Zhou Jingyuan was taken aback. "I was only focused on defending the city and didn't know how much ammunition was left in the warehouse."
"Send someone to check it out immediately."
"Yes, I'll go right away." Zhou Jingyuan also realized the seriousness of the situation, and hurriedly turned around and left the city defense. He returned shortly afterward, looking somewhat flustered. "Reporting to the princess, the ammunition depot is empty, and only these cannonballs on the city wall remain."
Chen Qingqing was not surprised. "Quickly take stock of how much ammunition is left on the city wall."
"I did a rough calculation, and we have less than two hundred bombs that can be launched, and each person only has one hand-launched firearm left," Zhou Jingyuan said truthfully.
Chen Qingqing was alarmed. If the enemy launched a general offensive now, Anyang would surely fall within an hour.
She knew that the craftsmen were also working hard to manufacture firearms, but there simply weren't enough to meet the demand.
Just then, the sound of war drums rang out, and then the enemy launched another attack.
Chen Qingqing quickly snapped out of her thoughts and ordered the soldiers to use explosives sparingly and to shoot the enemy with crossbows when they got closer.
The archers pulled the triggers, and volleys of bolts flew from the bowstrings, piercing the enemy's body and scattering like peach blossoms, instantly annihilating their lives.
After several rounds of firing, the enemy troops at the forefront were almost all killed or wounded, and the soldiers behind them swarmed forward over the fallen corpses.
Hiding in the rear, Xi Yuelei's lips curled into a sinister smile upon seeing this. He knew that Anyang's defensive weapons were nearly exhausted.
Without hesitation, he gave the order and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the city simultaneously!
In an instant, shouts of battle shook the heavens, dust billowed, and hundreds of thousands of troops surged toward Anyang City like a tidal wave.
In an attempt to stop the overwhelming force of hundreds of thousands of troops, Chen Qingqing was frantic and had no choice but to order the only bombs she had left to fire.
Bombs exploded among the enemy troops, sending flames soaring into the sky. This temporarily disrupted the enemy's formation, but against such a massive enemy force, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
"Your Highness, we're out of explosives." A soldier, sweating profusely, ran up to Chen Qingqing.
At the same time, shouts came from another direction: "We're out of crossbow bolts too!"
The soldiers guarding the city loudly reported that their defensive supplies were exhausted.
Chen Qingqing's heart sank, but she knew she couldn't panic at this moment.
She took a deep breath and shouted, "Don't panic, everyone! Use logs and stones to throw them down!"
The soldiers defending the city acted swiftly, pushing heavy logs and stones to the wall and hurling them at the enemy troops below.
Screams filled the air as enemy soldiers were repeatedly struck and fell to the ground.
However, the enemy forces were too numerous, and as soon as one wave attacked, another wave surged forward.
Watching the enemy soldiers frantically climb the city walls, Chen Qingqing was anxious. "Chu Jiuqing, where are you now? If you don't come soon, I won't be able to protect the people of Anyang City."
One siege ladder after another was toppled, only to be re-erected in an instant.
Knowing that Anyang City was about to fall, Xi Yuelei led his men to the city gate and shouted, "Break down the city gate and kill everyone!"
The heavy battering ram was pushed to the city gate, thumping against it repeatedly.
Chen Qingqing saw the city gate being pounded repeatedly with a 'thud,' and she knew she had done her best. Even if she died, she wanted to take a few people down with her.
She had just taken the flamethrower out of her spatial storage when she saw a great commotion erupt behind enemy lines. Upon closer inspection, she saw a yellow flag with a large character "Ning" written on it.
"Chu Jiuqing is here! Chu Jiuqing's reinforcements have arrived!" Chen Qingqing couldn't help but exclaim.
Zhou Jingyuan's forehead was covered in sweat, and he was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet on the spot.
Suddenly hearing Chen Qingqing's shout, he looked up towards the outside of the city, and unable to contain his excitement, he shouted out.
"Our reinforcements have arrived! The King of Chu has come to our rescue!"
All the soldiers and officers defending the city were invigorated, their previously exhausted bodies seemingly infused with new strength.
At this moment, Xi Yuelei was directing the siege when a scout suddenly reported that Chu Jiuqing's reinforcements had arrived.
Upon hearing this news, he nearly fell off his horse.
He immediately ordered a portion of his troops to turn around and engage Chu Jiuqing.
Chu Jiuqing led the reinforcements at breakneck speed, arriving outside Anyang City in just over twenty days.
In recent days, he has received frequent reports of victories; the army of Da Ning has razed the capitals of four kingdoms.
The emperors of the four kingdoms were captured alive and have been escorted back to Shengjing.
When he saw the four-nation allied forces hastily assembling outside the city, and knew that Anyang was safe, he finally felt relieved.
He instructed the deputy general beside him, "Go and tell the enemy that those who lay down their weapons and surrender to our Great Ning will be spared, otherwise they will be killed without mercy!"
"Yes, sir!" Upon receiving the order, the leading general spurred his horse forward and shouted loudly at the enemy troops.
"Listen up, enemy troops from the four kingdoms! Lay down your weapons and surrender to my Great Ning, and my Emperor will spare you. Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"
Upon hearing this, Xi Yue Lei shuddered, but steadied himself and said, "Listen up, soldiers of Xi Yue! Anyang City is about to fall. If we capture Princess Anyang alive, we'll have a bargaining chip. Otherwise, we're doomed."
Bargu, Gao Lizhu, and Nangong Jin also issued the same orders.
In a short time, the armies of the four countries launched a fierce attack on Anyang.
Chu Jiuqing frowned, his eyes flashing with bloodthirsty killing intent. "Kill!..."
In an instant, the soldiers and generals of Da Ning were like tigers descending from the mountains, fighting bravely and fiercely.
Dust billowed across the battlefield, shouts shook the heavens, and wherever they went, enemy troops crumbled in disarray...
Chu Jiuqing's army fought with increasing ferocity, inflicting heavy casualties on the four-nation allied forces.
Finally, they killed Bargu and captured Nangong Jin and Gao Lizhu.
Xi Yuelei refused to surrender and was beaten to the point of having no way out, so he drew his sword and committed suicide!
Chen Qingqing on the city wall finally breathed a sigh of relief. She could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.
Chu Jiuqing leaped from his horse and charged straight at the city wall, "Qing girl, are you alright?"
Upon seeing this, Zhou Jingyuan hurriedly knelt down and bowed, saying, "This humble official pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"Lord Zhou, there's no need for such formalities. Quickly summon the imperial physician."
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Princess Anyang hasn't slept for three days. Let her get a good night's sleep."
After hearing Zhou Jingyuan's words, Chu Jiuqing finally felt relieved.
Chen Qingqing is a lucky star for the Great Ning Dynasty; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to subdue the four kingdoms so quickly. He absolutely cannot allow anything to happen to Chen Qingqing...
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