Chapter 823 A Dream of Youth 355
Xie Ning remained noncommittal and struck again with his fist. Xiao Si quickly withdrew his sword to defend, but this withdrawal left his defenses wide open. Xie Ning slightly curled his lips, and the personal guard who had been lying in wait nearby flipped his sword and slashed it fiercely, causing bright red blood to gush out.
Xiao Si's eyes widened in shock. He instinctively covered his neck, but it was too late. He fell straight off his horse and landed on the ground.
His throat was slit.
"General!" Xiao Si's personal guards shouted, but they were quickly dealt with by Xie Ning's men. With Xiao Si dead, the morale of this group of men collapsed instantly.
"good."
Yan Xi, Xie Ning's personal guard, pursed her lips and continued to follow Xie Ning.
The other generals who saw Xiao Si die from afar glared fiercely at Xie Ning, wishing they could tear her to pieces.
With the sound of drums, Xie Ning's plan succeeded. Her troops, together with the Great Zhou army that had charged out of the city, surrounded the Northern Jin army that was attacking the city. The Northern Jin army's originally high morale gradually diminished, and they finally became cowardly.
As Xu Hongying listened to the drumbeats, she led her men to relentlessly pursue the enemy's leader, preventing him from directing a retreat.
Xiao Chu, watching the battle from afar, darkened his face and hurriedly ordered a general to lead the troops to break through the encirclement. The other general, Commander Zou, did the same. Knowing that they could not attack the city today, he immediately ordered a retreat.
Xie Ning only brought a portion of the army with him because he was on his way; the rest had not yet arrived. Otherwise, he would have been able to leave behind a larger number of Northern Jin troops.
Xu Hongying's killing was too ruthless. The Northern Jin army, which was already in a state of constant defeat, was in despair and also became fierce and put up a bloody resistance, fighting desperately.
Seeing this, Xie Ning glanced around, calculated the direction of the enemy camp, and then ordered the left flank to open a gap, allowing the Northern Jin army to escape.
Otherwise, the losses would outweigh the gains.
However, when Xie Ning saw Xu Hongying chasing after the enemy's leader, he also drew his sword and went to stop her. The others could leave, but this person had to stay.
Generals and soldiers are not the same.
When the general saw Xie Ning blocking his way, he swung his sword to strike, but at that moment, a whooshing sound came from behind as a sharp spear pierced through his body.
Xie Ning barely managed to block the opponent's curved blade and breathed a sigh of relief.
Both her sword and Xu Hongying's spear had been reforged and could be considered divine weapons. Xu Hongying was extremely strong, able to pierce armor with heavy arrows and spears.
Xu Hongying laughed a few times, then shouted, "The commander is dead, why don't you surrender!"
Her personal guards also shouted along with her. The Northern Jin army, which had been putting up a fierce resistance, did not believe her, but they really did not see their general. As a result, their morale collapsed and they were defeated.
Fewer than a thousand soldiers managed to break through, even with reinforcements from the enemy.
Seeing that the people next to him were about to chase after them, Xie Ning quickly stopped them, saying, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Sound the retreat."
They could only take away their own troops. Just after the Northern Jin army retreated, another batch of fireballs came crashing down, this time hitting the Northern Jin army's main camp.
Liu Yuanchang arrived with his men.
Xie Ning glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, turned his horse around, ordered his men to set up catapults, and then sent a team of men with thunderbolts to help on the other side.
The battle raged until nightfall, with the Zhou army driving the Northern Jin army directly to the north bank.
"This... General, His Majesty requests your presence."
The young general who came to fetch them glanced at Xu Hongying and Xie Ning, who were covered in blood, and stared blankly for a moment. He sighed inwardly, "I never expected the reinforcements to be women!"
But when he thought that his own empress was also a woman, the young general fell silent again.
Yan Xi had been anxiously waiting inside the city, but when she saw Xie Ning and the others riding over, she couldn't help but run off, calling out, "A-Ning!"
The two were separated by distance. She seized power in the capital and ascended to the throne, while Xie Ning defended Hedong for the Great Zhou. Although this was not her achievement alone, in Yan Xi's eyes, Xie Ning's contribution was indispensable.
"I did it." Yan Xi slowly smiled, but it was full of bitterness.
Xie Ning sighed, "I did it too."
She defended Hedong, and Yanxi ascended the throne... but lost all her loved ones.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
