Chapter 1 Zheng Fan returned to his tent, wanting nothing more than a bath. However, such comforts were not readily available in the army, and this was no time to be picky.

Si Niang cradled Zheng Fan's head in her lap, massaging his temples. The Blind Man had already informed her of his upcoming mission as an envoy.

As far as Si Niang was concerned, as long as he wasn't dead, everything was fine. What did it matter how they amused themselves?

Unlike traditional women, she didn't weep and plead with her master not to take such risks again.

Si Niang knew her master's temperament well. A man's true nature often revealed itself when playing with needles.

She understood that if he had a choice, her master wouldn't willingly put himself in danger. He valued his life, but military orders were simply unavoidable.

Liang Cheng entered the tent. Zheng Fan remained with his head in Si Niang's lap, a scene Liang Cheng was accustomed to.

"My lord."

Zheng Fan opened his eyes and asked, "How goes the construction of the siege equipment?"

Liang Cheng shook his head. "It's only been a day. Even with the forced labor of many Qian civilians, we've only managed to build some siege ladders and gather some weapons left behind by the Qian army."

Sieges were inherently complex endeavors, requiring extensive preparation. But with the limited time available, there was no time to prepare the necessary equipment.

Things like battering rams, siege towers, and catapults were nowhere to be seen.

The walls of Shangjing City were exceptionally high, and the number of defending soldiers was considerable. While their morale was low, they still held the advantage of defending from within the city, their psychological advantage enough to quell their initial fear.

Zheng Fan sighed. Perhaps, as Li Fusheng had said, they were fighting a battle they knew they couldn't win, simply for the sake of fighting.

They couldn't just look at the slippery city walls and then leave them just as slippery.

Even a dog, when venturing into unfamiliar territory, knew to mark its presence with a piss.

"Alright, I understand. You can go and rest as well," Zheng Fan said.

In such a situation, the impact of individuals or small groups was limited.

Even Zheng Fan and his devils could do little more than stand by and watch. If they were to do anything else, it would be to pray that Li Fusheng wouldn't send their troops to the vanguard tomorrow.

"My lord, rest. Dawn is almost here," Si Niang said.

Zheng Fan obediently closed his eyes.

Just then, a team of cavalrymen galloped from the Xifeng Ferry and entered the military camp, waking Li Fusheng, who had been trying to catch some sleep before the morning's siege.

Inside the main tent,

upon receiving the letter delivered to him,

Li Fusheng cursed loudly

and smashed the table in the tent with a palm strike.

Of course, Zheng Fan was unaware of this. When the bugle call sounded in the army, Zheng Fan hesitated between feigning illness and directly handing over command of his troops to Liang Cheng. Instead, he went straight to Li Fusheng at the central army headquarters.

Since hiding in the military camp wasn't ideal, he might as well stay by Li Fusheng's side. Zheng Fan could roughly guess Li Fusheng's martial arts skill, possibly not third-grade, but around fourth or fifth-grade. The battlefield, however, was often about efficiency and adaptability, unlike a one-on-one duel in a ring where one could fully display their skills. It was difficult to directly gauge someone's true strength.

Even seasoned veterans who hadn't reached a grade might kill more people in a chaotic battle than experts, and their chances of survival were often higher.

In any case, staying by Li Fusheng's side meant he wouldn't have to worry about that woman coming after him.

Li Fusheng had already heard about Bai Li Xianglan from Zheng Fan yesterday. Seeing Zheng Fan come to report military intelligence, Li Fusheng simply smiled.

He had sent him into the city as an envoy yesterday, almost getting him killed. He couldn't possibly ask him to take another risk today.

Besides, Zheng Fan had earned a lot of favor with Li Fusheng and the two marquises by relying on his devils' help to cheat. He should still be protected.

However, Zheng Fan was surprised to find that there was no distinction between the front and rear armies when the Zhenbei Army formed their battle formation. Everyone was on horseback.

The Zhenbei Army was also strong on foot. Generally speaking, the quality of cavalrymen was higher than that of infantrymen because the training and development costs were different.

Zheng Fan had seen the Zhenbei Army suppressing the Qian army on foot many times during their southward journey.

Zheng Fan had been studying how to fight wars. He was genuinely confused about what was happening.

Shouldn't the armored soldiers for the siege rest at this time?

Everyone was on horseback. Did they assume the walls of Shangjing City were made of tofu and plan to simply ram open the city gates on horseback?

Li Fusheng turned his head, glanced at Zheng Fan, and nodded slightly.

"..." Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan immediately pretended to understand.

Li Fusheng sighed and nodded again.

Zheng Fan also looked up and sighed regretfully, as if he felt the same way.

In reality, he understood nothing.

Liang Cheng wasn't nearby to provide a cheat sheet.

At that moment, cheers erupted on the walls of Shangjing City. First a scattered few, then a unified roar:

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Zheng Fan looked up and saw a Jin Wu banner on the city wall.

This meant the Qian Emperor had personally arrived at the city wall.

For a high-ranking official, especially the Emperor, to personally appear on the city wall greatly boosted the morale of the Qian army.

The only thing the Yan army hoped for was not to kill all the Qian soldiers defending the city through a siege but to collapse the Qian army through pressure.

There had been too many examples of the Qian army collapsing on its own. One had to have dreams.

However, the Emperor's appearance shattered this possibility.

Zheng Fan secretly turned to look at Li Fusheng and found that there was no special emotional fluctuation on his face. Li Fusheng's emotions were a bit strange today.

He wasn't as manic or arrogant as before. He seemed overly calm.

Zheng Fan had kept pets in his previous life. Today, Li Fusheng gave Zheng Fan the same feeling as when he took the studio's pet dog to have its testicles cut off.

On the city wall,

Zhao Guanjia, dressed in a dragon robe, walked forward with a smile, occasionally stopping to ask after some soldiers.

It was impossible for a superior not to know how to win people's hearts. It just depended on whether they were too lazy to do it.

The Qian soldiers cheered like they had been injected with chicken blood, wishing the Yan army would immediately attack the city so they could show the Emperor their bravery!

Bai Li Xianglan walked behind the Qian Emperor, her eyes scanning the Yan army's formation below the city from time to time.

Finally,

Zhao Guanjia walked onto the city tower and sat down on the platform, where wine and drinks had already been prepared.

This had all been arranged in advance, and it was only because they had confirmed that the Yan army had no catapults that they dared to sit here so openly.

What made Zhao Guanjia slightly dissatisfied was that

there was only tea and no chessboard.

Like an actor with extremely high standards for his acting, even the slightest flaw made him feel very unhappy.

Both sides had set up their stages,

and the actors were in place.

Now,

it was time to beat the gongs and drums.

Li Fusheng waved his arm,

and the flag soldiers behind him immediately responded and conveyed the general's order.

In the next moment,

large numbers of Qian civilians were driven forward from both sides of the Yan army's formation, holding knives, swords, and spears, wearing their original clothes.

Zheng Fan pursed his lips. The Blind Man had warned him about this situation. Using the lives of Qian people to fill the moat and consume the Qian army's defense resources was a common tactic on the battlefield.

The Qian army on the city wall immediately burst into an uproar, cursing the Yan people as shameless.

The Qian Emperor, who was sitting there watching the battle, immediately darkened his face when he saw that the people swarming toward the city were his own subjects.

"Release the arrows!"

"Release the arrows!"

The defending soldiers had no mercy. When they saw that the civilians below were already setting up siege ladders, they immediately issued the order to attack.

In an instant, arrows rained down like locusts, causing heavy casualties among the civilians below.

They instinctively wanted to retreat, but the Yan army knights patrolling the perimeter immediately drove them back.

Then,

the second wave of Qian civilians from the Jingji area was driven forward to fill the moat.

"Cough cough..."

Zheng Fan couldn't help coughing twice. These scenes were too tragic. He couldn't bear it, but he was trying to control his reaction.

The people who lived in the Jingji area and the Shangjing City were bound to have a great relationship. Many of the Qian army's defending soldiers even had family living outside the city. For a time, the shouts and curses on the city wall rose and fell. Many defending soldiers were shouting with tears in their eyes as they shot arrows downward.

Li Fusheng simply closed his eyes slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on the saddle. Yes, he was enjoying this moment. He felt no discomfort.

Although Zheng Fan knew that a general had to be cold-blooded enough, he was still a little surprised to see Li Fusheng enjoying himself so much.

This commander, who had long told him to restrain the killing intent in his heart when necessary, was not bluffing.

The next batch of Qian civilians being driven forward didn't even have swords or spears. They could only pick up the weapons from the corpses around them. The siege ladders had long been destroyed.

On the city wall, the Qian Emperor had already risen and left. He had come here to watch his army fight the Yan people, but this scene made him, the Emperor, feel very undignified.

Because the people under the city were also his subjects. This scene was tantamount to slapping his face.

After seeing the Jin Wu banner leave the city wall,

Li Fusheng smiled slightly,

as if he had just finished listening to a concert. Before, he had been immersed in the edification of art.

"Ah..."

Li Fusheng yawned,

made a backhand gesture,

and the messenger behind him quickly conveyed the order.

Then,

the Yan army began to sound the retreat.

From beginning to end, no square formation composed of Yan soldiers attempted to rush up to seize the city. Everyone watched from the sidelines, and then, when the time came, they all turned around and returned to camp together.

After returning to the camp, Li Fusheng went straight to his tent and ordered that he would not see anyone unless there was Qian military intelligence, including Zheng Fan.

Zheng Guard returned to the camp where his subordinates were located, and everyone was already cooking.

The devils sat together.

Xue San spoke first:

"What are we doing today?"

The Blind Man didn't answer, and neither did Liang Cheng. They didn't answer because they didn't know.

"He changed his mind temporarily," Zheng Fan said.

Li Fusheng, who had vowed last night to attack the city and even lead the vanguard himself, seemed extremely quiet and peaceful today.

Something must have prompted Li Fusheng's change today.

The Blind Man finally opened his mouth:

"It looks like we're going to retreat."

Liang Cheng shook his head and retorted:

"If we were going to retreat, the notice would have been issued by now, but it hasn't, which proves that the army will continue to be stationed here tomorrow."

Dinner ended in this strange atmosphere. In fact, there must have been many others who didn't understand what happened on the battlefield today.

Even the Qian generals in the city wouldn't understand what the Yan people were doing.

At night,

the Blind Man walked to Liang Cheng's tent and complained:

"I told you to come over, why did you insist on me coming over?"

Liang Cheng said:

"I was afraid it wouldn't be convenient for you."

The Blind Man and that little daughter-in-law were living in the same tent now.

"Hehe."

The curtain was lifted with telekinesis, revealing A Ming inside. The Blind Man said:

"I was also afraid it wouldn't be convenient for the two of you."

Liang Cheng and A Ming shared a tent.

The Blind Man bent over and entered the tent.

Liang Cheng picked up a water bag and prepared to pour water for the Blind Man to drink.

The Blind Man hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"No, no, I won't drink your water."

"It's water," Liang Cheng said.

"No drink, no drink."

God knows what this water bag contained before.

"What's the matter?" Liang Cheng asked.

The Blind Man took out a letter from his bosom and said:

"This is a letter sent by Wen Su Tong."

"He can actually send it out."

In this chaotic time of war, it's not easy to send a letter; the Southern Dipper is no small place.

"When I left, I left him two clever people."

Since they were from Cui Liu Fort, even if they encountered the Yan army on the way, nothing would happen.

"However, one of the two people who sent the letter was lost."

The price of this letter was really high.

This couldn't be helped. The smooth flow of information was extremely important at any time. Even if it meant sacrificing a few knights, the Blind Man felt it was worth it.

"What does the letter say?" Liang Cheng asked.

"It says something about the situation in Chuzhou City. It's basically calm. As the lord said, the Qian Emperor should have indeed issued an edict prohibiting the armies of the Three Borders from returning for aid, so Chuzhou City is still in our hands, and Wen Su Tong and the others are still steadily playing the role of traitors."

"Hmm."

"However, what I find very strange is that there was one more thing added to the end of the letter."

"Say it."

"Wen Su Tong once sent people to contact the surrounding areas to persuade the defending soldiers of other cities in Chuzhou County to surrender, but it was of little use."

"As expected."

Although Chuzhou County had been trampled by the Yan army, it was far from being conquered by simply issuing a proclamation. After all, the Qian Kingdom's Three Borders troops had not yet returned. According to the original plan, as long as they ate up the Qian Kingdom's Three Borders reinforcements, the Northern Qian officials would despair. Then, with the exception of a few staunch loyalists, the rest would either flee south or simply surrender to the Great Yan.

"Wen Su Tong is an old fox. He didn't say it explicitly, but I could see what he meant."

"No need to say it explicitly, anyway, you two, grandfather and son-in-law, are both foxes."

The Blind Man directly skipped Liang Cheng's joke

and said:

"Wen Su Tong's announcement to the entire territory of Chuzhou County is actually a kind of investigation. In the letter, he said that besides Chuzhou City, that is, the route taken by our troops, there were also several towns in the western part of Chuzhou County that had been attacked by our Yan army. The Yan army replenished supplies and food there before continuing south."

Hearing this, Liang Cheng's expression suddenly became serious. Obviously, he realized the information hidden here.

"That road, judging by the direction of the march, should be Li Bao's troops."

Liang Cheng nodded and said, "It is indeed them, so the question arises."

"Yes, the question arises. Wen Su Tong, as a surrendering person, did not dare to openly ask about our military plans and intentions, so he could only subtly mention some things in this way. However, he really helped us a lot."

"Yes, a reassurance."

A Ming, who had been dozing in the tent next to him, said somewhat dissatisfied:

"Hey, I'm the only outsider in the tent. What's the point of you guys talking in riddles?"

Liang Cheng turned to look at A Ming, pointed to the letter in the Blind Man's hand, and said:

"The meaning is very simple, that is, the twenty00,000 main force led by the Zhenbei Marquis and the Jingnan Army has disappeared."

"Disappeared?" A Ming was a little puzzled and subconsciously said, "Shouldn't they be hiding?"

"Chuzhou County is basically a plain, with few mountains. A force of 200,000, plus horses, is hundreds of thousands of living things. How could they be completely hidden?

Before, when entering Chuzhou County, Li Fusheng's troops separated from the main force, and then we knew that there was another force marching south like us, which was Li Bao's force.

But the problem is that after leaving Chuzhou County, only these two forces were fighting each other. The main force did not appear."

"Hey, didn't you say before that they were hiding there waiting to attack the Qian reinforcements?"

Liang Cheng shook his head and said:

"But there is a problem. You have to know that a force of 200,000, plus so many warhorses, consumes an astronomical amount of food and supplies every day.

And judging from Wen Su Tong's letter, the Qian army had not destroyed towns other than ours to get resources, except for us and Li Bao."

A Ming was silent.

The Blind Man licked his lips and said, "Interesting, interesting."

"It's really interesting. The Qian Emperor saw through Great Yan's plan from the beginning, so from the beginning, he issued an edict to the Three Borders prohibiting a single soldier from heading south, intending to trap the Yan cavalry group in this way.

But in the end, the only ones fighting from beginning to end were Li Fusheng's half-town troops plus Li Bao's half-town troops, which added up to probably 60,000 cavalry.

But the twenty00,000 iron cavalry main force led by Zhenbei Marquis and Jingnan Marquis

has disappeared..."