Saying this, the Imperial Guards standing at the front drew their weapons and aimed them at the cavalrymen from the south.

"How dare you! We are subordinates of the Su family. If you attack us, you are making enemies of the Su family of Jiangnan. You'd better think carefully about it. That guy snatched something important from our general. I advise you to behave yourselves and hand him over to us."

With that, the man at the front walked towards the outside.

Looking at the unconscious messenger, he couldn't help but sneer.

After all, being able to know so many secrets that he shouldn't know and still be alive was truly blessed by fate.

Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

"I advise you not to move rashly. I don't care if you're from the Su family or the Mei family, this land belongs to the Jiang family, not the Su family. When you come to our Imperial Guard's territory, no matter how awesome you are, you have to honestly abide by our rules. Otherwise, you can try and see if our steel blades know who you are. A mere house slave, acting like some kind of big shot."

Seeing how these people looked down on them, the light cavalrymen who had been sent out were all furious.

They had never dared to speak to them like this before.

Just as they were about to make a move, someone went out to pick up the messenger.

Noticing the arrows hanging on the messenger's body, the faces of the Imperial Guards turned dark.

These were clearly the standard-issue arrows they used. Even if some might have fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu, there couldn't be this many.

"Lock these Su family dogs up for me first, and we'll talk about the rest later."

After saying that, he quickly carried the messenger to the attending imperial physician.

But when they opened the tent, their hearts sank.

The medical tent was already overflowing with people.

Just when they didn't know what to do, the once high-ranking civil and military officials stepped aside to make way for them.

If the Imperial Guards in the city hadn't risked their lives to help them break through, they would probably have all been left in the city.

Under the imperial physician's treatment, the messenger quickly regained consciousness.

Seeing Jiang Chen and the civil and military officials standing beside him, the man was extremely flustered.

"Tell me, what exactly happened? Why are you so badly injured?"

"No matter what happened, I will stand up for you."

Thinking of all he had encountered, the messenger burst into tears.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I went to urge the Jiangnan army that came to support us to speed up their march according to your decree, but I ran into them deliberately delaying their time. When I learned of these secrets, they wanted to kill me to silence me. If it weren't for the spirituality of my warhorse, I might not have been able to come back alive to report this news."

Having said that, perhaps because he was too emotional, or perhaps because his body was too weak, the messenger fainted.

Just when everyone didn't know what to do, the Imperial Guards escorted the Su family's men in.

"Your Majesty, we probably know what's going on. These cavalrymen sent by the Su family are not here to reinforce us, but to kill the messenger and silence him. In my opinion, what the messenger said just now is probably all true."

Looking at the few pale-faced guys, Jiang Chen remained silent.

But the surrounding civil and military officials were now extremely frightened.

Every time Jiang Chen was about to be furious, he often had no reaction.

Just as they were a little unsure of how to deal with this, several ministers knelt down.

"This humble servant deserves to die. The Su family has produced such rebellious people. I hope Your Majesty will give this humble servant a chance in consideration of my hard work and high merits. This humble servant is willing to take Your Majesty's decree and let those unfilial descendants speed up their support. After this battle is over, this humble servant will definitely give Your Majesty a proper explanation."

As they spoke, they all knelt on the ground, not daring to get up at all.

After all, such an act was a serious crime punishable by nine generations of relatives.

But Jiang Chen was indifferent to their plea.

"Tell me, if the Xiongnu leave the Shimen Pass, do you have the ability to nail all the Xiongnu here for me?"

Realizing that Jiang Chen was asking them, many Imperial Guard generals stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Your Majesty, we will definitely fight to the death here and not retreat. Unless we die, the Xiongnu will never want to cross this place."

Looking at these Imperial Guards, Jiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since they are unwilling to support us, let them stay where they are. It's best to pray that I die in battle, otherwise, I will definitely thoroughly settle accounts with these guys."

After saying that, Jiang Chen walked out of the tent and quietly looked at the last tower of Shimen Pass.

On this day, perhaps because they had lost their fighting spirit, the Xiongnu did not launch another attack on the tower.

But everyone understood that this was just accumulating for a more terrifying wave of attacks.

"These guys, they deserve to die."

Looking at the flag fluttering high on the tower, Jiang Chen inexplicably sighed with emotion.

The many Imperial Guard soldiers were desperately widening the surrounding ditches.

Only by using the ditches to force the Xiongnu to fight to the death here could they have a chance. Otherwise, once the troops were dispersed, they would only be waiting for the enemy to defeat them one by one, without any room to fight back.

Yesterday, the messenger had just set off not long before the Xiongnu had sealed the city gate. Now, all they could do was silently pray that the people on the tower could hold on for as long as possible.

Perhaps because there was no longer any room for maneuver in these matters, the atmosphere was extremely depressing at this moment.

The few ministers of the Su family, however, wished they could find a place to bury themselves, because everyone around them was looking at them with extreme hostility.

After a fierce ideological struggle, they finally chose to stand in front of Jiang Chen.

"Your Majesty, we request to fight. If the Xiongnu leave the Shimen Pass, we are willing to take the lead and charge into the enemy ranks to kill the enemy and wash away the shame brought by our clansmen this time."

Although they said this, they did not dare to be the first to rush to the front line. Saying this now was just to give themselves some room for maneuver.

Just when they thought that their approach would definitely win Jiang Chen's understanding, Jiang Chen nodded.

"Alright, I will grant your wish. When the time comes to punish the nine generations of your families, I will leave a way out for your descendants. However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty is inevitable. You will all be exiled to Lingnan then."