Chapter 141 "Dancing with Wolves"

"Hahaha, big brother, you look really cool!" Zhou Sanquan's eyes shone and he stared at his older brother in admiration.
Zhou Shi laughed uproariously and only after a while remembered that he was a knowledgeable scholar. He cleared his throat and pretended to be calm, waving his hand and saying, "Where, where, a scholar should not have a vain heart, but I appreciate the sentiment. You are also very cool, Second Brother!"
On Wednesday, Zhou proudly exclaimed, "Hahaha, I also think I am very mighty. It's truly a blessing from my ancestors that I, an ignorant and coarse person who can barely read, can become a general in official robes. And to top it off, I was personally appointed by His Majesty as a legitimate general. It truly brings glory to my ancestors, hahaha!"
Xue Zuoran couldn't bear it any longer and couldn't help but speak: "General Zhou, be cautious with your words. According to the regulations of our dynasty, only the General of the State, Zhen Guo, can be referred to as the Grand General. You and I are just minor generals, how dare we call ourselves the Grand General?"
On Wednesday, Zhou did not care and said, "It's alright, General Ben often boasts in front of the princess and never gets punished. General Xue, you shouldn't be so timid. How can a soldier be afraid of this and that? In the past, I rebelled and started a rebellion, and now I'm living well, and even became a legitimate general! Hahaha!"
He laughed again while talking, obviously very proud of his past as a rebel and very satisfied with his current official position!
Xue Zuo asked: "..."
There is nothing to say. For these uncivilized barbarians who don't understand etiquette, he couldn't help but speak many times, but found that no matter what reasoning he used, it was useless because these two people don't have brains at all. How could he expect them to accomplish anything? I don't know what got into the princess's head, actually sending such people to accompany him to the south.
With this thought, he couldn't help but shake his head. It seemed that this trip was as good as done, even the heavens were going to aid him in achieving his goal.
He glanced at the 50,000 loyal army behind him, feeling confident in his heart.
Weekday and Wednesday were arguing about meaningless matters, and he interrupted, saying, "We will arrive at Sunset City tomorrow afternoon. In my opinion, it would be better to send a vanguard team to investigate the situation first?"
They looked at each other and nodded, saying, "It's all up to General Xue's arrangement."
General Xue snorted coldly, thinking both of them were fools.
Immediately, he ordered the vanguard to advance and sent one thousand slaughter knives to the Wei family army, who had been fighting for four months.
The setting sun cast a hazy and golden light over the twilight city, giving a lifeless and yet mesmerizing beauty to the desolate ruins.
As the vanguard, Qin Li led a thousand men to be the first ones to arrive, not for the so-called reconnaissance mission, but to eliminate any witnesses.
Count Xue had laid countless secret lines in the south several months ago. With each of Wei Qing'an's victories in the south, news continuously flowed into the Xue Mansion in the capital city through these secret lines. Any other means of communication had either been secretly destroyed or fell into Count Xue's hands.
In the south, Wei Qing'an is not able to win, whether he wins or loses. In General Xue's plan, he and all his subordinates must not return to the capital alive, and the war in the south cannot end so easily.
His job as Xue Taishi's confidant was to assist the young master in diverting the attention of the emperor and all the officials to this place, while also restraining the southwestern military camp without a commanding officer, in order to assist Senior Taishi in achieving great success.
Although it was quite unexpected for him to see the city gate wide open at sunset, he never expected the Guardian Army to have such weak defense and open the gate so generously just after a major battle, even if they were in a desperate situation.
But this unexpected turn of events was not enough to make him stop. Even with Wei Qing'an's extraordinary methods and clever calculations, there is no possibility of turning the tide when facing such a dire situation of running out of provisions and supplies.
He cruelly grinned and ordered his men to charge towards this lifeless city.
Under the sunlight, a gleam flashed across the city wall, but nobody noticed.
Gundam leaned against the city wall and weakly asked, "General, what's the plan?"
Wei Qing'an calmly replied, "Most likely."
Several deputy generals beside them smiled and said, "That will do! General, once we fight our way back, we will make these people pay!"
A few people bowed their heads and left cautiously, returning to their posts.
Wei Qing'an looked at them deeply.
There is a high probability, but not necessarily a winning one. Although there are no more than two thousand people outside the city, they are worn out and in poor condition. However, the Wei family's army is already at its last-ditch, unable to withstand the hunger of many days. Even if they defeat these people, there will inevitably be solid reinforcements behind them. And the Wei family's army is trapped and dying in this city of the setting sun, just like its name suggests, on the edge of the setting sun.
战马是他们的兄弟，不可动。百姓是他们的子民，也不可动。城中能入口的东西都被搜刮了一遍，所获在分给百姓大半之后，剩余的寥寥无几，杯水车薪。
In these days, several wounded soldiers have died in the army, and many others have also perished. They are able to hold on until now thanks to the assistance of the townspeople.
The southern region is impoverished and known for its treacherous mountains and waters, as well as its unruly inhabitants. However, these ignorant peasants living in the so-called remote areas seem to have realized something amidst these increasingly difficult times. They have started bringing whatever meager food they can spare, perhaps not even qualified as proper rations, to the doorstep of the Lord's mansion. As soon as they see someone, they immediately disappear without a trace.
In the face of these people, the soldiers who trust him completely, he can only muster his confidence and fight a battle that is almost doomed to failure.
.
The next afternoon, Xue Zuo rang led the army to rush to the city of Luo Ri.
The city gate is tightly closed, and the flags on the city wall are worn and sloppily inserted, looking half down and half up. Yet, there seems to be a faint smell of blood in the city.
Xue Zuo's brow furrowed, feeling something ominous in his heart.
On Wednesday, Zhouxin exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on? Why are there no fresh corpses outside the city, but it seems like many people have died inside? Could it be that the people inside..."
Weeks sighed and said, "I didn't expect the Wei family's army to... sigh... How am I supposed to explain this to the princess?"
Just then, several figures appeared on the city wall. They were dressed as soldiers from Daiyan, and one of them shouted, "Who goes there? Who is your commanding officer?"
Xue Zuo suddenly felt a chill in his heart, realizing that his plan had failed. A murderous intent formed in his eyes.
"We are sent by the Emperor to assist General Wei Qing'an! That person is General Xue Zuo Rangbei. We are the two generals personally appointed by the Emperor. Are you all under his command?" Zhou Sanquan responded loudly.

Just then, a few people gathered together and discussed something after hearing the words. Before long, the city gate was opened and a few people walked out of the city to greet them.
"The city is small and cannot accommodate too many people. The general ordered the three generals to station the army outside the city. He himself is currently waiting at the City Lord's Mansion to have a meeting with the three generals."

Xue Zuo frowned and said, "The soldiers have traveled a long and tiring journey, how can they stay outside the city?"
The young general replied calmly, "The city is small, if we enter rashly, it may cause panic among the people. Please understand, General Xue."
Zhou Shidao: "It's understandable. General Xue, why are you still hesitating? It's convenient to have the army stationed outside the city for easy mobilization. They came to fight, not to enjoy luxuries. Besides, General Wei is not our enemy, just a visitor. Why bring an army?"
Xue Zuo let out a silent curse, not necessarily against you, but perhaps against him.
He completely ignored his words, contemplated for a while, and said, "I need to bring a hundred personal guards into the city."
The young general silently observed the group, knowing that they were bound to clash with each other. He smirked to himself, confident that his assessment was correct - these people were not united.
Nodding, he gestured towards the city and said, "Please."