A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Chen Mao placed Zhou Laodao's urging letter on the saddle and stared at the new military banner on the city wall of Pingyang in the distance for a long time.

The lieutenant whispered, "General, the King of Zhou is urging us to bypass Pingyang immediately and go to Guiping to rescue Luo Shao."

Chen Mao didn't speak.

The 30,000 Red Blade soldiers behind him had been traveling for two days and one night, and they were exhausted, their armor covered in dust.

According to the original military orders, they were supposed to advance directly to the outskirts of Pingyang, coordinate with Luo Shao from the inside, and drag Wei Zhao to his death under the city walls.

But now?

Pingyang has changed its flag.

Chen Sen is dead.

Luo Shao's 200,000-strong Qinggu Army was wiped out in half a day.

Chen Mao wasn't the kind of good-for-nothing like Luo Shao, whose hands would tremble at the mere mention of Wei Zhao's name.

He fought his way out with Zhou Laodao, witnessed the fall of the city, the ambush, and the massacre of thousands of people in a single night.

But the incident in Pingyang still sent chills down his spine.

It wasn't because Wei Zhao was good at fighting.

There are now many more people who know how to fight.

However, after Wei Zhao finished attacking Pingyang, he did not recklessly pursue Luo Shao. Instead, he cleared the grain, pacified the people, and accepted the surrendered soldiers, and was able to continue pushing towards Guiping.

This shows that Wei Zhao was not the kind of fierce general who only knew how to charge into battle.

He knows what he wants.

Grain, cities, soldiers, and the hearts of the people.

Eat it bite by bite, quickly and steadily.

"General?"

The lieutenant called out again.

Chen Mao finally looked up, his gaze darkening.

"What are you going to Guiping for?"

The lieutenant was stunned.

"Save King Luo!"

Chen Mao sneered.

"Save him? Can he hold out?"

The lieutenant's lips moved, but he didn't dare to answer.

Chen Mao crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it on the ground.

"Wei Zhao has already reached the outskirts of Guiping City. Luo Shao is now a broken jar; anyone who tries to help him will only get their hands dirty. If we send 30,000 men there, at most we can hold out with him until Wei Zhao finishes his job."

He pointed his whip at Pingyang.

"But it's different here."

The lieutenant looked in that direction.

The new military banners on the walls of Pingyang fluttered in the wind, the city gates were tightly closed, and it looked very quiet.

It's like a city that's just been taken over by its owner and hasn't even had a chance to settle in yet.

Chen Mao lowered his voice.

"Wei Zhao's main force went to Guiping, and he also took most of Liu Jingshuang, Huo Qingluan, and Zhao Qiniang with him. Pingyang has just surrendered, and the morale of the Qinggu soldiers in the city is unstable, so the Xinwu Army will definitely not leave many troops behind."

The lieutenant's eyes lit up.

"The general intends to..."

"Take back Pingyang."

Chen Mao said, word by word, "Then we will advance eastward along the official road, heading straight for the capital."

These words caused the faces of several captains to change.

Heading straight for the capital?

That's incredibly bold.

But the more I thought about it, the less I realized it wasn't just crazy talk.

Why did Wei Zhao dare to attack so quickly?

Because he felt he had a safe option.

Pingyang was stable, Huangjincheng was stable, and the capital was stable, so he was able to suppress Luo Shao and cut down his enemies all the way.

If Pingyang is lost, the official road will be blocked, and the capital will be threatened, would Wei Zhao still dare to slowly kill Luo Shao in Guiping?

He must turn back.

This is the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".

Chen Mao's heart grew hotter and hotter as he calculated.

This is what a living game looks like.

Following Luo Shao to defend Guiping was like handing your life over to someone else. Taking Pingyang meant you were truly holding the sword in your own hands.

The deputy general, however, still hesitated.

"But General, if there really are new elite troops in the city..."

Chen Mao glanced at him.

"How many elite troops does Wei Zhao have? Golden City needs men, Guiping needs men, the capital needs men. He just accepted the surrender of so many Qinggu soldiers, do you really think he can leave his most capable fighters in Pingyang to do nothing?"

After he finished speaking, he felt more at ease.

Correct.

It was impossible for Wei Zhao to have soldiers everywhere.

The White-Clad Killer is still human, not some demonic sorcerer who can conjure soldiers from beans. He's torn down the Holy Fire Cult's set of supernatural beliefs; we can't very well turn around and worship him as a god.

"Pass on the order."

Chen Mao drew his sword, the blade pointing towards the west gate of Pingyang.

"The three armies changed into light armor and abandoned heavy chariots. They arrived at the city before midnight and attacked the west gate at the third watch."

The deputy general clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"What if the Zhou king presses the matter?"

Chen Mao grinned.

"He will praise me when I take Pingyang."

It's past midnight.

When the Red Blade Army reached the moat outside the west gate of Pingyang, there were only a few lanterns on the city wall.

Chen Mao lay prone behind the earthen slope, watching the patrolling soldiers on the city wall, and a smile slowly crept onto his face.

less.

Too little.

The patrol team on the west wall consisted of only a dozen or so men, and their rotation was slow; they hadn't even set up all the crossbows behind the battlements.

As expected, the new Wu army took its main force with them.

Wei Zhao, oh Wei Zhao.

Even you sometimes miscalculate.

Chen Mao finally felt a sense of relief. What he feared most wasn't fighting a tough battle, but rather that the other side wouldn't give him a chance at all.

The opportunity is right in front of us; Pingyang is like meat delivered right to our mouths.

"superior."

He waved his hand.

Two hundred elite Red Blade Army soldiers, carrying rope hooks, rushed out of the shadows, their steps extremely low.

The rope hook flew up to the battlement and snapped shut with a few clicks.

The taxi driver at the front used both his hands and feet to climb up.

There was still no response from the city walls.

The lieutenant chuckled softly.

"General, it's done."

Chen Mao didn't laugh.

He stared at the city wall and suddenly felt something was wrong.

Everything went too smoothly.

It was as if someone had left a crack in the door for him to see.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, the lamps on the city wall suddenly went out at the same time.

The next moment, a cold female voice rang out from the darkness.

"put."

hum!

The sound of crossbow strings exploded in unison from behind the city wall.

It's not a crossbow.

It's a row.

The Red Blade Army soldiers, who had just climbed halfway up the wall, were swept away like insects, with arrows hitting their chests, faces, and arms at the same time, screaming as they fell down.

The rope hooks were chopped down by the axemen on the city wall, and those who hadn't yet climbed up tumbled into the moat.

The smile on Chen Mao's face vanished instantly.

"There's an ambush!"

The lieutenant's voice had changed.

Torches were lit one by one on the city wall.

It wasn't just a dozen or so people.

It was a densely packed new military force.

The shield bearers pressed down behind the battlements, the crossbowmen knelt on one knee, and their spears peeked out from the gaps in their shields.

In the very center, a woman wearing light armor held no sword, only a battle flag.

Huo Qingluan stood on the city wall, her gaze fixed on the Red Blade Army's formation outside the city, her face showing no trace of smugness.

She doesn't like to talk nonsense.

On the battlefield, talking nonsense can get you killed.

Before leaving Pingyang, Wei Zhao left her with only one sentence.

"If the rebel army does not go to Guiping, they will surely attack Pingyang."

At that moment, Huo Qingluan looked at the military map and asked him, "Are you sure?"

Wei Zhao smiled.

"If the opposing commander is a fool who only knows how to obey orders, he will go to Guiping to die. If he has any brains, he will come to Pingyang."

Huo Qingluan understood immediately.

Pingyang is not the rear area.

It's bait.

Wei Zhao led the army away, deliberately making Pingyang appear empty, just in case these reinforcements came crashing back on their own.

Now, they've arrived.

Chen Mao watched from outside the city, his face turning ashen.

"Let's go again!"

On the city wall, Huo Qingluan watched the second wave of the Crimson Blade Army advance, her face showing little emotion.

The captain beside her whispered, "Madam, they're going to attack again."

Huo Qingluan nodded.

"Let them attack."

What she wanted was not to guard the west wall.

Defending the wall is too easy.

Chen Mao lacked a map of Pingyang's defenses, and was unaware that Wei Zhao had changed all the outer city streets and alleys into grids for killing people before leaving.

If they only manage to repel the Red Blade Army at the foot of the wall, these 30,000 men will at most suffer a few thousand casualties and can then turn around and run away.

She doesn't want thousands.

She wants 30,000.

Therefore, Chen Mao needs to be convinced that Pingyang is a viable target.

We need to give him a little something in return.

"Hold the west wall for another half an hour."

Huo Qingluan said, "Throw it over the wall in half an hour."