"General!" Vice General Zhao grabbed Ye Shouguan’s arm, stopping him, and glanced at Sima Ruodan, who was crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, full of terror. He said, "General, our Xiliang warriors exist to protect the citizens. It’s unreasonable to swing our swords at our own unarmed girls for a few words." Ye Shouguan suppressed his anger, closed his eyes, and said, "I, Ye Shouguan, once swore to the God that I would only support the Li Imperial Family in this life and never betray them! If not for your young ignorance, I would certainly have had someone drag you out and behead you, to prevent you from disrupting the morale of our Xiliang army!" Sima Ruodan just shook and cried, as if scared out of her wits by Ye Shouguan. Ye Shouguan sheathed his Longsword and shouted loudly, "Take these two traitors away and lock them up! Punish them later!" Sima Ruodan widened her eyes, hurriedly pleading again, "Uncle, uncle, please save my father, my mother, and my brother!" Suddenly, the war drums from the north of the city sounded abruptly, and everyone looked shocked toward the north. "Report..." A soldier from the north hurried over, leaping off his horse and kneeling on one knee with a fist salute, "General! The Zhou army is attacking the city!" Hearing this, the soldiers dragging Sima Ruodan and the attendant stopped, stunned, and looked at Ye Shouguan. "Uncle! Uncle, surrender! Opening the city gates voluntarily can save His Majesty and also save my brother and parents, uncle!" Sima Ruodan shouted loudly. "Otherwise... if the Zhou really hangs His Majesty in front of the war chariot to block the arrows, are you going to have the soldiers shoot at His Majesty?!" "Drag them away!" Ye Shouguan shouted fiercely, leaping onto his horse and rushing towards the city gate with the soldiers. When Ye Shouguan and a group of generals ascended the city gate, they saw from a distance, an endless... Zhou army advancing like a giant dragon, holding high torches. Led by Bai Qingyan, followed by Bai Qingyu, Bai Jinxiu, Bai Qingqi, Bai Qingjue, Bai Qingyun, Bai Jinzhao, Bai Jinhua, Bai Jinse, these nine members of the Bai family lined up, leading the cavalry at the forefront. Pushed by a dozen soldiers were two cloud ladders at the very front, one of which was tied the Governor’s wife Ye Yingnan and a woman with disheveled hair. At the sight of Ye Yingnan, Vice General Zhao’s eyes fell on the disheveled woman and he shouted, "General, it’s His Majesty and the lady!" Ye Shouguan clenched the sword at his waist forcefully, shouting, "Prepare the crossbows! Archers, ready!" The Zhou army came with such momentum and without alerting the sentinels, indicating that the Zhou preemptively killed them, clearly prepared. Ye Shouguan had to be cautious. "General! That’s His Majesty!" Vice General Zhao looked incredulously at Ye Shouguan. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel★fire.net "I know!" Ye Shouguan turned his head fiercely towards Vice General Zhao, "Prepare to fight! That’s an order!" Vice General Zhao knelt on one knee and saluted, "General! I request permission to go out and rescue His Majesty and the lady!" Seeing Vice General Zhao kneeling and requesting, more commanders under Ye Shouguan gritted their teeth and knelt, requesting, "I request permission to go out and rescue His Majesty and the lady!" Because of Sima Ruodan’s commotion, now the soldiers were almost convinced that Li Tianfu was the one being hung on the cloud ladder, each hating furiously, eager to go to battle to rescue their Emperor! After all, hanging their Xiliang Emperor on that cloud ladder is no different from hanging Xiliang’s honor. How could they, as soldiers, tolerate this?! "Everyone, don’t panic! Why panic!" Ye Shouguan clenched his fist, "Whether the one tied on the cloud ladder is our Xiliang Emperor is still uncertain; this may be a ploy by the Zhou! Sending troops out will only allow Zhou to devour our deployed forces and then come to attack Yecheng Pass! Yecheng Pass is our last defense for Xiliang! If Yecheng Pass is breached, Xiliang will fall!" The soldiers widened their eyes at Ye Shouguan, suddenly recalling Sima Ruodan’s earlier claim that Ye Shouguan wanted to seize the city and become king. Some exchanged wary glances, harboring doubts about Ye Shouguan. Vice General Zhao lifted his gaze, staring intently at Ye Shouguan in the distance. He knew that with Ye Shouguan’s hatred for Ye Yingnan, he would never dispatch troops to save Ye Yingnan. He was almost openly declaring that the Xiliang Emperor on the ladder was fake, seemingly determined to disregard the fates of the Emperor and Ye Yingnan. Vice General Zhao slowly stood up; he was a soldier of Xiliang and swore allegiance to the Imperial Family, further promising General Ye to ensure Ye Yingnan’s safety. If push came to shove, he would rebel if necessary to prevent General Ye from seizing the city as king! Other commanders, seeing Vice General Zhao rise, also stood up... "The Zhou army is closing in. If they push the cloud ladder with His Majesty toward the city gate, General, are we to aim our crossbows at the Zhou army? If His Majesty gets accidentally injured, who could take responsibility for that?" Vice General Zhao spoke firmly, rarely confronting Ye Shouguan so openly. Other commanders nodded, "Indeed, General! That is our Xiliang Emperor! We soldiers... exist to protect our home and country, if there’s no Emperor, how can there be a state?" "General, are you planning to seize the city and establish yourself as a king?" A bold commander directly asked Ye Shoucheng, "If so, forgive me, but I cannot follow you, General!" "Mr. Zhai!" Vice General Zhao turned his head to reprimand. Ye Shouguan suddenly turned to stare at the commander named Mr. Zhai, and then swept his gaze over the other commanders, "Rebellion, is it?! The Ye family has been defending Yecheng Pass for generations. I, Ye Shouguan, have sworn to the God... to be loyal unto death to the Imperial Family and Xiliang!" "Then why, General, won’t you let us take troops out to battle, to rescue His Majesty!" Mr. Zhai asked hoarsely. "See for yourself!" Ye Shouguan pointed to the distance, "The main force of the Zhou is all here! How will you rescue? Only by holding Ye Shouguan can His Majesty remain safe! Can’t you understand this!" "What the General says isn’t right!" Vice General Zhao led the way, "The cousin has already said, Zhou will push His Majesty and the lady forward, forcing us not to use arrows against Zhou!" "Yes! If Zhou really does this, our soldiers will surely be tied up!" Another commander spoke, looking into the distance as the Zhou army grew ever closer, soon within their archers’ range, "General, you must make a decision quickly!" Ye Shouguan forced himself to calm down, tightening his fist, aware that if he didn’t send out troops to attempt to rescue Li Tianfu after such a commotion, there would inevitably be a wavering in morale within Ye Shoucheng. In the face of such an enemy, if morale wavers, defeat is assured before the battle even begins. So... he must now send troops out first to rescue Li Tianfu!