At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Sir, I don't know what weapons the defenders in the city used! Our army can't hold on! Give the order to retreat immediately!"

After the one-sided massacre lasted for about a few minutes, thousands of soldiers under Pei Xingyuan's command had fallen in a pool of blood.

A panicked general hurried to Pei Xingyuan, his face full of fear.

"No retreat! No retreat!"

Pei Xingyuan, who was filled with fear and panic, suddenly exploded at this moment. Veins bulged on his forehead and he drew the sword from his waist with his right hand.

"Pass on this order, everyone, charge forward! Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"

Pei Xingyuan was close to madness at this time.

But he was very clear about the consequences of his retreat.

If he fails to capture Shuodong City today, all his conspiracies will be exposed to the court.

The mere charge that he led the army to massacre his own people was enough to get him beheaded!

same moment.

Liu, Yao, Cao Yong and others beside Pei Xingyuan were also completely panicked.

Although they rarely lead troops to fight.

But even a fool could see clearly the current situation. The 50,000-strong army they led had no hope of winning at all under the powerful weapons of the defenders in the city!

Suddenly.

Including Pei Xingyuan, several red-robed officials present recalled a legend inside and outside the court.

Legend has it that Xia Yun's personal guards are equipped with a terrifying weapon that can destroy the enemy from a distance!

They had been far away in the northwest, and when they heard the rumor, they just thought it was a false rumor.

After all, according to their knowledge, they simply don't believe that there is a weapon in this world that can destroy the enemy from hundreds of meters away!

Now they finally believe it!

But it's already too late!

"Governor, let's retreat quickly, it will be too late if we don't retreat now!"

Liu Yao, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, looked panicked and spoke in a pleading tone, as if he couldn't wait to escape from here.

"I said, no retreat!"

Pei Xingyuan gritted his teeth, his inner fear and strong unwillingness were fully reflected on his face at this moment.

"Pass on this governor's order! As long as we capture Shuodong City, all soldiers will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver!"

In a desperate situation, Pei Xingyuan directly announced a huge reward.

Including the soldiers who had died in battle, if the 50,000-strong army really broke into the city, he would need to pay out a reward of 5 million taels.

Even for Pei Xingyuan, the governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu, this was a huge expense.

as predicted.

As soon as Pei Xingyuan's reward order was issued, many soldiers who had originally been thinking of retreating regained their fighting spirit.

Under the organization of some generals, the army once again rushed towards Shuodong City like a tide.

It’s a pity that war is cruel.

Under the intensive firepower of hot weapons, the side equipped with cold weapons will never be able to turn the tide of the battle no matter how strong their will is!

Therefore, on the city wall, facing Pei Xingyuan's army that launched another charge, the elite troops led by Zhao Wuji opened fire more frequently!

In an instant, another large group of soldiers fell in a pool of blood!

……

Outskirts of Guihua City.

Under the long-term fierce attack of various siege weapons, the four walls of Guihua City have completely collapsed.

At the same time, Xia Yun finally gave the order to stop the attack.

"Pass on the Marshal's order. All siege troops immediately stop attacking!"

"Pass on the Marshal's order. All siege troops immediately stop attacking!"

When Dian Yun's order was transmitted to every corner of the battlefield, the originally extremely noisy battlefield suddenly became quiet.

After seeing this sudden scene, the rebels and Manchu troops in the city began to feel confused.

"General Zhou, what's going on outside? Why aren't those people attacking?"

In a ruin in Guihua City, a lieutenant general stuck his head out from behind a collapsed house, his eyes full of surprise.

At the same time, behind him, there was a burly figure wearing a white helmet and white armor, his face was extremely gloomy.

"What a damn bad luck!"

"Those damn guys actually let me collude with these barbarians!"

The burly man spat, his face full of humiliation and unwillingness.

But soon, he also noticed that the battlefield suddenly became extremely quiet.

"That bastard named Zhang, where are they now?"

The burly man spoke next.

"General Zhang should be in the barbarian camp now. He said he plans to join forces with the barbarians to fight."

"But General Zhou, what should we do now? If those people outside come in to attack us, should we fight or surrender?"

The lieutenant general next to the burly man turned around with a very hesitant look on his face.

The burly man's expression became even gloomier when he heard this.

His name was Zhou Sheng. He was the deputy commander of the 100,000-strong army and had nearly 40,000 personal soldiers under his command.

"What should I do? Tnd I know what to do?!"

Zhou Shen couldn't help but curse.

Ever since the army was brought to Guihua City, he has been feeling very depressed.

You must know that before this, once they encounter the barbarian troops, there will be a life-and-death fight between the two sides!

But now, both sides are squeezed under the same roof!

Although obeying orders is their duty as military personnel, the orders they have received now are to cooperate with the barbarian troops!

This was something that he could not accept no matter what.

But he is not the commander-in-chief of this army.

"Brother Zhou, how about we surrender? I heard that the Grand Marshal Xia Yun loves his soldiers like his own sons. I think the reason why he didn't order the army to attack the city all night is because he wants us to surrender."

At this time, the lieutenant general next to him changed his address and called Zhou Sheng "Brother Zhou".

surrender?

Zhou Sheng frowned deeply. He had thought about this matter before.

From last night till now, the number of soldiers who ran out of the city to surrender should be at least seven or eight thousand.

He did not stop any of this.

He knew that his brothers only wanted a way to survive. If they continued to stay in Guihua City, not only would they die in a foreign land, but they might even be disgraced after death and be branded as having colluded with the barbarian troops.

"Brother Zhou, we can't hesitate any longer. If we hesitate any longer, our brothers will really have no way to survive."

The lieutenant general continued to urge.

"But I don't even know Lord Xia, how can I vote?"

Zhou Sheng felt helpless.

Before Xia Yun took up the position of Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition of the imperial court, he had never even heard of the name Xia Yun.

In this situation, if he surrendered rashly, he didn't know how the other party would deal with him.

"Brother Zhou, how about this? Let's take a letter of surrender with us!"

Suddenly, an idea came to the lieutenant general's mind and he made a suggestion.

Certificate of application?

When Zhou Sheng heard this, he first raised his eyebrows, and then his eyes unconsciously looked towards the direction of the barbarian camp!