With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

As the sky was just getting light and the sky in the east was turning pale, the enemy finally launched a general attack.

The dark mass of enemy troops surged towards the city wall like a tide, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

"Capture the Empress alive and there will be a huge reward! Kill her!"

The enemy general shouted at the top of his lungs, brandished his sword, and led the charge.

Fortunately, the lights in Jingzhou City were bright, illuminating the surroundings like daylight.

"Fire!"

At Chen Qingwan's command, the roar of muskets resounded through the sky, flames flickered, and smoke filled the air.

Relying on the advantage of muskets, the Yulin Army repelled the enemy again and again.

"Go! Kill all these sons of bitches!"

On the city wall, the soldiers defending the city also let out earth-shaking roars.

Use the swords and guns in your hands to fight a desperate battle with the enemy.

The fighting on the second day was even more brutal than the previous day.

The enemy troops rushed towards the city wall like mad dogs, with bloodthirsty gleams in their eyes.

Corpses piled up like mountains under the city walls and blood flowed like rivers.

Chen Qingwan stood on the city wall, her face pale and her lips tightly bitten.

The casualties of the Yulin Army were increasing, and there were only a few arrows left.

A feeling of despair rose in her heart. If this continued, Jingzhou City would be breached sooner or later.

At this moment, a burst of shouting and killing suddenly came from outside the city.

Chen Qingwan was cheered up. Could it be reinforcements?

She quickly looked up and saw an army coming from a distance, led by Zuo Wei!

Zuo Wei's appearance undoubtedly gave a shot in the arm to the Yulin Army defending the city.

Their morale was greatly boosted, and they shouted and fought even harder to resist the enemy's attack.

The reinforcements led by Zuo Wei attempted to attack the enemy from the outside.

However, the coalition forces were well prepared, and Zuo Wei's surprise attack did not achieve the expected results.

What's worse, the enemy army diverted part of its forces to delay Zuo Wei.

The remaining troops launched an even more frenzied attack on Jingzhou City.

"Damn it!"

Chen Qingwan couldn't help but curse.

The enemy's offensive was like a tide, one wave after another, as if there would be no end.

The casualties of the Yulin Army increased sharply, and Chen Qingwan had to recruit civilians from the city to help defend the city.

Although these civilians have not received professional military training.

But they also showed amazing courage in defending their homes.

They held simple weapons and fought side by side with the Yulin Army to resist the enemy's attack.

A bearded laborer was waving a hoe.

He hit the head of an enemy soldier who had climbed up the city wall hard and roared:

"You son of a bitch, how dare you come to my house and act wild!"

Another young laborer, holding a wooden stick in his hand.

He pushed an enemy soldier down from the siege ladder and shouted excitedly:

"I'll stab one to death! I'll stab one to death!"

Chen Qingwan looked at these civilians who risked their lives to defend their homes, and felt both moved and sad.

She knew that the only reason Jingzhou City could hold out until now was thanks to the tenacious resistance of these soldiers and civilians.

We defended the city for four days and fought more than twenty battles of varying sizes.

The defenders in Jingzhou were exhausted both physically and mentally, and the city gates were in ruins.

If the passages in the city had not been blocked, Jingzhou City would have been breached long ago.

But now the city of Jingzhou is like a sieve, and there are countless holes dug underground by the enemy.

Chen Qingwan didn't know how long she could hold on. Perhaps once the enemy army broke through one of the caves, Jingzhou City would be broken.

As night falls, Jingzhou City is shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

The flickering flames on the city wall illuminated the tired faces of the soldiers defending the city.

At this moment, a feather arrow pierced the night sky, and with a sound of breaking through the air, it firmly nailed to the wooden pillar of the city wall.

A letter was tied to the tail of the arrow, swaying slightly in the night breeze.

Chen Qingwan walked forward, took the letter, and frowned.

There was no signature on the envelope, but she felt a vague sense of unease.

She returned to her room, lit the oil lamp, and opened the envelope.

The content of the letter shocked and angered her. The letter was written by Zhang Xinwang, the prefect of Huai'an.

At the beginning, Zhang Xinwang spoke respectfully, calling the emperor "minister" and "coming to the rescue" one by one.

Chen Qingwan was quite relieved at first, thinking that in this critical moment, there were finally loyal ministers and generals willing to lend a helping hand.

But after watching it later, she understood Zhang Xinwang's true intention.

"Your Majesty is a person worth millions of gold. How can you be trapped in an isolated city? I am willing to lead the elite troops of Huai'an to lift the siege of Jingzhou and welcome Your Majesty back to the capital."

"However, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I boldly ask Your Majesty to marry me. Only in this way can we calm the people's hearts and quell the rebellion."

Chen Qingwan crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it hard on the ground.

"Shameless bastard! How dare you take advantage of someone's misfortune!"

She was so angry that her whole body was shaking and her chest was heaving violently.

"Qiao'er!" Chen Qingwan shouted sternly.

Qiao'er hurried into the room and saw Chen Qingwan's angry look. She asked cautiously:

"Your Majesty, what happened?"

"Call everyone here and read this letter!"

Chen Qingwan pointed at the paper ball on the ground, furious.

Soon, Qiao'er, Li Mu and several close associates gathered in the room.

They passed the letter around, and angry looks appeared on their faces.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Xinwang is clearly a traitor! He's trying to hold the emperor hostage to control the other princes!"

Li Mu said indignantly.

"Your Majesty, you must not agree to his request! This is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger!"

Qiao'er also said anxiously.

Chen Qingwan took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

Now is not the time for impulsiveness.

Although Zhang Xinwang's letter made her angry, it also made her realize a problem:

She must get out of this predicament as soon as possible, otherwise more "Zhang Xinwang" will jump out.

"You are right. How can I be manipulated by such a villain?"

A look of determination flashed in Chen Qingwan's eyes.

"Pass the order down. Tomorrow, a large red dragon flag will be hoisted on the city wall to show my identity!"

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other.

"Your Majesty, is this... too risky?"

Li Mu asked worriedly.

"If the enemy knew you were in the city, they would probably attack even more frantically."

Chen Qingwan sneered:

"Isn't their attack crazy enough now? I just want to let them know that I am here!"

"I want to see how many loyal ministers and generals there are in this world, and how many people are willing to serve the Datong Dynasty!"

Xiashanhu pondered for a moment, then bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, this plan... driving a tiger to devour a wolf, is feasible, but it's extremely risky. Zhang Xinwang is no good. What if he succeeds..."

Chen Qingwan sneered and interrupted him:

"So what if he succeeds? My kingdom cannot be taken away so easily! If he really has the ability, let him try!" "I want to see how many people covet this throne!"

She slammed the table and said sternly:

"Promise Zhang Xinwang! Tell him to send troops immediately to lift the siege of Jingzhou! I will wait for him here!"