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

The Black Flag Army sent men to shout messages again.

It's the same old thing.

"Hand over Fang Zhaoru!"

"Hand over this man, and the army will retreat westward!"

"If you don't hand it over, we'll raze Yangguan Pass to the ground!"

No one answered from the city wall.

Huo Qingluan stood behind the battlements, watching the black-armored cavalryman riding a white camel below the city, her sword still sheathed.

It's the third day.

Same words, same location, same white flag.

The other party was very patient.

But patience, when it comes to the battlefield, is never about reasoning.

The Black Flag Army did not attack the city; they only shouted warnings, gradually eroding the courage of the Yangguan garrison.

They shout it today, they shout it tomorrow, and they shout it the day after tomorrow.

The shouting reached the point where some people in the city started to get scared, and some people thought that giving an old man a job would bring peace.

That's the most disgusting part.

Huo Qingluan is not afraid of a head-on confrontation.

What she fears is that people will soften their hearts first.

Shang Wanqing squatted beside a crossbow, tapping the crossbow arm with her knuckles.

She didn't care what was being shouted from below the city. Shouting wouldn't kill anyone.

She only cared whether the crossbow string was damp, whether the mechanism would jam, and whether the steel-tipped arrow could pierce a camel's head from 500 paces away.

"The two crossbows on the east side need their strings changed," she said without looking up.

"Why?" the garrison captain asked.

"The sound is off."

"You can tell just by listening?"

Shang Wanqing finally looked up, her gaze fixed on him as if he were a silent block of wood.

"What else? Wait for it to break off in your face?"

The captain's face stiffened, and he immediately turned around and called for someone to change the string.

Seeing this scene, Huo Qingluan felt a little more at ease.

Yangguan Pass was dilapidated, and the garrison was not particularly elite, but they were doing what needed to be done.

The well was guarded, the city's residents were moved behind the inner wall, the wounded were gathered in the south barracks, ballistae were mounted on the wall, and crossbows were disassembled.

We should try to delay it as long as possible.

What she needs now is not to win, but to avoid chaos.

As long as things don't get chaotic, the Black Flag Army won't find a gap to exploit.

On the morning of the fourth day, the Black Flag Army outside the city made its move.

This is not a shout.

Thirty thousand cavalrymen advanced in formation at Chaoyangli.

The camel's hooves pounded on the sand, the sound carrying to the city wall.

The sound was not urgent, but heavy, like someone striking someone's chest with a wooden mallet.

The garrison soldiers' expressions changed.

Some gripped their spears tightly, some reached for their swords at their waists, some looked down at the city walls, and then at Huo Qingluan.

Huo Qingluan did not scold them.

It's normal to be afraid.

Yangguan Pass consists of only an old city wall, but outside it stands 30,000 black-armored camel soldiers. Anyone standing here would tremble.

But your hands may tremble, but your formation must not be disrupted.

She drew her sword, its tip pointing out of the city.

Listen.

The sound wasn't loud, but it drowned out the noise from the city wall.

"They have no siege equipment."

A row of soldiers looked up at her.

Huo Qingluan continued, "Without siege ladders, without battering rams, without catapults, they relied solely on camels and straight swords to try and scare the gates of Yangguan open."

She raised her sword, pointing it at the dark, imposing army below the city.

"Once the ballistae were in place, the arrows were fired in unison, and the enemy below the city became easy targets."

The soldiers' breathing slowed down a bit.

They understand what I'm saying.

No matter how tall or strong the enemy is, or how big the camel is, they cannot fly over the city wall.

As long as they are kept away from the closing gate, Yangguan can still be protected.

"Pass on the order."

Huo Qingluan said, "The ballistae are strung, and the crossbows are ready to fire. No one is allowed to shoot first without my order."

"yes!"

The order was given, and people on the city wall began to get busy.

The crossbowmen pushed their crossbows, the auxiliary soldiers carried the arrows, and the oil canisters were lifted to the back of the barricade.

Shang Wanqing personally stood next to the largest crossbow and bent down to adjust the angle.

The Black Flag Army advanced to within 500 paces and then stopped.

Huo Qingluan narrowed her eyes.

wrong.

The distance is too far for them to attack the city.

If it's just about deterrence, there's no need for a full-scale military advance.

What do they want to do?

Soon, she saw eight burly men in black armor emerge from the formation.

None of the eight men rode camels.

They carried a box and walked step by step toward the closing door.

The box was placed before the door was closed.

If we don't look, the defending troops will panic even more.

Having seen it, at least you'll know what tricks the other party is trying to play.

"Open the small door."

Huo Qingluan said, "Two shield bearers and two crossbowmen. Use ropes to pull the boxes, and don't get too close."

Soon, the small door opened a crack.

Four soldiers went out with shields on their heads, with crossbowmen following behind.

All the crossbow bolts on the city wall were aimed at the Black Flag Army.

The Black Flag Army did not move.

The four soldiers used iron hooks to grab the box and dragged it back to the pass.

Once the box was pulled through the small door, the city gate immediately closed.

A moment later, the box was carried up the city wall.

No one spoke.

Huo Qingluan walked over and personally opened the box lid.

There was a human head inside.

The head of a merchant from the Western Regions.

His eyes were open, his mouth was agape, and his face was covered in dried blood.

Next to the head was a strip of cloth with a sentence written on it in broken Chinese characters.

You're next.

The lieutenant cursed.

"These beasts!"

The soldiers around him immediately looked grim.

There was anger, and there was fear.

Because this is not simply intimidation.

This is telling Yangguan that the Black Flag Army can kill merchants, but it can also kill the garrison.

If you send one head today, you can send ten tomorrow.

If Yangguan doesn't hand over people, everyone will become something in the box.

Huo Qingluan stared at the strip of cloth for a long time.

She wasn't so angry that she lost control.

On the contrary, it's very clear.

The Black Flag Army was in a panic.

Three days of shouting didn't work, so today we'll use human lives to force her to talk.

They wanted Yangguan to be thrown into chaos first, wanted Xinwu to bow her head first, and wanted her to make a mistake first.

But they overlooked one thing.

Huo Qingluan was not one of those civil officials in the court who knew how to weigh face.

She was a general in the Wei family.

If someone offers a human head to be delivered just before closing time, then it's not a negotiation.

It's war.

She handed the strip of cloth to Shang Wanqing.

Shang Wanqing glanced at it, then looked at the human head in the box, her brows furrowing.

"Waste of boxes."

The lieutenant was stunned.

What kind of talk is that?

Huo Qingluan understood.

Shang Wanqing is not cold-blooded; she just sees things differently from others.

The enemy sent heads to frighten people.

What she saw was that their willingness to send eight men fifty paces away indicated that they felt Yangguan dared not shoot.

So brave.

Huo Qingluan looked up at the black flag army formation in the distance.

At the very front of the central army was an exceptionally tall white camel.

A person was sitting on the back of a camel.

The man wore a golden crown and a black cloak, and was taller than the cavalryman next to him.

The distance was too far to see his face clearly, but just by looking at the positions of the flag bearers and guards around him, one could tell that this person was of high status.

Perhaps not the head coach.

But it will definitely be substantial enough.

Huo Qingluan made her judgment.

Since the other party has extended their knife right to our doorstep, we have to chop it back.

"Balloon, cock it."

Shang Wanqing immediately looked up.

"Shoot what?"

Huo Qingluan raised her sword and pointed it at the white camel in the distance.

"Shoot the one riding the white camel."

Shang Wanqing's eyes lit up.

This is much more interesting than shooting at cavalrymen shouting messages.

"Distance is great, the wind is blowing to the left."

She quickly said, "One isn't stable enough."

"If one arrow isn't enough, then three."

Huo Qingluan's voice was very flat.

"If they kill them, it's their fault; if they don't, it's ours."

The lieutenant's expression changed.

"General! His Majesty has said that we are not allowed to start a war first!"

Huo Qingluan looked at him.

"They delivered the heads to the gates of Yangguan, and wrote that the next one would be us."

The lieutenant opened his mouth.

"But...but if we fire the first arrow..."

"Then put it on my tab."

Huo Qingluan interrupted him.

She knew very well the weight of that arrow.

Wei Zhao asked her to delay in order to gain the upper hand.

But dragging it out doesn't mean kneeling and taking a beating.

The Black Flag Army has already laid out its threat right before the gates close; if they don't retaliate, the defenders' courage will plummet.

Once the soldiers lose their courage, even 50,000 reinforcements can't make up for it.

Rules serve the purpose of shaping the situation.

The situation has changed, so the rules must change accordingly.

Huo Qingluan raised her sword high, her voice echoing across the city walls.

"The rule that the new martial arts school doesn't fire the first arrow has been broken today."

Everyone was looking at her.

She offered no explanation, nor did she need one.