The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Fan Yang said coldly: "General Di, don't be too happy too soon! The main force of the Qi army hasn't arrived yet, and the hard battle is still ahead!"

Di Shimi glared at him and said, "What are you afraid of? Those generals of Qi are all good-for-nothings. Why should they be afraid of failure?"

Just as Fan Yang was about to respond, a Chihou suddenly ran in, "Your Majesty! The main force of the Qi army, numbering 400,000, is less than ten miles from Pingyin!"

Oh? Duke Ping of Jin nodded. "So fast! Do you know who the commander is?"

Chi Hou clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty! It's Donglai Hou Zixuan, the so-called Great General Protecting the Nation!"

Ah! When everyone heard this, they immediately jumped into a mess like ants in a panic.

Duke Ping of Jin was also shocked: "How could this be! Doesn't City Lord Zixuan never get involved in disputes among the vassal states? Why is he making an exception this time?"

Chi Hou replied, "Your Majesty! I don't know either! However, Zixuan's army is not large, only 200,000!"

"The remaining 200,000 are the troops led by Yan Ying and Sima Rangchu!"

After hearing this, everyone felt a little relieved. A general clasped his fists and said, "Prince Jin, a mere 200,000 troops are nothing to be afraid of!"

"I think our allied forces of over a million people can wipe them out with just a blink of an eye!"

Fan Yang sneered again, "General, don't underestimate the enemy! The strength of Fugui City is known to everyone! You should know that a delicate army will inevitably fail!"

Hahahaha! The general laughed out loud after hearing this.

Then he said in a sarcastic tone: "You are the one whom Duke Jing of Qi called Fan Jian and Fan Tong!"

"What?! You're already so scared before the battle even starts!"

"Come on, come on! Come out and let everyone see if you're scared to death! Hahahaha..."

Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this.

Di Shimi looked at Fan Yang with disdain and said, "Yes, yes, yes! It's this Fan Tong! Hahahaha..."

Zixu tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "General Di, don't be so quick to talk!"

Oh! Di Shimi shrank his neck and quickly agreed: "Disciple, obey your command!"

Seeing that no one was discussing business, Duke Ping of Jin coughed twice and said, "Everyone, please stop talking about other things and quickly discuss how to meet the enemy!"

Only then did everyone stop laughing and calm down to think.

At this time, Taifu Yangshe Bi bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"

"In my opinion, we should rely on our numerical advantage and mobilize our entire army to destroy the Qi army in one fell swoop!"

Duke Ping of Jin nodded and looked at the others: "Generals, do you have any other brilliant ideas?"

Grand Marshal Zhang Junchen said, "Your Majesty, I think the Grand Tutor's plan is feasible."

"But we must also leave enough soldiers inside Pingyin City to defend it, so that the Qi army won't take advantage of the situation and invade."

Good! Duke Ping of Jin clapped his hands and said, "Since everyone agrees, leave 100,000 soldiers to defend the city, and the rest will assemble immediately and march out to meet the enemy!"

Five miles outside the north gate of Pingyin, Zixuan heard the scouts report that they were still five miles away from Pingyin City and the coalition forces of the princes were leaving the city to fight.

Zixuan asked the scout, "Do you know how many people have left the city?"

The scout shook his head. "Your Majesty, when I came to report, the enemy troops were still moving out. The exact number is unknown."

Zixuan waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. Keep a close eye on the enemy's movements and report any developments immediately!"

Afterwards, she ordered the messenger to call Yan Ying, Sima Rangchu and Lu Hu over.

After the three of them arrived, Zixuan said, "Everyone, from what I've observed, the enemy might be trying to use their numerical advantage to wipe out our army in one fell swoop!"

"Prime Minister Yan, Lord Sima, this general orders you to quickly withdraw your troops to the rear of our army."

"The enemy is too numerous. I'm afraid you won't be able to withstand it and suffer heavy casualties!"

Sima Rangchu waved his hand and said, "General! How can that be possible? If we retreat to the rear, won't your army be used as a shield for us?"

Zixuan smiled faintly: "General Sima! Don't forget, our troops are riding in special chariots. The enemy can't hurt us!"

Yan Ying hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, General Sima! You may not know how powerful City Lord Zixuan is. We will obey your orders!"

Sima Rangchu thought for a moment and said, "Well, if you can't hold on, retreat quickly! Don't try to resist!"

Good! Zixuan looked at Lu Hu again: "General Lu, you must immediately arrange your troops into a long snake formation."

"Once the enemy attacks, you will fire your crossbows. Once they get close to the chariot, you can engage them with your weapons!"

Yes! After receiving the order, the three of them immediately went to deploy.

At this time, Zijin and Zizhi came over and asked, "Mom, what are we doing?"

Zixuan looked at his two daughters and said, "You are responsible for protecting your mother."

The two immediately pouted and said, "Mother, you have the guard battalion to protect you, so let us go into battle and kill the enemy like Zixing!"

Zixuan glared at his daughter. "Go into battle and kill the enemy? That's easy to say!"

"On the battlefield, swords and guns are merciless. Besides, you are girls. No matter how strong you are, you can't stand up to men!"

"Everyone, stay in your car and don't go anywhere!"

Oh! After hearing this, the two of them had no choice but to get back into the car in disappointment.

Outside Pingyin City, after the coalition forces of the princes gathered, they shouted loudly and rushed towards the Qi army like a tide.

Following Zixuan's order, Lu Hu lined up the convoy in a row, with one side of the carriage facing the coalition forces to facilitate shooting.

When the coalition forces were still 200 meters away from the convoy, the soldier on the vehicle immediately pulled the trigger.

Accompanied by the muffled sound of "tu tu tu" and the sound of crossbow arrows whizzing through the air.

Black crossbow arrows rained down on the allied soldiers.

In an instant, the allied soldiers fell down in large numbers like wheat waves blown by the wind.

Two hundred thousand bows and crossbows, what a concept! If one soldier hits one person, that’s two hundred thousand people.

What's more, each person shot more than one crossbow arrow.

Duke Ping of Jin and the generals of various vassal states saw all this from the city wall.

I was immediately shocked. What! What! What kind of weapon is this! How can it be so powerful!

Di Shimi clasped his fists and said, "Prince Jin, this is the most powerful weapon in Fugui City, called the 'Machine Crossbow'!

"Each crossbow can fire 300 arrows simultaneously! The range is within 200 meters."

"I suggest you withdraw your troops immediately and think of another way to defeat the enemy!"

"We can't fight them to the death! If we don't retreat quickly, we will be wiped out!"

Duke Ping of Jin nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Okay, okay, come! Blow the horn to retreat immediately!"

As the muffled horns sounded, the surviving allied soldiers ran madly towards Pingyin City.

All that was left were dead bodies and seriously injured soldiers writhing and wailing in pain on the ground.

At this time, Lu Hu ran up to Zixuan, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty! Why don't we seize the opportunity to pursue our victory!"

Zixuan looked at the defeated coalition forces and did not order a pursuit.

She knew that although the coalition forces were defeated, their strength was still stronger than hers, so she couldn't rush for success.

So she waved her hand and said, "General Lu! Don't chase after a desperate enemy!"

"Let's retreat too. We can attack again when we come up with a better strategy!"

Yes! Lu Hu obeyed Zi Xuan's orders without hesitation and immediately ordered his troops to withdraw to the main camp.