Repel the enemy

  Defeat the enemy and retreat.

  The black army surged out of the streets like a tide, rushing towards the people fighting at the city gate. The city gate that had just collapsed with a loud noise was quickly closed again, and the Xiling soldiers who had rushed into Jiangxia City to seize military merit were terrified to find themselves trapped in a pot, caged beasts. The black-clad soldiers rushed to their respective positions in an orderly manner, and the walls that were already filled with the gray shadows of Xiling soldiers suddenly surged with countless black-clad men, and the killing resumed.

  In the distance, the King of Zhen Nan looked at the black-clad soldiers who suddenly appeared on the city wall, his face changing color. Then he saw a flamboyant red figure appear on the city wall, majestic and unstoppable like a dragon.

  "Your Highness, that is Feng Zhiyao. The people of Chu Jing call him the Third Young Master of the Phoenix, the eldest son of the richest family in Chu Jing, who was driven out of the house since childhood. He followed Mo Xiu Yao to battlefields at a young age and became one of his most trusted confidants. His appearance here means that reinforcements from the Mohist army have arrived." The King of Zhen Nan's face turned gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "Continue the attack!"

  The war drums shook the sky, and the gray and black figures clashed in a frenzy. But the gates of Jiangxia could no longer be opened. When countless black-clad archers appeared on the city walls, their arrows shot down at the people below like a sudden rainstorm, a snow-white figure calmly walked onto the city wall. Standing beside her were Nan Hou Muyang and Zhuo Jing. Amidst the bloody rainstorm, the white robes were unexpectedly not stained with even a hint of blood. The dust-free and spotless white gave off an inexplicable coldness and sternness.

  Ye Li stood on the city wall, gazing out at the Western Hill army's commander flag in the distance behind the enemy lines. Even though she couldn't see their faces clearly, she could still sense the imposing aura and anger emanating from them. A faint cold smile played on her lips as she issued a chilly command: "Not a single soldier from Western Hill is to be left within Jiangxia City's walls! Throw all the corpses outside!"

  Zhuo Jing nodded, "Understood, I will obey."

  Ye Li turned around and smiled provocatively at a certain place in the distance.

  "Is that the King of Tingguo's queen?" asked Zhen Nan Wang in a deep voice.

  The general following him glanced at the woman in white on the city wall and hesitated for a moment before saying, "It seems to be the Queen of Dingguo indeed." In fact, not many people had seen the Queen of Dingguo before, but at this time, the woman who appeared with the Mo family army on the Jiangxia City wall was undoubtedly the Queen of Dingguo. The King of Zhenan looked for a long time and suddenly burst out laughing, saying, "Good! Interesting... Is that the Queen of Dingguo? It's said that women from East Chu are weak, but this Queen of Dingguo is even more impressive than the noblewomen of Xiling. No wonder she could scare Lingyun Princess back then." The general beside him had a stiff smile on his face and didn't know whether to agree with the King of Zhenan's praise for the Queen of Dingguo. After all, this Queen of Dingguo had ruined their plan to take Jiangxia today. Moreover, the soldiers who had charged into Jiangxia City earlier were likely to be in a precarious situation now. As a result, the casualties they suffered in this small city of Jiangxia already exceeded the total number of casualties they had suffered during this period. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the morale of the Xiling army.

  "Your Majesty, the generals who charged into the city..."

  Zhen Nan Wang waved his hand and shook his head: "It's too late, launch a full-scale attack on the city! Capture the Queen of Tingguo alive and reward her with a thousand households of marquis!"

  "Yes."

  As dusk approached, Xiling finally sounded the retreat. It would be unwise to continue such relentless attacks without knowing how many reinforcements the Mohist army had, and if the two armies were evenly matched, it was likely that both would suffer heavy losses. Moreover, this was the territory of Eastern Chu, where they could replenish their troops and supplies at any time. After reaping a harvest in Xinyang that fell short of expectations, they had to be cautious everywhere, lest they end up worse off than before. As the Western Hill army retreated swiftly with the sound of the horn, the people on the city wall let out a sigh of relief. The remaining officers and soldiers of Jiangxia City couldn't help but cheer.

  Yuan Pei, wearing a blood-stained garment that was already half dry and covered in wounds, walked up to Ye Li and said, "General Yuan Pei of the Jiangxia Garrison pays his respects to Your Highness!"

  Ye Li hastily reached out to support him and prevent him from kneeling down, saying in a deep voice: "General, you've worked hard. It's my fault for arriving late, causing you trouble."

  Yuan Pei's face changed color, and his eyes, filled with bloodshot, couldn't help but flash with suspicious tears. He said loudly: "I dare not, I am incompetent, and it was my fault that Jiangxia almost fell into the hands of Xiling. I don't dare to speak of hardship." Ye Li smiled faintly and said: "The situation is compelling, it's not your fault, General. We don't need to investigate these things again. You can take people down to rest for a while first. Let's temporarily hand over Jiangxia to us." Yuan Pei nodded heavily, and Feng Zhiyao stood behind Ye Li, smiling: "General Yuan, please be at ease, Feng San will never let the Xiling people step into Jiangxia."

  Yuan Pei didn't mince words either, cupping his hands and saying: "In that case, General Feng will have to work hard."

  After rearranging the city defense, Ye Li took his men and descended from the city wall. As soon as they stepped down from the city wall, they saw Leng Jingyu standing at the foot of the city wall with a blood-stained sword in hand, looking wooden. After thinking for a moment, Ye Li still walked forward and asked, "General Leng, are you alright?" Leng Jingyu raised his head to look at Ye Li, smiled wryly and said faintly, "A defeated general, what's good or bad about it?" Ye Li slightly raised an eyebrow and said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military, this matter is not entirely General Leng's fault. Take care of yourself, General." Leng Jingyu was stunned for a moment before saying after a while, "Thank you, Princess."

  Watching Ye Li leave, Leng Qingyu glanced at the long sword in his hand and inserted it into its scabbard. Perhaps what the Empress said was not wrong, this time's failure was not just one person's fault, but now only he could bear the responsibility of failure. Fortunately... Jiang Xia was still there, and the Mo family army had arrived.

  "General Leng." Leng Qiu Yu turned around to leave, and behind him came Nan Hou's voice.

  Nan Hou stood at the edge of the street, looking more haggard and weary than the last time they met. This war had just begun, yet many of them seemed to have aged ten years already. Nan Hou gazed at Leng Qianyu for a long while before asking in a low voice, "General Leng, do you... have any news about my son?"

  "That day the enemy launched a surprise attack, the young master led a team of cavalry to divert the enemy's attention... The entire army was annihilated... Lord Hou, I'm sorry..."

  "He understood." The Southern Duke's eyes dimmed, and he let out a soft sigh before turning to leave without even bidding farewell to Cold Qianyu. Cold Qianyu watched the Southern Duke's lonely figure disappear into the distance, feeling an inexplicable chill run down his spine. Once, he had yearned for the thrill of battle, believing it to be a place where hot blood flowed and people flocked to. But now, after suffering a defeat, he finally understood the coldness and pain that lay beneath the surface of such fervor.

  Jiangxia is a small city, and Ye Li's group temporarily stayed at General Yuan Pei's mansion. The so-called general's mansion was actually just an ordinary courtyard in Jiangxia City. With old generals like Yuan Pei Zhang Qi Lan, any one of them would not be inferior to Town Country General and Murong Shen, but because they were leaders of the Mo family army, they were suppressed indefinitely, forever unable to truly obtain the glory and honor that belonged to them.

  Because of Ye Li's arrival, Yuan Pei moved his wife and children from the main courtyard to a side house in the back courtyard. Understanding Yuan Pei's intentions and loyalty to the Ding Wang Fu, Ye Li did not refuse and casually chose a room to live in. Without time to unpack, she hastily washed up and headed to the front hall to discuss military matters with everyone. When Ye Li entered the study, it was already filled with people who were in the midst of a heated discussion. They quieted down when they saw Ye Li enter, and Yuan Pei personally came forward to invite her to take a seat at the main table. After Ye Li sat down, he again adjusted his clothes and came forward to bow solemnly: "This general thanks the princess for saving my life."

  Ye Li let out a slightly helpless sigh and nodded at Zhuo Jing beside her to help Yu Pei up.

  "Former General, let's dispense with these empty formalities, speak your mind." Yelü Li said seriously.

  Yu Pei stood up and returned to his seat, saying: "I report to the princess, now there are 300,000 troops in Xiling outside Jiangxia City, and it is obvious that Jiangxia is a must-win. The end general has received news that the two armies of the north and south also have a tendency to converge on Jiangxia. Once the three armies merge, at that time there will be nearly 500,000 troops besieging Jiangxia. Our army is brave and unmatched, but Jiangxia is small and weak, with insufficient military supplies. At that time, I'm afraid we will have no power to resist the siege of 500,000 troops. Please ask the princess to make arrangements as soon as possible."

  Ye Li nodded and said: "Thank you, General Yuan, for reminding me. As for the grain and fodder problem, there's no need to worry, the imperial court will naturally send enough over. Duke Nan, Marquis Shu's son, what do you think?"

  Nan Hou was somewhat distracted, and only raised his head when he heard Ye Li's words, smiling faintly: "The princess is right, we were born and died on the battlefield, the court and the emperor would naturally not mistreat the frontline generals."

  Ye Li glanced at Nan Hou and clearly saw the fatigue and gloom in his eyes. She didn't know what Leng Qingyu had said to him, but she could probably guess some of it, since the news about Nan Hou's son was still unclear. This couldn't help but make people have some not-so-good thoughts. With a worried look at Nan Hou, he slightly nodded towards her, indicating that he was fine.

  Although Nan Hou had made his stance clear, the expressions of the crowd didn't improve much. For so many years, the Mo Family Army's generals and soldiers had long lost hope for that person in the palace. Ye Li saw the expressions of the crowd and didn't say anything, turning back to discuss the war with the other generals instead.

  After the meeting was over, everyone dispersed. Nan Hou still sat in his own position, motionless. Ye Li originally thought that Nan Hou had something to say, but after waiting until all the people were gone, he found out that Nan Hou was just lost in thought, and called out with a slightly furrowed brow: "Lord Hou?"

  The Southern Marquis's eyes were a blur, and it seemed like he didn't come back to his senses until after a while. He still looked dazed as he gazed at Ye Li, and only spoke slowly after a long time: "Your Highness, I've disturbed you. This marquis will take his leave."

  Ye Li shook her head and said, "Lord Hou, the status of the crown prince is different. The fact that there is no news now is good news. There are still many important matters in the military that need your decision. I hope you will take care of yourself." Lord Nan forced a smile, looked up at Ye Li and said, "The old Duke once said that the princess is not an ordinary person. On this journey, I have also seen it for myself. Many things in the military still require the princess to take care of them. I...I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up."

  "Lord Hou..."

  Ye Li still wanted to say something, but Nan Hou waved his hand and said: "I'll take my leave first. The princess should also get some rest."

  Watching Nan Hou's footsteps float out of the door, Ye Li ultimately swallowed back the words on her lips, "Master Hou, slow down."