When the night deepened, Long Hui was already dead.
His severed body was hung on the flagpole, beaten beyond recognition. The blood dripping from him gradually congealed into red icicles in the night wind.

The corpses of the other generals hung on the flagpoles were mostly in the same state.

Between the camps of the Disgruntled Army and Xia Village, flames burned, illuminating everything in the night. The thousand-odd prisoners captured by the Disgruntled Army were huddled not far from the flagpole. Naturally, they had no bonfire or tents. They could only huddle together for warmth that night, and many of those who were injured gradually froze to death. Occasionally, in the firelight, soldiers of the Disgruntled Army would drag out one or several restless prisoners, beating or hacking them to death, their screams echoing in the night.

The defending soldiers of Xia Village watched all this from afar, in silence.

Ning Yi and the others did not rest. Qin Shaoqian and some generals were discussing countermeasures in the command room. He would occasionally come out to walk around and observe. The night fire was like a flowing river in his past life. On one side of the camp, the breach in the wall that had been made the day before was still being repaired and reinforced, and from a distance, one could vaguely see what was happening in front of the Disgruntled Army camp.

Juan'er brought tea in and stood by Ning Yi's side as she came out. In recent days, the fighting around Xia Village had been fierce. She helped inside, distributing supplies, arranging the wounded, and handling various details. She was also extremely busy, and often had to take care of the lives of Ning Yi and the others. At this time, the girl also looked haggard and quite tired. Ning Yi looked at her, smiled at her, and then took off his coat to put it on her, but the girl took a step back and shook her head repeatedly.

"It's not cold, Son-in-Law, you wear it."

Her expression was firm, so Ning Yi did not force her, only saying, "Rest early."

Juan'er nodded, looking at the direction of the Disgruntled Army camp in the distance, and stood for a moment: "Son-in-Law, is it very troublesome that those people were captured?"

She did not understand the meaning and extent of the various changes that had occurred in the war so far, but she had only learned of the events of today and felt the emotions that had suddenly sunk in the camp - in an atmosphere that was already tense to the extreme, this was certainly not a good thing.

Ning Yi thought for a while, and finally smiled, "It's okay, I can handle it."

The Jurchen's invasion this time was caught off guard, but as things have developed to this day, many key points can already be seen clearly. The Battle of Bianliang has reached a critical point of life and death - and this only opportunity to determine life and death is something that everyone has struggled for bit by bit.

In a sense, Ning Yi was not a die-hard believer in the spirit of sacrificing for the country. He was extremely flexible in many things. As for how much he identified with this Wu Dynasty in his heart, it was difficult to say. However, from the initial clearing of the fields and strengthening of the walls to the later collection of defeated soldiers, the struggle for power and the looting of Camel Hump Ridge, and then to the defense of Xia Village, he came here for no other reason than: this was the only way to break the situation.

He did not understand military affairs. He had some understanding of the battlefield, but it was only half-baked. But one thing he understood was that those who looked ahead and behind, always thinking about taking shortcuts and understanding the pros and cons, could not accomplish anything. Many generals and ministers of the Wu Dynasty were like this. Knowing the difficulty and retreating was not a good habit in many things. When the Jurchens put their lives on the line, the Wu Dynasty people put their lives on the line, and they would not necessarily win, but those who were unwilling to put their lives on the line could never win.

Whether it was war or doing things, at the highest level, betting one's life was just the most basic prerequisite.

So he did everything he could do, clearing the fields and strengthening the walls, using letters to provoke Wanyan Zongwang, looting Camel Hump Ridge, and finally trapping himself here. There was no turning back. He could not pull out the hastily integrated 14,000-odd people, and things like elm wood cannons and landmines could only play their greatest role in a defensive position. If Bianliang could be defended, and here, he could stubbornly exhaust the Jurchens' reserves, then the only glimmer of hope for the Wu Dynasty might appear - at that time, negotiations could be held.

If it was for the sake of the country, Ning Yi might have left long ago. But just to do the things at hand, he stayed, because only in this way could things succeed.

But war was, after all, war. As things developed to this point, Ning Yi had also re-examined the current situation countless times. The seemingly evenly matched stalemate, the military will stretched like a string, seemed to be a deadlock, but in reality, it would not be surprising who collapsed next. And the most likely to happen was ultimately the defending soldiers of Xia Village. To what extent the morale of those 14,000-odd people could last, and even to what extent the 4,000 elite soldiers among them could last, neither Ning Yi nor Qin Shaoqian could accurately estimate. Guo Yaoshi, on the other hand, might have a clear idea.

The arrival of the ten thousand-odd people led by that general named Long Hui to rescue them, knowing that there was such a thing, might have boosted the morale of the army, but the defeat was undoubtedly a blow. Moreover, when things developed to the current situation, once the thousand-odd prisoners were driven to attack the city, with the ebb and flow of the military's morale and numbers, what Xia Village would face might be the most difficult situation.

Those with some battlefield experience could probably predict the possibilities before them. And the people in this valley, although they had grown constantly in the continuous battles, had not yet reached the point of being impeccable. As Ning Yi said when dealing with the Liangshan people at the Zhu Family Village, you may not retreat, but do the people around you have this confidence? Do you have this confidence in the people around you? Anyone who realizes this will inevitably lose morale.

Ning Yi could not explain these things clearly to Juan'er. He just looked at the girl's back as she left, his emotions complex. As with every life-and-death juncture in the past, he had overcome many obstacles, but before each obstacle, he had actually thought about whether this would be the last one...

He closed his eyes and recalled for a moment the figures of Su Tan'er, Yun Zhu, Yuan Jin'er, Xiao Chan, and the woman far away in the south named after a watermelon, as well as some things related to them. After a while, he sighed and turned back.

Below the camp, when Mao Yishan returned to the slightly warmer shed, he saw Qu Qing sharpening his knife. The others in this small shed had not yet returned.

"Damn it... I wish I could eat those people..."

The screams from the Disgruntled Army camp vaguely came over, and no one in the shed spoke. There was only the sound of sharpening knives. Mao Yishan sat there, silent for a moment, and looked at Qu Qing.

"Brother Qu, will tomorrow... be very troublesome?"

Because Qu Qing was injured, he had been lying down for the past two days, and in the time that Mao Yishan had known him, he had never seen him show such a solemn expression. At least when he wasn't fighting, he only cared about resting and sleeping soundly, and he would never sharpen his knife at night.

Qu Qing did not answer directly, but sharpened his knife quietly for a while. After a moment, he touched the blade and exhaled white air.

"I'm afraid it won't be easy, you should sharpen it too."

He threw the whetstone over.

Mao Yishan caught the stone and was stunned there for a moment. He sat on the edge of the bed and turned his head to look. Through the cracks in the shed, there seemed to be a faint moonlight in the sky.

The long night gradually passed.

When the sky began to lighten, both camps were already moving...

"Get them up—"

Accompanied by the sound of whips and shouts, warhorses galloped through the camp. The gathered thousand-odd prisoners had begun to be driven up. They had not had a drop of water since being captured yesterday, and they had been frozen all night in the cold of winter. Those who could still stand up were already extremely weak, and some lay on the ground, unable to get up again.

The corpses hanging on the flagpoles in front, after this cold night, had already frozen into miserable ice sculptures, the icicles carrying the scarlet red of flesh and blood.

"Get them up! Make them walk! Those who can't get up, give them a knife—"

The Disgruntled Army had already formed their ranks. The waving whips struck from behind the prisoners, forcing them to walk forward. Behind the camp walls of Xia Village in the distance, figures stretched out one after another, all watching this scene.

He Can's teeth chattered, and he cried.

He was one of the thousand-odd prisoners, originally a soldier under Long Hui. Yesterday, when the Disgruntled Army attacked, the fewest of Long Hui's men ran away. This had something to do with Long Hui's death battle, but the main reason was that the defeat happened too quickly. They were a step too slow and were surrounded. In the end, few of these soldiers died in battle, but many were later surrounded by the Disgruntled Army and surrendered after abandoning their weapons. After all, they were not iron men. In such a desperate environment, surrendering was also a common sense thing.

Long Hui was killed to the point of exhaustion and captured after his arm was cut off. He Can was not familiar with this superior. He only saw this superior being tied up with ropes and dragged behind a horse during the subsequent transfer. Some members of the Disgruntled Army also chased after him, beating him all the way. Later, he was tied to the flagpole and whipped to death. He couldn't explain the thoughts in his mind, but some things had become obvious. He knew that he was going to die.

He walked like this, supported by the people around him, crying as he walked past those flagpoles. When passing by Long Hui, he even glanced at him. The frozen body was extremely desolate. The people of the Disgruntled Army had beaten him to the point that the corpse was unrecognizable. His eyes had been beaten out, and his flesh was blurred. Only his mouth was still open, as if he was saying something. He glanced at it and dared not look again.

The wind howled from above the valley. The atmosphere in the valley was so tense that it was almost frozen. Tens of thousands of people were confronting each other, and the distance between the two sides was constantly shortening as the group of prisoners moved forward. In front of the Disgruntled Army's formation, Guo Yaoshi stood on his horse solemnly, waiting for the opposite side's reaction. On the platform in Xia Village, Ning Yi, Qin Shaoqian and others were also watching all this in solemnity. A small number of generals and messengers were walking through the crowd. A little further back, the archers had already nocked their final arrows.

Time seemed to be flowing past before everyone's eyes.

The change happened in a place that few people had expected.

On the entire battlefield, the area where the thousand-odd prisoners were being driven forward was the only place that seemed noisy, mainly due to the scolding of the Disgruntled Army soldiers behind them. While whipping and driving them, they also pulled out their sabers and gave a knife to the soldiers who could no longer get up from the ground. Some of these people were already dead, and some were still clinging to life, but they were all killed by this knife, and the bloody smell spread as usual.

He Can felt his hand being pulled. It was the tall companion who had been walking beside him who suddenly stopped.

After these soldiers were captured, all of their sabers and spears were confiscated, and they were not provided with water or food. But as for other measures, it was nothing more than tying their hands with a long rope. This kind of restraint had limited impact on the soldiers, but many people no longer dared to resist.

He Can heard the tall man say, "I'm not going anymore."

Then, a mournful voice came from the side in front: "Don't go forward!"

Warhorses galloped past, and then there was a flash of sabers. Someone fell, and the Disgruntled Army knights shouted, "Go! Whoever dares to stop will die—"

A large number of people were still moving forward. He Can heard the sound of arrows. The arrows shot over, and the tall man fell: "Go—"

In that roar, another voice suddenly rang out. This time, the voice had become high-pitched: "Brothers, our brothers are in front! They have fought to this point, and we can't help them. Don't hold them back—"

After this shout, chaos and slaughter began. The Disgruntled Army soldiers pushed forward from behind. Their entire formation had also begun to push forward. Some prisoners were still moving forward, some were rushing to the rear, and pulling, falling, and death all began to become frequent. He Can swayed and walked in the crowd. Not far away, the tall flagpoles and corpses were also shaking in his vision.

At the moment when the chaos occurred, Guo Yaoshi issued an order to advance. In Xia Village, Ning Yi ran a few steps and went to the observation tower by the platform. The next moment, he shouted a few words to the people below. Qin Shaoqian was slightly stunned, and then suddenly waved his hand. Not far away on his warhorse, Yue Fei raised his spear.

On the edge of the camp, Mao Yishan stood behind the camp wall, watching all the slaughter from afar. The hand holding his saber was shaking, and his teeth were clenched so hard that it hurt. A large number of prisoners had stopped moving forward in that position. Some were crying and shouting, squeezing towards the knives behind them. However, there was nothing that could be done about it. Once they got close to the camp, the archers on his side could only shoot them to death. And at this moment, he saw warhorses galloping away from the side and rear.

A sound rang out.

"The entire army forms ranks, prepare—"

"You see—" Someone shouted from the observation tower.

Countless messenger soldiers raised their flags and galloped!

"Those are our compatriots, they are being slaughtered by those bastards! What are we going to do—"

"Those cowards from the north! Come to our place! Kill our families! Steal our things! Everyone, we are here! There is no more road left—"

Mao Yishan listened to this voice and felt the movement of the entire valley. He suddenly understood something. He dragged his saber, his hand shaking, and smiled at his companion next to him with bloodshot eyes: "Hahaha... Hahaha..." That laughter was excited and strange. Perhaps this was a moment that Mao Yishan had never had in his life. Before this, there had never been a moment when he so fervently desired to kill the enemy. When those prisoners were being driven over, he knew in his heart that his side could only defend. However, at this moment, the people above had made the opposite decision.

Above, the huge banner waving in the wind had begun to move.

He Can swayed and walked towards those Disgruntled Army soldiers wielding their sabers. He was one of the survivors of this battle. When the saber cut off his arm, he fainted. At that moment, what he thought in his heart was: I am the same as General Long.

Before, on that battlefield, when everyone was surrounded by the Disgruntled Army's cavalry, the general who was covered in blood shouted desperately: "We lost, we lost... Don't be used..." He vaguely heard it.

In the moment before losing consciousness, he heard the sound of a mountain torrent and earthquake from behind.

All the wooden gates of the Xia Village camp were suddenly opened. For a moment, the soldiers pushed down the broken walls. At this moment, all of their weaknesses were being exposed. Guo Yaoshi's warhorse stopped for a moment and raised his hand, wanting to issue an order.

"Just today! Just in this place! They don't have to think about going back! Everyone—"

That voice rumbled like thunder: "We will eat them—"

On the east side of the camp, Yue Fei's spear blade shone with a dull, bloodthirsty light, stepping out of the camp gate.

In the southeast of the camp, the general named He Zhicheng stepped onto the wall. He pulled out his saber, threw away the scabbard, turned around, and said, "Kill!"

At the main gate, the shield formation lined up, and the general in front held his saber horizontally: "Prepare!"

Pang Liu'an directed his soldiers to push down the camp wall. Outside the camp wall was a pile of corpses. He stepped over the corpses. Behind him, some people went out from this breach, and some climbed over the wall, spreading out.

On the west side, Liu Chengzong shouted, "Kill—"

"Kill!!!!!!!!!"

That roar was like a flood that had suddenly burst its banks. In a moment, it shook the entire wilderness. The clouds in the sky solidified. The tens of thousands of troops confronted each other on the spreading battle line. The Ever Victorious Army hesitated for a moment, and the defending soldiers of Xia Village rushed towards this side with the force of thunder.

On this day, the more than 18,000 people in the entire valley finally completed their transformation. At least at this moment, when Mao Yishan, holding his saber tightly and with bloodshot eyes, rushed towards the enemy, what determined the outcome was something beyond the blade.

The arrows flew weakly across the sky. Soon after, the two armies collided with each other in the most barbaric posture...