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"That's right... If General Xu hadn't ordered the ignition of gunpowder, scaring away so many starving people... well, it's all because of the famine."

Everyone had experienced famine, and now they were speechless when they saw the meat porridge with oil droplets floating in the bowl.

"Report!" A loud voice came from outside the camp. The messenger rode his horse at full speed, having no obstructions along the way. He entered the camp, dismounted, and knelt on one knee in front of Luo Yao and Bei Zhenting.

"General, urgent news from the front! Eighty thousand Qi troops have been spotted gathering ten miles outside Loushan City, along with ten thousand starving civilians, heading towards the city!"

Upon hearing the news, the soldiers put down their steamed buns and porridge and quickly stood up. The exercise of several days had taken effect, and they stood straight waiting for Luo Yao and Bei Zhenting to give orders.

Xu Han gathered the soldiers, while Luo Yao and Bei Zhenting discussed in the tent.

"Eighty thousand, ten thousand starving people. This battle looks like it will be the last one of the year."

"Are you okay?" Luo Yao looked worried. "It's the same when I lead troops..."

"It's okay." Bei Zhenting shook his head. Looking at the worry on Luo Yao's face, he felt warm in his heart. He leaned over and kissed the corner of Luo Yao's mouth, gently stroking one of his cheeks, his voice low and gentle.

"Yaoyao, please help me put on my armor."

There were 80,000 Qi troops and 10,000 starving civilians. They didn't expect the war to become so fierce just after they arrived for a few days.

There will always be casualties in war. Thinking of the poison in Bei Zhenting's body, Luo Yao felt empty in his heart, and he was slow in putting armor on Bei Zhenting.

"It's okay, just wait for me to get it..." Bei Zhenting coughed twice before he finished speaking.

Luo Yao froze in a state of shock, tears welling up in his eyes. He quickly removed the armor from Bei Zhenting. "You're lying! You're not well yet!"

Bei Zhenting looked at him helplessly, "Although he hasn't fully recovered yet, but..."

"No!" Luo Yao threw his armor to the ground. "Fight me! If this is the last battle of the year, don't forget the news from a few days ago. The northwest is also very dangerous!" Luo Yao picked up the armor and put it on himself.

"Yaoyao!"

Bei Zhenting was furious and tried to stop Luo Yao, but Luo Yao turned away and walked out of the tent. "If the prince has truly recovered his strength, would you dare to challenge Li Xian?!"

Luo Yao glanced at Li Xian, who was chewing a steamed bun on the side. When he heard the young master calling him, Li Xian swallowed the bun in three or two bites and came over, "Young master, you called me?"

Luo Yao: "Axian, the prince said he wants to fight you."

Li Xian glanced at Bei Zhenting, who had a dark face, in confusion.

Bei Zhenting watched Luo Yao put on his armor and realized that Luo Yao was worried about him. He felt a little uncomfortable. "No need to compete. The king and the princess will go together."

Luo Yao tilted his head and looked at Bei Zhenting. He wanted to say something, but when he saw the determination on Bei Zhenting's face, he swallowed the words back.

No matter who goes to the battlefield, the one who stays behind to wait cannot be at ease. Since there must be someone who is worried, why not go into battle together and fight the enemy? Advance and retreat together?

The scenery of the north is covered with ice for thousands of miles. The further north you go, the colder it gets. You don't have to go out of the city. Standing on the city wall of Loushan City, you can see the scenery of thousands of miles of snow covering the territory of Qi from afar.

Five miles outside Loushan City, there were 100,000 soldiers from Dacheng densely packed. Luo Yao stood beside Bei Zhenting. The two stood quietly on the city wall for a while and then rode out of the city.

In the eighth year of Mingxu, on the first day of the winter month, the wind was biting cold. A fierce battle broke out between the 80,000 cavalry of the Qi army and the 100,000 elite soldiers of the Dacheng Dynasty in the Sulin wilderness outside Loushan City.

After three days of fierce fighting, the Qi army, which suffered heavy losses, set up camp on the spot.

The fighting paused for a moment, but the Dacheng military camp was completely silent, and morale had plummeted to its lowest point.

The Qi army used the hungry people on the front line as shields and advanced dozens of miles of territory, and those innocent people became victims on this cruel battlefield.

Faced with hungry civilians, if the soldiers did not rise up to resist, they would have to face ruthless slaughter.

The tragic scenes cast a heavy shadow over the hearts of many soldiers in the Dacheng Army, and their spirits were almost broken.

Before the army, General Zhenbei stood tall on his horse, his voice resonating like a bell, resoundingly deafening: "Soldiers, on the battlefield, it's either you die or I die. I know you are filled with doubts, but as soldiers, we have the heavy responsibility of defending our country."

"For the past three days, the Qi army has repeatedly approached our Dacheng territory. If they retreat another ten miles, Loushan City will be in imminent danger! Then, the people of Dacheng will suffer devastating losses, their families destroyed! Soldiers, how will you face this?! Are you just going to wait for the enemy to come to our homes, slaughter our loved ones, and rob our food?!"

Such passionate words made the Dacheng soldiers feel sad and angry.

In the past three days, they had no intention of massacring civilians, and most of their gunpowder was used for intimidation. However, after the Qi army knew that they would not easily attack civilians, they used the civilians to advance dozens of miles. The battlefield, which was originally fifty miles away, now directly approached Loushan City.

Thinking of the laughter and joy in Loushan City when they were leaving the city, the soldiers were filled with anger. They all looked up with determined eyes. For a moment, shouts of "Protect our mountains and rivers, protect our people!" rang out one after another.

After making a speech to stabilize the morale of the troops and arranging the next battle arrangements, Bei Zhenting returned to the tent tiredly.

At the door of the tent, Luo Yao stared at the gray sky of Qi State in a daze.

"Yaoyao is looking at the snow-capped mountain? That's the highest mountain on the border between Qi and Daqi. It's covered with ice and snow all year round. Now in winter, the snow covers thousands of miles."

"Oh." Luo Yao nodded, and the two fell into silence.

How could he have no reaction to the killing of tens of thousands of civilians? Even Bei Zhenting, a battle-hardened man known as the Yama Lord who could stop children crying at night, couldn't remain indifferent.

It cannot be said that the people of Qi are shameless, they are just cruel to themselves.

In order to have something to eat and to avoid starving or freezing to death, the whole country worked together, like a tough rope tightly twisted together.

This may be the powerful force unleashed by the so-called patriotic united front!

If they didn't fight, hunger and cold awaited them; but if they wanted to eat and wear warm clothes, they had to fight. Anyone who dared to stand in their way would be ruthlessly eliminated. The people willingly used their own flesh and blood as shields, protecting the young children and elderly parents behind them.

There is no right or wrong. Ultimately, this is just a war of nothingness.

"Hey, Your Majesty, why do you think the Qi army suddenly stopped and set up camp?"

"Maybe the Fourth Prince has a change of heart... Who knows..." Bei Zhenting sighed.

It was quiet for a while.

"I really don't understand why we have to fight a war!" Luo Yao suddenly broke down, his voice a little loud, his eyes red as he shouted.

Bei Zhenting gently pulled him into his arms.

I don't understand what benefits war can bring. Why are people always so keen on fighting and killing? Is peace and harmony so difficult to achieve?

Perhaps this war could have been prevented, but at this point, it is unavoidable.

At least, it's not something they can stop unilaterally.