Six hours later, Zhao Yang, who had been delayed by the fire at Chidu, flanked the city along with 500 thousand troops, made up from the Northwestern Army and stray troops from the Southwestern Army!

　　In the meeting hall, Chu Qiao had assumed Cao Mengtong’s position. She was dressed in black, sitting upright in his chair while staring at the people in front of her. The familiar faces previously had disappeared. Over ten commanders, who sensed that the situation was not in their favor, fled with their personal armies. The Second Army’s commanders were nowhere to be seen, while the leader of the Third Army had surrendered himself to Xia, along with his army of 50,000. The general of Beishuo, Xia An, seeing that defeat was imminent, fled towards the inner mainland of Yan Bei with the defense troops of Beishuo, claiming to chase after the deserters.

　　The people sitting in this meeting hall were now commanders of middle to low rank. In the seat meant for the leader of the seventh section belonging to the eighth platoon of the Second Army sat a fat chef. Their leader had fled the battlefield along with 5,000 people. He refused to leave, trying to persuade his other comrades to defend Beishuo alongside him. However, he was nearly beaten up to death in return. Presently, all his other comrades had died, leaving him alone. When Chu Qiao informed the representatives of the various military departments to attend this meeting, there was no one else from this section other than this chef. Hence, without even removing his apron, he dashed to attending this meeting.

　　In the country’s turbulent times, where its existence was threatened, the most loyal subjects were not those high-ranked officials who lived their lives in luxury. They were occupied with trying to escape and surrender, trying to betray their compatriots in order to find their own escape route. At this time, it was the small figures who were deemed as insignificant that stepped up to shoulder the responsibility of protecting their countries with their own shoulders and brains. The happenings of this world was a mockery indeed.

　　“General, what should we do?” Yin Liangyu was a scholar in the Military Supplies Department previously. His task was to record the movement of rations. When his superior escaped, he threw his job to him, saying that he would be promoted upon assuming his post. Before Yin Liangyu had time to object, the man had vanished into thin air. Subsequently, Yin Liangyu had been promoted by over 20 ranks in two days, becoming the vice-commander of the Second Army and the second highest figure of authority in Beishuo City.

　　Chu Qiao turned around and said calmly, “Everyone can express their own views.”

　　The crowd remained silent, looking at each other carefully. They were unknown figures that fought at the frontline previously. How would they have any ideas? After a short while, an honest-looking conscript stood up. He was dressed in plain clothes that had been stained with blood, while the others were not sure if the clothes actually belonged to him.

　　Seeing that the crowd’s gaze had been fixated on himself, the man turned shy. He hesitated for a long while before gathering his courage to whisper, “I am a soldier from Xitao Village. My village elders have been injured, hence they told me to come. They wanted me to ask if General will retreat? Will you abandon us?”

　　“That’s right!” someone echoed out. “General, will you be like General Xia An? He claimed to chase the deserters, but did not come back.”

　　Chu Qiao replied calmly, “Rest assured. Even if we retreat, I’ll be the last one to step out of the gates of Beishuo.”

　　“That’s good!” Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

　　A man with a full beard on his face suddenly exclaimed, “I don’t know any tactics. Whatever General wants me to do, I will do.”

　　“Yes!”

　　“Yes, we will listen to General!”

　　Chu Qiao thought for a long while before she stood up and said, “In this case, please go back immediately to gather some troops. When dawn breaks, we will fight the Xia army to the death!”

　　Everyone in the hall obliged, seemingly more willing to follow orders than to express their opinions. In a short while, the meeting hall had quietened down. Yin Liangyu sat in his seat as if he had a question to ask.

　　“General Yi, feel free to speak your mind.”

　　Yin Liangyu thought for a long while before saying, “General, I do not know much about military warfare. However, three days ago, when General Yu Zeqi from the Third Army escaped, he burnt the majority of the ration vault. Currently, there are less than 40,000 combat-trained troops in the city. Even with the 30,000 people you brought back, there are less than 70,000 people altogether. The majority of them are conscripts. The forces from Xia are strong. Would we be able to beat them if we clashed with them head on?”

　　Chu Qiao frowned. As she was about to speak, Yin Liangyu explained hurriedly, “I don’t intend to escape. I’m…I’m just a little worried.”

　　Chu Qiao smiled and replied, “General Yi, I know that you don’t intend to escape, but you don’t need to be so pessimistic. If I am willing to stay here, I would have the confidence of winning the battle.”

　　Yin Liangyu stood up and said excitedly, “Does General have a sure-fire way of winning?”

　　“I don’t have a way to guarantee victory, but I have a piece of news that you might want to listen.”

　　“What news?”

　　“The First Army led by Your Highness, together with the Luori troops led by Lady Yu, are on the way back to reinforce us. As long as we last ten days, they will arrive.”

　　Yin Liangyu could not contain his joy and asked, “Is that true? Is that true, General?”

　　“Yes,” Chu Qiao smiled. “Go and spread the good news to everyone!”

　　Yin Liangyu dashed out of the door in excitement. Looking at his shadow fading into the distance, the smile on Chu Qiao’s face disappeared; her stoic expression taking over. No one knew that Yan Xun had gathered the First Army and the Luori troops to attack the inner mainland of Xia. Firstly, she was wary of traitors in the army. Once these words spread to Zhao Yang, although the crisis of Beishuo could be averted, Yan Xun’s route would be blocked off, throwing him into a precarious situation. This was her main worry.

　　Secondly, once the news leaked out, everyone would know that Yan Xun had betrayed Yan Bei. With the morale of the troops affected, it was meaningless to continue fighting. She had defended Chidu previously in order to protect the inner mainland of Yan Bei. If the troops of Beishuo were defeated, there would still be an escape route. However, presently, the forces in the inner mainland were non-existent, while no one defended the stretch along Luori Mountains. It was meaningless to escape inwards, because it would only lure the enemy into the mainland, allowing them to discover the absence of troops there. In other words, the entire military might of Yan Bei was gathered at Beishuo City currently. If Beishuo fell, Yan Bei would fall. Hence, she gave up Chidu and made her way to Beishuo.

　　As for Yan Xun, would he come back? Would he give up his opportunity to conquer the entire empire and exact his revenge?

　　The snow raged on outside. Chu Qiao sat on her chair as the candlelight reflected onto her shiny forehead. A belief suddenly brewed from within her heart, burning brightly inside like a fire.

　　“Yes, he will come back.”

　　As dawn broke, the Xia army approached from the horizon in endless, neat rows. Many corpses, along with the weapons they carried, lay on the battlefield as a result of the previous battles. Despite a night of heavy snowfall, the land in front of Beishuo City was still stained a bright red. The flowers, not fearing the harsh weather conditions, continued to bloom. The sunlight reflected onto the grounds of the battlefield, accentuating its reddish appearance.

　　The war had advanced at a rapid pace. Zhao Yang, having experienced defeat in the past days, lost his patience. He was no longer willing to organize his army properly nor strategize. His army of 500 thousand surged forward with gusto.

　　The 500,000 troops started to arrange themselves on the battlefield, letting out their warcries. The soldiers standing atop the city walls of Beishuo trembled in fear, feeling the ground shaking beneath them.

　　The soldiers of Beishuo turned pale with fright. As compared to Zhao Qi’s Southwestern Army which depended on outnumbering the opposition, Zhao Yang’s Northwestern Army was more seasoned and savage. They could not imagine how Chu Qiao, together with less than 10,000 troops from the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, had managed to resist them for so long. However, they had no time to think about this anymore. The Xia troops dashed towards the city, like a surge of floodwater.

　　“Kill the enemy!” the Xia troops echoed, appearing like a volcano that had just erupted.

　　“On my mark!” He Xiao stood on the city walls. The young man had grown a lot with the numerous battles he had fought. Holding his sword in his hand, he ordered in a low voice, “Get set!”

　　“Section 1, prepare to attack!”

　　“Section 2, prepare to attack!”

　　“Section 3, prepare to attack!”

　　“Section 4, prepare to attack!”

　　…

　　“Section 17, prepare to attack!”

　　The warcries sounded again and again. Presently, the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison was left with less than 3,000 people. The other 7,000 people were drafted from the conscripts of Chidu to reinforce the army. After Cao Mengtong’s death, the elite troops of the Second Army had become Chu Qiao’s personal soldiers. There were a total of 30,000 people which formed the main forces of this battle. At this moment, in front of them were big crossbows that reached up to the height of half a human being. Chu Qiao had designed them and tasked the Military Supplies Department to construct these weapons. However, after she left, no one knew how to assemble and use the weapons. Hence, all 3,000 weapons were preserved and in good condition.

　　The crossbows were squeezed into their boxes. These weapons had transcended time and were designed with the concepts of modern technology. They were able to fire 28 arrows at once for three times, and had been calibrated in a four-dimensional sense. Within a single breath, these crossbows were able to fire 84 arrows in four different directions with great force. They could be compared to a submachine gun.

　　The noisy crossbow sounds continued to echo out. As the enemies neared, their cavalry troops overtook the troops on foot and dashed to the front. Their commander shouted, “Kill the northern barbarians!” The soldiers dashed forward, shouting out to kill the enemies.

　　He Xiao was unfazed. After a while, he said firmly, “Attack!”

　　Swoosh! The sky was turned pitch-black as if a large piece of black cloth had covered it up. Arrows fired out from all 3,000 crossbows. No living thing could withstand such an assault. There was no escaping nor retreating. The scenes at Chidu City replayed itself as the giant cavalry army collapsed under the flurry of arrows. After the flurry of arrows had subsided, no one stood alive within its firing radius of 400 paces.

　　In that instant, everyone’s eyes widened. The jaws of the Xia troops dropped; no one dared to step forward, especially those from the Southwestern Army who had never witnessed such a sight. Zhao Yang, overwhelmed with rage, almost wanted to dash forward with his sword. He made his way here overnight and organized his troops in a hurried manner to begin his assault, for fear of Chu Qiao being able to construct weapons of such terrifying power before the battle started. He would never have expected himself to have fallen one step short. He was unaware that these weapons had been in Beishuo City all along. Of course, it was not just him alone, but many people would have shared his sentiment. After all, if the weapons had been there all along, how had Cao Mengtong suffered such complete defeat?

　　“Charge! Those who retreat will die!” The warcry echoed out from the Xia camp again. The heavily armored and shielded soldiers assumed their positions at the frontline, resuming their siege on the city.