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Yu Chong was a fourth-rank military commander, which was a medium rank among military commanders. Only those who reached the third rank or above were considered high-ranking military commanders. If he followed the normal path, Yu Chong might not have reached the third rank in his lifetime.

After all, the garrison had very few opportunities to go to the battlefield, and there was no chance of gaining military merit and being promoted.

General Fan's promise can be said to be extremely sincere.

Yu Chong refused without a second thought: "Thank you, General Fan, for your kindness. However, I have been deeply touched by the support of the princess and have already made up my mind to stay in Nanyang County forever. When the Rouran retreat, I will lead my troops back to Nanyang County."

General Fan still did not give up, and smiled and tried to comfort her: "The princess is a heroine, with a broad mind and courage, but she is a woman after all, and a vassal king. Isn't it too unfair for a hero like General Yu to stay in Nanyang County all the time?"

Yu Chong smiled faintly and said, "I am where I am today because of the princess's kindness. Among the more than 30 garrison troops in Daliang, only the Nanyang Army can receive sufficient military pay and food and drink every month. It is our Nanyang Army that has sufficient war horses, weapons and armor, and daily training. Even in times of famine, we are the only ones who have never been hungry for a single day."

"I, Yu Chong, will never betray the princess! The same goes for the entire Nanyang Army!"

General Fan: “…”

The two trusted generals looked at each other and thought that if it were us, we would also be devoted to the princess!
Yu Chong bowed and left.

General Fan sighed to his two confidants, "The Princess of Nanyang is indeed capable and resourceful, and has firmly won over the entire Nanyang Army. It's a pity that the Princess is a woman. If she were a man, with such ability, he would sooner or later have the intention to rebel."

One of his confidants coughed and said, "These things are not our business. We should think about how to repel the Rouran cavalry."

Another nodded in agreement: "That's right. General Yu is leaving the city from the north. We must attack with all our strength at the south gate to contain the Rouran troops and provide cover for the Nanyang army."

General Fan stroked his beard and asked the two men to spread out the map and study the strategy carefully.

As for Yu Chong, after returning to the military tent, he called Li Tie and other Nanyang military generals over and discussed with them until midnight before going to bed.

The next morning, the Rouran cavalry had just arrived at the south city wall to start a war. Before they could open their mouths to curse, they were shot in the chest by an arrow from the city wall. They fell heavily from their horses and died.

A burst of loud shouts suddenly came from the city wall.

I saw a general in silver armor standing on the city wall, and it was he who shot the shocking arrow just now.

This majestic general was none other than General Fan. General Fan had led the army for many years and was also a leader in martial arts. This arrow flew over 200 meters and knocked the man who was cursing off his horse, which really boosted morale.

The soldiers who had been guarding the city wall for several days were inspired by General Fan's bravery and shouted loudly. The Rouran generals under the city were enraged, raised their weapons, and shouted a few times. They also ordered the drums to be beaten and the siege began.

The Rouran not only had powerful cavalry, but also had some methods for attacking cities, and did not just attack with force. They first used catapults to throw stones.

The border troops on the city wall did not show weakness and also fought back with stones. One hit the city wall from the bottom up, and the other hit people and horses from the top down. Naturally, the latter had a great advantage. So, after half a day of stone-throwing battle, the Rouran cavalry left behind corpses and retreated.

After the victory, the morale of the border troops was high and they were busy cleaning up the mess. The bodies of those who were unfortunately killed by stones were dragged to the side. The wounded had to apply medicine, and the bloody boulders could not be thrown away, so they were collected and saved for next time.

General Fan personally inspected the situation, comforted the wounded soldiers one by one, and ordered people to deliver white steamed buns to the city wall.

During the war, the food for the border troops was better than usual. At least all the soldiers had to be well fed, otherwise they would have no strength to fight.

The military rations sent by Nanyang County were all genuine new and good grains, unlike the grains sent by the imperial court, which were mostly old grains, often mixed with sand, soil, leaves, etc. The kitchen had good grains, and the steamed buns made from them were big and soft. The cornmeal steamed buns were fragrant, and the boiled sweet potatoes were sweet.

The soldiers sat down against the city wall, chewing their food greedily with big mouthfuls. Occasionally, someone would gossip in a low voice: "The military rations sent by Nanyang County are really good. I have been in the frontier army for so many years, and this is the first time I have eaten such good steamed buns."

"Princess Nanyang is really generous. She donated so much good food without hesitation."

"The food was delivered directly by the Nanyang Army. If it had to be transported to the capital and back again, how much of it would have been available to us?"

"Isn't it? The officials are all very rich, and they will take a lot of money from anyone they touch. They don't care about the lives of us soldiers."

"I heard from the Nanyang Army that they often ate meat when they were in Nanyang County!"

"Don't mention meat. My mouth is watering. I haven't had a bite of meat in two months."

The soldiers gossiped about the Nanyang Army with envy and hatred.

They ate well, dressed well, and everyone had the best war horses, and their weapons and armor were shining. However, they were just a frontier army, but they were far inferior to the Nanyang army.

If they had the chance, they would also like to go to Nanyang County to serve as soldiers.

Just as they had finished their meal, the sound of military drums was heard again from under the city wall.

"Let's go and teach these barbarians a lesson!" After filling their stomachs, they naturally became more courageous. The border soldiers shouted as they climbed up the city wall, drew their bows and shot arrows. With a whirring whirlwind of arrows, they shot down several Rouran cavalrymen.

No matter how good the Rouran cavalry were at archery, their attacks were still ineffective against the high and thick city walls. Only a few arrows flew over the wall, but most of them landed on the wall.

The defense of the city went very smoothly that day.

At dusk, the Rouran army called back their troops. The border troops had survived the day and shouted happily. At the same time, more than 3,000 soldiers of the Nanyang Army rode their horses and quietly left from the north gate.

The Nanyang army fought several tough battles, with more than 300 casualties. The dead were buried on the spot, and the wounded were recuperating in the city. The rest who were able to move followed Yu Chong out of the city on horseback.

After sleeping for most of the day, everyone was full of energy, and each horse's hooves were wrapped with thick cotton cloth, which could greatly reduce the sound of the horses' kicking.

Ten miles out of the city, it was dark.

Marching at night was a big taboo. Most soldiers at that time had night blindness and could not see the road clearly at night. In fact, night blindness was mostly caused by poor diet. The Nanyang Army usually had plenty of oil and water, including meat and vegetables. Basically no one had night blindness.

Torches easily attracted attention, so more than 3,000 soldiers marched on horseback under the stars.

After running all night, Yu Chong ordered everyone to stop and rest in the nearby forests during the day. The horses ate grass and drank water. The soldiers prepared ten days of dry food and ate their fill with cold water. Then they closed their eyes and rested. They continued to move forward in the evening.

On the third night, they finally sneaked outside the Rouran camp. (End of this chapter)