Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 113 What? The war is over?

Before long, Lin Xiuming's scout cavalry arrived at the walls of Yancheng. One of the soldiers shouted, "We are the army sent by the imperial court to support the Northern King. Our general is Lin Xiuming. Please, the garrison of Yancheng, open the city gates immediately! Let us in!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers of Yancheng became extremely tense. At that moment, a captain guarding the city gate immediately said, "The Northern King is currently defending the barbarian army at the North Gate! Please wait a moment! We'll go and report first!"

Upon hearing this, one of the soldiers instantly flew into a rage. "What's the point of announcing anything? The barbarian army is here! Let us in right now! If anything happens to the Northern King, can you gatekeepers take responsibility?!"

The captain said again, "Don't rush, this is a critical time. We need to confirm your identities as members of the imperial army."

Upon hearing this, the scouts had no choice but to follow procedure, showing them the official documents so that the soldiers at the south gate could verify their identities.

Seeing that the soldiers of Yancheng seemed to be stalling for time, Lin Xiuming's expression grew increasingly grim.

At this moment, Zhou Yu, Lin Xiuming's deputy general, said to Lin Xiuming, "General, could it be that Yancheng has really been occupied by the barbarians? I get the feeling that the soldiers guarding the city don't want us to go in."

Zhou Yu was a man close to the Eighth Prince, so naturally he wanted to see the Northern King captured by the barbarians. Even if Yan City were to be captured, Zhou Yu would not feel that it was a loss for the Great Xia.

Upon hearing Zhou Yu's words, Lin Xiuming simply stared expressionlessly at the city before him, remaining silent.

He could tell from Zhou Yu's tone that Zhou Yu seemed to really want to see the Northern Prince get into trouble. Lin Xiuming wasn't stupid; he knew Zhou Yu was working for the Eighth Prince when he left the capital.

As the son of the Prime Minister, Lin Xiuming was quite familiar with the political situation at court.

At this moment, Zhou Yu continued, "General, if Yancheng is really occupied by the barbarians, then we should hurry up and retreat. If we wait for the barbarian army to catch up, I'm afraid all 70,000 of us will be wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming coldly said, "Deputy General Zhou, it seems you'd very much like to see the Northern King get into trouble?"

Zhou Yu quickly said, "General, you have misunderstood me. I just feel that if Yancheng has fallen, then there is no need to defend Beijun anymore."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming turned to look at Zhou Yu, then said seriously, "If we give up Beijun to the barbarians today, and then give up the Qi King's fiefdom to the barbarians tomorrow, are we going to give up the entire Great Xia to the barbarians the day after tomorrow?"

Seeing that Lin Xiuming was angry, Zhou Yu immediately shut up and didn't say anything more.

Lin Xiuming turned his head and looked at the city gate of Yancheng again. At this time, the flag of the Northern King was still hanging on the city gate. He guessed that Yancheng had not fallen yet, and it was very likely that, as the soldiers guarding the city said, the barbarian army was indeed already in the Wanning River Valley.

Now all we need to do is wait for the Northern King's order. Once the Northern King knows that the imperial army has arrived, he will definitely send them into Yancheng immediately to help Yancheng resist the barbarians.

With these 70,000 men, defending Yancheng should be no problem at all.

Lin Xiuming tried his best to think positively, and that was all he could think about now. If Yancheng were really occupied at this time, they would definitely not be able to retake it, and in the end, they would most likely have to flee back to Prince Qi's fiefdom in a sorry state and then return to the capital to accept punishment.

About half an hour later, the south gate of the city was finally opened.

Seeing the city gates open, Lin Xiuming finally breathed a sigh of relief; he was already prepared for battle.

At this moment, a soldier rode out of the city on horseback and said loudly, "The war against the barbarians is over. The prince has instructed me to inform you to proceed to the Wanning River Valley as soon as possible to clean up the battlefield."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming and the other soldiers were stunned.

What?

Is the war over?

How is that possible!

Could it be that Yancheng has really been occupied by the barbarians?

Is this a trap to lure someone into a snare?

Did the barbarians want to wait until their 70,000 men entered the city before annihilating them?

Just as they were thinking this, Lin Xiuming took the lead and ran straight towards the city gate.

"Soldiers, follow me into the city!"

However, Lin Xiuming wanted to personally verify whether Yancheng had already been occupied by the barbarians, even if their 70,000 people were attacked by the barbarians at that time.

Their 70,000 men originally came to the North Commandery to resist the barbarians. If they didn't even see the barbarians, and then they just ran away, does that make sense?

Seeing Lin Xiuming move, the soldiers immediately followed suit, and the army slowly entered the city after Lin Xiuming.

However, all the generals and soldiers were very vigilant. These 70,000 troops were all elite soldiers who had been on the battlefield, and they still had the necessary caution.

After entering the city, Lin Xiuming found that there were still a few ordinary people on the streets.

However, most of the people were inside their rooms, with the door half open, peeking out.

The common people naturally knew that the barbarian army was attacking Yancheng, so they dared not go out.

Just then, a messenger shouted, "Great victory in Beijun! Great victory in Yancheng! The Northern King, leading the soldiers of Beijun, has killed 200,000 barbarian soldiers and captured 100,000!"

Messengers shuttled through every street in the city, constantly announcing the outcome of the war.

Soon the imperial army that entered the city heard the messenger's message.

When the messenger announced that the Northern King had led the Northern Army to kill 200,000 soldiers and capture 100,000 barbarian soldiers, the court's soldiers were stunned.

Their first thought was that this was fake news!

Most of the soldiers in Lin Xiuming's 70,000-strong army had fought against the barbarians, and they were well aware of the barbarians' fighting strength.

Let alone an army of 300,000, even without cities, it would be difficult for their 70,000 troops to defeat the barbarian army of 50,000.

As a result, the messenger from Beijun reported that the King of Beijun had led the army of Beijun to defeat the barbarian army of 300,000.

Not only were they defeated, but they also killed 200,000 barbarian soldiers and captured 100,000 barbarian soldiers, which can be described as a complete annihilation.

is it possible?

Are you kidding me!

With so few soldiers in Beijun, it would be extremely difficult to even hold Beijun, let alone defeat the barbarian army.

If they truly possessed such strength, the imperial court wouldn't have needed to send 70,000 troops to support them.

Lin Xiuming was somewhat puzzled as to why the Northern King would have people spread such false information within the city.

This doesn't sound true.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that the Northern King could not possibly defeat the barbarian army of 300,000.

Moreover, the false information spread by the Northern King was too convincing. If you had said that you had repelled the barbarian attack, the common people would probably have believed you.

So you said you killed 200,000 barbarian soldiers and captured 100,000 of them!

Who would believe that?

There's a reason behind everything, and Lin Xiuming really wants to know what the Northern King is up to.

He then said to the soldiers behind him, "Speed ​​up the march and join up with the Northern King as soon as possible."

About 15 minutes later, Lin Xiuming led the imperial army of 70,000 men to the north gate of Yancheng.

At this moment, Lu Chen was standing on the city wall, gazing northwards.

A soldier from the Northern Commandery approached Lin Xiuming and said, "General Lin, the Northern King is waiting for you on the city wall!"

(End of this chapter)