91: Chapter 0091 The General's Wife

Not long ago.

Outside Wansong County, Xiaojia Village was one of the villages with the most land reclamation this time.

Under the cover of night, Colonel Liu Kun and Colonel Zhang Cheng were leading three thousand Militia members, lying in ambush in the low-lying fields, irrigation ditches, and haystacks at the village entrance.

"Old Zhang, are all the brothers hidden well?"

"No problem. Over a thousand men are in the village protecting the villagers, and the rest are nearby."

Colonel Liu Kun cursed, "Damn barbarians, we were busy planting winter wheat, and they just had to come at a time like this."

"They are just a bunch of spineless bastards; they can't farm themselves, so they come to steal our food and women."

Zhang Cheng's eyes turned red as he said, "My sister was taken by them. My mother cried until she went blind. Back then, I hid in the latrine and that was the only reason I survived."

"It was hard enough to become a soldier, and I never had the chance to go to the front lines. Finally, I have a chance to take revenge!"

Colonel Liu Kun patted the other man on the shoulder, "Lin Xiao said that the Militia are soldiers too. We must reclaim land and farm, but we must also be able to fight on the battlefield!"

"Good brother, no more words. Let's give them hell today!"

With fury in their eyes, the two waited quietly for a while before hearing the sound of hooves in the distance.

"They're here!"

"Don't rush, let them get closer..."

When the first batch of Northern Barbarians cavalry arrived within about fifty paces.

Colonel Liu Kun picked up the gong beside him and struck it repeatedly, "Clang! Clang! Clang!"

At the same time, tripwires were pulled up in front of the Barbarian Army!

The Barbarian Army charging at the very front were thrown into chaos; they never expected anyone to be lying in ambush at the village entrance!

After all, in the past when they came to plunder, even if the villagers knew in advance, they would prioritize fleeing for their lives. Who would dare to stay in the village and fight them?

"Archers! Fire!"

The archers and crossbowmen hiding in the dark couldn't see clearly, but since the scene was full of enemies, they just fired away!

One could only hear bursts of screams as many barbarians were hit directly.

What was fatal was that as the cavalry in front fell, the cavalry behind came up and trampled them.

Many of the Barbarian Army died directly under the iron hooves of their own men!

"Militia Battalion! Follow me and kill!"

Colonel Liu Kun and Zhang Cheng picked up their weapons and led the two thousand Militia on both sides to charge at the Barbarian Army!

Immediately after, torches lit up one by one in the village!

"Kill!"

Militia members holding swords and spears, along with many brave villagers, all followed and charged out.

"Lin Xiao said! Kill the barbarians, earn military merit, and get rewarded!"

A villager holding an iron rake swung it down onto a barbarian's head!

After killing one barbarian, he was greatly encouraged!

"Villagers! The barbarians aren't scary, we can kill them!"

Seeing that they could actually kill the Northern Barbarians cavalry, the villagers were greatly encouraged. More and more people picked up farm tools and came to fight for their lives.

If it were truly one-on-one, the Northern Barbarians cavalry would certainly have an absolute advantage.

But the problem was that it was deep in the night, pitch black, and the Barbarian Army was completely unfamiliar with the environment.

Plus, when they plundered villages, they had never encountered so many people before, so they were caught off guard!

Until they fell into a melee and slaughter, the combat power of the Barbarian Army gradually manifested.

One after another, Militia members and villagers fell, and the Militia colonels like Colonel Liu Kun and Zhang Cheng were also injured.

"Brothers! Hold on! Don't let the barbarians enter the village!"

Zhang Cheng had just finished shouting when he was slashed in the back, the wound deep enough to see the bone!

He gritted his teeth, turned around, hacked the barbarian to death, and continued the bloody battle.

Just at this moment, the sound of hooves came from the distance!

It was the Zhenbei Army cavalry led by Commander Bai Buhei, who had finally arrived!

Seeing the scene of the bloody battle ahead and the large number of fallen Barbarian Army soldiers, Commander Bai Buhei was deeply shocked!

"So... this is the use of the Militia?"

Commander Bai Buhei suddenly realized; no wonder Lin Xiao was willing to station a large number of troops in the villages.

At critical moments, with the Militia, the village would not be easily ransacked.

And as long as there were military forces around the city, if the enemy wanted to attack the city, they would have to be careful about their flanks.

This kind of flexible and mobile troop deployment left Commander Bai Buhei and other generals greatly shocked, and they admired Lin Xiao even more!

"Soldiers! Support our Militia brothers!"

Commander Bai Buhei drew his sword and killed his way into the rear of the Northern Barbarian Army.

And Colonel Liu Kun and the others from the Militia, seeing the reinforcements had arrived, were overjoyed!

"Reinforcements! Our reinforcements are here! Brothers, kill! Don't let a single barbarian dog escape!"

Blood stained the village's land red.

Similar cruel battles were also playing out in other villages in Baishui Prefecture.

Xiaoshi Village.

On the way, Lin Xiao encountered three small teams of cavalry again.

Fighting was inevitable, but these barbarians were also shrewd; once they saw they couldn't win, they would quickly retreat.

When he arrived at the village, many barbarians were looting the prepared salt.

In times of war, this was a good commodity, and it was even more valuable among the Northern Barbarians.

Fortunately, the craftsmen had run away early and hidden far away; otherwise, they would inevitably have been slaughtered.

Lin Xiao naturally couldn't let these barbarians get their way; after changing his face, he engaged in another bloody battle.

After killing dozens of the Barbarian Army, the Black Blade's unsealing progress had reached (821 / 1000).

By this time, more than half the night had passed.

"Lin Xiao! Is that Lin Xiao?!"

General Wu Jinzhe's voice came from the distance.

Lin Xiao immediately changed back to his own face and shouted: "It's me!"

General Wu Jinzhe arrived at the scene with dozens of cavalry and was deeply moved to find the ground covered in the corpses of the barbarians.

"Lin Xiao, on the way here, I saw hundreds of Barbarian Army corpses. Did you kill them all by yourself?"

"Otherwise?"

Lin Xiao laughed: "How about you all? Did you encounter the Barbarian Army?"

General Wu Jinzhe looked ashamed, "We did, and we lost over a dozen brothers... This subordinate is incompetent."

Lin Xiao then noticed that most of these Golden Scale Guard members were stained with blood, and many were injured.

"You can't be blamed, the Barbarian Army has too many people."

Lin Xiao mounted his horse and said: "Let's go, return to the city immediately. If there are no surprises, they will attack the city at dawn!"

General Wu Jinzhe was stunned, "Attack the city? General, why do you judge so?"

"Previously, Bayar lost an army of twenty thousand. Do they still dare to attack the city this time?"

Lin Xiao sighed: "It's not a question of whether they want to or not, but that they must!"

"Because the barbarians need food to survive the winter. If they can't seize enough food, many people will starve to death when they go back."

"If they were just here to seize food, why would they assemble an army of fifty thousand?"

"To put it plainly, they are making a desperate gamble. If the food seizing doesn't go smoothly, they will fight us in Baishui Prefecture to the death!"

General Wu Jinzhe and the others' expressions changed drastically. Thinking about it, it was indeed the case!

Having mobilized such a large force, how could they easily retreat? They must obtain enough benefits!

The group immediately turned around and rushed back to Baishui with Lin Xiao.

Even though he hadn't rested all night and had expended a lot of physical strength, Lin Xiao didn't dare to delay.

"Wife... you must hold on..."

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Below the city walls of Baishui, the commoners in the city were responsible for helping to transport various stones and arrows.

Because a large number of soldiers had gone outside the city to protect the villagers and food, there weren't enough hands in the city.

Xiao Qingxuan had changed into a black, cinched-waist, coarse cloth long dress, wearing a veil, with her long hair coiled up.

She and a group of civilian women were busy bandaging the wounded and boiling medicine.

"Cough, cough..."

Xiao Qingxuan was fanning several medicine stoves, her forehead covered in coal ash, and her hands had several blisters, but she didn't care.

In this night's bloody battle outside the city, although thousands of the Barbarian Army had been killed, the casualties of the Zhenbei Army were also significant.

In the tents temporarily set up in the city, five or six hundred wounded were lying down, some of whom were civilians.

"Qingxuan, let me do it. You haven't rested all night!"

Leng Bingyan had just finished applying medicine to a few wounded and turned back to see Xiao Qingxuan's disheveled appearance, her heart feeling unbearable.

She was, after all, a former monarch, and had been a delicate noblewoman since childhood; how could she suffer such hardship?

"It's fine. My husband is fighting bravely outside, and the soldiers are fighting all night without sleep. As the General's wife, I must set an example. How can I go rest?"

Xiao Qingxuan reminded her: "Why don't you go to the city wall and ask Wanying what supplies are still needed? I will arrange for someone to send them to her."

"I'm worried that at dawn, the Barbarian Army will come to attack the city, and my husband and the others won't be able to return in time. We must hold the first wave of the offensive!"

Leng Bingyan frowned, but in her heart, she understood that Xiao Qingxuan was right.

Outside Baishui, the thirty thousand Barbarian Army soldiers had a commander's flag raised; it was the meritorious old commander under the Golden Tent Khan, Marshal Suhe!

Since Marshal Suhe had come, it certainly wouldn't be just for seizing food. In all likelihood, he would attack the city at dawn!

And this night of plundering—if they could seize food, that was great, but if they couldn't, they could still exhaust the Zhenbei Army!

For the whole night, the Zhenbei Army couldn't rest at all, while those thirty thousand Barbarian Army soldiers were resting and conserving their strength!

Marshal Suhe's ambition was the entire city of Baishui!

"Alright..."

Just as Leng Bingyan was about to go to the city wall, she suddenly heard the sound of a horn from outside the northern city wall!?

She turned back abruptly and looked at Xiao Qingxuan. Both women saw a trace of unease in each other's eyes.

It was dawn! The Barbarian Army was going to attack the city!