Chapter 259: Survival
Zhang Huaining stood on the city wall and saw from afar Su Qingwan and General Xiaoning leading their soldiers to rush back to the city. His heart tightened and he immediately shouted down: "Prepare to close the city gates and shoot arrows!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison, with tension and determination in their voices.
At this time, the last batch of bows and arrows had been tied with the last poison, and General Zhuge's troops gradually entered the range. Zhang Huaining did not hesitate, waved his hand decisively, and issued an order: "Shoot!"
In an instant, thousands of arrows were fired at the Xilin border troops like locusts passing through a border. Among them, hundreds of arrows were coated with poison, and as the arrows fell to the ground, the poison quickly spread in the air. The Xilin soldiers were hit one after another, and some fell off their horses and were trampled by the horses mercilessly; those who were lucky enough to escape the horses also began to show signs of poisoning, and they were weak all over and struggled painfully on the ground.
Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning led their soldiers and rushed into Huainan City like a whirlwind. The soldiers under the city tower quickly worked together to close the city gate. The huge city gate slowly closed with a dull sound.
"General, someone has been poisoned again! This princess is so cruel, she actually used poison!" A soldier reported to General Zhuge in panic. General Zhuge looked at the tightly closed city gate, his face so gloomy that it seemed like water could drip out. After Su Qingwan and General Xiaoning dismounted, they quickly walked up to the city wall.
Su Qingwan looked at General Zhuge with sharp eyes and said loudly: "General Zhuge, listen carefully! This is a lesson from this princess. If you insist on attacking the city, I will spread poison all over the city wall. Sixteen years ago, the Xilin Army and the Huainan Army fought a great battle at the Lanning River. You should not have forgotten that battle, right?"
It was an extremely tragic battle, and the Huainan side suffered heavy losses. In the end, it was Su Qingwan's brother who had to use poison, which caused the Xilin army to retreat step by step, with countless casualties. This kind of poison trick has always been regarded as against the harmony of nature and is rarely used on the battlefield. "When the two armies are fighting, they have a tacit understanding that poison is forbidden. You are just a villain for doing this, and you dare to use poison to plot against us!" General Zhuge was furious and shouted across the city gate.
Su Qingwan showed no weakness and responded coldly: "You can tear up the armistice treaty if you want to. What's the big deal if I use some poison? I forgot to tell you that my poison technique was taught by my brother. I will protect the people of Huainan at all costs, even if it goes against the will of heaven, even if I have to bear the name of killing. If you forcefully attack Huainan, I won't care about the rules prohibiting poison techniques. Abiding by the agreement can't save my people, I can only send you to hell. This time, it's just a warning to you, I hope you will be careful!"
Su Qingwan looked stern on the surface, but she was actually nervous. She actually had no habit of researching large-scale lethal poisons, and she had never thought of using poison on the battlefield. Although she won the battle that year, the consequences were still frightening. Now the city was short of military equipment, and she was just bluffing, delaying for a while, hoping that Zhang San could succeed and burn the enemy's food and grass. Only by cutting off the food and grass supply of the Xilin border army could they retreat. Otherwise, given the current situation, if General Zhuge really fought a desperate battle, she might not be able to hold out for even a day.
"Princess, you are just bluffing. In my opinion, Huainan's armaments can't hold out for three days, and you are already stretched to the limit. If I attack by force, you will be unable to resist." General Zhuge was not frightened by Su Qingwan's words. "Before sunset, I will definitely launch a strong attack. Whatever tricks you have, just use them!" After saying that, he snorted coldly, turned his horse's head, and returned to the military camp.
"Princess, what should we do?" General Xiao Ning asked anxiously. They had heard of the reputation of General Zhuge. He would keep his word and come back after he rested. And with their current strength, how could they withstand the fierce attack of the enemy? "We will stop the enemy with our troops and block the water with earth. We are the last line of defense in Huainan. Even if we die in battle, we will die on this line of defense!" Su Qingwan looked solemn and said firmly, "If the Xilin army really breaks through the city gate, let the people flee to Zhongzhou immediately."
The gates to Zhongzhou were still open, and the people could choose to leave. Su Qingwan had never stopped the people from evacuating, but more people chose to defend the city with them. The people in the city sent in all the supplies they could use, and some even stepped up to make bows and arrows. Regardless of the quality of the materials, a batch was immediately sent in. Although these homemade bows and arrows did not meet military standards, the archers did not dislike them, as it was better to have them than not.
The sun was blazing hot. Su Qingwan was wearing light armor and was exposed to the scorching sun. She was sweating profusely and her whole body was already soaked. She could wring water out of her clothes. But she always looked in the direction of the Xilin military camp, her eyes full of expectation, eager to see a glimmer of hope. General Xiao Ning was busy preparing for the next wave of defense and led the soldiers to speed up the repair of the city defense fortifications.
The sun was setting, and the sky was covered with a beautiful sunset glow. Suddenly, a sharp and rhythmic whistle sounded from a distance.
Zhang Huaining's eyes lit up, and his voice trembled with excitement: "Princess, it worked! It worked! My brother and his men burned the Xilin Army's food and grass!"
Outside the city was a vast wilderness. Standing on the city wall, one could see the entire field. In the distance, thick smoke was seen rising. As the afterglow of the setting sun gradually dimmed, the flames lit up half the sky red.
Success! Zhang San did it!
However, Su Qingwan's joy did not last long. As the food and grass were burned, General Zhuge became angry and personally led people to hunt down Zhang San and others. The sound of fighting could be faintly heard from the city wall. The Xilin border army had 50,000 people, and Su Qingwan didn't know how many bandits had gathered outside the city. Even if all of them were gathered, it was estimated that there were only 3,000 to 4,000 people. With such a huge gap in military strength, how could they resist the encirclement and suppression of the Xilin army?
"General Xiaoning, I want to rescue them!" Su Qingwan looked solemn and said firmly, "If Zhang San and his men died in the battle, the Xilin Army would counterattack. With our limited strength, we can't delay them for long. While their food and grass are burned and their morale is frustrated, maybe we can fight for a chance of survival!" Originally, they were ready to fight on their own. Zhang San led his men to burn the food and grass, and they would defend the city gate to the death, delaying for a while. But at this moment, listening to the faint sound of fighting, Su Qingwan couldn't convince herself to sit back and watch.
General Xiao Ning looked back at the soldiers behind him and said loudly: "Princess, when marching and fighting, the morale of the army is the most important. Princess, you have never abandoned the soldiers, nor have you abandoned the people of Huainan. Our soldiers and people of Huainan will never abandon you. We are willing to follow you out of the city to meet the enemy and fight to the death!"
He knew clearly that if they all died in battle, there would be no one left to defend Huainan City; but if they watched Zhang San and others die in battle without rescuing them, they would not be able to defend Huainan either.
"We are willing to follow the princess and fight to the death!"
"A last-ditch battle, life or death!"
The soldiers were excited and their shouts resounded through the sky, one louder than the other.
Outside the city, Zhang San gathered nearly 3,000 bandits. While Su Qingwan was distracting General Zhuge's main force, they had already quietly ambushed the important grain and grass area. At this time, General Zhuge's attention was focused on the poisoned soldiers and he had no time to take care of the rear. He never thought that Su Qingwan would actually make a feint to the east and attack in the west, sending people to burn the grain and grass.
By the time he discovered it, all the soldiers guarding the important grain and grass area had been killed, and all the grain and grass were set on fire, with raging flames shooting up into the sky.
In order to destroy the food and grass of tens of thousands of people, this army must face the Xilin border army head-on, and a fierce battle broke out. Zhang San didn't want to fight, but the enemy would not let them go easily, and soon they were surrounded and suppressed. General Zhuge was furious and completely killed. The army's morale would inevitably be weakened if the food and grass were cut off, and his plan to attack Huainan might fail.
"Kill them all, leave no one alive!" he roared madly.
Zhang San and his bandits were best at mountain warfare. In this open wilderness, they had nowhere to escape, and the enemy was strong and powerful, so it was not easy for them to break through. But since they had decided to burn the food and grass, they had already prepared for a fight to the death. "Brothers, it's time to be loyal! Kill one more enemy soldier, and there will be one less person to massacre our people in Huainan!"
Zhang San was also blood-thirsty, and showed no fear even when surrounded by enemies. These bandits were all strong men, and when they thought of the people of Huainan City, their blood boiled, and they followed Zhang San closely to fight bravely. The battlefield was littered with corpses and blood, and familiar brothers fell one after another.
The sun was setting in the west, and the night was gradually deepening. Zhang San's arms were numb from the killing, and his body was stabbed by swords and guns, but he could no longer feel the pain, his whole body was numb.
He knew in his heart that he might die here, but as long as he was still alive, he would drag a few Xilin soldiers to be buried with him.
“Kill!”
"Brother, hold on, we are coming!" General Xiao Ning's voice penetrated the encirclement of the Xilin Army.
An arrow shot out like a meteor and accurately hit a Xilin soldier who was stabbing Zhang San with a knife. The Xilin soldier was shot in the throat and died on the spot.
Zhang San looked back and saw Su Qingwan, wearing a white dress and light armor, holding a longbow, sitting on a warhorse with a heroic look, her eyes firm and sharp. She put away her bow and arrow, and quickly drew out her long sword, with two swords in her hands, flashing cold light.
Zhang San's eyes instantly turned red, and he was moved beyond words. He had resolutely left the city to burn grain for the sake of the princess and the people of Huainan, and had already put his life and death aside.
From the moment Su Qingwan was determined to defend Huainan to the death and advance and retreat with the soldiers, he was willing to submit to her, recognize her as his master, and was willing to die for her. But he never expected that Su Qingwan would come out of the city to rescue him personally.
"Kill! Even if we die tonight, we will die together with them!" The battle flag of the Huainan Army fluttered in the night, just behind Su Qingwan.
With a stern look on her face, she shouted, "Press forward!" Following this order, the Huainan Army rushed towards the Xilin Army like a tiger descending from a mountain, and a more intense fight unfolded in the night...
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