Kill the enemy and get a wife? I'll single-handedly slaughter my way through the Northern Barba

The Northern Barbarian army's offensive showed no signs of abating.

From dawn to dusk, the attacks came in waves.

Furthermore, the inclusion of elite Blood Vanguard troops in the army resulted in heavy losses of military officers in the Zhenyuan City garrison.

Since his visit to the black market that day, Lin Feng has been guarding the city wall for two consecutive nights.

The night wind was biting, so he tightened his cloak and peered out through the gaps in the arrow slits.

Only a few scattered lights shone in the Northern Barbarian army camp, flickering in the darkness.

"Sir, why aren't you asleep yet?" Wang Tu, who was on duty for the first half of the night, approached quietly and asked in a low voice.

Lin Feng sat down again against the wall, leaning against the cold quiver of arrows: "I can't sleep, I'm afraid the Northern Barbarians will launch a night attack."

Wang Tu blinked, his tone tinged with doubt: "Sir, the Northern Barbarians are worst at night fighting. How could they dare to launch a night attack?"

Lin Feng shrugged, his tone grave: "Precisely because they are not good at night fighting, if they dare to take the risk, they can catch us off guard even more easily. Better safe than sorry, don't lose your life due to negligence on night watch."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tu immediately straightened his back and said, "Don't worry, sir! We night watchmen would never dare to doze off even for a moment."

After a brief pause, he asked curiously, "Sir, what do you think General Zhang and the others are doing right now? Are they all resting?"

Lin Feng waved his hand with his eyes closed, his tone slightly teasing: "You seem to have a lot to worry about, even meddling in the general's affairs. It's not even late afternoon yet; General Zhang is probably busy with military matters!"

The study of the General's Mansion in Zhenyuan City.

Just as Lin Feng had predicted, Zhang Liao did not rest.

However, he had no military files at hand; instead, he was meeting with someone.

There were only three people in the study—Zhang Liao, the garrison commander of Zhenyuan City; Su Mo, the military advisor of Liaodong; and Xue Nan, the messenger of the rebel army heading south.

Since Xue Nan arrived in Zhenyuan City, he has been assisting the garrison in verifying the identities of the refugees who fled south and carefully investigating whether there were any spies from the northern barbarians mixed in.

Once everything was settled, he had been eager to meet Zhang Liao.

However, due to the urgency of the war and Zhang Liao's numerous official duties, they only had this opportunity to meet tonight.

"A large number of northern barbarian soldiers and civilians have poured into Shuozhou and Fengzhou. They levy exorbitant taxes and oppress the people, and kill anyone who disobeys them. The people of the two prefectures have long suffered unspeakably."

Xue Nan's voice was filled with suppressed grief and indignation: "Wherever the Northern Barbarian army went, they burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities. They also burned down countless fields and houses, forcing the people to become homeless and displaced."

"Our righteous army is outnumbered and weak, and we are powerless to wipe out the northern barbarians throughout the territory. We can only look for opportunities to ambush and kill isolated enemies."

"Fortunately, the rebel army is gaining momentum and has quietly accumulated considerable strength in the two prefectures of Shuo and Feng."

With tears in his eyes, he gazed earnestly at Zhang Liao, his words sincere: "General Zhang, our righteous army, along with the people of Shuo and Feng prefectures and the northern part of Youzhou, all yearn for your army's northern expedition to restore our lost lands!"

Zhang Liao and Su Mo were deeply moved by these heartfelt words.

Su Mo's eyes reddened, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "The Northern Barbarians are nothing but barbarians! Their ferocity and cruelty surpass even that of the Liao Dynasty!"

He paused, then turned to Xue Nan, his tone softening.

"The imperial court has sent word that it will dispatch troops to reinforce Zhenyuan City as soon as possible."

"Rest assured, the imperial court will never give up the Northern Expedition, nor will it abandon the people in the north."

Xue Nan nodded vigorously, then looked ashamed: "Lord Su, actually, when I first arrived in Zhenyuan City, I had quite a bit of resentment towards General Zhang, thinking that the garrison was incompetent and failed to repel the northern barbarians and save the people from their suffering."

"Only after witnessing firsthand the dire situation in the city and the desperate defense by the garrison did I realize the immense hardship General Zhang faced in guarding this city. Xue Nan feels deeply ashamed!"

After saying this, he stood up and bowed deeply to Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao quickly stood up to help him up, and said in a deep voice, "There's no need for that! It is my duty, Zhang Liao, to defend the land and protect the people. It is your righteous army that has managed to survive and grow stronger despite the slaughter and oppression of the northern barbarians. That is truly remarkable."

He changed the subject, asking about the main issue: "By the way, how many troops does the rebel army have now? Where are they deployed?"

After a moment's thought, Xue Nan held up three fingers: "The main force of the rebel army is mostly scattered in Fengzhou and Shuozhou, divided into three factions, which have been secretly contacting and supporting each other. At present, the total number is about three thousand, and given some more time, it can be rapidly expanded to around five thousand."

Three thousand people...

Zhang Liao nodded slightly, his tone filled with approval: "To be able to gather three thousand righteous men in such chaotic times is truly remarkable!"

"Xue Nan, send a message to the rebel army as soon as possible, telling them to lie low and not to rush into anything."

After a pause, he dropped another piece of good news: "The imperial court issued a document today, and His Majesty has appointed the Second Prince to lead 30,000 troops, assisted by the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, to rush to the aid of Zhenyuan City."

"The imperial court values ​​your rebel army highly. Once the Second Prince arrives, you can personally meet with him and explain the situation."

Xue Nan was overjoyed upon hearing this.

The rebel army was formed at the beginning to resist the northern barbarians and cooperate with the government army to recover lost territory.

He traveled thousands of miles across two states to reach Zhenyuan City, seeking the opportunity to meet the core of the Great Qian's power.

The Second Prince's influence far surpasses that of ordinary high-ranking officials.

This arduous journey was not in vain.

"General Zhang, there is one more thing I would like to trouble you with." After discussing military affairs, Xue Nan added.

Zhang Liao smiled gently and raised his hand, saying, "Oh? Please speak freely."

Xue Nan took out a letter from her sleeve, and saw that the cover was covered with bright red handprints.

"The identity verification of the refugees has been completed, and they are temporarily housed in the abandoned military camp."

"Those of us who are able-bodied are fine, but there are more than thirty refugees, all of whom are disabled to some extent."

"They were originally subjects of our Great Qian Dynasty, but were captured by the Northern Barbarian Tartars and forced into hard labor. Any resistance was met with cruel beatings."

"We encountered them on our way back south. We managed to bring out more than forty people, but several of them couldn't hold on and died on the way. The rest were also very weak."

He presented the letter with both hands, his tone earnest: "This is their joint petition, which I wrote on their behalf. We implore the general to have mercy and allow them to move out of the military camp and find a place to settle down and recuperate."

"Once they are feeling better, they will be willing to serve Zhenyuan City."

"Whether it's transporting weapons, cleaning the streets, or assisting with patrols, we will never refuse!"

Zhang Liao felt a mix of emotions. He took the letter, looked at the dense red handprints on it, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"The fall of our nation and the suffering of our people are a testament to the incompetence of us military commanders!"

He looked up at Xue Nan and said firmly, "Go back and tell them that there are several vacant government residences on Caiyun Street. I will send someone to pick them up tomorrow and settle them there so they can rest and recuperate in peace."

Xue Nan felt a sense of relief and quickly bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, General!"

He had been worried that Zhang Liao would be unwilling to settle these people because of their disabilities, but now his worries were finally relieved.

Xue Nan recognized all thirty-odd people.

Some lost their hands and feet, while others, though possessing all their limbs, suffered lifelong disabilities due to the failure to properly treat broken bones.

He defied public opinion and led them south, but still failed to protect everyone.

Now these poor people finally have a place to go, and his wish has been fulfilled.