All I saw was a thick cloud of smoke rising from behind.

Is it on fire? But it doesn't look like...

As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, he heard several more explosions. This time he knew where the thick smoke came from. It was a dozen flying bullets.

After landing, there was a burst of fire, blood, and chaos, and the originally neat military formation seemed to be flattened.

What the hell is this?

Tuoba Wu was shocked.

He had no time to think, the bombardment continued and the entire rear-line military formation was in complete chaos.

"Hold on!" Tuoba Wu finally reacted and shouted angrily, "How many soldiers do you have? Do not retreat! Those who retreat will die! Fight!"

Upon hearing the order, the soldiers in the army saw their companions running towards them and did not show any courtesy. The archers immediately shot sharp arrows at these people.

Suddenly another group fell down.

But this did not stop the escape like the threat of death in the attack on Chengguo Public Relations Fort.

"It's the Qingshan Army!"

"Qingshan Army!"

The rear formation completely disintegrated in the thick smoke, and the Jin soldiers fled shouting in fear. These three words seemed to be demons and monsters, more frightening than the oncoming arrows. They dodged the arrows shot from the front formation and ran wildly to both sides and in all directions.

This threw the entire rear military formation into complete chaos.

Tuoba Wu was both angry and horrified.

What kind of army is Qingshan Army? Why does it make his warriors so afraid of it?

He looked forward, and the sound of bombardment seemed to have stopped. The entire rear army formation looked as if it had been rolled over by a giant. It was a horrible sight.

Stone bullet? Fire bomb?

"Follow me." Tuoba Wu drew his sword and shouted, and then he came down from the lookout.

What he feared was Duke Cheng, but that didn't mean that he, Tuoba Wu, was a coward or that anyone could scare him.

He was going to lead his elite troops into battle personally to teach these ignorant Zhou soldiers a lesson.

Just then there was a sharp howling sound.

What is this? Tuoba Wu looked subconsciously and saw a dense mass of spears flying from the sky.

Seeing these long spears, the fleeing Jin soldiers shouted in fear and ran desperately to both sides. The Jin soldiers in the square formation from behind who were about to charge at the approaching soldiers had no time to react as the rain of long spears were already in front of them.

Screams suddenly rang out everywhere, and countless Jin soldiers were pierced and carried flying. Many of them were not one or two, but several in a row.

The entire square formation was like being hit by thousands of nails, and the ground was suddenly filled with strings of Jin soldiers.

The Jin soldiers who were pierced were not dead yet, and they were struggling and screaming.

The situation ahead was so horrific that it was like purgatory on earth.

The sword and axe in Tuoba Wu's hand almost fell to the ground.

What is this?

"Your Highness, Your Highness." A personal guard stumbled over and said, "Retreat quickly, retreat quickly."

withdraw?

When we were about to win a great victory on our own turf, we were advised to retreat? What a joke.

Tuoba Wu raised his hand and knocked the personal soldier to the ground.

"How many of them are there?" he roared.

"About five thousand." A general said hurriedly.

I thought there were tens of thousands of people. Five thousand soldiers, what is he afraid of? Tuoba Wu was even more embarrassed. Looking at the increasingly scattered Jin soldiers in front of him, the square formation had already lost its shape.

And just ahead, a group of people were approaching.

At first glance, it seems to cover the sky and the earth.

To be able to march over such a long distance, everyone must have a horse, or more than one, and everyone must be wearing armor. Even from a distance, one can see that the armor is extremely fine. The iron helmets are decorated with red silk, which flutters in the wind.

In addition to soldiers and horses, there were also ten carts lined up in the front, which looked like baggage carts, but were in a strange posture. At this time, in the sunlight, rows of long spears on them were pointing upward at an angle, flashing a cold light.

That's where the lances came from.

What is this? A crossbow? A ballista?

Tuoba Wu was surprised, he had never seen such weapons among the Zhou soldiers, and soldiers with such momentum and equipment were also extremely rare.

The equipment of Zhou soldiers has always been somewhat shabby. Except for those directly under the command of Duke Cheng, it is rare to see the entire army wearing armor.

Could this also be Duke Cheng’s personal army?

Tuoba Wu's gaze fell on the banner of the reinforcements.

There were many colorful flags in the square formation, but there were two large flags. One was the familiar flag of the Zhou army. He knew which army it belonged to by the color and border of the flag without even looking at the words on it. It was the Shun'an Army.

The Shun'an Army of Hejian Prefecture is quite far away from here. Logically speaking, the Yongning Army is closer and more convenient.

But the other big flag...has never been seen before.

Tuoba Wu squinted his eyes and looked at it. It was a scarlet flag, six feet long, with three large characters on it.

Is that... Qingshan Army?

"Where did you come from?" he said, and once again tightened his grip on the long axe, ready to step forward, "Give me all the warriors..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and the long spears mounted on the baggage cart suddenly rained down on him again.

Having seen the power of this rain of spears, the Jin army's formation suddenly fell into chaos, and the entire left wing was scattered.

Although they were far away, when the spears flew up, Tuoba Wu subconsciously stepped back and raised his sword and axe to block them.

It's so scary.

Using a spear as a crossbow arrow, the force must be so great that it can penetrate the city wall.

How can human flesh and blood compare to a city wall?

When did the Zhou army have such a powerful weapon? If the Zhou army had such a powerful weapon, wouldn't they be invincible?

Tuoba Wu just felt a chill in his heart.

After this wave of crossbow arrows, the chariots and horses retreated, and the enemy's troops changed their formation and formed a circle to attack forward.

It is said to be a circle but it does not look like a circle.

Tuoba Wu stared at it in a daze. The army formation seemed to be moving slowly, but also very fast. In the blink of an eye, it had rushed into the Jin soldiers' camp.

The originally scattered rear camp was like a wild bull breaking into it.

The lance and saber battle was extremely brutal.

The shouts of killing were like thunder. The Jin soldiers who came to fight gathered into formations several times, but were all dispersed by this circular formation.

From time to time, cavalrymen would rush out from the left and right sides of the circle, quickly hacking and cutting off the Jin soldiers' formation, and then quickly withdrawing, like a pair of flexible arms.

There were countless casualties in every attack, both Jin soldiers and Zhou soldiers, but no matter how many fell, the Zhou soldiers all had expressionless faces and the army formation did not disperse at all.

Seeing his elite soldiers falling one after another, Tuoba Wu finally came back to his senses from the shock.

Such fierce and brave Zhou reinforcements were no less powerful than Duke Cheng's personal army. No, they were even more powerful.

Could this be Duke Cheng's hidden trick?

How come there is no news at all? Did it just appear out of nowhere?

"It was the Qingshan Army that killed a thousand of our men with only a few hundred men in Bazhou." The general beside him said hastily, "My king, let's retreat quickly."

"Yes, the Qingshan Army not only has powerful weapons, but also has a very strange formation." Others also tried to persuade them, "Let's retreat to the camp."

withdraw?

Tuoba Wu looked embarrassed and turned around to see the siege and fighting still going on at the fort behind him.

Probably because they heard that reinforcements were coming, the morale of Cheng Guogong's army was boosted, while the Jin soldiers, who originally had the upper hand, became frightened and retreated again and again.

Zhu Shan is about to be killed!

"Give us some more time." Tuoba Wu roared.

Even though the reinforcements had powerful weapons, they could not break through his formation easily. If they held out for a while longer, Zhu Shan would be killed.

That would kill Zhu Shan!

Kill Zhu Shan! Kill Zhu Shan! Opportunity is fleeting!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the traitor of the Qingshan Army, the Seventh Prince, is still in the camp." A close general said hurriedly.

Tuoba Wu had an idea, and at this moment a vibration sound came from far away.

This sound is the same as the sound that just landed on this side of the camp.

Tuoba Wu's face suddenly changed, and the army was already shouting in surprise.

"It's the main camp!"

"Someone attacked the camp!"

it turns out!

Several generals captured Tuoba Wu.

"Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince is in the camp!"

"This weapon is so terrible!"

"Hurry back to rescue."

Everyone shouted.

Tuoba Wu had already seen the power of the stone bullets and the rain of long spears and crossbows. If this landed in the camp, it would really be...

His expression changed for a moment, and finally he looked at the battle at Guanbao and angrily slashed the sword and axe in his hand to the ground.

"Return to camp," he roared.

…

Watching the Jin soldiers retreat like a tide, the Zhou soldiers on the fort finally breathed their last. Some of them knelt on the ground with their weapons in hand, while others simply breathed a sigh of relief and passed out.

"Reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements!"

And more people shouted, their voices hoarse and mixed with tears.

Are there really reinforcements?

They were in a life-and-death battle just now and didn't pay any attention to their surroundings. They just heard the Jin soldiers shouting that there were reinforcements, but they didn't pay any attention to them. They didn't expect that the Jin soldiers would really retreat.

Although some generals did not lose their composure to such an extent, tears appeared in their eyes.

I never expected it, but when the reinforcements really arrived, the excitement in my heart was indescribable.

They looked up and saw that on the devastated battlefield, the Jin soldiers were retreating like a tide, while a group of troops were coming in with unstoppable force.

The troops set up attack formations on both wings, with flags fluttering, iron cavalry stamping, and long spears like a forest. They came rolling in with a powerful aura like a mountain.

The generals naturally recognized the familiar military flag at first sight.

"My Lord! It's the Shun'an Army!"

A general standing at the front shouted with joy and turned to look back.

However, I saw that the place where Duke Cheng was was surrounded by a group of generals and soldiers. They looked sad and turned a deaf ear to the reinforcements from this side and didn't care at all.

But Duke Cheng was nowhere to be seen.

The general's heart skipped a beat, his face turned pale, and his legs went limp.

Duke Cheng!

Duke Cheng!

He hissed and stumbled over.

Meanwhile, a group of soldiers came out of the formation over there and rushed over quickly. Seeing the soldiers and officers here rushing in one direction, the expressions of this group of people suddenly changed.

"Duke Cheng!"

Li Guorui, covered in blood, shouted and jumped off his horse before getting close, his body trembling.

Are you late?

He had just witnessed the number and strength of these Jin soldiers. Duke Cheng had been fighting hard for half a month, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses had been exhausted. Under such circumstances, Duke Cheng...

"I am..." Li Guorui's voice was hoarse and he could hardly speak, "I am late..."

The people behind them also dismounted one after another, and the atmosphere became solemn.

"Not too late."

A mellow voice came from the crowd surrounded by soldiers.

Although weak, his words were clear.

This voice immediately alerted Li Guorui. As he heard this, the soldiers who had gathered around him moved aside one after another and turned their heads to look.

A man in white armor appeared in the sight of Li Guorui and others.

The man was of burly build. He did not stand like a mountain at this moment. Instead, he sat on the ground, leaning against a deputy general. He held a long sword in his right hand and leaned on the ground, which made his back appear straight even though he was leaning against it.

His helmet had been taken off, revealing his face.

He was in his forties, with handsome features and a warm look. Even though he was covered in blood and wounds, his eyes were still peaceful, making people feel calm just by looking at him.

This is Zhu Shan, Duke of Cheng, the Northern Martial God of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Li Guorui was excited and happy, but the next moment he saw that the clothes under Zhu Shan's white armor had turned bright red.

A long gun pierced his chest, and the gun shaft was broken, leaving only the gun head.

"My Lord!" Seeing the gunpoint on his chest, Li Guorui's legs went weak again.

"Stand still." Duke Cheng said in a mellow voice.

The voice was gentle but had an irresistible power. Li Guorui stood up straight and looked at Duke Cheng with excitement and sadness.

"Let me see which good man will come to help me in Zhushan." Duke Cheng continued, his eyes falling on Li Guorui.

Everyone else also looked at Li Guorui.

This general is strange, they thought.

However, Li Guorui did not step forward to introduce himself, but instead stepped aside, and the men behind him also stepped aside.

Could it be someone else instead of him?

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then saw a young woman wrapped in a red cloak appear in their sight.

Among a group of tall armored men, her figure looked even smaller. The spring breeze blew her cloak, revealing the corners of her pleated embroidered skirt.

She stretched out her hand, lowered her head and gently lifted the hem of her skirt, then stepped on the blood-stained ground with her deerskin boots, swaying her body with solemnity and cautious respect as she walked around the body of a dead soldier.

Everyone held their breath, as if they were not on a bloody battlefield at that moment, but in the south of the Yangtze River in spring, with willows and poplars swaying in the wind, flowers blooming and willows green, and young girls in their twenties busy outing.

Duke Cheng could not hide his surprise in his eyes. As he watched the woman approaching lightly, he raised his head, with a hint of shyness and uneasiness on his picturesque face.

She seemed to want to say something but didn't know what to say. After a moment's hesitation, she stretched out a hand from under her cloak.

The small palm is facing upward, holding a round grain wrapped in tin paper.

"You, do you want to eat candied fruit?" She looked at the injured man sitting in front of her and said seriously.