After everyone left, Du Hong said to Liu Wei, "General Liu, it's still early. Why don't we send the Crimson Soul Army to attack the city gate and probe the defenses of Tongning County?"
“This…” Liu Wei turned his head and glanced at all the soldiers behind him.
After two days of forced marches, they were all exhausted, their faces pale and their legs trembling. It was definitely not a good time to attack the city.
“Prefect Du, everyone is exhausted, and we have only just arrived and know nothing about this place.”
"It would be safer to let the soldiers set up camp first, and then send scouts to investigate the situation before taking action."
Du Hong could easily understand this: "I have my own plans, just do as I say."
Hmph, these Crimson Soul Army soldiers are indeed very powerful, but they only have eyes for Le Zheng Feiyuan. If we don't curb their arrogance, they won't know who their current master is.
Liu Wei glanced at Du Hong, opened his mouth several times, but ultimately said nothing and left to carry out his orders.
But as soon as the order was given, the Crimson Soul Army was in an uproar.
"General, now is not a good time to attack the city. Please reconsider."
"Yes, we've been running for most of the day, and now we're so hungry we're practically vomiting. How can we possibly have the strength to attack the city? What's the difference between this and going to our deaths?"
"Besides, why should only our Crimson Soul Army go? They're here to suppress bandits too, so why are they allowed to rest and eat?"
This time, the troops that came to Tongning County included not only Yue Zhengfeiyuan's border troops, but also Liu Wei's original subordinates and the prefectural garrison troops brought by Du Hong.
Hearing these questions, Liu Wei didn't know what to say for a moment, even though he disagreed with them in the first place.
"Shut up, all of you!" At this moment, Du Hong walked over with a stern face: "Who is the commander-in-chief, you or General Liu? Or are you planning to follow in the footsteps of Yue Zheng Feiyuan and rebel?"
The Crimson Soul Army soldiers were filled with anger but dared not speak out. If their families hadn't been detained and they hadn't been oppressed by this villain every day, they would have preferred to rebel.
“General, we are not disobeying orders, we are just raising our questions,” Qi Lei said, stepping forward.
"Questions?" Du Hong took two steps toward him with his hands behind his back: "If you want to have questions, wait until you become the commander-in-chief. What right do you, a mere guerrilla general, have to speak?"
Qi Lei's tan cheeks flushed bright red, and his large hands, hanging by his sides, clenched so tightly they made a "crunching" sound.
Du Hong didn't even glance at him again, and began to give orders: "All Red Soul Army soldiers, listen up! Attack the city immediately! Anyone who dares to disobey will be treated as a traitor."
He finished speaking and then turned and left.
The faces of everyone in the Crimson Soul Army turned extremely ugly; this was blatant coercion.
When the guards saw this, they pointed at them and laughed.
"Hahaha, they even claim to be the strongest border army in Tianqi. Bah! I think they're all cowards, afraid of even a bandit leader who's a woman in charge."
"That's right. They've only been traveling for two days, and they're already too exhausted to even attack a city. I think the rumors from before were all just lies."
"I think so too. Perhaps it's still that traitor Yue Zheng Feiyuan who's using his family background to create momentum just to enhance the prestige of the Yue Zheng family. He doesn't actually have any real skills."
"You're talking nonsense!" The entire Crimson Soul Army was furious, their eyes bloodshot.
The Yuezheng General's family has had generations of young men who died on the battlefield, and they would never allow anyone to slander them.
"Go ahead, I'm not afraid of you."
They gritted their teeth, drew their weapons from their waists, and charged toward the city wall with a burst of energy.
Even if I die directly at the hands of Lady Luo today, it would be better than being slandered and ridiculed by these people.
Liu Wei sighed, but still led some of his men to follow.
The soldiers scoffed and set up camp, saying, "We're exhausted. Finally, we can get some rest."
"If you don't eat and sleep well, how can you have the strength to fight bandits? Don't you all agree?" After saying that, the man raised his eyebrows triumphantly in the direction where the Crimson Soul Army had left.
The other soldiers laughed heartily when they saw this.
Two of them, who looked like generals, exchanged a glance and then followed.
The Red Soul Army generals regretted their actions as soon as they reached a short distance from the city wall, for they now knew that General Le Zheng and his family were inside.
And if they come to attack the city now, what will that make them?
It should be understood that every member of the Crimson Soul Army was trained and promoted by General Yue Zheng generation after generation. The Yue Zheng family had given them a second chance at life.
"General Qi, what do we do now?" They had no choice but to place their hopes on Qi Lei, the man who had sent them to Tongning County.
Qi Lei was also flustered: "How...how would I know?"
Luo Niangzi hasn't contacted him recently.
The others were dumbfounded: "We don't know, we don't know why you let us come here?"
Just as Qi Lei was about to speak, a familiar voice came from the city wall: "Young man from the Qi family, what are you doing here?"
It was Xia Zhong, who rescued the Le Zheng family from the execution ground, who applied to come and guard the city with Luo Xi.
"Uncle Xia?" Qi Lei couldn't help but slowly grin when he saw that the person calling him was Xia Zhong, who had taught him martial arts when he was a child.
They're alright, that's great!
But when he thought about the purpose of his trip, his smile froze.
"I, I..."
At this moment, the two generals who had followed him snorted and raised their hands to start beating the drums for the siege.
The faces of the Crimson Soul Army soldiers turned pale. Xia Zhong, who was on the city wall, had once guarded the border with them and they shared a life-or-death bond, but now…
The drumbeats that once gave them so much strength now sound so ironic to my ears.
The drums of attack sounded for a long time, but the attackers didn't make a sound, and neither did the defenders on the city walls. It all seemed very strange.
Finally, Liu Wei sighed and shouted, "What are you doing? At the front lines, listen to the drumbeat! Anyone who doesn't advance will be executed! Do you all want to die? Think of your wives, children, and elderly parents at home!"
The Crimson Soul Army suddenly remembered their families who were still in Du Hong's hands. They glanced at the two generals who were beating drums and staring at them from a distance, and finally took the first step with tears in their eyes.
But those steps... felt as heavy as a thousand pounds!
As the attackers drew ever closer, Xiao Yi on the city wall could no longer contain himself: "General Xia, what should we do?"
He had overheard their conversation. He hadn't expected that the first wave of attackers would be General Yue Zheng's former troops, and it seemed they were forced into it.
Xia Zhong was also in a dilemma. If he fought, they were all his former brothers-in-arms; if he didn't fight, they were now serving different masters.
He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "...Fight!"
Instantly, a barrage of arrows rained down, and many of the Crimson Soul Army soldiers in the front ranks were unable to dodge in time and were injured. Some soldiers even died instantly.
Before they died, the corners of their mouths were turned up, and not one of them blamed Xia Zhong.
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