Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 259 Survival and Death
Standing on the city wall, Zhang Huaining saw Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning leading their soldiers rushing back to the city. His heart tightened, and he immediately shouted down, "Prepare to close the city gates and fire arrows!"

"Yes!" the crowd responded in unison, their voices filled with tension and determination.

At this moment, the last batch of arrows had been strapped with the final poison, and General Zhuge's troops were gradually entering firing range. Without hesitation, Zhang Huaining decisively waved his hand and gave the order: "Fire!"

In an instant, a volley of arrows rained down, like locusts swarming towards the Xilin border army. Hundreds of these arrows were coated with poison, which rapidly spread through the air as they hit the ground. Xilin soldiers were quickly poisoned; some fell from their horses and were trampled mercilessly; those who escaped were left to show signs of poisoning, weakening and writhing in agony on the ground.

Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning led their soldiers into Huainan City like a whirlwind. The soldiers below the city gate quickly worked together to close the city gate, and the huge gate slowly closed with a dull sound.

"General, someone else has been poisoned! This princess is truly ruthless; she actually used poison!" a soldier reported to General Zhuge in a panic. General Zhuge stared at the tightly closed city gate, his face so grim it seemed as if water could drip from it. Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning dismounted and quickly walked up to the city wall.

Su Qingwan stared sharply at General Zhuge and said loudly, "General Zhuge, listen carefully! This is a lesson I'm teaching you. If you insist on attacking the city, I will cover the entire city wall with poison. Sixteen years ago, the Xilin Army and the Huainan Army fought a great battle at the Lanning River. You shouldn't have forgotten that battle, right?"

It was an incredibly fierce battle, with Huainan suffering heavy losses. In the end, it was only through the desperate use of poison by Su Qingwan's brother that the Xilin army was forced into a series of defeats, suffering countless casualties. Such a tactic of using poison was always considered against the natural order and was rarely used on the battlefield. "In battle, both sides have a tacit agreement not to use poison. Your actions are utterly despicable; you dare to use poison to scheme against us!" General Zhuge roared furiously through the city gate.

Su Qingwan retorted coldly without backing down, "You tear up the ceasefire treaty so easily? What's a little poison to me? I forgot to tell you, my poison skills were personally taught to me by my elder brother. I will protect the people of Huainan at all costs, even if it goes against the will of Heaven, even if it means bearing the name of slaughter. If you launch a full-scale attack on Huainan, I won't care about any rules prohibiting poison. If keeping the agreement won't save my people, I can only send you to hell. This is merely a warning to you; I hope you'll behave yourself!"

Su Qingwan appeared stern on the surface, but was inwardly filled with anxiety. She had no habit of researching large-scale poisons, nor had she ever considered using poison on the battlefield. Although they had won that battle years ago, the devastating consequences still haunted her. Now, with the city's military supplies depleted, she was merely bluffing, hoping to buy time and that Zhang San would succeed in burning the enemy's supplies. Only by cutting off the Xilin border army's food supply could they possibly retreat. Otherwise, given the current situation, if General Zhuge were to truly fight a desperate battle, she feared she wouldn't be able to hold out for even a day.

“Princess, you are merely bluffing. In my judgment, the military supplies in Huainan cannot last three days, and you are already stretched thin. If I launch a full-scale attack, you will be powerless to resist.” General Zhuge was not intimidated by Su Qingwan’s words. “Before sunset, I will definitely launch a full-scale attack. Show me what you have to offer!” With that, he snorted coldly, turned his horse around, and returned to the camp.

"Princess, what should we do?" General Xiao Ning asked anxiously. They had long heard of General Zhuge's reputation; he was a man of his word, and once he had rested, he would surely return with a vengeance. With their current forces, how could they possibly withstand the enemy's fierce attack? "We will meet force with force, and water with earth. We are the last line of defense for Huainan. Even if we die in battle, we will die on this line!" Su Qingwan's expression was solemn, and her tone was firm. "If the Xilin army really breaches the city gates, immediately order the people to flee towards Zhongzhou."

The city gates leading to Zhongzhou remained open, allowing the people to leave at their discretion. Su Qingwan never stopped the people from evacuating, but many more chose to defend the city with them. The city's inhabitants donated usable supplies, and some even rushed to make bows and arrows, sending them in batches as soon as they were finished, regardless of the quality of the materials. These homemade bows and arrows, though not meeting military standards, were not disliked by the archers; something was better than nothing.

The sun was blazing hot. Su Qingwan, clad in light armor, was exposed to the scorching sun, sweat pouring down her face, her clothes soaked through. Yet her gaze remained fixed on the direction of the Xilin army camp, her eyes filled with expectation, yearning for a glimmer of hope. General Xiao Ning, meanwhile, was busy preparing for the next wave of defenses, leading his soldiers to hastily repair the city's fortifications.

As the sun gradually set in the west, a magnificent sunset painted the horizon. Suddenly, a sharp and rhythmic whistle rang out from afar.

Zhang Huaining's eyes lit up, and her voice trembled with excitement: "Princess, we succeeded! We succeeded! My brother and the others burned the Xilin army's supplies!"

Outside the city stretched a vast wilderness. Standing atop the city wall, one could enjoy an unobstructed view. Sure enough, thick smoke rose in the distance, and as the setting sun gradually dimmed, the flames illuminated half the sky.

He did it! Zhang San did it!
However, Su Qingwan's joy did not last long. With the supplies burned, General Zhuge, enraged, personally led his men to hunt down Zhang San and his followers. The sounds of battle could be faintly heard from the city walls. The Xilin border army numbered a full 50,000, while Su Qingwan had no idea how many bandits had gathered outside the city. Even if they were all assembled, it was estimated to be only three or four thousand. With such a vast disparity in troop strength, how could they possibly withstand the Xilin army's encirclement?
"General Xiao Ning, I want to go to their aid!" Su Qingwan's expression was grave, her tone resolute. "If Zhang San and the others are killed in battle, and the Xilin army counterattacks, with our limited forces, we won't be able to hold them off for long. While their supplies are burned and their morale is low, perhaps we can fight our way out!" They had originally prepared to fight independently; Zhang San would lead his men to burn the supplies, while they would defend the city gates, hoping to buy as much time as possible. But now, hearing the faint sounds of battle, Su Qingwan simply couldn't bring herself to stand idly by.

General Xiao Ning turned and looked at the soldiers behind him, and said loudly, "Princess, in war, morale is the most important thing. You have never abandoned your soldiers, nor have you ever abandoned the people of Huainan. We, the soldiers and people of Huainan, will never abandon you. We are willing to follow you out of the city to meet the enemy and fight to the death!"

He knew in his heart that if they all died in battle, Huainan City would be left undefended; but if they watched Zhang San and the others die without offering any assistance, they would also be unable to defend Huainan.

"We are willing to follow the princess and fight to the death!" "We will fight to the death, regardless of life or death!"

The soldiers were filled with high spirits, their shouts echoing through the sky, each one louder than the last.

Outside the city, Zhang San had gathered nearly three thousand bandits. Taking advantage of Su Qingwan drawing away General Zhuge's main force, they had already secretly ambushed the key grain and fodder areas. At this time, General Zhuge's attention was focused on the poisoned soldiers, and he had no time to attend to the rear. He never expected that Su Qingwan would use a feint to the east while sending men to burn the grain and fodder.

By the time he discovered it, all the guards at the vital grain depot had been killed, and all the grain had been set ablaze, with flames shooting into the sky.

To destroy the supplies for tens of thousands of soldiers, this army would inevitably have to clash head-on with the Xilin border troops, thus igniting a fierce battle. Zhang San didn't want to linger in the fight, but the enemy wouldn't let them off easily, and they were quickly surrounded and annihilated. General Zhuge, in his rage, became completely bloodthirsty. With their supplies cut off, morale would inevitably collapse, and his plan to launch a strong attack on Huainan would likely fail.

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!" he roared madly.

Zhang San and his band of mountain bandits were masters of mountain warfare. In this open wilderness, they had nowhere to escape, and the enemy was strong and well-equipped; breaking out would be incredibly difficult. But having decided to burn their supplies, they were prepared to fight to the death. "Brothers, the time to fight to the death has come! Every enemy soldier we kill means one less person slaughtering our people of Huainan!"

Zhang San, his eyes bloodshot with rage, showed no fear even when heavily surrounded. These bandits were all men of steel; the thought of the people of Huainan City ignited their fighting spirit, and they followed Zhang San fiercely into battle. The battlefield was littered with corpses and flowing blood; familiar brothers fell one after another.

As the sun set and night deepened, Zhang San's arms went numb from the fighting. His body was wounded by knives and spears, but he could no longer feel the pain; he was completely numb.

He knew in his heart that he was likely to die here. But as long as he had a breath left, he would take a few Xilin soldiers with him.

"Kill!"

"Brother, hold on, we're here!" General Xiao Ning's voice pierced through the encirclement of the Xilin army.

An arrow shot out like a meteor, accurately striking a Xilin soldier who was wielding a knife to stab Zhang San. The Xilin soldier was shot in the throat and died on the spot.

Zhang San turned around and saw Su Qingwan dressed in white light armor, holding a longbow, sitting gracefully on her warhorse, her gaze firm and sharp. She put away her bow and arrows, quickly drew her longsword, and with two swords in hand, their cold light flashed.

Zhang San's eyes instantly reddened, and an indescribable feeling of emotion welled up in his heart. He had resolutely left the city to burn grain for the sake of the princess and the people of Huainan, having already disregarded his own life.

From the moment Su Qingwan resolved to defend Huainan to the death and stand with her soldiers, he willingly submitted to her, acknowledged her as his lord, and was willing to die for her. But he never expected that Su Qingwan would personally come out of the city to rescue him.

"Kill! Even if we die tonight, we will perish together with them!" The battle flag of the Huainan Army fluttered in the night, right behind Su Qingwan.

Her expression was stern, and she shouted, "Push them forward!" With this command, the Huainan soldiers charged towards the Xilin army like tigers descending a mountain, and an even fiercer battle unfolded in the night…