Xiliang... its great momentum has been lost. At this time, the sky was already bright. One hour, two hours... four hours. This battle started before dawn and continued until the sky was completely dark. The high walls built on the peaks on both sides of Yecheng Pass had been fully occupied, and even Yecheng Pass was captured. Ye Shoucheng, leading the remaining troops, retreated to the south wall of Yecheng Pass, yet swore not to retreat, holding fast, as if he had made up his mind to fight to the last person... and never leave the city! This tenacious spirit reminded Bai Qingyan of the Bai family army... Whether it was the Bai family army or the soldiers of Xiliang, going to war was either to defend the homeland or to settle the world. In Bai Qingyan’s view, the soldiers who fell in battle today, whether from the Bai family army or from Xiliang, were all fearsome elite soldiers worthy of reverence. Bai Qingyan saw from a distance Ye Shouguan, who, with his remaining defeated men, occupied the southern city wall, prepared to defend it to the death, and felt greatly moved. Bai Qingyan ordered the army to cease attacking, and a stalemate ensued between the two forces. The flames flickering high and low on the city wall illuminated Ye Shouguan’s disheveled visage. He was covered in blood, his hair was messy, but his eyes remained resolute and calm, planting the Xiliang military flag on the city wall. This military flag was the last stand and resistance of Ye Shouguan and Xiliang, as if... as long as there was still a military flag standing inside Yecheng Pass, Xiliang... had not lost Yecheng Pass. Bai Qingyan gently pulled the reins and moved forward. "Eldest Young Lady!" Bai Jinxiu wanted to stop Bai Qingyan, unwilling for her to go to the front, fearing that Ye Shouguan might act out of desperation and harm the Eldest Young Lady. Bai Qingyan, however, smiled and gestured to Bai Jinxiu to rest assured. Bai Jinxiu, Bai Qingyu, Bai Qingqi, Bai Qingjue, Bai Qingyun, and Bai Jinzhao, Bai Jinhua, Bai Jinse followed, pulling the reins... closely behind Bai Qingyan. The Zhou soldiers on guard made way, allowing Bai Qingyan to ride Pingan to the front, looking up at Ye Shouguan who was supporting the Xiliang army on the city wall. She knew that the bows and arrows of Ye Shouguan’s troops had been exhausted, their blades dulled. What remained for Ye Shouguan and his soldiers were merely their flesh and blood. She shouted loudly to Ye Shouguan on the city wall: "General Ye, Bai Qingyan... dares to invite you to come down and have a talk." Ye Shouguan, gazing at Bai Qingyan, who was stained with blood and face injured, voice powerful and full of presence, imbued with a merciless fierce aura, tightly clutched the Xiliang military flag in his hand. He had underestimated this Bai family girl, but he was utterly puzzled by his defeat. He wanted to know how Bai Qingyan dared to assert that he would definitely send troops around the back of Zhou and set ambushes on both peaks? Seeing Ye Shouguan hesitating, his loyal Xiliang soldiers hurriedly urged, "General, there might be a trick! General... please retreat! I’ll lead the soldiers to buy you time!" Ye Shouguan shook his head, released his firm grip on the Xiliang military flag, turned around to tidy his messy hair with his blood-stained hand, maintained the dignity of a general, adjusted his armor, untied the tattered cloak, and stepped towards the base of the city wall. The remaining wounded Xiliang soldiers softly called out as they watched their general walk towards the base of the city wall. Ye Shouguan’s leg was injured, and a Xiliang soldier stepped forward intending to support him, but Ye Shouguan shook his head and pushed him away... Fresh chapters posted on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝※𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖※𝕟𝕖𝕥 He slowly walked down the city wall, his steps hesitated as he looked at Bai Qingyan... inexplicably reminded of Bai Qishan, recalling when he trained under General Yun Poxing and faced Bai Qishan. At that time, their Xiliang army had just seized Feng County, only to have it retaken by Bai Qishan, who came charging with the Bai family army and his brothers. As he was escorted away by the loyal servants of the Ye family, he looked back at Bai Qishan standing on the city wall in silver armor, also watching him as he fled. Bai Qingyan and several Bai family generals dismounted, and Wei Zhong hurriedly pushed a wheelchair over, assisting Bai Qingyun down to sit in the wheelchair. Ye Shouguan gritted his teeth, adjusting his breath as he descended the city wall steps, treading over rubble, blood... and the remnants of soldiers’ limbs, walking toward Bai Qingyan. Stopping at a distance of two zhang from Bai Qingyan, Ye Shouguan looked at the Emperor of Zhou for the first time, this... person known as Xiao Bai of the Bai family army. He laughed softly and said, "You’re quite bold for a little girl to come to the battlefield with a swollen belly!" "Xiliang’s first mighty frontier fortress, Bai Qingyan dare not not come." Bai Qingyan signaled Wei Zhong to offer a seat to Ye Shouguan, Wei Zhong nodded, placed a thick cushion in front of Ye Shouguan, then stepped back. "General Ye, please..." Bai Qingyan gestured invitingly to Ye Shouguan and kneeled down first. Clearly, with one more strike, Ye Shouguan and his remaining troops could have been completely eliminated. But Bai Qingyu understood that the reason his sister ordered their soldiers to stop attacking and personally came to see this General Ye Shouguan was because of her heartfelt admiration, and also because in Ye Shouguan and his soldiers, she saw the shadow of the Bai family army. Seeing this, Ye Shouguan sat opposite Bai Qingyan. Before Bai Qingyan could speak, Ye Shouguan spoke first, sincerely, "There is something I do not understand, and I ask... the Emperor of Zhou to enlighten me." Bai Qingyan respectfully replied, "General Ye, please ask..." "How did you know that I would send troops from the peaks on both sides to circumvent and attack your Zhou army from behind, prompting preemptive ambushes?" Ye Shouguan earnestly inquired, "Weren’t you afraid that I would order all the soldiers in Ye Shoucheng to feign retreat, pull back to the peaks? Wait until you enter the city... then deliver a fatal blow to you? Or simply let you pass?" Bai Qingyan shook her head, "The Emperor of Xiliang was hung in front of the Zhou array, and the Ye family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. It would never allow its own Emperor to be humiliated by Zhou in this manner. Moreover... because the Ye family guards the pass, it hasn’t participated in major battles for many years. Ye Shoucheng has been infiltrated by the various factions of Xiliang’s Eight Great Families. Although everyone would give their life to defend Yecheng Pass, in terms of military power, General Ye has gradually been sidelined." Ye Shouguan was startled, never expecting Bai Qingyan to be so well-informed about the situation inside Yecheng Pass. "Additionally, with Ye Yingnan’s daughter in the city questioning whether General Ye intended to take control and establish his own domain, it unavoidably disturbed military morale." She gazed steadily at Ye Shouguan, "So in this battle... whether out of loyalty or to prove innocence, General Ye had to give his all to save the Xiliang Emperor Li Tianfu." Ye Shouguan nodded, "Merely based on the fact that I had to rescue our Xiliang Emperor, you were certain I would have the soldiers on both peaks circumvent your Zhou army’s rear? What if I ordered the soldiers on both peaks to come down the city wall instead?"