In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

"My lord, we are ready!"

The vanguard was also eager to try.

Although they also used wooden planks to block the crossbow bolts, they added a layer of stones on the planks to prevent them from burning.

While the weight is increased, it prevents crossbow bolts carrying fireballs from setting the wooden planks on fire immediately.

Dugu Meng, Liao Bing, and Shen Xiaoqi saw this situation from the city wall.

Liao Bing spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Damn it, they really came! Their wooden planks actually seem to be able to stop our crossbow bolts!"

"Hmph, let me go down and fight them! I don't care what kind of boards they're using, I'll smash them all!" Shen Xiaoqi said, holding a long spear.

Dugu Meng then understood the purpose of Shen An's decision to have her stay.

If she's not around, and Shen Xiaoqi doesn't listen to advice, then things could get dangerous.

"Xiao Qi, follow your brother's instructions! Do not go out of the city to fight them." Dugu Meng said in a commanding tone.

Shen Xiaoqi had always regarded Dugu Meng as her sister-in-law, and upon hearing this, she immediately became obedient.

"kill!"

Suddenly, a deafening battle cry arose in the distance, and Yuwen Qin's vanguard troops, pushing wooden planks studded with stones, charged forward.

According to the plan, a sufficient number of people need to be brought into the area of ​​the deflagration trap before it can be ignited.

Liao Bing immediately gave the order to fire a barrage of crossbow bolts.

When the crossbow bolt struck the wooden plank covered with stones, it did not immediately ignite a fire.

Even with a volley of crossbow bolts, some wooden planks could still be pierced. However, if the crossbow's attack power wasn't increased, they would eventually reach the city walls.

Seeing this, Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi stood up and clapped their hands.

They had some concerns before they came, but the results have been even better than they had imagined!

Yuwen Qin was well prepared this time, and all 20,000 men were equipped with connected stone planks.

He believed that with the current situation, a joint attack by 20,000 elite troops would soon be able to take down this damned Qingyang City.

To prevent any unexpected situations from occurring.

Yuwen Qin made a decisive decision and ordered all the soldiers carrying the stones and planks to go up.

We must capture Qingyang City within half an hour.

The next moment, the remaining 18,000-plus people pushed the stone planks toward Qingyang City.

The crossbow bolts fired from the city wall earlier had no effect on the vanguard.

When the next group went up, the crossbow bolts seemed to tire and were powerless against them.

Zhang Chi scoffed again, "This divine weapon is nothing special!"

"From the current perspective, they are still very impressive, but we are just a step ahead."

"If our cities were all equipped with this in the future, it would indeed greatly enhance our defenses!" Yuwen Qin said with a burning desire in his eyes.

"Look, people are already approaching the city gate!" Zhang Chi shouted excitedly, pointing.

Yuwen Qin looked up.

That's true!

"Almost there, almost there, we'll be able to take over this city soon!" Yuwen Qin's heart was pounding. He would soon be able to obtain everything left behind by the Prince of Zhennan.

He is about to become the strongest and largest force in the southeastern prefecture.

It's not impossible that they might even challenge the imperial court in the future!

"Boom, boom, boom..."

However, the next moment!

They had never heard such loud explosions before, which were constantly ringing out outside the city.

When they looked up...

They were all stunned!

After the explosion, the flames that erupted from the ground engulfed his soldiers like a giant wave.

In just a few breaths, the 20,000 people who rushed over were all engulfed in flames!

The fire seemed to spring up from underground, burning continuously and expanding its area.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

At this moment, the rapid-fire ballista attack from the city wall was at least five times more intense than before.

Soldiers attempting to escape the inferno were all struck.

Less than a hundred breaths.

All that could be heard was the sound of flames burning.

Twenty thousand people perished in the flames in an instant!

Yuwen Qin Zhangchi was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment.

All of this was so sudden, so unbelievable!

It completely exceeded their expectations.

"Yuwen Qin, you brat, have you felt the power of my Qingyang City?!" Wang Meng's penetrating voice pierced through the sea of ​​fire and reached the ears of Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi.

At that moment, the two of them seemed to awaken from a dream.

Upon further reflection, the three words "Yuwen Qin" that Wang Meng shouted came to mind.

Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi immediately understood!

Shen An had already discovered the imposter Yuwen Qin.

What they were facing was a trap set by Shen An, who had cleverly devised a scheme for them.

"Damn it! That despicable Shen An!" Yuwen Qin cursed.

Zhang Chi's face twitched uncontrollably; his pride, which belonged to him alone, was shattered in that moment.

He thought he was in control of the whole situation and that Shen An and the others were all part of his plan.

But in the end, he was deceived by Shen An!

"Yuwen Qin, keep going! We're waiting for you to conquer the city!" Wang Meng shouted.

"Zhang Chi, shall we attack or not?" Yuwen Qin asked.

Zhang Chi's face was deathly pale; the feeling of defeat was truly, truly unbearable for him!

He looked up at the still-burning sea of ​​fire, and he couldn't understand how it was done.

Even if you put dry firewood all over this place and set it on fire, there won't be flames like a giant wave, right?

"How exactly did Shen An do that?" Zhang Chi asked rhetorically.

"I'm asking you, are you going to attack or not? What business is it of yours how Shen An did it?" Yuwen Qin grabbed Zhang Chi by the collar.

"But I really want to know!"

"Damn it, Shen An must have used the method left behind by the Prince of Zhennan to win over those capable people. Once he takes this city, we'll know, right?" Yuwen Qin slapped Zhang Chi to bring him back to his senses.

"Yes, yes, Shen An relied on other people! It wasn't his own ability!"

Zhang Chi, his face ashen, regained his usual arrogance: "Without help from others, he is absolutely no match for me!"

"Then use your intelligence to analyze whether or not to attack the city?" Yuwen Qin asked.

"Let's wait until the fire is out before making a decision. The fire hasn't gone out yet, so we can't attack the city!" Zhang Chi said. "From our current position, those divine weapons can't reach us, so let's just wait!"

"Okay, then let's wait!"

Yuwen Qin sat on horseback with a gloomy face.

The fire burned for a full three hours.

As the flames gradually died down, his soldiers, numbering twenty thousand, were seen reduced to charred remains.

His anger surged higher and higher.

But more than anything, it's greed!

If he could obtain it, he could create a method that could set off a raging fire and kill tens of thousands of people.

He could absolutely dominate the world!!!

"Forget it, let's retreat." Zhang Chi made a decision after assessing the situation.

Why?

"Those stones and planks have all been burned, and our remaining soldiers have no way to resist that divine weapon."

"No! We can't give up like this!"

"Not attacking this city does not mean giving up. Don't forget, these divine weapons and the secret of the sea of ​​fire before us are all in Shen An's hands, not in this city."

We should immediately turn around and head to Nanling Prefecture, then block the road back to Qingyang City and wait for Shen An to appear.

This man is cunning. Since he has set a trap for us here, he is definitely not sincere about joining forces to attack Yuwen Bingyu.

He might already be on his way back!

"Immediately send a message by carrier pigeon to Yuwen Tianhou, instructing him to attack us from both sides, capture Shen An, and annihilate his army!" Zhang Chi said.

"Right, right, the secret lies with Shen An, not in this city. Capturing Shen An means we have everything!" Yuwen Qin finally grasped the crux of the matter: "Damn it, I was so confused by the sea of ​​fire that I didn't even think of this!"

"Sir, let's set off quickly, otherwise Shen An might escape through another exit!"

"good!"

Yuwen Qin immediately led his troops to change direction.

Watch as their army retreated.

Liao Bing and Shen Xiaoqi were overjoyed!

"Haha, they got away, they got away!"

"The direction they're heading seems to be towards Nanling Prefecture. They're trying to attack Shen An from both sides!" Dugu Meng saw through their scheme.

Liao Bing and Shen Xiaoqi's smiles froze instantly.

"I'll go help my brother right away!" Shen Xiaoqi said hurriedly.

"We can't go!"

Why?

"Your brother said that no matter what, you must not go to Nanling Prefecture. You must defend Qingyang City! Anyone who dares to disobey will be disobeying military orders and will be punished according to military law!" Emperor Dugu Meng displayed his imposing manner.

Shen Xiaoqi shrank his neck sharply. He wasn't afraid of military law, but he was afraid of his sister-in-law.

Liao Bing had never known that Dugu Meng was a woman; he only knew that she was Liu Xiaosi, Shen An's follower.

But now, his aura was so imposing that he didn't seem like a follower at all, but rather like a master, which completely intimidated him.

Seeing that they were obedient and did not cause any trouble, Dugu Meng did not relax. He prayed that Shen An would return safely, he must return safely!

Half a day later, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and in Nanling Prefecture, it was pitch black.

Yuwen Qin's remaining army had arrived at the mouth of a canyon.

This is the perfect opportunity for an ambush.

As long as that scoundrel Shen An shows up, he will definitely not be able to escape.

"Has Yuwen Tianhou replied to the message by carrier pigeon?" Yuwen Qin asked.

"His carrier pigeon just arrived at one of our previously established hiding spots. Here is his reply!" Zhang Chi handed over the letter.

Yuwen Qin approached the torch, read the contents, and immediately slapped his thigh in delight: "Great! Tianhou said he has defeated Shen An's army, and now Shen An has fled into the mountains. He has already sent a team to closely follow him, and the rest are heading this way. They will gather here and go up the mountain together to capture Shen An!"