Hanzhou, Pengcheng!
Everyone on the city wall was on high alert, looking at the mighty rebel army outside the city with gloomy expressions and fear and anxiety in their eyes.

The rebel army's momentum was like a rainbow, like an invisible torrent, quietly approaching, making every corner of Pengcheng filled with a sense of oppression.

Guo Huaicheng stood on the tower, his heart aching. He looked around and saw the faces of the soldiers were full of fear and helplessness, and his heart was bleeding.

He knew that as a general, he had to cheer up and inspire the morale of his soldiers. However, everything in front of him made him feel powerless, as if he was trapped in an inescapable nightmare.

"Cheer up!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to arouse hope in everyone's hearts and suppress the uneasiness.

"No matter how strong the rebels are, they are just human beings. Moreover, our reinforcements will arrive soon. Then it will be time for us to counterattack."

He said this with an urgent hoarse voice, trying to arouse the hope in everyone's hearts and suppress the uneasiness.

However, he still underestimated the invincible power of the rebels, and even more so the panic and anxiety caused by the rebels' siege without attacking.

The soldiers' eyes were filled with anxiety and doubt, as if a cold wind was raging in their hearts, making their courage disappear in an instant. At this moment, fear had spread throughout Pengcheng, weighing on everyone's heart, making people tremble.

Everyone's eyes were blank and terrified. When they looked at each other, all they could see were those frightened and pale faces. Discussions and anxiety arose one after another.

Everything he saw made Guo Huaicheng's face turn even more grim, and his heart became more and more anxious.

It is obvious that Lin Zhongyun is not a stupid and arrogant person. He will not wait for the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians to arrive before launching an attack. There must be a deeper reason for his current siege without attacking.

Although he couldn't guess the reason behind this, there was no doubt that the rebels would never let Pengcheng go so easily.

He knew that time was on Daqian's side, but the process of enduring this period was extremely painful.

If this panic is allowed to spread, there will be a mutiny inside Pengcheng, and the city will collapse before the rebels even launch an attack.

If that happens, he will follow in the footsteps of Ganghwa County.

So, time is neither on his side nor on his side;
He could only curb this panic if he cracked the rebels' conspiracy before they launched an offensive or if reinforcements arrived in advance.

"When will the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians arrive?" He asked the deputy general beside him with a stern face, with a hint of helplessness and anxiety in his voice.

Now, he can only pin his hopes on reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians. How sad.

The deputy general's face was filled with bitterness. He sighed and said in a sad voice, "General, according to the news from the court, they have already set out. Although the Northern Barbarians have sent troops to support them, they certainly won't plan to arrive immediately. I'm afraid they also want to use the rebels to weaken our Daqian."

After hearing this, Guo Huaicheng nodded helplessly, and his mood at this moment fell to the freezing point.

The relationship of "lips and teeth are interdependent" certainly forced the Northern Barbarians to send reinforcements, but after all, Daqian and the Northern Barbarians are of different clans and origins, and there are some differences in the considerations of interests.

Seeing Guo Huaicheng's livid face, the deputy general frowned, and his uneasiness grew. He took a deep breath and comforted himself, "But Hanzhou is such a big place. No matter what, the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians should be able to arrive tomorrow morning."

"Well, we have no chance of winning if we take the initiative now."

Guo Huaicheng took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and thought seriously: "No matter what, we must hold on until tomorrow morning."

"Yes!" The deputy general nodded immediately, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

He knew that the only way out now was to defend the city and wait for rescue. Although the road ahead was full of thorns, only action could break this dull despair.

Huaicheng turned around and glanced at the soldiers on the tower with a determined look. He swore to himself, "No matter what, I will never let Pengcheng fall! We must hold on until the last moment!"

His voice was like a sharp sword, cutting through the silence on the city wall and inspiring a trace of courage in the soldiers' hearts.

Just as he finished his words, a blazing fire suddenly ignited under the dark night, like a dancing fire snake, raging behind the rebel camp on the horizon.

The firelight was particularly dazzling in the dark night, as if tearing through the deep night sky, illuminating the surrounding scenery, making people feel uneasy.

"Is the rebel army planning to attack at night?" The deputy general immediately looked in the direction of the rebel camp, with a hint of uncertainty and anxiety in his tone. His eyes were fixed on the dazzling fire, and he felt a sense of foreboding in his heart.

"Have the soldiers ready, and all the archers go up to the city walls!"

Faced with such an unexpected situation, Guo Huaicheng reacted immediately and gave orders decisively, with a sense of urgency in his voice.

He knew that attacks at night were often the most difficult to guard against, and that preparations had to be made in advance to deal with possible dangers.

He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the rebel camp. The flames shooting up into the sky were dazzling and burning behind the rebels. As the flames grew stronger, miserable screams and wails echoed in his ears, as if someone had led his troops into the rebel camp.

Guo Huaicheng's heart tightened, and his voice trembled with disbelief: "What... is going on?"

This shrill wailing sound was so piercing in the dark night, it was definitely not fake. This meant that something had definitely happened inside the rebel camp. Could it be that the rebels had already started an internal fight? Or was this simply a trap set by the rebels?
"Could it be that the Northern Barbarians' rebel army arrived ahead of time?" The deputy general's voice rang in his ears, his eyes wide open, his pupils filled with disbelief. His voice trembled a little, as if he was trying to digest everything in front of him.

Soon, the flames grew brighter and brighter, and the neighing of horses and the shouting of the army could be heard from afar.

This made Guo Huaicheng feel confused. Could it really be the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians? This sudden change made him suspicious and confused. His mind was in a mess and he couldn't sort out the clues.

"This...what is going on?" He muttered to himself in a low voice, as if trying to find a reasonable explanation.

This sudden change was unexpected by everyone. They were still wondering when the Northern Barbarians' reinforcements would arrive, but they didn't expect that the Northern Barbarians' reinforcements would rush into the rebel army in the next second.

At least that's what it looks like now. It's impossible for the rebel army to have a rebellion within its own ranks.

"General, look! The Northern Barbarians' reinforcements have indeed arrived. The rebels' camp to the east has already caught fire, and some are starting to flee!"

The deputy general pointed to the most intense burning spot in the distance and shouted excitedly, "This can't be a trap, it's really the reinforcements of the Northern Barbarians." "We just need to go out now and attack from both sides with the Northern Barbarian reinforcements, and we will definitely kill all the rebels without leaving a single piece of armor."

The deputy general's excited and high-pitched voice echoed in Guo Huaicheng's ears. However, looking at everything in front of him, he still felt some doubts and hesitations in his heart.

"It's dark now, and we can't be sure whether the chaos in the rebel camp was caused by the northern barbarians." Guo Huaicheng took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said in a deep voice.

At this moment, his heart was like the surging waves. He longed for the dawn of victory, but was also afraid that it was just a short-lived illusion.

"If they are really the Northern Barbarians, they will never be easily wiped out by the rebels. We can take this opportunity to weaken their spirit."

He continued, although the chaos in the rebel camp could not be faked, there was no guarantee that it was not a trap set by Lin Zhongyun.

He would rather do nothing than make a mistake!
The deputy general nodded and continued, "General, your words are polite, but if the northern barbarians really come to help, should we gather our troops in advance? Then we can go out of the city to meet the enemy and defeat the rebels as soon as possible."

"it is good!"

Guo Huaicheng shouted, "Pass on my order and gather the troops. I will hold my ground on the city wall."

As time passed, the fighting in the rebel camp became more intense, the flames became brighter in the dark night, and nearly half of the camp was engulfed in flames.

The flames licked the tents, reflecting the distorted and angry faces of the soldiers. The neighing of war horses and the shouting of the people were intertwined, and it seemed so tragic in the cold and bleak wind.

Guo Huaicheng's heart became increasingly tense, as if he could feel the burning atmosphere. He stared at the rebel camp, where he could vaguely see figures running frantically in the firelight. The chaotic scene made him feel palpitations.

Under the light of the fire, the faces of the rebel soldiers were filled with fear and despair, as if their morale had been completely crushed at this moment.

"General, the rebel army seems to have begun to collapse!" The deputy general's voice sounded in his ears, with a sense of urgency, but Guo Huaicheng's heart was still restless. He knew that behind the firelight, there was not only victory in the battle, but perhaps a deeper conspiracy.

"We can't act hastily. We must observe carefully." Guo Huaicheng reminded himself again, and the uneasiness in his heart became more and more serious. His intuition told him that this battle was not as simple as it seemed. Behind the defeat of the rebels, there might be a bigger conspiracy.

At this moment, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the sky full of flames.

The soldiers were in a very miserable state, with their weapons and armors discarded and their ranks completely disorganized. In the end, even the flag that symbolized the rebel army fell to the ground and no one was there to pick it up.

Behind them was a mass of northern barbarian cavalry chasing closely behind them, the sound of their horses’ hooves was like thunder, deafening.

"General, do you think that man is Lin the bandit?" The deputy general pointed at the fleeing men and said with gritted teeth, his voice full of anxiety and anger.

"Lin Thief? Lin Zhongyun?"

Guo Huaicheng's heart tightened, and he looked in the direction he was looking, and saw that the person leading the escape was undoubtedly Lin Zhongyun.

Lin Zhongyun was Daqian's greatest enemy, and his portrait had long been spread throughout Hanzhou, so he would be able to recognize him even if he turned into ashes. Moreover, the continuous firelight was extremely dazzling, and it was as bright as day outside Pengcheng, leaving Lin Zhongyun with nowhere to hide.

"General, this opportunity is rare and will never come back!" The deputy general's face was filled with anxiety, and he said anxiously, "Now even Lin Zhongyun has escaped. The people who attacked the rebel camp must be the Northern Barbarians."

"General, we must not delay any longer."

The deputy general's excited voice echoed in Guo Huaicheng's ears. He clenched his hands tightly in his sleeves and stared at Lin Zhongyun who was fleeing outside the city.

Guo Huaicheng's heart was in turmoil and he was extremely conflicted at the moment.

He understood that capturing Lin Zhongyun would be a great achievement and would be enough to reverse the entire situation of the war. From then on, he would be on the rise and would no longer be a small general defending a city.

However, the doubts in his heart were like a haze that could not be dispelled. Was this really a surprise attack by the northern barbarians? Or was it a smokescreen deliberately released by the rebels? If it was a trap, if he attacked rashly, he would probably fall into a deeper quagmire, and then everything would be over.

Now, there are two paths before him. One is to go out of the city to meet the enemy. Although it is very risky, the greater the risk, it also means higher returns. If he can really kill the thief Lin, he will bring honor to his family and gain new territory.

The other option is to continue defending the city. There would be no big mistake in doing so, but if the attackers outside are really the Northern Barbarian reinforcements, and he refuses to send troops, it may lead to the destruction of the Northern Barbarian reinforcements.

At that time, it would not be a question of whether he could defend Pengcheng, but that he would become the eternal sinner of Daqian and be cursed by everyone.

He was in a state of confusion, and countless possible scenarios flashed through his mind. He knew that if he missed this opportunity and Lin Zhongyun escaped, it would be a permanent regret in his heart.

Eventually, his hesitation was replaced by determination. He knew that this opportunity was rare, and even though he had a thousand concerns, they could not stop the flame of his desire for victory.

In any case, capturing Lin Zhongyun is a huge achievement, enough to pave the way for Pengcheng's future.

"Okay!" Guo Huaicheng finally made up his mind, his voice full of determination, "Order the entire army to prepare to leave the city to fight! No matter what, Lin Zhongyun must not escape!"

A trace of joy appeared on the deputy general's face, and he turned around and ran down the city wall without waiting for Guo Huaicheng to speak. When he reached the foot of the city, he shouted loudly: "Open the city gate quickly, and follow me to welcome the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians!"

"Now that Lin the bandit is right before our eyes, whoever kills him will be granted the title of Marquis!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud roar of angry shouts. Everyone's face was grim and their eyes were filled with murderous intent.

At this time, those who can still stand here are already desperate criminals who have put their lives at risk just for the chance to take a chance.

As the gate of Pengcheng slowly opened, the deputy general rushed out first.

Following closely behind were the desperate criminals who had been recruited early in the morning. They waved their weapons, let out sharp roars, and chased in the direction of Lin Zhongyun.

But at the moment the door opened, under the blazing light of the fire, a team of fast riders suddenly rushed out from the darkness... (End of this chapter)