With a crisp sound, Deputy General Cheng slapped Sun He in the face, grabbed his collar, and shouted coldly: "You idiot! Do you know who she is? Do you know the relationship between her and His Highness? Now it has come to this. If she doesn't die, the two of us will wait for His Highness to come back and use us as a sacrifice to the military flag!"
Anyway, it has come to this. If I want to survive, I have to fight to the death. Since I have already determined that it is fake, I have no choice but to admit it!
Cheng Yuan felt a chill in his heart and said coldly: "West City Defense Force! Everyone assemble!"
Xue Zhiyuan was awakened from his sleep. The rumbling sound of war drums spread throughout the city. He endured the pain in his body and climbed up. However, when he walked up to the west city wall, he suddenly froze. He opened his eyes wide, listened to the familiar voice coming from the other side, looked at the formation gathered under the city, and immediately understood. He pushed the guards aside and hurried down the tower, "What are you doing? Open the city gate! That's Chief of Staff Chu!"
Cheng Yuan walked up coldly and pressed Xue Zhiyuan's mouth. He was so injured that he couldn't resist. Cheng Yuan lowered his voice and said coldly, "If this matter gets out, you will be the first one to be doomed! You misreported military intelligence and caused chaos among friendly forces. Do you think His Highness will let you go? If you want to live, shut up immediately, or I can send you to hell right now!"
Cheng Yuan's eyes were cold and he strode forward with murderous intent. As he walked, he ordered, "Listen to my command later. We will pretend to be friendly forces and approach them first. Then Sun He will lead his troops to attack their flanks, and Li Lu will lead his troops to attack their rear. We will encircle and annihilate them under the city. Not a single one of them can leave alive!"
Xue Zhiyuan stood there blankly, his passion gradually cooling down. His expression was dull and dazed, and he recalled many things in an instant, the hunger and cold in his youth, the excitement and enthusiasm when he was first informed of the Datong thought, the hardships and difficulties along the way, and his weakness and exhaustion in not wanting to face the reality. His beliefs, his ideals, everything he had, all collapsed at this moment!
His face became paler and paler. Suddenly, he turned around and staggered and ran towards the city wall. His body was very fast, like a swift tiger!
Cheng Yuan reacted immediately, turned around and shouted loudly: "Stop him!"
However, in just a moment, he had already climbed onto the city wall and shouted loudly: "Chu Qiao! Run!"
There was an instant swish, and the entire man was instantly pierced through, the arrow piercing his torso and shoulders, poking out of his hands and feet, spilling blood all over the wall. The young man's hot blood was like drops of bright red seeds, dripping from the towering city wall, falling on the white snow, forming tiny bright red whirlpools!
Everyone was stunned. The cold wind blew across his battle robe and his promising young body. His eyes were clear and tough, with an unyielding awe. The oath he made many years ago still echoed in his ears, "I voluntarily dedicate my life to the cause of Datong in Yanbei. I have no ego, no self-interest, and I will fight for freedom all my life!"
The world suddenly became empty and silent. His body fell against the wind, along the towering city wall, and landed on the cold land of Yanbei!
The civilians below the city immediately let out a roar of fear, and the crowd left the towering city wall in unison like a chaotic flood.
Chu Qiao was riding on the horse, her eyes were red, her palms were cold, her gaze was as tough as iron, but her chest was filled with the heat and frenzy of magma. Finally, she raised her palm heavily and issued a short and clear military order, "Retreat!"
The cavalry behind him immediately formed a battle array, and the army turned around in unison, preparing to leave.
At the moment of leaving, Chu Qiao turned back coldly, took a last look at the fluttering Yanbei battle flag, the densely packed defenders on the city wall, the corpses scattered on the ground, and the young soldier under the Beishuo city who had been slapped twice by her. She exhaled deeply, but her chest felt even heavier.
"I will not be a human being if I don't take revenge!"
The sun finally jumped out of the horizon, casting thousands of feet of golden light, and the whole earth was golden, as if even the gods wanted to crown this day.
With such a fast speed, even if we pursue at full speed now, we have already lost the possibility of encircling and annihilating them. Cheng Yuan's heart seemed to have sunk into an ice cellar. Sun He stared blankly at the cavalry regiment whizzing away, then turned around and asked, "Sir, what should we do?"
Cheng Yuan glanced at Sun He with a cold look in his eyes, as cold as ice and snow. He slowly turned around and strode away without saying a word.
"What should I do?" He asked himself secretly in his heart. He had to find a way out for himself, he had to, he must!
The sun is as bright as gold in the sky, and a new day has finally arrived! Just one hour later, a large, thick, dark cloud floated over the northern sky, and a low roar similar to that of muffled thunder was heard from the sky. Before I finished breakfast, an iron-gray ocean slowly appeared below the eastern horizon, like endless waves of grass on a vast ice field, covering the sky and the sun, constantly expanding and swelling. Millions of horse hooves trampled the earth, white snow waves hovered under their feet, and the strong wind blew up the gray battle robes, like a large group of flying eagles!
Excellent war horses, solid armor, sharp swords and spears, neat military appearance, the Yanbei Second Army, which had been fighting against local garrisons all their lives, truly saw the demeanor of the so-called large army for the first time. An old soldier was so scared that he sat down on the top of the city wall, his eyes wide open, muttering: "The devil is coming!"
Flags were raised like the sea, swords and knives were like the forest, and everywhere was an overwhelming iron-gray color, gradually covering the entire plain. Their formations were strict and neat, with clear positions. The central army was entrenched like a tiger, and the flanks were as flamboyant as eagles. The rear was filled with reserve corps, each of them sharpening their swords and guns, with their long fur coats fluttering. The line stretched for nearly five miles, and it was obvious that there were still a large number of troops in the rear who had not entered the fire mine field.
Those who have not experienced it personally cannot appreciate such a magnificent scene. In an instant, everyone's face was filled with panic and fear. Over the past hundred years, facing the repeated provocations of the Datong Guild, Daxia had only responded by strangling them a few times. Even when it attacked Yanshi City, it only sent the Meng Family Legion symbolically. But this time, there are four regular legions with more than 100,000 people, not to mention the subsequent protection and support troops.
Daxia was truly enraged. Faced with the reactionary forces that dared to challenge the dignity of the empire for the first time in three hundred years, they vowed to defend it to the death and would fight at all costs!
The cold wind blew vigorously across the sky above Yanbei. While Beishuo City was trembling, at the foot of Sunset Mountain not far away, the military flag of the Southwest Town Envoy fluttered under the dark clouds. Chu Qiao sat on horseback, facing more than 7,000 pairs of eyes, and issued this order:
"Beishu will soon be lost. The only plan now is to seize Chiyuan Ferry, occupy Chidu City, and build a second line of defense in the inland of Yanbei. This is a military order! Take effect immediately! All troops, march out!" Just as the Southwest Town Envoy raised his whip and quickly rushed to Chiyuan Ferry, in the central army camp of Daxia, Zhao Qi frowned and marked a circle on the marching battle map, muttering, "Old Fourteen should be here."
There, three tributaries converge into one place: the Lijiang River, the Zuxi River and the Wujiang River, forming the Chishui River that runs across the entire Simon Continent. A lonely little town sits on it, and it has a very nice name - Chidu City.
War eagles screamed and wailed. The first Northern Expedition in history had begun. The footsteps of death were approaching this cold land. The river had frozen and the surface of the river was covered in snow. Both sides were running at full speed, trying to seize that important military base.
Two famous generals are about to clash, and a battle for Chidu that shocked the world sounded the battle horn in the cold wind. The tide of history rolled in. Cao Mengtong stood in front of the Yanbei Army and waved the sacred flag. The old veteran mustered up the courage and shouted loudly: "May God bless Yanbei! God bless us to win the battle! Warriors, fight for Yanbei, for freedom!" In the afternoon, it began to snow. The north wind blew snowflakes on the face, like a knife cutting.
Thousands of troops emerged from the wind and snow, with dense shadows and sharp blades flashing in the dark night. The warhorse was galloping at an astonishing speed. Chu Qiao's face was cold and numb from the wind, and the fur coat wrapped her whole body. Nine hours of continuous rushing had frozen everyone's hands and feet stiff, the cold wind was biting, and their eyes were red. In the hurricane, these seven thousand troops stood in the wilderness, like a house without a main beam, which could be swallowed up by sudden changes at any time.
A scout came running back quickly. The soldier was very young, with clear eyes and brows, and looked no more than eighteen years old. He rode his horse very fast and ran in front of Chu Qiao, pointing at the Helan Mountains in the east. His lips trembled and he was unable to speak.
"Is the Xia army getting closer again?"
The scout did not say anything, but just nodded silently. His neck was stiff due to the cold and the nodding posture was a little strange, like a puppet being pulled by strings.
"How far is it? Fifty miles?"
The other party didn't nod, so Chu Qiao continued to ask: "Thirty miles?"
Still no response, Chu Qiao felt a chill in her heart, her voice sounded a little more worried and tired, and she said in a deep voice: "Twenty miles?"
The scout nodded silently. Chu Qiao took off her hood and bowed deeply to him on her horse. "Thank you for your hard work."
With a "plop", the soldier fell off his horse. The soldiers around him saw it and quickly jumped down to help him up, but when they touched him, he was ice cold and there was no sound of breathing. He was already dead. The weather was extremely cold, and the scouts needed to bury their bodies in the snow to spy on the enemy, and then take a shortcut back. He had already exhausted all his energy to hold on until this moment.
Although it is a narrow mountain road, the road is twenty miles long. However, with the quality of Daxia's cavalry, it only takes half a quarter of an hour to reach here. Can they capture Chidu City in half a quarter of an hour?
Chu Qiao's eyes were like a sharp knife. She looked deeply ahead. Not far ahead was the Chidu City guarding the Chiyuan Ferry. She had already sent two groups of people to negotiate under the city. An incense stick of time has passed and there is still no news coming back from the other side.
Cold sweat broke out on her palms, and the hand holding the sword was ice-cold. There was little hope. They did not have Yan Xun's handwritten letter or order, no documents from the headquarters, and no written instructions issued by the Daxing Guild. They left the city in such a hurry that she did not even have an object to prove her identity. In other words, they had no way to gain the other party's trust and make them believe that they were also members of the Yanbei Army and came here to defend the safety of Chidu City.
If the Yanbei Army in Chidu City does not believe in their identities and refuses to let them into the city, then once the Great Xia troops arrive, they will only face death with only 7,000 light cavalrymen fighting against the enemy's tens of thousands of troops on the wilderness plains!
Chu Qiao understands this better than anyone else!