Chapter 107: Borrowing Arrows

"Your Highness, watch out!"

Xu Lie immediately raised his shield to block above Zhao Xu's head.

He lowered his own head, leaving his armor-covered back to the falling arrows.

After a burst of clanging sounds, the air grew quiet once again.

Xu Lie moved the shield away; arrows were scattered all over the ground.

Like Xu Lie, Chang Wei stood up straight at this moment, looked at the dense mass of Arrow on the ground, and spat.

The soldiers had been very nervous when they saw the Arrow coming.

But after the rain of arrows, aside from a sensation like having their backs beaten, they suffered no injuries.

"Haha..."

Some soldiers looked at each other and laughed as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Being on the battlefield, the effectiveness of their Armor in actual combat made them feel more at ease, and their fear of the Northern Di people was invisibly dispelled a little.

At this time, Chang Wei ordered the commanders to report the casualties.

Apart from a few soldiers who twisted their feet in the panic, there were no casualties.

After all, the Northern Di were at a distance, and the lethality of their bows and arrows was not very great.

"Your Highness, shall we retaliate?" Chang Wei asked.

He really wanted to let the Northern Di taste the power of the Pulley Crossbow.

Zhao Xu shook his head, "Why waste Arrow? Just let the Northern Di send over some more."

Chang Wei understood.

He then whispered a few words to a commander.

The commander left, and before long, a soldier came to Zhao Xu's side.

After saluting, he took a breath and suddenly shouted, "You Northern Di bastard dogs, my Prince knows your dog king is in the army; you want us to surrender and go hug your mother to sleep? Keep dreaming your pipe dreams..."

The soldier's voice was very loud, and Zhao Xu's eardrums were vibrating.

This guy was truly a high-powered loudspeaker.

The jeers drifted from the city wall and instantly reached the Northern Di army.

The veins on Muto's neck bulged, and he yelled, "Fire!"

With a *whoosh*, countless Arrow took to the air again, flying toward the top of the city wall.

At this moment, the sound on the city wall ceased.

However, before Muto could even be smug, the voice sounded again.

"Northern Di dogs, is that all the skill you have? You're just scratching your grandfather's itch; with only this much skill, you'd better go home and suckle..."

"Great Song bastard dogs!" Muto's eyes were bloodshot.

Whenever they encountered Great Song soldiers in the past, which of them wasn't like a mouse meeting a cat?

Yet these Great Song soldiers in Yancheng dared to humiliate them like this.

He wished he could kill his way into the city immediately and chop them into pieces.

"Fire, fire!" Muto shouted, and Kutu's face was also as dark as water.

These Yancheng soldiers were simply detestable.

But after two more waves of arrow rain, the curses of the Yancheng soldiers sounded again.

Muto was stopped by Kutu when he wanted to continue firing.

"It's a trap; they are deliberately provoking us to fire and waste Arrow." The more Kutu thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

Muto calmed down, and upon reflection, it seemed to be the case.

These Great Song soldiers were actually shouting more and more happily.

"Great King, let's attack the city and give the Yan Wang a taste of our power." Muto was furious.

Being humiliated by an enemy he had always looked down upon was unbearable for him.

"How are the Scaling Ladder coming along?" Kutu asked.

While they were stationed here, the Cavalry behind had already dismounted to cut down trees to build Scaling Ladder for the siege.

Upon hearing this, Muto sent Cavalry to inquire, and news soon arrived.

"Great King, twenty Scaling Ladder have been made," Muto reported to Kutu after hearing the Cavalry's report.

Kutu nodded.

Tuoba Lie's role as an inside agent was extremely covert; even for beloved generals like Muto, he had not revealed it.

According to the plan, he would use the siege to pin down the forces inside the city.

But the plan was to be implemented after several days of attacking, once the Great Song soldiers in the city were exhausted.

By then, when the vigilance inside the city was relaxed,

Tuoba Lie could take the opportunity to act.

"Tell them to speed up the construction of the Scaling Ladder; tomorrow we will launch an attack on all four sides of the city wall," Kutu said.

After a pause, he said, "Additionally, prepare five thousand elite troops to rest well and wait for orders at any time."

"Yes, Great King." Muto responded, passed down Kutu's orders, and selected over five thousand elite troops to stand by.

On the city wall.

The soldier who had been shouting cleared his throat several times.

Zhao Xu and Chang Wei saw that the jeering was no longer effective and told him to stop.

"Go, collect all the Arrow; they can be used as crossbow bolts after some modifications," Chang Wei grinned and turned to say to Zhao Xu, "Hehe, there must be fifty or sixty thousand arrows here; we got them for free."

Zhao Xu chuckled twice, his gaze still fixed on the Northern Di.

The Northern Di have quieted down now, even pitching their camps, with every intention of laying siege to the end.

"Looking at it like this, they probably won't attack the city for a while," Zhao Xu said.

Chang Wei nodded, looking down from the heights; he could even see some Northern Di Cavalry beginning to eat.

"Your Highness, let the soldiers take turns resting and eating; there might be a fierce battle coming up," Chang Wei said.

The Northern Di chose to camp here, which was telling them that they would not leave until Yancheng was taken.

Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "Is everything prepared properly?"

"It is ready, awaiting Your Highness's orders at any time," Chang Wei's expression turned serious.

This matter was of great importance; if there were any mistakes, Yancheng would suffer heavy losses.

Zhao Xu looked toward the Northern Di again; what had just happened was merely an appetizer.

The next part would likely involve real bloodshed.

He did not return to the Prince's Mansion.

After the camp cooks delivered the food to the city wall, he ate with the soldiers on the wall.

Seeing that Yan Wang was with them during wartime and even eating with them now, the soldiers immediately felt a sense of closeness.

After eating, Zhao Xu inspected the city wall until midnight before returning to his sleeping quarters to rest under Chang Wei's persuasion.

At this time, the night was thick, and the stars in the sky were exceptionally clear, as if they could be plucked by reaching out a hand.

Luan'er and Feng'er were both still awake.

Seeing Zhao Xu return, they busied themselves fetching water for him to wash and change his clothes.

While the two were busy, Zhao Xu noticed they both had white silk ribbons tucked into their waists, and he let out a low sigh.

Hearing this, Luan'er turned her head, saw Yan Wang staring at the white silk, and said softly, "Why must Your Highness sigh? This servant is yours in life and yours in death; what meaning is there in merely clinging to life?"

Feng'er nodded with a smile.

Zhao Xu said nothing; he was a bit tired, and as he lay on the bed, he drifted off into a hazy sleep without realizing it.

Yet, his heart was suddenly at an unprecedented peace.

There was nothing to fear.

He could not let down those who placed their hopes in him.

……

Fanyang.

Yuan Mansion.

Unlike the desolate scene in Yan Commandery, here there was still an atmosphere of peace and prosperity with singing and dancing.

At this moment, a banquet was taking place in the mansion.

Yuan Li sat at the head of the table, eating meat in large mouthfuls and drinking Wine in large gulps.

This had always been his motto, and he acted accordingly, never caring about gossip.

"This Yan Wang is truly stupid; with the Northern Di army at the gates, he actually transferred the bulk of his troops to other counties. He is simply seeking his own death."

A Yuan Family general put down his wine cup and spoke with mockery.

"Who is to say otherwise? I originally thought this Yan Wang was somewhat interesting, but in the end, he is still a fool."

"Heh heh, it's better if he dies; it saves him from being an eyesore."

"……"

The people at the banquet spoke up one after another.

These words fell into Yuan Li's ears like celestial music.

Ever since Yan Wang recovered from his illness, there had been a thorn in his heart.

Now, this thorn was finally going to be pulled out.

"If Yan Wang does not die, I cannot sleep in peace," Yuan Li said, his face flushed from the Wine. "To ensure nothing goes wrong, during this Northern Di Autumn Hunt, we must not engage the Northern Di in battle; we only need to make a show of it in each commandery. In this way, once the Northern Di armies in other commanderies have plundered enough, they will head to Yan Commandery to assist in the battle."

"Prefect is wise," the generals at the banquet praised him one after another.

They feared engaging the Northern Di Cavalry the most.

Now that Yuan Li had said this, it perfectly suited their wishes.

"My Lord, but if we do this, the people of Yanzhou will surely be slaughtered, causing Yanzhou's strength to be greatly diminished," a general suddenly said.

Yuan Li looked toward that general; it was Zhong Li, a Captain of the Black Armored Army.

He let out a cold snort and said, "Womanly benevolence! If we do not eliminate Yan Wang, will there be any place for my Yuan Family in Yanzhou in the future?"

Hearing this, the general said no more.