In the first year of Shaotai, the New Year atmosphere suddenly disappeared.

In order to pray for good weather and a new year, the emperor and his ministers discussed seriously for a month and issued an edict to change the reign title to Shaotai. No one expected that the first day after the change of reign title would be the sudden attack by the Jin army on Junzi Pass.

Tuoba Tai, the Prince of Jin Yingwu, led 30,000 troops and marched from Junzi Pass along the Hutuo River straight into Hejian. At the same time, Tuoba Wu, the King of Dapeng, led more than 30,000 troops and attacked Changfeng Town from Zhangjiazhai in Bazhou as backup.

And further away, tens of thousands of Jin soldiers were crossing the Great Wall in Baozhou.

For a time, Dingzhou, Qizhou and Hejian were in chaos and it was like hell.

The troops in the east and west of Hebei moved quickly, and the Ministry of War ordered the generals from all over the country to lead their troops to provide assistance again.

The capital is under strict security.

There was not even the slightest New Year atmosphere in the first month of the year; from time to time, post soldiers could be seen rushing past on the streets.

Although there were still many people walking on the streets, it was not as crowded as in previous New Year's Day, and the post soldiers had no need to whip or shout to allow people to pass through smoothly.

"Why are they fighting again?"

"Didn't they negotiate peace?"

"I've said before that the Jin people can't be trusted at all."

"This is terrible. Duke Cheng has escaped. Can the Earl of Qinghe defeat the Jin people?"

"Have you packed your things? Are you going to run away or not?"

"Are you okay? Didn't you say it's been fixed?"

This is what people talk about when they meet each other on the street. They are nervous but not panicked, probably because they just experienced a war last year and it was safe.

The people were still calm, mostly because they did not know the specific situation of the war. As for the emperor, he had been sleepless for several days.

"…The Jin people said that it was the soldiers and civilians on our side who robbed their people of their cattle and sheep…"

“…This is nonsense…”

"...No, they said they were urged by the imperial court to pay the annual tribute..."

"…Ridiculous, who urged them to pay…the annual tribute has not been paid yet…"

"…The Jin people were treacherous and untrustworthy, so we shouldn't have negotiated peace in the first place…"

"…I'll have to ask Mr. Huang about this. Did the Jin people give you any explanation…"

The emperor slammed the table, and the noisy and bustling in the hall suddenly quieted down.

"I don't want to know why they went back on their word! I don't want to hear whose fault it was!" he shouted, "I want to know now, have you stopped it?"

There was silence in the hall for a moment.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The northern army has divided into three groups to intercept the Jin soldiers. The generals from Shandong and Shanxi have also rushed to Hebei to provide support. We will definitely be able to wipe out the Jin bandits."

With no other options, the officials from the Ministry of War had to speak out.

But the emperor, who always obeyed his ministers, sneered at this moment.

"You've said so much, but you still can't stop it?" He shouted, angry and sad, "What on earth are you doing, you bastards?"

The military official raised his head.

"Your Majesty, this is all because of the deployment of the army by the Lord of Qinghe, which caused the army to be unstable and the soldiers and generals to be unfamiliar, giving the Jin people an opportunity to take advantage of it." He said gritting his teeth.

"Lord Liu, you are just finding excuses to accuse me." Other officials immediately stood up and refuted angrily.

The emperor also looked coldly at the military official.

The army's morale was unstable and the soldiers and generals were unfamiliar, which gave the Jin people an opportunity to take advantage?

These two reasons are not enough, right? There is actually another reason, right?

Duke Chengguo Zhu Shan was stripped of his military power. This is what they really want to say, right?

The emperor looked ashamed and angry.

This is not his fault, this is your fault, this is Cheongha-bo's fault.

"Tell Qinghe Bo that I want him to give an explanation." He said coldly.

Just like before, after a quarrel that ended in nothing, the officials withdrew from the court and continued to anxiously deploy troops and wait for news.

Huang Cheng's face also looked ugly.

"What happened that the Jin people invaded?" he asked.

"Sir, we have been keeping it a secret all this time. Initially, it must have been a traitor who opened the gate of Junzi Pass, allowing the Jin army to enter silently. The Junzi Pass defenders were caught off guard and were killed. If we knew that the guard had lit the beacon fire with his own body, Hejian Prefecture would have received the news much later." An official whispered.

Huang Cheng cursed, but seemed to be thinking about something.

"How could there be a spy when all is well?" he said, and suddenly turned around and asked, "Where has Zhu Shan fled to now?"

The officials looked at each other and seemed to understand something.

That's right, things have come to a point where all the civil and military officials in the Manchu dynasty have pointed their spearheads at the peace talks and the punishment of Duke Cheng. The ones leading all of this are the emperor and Huang Cheng. The emperor will certainly not admit his mistakes, and the only one who will suffer is Huang Cheng. If Huang Cheng falls, they will not have a good ending either.

At this time, there must be a scapegoat.

The Duke of Cheng, who was on the run for the crime of treason, was the most suitable person.

"I'll let the Earl of Qinghe investigate this." An official said with a plastic surgery.

Watching the officials take orders and leave, Huang Cheng's brows relaxed slightly. He walked to the front of the carriage and looked at the servant who took it.

"Go contact Yu Chihai's people." He whispered, "I want an explanation!"

The servant responded in a low voice and helped Huang Cheng into the carriage.

…

In the snowy wilderness, trumpets sounded, accompanied by the clatter of horses' hooves. Teams of Jin soldiers seemed to emerge from the wilderness and gathered together towards a city ahead.

There were the sounds of horse hooves and neighing, and behind them there were red and white flags like the sea.

At a glance, there were at least several thousand people, all of them elite soldiers in heavy armor, coming in an overwhelming manner with a terrifying momentum.

The city ahead seemed deserted and silent. As we got closer, we could see countless dead bodies scattered on the ground. There were also traces of climbing on the city walls, and it was obvious that it had already endured several attacks.

The city was not tall and was rather dilapidated. As the horses' hooves shook the entire city wall, it began to gasp like an old man.

The Jin soldiers were getting closer and closer. At this moment, the tightly closed city in front suddenly opened and teams of soldiers rushed out.

This scene frightened the Jin soldiers.

After such a long siege, this is the first time we have seen Zhou soldiers take the initiative to go out of the city to fight.

Are you crazy?

This is not over yet. The troops rushed out and their formation changed, revealing a shield vehicle behind them.

I've never heard of using shield vehicles to stop cavalry...

The Jin soldiers had just thought of it when they heard a sharp whistling sound. Before they could react, spears came like rain, carrying flames.

The oncoming cavalry were shot through instantly, not just one, but a bunch of them. At the same time, stones flew in, accompanied by explosions and flames. The whole city instantly became like hell on earth.

The screams and fireworks made the Jin soldiers in the rear camp look terrified.

"Which army is guarding this Su Ning?" A voice rang out from the Jin camp. "How come they have failed to capture it after three attacks, and they still dare to fight back?"

As the inquiry went on, several thousand Jin cavalrymen had been repelled, and the survivors fled one after another, and behind them were the approaching Zhou cavalrymen, changing their formation as they marched.

The cavalry had long spears and flags, and one of the large flags was particularly eye-catching.

"It's the Qingshan Army!" a Jin general shouted with a pale face.

The army, which had been silent until then, was suddenly stirred by the name. The horses seemed to understand what was said and neighed and stamped their feet restlessly.

This made General Jin, who was in charge, a little angry.

"It's just the Qingshan Army, how many people can it have?" he shouted, "We have so many people, and we have the support of Prince Yingwu's army not far behind us."

Yes, these words gradually calmed the turbulent army, but the next moment, fireworks of different colors, red, orange, yellow and green, were seen blooming over the city ahead with a sharp whistling sound.

What is this?

General Jin was a little stunned. At this time, are these Zhou soldiers still celebrating the New Year?

"Sir, sir, something bad has happened. Zhou soldiers are coming from all directions." A scout reported urgently.

Four sides?

General Jin got on the car and looked around. Sure enough, he saw smoke and dust billowing on the fields on all sides, flags standing in rows, and dense military formations coming towards him.

There are quite a few troops stationed in Su Ning, but these troops rarely cooperate in combat, let alone take the initiative to go out of the city to provide support when a city is besieged.

What happened this time?

The sound of war drums came from the city ahead.

And this was not just a war drum for fighting. Standing on a high place, General Jin could see clearly that as the war drums sounded, the Zhou soldiers pouring in from all directions also began to change their formations.

Although it was a bit messy and unfamiliar, the formation that was formed with some effort also carried a murderous aura.

Are we going to surround and destroy them like this?

This is what they always do.

The Jin general was shocked and angry, and raised the big knife in his hand on the high platform.

"Fight."

Trumpets sounded, war drums roared, and the fighting was deafening.

…

The soldiers and generals at Beiwang Pass could not see the killing of Su Ning with their own eyes, but countless people were watching.

The torches lit up the entire fort like daylight, making it almost impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

Qinghebo stood in front of the map and the sand table, either silent or pacing back and forth. The generals around him did not dare to speak loudly, but talked in low voices or walked in and out quietly.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside.

"Good news, good news." The messenger shouted hoarsely, rushed in and fell to his knees on the ground.

Qinghe Bo was like a basin of water that had awakened him, and he looked over with sharp eyes.

"Where?" he shouted.

"Shunning Pass." the messenger shouted.

There was a sudden cry of surprise in the room, and even Qinghe Bo clenched his fists tightly.

"We knew that the Qingshan Army would be able to hold on." said a general.

Qinghe Bo's wrinkled brows relaxed, and his expression became somewhat complicated when he heard this.

But now is not the time to be distracted.

"If Su Ning holds on, our situation will be eased," said Cheonghae-bok, "then it's our turn to attack."

As he spoke, he stood in front of the sand table, and the generals also came around.

The morning light shone into the tents, the torches were so bright that it made people dizzy, and the soldiers carefully extinguished them one by one.

…

Colorful flags waved and trumpets sounded, which was an order to stop the pursuit, and the advancing army stopped.

As the troops stopped, cheers rang out across the land as the morning light began to break.

The winter morning light was cold, and every soldier's face was red and white, and their bodies were covered in blood, but they all had bright eyes and were cheering with joy.

There is the joy of surviving a disaster and the excitement of winning a great battle.

The horn sounded again. Looking at the waving colorful flags, the soldiers immediately stood up straight and consciously moved their feet, changed their formation, and began to collect the spoils and sacrificed brothers.

"I never thought that we could besiege the Jin soldiers and force them to flee in panic." A general murmured.

"Yeah, to be honest I really don't want to go to war." Another general whispered.

As they were talking in low voices, there was the sound of dense horse hooves, accompanied by the shouts of soldiers. Looking up, they saw a group of people coming, led by a woman.

The woman was wearing a battle robe and a thick hat, and had a shallow scar on each cheek, but no one noticed this on the battlefield.

Zhao Hanqing stopped in front of them, the crossbow on his back still stained with blood, and looked down at them.

The two generals looked at each other and raised their hands respectfully to her.

Their positions were much higher than Zhao Hanqing's, and it was a great respect for them to take the initiative to salute him.

"I've said before, everyone listen to me, I won't let them go to die." Zhao Hanqing stopped looking at them and looked around and said loudly, "But this time, there is still an army that did not obey the order to leave the city. Since he did not obey my order, I will not treat him as a comrade."

Is this a temper tantrum? The two generals looked at each other.

This doesn't make sense. Shouldn't everyone obey your orders? Qinghebo said that you were to help everyone train the troops, but not to be the commander. How come everyone has to obey your orders?

"That's right. Military formations are necessary for marching and fighting. She taught us that when the time comes, the changes in military formations must obey her war drums." A general whispered.

Well, there is nothing we can do about it. After all, we still have to listen to the military formation that can save lives and win battles.

"…We must defend the Suning Pass, so I will assign a cannon cart and a crossbow cart to each of your armies…"

The young woman's clear voice echoed.

The two generals suddenly came to their senses and no longer cared whether she should act like a child and treat the disobedient person as a comrade.

We have all seen with our own eyes how powerful these artillery carts and crossbow carts are. If you could get one, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

War consumes the most soldiers. No general wants to see his own troops suffer heavy losses, so they try their best to get equipment and weapons.

The Qingshan Army was actually willing to share this magical weapon with them.

This is completely treating them as brothers.

On the battlefield, they are friends for life and death, what else is there to say?

Cheers broke out all around.

Zhao Hanqing kept his horse on the spot, scanning everyone with his eyes.

"We live and die together! Never fear and never retreat!" She raised her crossbow and shouted loudly.

"Live and die together! Never fear, never retreat!"

The calls were overwhelming.

Li Guorui couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.

Well, from this moment on, the Qingshan Army of Suning Pass is the boss.