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

Qian Bin looked at Wang Hu in disbelief, unable to believe that these words came from the mouth of a general.

You are a soldier who was born a criminal. Do you want to be a saint?

He looked up at the crooked words "Mudi" on the city wall, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.

The city gate was crowded with ragged refugees, but the defenders were still checking and letting them in one by one.

"General Wang!" Qian Bin shook off the guards who were helping him down from his horse and said bitterly, "At a time when two countries are at war, this place is so remote, how many civilians can there be outside?"

"There are more civilians and soldiers in the city. General, do you not care about their lives? Haven't you heard that a kind-hearted person should not be in charge of an army?"

Wang Hu wiped the raindrops from his beard and laughed so hard that the sparrows on the parapet fluttered and took flight. "Mr. Qian, do you think these old, weak, women and children can handle the knife?"

Qian Bin was about to speak when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a swaddling baby in the arms of a lame old woman.

The crying of a baby pierced the rain curtain. The old woman staggered to her knees in the mud. The Fengtian Army soldiers guarding the city hurried to support her.

Wang Hu waved his hand and said, "Take the old man to the porridge stall in the West Market and give him more spoonfuls of ginger soup."

"You're too soft-hearted!" Qian Bin grabbed Wang Hu's wrist guard and said in a low voice, "How could I allow you to neglect your duties like this?!"

Before he finished speaking, cheers suddenly broke out at the city gate, and Qian Bin let go for a moment.

But he saw several refugees kowtowing to Wang Hu, their foreheads hitting the bluestone slabs with a bang.

Wang Hu helped the old man who led the group to his feet. As he turned around, his armor clashed with the sound of metal clashing. "Old Qian, what would His Highness think if he saw his people starving and freezing to death at the gates of their own city?"

Qian Bin was choked by his words, and for a moment he couldn't tell who was the scholar who advocated benevolence and righteousness, and who was the general who was in charge of killing and fighting.

He knew that it was useless to dissuade him. If the soldiers saw it, it would shake their morale. So he had no choice but to follow Wang Hu into the city.

Just as he passed through the city gate, Qian Bin glanced at the city wall and his pupils suddenly shrank.

"Where are the artillery?" He turned around suddenly, his tone already a little stern.

As early as half a month ago, several cannons and mortars supported by the Gunpowder Bureau were delivered to various cities.

But now the city wall is empty. Where the battlements should have been used to place artillery pieces, only a few lonely gun mounts remain.

Wang Hu scratched his chin and said nonchalantly, "They're all stored in the warehouse to prevent moisture during the rainy season."

"Nonsense!" Qian Bin glared. "Will it be too late to move the artillery once the Khitan cavalry arrives at the city?"

The only answer he got was Wang Hu's lazy laughter.

"Alas, sir, you've been so tired from the journey, so don't dwell on these matters. It's just moving the artillery, it won't take much effort. Our Fengtian Army is so brave, how could we let the city wall be captured so quickly?"

Wang Hu held him in his arms as they walked down the city wall. The rain on his armor drenched Qian Bin's sleeves. "I've prepared some good wine to welcome you, sir. The mutton was shipped from Liujing this morning..."

When turning the horse path, Qian Bin noticed that there were several large vats piled up at the base of the city wall. The vats were not filled with gold juice used to defend the city. There was no stench at all, but a hint of wine aroma!

Qian Bin had just taken a look when he was pulled away by Wang Hu.

Although he wanted to scold him harshly, he had to keep a sullen face and remain silent because there were so many soldiers watching him.

The welcoming banquet was held in the City God Temple, which seemed to have become Wang Hu's temporary command post.

The statue of the City God on the altar was moved to the corner and replaced by a whole roasted lamb.

Wang Hu tore off a leg of lamb, and the oil splashed on Qian Bin's crimson official robe: "This wine is a little bit bad, but the meat is fresh. Please eat more, sir!"

Qian Bin's expression changed again and again, and he angrily said, "Disaster is imminent, and the general is still thinking about eating?!"

"General!" a personal guard suddenly rushed in. "Three hundred more refugees have arrived at the north gate!"

Qian Bin's face paled even further, but Wang Hu waved his hand nonchalantly, "Then Mr. Qian, you eat first. I'll go take care of it."

Or maybe he had already been tired of Qian Bin, and Wang Hu finally found an excuse for him to leave, so he never came back.

Although Qian Bin was angry, the military and political affairs of Fengguo were separated, and no matter how high his position was, he could not interfere in military affairs.

Gradually calming down, he had no choice but to write a letter to Li Che to explain the situation and prepare to stay and persuade him.

However, the following day, he didn't even see Wang Hu, but nearly 10,000 refugees had poured into the city.

Food had long been insufficient, so Wang Hu had no choice but to reduce the refugees' rations. That night, a mob attacked the government warehouse.

Qian Bin couldn't sit still any longer, and went to Wang Hu's house regardless of the consequences. However, Wang Hu brushed it off with a light-hearted remark, "I have my own arrangements."

On the fifth day, at dawn, the wolf smoke tore through the rain curtain.

The smoke is rising, there are enemies on the way!

When Qian Bin rushed out of the room, the whole city was shaking.

The sound of horse hooves mixed with crying came from all directions. He grabbed a sword and ran to the top of the city wall. As soon as he climbed up the wall, he saw Wang Hu standing on the city wall, but he couldn't see his expression clearly.

"It's the Khitan vanguard!" The soldiers on the watchtower shouted in a different tone, "The Khitan cavalry are using the refugees as shields!"

Qian Bin rushed to the parapet, and the cold air ran up his spine through his fingertips.

The black crowd was like a bursting dam and a flood. The white-haired old man was pushed and thrown to the ground, and in the blink of an eye he was trampled into a pulp by the iron hooves. The cries of women and children were endless.

The Khitan wolf flag was faintly visible in the morning mist, following the refugee tide slowly, like a leech on the tarsal bone.

"Open the city gate!" Wang Hu suddenly shouted.

"No!" Qian Bin tightly grasped the flag, "Look, there are young and strong men in the crowd..."

His words stopped abruptly - he saw a woman holding a child outside the city. When she realized she could not run anymore, she threw the baby in her cradle backwards.

The baby's crying stopped instantly after being trampled by the Khitan cavalry.

Wang Hu's fists were clenched so hard that they made a crackling sound, and the flesh on his face twitched constantly.

At the foot of the city gate, the kneeling refugees began to bang their heads against the door, and blood flowed down the iron-clad door panels.

Qian Bin was about to speak when he suddenly saw a fierce look flash in the corner of Wang Hu's eyes.

"Although Mr. Qian holds a high position and great power, I am the general who has the final say in this army!" Wang Hu snatched the command flag and said, "Open the city gates! Let the women and children in!"

Qian Bin's eyes suddenly went dark.

When the iron cables of the suspension bridge made a teeth-grinding creaking sound, Qian Bin saw Wang Hu's hand on the hilt of the knife, his knuckles turning white and blue.

The first refugees who poured in were covered in smelly mud. There was a lame man carrying his unconscious old mother on his back, with blood marks on his shoulders from the hemp rope.

Just as the soldiers defending the city were about to check, the crowd behind them suddenly burst into screams - a rain of arrows from the Khitan cavalry pierced the backs of the three refugees.

"Quick! Close the city gate!" Wang Hu suddenly shouted in panic.

Qian Bin's pupils suddenly widened. He clearly saw hundreds of "refugees" suddenly throw away their tattered jackets and draw their scimitars in their arms with a cold flash.

He saw the Khitan warriors disguised as refugees suddenly rise up, saw the cold light cutting through the defenders' breastplates, and saw the iron chains of the suspension bridge being cut, sparks flying, and shaking violently.

What was even more terrifying was Wang Hu - this reckless man was so frightened that he stood there in a daze and even forgot to draw his sword.

Qian Bin turned his head and looked outside the city, and suddenly he was filled with the ghosts of the dead.

Hundreds of Khitan cavalry suddenly accelerated and rushed to within a hundred steps of the city gate.

"Close the gate! Close the gate quickly!" Qian Bin's roar was drowned out by the sound of metal colliding.

However, it was too late.

The moment the first Khitan cavalry rushed across the suspension bridge, Qian Bin closed his eyes in despair.

The iron hooves crushed the real refugees who had no time to dodge, and the maces on both sides of the saddle swung out blood flowers.

The Khitan centurion who was rushing in the front laughed wildly and swung out a lasso, which hooked the flag with the word "Feng" flying on the top of the city wall.

More Khitan cavalry roared excitedly and rushed into the city wall.

Suddenly, the Khitan cavalry in front hurriedly reined in their whips, and the cavalry behind them were unable to dodge and crashed into them.

Someone just started to curse in Khitan, but suddenly stopped and looked at the scene in front of him in confusion.

There was a second gate in the city wall, but this gate was not open. The Khitan cavalry had no way to go for a while, and there was another loud noise behind them.

Qian Bin opened his eyes in shock, only to see the gate on the outer city gate fall down with a loud bang, cutting off the following Khitan cavalry.

What was even more shocking was that above the city wall - thousands of Fengtian Army soldiers armed with bows and crossbows suddenly emerged from the originally empty battlements, and dozens of crossbows extended from the originally empty tower!

"Closing the net!" Qian Bin's eardrums hurt from Wang Hu's roar beside him.

Qian Bin subconsciously looked back, but saw that the general in front of him did not look reckless at all.

A gleam of light flashed in the corner of his eyes - that was clearly the look of a hunter when he saw his prey falling into a trap!