The night was dark, the earth was dead silent, and there was not a single star in the sky.

This was originally a prosperous place with numerous villages and fertile fields. However, due to the invasion of the Jin people, the people fled. The people who had originally settled down and hoped to have a good spring farming this year seemed to be unable to do so once again.

There were footsteps on the ground, as if someone was running wildly. The sound became clearer and clearer, accompanied by occasional falls and cries of pain.

If you walk at night without a torch, it shows that you are afraid to see people.

In the starless and pitch-black night, it was almost impossible to tell the direction. The footsteps stumbled forward until a sharp sound of breaking through the air was heard.

With a whoosh, an arrow shot into the ground, right in front of the foot.

Someone is shooting arrows in the wilderness in the middle of the night? It's really scary.

The runners cried out.

"Are you under the command of Lord Ansu Junzong? I am a scout of Qinghebo."

There was silence on the other side for a moment, and there seemed to be a faint figure swaying.

A moment later, seven people rushed into a camp, protecting a man covered in blood.

This is a large camp, with bonfires, large flags and hunting flags, and a noisy and murderous atmosphere.

The main camp was also bustling with activity.

A dozen generals gathered together and discussed something excitedly.

"It's from my uncle..."

Before the soldier could finish his report, the man who was carried in started swearing.

"What the hell are you guys still doing here?"

"We have been waiting for your reinforcements for three days."

"I thought you were killed by the Jin people."

"So you guys are setting up camp here!"

"Don't you take your uncle's troop deployment card seriously?"

"If you postpone it, you will be beheaded!"

The scout's rank was not as high as anyone else present, but at this moment he was jumping up and down in anger. The generals present had complicated expressions and did not say a word in rebuttal.

"I was just about to send someone to see Master Bo." Lord Zong, who had been sitting in the front row and remained silent, spoke up. His face was very ugly. "Three armies have escaped privately."

…

"Escape?"

Sitting on a broken and fallen pillar, Cheonghae-bok turned around and looked at the soldiers kneeling on the ground.

He knew that war was hard and not every soldier was brave. There were always people who deserted in every major war. He remembered that the time when the most deserters occurred was when he mobilized 4,000 soldiers, but only 3,000 of them finally arrived at the battlefield, and the rest disappeared without a trace.

As for these deserters, if we can catch them, then we catch them; if we can't catch them, then that's fine too. We don't have the manpower and energy to pursue them.

"How many escaped?" he asked.

The soldier raised his head, his face pale.

"Ten thousand on the east route," he said.

The Earl of Qinghe was stunned, and the generals on both sides simply cursed.

"Damn, this is called a soldier deserting?" they shouted.

It is obvious that the entire army has fled, which is a refusal to provide assistance.

"Eastern route," Qinghebo said, looking at the soldier, "What about the other two routes?"

The soldiers bowed their heads.

"The west route is short of 20,000 people," he stammered, "and the south route is short of 20,000 people."

The generals on both sides kicked the gravel on the ground aside.

"The three routes have a total of 100,000 reinforcements, and this is less than half!"

"What the hell is this?"

"This is a suicide mission!"

Yes, so the reinforcements stopped and no one dared to attack the Jin people according to Qinghebo's orders.

They had been waiting for more than ten days for this result, and all the generals' faces turned green.

"When did the officers and soldiers of the North become such cowards?"

Qinghebo looked calm and even smiled.

"No, those men were not cowards," he said. "They were just following other military orders."

Anything else?

The other generals reacted immediately.

"Duke Cheng!"

It's true that the only person who can make the northern officers and soldiers so brave is Duke Cheng.

"It's so annoying!"

"Duke Cheng is trying to kill us!"

"How vicious!"

They shouted angrily, but some generals could not help but remind everyone to keep their voices down to prevent the news from spreading.

Now the soldiers are still high-spirited despite the siege by the Jin army, largely because reinforcements are about to arrive.

If they knew that half of the reinforcements were missing, their morale would probably plummet.

"There are also reinforcements from Suning Pass." said a general.

"Don't forget that Duke Cheng's cronies are also in Suning Pass," the other generals said angrily.

This naturally refers to the Qingshan Army.

"That's less than 10,000 people," the general said, "and the rest are our troops, which makes 50,000 in total."

If that's the case, we can have a fight if we plan properly.

The generals' expressions relaxed a little, but the next moment some of them looked gloomy again.

"That's not right. The troops stationed at Suning Pass should have arrived by now." He said, looking at the sentry, "Have you seen them?"

The sentry raised his head and shook his head with a pale face.

A bad thought came to my mind.

The hearts of the generals sank immediately, and Qinghe Bo's face changed slightly.

…

There was a seemingly endless stream of soldiers and horses marching along the road.

It cannot be said to be a rapid march, with a large banner leading the way, followed by the central army as guard, then the cavalry, and then closely following behind them were baggage carts.

Unlike other marches, the baggage carts here were located in the front and seemed to be filled with supplies, leaving deep marks on the road.

Next came the soldiers trotting along, their ranks in order, with their armor and flags. Every step they took was in unison, and they looked very powerful and majestic.

As for the troops at the back, although they were marching in a normal formation, they always seemed to lack some momentum, perhaps because there were fewer baggage carts, or because the troops were not marching in an orderly manner. But in general, led by the front column, each soldier was in high spirits, and they never slacked off or slowed down in their helmets and armor.

Several soldiers and horses came galloping from behind. Seeing the clothes and attire of the people on the horses, the soldiers on foot could not help but look sideways, watching their generals heading straight ahead to where the Qingshan Army flag was fluttering.

"Ms. Zhao!"

"Ms. Zhao! Stop!"

Several generals shouted in rapid voices with gloomy faces.

Zhao Hanqing did not rein in his horse, and Xia Yong, Yang Jing and others also looked at them.

"We can't stop at will during the march," she said.

So casual!

"Miss Zhao, this is the wrong direction." A general said in a hoarse voice.

"Yes, aren't we going to Puyin?" another general asked anxiously, "Why are we heading south?"

Zhao Hanqing looked at them.

"We're not going to Puyin," she said, "we're going south."

Several generals stared with wide eyes.

"Why?" they asked in unison, "Uncle Master wants us to go to Puyin when he sends troops."

"Oh, I think we should go south." Zhao Hanqing said crisply.

What does she think?

Several generals were stunned. They looked at the girl who was about sixteen or seventeen years old, and then looked at each other.

They were all in their forties and had been fighting on the battlefield for half their lives.

How come they didn’t realize that?

No, no, the key point is that she was disobeying the uncle's order to mobilize troops.

"How is this a violation? Isn't there a saying that a general is not always subject to orders when he is on the battlefield?" Zhao Hanqing said.

It doesn't seem like there is something that cannot be obeyed?

The generals were stunned.

"The situation on the battlefield is unpredictable. Your uncle is trapped and his observation is not thorough enough." Zhao Hanqing continued, "Of course I can adapt to the situation. I am leading my soldiers to kill the enemy, not to die."

It seemed that this was the truth, and the generals looked at each other.

but…

"Of course, you have the right to choose." Zhao Hanqing said, "Trust my judgment and follow me, or obey the order of the master to mobilize troops. I will not force you."

Do you believe her judgment or not?

Several generals had complicated expressions.

She led her soldiers to kill the enemy, not to die.

The previous two battles with the Jin people indeed proved this point. Their Qingshan Army's marching and deployment did benefit everyone a lot.

Of course, there are also the most critical baggage vehicles.

Several generals looked behind them subconsciously.

Obviously, these chariots were naturally following the Qingshan Army.

Several generals retreated and rode away on horseback, their minds heavy with thoughts.

"Or, let's send a sentry to tell Uncle and see what he decides." A general suddenly said.

It has been several days since then. If we use sentries to deliver the message, it will take quite some time to go back and forth. Not to mention that there are the Jin people blocking the way, it is still a question whether the message can be delivered.

This clearly means that he wants to follow the Qingshan Army.

On one side is the military order of the Lord, and on the other side is life and death. No, no, of course they are not afraid of life and death, but they do not want to live and die meaninglessly, and they want to die with value.

Being able to win the battle and relieve the siege of Lord Bo is the real achievement.

Several generals looked at each other.

What to do?

…

Far behind him, he could see clouds of dust and smoke, which were the movement of the soldiers leaving.

"Two armies have left." A sentry came over and said.

Li Guorui couldn't help wiping his sweat.

Only two of the five armies left, which deceived more than half of the troops and can be considered a great success.

Unexpectedly, the Qingshan Army, which was originally going to be exploited, was not abandoned in the end. Instead, it lured away more than half of the troops in Ningguan.

I never dreamed of this.

If Qinghe Bo knew about this, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood, right?

Li Guorui found it a little funny, but it was obviously not a joke.

"Miss Zhao." He could no longer hold back and stepped forward to whisper, "Whose order did you receive? When Master Bo's troop mobilization order was delivered to you, I saw that you also took a small note."

When fighting against the Jin enemy, there is no problem with deploying the troops with this girl, but he doesn't believe that this girl can respond savvily when it comes to deploying troops, especially at long distances.

Zhao Hanqing said "oh".

"Uncle Guorui, you are not an outsider either. I will not hide this from you." She said, "It is Duke Cheng."

really!

Li Guorui had a complicated expression.

"Didn't you say that the Qingshan Army was not the Duke of Cheng's men?" he said, "Why are you listening to him again?"

So were all those things before just lies by the little girl?

"No." Zhao Hanqing looked at him calmly, "I didn't listen to him. I listened to my sister."

What?

Li Guorui was a little slow to react.

Zhao Hanqing smiled at him.

"My sister said that Duke Cheng is right," she said.

So did she choose the secret order sent by Duke Cheng, abandon the aid to Qinghebo, and go south?

But, Xiangnan, where are you going?

Li Guorui couldn't help but look forward.

These thirty or forty thousand soldiers are not heading towards the capital, are they?

Li Guorui shuddered.

Duke Cheng, what do you want to do?

…

"Duke Cheng, you just want me to die."

Qinghebo stood up from a fallen stone on the castle and looked around. The place was much more dilapidated than before.

The city also looked more dilapidated, and it was obvious that it had experienced a city battle.

Once you pass the city wall, it means that the enemy is already at your feet, and what follows is a life-and-death battle, which is brutal and difficult.

"Master!" The generals around him were furious, "Duke Cheng is indeed a traitor!"

There was also a hint of sadness in this anger.

This time it seems that we will be trapped here to death by the Jin people.

"It's not time to trap me to death yet." Qinghebo stabbed the sword in his hand, and his pale face burst into ruthlessness. "He framed me and failed to kill me more than ten years ago, and today he will never get his wish!"

He then raised his hand and swung his knife.

"Come on, prepare for battle, and meet the enemy."