Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 257 Deployment
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight lingered behind the clouds, unable to fully penetrate the thick cloud cover to illuminate the earth, General Zhuge couldn't wait to organize a formal attack.

Under his command, 20,000 elite Xilin troops launched a fierce and overwhelming attack on the city walls of Huainan, like a surging tide. Driven by a fanatical obsession, the Xilin soldiers disregarded their own lives, charging recklessly towards the walls under the cover of siege engines. They used their lives to build ladders, climbing wave after wave, in a scene of utter carnage.

Inside Huainan City, after a night of fierce fighting, supplies were almost completely exhausted. This fierce battle lasted for two full hours, and General Zhuge finally sounded the retreat just before noon.

At this moment, both sides had paid a heavy price. The battlefield was a scene of devastation, littered with corpses, and the blood had stained the land a dark red. During a brief respite, General Xiao Ning approached Su Qingwan with a grave expression, bringing devastating news: "Princess, our supplies are running out. Our arrows can only withstand one more wave of enemy attacks, and our oil is nearly depleted. Judging from General Zhuge's approach, the next attack will be even more ferocious, and we fear we will be unable to withstand it. The Xilin army is attacking the city at any cost, and we have suffered heavy losses. If we continue to defend like this, the city will surely fall. The troops from Zhongzhou and the Southwest will not be able to arrive in time, and it is uncertain whether they will even be able to provide support. If we continue to defend like this, we will likely perish with the city."

General Xiao Ning hesitated for a moment, then said, "Princess, how about... letting the people retreat to the rear!" He knew in his heart that if the city could not be defended, at least the people could be spared from the ravages of war, and perhaps a glimmer of hope could be preserved.

After hearing this, Su Qingwan fell into a deep silence.

Ordering the civilians to evacuate would be tantamount to declaring that Huainan City could not be defended, inevitably causing morale to collapse. However, if they did not evacuate the civilians and continued to defend Huainan City to the death, given the current situation, they indeed had no chance of victory. At this extremely difficult moment, Zhang San suddenly spoke up: "I have a plan!"

His voice was firm and powerful, “Although this plan is risky, the chances of success are very high!” Upon hearing this, Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning both turned their gazes to him.

"Tell me about it!" Su Qingwan said eagerly.

Zhang San took a deep breath and slowly said, "Nearly half of the bandits from the eighteen mountains of Huainan have now settled in nearby towns. The princess has been kind to us, and we will never forget that kindness. This battle has lasted for a day and a night, and all the brothers have seen it. They must be as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Now the Xilin army is stationed outside the city, cutting off our contact with the bandit brothers. But if we can get in touch with them, we will have another strong force."

"Brother, in the end you're just bandits, while the other side is the border army of Xilin, every single one of them is brave and skilled in battle. If our bandit brothers go there, they'll just be throwing their lives away!" General Xiao Ning, in this tense wartime, lost his usual good temper and retorted directly.

Zhang San remained unperturbed and continued, "Who said we should fight them head-on? Princess, we can burn their supplies!" A shrewd glint flashed in his eyes. "The Xilin border army wants a blitzkrieg. That General Zhuge is incredibly arrogant, boasting that he'll take Huainan within an hour. Now, after a day and a night of fighting, they know Huainan is a tough nut to crack. They're bogged down in Huainan City, and they'll definitely need to transport supplies. Our supplies are critically low, and so are theirs. We can take a risky tactic, cut off their retreat, and throw them into chaos without a fight!"

Su Qingwan's eyes lit up, thinking the plan was brilliant, and she asked, "That's a good idea, but do you have a way to contact them?"

“Yes!” Zhang San was covered in blood. Unlike Su Qingwan, who was wearing light armor, he was only dressed in ordinary cloth, his body covered in knife wounds. These wounds weren't deep, but he looked utterly wretched. Yet, his eyes shone brightly in the sunlight, radiating a resolute light. “We bandits often rob caravans and have come to Huainan City many times. We have our own unique way of communicating. Whether it's killing, robbing, or escaping, we have clear orders and transmit messages through specific methods.” Su Qingwan instantly understood his meaning and began to consider the feasibility of this plan. To implement it, a troop of soldiers would have to be sent out of the city.

Zhang San seemed to see through her thoughts and immediately volunteered, "Princess, I'll go!" Zhang Huaining also said eagerly from the side, "Princess, I can go with my brother too."

General Xiao Ning looked at them, hesitant to speak. He was worried that his brother-in-law and wife would risk leaving the city, but he also knew that someone needed to step forward at this time.

Su Qingwan decisively shook her head and refused: "The area outside the city is fraught with danger. Tens of thousands of troops from Xilin are stationed there. Going to the rear to cut off their food supplies is a mission with a slim chance of survival. It's too dangerous!"

“Princess, we, the bandits of the Eighteen Mountains of Huainan, have committed countless crimes against Huainan City in the past. Now it is time for us to atone for our sins. If we lose this battle, not a single woman, child, or elderly person in the city will escape. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.” Zhang San’s expression was extremely firm. “Let us go! There are no cowards among the bandits of the Eighteen Mountains of Huainan. We are not afraid to die!”

Su Qingwan glanced back at the wounded soldiers behind her, her heart filled with bitterness.

This army was formed too hastily, and there was no time for systematic training. She originally thought she had ten years to slowly plan and strengthen her forces, but who could have imagined that war would come so swiftly and without warning.

With supplies running low, even holding out for another day is a luxury. In the next wave of attacks, General Zhuge will soon realize their lack of resources, and the attack will be even more ferocious. Huainan City will likely be impossible to defend. For now, they have no choice but to take a risk and try to find a glimmer of hope.

"Alright!" Su Qingwan made a decisive decision, leaving no room for further hesitation. She turned to face her soldiers and shouted, "Soldiers! Zhang San is about to lead a troop out of the city to burn the Xilin army's supplies. Huainan City is now in imminent danger, at a critical moment of life and death. We must hold out for at least one more day and wait for reinforcements. Who is willing to go out of the city with Zhang San?"

Su Qingwan's voice echoed before the blood-soaked city gates, carrying endless sorrow. She knew in her heart that this decision meant that these soldiers who left the city were very likely to never return.

After a brief silence, a dozen or so bandits stepped forward without hesitation. "Boss, we're willing to go! To hell with the Xilin Army, let's fight them to the death!" "Fight! Staying put is certain death, but going out to kill the enemy might just carve a bloody path through!"

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of bandits stepped forward one after another. General Xiao Ning's light cavalry, which was the main force defending the city, also had two teams of archers step forward, expressing their willingness to go out of the city with Zhang San.