With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

Meanwhile, in the back mountain, within the Hundred-Mile Forest.

The northern barbarian troops had barely stepped into Baili Forest when they sensed something was wrong.

The hooves of the Northern Barbarian cavalry, who were initially in the lead, all fell into the horse traps.

Those countless horse traps were definitely designed specifically to defend against the northern barbarian troops!

This caused He Qinghan, the commander of the Northern Barbarians, to suddenly turn extremely cold and stern.

"Damn it! Didn't the Pei family father and son say that Ye Cheng'an was too busy with the Hundred Flowers Blooming Festival to be wary of the Northern Barbarians? How did these horse traps come about?"

Beside him, the adjutant said, "General, don't worry, they're just some horse traps. Everyone knows that if the Northern Barbarian army wants to enter Yong'an City, there are only two routes: one is the main road guarded by border troops, and the other is the back mountain path... I guess that even if Ye Cheng'an set up horse traps here, it doesn't necessarily mean that he expects us to come."

"This may just be routine precautions."

Upon hearing this, He Qinghan's expression softened slightly, then he snorted coldly, "Hmph, you think a mere horse trap can stop my Northern Barbarian cavalry? Ha, this young master of the Northern Border is underestimating my Northern Barbarian cavalry too much. Tell your men to leave all the horses in Baili Forest, and we'll charge into Yong'an City on foot!"

"The northern barbarians are short of food, and winter is approaching. We have no choice but to fight to sustain ourselves, or our brothers will starve!"

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant accepted the order and immediately told his soldiers, "Go, whisper a message to all the brothers: charge into Yong'an City on foot!"

After leaving all the warhorses in Baili Forest, He Qinghan led the Northern Barbarian army deeper into Baili Forest.

Once you cross this dense forest, you will reach Yong'an City!

That way, Ye Cheng'an could be caught completely off guard!

I've heard that this young master from the North is skilled at making money and governing effectively. If we could imprison him and have him serve the Northern Barbarians...

When He Qinghan thought of this, the corners of her lips couldn't help but turn up.

Of course, there was another reason why she agreed to the alliance request from the Pei family and agreed to take advantage of the situation to attack Yong'an today.

The Ninth Princess, who came from the imperial court, is also in Yong'an City!

If we could seize the opportunity to capture the Ninth Princess of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Emperor Qian's most beloved daughter, what wouldn't she have?

"what……"

"what……"

As He Qinghan was envisioning a bright future, his soldiers fell one after another into the giant net of Baili Forest. From both sides, traps made of bamboo suddenly surrounded them, piercing the bodies of the soldiers caught in the net!

Instantly, the expressions of He Qinghan's soldiers changed drastically.

She was already shocked. When did so many traps get set up in Baili Forest?

Are these traps merely routine precautions, or did Ye Cheng'an already know that her Northern Barbarian army would be coming, and therefore set them up specifically?

Her face was grave; she sensed that this matter was not simple.

However, the lieutenant said from the side, "General, there is no need to worry. The people of Daqian are known for their treachery and cunning. They like to use these kinds of schemes and tricks. We just need to be careful on our way ahead."

"Send a team ahead to check for traps and clear the way for the general!"

Before He Qinghan could speak, soldiers stepped forward to check for traps for her.

She thought the horse trap was the worst thing Ye Cheng'an could do, but she didn't expect that behind the horse trap were giant nets and bamboo spikes, and then deep pits and animal traps...

After passing through Baili Forest, the Northern Barbarians had lost nearly a thousand soldiers.

This was nothing to her, who commanded a force of 100,000, but the problem was that they had arrived full of morale, and now…

In the past, He Qinghan would have chosen to be on the safe side and turn back the way he came.

But today.

He Qinghan found it difficult to make the decision to return empty-handed.

After all, her troops were truly out of food and supplies for the winter.

Within Yong'an City reside Ye Cheng'an and the Ninth Princess of the Imperial Court; by any measure, they seem to harbor an opportunity from heaven.

Therefore, even though she knew there might be danger ahead, she still pressed on.

This reflects both a desire for opportunity and confidence in one's own military strategy, tactics, and strength.

However, what she didn't know was that someone had been secretly watching them from the moment they entered Baili Forest.

As the Hundred Flowers Festival was drawing to a close, Ye Cheng'an suddenly received news that the Northern Barbarian army had arrived!

Great.

After preparing for so many days, he finally lured in his biggest prey.

He nodded to Zhang Hanfeng and the others, signaling them to be on guard.

As expected, the Northern Barbarian troops arrived at Yong'an City at top speed.

"Report! Young Master, something has happened! The Northern Barbarian army is attacking!"

"They came from the Hundred-Mile Forest behind the mountain, sneaking into my Yong'an City in the first five breaths!"

Upon hearing this, all the people present were stunned.

"What? The northern barbarians are here..."

"The northern barbarians are exceptionally fierce, eating raw meat and drinking blood, and are invincible in battle. If they come, doesn't that mean we're all going to be killed? What should we do? Should we run away?"

Pei Zhongyi and Pei Tianyang watched the scene unfold coldly, their smiles almost impossible to conceal.

Hmph, the Northern Barbarian army is finally almost here.

Ye Cheng'an is about to become their defeated foe, turning into a cold corpse!

The spinning wheel, these ready-made garment styles, and the exquisite wine brewed by Ye Cheng'an—all of these would be taken over by the Nine Dragons Alliance.

Just thinking about it is so exciting!

However, Ye Cheng'an showed no sign of panic as his father and son had expected. Instead, he calmly said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to panic. I already knew the Northern Barbarians would come, so I deliberately set up numerous traps within Baili Forest!"

"The Northern Barbarian Iron Cavalry is famous for its iron cavalry. Their horses cannot enter Yong'an City. They are now just a group of ordinary soldiers."

"And we, having gathered the people of more than a dozen cities into one, could drown them with just a spit from each of us."

"Those who wish to flee, and those who do not, join me in fighting the Northern Barbarians. Let's see how I slay them here!"

After saying that, Ye Cheng'an turned and walked towards the direction from which the Northern Barbarian army was coming.

Along the route the Northern Barbarian army was bound to take, Ye Cheng'an arranged for militia from more than a dozen cities to lead the way. The militia from Yong'an City were the first to go. They all had crossbows in hand, and as soon as they saw the Northern Barbarian army, they immediately opened fire.

Shhhhhh.

The northern barbarian soldiers fell to the ground in response.

He Qinghan's expression changed drastically. Was there an ambush?

How could this be?

Could it be that she really guessed right?

Did Ye Cheng'an really know she was coming all along?

But the enemy only had 24,000 soldiers. How could they possibly be a match for her 100,000 Northern Barbarian cavalry?

He Qinghan's gaze was icy as he ordered his soldiers, "Charge! Charge! Slaughter them all!"

All the soldiers were about to step forward when they realized that they couldn't get close to these militiamen at all.

They were especially stunned when they saw that they weren't even wearing armor.

"General, what's going on? They don't seem to be Ye Cheng'an's regular troops..." the lieutenant asked.

He Qinghan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Could these be militia from over a dozen cities? The Pei family father and son mentioned that Ye Cheng'an was training militia on a large scale..."

"But the question is, how come these militiamen are so good at archery?"

"Furthermore, when we stormed Yong'an City, why didn't Ye Cheng'an send the regular army to fight us directly, instead choosing to send these militiamen to the front lines? Wasn't he afraid these people were just coming to their deaths?"

Just as He Qinghan was discussing this, Ye Cheng'an arrived with a dense and vast crowd.

Those people swept in like a dark cloud, outnumbering her soldiers.

Following Ye Cheng'an were the Tiger Roar Camp and the Nine Cities Army.

The remaining civilians followed behind under the protection of the army.

They originally didn't want to come, but after hearing Ye Cheng'an's confident words that the Northern Barbarians would surely be defeated, they decided to come and see what was going on.

It would have been better if they hadn't come. As soon as they arrived, they saw the northern barbarians being overwhelmed and beaten by a group of militiamen, completely powerless to fight back.

This ignited a surge of morale in the hearts of all the people.

"What the eldest young master said is true! He really did foresee the Northern Barbarians coming and had already set up an ambush!"

"Moreover, if this is such power from just a group of militia, imagine the strength of the young master's soldiers!"

"Young Master is truly a master strategist! With him overseeing Yong'an, our Great Qian is as if divinely aided, and we will be invincible!"

"Kill! Young Master, kill these northern barbarians!"

"They once invaded our land, plundered our property, and oppressed our brothers and sisters! We have an irreconcilable blood feud with them!"

Hearing the words of the people behind him, Ye Cheng'an smiled. Very good, the morale of the whole nation has been ignited.

Now it's his turn to show his prowess!

"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li, lead the Tiger Roar Battalion soldiers and assist all the militia in killing the enemy!"

"The northern barbarians have harmed my Great Qian for many years. Today, I, Ye Cheng'an, will avenge the Great Yan!!!"