Demon Lord Tang Dynasty

Wuchuan City.

With Luo Fang leaving with most of his troops, the ancient city, which had briefly regained its liveliness due to the arrival of the Sui army, once again became desolate.

Looking around, in the vast ruins of the city, only a few scattered Sui soldiers remained, on guard and patrolling.

Of course, although Luo Fang took most of his troops with him, he couldn't possibly leave no defensive forces behind.

After all, Wuchuan City was still very important to this Sui army.

Not only must they coordinate with and support the vanguard that has broken out of the grasslands, but they must also respond to the main force heading south to seize the pass.

Most importantly, Yang Lin's royal banner still stands here.

It can be said that this was the core of the Sui army that marched north.

Therefore, although Luo Fang went south, he still left several thousand elite troops in Wuchuan City.

Several thousand soldiers, on paper, would certainly be a considerable force.

However, while defending the city, it is also necessary to keep an eye on the armies from the north and south, and be vigilant against all sides.

Spreading resources out in this way naturally makes things seem strained.

Inside Wuchuan City.

Inside the temporary command tent of the Sui army.

A woman dressed in purple armor, looking heroic and spirited, sat in the main seat with a somber expression.

If others knew, they would be absolutely shocked.

Judging from the woman's position, she was clearly a military commander.

Although Luo Fang has left, Wu Chuan still holds the banner of command and directs operations in all directions.

And the commander of such an important position was actually a woman.

Not to mention what's happening right now, even looking at the whole world, it's something that would shock people to no end.

But at this moment, inside the tent, facing the woman sitting at the head of the table, her brows furrowed.

Yet no one dared to show disdain, nor did anyone dare to show any sign of dissatisfaction.

Because of this woman's identity, she was enough to intimidate everyone in the camp.

As everyone knows, Yang Lin, the Prince of Kao Shan, has twelve adopted sons, also known as the Twelve Protectors.

Each one of them was carefully trained by Yang Lin and followed him in his campaigns. Although they could not be considered peerless geniuses, they were all renowned and influential in their respective regions.

These twelve people have always been highly valued by Yang Lin.

However, compared to the love and care shown to them, all twelve of them combined cannot compare to the love and care shown to one person.

Yang Lin had twelve adopted sons, but only one adopted daughter.

Indeed, the woman in the tent at this moment is Zhang Ziyan, Yang Lin's only adopted daughter.

Although she was called an adopted daughter, everyone knew that Yang Lin loved Zhang Ziyan even more than his own daughter.

There are even rumors that Yang Lin intends to change Zhang Ziyan's surname to Yang and include her in the family genealogy.

It should be noted that Yang Lin was a true member of the Yang imperial family.

Moreover, the seniority system within the clan is so impressive that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's earth-shattering.

Yang Lin was the younger brother of Yang Jian's father and Emperor Taizu of Sui, Yang Zhong. He was personally trained by Yang Zhong from a young age and fought bloody battles, serving as a veteran general for four generations of the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui dynasties.

A true living fossil.

Although Luo Fang and the other twelve bodyguards were only adopted sons, in reality, their generation was on par with Yang Jian, making them Yang Guang's uncles.

Of course, these people were called adopted sons, but they were more like subordinates. Since the Yang family was royalty, no one dared to really bring up seniority.

But if one changes their surname and is included in the genealogy, it's a different story. Even if Emperor Yang Guang were to see them, he would have to respectfully address them as "Imperial Aunt."

"Thump~~~"

A loud bang suddenly exploded in my ears.

Everyone in the tent turned solemn and looked respectfully at Zhang Ziyan in front of them.

To be precise, it was looking at Zhang Ziyan's right hand.

At this moment, the opponent's right hand was holding an iron rod, which was purplish-black in color and engraved with exquisite dragon patterns.

The loud thud earlier was the sound of the iron bar striking the ground.

Yang Lin, the Prince of Kao Shan, roamed the world, conquering the south and the north. His famous weapon was called the Dragon-Prisoner's Staff, also known as the Water and Fire Dragon-Prisoner's Staff. It was forged from cold iron from outer space and consisted of a pair of staffs, one on the left and one on the right, one male and one female.

And at this moment, Zhang Ziyan was holding one of them.

This also shows how much Yang Lin loves his daughter.

He even generously bestowed upon them his personal weapons.

With the Dragon-Binding Staff in hand and Yang Lin's powerful backing flag flying high, he was ready to fight.

Let alone a woman, even a dog could easily subdue an entire army.

After all, this army had followed Yang Lin for many years, and their loyalty to the Prince of Kao Shan was almost ingrained.

Moreover, Zhang Ziyan is no useless person. Her reputation as a daughter of a military family is very well-known in the Sui Dynasty, and she is no less famous than the legitimate daughters of the four major clans.

"Has there been any news from Brother Xue?" Zhang Ziyan asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

According to Bai Hufa's investigation, the Sui army that marched north was led by Luo Fang, which was not entirely wrong, but not entirely accurate either.

In fact, the person Yang Lin sent this time was not an adopted son.

Instead, there are three.

The eldest sister-in-law was Bao Fang, the second sister-in-law was Xue Liang, and the adopted daughter was Zhang Ziyan.

Luo Fang commanded the central army, while Xue Liang led the vanguard cavalry northward from Wuchuan.

As for Zhang Ziyan, she wields the Dragon-Binding Staff and guards the Backing Banner. Although she is not the commander-in-chief of the army, her status is still above Luo Fang and Xue Liang.

"General Xue has sent word that he has encountered the enemy on the grasslands and won several minor victories."

"However, General Xue said that the opposing troops were very strange. They were extremely frenzied during the battle, but it seemed that most of them were women and children."

General Xue deduced that the enemy's main force seemed to be hidden in the shadows, and therefore dared not advance rashly.

A lieutenant below responded.

"Miss... uh, General, do you think it could be the hidden main force that General Xue mentioned, which attacked Baiguan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ziyan pondered for a moment: "It's unlikely. According to Brother Xue's message, this tribe is not large, just a small tribe. At most, it can only muster three thousand troops."

"A small tribe, disregarding its own survival, sent all its troops to attack Baiguan. It would bring them no benefit whatsoever. Even if they captured the pass, they would not be able to hold it."

The lieutenant nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "Indeed, only the main force of the Turks would have such a plan to break through Baiguan and seize the Yinshan key point."

Zhang Ziyan suddenly looked up: "Have the scouts we sent out found out the enemy's movements?"

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant shook his head in confusion.

Anger instantly flared in Zhang Ziyan's eyes.

Their 20,000-strong army marched north into the desert with overwhelming momentum, only to be torn apart in an instant.

Most importantly, despite the constant turmoil and the fact that even their rear route through Yinshan was cut off, they still didn't know who their real opponent was.

To paraphrase the famous Chu Bangchang, after fighting for so long, they still didn't know who their opponent was—it was utterly absurd.

Given this situation, how could Zhang Ziyan not be furious?

Recalling her confident demeanor before setting off, even patting her chest and declaring that she would definitely achieve great feats and never disgrace her adoptive father's Iron Cudgel, Zhang Ziyan felt a stinging pain on her face.

"Thump!"

Zhang Ziyan, with a cold face, slammed the Dragon-Binding Staff down.

"The situation is too treacherous now. Our troops are divided into three parts, which is too dangerous. Send a message to Brother Xue, telling him not to get entangled with the enemy and to withdraw to Wuchuan as soon as possible."