The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

In addition to sending black coal to the capital, Su Qianqian also sent a lot to the border regions, twice as much as she sent to the capital.

The team was led by Mo Xiaobei.

The snow was very thick along the way, and the convoy moved slowly.

The horse at the very front wasn't pulling a cart, but a snowplow, which looked like a plow for tilling the land.

The cleared road was just wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through.

The snow adorned the entire world in a pristine white, with jade-like branches and trees, untouched by a speck of dust, a beauty beyond compare.

Mo Xiaobei, however, had no interest in admiring the scenery. Holding up a large tin megaphone, he shouted to the convoy, "Everyone, give it your all! We'll reach Yinguan City today!"

"If everyone finishes this mission of delivering supplies as soon as possible and returns to Qinghe County, we can eat at Gu's Restaurant. Miss Su said that there will be plenty of food."

On the northern frontier, at the Silver Pass city, war drums thundered.

The northern barbarians are attacking the north gate of Yinguan City.

With an enemy force of 100,000 and a defending force of only 20,000, the disparity between the two sides was enormous, making a defeat inevitable.

The person stationed at Yinguan City was Xu Ruoxuan's third maternal uncle, Shen Zhili.

Lieutenant Cui Xian, his face covered in blood, ran up to Shen Zhili and said dejectedly, "General, Yinguan City can't be defended anymore. The Northern Barbarians are too brutal. Every time they invade one of our cities, they slaughter all the inhabitants. Why don't we lead the people and evacuate through the south gate?"

Along the north gate, there is an 8-meter-high border defense line built by the Great Qi Dynasty. The enemy cannot bypass the border defense line to reach the south gate. The south gate is temporarily safe, which is why Cui Xian suggested withdrawing from the south gate.

With a "whoosh," an arrow pierced the air and struck Shen Zhili's left arm.

He had no time for sentimentality; he simply reached out, pulled the arrow out, and threw it on the ground.

The arrow had barbs, and it was stained with bright red flesh and blood.

With a "whoosh," another arrow shot out, hitting Vice General Cui's helmet. The helmet fell to the ground, and Vice General Cui quickly crouched down to avoid the rain of arrows.

War is cruel.

Lieutenant General Cui urged urgently, "General, please make a decision as soon as possible, or it will be too late."

After a moment of silence, Shen Zhili ordered, "Deputy General Cui, open the south gate and let the people leave. The rest of you continue to hold Yinguan City."

The Northern Barbarians have already slaughtered three cities, including Crescent Moon City. Silver Pass City is located on the second line of defense and has a very important geographical location on the northern border. If it is breached by the Northern Barbarians, the consequences will be unimaginable.

If the enemy occupies Yinguan City, they can easily capture several cities behind it, and the entire Great Qi will be in imminent danger!

Therefore, Shen Zhili was unwilling to give up Yinguan City.

The Shen family members are willing to die for their country, but they cannot be deserters!

"Deputy General Cui, go and let the people leave the city quickly."

After Shen Zhili finished speaking, he turned around and threw himself back into the battle.

There were many northern barbarians, who kept climbing up the ladders outside the city walls.

Shen Zhili and his soldiers frantically brandished their broadswords, hacking and slashing relentlessly, determined not to let a single Northern Barbarian soldier enter the city.

Another deputy general, Zhang Dafu, also advised, "General Shen, it seems we can't hold out any longer. We should retreat."

Zhang Dafu believed that even if a great immortal came, he couldn't save Yinguan City. Retreating would at least preserve some of the troops.

Shen Zhili's expression was solemner than ever before. "All soldiers, listen to my command! We swear to defend Yinguan City to the death!"

Behind him, the military flag bearing the character "齐" (Qi) was riddled with several holes by arrows, yet it still swayed in the cold wind.

Shen Zhili was determined to live or die with Yinguan City.

The Shen family was full of loyal martyrs; his father and brothers all died on the battlefield. He did not want to be the only coward in the Shen family.

Moreover, Yinguan City is of paramount importance to the Great Qi. Losing Yinguan City is tantamount to losing half of the country, and from then on, the Northern Barbarians will be able to drive straight into the heart of the Great Qi.

The battle started two days ago. Yesterday, Shen Zhili sent people to the three neighboring cities to ask for help. In theory, the reinforcements should have arrived by now, but they haven't seen a single one.

It seems there will be no reinforcements.

Silver Pass City is doomed!

\

The city west of Yinguan City is called Shacheng.

Inside the military tent in Shacheng.

General Mu, the commander defending the city, stood solemnly in front of the sand table and said to his men, "Yingguan City's geographical location is extremely important. Moreover, when the enemy attacked Shacheng a few days ago, General Shen sent three thousand reinforcements to support it. What do you think? Should we send reinforcements to Yingguan City?"

The strategist with the goatee advised, "General, although Yinguan City is very important, we just fought a tough battle a few days ago, suffering heavy casualties. We currently lack the strength to support Yinguan City. If the enemy launches a feint attack, Shacheng will surely fall!"

The other young players also tried to persuade him—

"General Mu, we cannot send reinforcements! Our Sand City is already in dire need of protection."

"General Mu, last time the Northern Barbarians attacked Shacheng with only 40,000 troops, but this time they have mobilized 100,000 troops to concentrate their firepower on Yinguan City. Yinguan City is doomed to fall. Sending reinforcements there would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths."

"General Mu, we don't need to make unnecessary sacrifices. No matter who goes, they can't save Yinguan City."

Snow was falling heavily from the sky, and the snow on the ground was so thick that it reached up to a person's knees.

Moreover, the wind was biting cold, much colder than in the capital.

The young soldiers kept warm by stomping their feet, and their breath came out in white mist when they spoke.

General Mu was also cold, but he couldn't walk around too much, as that would appear unsteady. After all, he was the general guarding the city and the backbone of everyone.

Just then, a thin soldier entered.

The soldier's eyelashes and eyebrows were covered in ice crystals, and he brought in a chill that made the people in the room shiver.

The soldier reported, "General Mu, the supplies sent from the capital have arrived."

Although General Mu had little hope for the grain supplies sent by the imperial court, he still asked with a glimmer of hope, "What did the imperial court send this time?"

"Reporting to the general, the supplies delivered this time only consist of grain; there are no vegetables or firewood."

In the north, snow covers the land, and firewood is very scarce.

As the snow deepened, all the trees in the city were cut down and burned.

The firewood in the barracks has run out in the last few days, so there's no firewood left for cooking, and the soldiers are eating cold meals.

Some people had stored firewood in advance, but we can't rob them!

Several young soldiers, upon hearing that only grain had been delivered, couldn't help but complain—

"Thousands of people have already fallen ill. If I don't get something hot to eat soon, I feel like I'm going to die."

"The thick cotton-padded clothes provided by the imperial court are not very thick, and the quilts are not warm either. Several wounded soldiers froze to death last night."

"There wasn't even enough firewood for cooking, let alone for heating. In such harsh conditions, we didn't even dare to think about whether we would survive tomorrow."

Soldiers who can't even get a hot meal every day have no fighting power whatsoever.

Therefore, Shacheng is indeed in dire need of protection right now.

Those holding discussions inside the tents were all stamping their feet from the cold, let alone the soldiers outside.

In the freezing wind and snow, the patrolling soldiers were covered in snowflakes, their faces turning blue from the cold.

Three soldiers on night duty froze to death last night.

General Mu felt sorry for his men, so he said, "Take down one of the stables next door and cook a hot meal for them."

Just as he finished speaking, another soldier entered the tent to report: "General Mu, the Crown Prince Gong asked me to tell you that he has taken his five hundred troops to reinforce Yinguan City."

General Mu remained silent, his feelings quite complex.

He also wanted to send troops to support Yinguan City, but he was powerless to do so! He could only apologize to General Shen, who was guarding Yinguan City, saying, "You supported me last time, but I can't support you now."

The young players standing nearby were quite moved—

"Why is Prince Gong doing this? A scion of a high-ranking family, he could easily stay in the capital and enjoy a life of luxury, but he insists on coming here to suffer with us, and now he's going to Yinguan City to die!"

"Five hundred men is too few, it's like a drop in the ocean. Going there won't do any good; no one can save Yinguan City."

The goatee-bearded strategist said, "I've heard that a very capable female general has emerged in Huainan, winning battle after battle. If she were here, perhaps Yinguan City could be saved."

General Mu felt that the goat beard was too impractical; Huainan was so far away, it wouldn't be able to quench their immediate thirst!

However, he thought that little girl was really amazing!

I heard that the King of Huainan captured dozens of cities near Huainan, but he suffered a defeat only against the little girl.