pass the order down, evacuate Xiangyang Mountain, and withdraw the entire army to Xiangyang Ridge. Xiuxiu said that we won the battle."
Song Lin was standing in the command room of the fortress, discussing this matter with several commanders guarding the mountain in their tents.
But before the cheers of victory could spread throughout Xiangyang Mountain, the enemy's attack horn sounded.
"Report, General Song, the Xue army has broken through the mountain's foot defenses and is now attacking the mountain. They've turned back!"
Song Lin frowned in surprise. How could such a sudden change happen? Didn't Xiuxiu say in the letter that she and Xue Jun had reached a peace agreement and no one needed to sacrifice blood anymore?
Then why did Xue Jun suddenly turn back to attack them!
Could it be that he was trying to trick Xiuxiu into surrendering?
Then, isn't her current situation extremely dangerous!
Before he could think, soldiers came one after another to report on the battle situation. "The enemy has gathered no less than 80,000 troops. They sent wounded and prisoners to explore traps. The second line of defense at the foot of the mountain is also broken!"
Song Lin quickly ordered the soldiers on the defense line at the foot of the mountain to retreat, and ordered them to use crossbows to provide cover and lead the enemy into the rolling stone formation.
"Brother Song, you should be more vigilant and have a long-term vision. If we had withdrawn our troops yesterday, the Xue army would have attacked suddenly and would have surely broken through our Xiangyang Ridge."
Li Fei was also suddenly panicked. He did not expect that things would turn out like this. The enemy sent 80,000 troops to attack Xiangyang Mountain, intending to fight to the death.
At present, Xiangyang Mountain's troops are less than 20,000. Even if the traps and killing formations are very effective, they cannot withstand the attack of 80,000 people.
Moreover, after the previous waves of attacks, some traps were destroyed and had not been repaired in time, so they could not be used at all. Since the news of the king's army's victory was learned yesterday, the crossbows and arrows were delayed and could not be transported to the mountain in time.
"Report, the enemy has broken through the second line of defense at the foot of the mountain. They have deployed the shield team, but the current effectiveness of the counterattack is very poor."
Song Lin frowned and ordered, "Abandon the rolling stone formation and lead them to the lower mountainside. Use the maze to disperse their forces. The broadsword team will follow me and meet the enemy on the mountainside."
"General Song, are you going to fight in person?"
The two guards assigned to him by Shen Xu suddenly became anxious. They had received orders from Shen Xu that if the situation became critical and Wang Shi's army could not defend Xiangyang Mountain, they must rescue Song Lin at all costs.
However, Song Lin planned to join the vanguard troops to fight the enemy head-on. Even if they were good at martial arts, they could not guarantee that they could escape from the battlefield alive with Song Lin under the siege of hundreds or thousands of people.
"General Song, you absolutely cannot do this. Before the female Prime Minister went to the northern camp, she repeatedly instructed her subordinates to protect your life. If you go to meet the enemy head-on, we cannot guarantee your safety!" Another person quickly advised.
"She went on a diplomatic mission to the northern camp! Why did she go to the northern enemy camp?" Song Lin's breathing stagnated and his heart began to beat violently. When they parted, they told him that they were going to Tianmen Pass and Yudu City to personally command the attack on the northern army. There were many troops deployed, and people were commanding in the rear, so there would not be too much danger.
She also repeatedly warned him to save his life, and told him that victory and defeat are common in the military. If he cannot hold on, he can abandon it as a last resort. She still has a way to remedy the situation, and she is still waiting for him at Tianmen Yudu.
But she actually went to the enemy camp in the north without telling him!
Then how can she survive?
Song Lin took out the letter that he had treasured in his clothes and looked at the handwriting on it carefully. It was indeed her handwriting. The messenger said that it was sent from Tianmen Pass, which would take half a day to reach Tianmen Pass. At least at that time, she was still alive!
No, what if she had written this in advance?
Li Fei, standing nearby, stared at the letter in his hand with a serious expression, frowning and saying, "Could it be that the female Prime Minister has already surrendered to the enemy? She deliberately wrote this letter to ask us to evacuate, but in reality, she wants us to relax and let the Xue army attack us when we are not prepared!"
The generals beside him panicked when they heard his words, and said in unison: "We only have less than 20,000 soldiers left. We will be defeated by Xue's army in an instant!"
"Oh no! She knows our defenses. If she tells Xue Jun, we'll all be dead, right?"
Song Lin shouted: "Impossible!"
Everyone suddenly became quiet.
"She set the traps. We've already used them to repel so many of Xue's troops. If she betrays us, we won't be able to hold out for three days."
"Yes, yes, that makes sense. The Xue army must have been treacherous and pretended to surrender to deceive the female prime minister's trust."
A group of generals began to discuss again. Some proposed to retreat and defend the city, while others demanded to continue to defend the dangerous area. For a while, the command room became noisy.
Song Lin was made even more flustered by the messy command room. He suddenly thought that she was the eldest daughter of the Xue family in the north. Perhaps she had recognized her relatives in the enemy camp and really surrendered to the enemy and would never come back. Perhaps she was in danger. A weak woman without martial arts skills fell into a military camp full of wolves and tigers. He didn't dare to imagine what would happen.
He clenched the Embroidered Spring Knife in his hand. No matter what, he had to repel the 80,000 enemy troops in front of him, defend the mountain, and then go to Tianmen Yudu in person to confirm her safety.
"The broadsword team, follow me into the fog array to kill the enemy! The rest of the team, use your powerful crossbows to block the enemy army. All wounded soldiers who can move should move. Transport all the crossbows and weapons in the city up the mountain. The whole army will defend the city to the death."
Song Lin suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and gave the order with difficulty.
It's pointless to think about all those random things now. No matter what, I have to complete the task she assigned me and fulfill my promise to her first.
At this moment, there was no other way to support him in defending the mountain except to firmly believe that she would be alive to wait for his triumphant return.
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