The emperor is biased and wants to kill me, but you chickened out when the army is at the city gates

The wind was biting cold, and the snow was falling heavily.

Sun Wei did not dare to stop along the way, and finally led the vanguard into the northern territory that night.

Such a long and arduous forced march caused immense suffering to the soldiers of the Great Qi Army, and many even died of exhaustion along the way.

After setting up camp, Sun Wei waited in his command tent with a gloomy face for the scouts' report.

"Reporting to the commander, the Shence Army has recaptured Beining City this morning!"

This news struck Sun Wei like a bolt from the blue, causing her to instantly stand up.

He swept his gaze toward Liu Zhizhong with a sinister look, wishing he could tear the man apart.

Liu Zhizhong was somewhat embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "General Sun, since the Shence Army has already entered the city, why don't we make some adjustments on the spot and wait for the follow-up troops to arrive?"

It was impossible for the entire 150,000-strong Allied army to march at full speed; there were large contingents of troops, supplies, and other equipment slowly advancing behind them.

"In that case, General Liu, please go and rest!"

Sun Wei did not fly into a rage; instead, he calmly issued the order.

But as soon as Liu Zhizhong left, he summoned his generals for a meeting.

Liu Zhizhong witnessed this scene and merely smiled coldly: "You've been flattering me for a few days, do you really think this allied army can't be commanded without you? We'll see!"

Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace of the Jurchen Kingdom's Great Man City, Emperor Fuchahar was summoning the Grand Preceptor Gurna and Tulan.

"The blame for this defeat lies with me, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Gulna took the initiative to plead guilty, but the Jurchen emperor simply shook his head and said, "Qin Xuan used an open strategy, so it's not your fault, Grand Preceptor."

“But our Jurchen state has not suffered such humiliation for decades, and this must be avenged.”

The mighty Jurchen Kingdom was forced by the Great Qi to even mobilize the royal army. What a humiliation this was!

"I met with the envoy from Daqi when I arrived. The vanguard of Daqi's 150,000-strong allied army should have already arrived at the northern border by now. I expect that by tomorrow evening, all 150,000 troops should have arrived."

Gulna's deeply lined old face now radiated a murderous intent: "Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to send Tulan to lead my Jurchen army to attack Ningbei City together with the Daqi allied forces."

"This plan is ingenious, but is the Great Qi Allied Forces reliable?"

The Jurchen emperor naturally knew about the forced abdication of the Great Qi emperor, but from his perspective, if the Jurchen kingdom produced a talent as extraordinary as Qin Xuan, he would certainly entrust him with important responsibilities.

He could even offer any reward as long as the other party didn't want the throne.

But looking at the Great Qi Empire, it's utterly unbelievable that the entire court, the emperor, and everyone else wanted to force this King of Chu to his death.

"Qin Xuan's birth mother was a lowly palace maid. He was disliked by the Emperor of Daqi from a young age. Later, the Emperor of Daqi was afraid that he would become too powerful and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible."

"If it weren't for this, Qin Xuan wouldn't have been forced to exile to Beining City."

Gulna slowly explained, then continued, "The Great Qi Allied Forces were delayed by Qin Xuan's scheme, which caused them to miss their opportunity. But as the saying goes, brute force can overcome any technique. In the face of absolute power, even if the King of Chu were Zhuge Liang reborn, he still could not change the outcome."

"Very well, I hereby order Tulan to be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, leading 100,000 soldiers to fight again in Beining City." The Jurchen emperor immediately issued the order.

Tu Lan was instantly filled with fervor and shouted, "Your subject will not fail in your mission!"

Meanwhile, as night fell, Beining City gradually fell into silence.

On this day, the Shence Army captured more than 340 city defense soldiers who had committed crimes, and also captured all the remaining Jurchen remnants.

"Your Highness, in this battle, the Shence Army suffered 14,000 dead and 22,000 wounded, leaving 80,000 with effective combat strength."

Late at night, the Shence Army generals were still in the council.

Upon hearing Zhao Luoying's battle damage report, Qin Xuan sighed slightly.

"Have those 30,000-plus refugees been properly resettled?" Qin Xuan asked.

"We've temporarily placed them in the western part of the city, which used to be a market town, but it's been abandoned after being looted by the Jurchen army several times. It's a good place for them," Ning Yuanfeng replied.

"Tomorrow, separate those craftsmen. We must speed up the repair of the city wall, but we must ensure their food supply," Qin Xuan reminded them.

Ning Yuanfeng immediately nodded in agreement.

"Any other matters?"

"The city gates have been repaired, but some of the city towers still need further repair. In addition, I think the weather will get colder and colder, and our army still lacks cold-weather supplies."

Zhuge Xuandao.

While in Tianshan City, Qin Xuan specially collected a batch of winter supplies, including some clothes.

But along the way, most of the supplies have already been distributed to the refugees, while the Shence Army has not received much.

"Any new developments regarding the Great Man City and the Great Qi Allied Forces?"

This is what Qin Xuan is most concerned about.

Upon hearing this, Guan Xingsheng stepped forward and said, "According to reports from scouts, the vanguard of the Daqi Allied Forces, numbering approximately 30,000, has already entered the northern border. As for Daman City, there has been no movement for the time being."

"The enemy won't give us much time. We must be prepared to fight a second battle in a short time." Qin Xuan felt a chill in his heart. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Du Manjiang, you should issue a recruitment notice tomorrow. You must mobilize the people of Ningbei City. This is one of the keys to our defense of the city."

"Secondly, those who committed crimes but did not rob or kill others can be given the opportunity to redeem themselves through meritorious service."

This is a helpless move.

The original garrison was rotten to the core; if they were to be dealt with according to military law, probably half of them would have to be killed.

"What about the Jurchen prisoners?" Zhao Luoying asked.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Xuan's eyes: "Kill! Leave no one alive!"

"Isn't this a bit too cruel?" Zhuge Xuan couldn't help but ask.

Qin Xuan shook his head, his gaze resolute, and said, "The bones of the entire Ningbei City have been broken by the Jurchen army. If we want to stand up again, we must kill these prisoners, and do so in front of the entire city."

“We must let the people know that the Jurchen soldiers are just ordinary people, and they shed blood just like everyone else. Only by completely releasing the fear that has been building up in the hearts of the people can we defend this city.”

Qin Xuan knew that once the 150,000-strong army of the Daqi Allied Forces arrived in Beining City, along with the Tulan Army, the Shence Army would be unable to defend both the North Gate and the South Gate at the same time.

Even if we add the tens of thousands of original garrison troops, they will only be able to prolong their lives!

Therefore, he had to mobilize the people, which is why he was in a hurry to kill corrupt officials and thugs as soon as he captured the city.

"Does Your Highness intend to gather the entire city's strength to defend it?" Zhuge Xuan exclaimed in admiration.

"This is just the worst-case scenario." Qin Xuan took a deep breath and said, "Who would want to let these unarmed civilians stand on the city walls unless absolutely necessary?"

That one sentence silenced everyone.