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Below Su City, Lin Qiao raised his proud head, seemingly still immersed in his fantasy of conquering Su City.

The next second, he saw that the Daqian soldiers who had already climbed the ladder were quickly knocked down by some rolling logs.

The hand gripping the reins tightened and loosened repeatedly.

His eyes were fixed on the city wall.

He could tell that the soldiers were putting in a lot of effort to attack the city.

However, the sheer number of logs and boulders was so great that soldiers would be crushed down before they could even get to the top of the city wall.

Furious, Lin Qiao searched everywhere but couldn't find Zhou Man. He shouted, "Zhou Man! Zhou Man! Where the hell have you been?"

Hearing her name called from behind the main army, Zhou Man had no choice but to ride her horse to Lin Qiao.

With a blank expression, he asked, "General Lin, is there something you need that you're in such a hurry to see me about?"

Lin Qiao was taken aback at first. At this moment, Zhou Man felt very unfamiliar to him, but he still smiled and said, "General Zhou, the attack on the city is not going well. Why don't you take over the command?"

Hearing this, Zhou Man smiled.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that Lin Qiao realized she couldn't take down Su Cheng in a short time and wanted to send him to take the blame.

Zhou Man, who had already reached Lin Qiao, sneered, took a step back, and looked around at the soldiers who were still rushing forward.

Clapping his hands, he chuckled, "Lin Qiao, things have come to this point, so stop pretending with me."

"You know that Suzhou can't be taken over in a short time, so why do you think I'll take the blame for you?"

Seeing that his intentions had been seen through, Lin Qiao stopped pretending and shouted, "Zhou Man, I am the highest-ranking general of the army, and everyone must obey my orders."

"Of course, that includes you!"

As he spoke, Lin Qiao raised the hand holding the riding whip and pointed it at Zhou Man.

Then, his tone softened: "General Zhou, no matter what, we're in the same boat. If I really fail, do you think you'll benefit from it when we return to court?"

Lin Qiao gave a half-smile.

He thought that with this combination of threats and empty promises, Zhou Man would surely obey him completely.

But he guessed wrong.

Instead of taking over command from him, Zhou Man clasped her hands together and addressed him, saying, "General Lin, you yourself said that you are the highest-ranking general of the army."

"You will be responsible for any errors that occur."

"This humble general was merely following orders; what crime have I committed?"

As she spoke, Zhou Man also urged loudly, "Soldiers, Su City is just ahead, quickly take the city for General Lin Qiao!"

Upon hearing his words, Lin Qiao's expression completely changed.

Gone was the carefree and dreamy expression she once had.

All that remained was intense hatred.

That's right, Lin Qiao held a grudge against Zhou Man because of that one sentence she said.

Before he could speak, Zhou Man clasped her hands in a fist salute again: "General Lin, I have urged the army repeatedly, and Su City will surely be ours."

As he spoke, Zhou Man revealed his two rows of white teeth and burst into laughter.

"You! Get out of here!!!"

Lin Qiao could no longer remain calm and shouted at them.

After Zhou Man disappeared from his sight, he rubbed his forehead and began to consider how the war should proceed.

At the same time, Hongze slowly appeared on the city wall of Sucheng.

Lin Qiao, who had been keeping a close eye on the city walls, immediately spotted Hong Ze appearing on the city wall.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed at the city wall and exclaimed, "That, that, that's Hongze!"

Hongze, as the older brother of the God of War Hongming, is not as well-known, but many people do know him.

This includes Generals Lin and Zhou.

Upon seeing Hongze, Lin Qiao immediately realized that she had probably fallen for Jiang Zhe's trick.

However, what he didn't know was that Jiang Zhe hadn't lied to him; it was all because Chen Nan's calculations were too accurate, thus shattering their illusions.

There's a reason why Hongze appeared on the city wall.

Chen Nan had already sent a messenger to inform him of the situation in Lecheng.

Hongze didn't hesitate and immediately ordered the five thousand iron cavalry stationed outside Suzhou to surround them from behind.

Chen Nan was unaware of these five thousand iron cavalry.

The reason Hongze initially placed these 5,000 people outside the city was because he was worried about something unexpected happening in Sucheng.

These people were his backup plan, sent out to seek help.

To his surprise, the generals of Daqian were so stupid.

One hundred thousand troops pressed forward.

The role of these 50,000 people will be different.

They only need to appear in the rear to destabilize the morale of the Great Qian army.

Even an army of 100,000 would only think of running away upon seeing 50,000 cavalry.

Run as fast as you can, run as far as you can.

As Lin Qiao saw Hong Ze, the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.

In just a short while, the tremors of the earth became increasingly noticeable.

Lin Qiao already knew that Su Cheng was completely out of his reach today.

Not only that, he might even lose his life here.

"Report! Report!"

Soon, a messenger-looking soldier, covered in dust and dirt, ran up to Lin Qiao.

Before his horse could even steady itself, he jumped down and knelt on one knee, saying, "Reporting to the general, a large number of Northern Wei cavalry have been spotted three miles away. It looks like there are several thousand of them. Please make plans as soon as possible!"

Before the newcomer could leave, another rider, in a great panic, galloped up to Lin Qiao.

This man was even more terrifying; he fell directly off his horse and cried out in a panic, "General Lin!"

"The commander-in-chief has issued an urgent order: the general must lead 100,000 troops back to the main camp immediately!"

Before Lin Qiao could react, two more riders arrived in front of him, with the same message as the second person.

He was somewhat confused at that moment. Who was he? Where was he? What was he doing?

Finally, after the messenger explained, he understood.

Lecheng has already fallen into the hands of the Northern Wei.

Their 300,000-strong army's provisions have also fallen into enemy hands.

He knew very well that without supplies, the 300,000-strong army could easily mutini.

"General Lin, the commander-in-chief has ordered us to return to the main camp immediately upon receiving the military order!"

Seeing that Lin Qiao did not respond, the messenger continued to urge him.

Pressed for a moment, Lin Qiao gave a wry smile: "You think I don't want to go back?"

"There are thousands of cavalrymen surrounding the main army, and our 100,000 infantrymen are just sitting ducks in front of them."

"Where can I run to? Where can I go?"

He panicked; his lips trembled as he spoke.

In an instant, the messenger also realized the critical situation.

Just as he was considering whether to report the situation here to the commander-in-chief.

Another messenger rushed to Lin Qiao and reported: "General, the Northern Wei cavalry have stopped their charge about a mile away from the main force."

"They don't seem to have any intention of attacking us; in fact, they've even made way for us to return!"

"Hmm?" A hint of joy flashed across Lin Qiao's face. "Could it be that the Northern Wei fears the prestige of our Great Qian?"