We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The next day, the Khitan army did not attack the city, and Xiangping City got another day of respite.

However, **zhi did not relax because of this, but became more solemn.

Looking from the tower, the Khitan military camp was restoring order at an extremely exaggerated speed.

Khal Khan was worthy of being the meticulous and steady commander of the Pi Shi Army. Although his official position was not as high as that of the leaders of the three major Khitan tribes, he firmly held the command power.

After attacking the camp, he worked tirelessly to gather the remaining troops, using decisive and ruthless methods.

Any soldier who dares to resist and disobey orders, regardless of his ethnicity or identity, will be beheaded on the spot!

Under the iron fist of Khal Khan, the Khitan army, which had already collapsed in its camp, quickly regrouped.

Khal Khan sent people to count the casualties, and found that the camp riot caused at least 8,000 deaths and injuries, most of whom were hacked to death by their own people.

The number of missing and unrecoverable soldiers reached as high as 10,000, most of whom were soldiers of ethnic groups other than Khitans.

The brutal slavery system implemented by the Khitans made other ethnic groups completely lack a sense of belonging, and they also had no room for advancement like the Feng Kingdom.

It would be strange if people didn't run away after finally finding an opportunity.

In other words, the National Protection Army's night attack on the camp wiped out more than 10,000 enemy troops at the cost of only 500 cavalrymen.

Next, Khal Khan reorganized his army and sent people to cut wood in the surrounding area to make siege equipment.

Two days later, several siege towers were erected, and various ladders, battering rams, and catapults were pushed to the foot of the city.

As the sun rose from the east, the Khitan army slowly spread out across the plains.

Their war horses stamped their hooves restlessly, and the cavalrymen gripped their weapons tightly, launching their attack amidst the melodious sound of trumpets.

The first to attack were the Khitan archers, who quickly approached the city wall and drew their bows to shoot arrows.

Arrows fell on the city walls like raindrops, and the defenders of the National Protection Army had to seek cover. The sound of arrows hitting shields could be heard from the city walls from time to time.

While the Khitan archers suppressed the defenders' firepower, the siege troops pushed huge battering rams and ladders and slowly approached the city wall.

The moment the ladders were placed on the city walls, countless Mohe, Korean, and Xi slave armies were driven by the Khitans to charge.

Looking down from the sky, dense swarms of black ants clung to and crawled all over the city.

They fought fiercely with the defenders, with countless rolling logs and battering rams falling down, and people falling from the ladders with wails every second.

Others picked up a large pot filled with golden juice and poured the boiling liquid into it with force.

The golden juice poured down from the city wall like a waterfall, directly pouring onto the barbarian slave soldiers who were climbing.

The scalding liquid made a sizzling sound when it fell on the skin, and waves of painful wails were heard. Many people could not bear the pain and fell directly from the ladder, being smashed to pieces.

Even if you are lucky enough not to fall to your death, you will still die.

Because the main ingredient of the golden juice is boiling feces and urine soup, it can instantly burn people and cause serious injuries, allowing bacteria to penetrate deep into the skin and muscle tissue, making it impossible to cure.

The battle lasted for several hours, and both sides paid a huge price.

Seeing that the city wall defense line began to waver, ** could only order the soldiers to use hundreds of grenades to destroy several siege weapons.

The Khitan army had no means to climb the city wall, and the huge casualties caused the army's morale to be unstable, so they left behind thousands of corpses and temporarily retreated.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the general ordered to rescue the wounded and strengthen the city defense.

The battle was extremely brutal. Although the National Protection Army was defending the city, it also paid the price of a thousand casualties.

The most important thing is that the consumption of materials such as arrows, rolling logs, and battering rams is extremely high.

"Tear down the houses," the emperor ordered. "Tear down all the houses and mansions in the city. Don't worry about the bottles and jars; they can be rebuilt after they are broken."

"The Khitans will not give us a chance to breathe. They will come again soon."

Houses were dismantled into stones and logs, and the soldiers then moved the materials onto the city walls to prepare for the next attack by the Khitan army.

As expected, just after noon, the Khitan army returned again.

This time, the battle was even more brutal.

The National Protection Army paid a greater price to repel the enemy.

the third time.

the fourth time.

the fifth time.

The two sides fought back and forth, and the Khitan army's offensive became more and more fierce. In the end, they began to climb the city wall and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the National Protection Army.

In the end, the National Protection Army's arrow stocks had run out and all the grenades had been used up.

The houses were almost completely demolished, and the large rolling logs and battering rams had long since been used up. The remaining ones were too small to make much of a bang when thrown, and could hardly stop the enemy, let alone cause any casualties.

Similarly, the Khitan army, as the attacking party, suffered even heavier losses.

In the tent, several Khitan army leaders sat together.

"We can't fight this way anymore!" one leader was furious. "Every time we attack a city, we end up losing lives. Our warriors are almost wiped out."

Another man sneered, "Don't think I don't know that your tribe still has slave soldiers. We lost all our slaves in the battle, so we sent warriors from the Liao Dynasty to join the siege yesterday."

"Since the siege began, our army has suffered nearly 30,000 casualties. Of the 100,000-man army, only less than 60,000 remain able to continue fighting."

Hallahan remained silent.

He knew that the reason why the Khitan leaders of the three major tribes wanted to retreat was because their slaves were basically wiped out, and if they continued fighting, they would only be able to use Khitan soldiers.

No one cares about the life or death of slaves. They will just catch more when they are all dead.

The Khitan warriors are the foundation of the tribe. If they are all killed, the tribe will inevitably decline and end up being annexed by other large tribes.

This is the biggest problem of the Khitan. The various tribes are not united and are unwilling to contribute.

Unlike the Central Plains dynasties, which had a unified and centralized rule, the emperor's orders were the only voice of the dynasty.

Feeling that the three leaders were all casting their gazes at him, Hallehan spoke helplessly:

"I understand. Pause the attack and I'll find a solution."

Upon hearing this, the three leaders all breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked Halehan.

Khalhan walked out of the tent and headed towards the tent where Jie Quan was imprisoned, his face full of confusion.

He asked the guard beside him, "He still refuses to eat or drink?"

"Commander, I haven't had a drop of water." The guard said respectfully.

Hallehan nodded and walked into the tent.

The tent was dim and there was a bad smell inside. A figure was leaning against the edge of the tent with his hands and feet bound.

"Why don't you eat?" Halehan said slowly.

Jie Quan forced himself to open his eyes, glanced at him, and said nothing.

"Are you really unwilling to surrender? I know that you Qing people are proud and regard us as barbarians. But the Liao Kingdom is different. The Khan is wise and powerful. He has learned the systems of the Qing people. Many important officials in the court are Qing people."

"If you are willing to join the Liao Kingdom, you can at least be promoted to a general."

“Heh…teh!”

Halehan calmly reached out his hand and wiped the thick phlegm off his face.

"So... I'm out of options." A trace of shame flashed in his eyes. "The siege is not going well. I have to resort to some tactics."

Khalhan waved his hand, and two Khitan soldiers immediately stepped forward, roughly pulled Jie Quan up from the ground, and took him outside.

The dazzling sunlight forced Jie Quan to stretch out his hand to block it. When his vision returned, a carriage with a cross on it appeared in front of him.

The soldiers tied his hands and feet to the cross, and Jie Quan immediately knew what these barbarians were going to do to him.

Jie Quan laughed out loud:

"Hahaha, Hallehan, I thought you were an outlier among the Khitans, a man who knew propriety, righteousness, and honor."

"Now it seems that Khitan dogs are Khitan dogs. If they can't take the city, do they have to rely on such despicable means?"

"You've miscalculated. My National Protection Army has been active outside the Great Wall for so many years, and we've never been threatened by barbarians. Even if you chop me into pieces, it will be useless!"

The Khitan soldier on the side was so angry that he swung his arm and slapped him.

Jie Quan tilted his head and spat out blood with half a tooth in it.

"That's enough!" Harlehan shouted. "Take him away."

The drums of war sounded again, and the Khitan army approached the city for the sixth time.

**zhi and others climbed up the city wall, each of them with a look of fatigue on their face.

Fierce fighting was the most torturous, but in order to boost morale, the generals of the National Protection Army never missed any battle, and even insisted on commanding from the city wall during the ** capital.

Although he was too weak to participate in the battle, he at least made it clear that the supreme commander of the National Protection Army was with the soldiers.

"Huh? Why did the Khitan dog stop?" Jie Ming looked outside the city in confusion.

In the past, the Khitans did not use this kind of tricks when attacking cities. They would just form a battle formation and charge forward directly.

**Zhi also frowned slightly. As a commander, he did not like sudden changes on the battlefield.

At this moment, the Khitan army's formation slowly separated, and a carriage rushed out from the middle.

There seemed to be a person tied to the rack on the carriage.

After seeing the man's body shape and appearance clearly, Jie An and Jie Ming's eyes suddenly became bloodshot and anger rushed to their heads.

"Second brother!"

"Second brother!"

Yang Xuan stared blankly at Jie Quan in the car, and Jiezhi's expression became even gloomier.

Everyone was delighted that Jie Quan was alive, but now that he was in the hands of the Khitans, his situation might be worse than death.

Several cavalrymen walked out from the rear of the battle formation and surrounded a general and came to the side of the carriage.

The man bowed to the city wall and said in a loud voice, "I am the commander of the Zuopishi Army, Hallehan."

"Khitan dog, what do you want?!" Jie Ming roared, "Let my second brother go, and I'll leave you with an intact body in the future!"

Hallehan shook his head: "Why not listen to my suggestion?"

"Leave the city and surrender to the Khan. I promise you that I will ask the Khan to preserve your organization and to treat your troops with honor and respect."

"By then, you brothers will not only be able to reunite, but you will also be able to enjoy countless glory and wealth together."

whoosh-

An arrow shot from the city.

Halehan did not dodge, but stretched out his hand like lightning and grabbed the arrow.

Jie Ming on the wall put down the bow with trembling bowstring, with a look of disbelief on his face.

I am one of the best archers in the National Defense Army. I use a three-stone strong bow. Although the distance is a little far, the power is beyond the reach of ordinary archers.

This Khitan general could actually catch a flying arrow with his bare hands?

Khalhan threw the arrow to the ground casually. The arrowhead penetrated deeply into the ground, causing a cloud of dirt to splash.

He looked towards the top of the city wall and slowly said, "Every word I say comes from my heart. I hope you will consider it carefully."

"Hahaha!" Jie Quan beside him suddenly laughed crazily, "Halehan, don't waste your breath. The National Protection Army never compromises with barbarians!"

"My prince said that Fengren is the most noble person in this land. How can he beg for his life under the crotch of a mere barbarian?!"

After that, he looked up at the top of the city wall and roared, "Old Third, no need to say anything, shoot me!!!"

"Second brother?!" Jie Ming's hand, which had been holding the bow for years, couldn't stop shaking.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes turned red and they looked at the Khitan army outside the city with gritted teeth.

Even the Mohe people were moved by this.

"What are you hesitating about?!" Jie Quan roared, "Do you really want me to be insulted and tortured by them and disrupt our army's morale?"

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Jie Ming squeezed out anger from his throat, suddenly raised the bow in his hand, and pointed it straight at the city.

"The third one!"

"Brother, I have no choice, I have to do this!" Jie Ming turned and looked at Jie An.

Jie An was silent for a moment: "Shoot accurately, don't let the second one suffer."

whoosh-

The arrow shot through the air.

Jie Quan smiled and slowly closed his eyes.

However, the pain did not come.

He opened his eyes and saw Khalhan beside him with his arm raised high, holding a shaking arrow in his hand.

Looking at Li Quan with respect, Hallehan threw away the arrow in his hand and said, "I'm sorry."

"you......"

"Come here!" A cold light flashed in Khalkharan's eyes. "Skin this man alive in front of the battle line, and let the defenders on the city see clearly. Don't let him die."

"Yes!"

The carriage slowly retreated out of the range of arrows.

Several executioners armed with sharp blades walked forward, drew out their sharp daggers and stood on both sides of Jie Quan.

Khalhan looked at the people on the city wall and said, "Every breath, I will cut off a piece of his flesh!"

"If you want to save him, come out of the city and fight it out!"

On the city wall, all the soldiers were filled with indignation when they heard this.

"mean!"

"You bastard, your mother caused a great plague and gave birth to a bastard like you!"

"Damn, damn!!!"

A lieutenant suddenly stepped out of the ranks and knelt on one knee in front of the general: "General, I beg to fight!"

** took a deep breath and slowly uttered two words: "Not allowed."

Another captain rushed out and knelt down: "General."

**zhi glanced at him and remained silent.

"General!"

"General!"

More and more people came out, all asking to go out of the city to rescue Jie Quan.

** closed his eyes, his heart filled with horror.

This is a conspiracy!

If he went out of the city to rescue people, the Khitan army would rush in and take the opportunity to capture Xiangping City.

If he was not rescued, Jie Quan would suffer such torture in front of all the soldiers, and the morale of the army would be shaken, and the Khitans could still take advantage of this opportunity to attack in one fell swoop.

Such an open conspiracy takes advantage of the situation, starts from human nature, and is carefully planned step by step. Who can break it?

There is such a person in the Khitan army?

At this moment, a scout from the Khitan army outside the city suddenly came galloping over:

"Report! Enemy scouts spotted in the rear, engaging our scouts!"