Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

The people of Xiangzhou City were very optimistic about the upcoming war.

Fortunately, the Great Song Dynasty's National Protection Army guarding the city walls was...

More optimistic.

If the common people were simply unaware of the reasons behind this, which led to their blind optimism under the court's propaganda, then the optimism of these National Protection Army soldiers who had just experienced the so-called Northern Expedition two months prior would be somewhat abstract.

However, the reality was that neither the defending troops nor the civilians took the impending battle seriously enough.

On the city wall, several disciples of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, clad in armor, sat with their arms crossed and nonchalant expressions on the battlements.

Facing the impending battle, they felt no tension at all. Instead, each of them carried a jug of wine and laughed at the yellow earth outside the city.

"Come, brothers, let us drink this cup together and create a glorious future for the Shu Mountain Sword Sect."

"Dry."

Hundreds of disciples from the Shushan Sword Sect laughed and drank heartily against the wall, making the heroic spirit of these martial arts heroes shine brightly.

"Senior brother, I'm back!"

A disciple arrived on his sword, and the moment he landed, he caught the wine jug thrown to him by his fellow disciple and took a small sip.

"Senior Brother Wang, a large number of Jin soldiers have been spotted ahead. They are estimated to be less than fifty li from Xiangzhou Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuyan, the commander defending the city, immediately drew his long sword from his back: "Alright, fellow disciples, let this battle establish the foundation for our Shushan Sword Sect to enter the imperial court!"

"Let's strive to carry on Senior Brother Ye's will, and one day, we will realize the sect's dream of a dynasty."

"Congratulations to the Shushan Sword Sect!"

All the disciples drew their swords and pointed them to the sky, their eyes filled with unwavering conviction.

On the other side, when they were less than ten miles from Xiangzhou City, Wanyan Loushi stopped the march in time and immediately ordered the entire army to set up camp and establish sentry posts to prevent enemy night attacks.

Inside the main camp, a scout brought a nearby villager to report: "General, this is a farmer we met from a nearby village. He has something important to report to you."

Wanyan Loushi looked at the trembling villager from the Song Dynasty and asked, "Are you a villager from near Xiangzhou? Do you know what the situation is like in Xiangzhou Prefecture right now?"

After he finished speaking, a Jin army guard immediately handed him a piece of freshly stewed lamb bone.

After the villager immediately took the food and tore into it for a while, he mumbled, "Reporting to the general, the current garrison commander of Xiangzhou Prefecture is named Wang Xuyan, the deputy commander is Li Buyao, and there are nearly a hundred disciples of the Shushan Sword Sect, all of whom are quite powerful."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Loushi stroked his chin, seemingly pondering something.

Suddenly he shouted, "Guards!"

Two warriors quickly entered from outside the tent, causing the villagers who were gnawing on sheep bones to tense up.

“Take him down, give him a good meal, then give him some reward money, and let him go.”

Upon hearing this, the samurai hesitated and said, "General, this man may be an enemy spy. We must not let him escape."

Wanyan Loushi laughed and said, "It's alright, just release him. I don't think he's a spy."

"Thank you, General."

Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately expressed their gratitude repeatedly.

"Go."

Wanyan Loushi waved his hand and ordered his men to take him away.

Once the villagers left, a cold look appeared on his face.

"Keizong."

"My subordinate is here!"

"Notify the musketeers, tell them..."

He plans to speak to Wanyan Qingzong in a low voice.

"Yes, Commander, I'll make the arrangements right away."

As soon as Wanyan Zongqing left, Wanyan Loushi couldn't help but laugh.

"Martial artists? Heh, the weapons of the Great Chu are the best nemesis of martial artists."

……

As night fell, the villager who had escaped from the Jin camp arrived at the city of Xiangzhou immediately.

"Sir, I have important information. Please let me in immediately."

Wang Xuyan, standing atop the city wall, glanced down at the city below and immediately ordered his soldiers to open a corner of the city gate and let the person in.

Upon seeing Wang Xuyan, the villagers eagerly said, "General, I just came from the Jin camp. The enemy has already set up camp ten miles away. Judging from this, they will attack the city tomorrow."

Wang Xuyan: "Have you found out how many Jin soldiers there are?"

The villager looked troubled upon hearing this: "I don't know about that, but I see that the enemy camp has quite a few warhorses, and there must be at least ten thousand men."

"Ha, just over ten thousand people."

Upon hearing this, the disciples immediately burst into laughter.

Lieutenant Li Buyao smiled contemptuously: "I thought there were many more people. A mere ten thousand is not enough for us to kill."

Wang Xuyan: "Then tell me again, why did those Jurchens want to let you go back?"

Upon hearing this, the villager immediately said proudly, "We don't know either. Maybe those Jin soldiers were terrified of the National Protection Army."

They were probably afraid of retaliation after their defeat, which is why they were willing to let us go. Those Jurchens even gave me some money as a reward when they let me leave.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuyan and the others immediately wore expressions of smug pride.

It feels so good to be trusted and relied upon.

After seeing the villagers off, Li Buyao immediately suggested to Wang Xuyan, "Senior brother, why don't we launch a surprise attack under the cover of night and wipe out the Jin camp in one fell swoop? What do you think?"

Wang Xuyan wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking! As the art of war says, strike when the enemy is unprepared. At this moment, the enemy will absolutely not expect us to launch a night attack."

"How many people should we send?"

"Xiao Gu will stay behind to guard the camp. The rest of you will come with me. Tonight, we will try to destroy the enemy camp in one fell swoop."

"it is good!"

As expected of a chivalrous hero, he neither inquired about the enemy camp's layout nor understood their troop deployment; he simply ordered, "Let's do it!"

At Wang Xuyan's command, these generals, who were guarding the National Protection Army, actually abandoned their subordinates and led by example, charged towards the Jin camp...

At midnight, the soldiers guarding the city wall of Xiangzhou faintly heard what sounded like soft crackling sounds in the distance.

Guhe, who was temporarily in charge of the defense, was focused on the area directly in front of the city wall.

About fifteen minutes later, the noise gradually subsided.

Seeing that everything had been restored, the remaining Song soldiers guarding the city sat down against the battlements and yawned.

Gu He waited and waited, but when his fellow disciples did not return by dawn, he began to feel anxious.

Just as he was about to go and see for himself, a figure covered in blood suddenly appeared at the foot of the city wall.

"Senior Brother Li!"

Upon seeing the person approaching, Guhe immediately leaped down and caught him.

At this moment, Li Buyao was covered in blood and had multiple bullet holes in his body, clearly wounded by a rifle.

Gu He was terrified and at a loss. He grasped the dying Li Buyao and asked, "Senior brother, what exactly happened?"

"The enemy has laid an ambush! My fellow disciples have all fallen into their trap! The enemy's firearms are fierce! Quickly, quickly go and inform... Junior Brother Ye, uh..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Buyao's eyes widened, and he could no longer utter a word.

"Senior brother! Senior brother!"

Guhe held Li Buyao's body and burst into tears.

woo-

Just then, a stirring bugle call came from afar.

Clapping along~~

Immediately afterwards, the heavy sound of iron hooves pounded the ground, creating a deafening roar.

The ground shook violently; this was the signal that the cavalry formation was charging forward.

Gu He looked up and couldn't help but gasp.

Amidst the swirling yellow sand, heavily armored cavalry, in formation, advanced in an orderly fashion towards Xiangzhou Prefecture.

"That was the Jurchen army?"

When Guhe finally saw the heavily armed Jin cavalry with his own eyes, his heart was filled with fear and despair.

So this was the true strength of the Jurchens.

run!

The next moment, Gu He abandoned Li Buyao's corpse and used all his strength to fly away into the distance.