If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The wind, carrying the chill of melting snow, swept through the muddy official road outside the south gate of Blackstone Fortress.

Five hundred border soldiers from Yunzhou City arrayed themselves a short distance outside the city, their long spears forming a forest, their armor impregnable.

Despite their long march, the troops maintained perfect formation, demonstrating the discipline of the main force of the Great Qian army.

Zhao Wu, the vanguard commander leading the army, rode a tall, blue horse with a furrowed brow.

The Black Stone Fortress before us had many collapsed sections of its outer walls, and was covered with traces of fire and weapon attacks.

Strangely, those broken gaps have been resealed with barricades and abandoned carts.

What made him even more uneasy was the garrison on the city wall.

In Zhao Wu's memory, the soldiers in remote garrisons like Black Stone Fort were mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled people who just wanted to eat and wait to die.

But the hundreds of soldiers standing behind the battlements were not only all wearing intact winter clothes and leather armor, but also stood upright with their weapons in hand.

Those gazes cast down from above carried no fear, but rather a cold indifference born from having wrought mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

These aren't cannon fodder; they're clearly a pack of hungry wolves ready to devour people at any moment.

"I am Zhao Wu, the vanguard commander of Yunzhou City!"

Zhao Wu spurred his horse forward a few steps, gathered his inner energy, and his loud voice carried over the city wall: "By order of the garrison commander, I have come to inspect the defenses of Black Stone Fortress! Those in charge on the city wall, listen up! Open the city gates immediately and let Commander Chen come out to receive the order!"

Only the wind howled on the city wall.

Xu Qingshan stood in the main seat, one hand on the fine steel sword at his waist. He looked at the Yunzhou army below the city, his face as calm as still water.

"No commander has come forward for Blackstone Fortress at the moment," Xu Qingshan replied loudly. "I am Xu Qingshan, a centurion, temporarily in charge of the fortress's defenses. Barbarian cavalry are roaming the surrounding area, and martial law has been declared throughout the city. In these extraordinary times, I regret that I cannot open the gates to welcome guests."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wu's face darkened.

"A mere centurion dares to obstruct the Yunzhou army?" Zhao Wu sneered. "Where is Commander Chen? Let him come out and answer! My army has come under orders, and you dare to turn us away? Is there some shady business going on inside this fortress?!"

"Lord Chen caught a cold a few days ago and is bedridden, unable to receive guests," Xu Qingshan replied calmly. "As for the order that the Commandant mentioned, please show the warrant and pass of the Yunzhou City garrison commander. According to the laws of the Great Qian border army, in wartime, without the commander's tiger tally, no foreign troops are allowed to enter the garrison without permission, to prevent enemy spies from infiltrating."

"You dare to treat me like a spy?!"

Zhao Wu was furious. He was a prominent figure in the Yunzhou City army, and he had never been so humiliated by a mere centurion. He immediately pulled a brass token from his waist and held it high.

"Look carefully! This is the token of the Yunzhou Vanguard Camp! Xu Qingshan, I now suspect you of plotting something treacherous. You have half an incense stick's time to open the city gate, or you will be disobeying military orders, tantamount to treason!"

A huge hat was slapped on his head.

Zhou Laoqi, standing beside Xu Qingshan, frowned and asked in a low voice, "Centurion, this guy is clearly trying to force his way in. What should we do?"

"Military tallies can be forged, and military orders can be counterfeited." Xu Qingshan didn't even glance at the token, his voice cold and stern. "Tell the brothers to hold their weapons firmly. Without my order, no one is allowed to retreat even a step."

"yes!"

The atmosphere on the city wall grew increasingly heavy.

Seeing that Xu Qingshan was unyielding, Zhao Wu, who was outside the city, began to have doubts.

The garrison commander of Yunzhou City sent him because he had not received any routine official documents from Commander Chen for a full month. In addition, there were rumors from the caravan that a major battle had taken place near Black Stone Fortress, so he was asked to bring five hundred men to see the truth of the matter.

He didn't actually have the military order to forcibly take over Blackrock Fortress; his words just now were merely an attempt to trick the city gates open by relying on his superior numbers.

Just as the situation outside the city was deadlocked, a change occurred in the inner fortress.

Although Chen Baihu was confined to a cold room in a secluded courtyard and had been disarmed, he kept his ears perked up.

He vaguely heard shouts coming from the direction of the south gate, especially the words "Zhao Wu, the vanguard commander of Yunzhou City," which rekindled a flame of hope in his dejected eyes.

Zhao Wu was his cousin's trusted and beloved general! The reinforcements for Yunzhou City have finally arrived!

"My lord, it sounds like Commander Zhao's voice outside!" Commander Wang, standing nearby, was also trembling with excitement.

"Heaven never seals off all paths! The death knell for this traitor Xu Qingshan has come!"

Chen Baihu, who had been dejected as usual, suddenly jumped up from the bed.

He rushed to the door, pounding on the locked door and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Guards! Let me out! I am the commander of Black Stone Fortress! The Yunzhou army has arrived, are you still going to follow Xu Qingshan down this dark path?!"

The two veterans guarding the gate exchanged a glance, gripped the hilts of their knives, unsure whether they should go in and cover his mouth.

"What's all the noise about?"

A clear, cool female voice rang out in the courtyard.

Xiao Hongluan, carrying a white waxwood spear, led ten soldiers into the side courtyard. She had been directing defenses in the front yard when she heard the commotion here.

"Open the door," Xiao Hongluan ordered.

When the door opened, Chen Baihu saw Xiao Hongluan. Instead of being afraid, he straightened his chest.

He thought the Yunzhou army outside gave him enough confidence.

"You lowly wench! Return my official seal at once!" Commander Chen shouted, pointing at Xiao Hongluan's nose. "Commander Zhao is right outside the gate with five hundred elite soldiers. If you lay down your weapons and kowtow to confess your crimes now, I might spare your lives. But if we wait until the city falls..."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Hongluan stepped forward and thrust her white ash wood spear forward, the shaft striking Chen Baihu in the abdomen.

"Hmm!"

As if struck by a boulder, Chen Baihu screamed, clutched his stomach, and bent over, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"You cowardly traitor who embezzles soldiers' blood, do you even deserve to talk about military regulations?" Xiao Hongluan's eyes were cold as she turned to the soldiers behind her. "Tie him up and gag him. Before the matter on the city wall is resolved, anyone who dares to make a sound will have their legs broken."

Several soldiers immediately stepped forward and, like wolves and tigers, pinned Chen Baihu and Wang Zongqi to the ground, tied them up tightly with thick hemp rope, and then stuffed rags into their mouths.

The side courtyard returned to silence. Xiao Hongluan left two people to guard it and immediately turned and rushed towards the south gate city wall.

At this moment, Zhao Wu's patience had been exhausted at the foot of the South Gate.

Having been on the battlefield for many years, he could tell that the garrison on the city wall was not to be underestimated. However, he had five hundred regular soldiers under his command. If he couldn't even open the gate of a dilapidated garrison, he would surely become a laughing stock among his colleagues when he returned.

"Archers, advance!" Zhao Wu raised his right hand, giving the order to prepare for a strong attack.

Splash!

Two hundred archers from Yunzhou immediately jogged forward from the rear of the formation, lined up in three rows sixty paces away from the city wall, and uniformly drew their bows and nocked their arrows, the chilling arrowheads pointing diagonally at the Daqian soldiers on the city wall.

"Xu Qingshan, I'm saying this one last time!" Zhao Wu's voice boomed, "Open the city gates! Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless with my arrows!"

On the city wall, facing two hundred fully drawn bows below, the soldiers of Blackrock Fortress stirred slightly.

They were not afraid of death, but being pointed at with arrows by the regular army of the Great Qian Dynasty put them under far more psychological pressure than when facing barbarians.

"What's the panic?"

Xu Qingshan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calming power.

He stood in front of the battlements, not even bending down, letting the cold wind blow the hem of his clothes.

"Zhenbei Cavalry, prepare crossbows."

With a command from Xu Qingshan.

Behind the city wall, fifty strong men stepped forward at the same time.

They were the most elite men selected from the entire fortress, their repeating crossbows already strung. The steel arrowheads gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the dim daylight.

In addition, dozens of spearmen behind them raised the captured barbarian iron shields and formed a protective wall on the city wall.

Zhao Wu's eyes twitched involuntarily when he saw dozens of short crossbows suddenly appearing on the city wall.

Those were mechanical weapons that could be activated continuously. Even the main force of the Yunzhou army had not been able to equip them all. Where did these remnants of the border garrison get them?

"Commander Zhao," Xu Qingshan said, his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on Zhao Wu below the city walls. "According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, attacking a border fortress without cause is tantamount to treason. If you dare to order an arrow to be fired today, I, Xu Qingshan, guarantee that this place below the city walls will be your burial ground."

His tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling murderous intent.

Zhao Wu's arm froze in mid-air, hesitating to swing it down.

He began to reassess the situation. Although the outer walls of Blackrock Fortress were dilapidated, the height of the walls remained.

An uphill attack is already at a disadvantage, and the enemy also has sharp, rapid-fire hidden weapons. If they launch a direct assault, even if five hundred men can take down the hundred or so men in front of them, the Yunzhou army will definitely suffer heavy casualties.

It's not worth risking the lives of dozens or even hundreds of brothers for a dubious excuse to enter the city.

Moreover, Xu Qingshan has thrown back the label of "traitor to the enemy," and once war breaks out, no one can bear the responsibility.

Time slips away, bit by bit.

The cold wind swirled mud and water, lashing against the armor of the Yunzhou soldiers.

Zhao Wu gritted his teeth and finally slowly lowered his raised arm.

"Well done, centurion! I'll remember you." Zhao Wu said coldly, suppressing his anger. "The entire army will retreat one mile and set up camp here!"

Under Zhao Wu's command, the five hundred soldiers of Yunzhou slowly retreated and set up camp on a high ground not far from the South Gate.

Watching the army slowly retreat, the soldiers of Blackstone Fortress on the city wall secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Qingshan, however, did not relax in the slightest.

He knew that Zhao Wu's retreat was only a temporary compromise. The enemy had set up camp outside the city, clearly intending to starve Black Stone Fortress to death, while simultaneously sending people back to Yunzhou City to request a general and military orders that could rightfully take over the city.

Once the order to move to Yunzhou City arrives, these five hundred men will immediately become the vanguard in the siege.

"Centurion, they're blocking the outside; we're like birds in a cage," Zhou Laoqi said, looking at the distant camp with a worried expression.

"A cage is for birds, not wolves."

Xu Qingshan turned around and walked down the city wall.

The appearance of the Yunzhou army disrupted his original plan to rest and recuperate.

But this also means that the time has come to cut the Gordian knot.

Now that both sides have already broken off relations, the hidden dangers remaining in the fortress cannot be allowed to linger until tonight.