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

The inner fortress side courtyard.

Bound by thick hemp ropes, Chen Baihu writhed on the cold blue brick floor like a fish out of water.

He heard shouts coming from the direction of the south gate. Zhao Wu's voice pierced through the wind and clearly reached his ears.

This was his only chance to survive.

Chen Baihu pressed his face against the rough threshold, ignoring the splinters that scratched his cheeks, and rubbed desperately. The rag stuffed in his mouth was already loose, and after his struggle, it finally fell to the ground.

"Ugh...cough cough!"

He was panting heavily, and then, with all his might, he rammed his shoulder against the locked wooden door.

"Commander Zhao! I'm here! Help me!"

Commander Chen roared hysterically, his voice shrill and piercing: "Xu Qingshan is plotting a rebellion! He killed the barbarian general and wants to seize power! Attack the city now!"

Wang Zongqi, who was standing nearby, also whimpered and struggled, trying to make a louder noise.

The two veterans guarding the side courtyard gate changed their expressions, immediately drew their knives, unlocked the chains, and pushed the door open to enter.

The two men stepped forward, pinned Chen Baihu down, and were about to strike his chin with the back of their knives.

"stop."

A calm voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate.

The two veterans stopped what they were doing and looked back.

Xu Qingshan had already stepped down from the city wall at some point, one hand on the hilt of his sword, and strode into the side courtyard.

The room was dimly lit. Xu Qingshan stopped in front of Chen Baihu, his face calm and his breathing rhythm was not disordered at all.

Chen Baihu looked up at the young man in front of him, and instead of being afraid, he burst into laughter.

"Xu Qingshan, are you afraid?" Commander Chen's eyes gleamed with undisguised smugness. "Five hundred elite soldiers from Yunzhou City are just outside, and Commandant Zhao is my cousin's sworn brother. If you release me now and hand over your military power, I might put in a good word for you with my cousin. But if you dare to harm a single hair on my head, the day our army breaches the city, I will tear you to pieces!"

Xu Qingshan didn't speak. He looked at Chen Baihu as if he were looking at a lifeless corpse.

The other party still doesn't understand that the rules of Blackrock Fortress changed long ago on that snowy night.

The army of Yunzhou City is indeed a threat, but leaving a venomous snake behind is the true path to death.

In the past, out of consideration for the military law of the Great Qian Dynasty, he might have had to negotiate a bit more.

But the enemy is right below the city, and the fortress cannot tolerate even a single unstable threat.

Clang.

The steel sword was drawn, and a cold, eerie blue light illuminated the dimly lit side room.

Chen Baihu's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at the gleaming blade, his smugness replaced by immense fear.

"You...you dare kill an official of the imperial court?" Commander Chen's voice trembled as he desperately shrank back. "There's a large army outside...you're insane!"

Xu Qingshan stepped forward without saying a word or hesitating.

The sword sliced ​​through the air in an extremely simple straight line, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it was swung horizontally from right to left.

puff.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the flesh and neck bone, and Chen Baihu's voice was forever stuck in his throat.

The severed head, bearing a look of terror, rolled onto the blue brick floor, its cavity gushing blood that stained half the wall red.

Wang Zongqi, who was standing nearby, witnessed this decisive and ruthless slash. He was so frightened that his eyes rolled back, a foul-smelling liquid flowed out from his body, and he fainted on the spot.

Xu Qingshan sheathed his sword.

He bent down, grabbed the head by its hair and held it in his hand, blood dripping from his wristband onto the ground.

"Clean this place up," Xu Qingshan instructed the two stunned veterans before turning and walking out of the side courtyard.

Outside the South Gate of the city.

The cold wind, mixed with mud and water, lashed against the iron armor of the Yunzhou army.

Zhao Wu sat on his horse, his patience reaching its limit. He looked up at the desolate city wall, raised his right hand high, and the two hundred archers behind him drew their bows taut once more.

"Xu Qingshan, since you remain stubbornly unrepentant, don't blame me..."

Before he could finish speaking...

At the crenellations of the city wall, a dark, round object was thrown down.

The object traced an arc in mid-air, crashed into the mud outside the city, rolled a few times, and came to a stop right in front of Zhao Wu's horse.

The dappled horse was startled and let out an uneasy neigh, taking two steps back.

Zhao Wu stared intently, his pupils suddenly contracting.

In the mud and water was the head of Chen Baihu, his eyes wide open, still showing the horror of his death.

The soldiers of Yunzhou behind them also saw the severed head on the ground, causing quite a stir in the formation.

A centurion of the seventh rank in the Great Qian Dynasty was actually beheaded in his own garrison!

Xu Qingshan leaned half his body out over the city wall.

"Commander Zhao, the person you're looking for is here." Xu Qingshan's voice was icy, drowning out the sound of the wind.

"How dare you murder a high-ranking official of the imperial court!" Zhao Wu roared in fury, drawing his sword and pointing it at the city wall. "All troops, prepare to attack! Capture these treacherous officials!"

"Murder?" Xu Qingshan asked expressionlessly. "Commander Chen was secretly colluding with the Northern Barbarians and smuggling military supplies. Last night, when the barbarians knocked on the gates, he not only kept the inner gates tightly shut but even attempted to open the south gate to escape. Every single one of these acts constitutes treason and collusion with the enemy. In accordance with the military laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, we have executed him on the spot!"

Xu Qingshan listed the charges one by one, and regardless of whether Yunzhou City believed them or not, the blame had to be firmly placed on Chen Baihu's head.

Only in this way can the remaining soldiers on the outer walls of Blackrock Fortress have a reason to live.

"Clever words and a flattering demeanor!" Zhao Wu refused to listen to any explanation.

His cousin had given him the task of taking over Blackrock Fortress. Now that the fortress's commander had been killed, if he retreated, he would have no way to explain himself when he returned.

"Fire!" Zhao Wu swung his sword.

"Zhenbei Cavalry." Xu Qingshan uttered three words in a cold voice.

Above the city wall, fifty strong men stepped forward in unison.

Fifty short crossbows with rapid fire extended from the crenellations of the city wall, their strings taut, and their gleaming steel arrows locked onto the Yunzhou army formation below.

These fifty men had just experienced a real massacre in the Black Pine Forest, and they carried the indelible stench of blood.

This chilling, murderous aura, forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, sent a strange shiver down the spines of the Yunzhou soldiers below the city walls.

They could clearly see that the weapons held by the people on the city wall were not only well-made, but also had multiple arrows in their quivers.

As soon as an arrow is fired from the city wall, the open area below will be swept by a metal storm that leaves no blind spots.

The archers of Yunzhou kept their fingers on the bowstrings, but hesitated to release them.

"Commander Zhao, the Yunzhou army is here to defend the border, not to fight a civil war." Xu Qingshan looked down at the city walls. "These fifty short crossbows can fire one hundred and fifty armor-piercing arrows in a single volley. Your five hundred vanguard battalion doesn't even have a single siege ladder. How many brothers are you prepared to sacrifice to launch a direct assault on Black Stone Fortress?"

Zhao Wu gritted his teeth, his face turning ashen.

As a seasoned general, he could naturally see the current situation clearly.

Although Blackstone Castle was dilapidated, the equipment and morale of the garrison were completely beyond his expectations. The fifty men carrying short crossbows had cold eyes as if they were looking at a group of dead men.

A direct assault could indeed take it down, but at least half of the five hundred men would be lost.

He couldn't bear the responsibility of sacrificing the lives of hundreds of elite troops from Yunzhou for the sake of a dead Commander Chen, and the Yunzhou garrison commander wouldn't allow such a pointless loss.

More importantly, Xu Qingshan had already charged Chen Baihu with treason.

If they were to forcibly attack the city, and this reached the ears of the Ministry of War, the Yunzhou army would be suspected of harboring traitors.

"Commander, a direct attack would be disadvantageous for us," the adjutant urged on his horse, whispering advice.

In the wind and snow, the two armies were locked in a stalemate across the city wall.

Xu Qingshan stood at the top of the battlement, his posture like a javelin, showing no intention of backing down.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Wu ultimately sheathed his sword.

"Xu Qingshan, your words may fool me, but they won't fool the garrison commander of Yunzhou." Zhao Wu glanced coldly at the city wall. "You killed your superior without authorization; the Yunzhou army will remember this grudge. You'd better watch yourself; the Yunzhou army will be here again soon."

"No need to see me out," Xu Qingshan replied calmly.

Zhao Wu turned his horse around and issued the order to withdraw his troops.

The five hundred soldiers from Yunzhou felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They slowly rearranged their formation and retreated southward along the muddy official road.

Only when their figures completely disappeared beyond the gray-white horizon did the soldiers on the Blackrock Fortress walls finally exhale a long breath.

The threat has been temporarily lifted.

Xu Qingshan turned around and looked at his subordinates on the city wall.

With Commander Chen dead and the Yunzhou army retreated, all discord within this border fortress has been silenced.

But Xu Qingshan knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

"Pass on the order," Xu Qingshan said in a steady and powerful voice.

"The Zhenbei Cavalry are intensifying their training, and all city defense equipment is being inspected day and night. Whether it's barbarians or the Yunzhou army, if they dare to come, we'll make sure they leave their lives behind."