The civilians in the city were all forced to reluctantly become Great Zhou citizens just to survive and have food to eat. He had never thought that Xiliang civilians would truly help the Great Zhou army resist Xiliang.

Moreover, the Xiliang army, having traveled long distances, hadn’t brought siege engines like catapults, so attacking the city would inevitably be difficult.

Therefore, when the first wave of siege attacks began, the Great Zhou army on the city walls methodically used bows and crossbows to shoot.

Bai Qingyan watched the fearless Xiliang army charging toward Jiangzi City and shouted: “Liu Pinggao! Order fire oil jars to be tied to the bed crossbow arrows and light the arrows!”

“Yes!” Liu Pinggao received the order and turned to instruct soldiers to rush down the city wall to relay commands to the civilians.

Wei Zhong still wanted to protect Bai Qingyan from behind, but Bai Qingyan drew an arrow, aimed into the distance, and released it… never missing her target.

Once Liu Pinggao’s order was given, civilians below the city tower filled clay pots with fire oil, tied them securely, and sent fleet-footed civilians to carry them up. The Great Zhou army had no worries about running out of weapons to block the enemy.

The bed crossbow bolts had clay pots filled with fire oil tied to their tips. Carrying flames, they whistled into the Xiliang army, creating seas of fire wherever they landed.

Some fire oil jars collided in mid-air and spilled down, catching fire from the bolts’ flames like fire rain falling from the sky. The Xiliang army screamed continuously.

A hint of white had already appeared on the distant horizon, and dawn was approaching. But Great Zhou’s attacks were too fierce—by now, all the Xiliang soldiers who had gotten close to Jiangzi City’s walls had become corpses.

Bai Qingyan’s movements were becoming labored, her head and body covered in sweat.

General Cui watched from afar at Great Zhou’s momentum in resisting the Xiliang army’s siege, so shocked that he gripped the war chariot’s handrail tightly!

Could it be that the number of Great Zhou troops in the city was more than he had estimated?!

Impossible! Before Bai Qingyan arrived, the city only had those few defending troops. When Bai Qingyan came, she brought two thousand people together; they absolutely wouldn’t exceed five thousand!

But attacking all four walls simultaneously, at this speed of attack, so methodically organized—this definitely couldn’t be resisted by just a thousand men!

But now that the siege had begun, if they couldn’t even scratch Jiangzi City’s surface, this would not be good for Xiliang’s morale, so they could only fight to the end.

Originally, General Cui had only planned to feign an attack on Jiangzi City to lure the Yecheng Pass defenders to bring troops for rescue, so he could set an ambush and eliminate the Great Zhou soldiers from Yecheng Pass!

But now, seeing the increasingly fierce offensive from Jiangzi City’s tower, General Cui changed his strategy again. After all, their Xiliang reinforcements were already ambushing the supply route and would soon seize Great Zhou’s grain!

Their Xiliang morale was currently high, and they were obviously growing braver with each setback, carrying an unafraid-to-die momentum determined to take Jiangzi City. If he called all the Xiliang soldiers back now, it would likely damage morale.

Previously, he had surrounded without attacking only to wait for grain. Now that grain was about to be obtained, changing strategy to capture Jiangzi City and take the Great Zhou emperor alive, then setting an ambush for the Yecheng Pass Great Zhou reinforcements—even if the ambush failed… with the Great Zhou emperor in hand, how could they fear that Yecheng Pass wouldn’t surrender?

General Cui Shanzhong calculated the time for Yecheng Pass scouts to return with reports and for the Yecheng Pass defenders to lead troops for rescue, then shouted: “Brave warriors of Xiliang, in this battle we have no retreat! The Great Zhou’s main forces have already pressed close to Yunjing. If Yunjing falls, our Xiliang will surely perish! Brave warriors! We must recapture our Xiliang’s Jiangzi City before noon today! Capture the Great Zhou emperor alive to break the siege of our Xiliang’s Yunjing! Kill!”

Hearing General Cui Shanzhong’s shouts, the Xiliang soldiers all knew this battle’s outcome concerned Xiliang’s survival. Who would want to become slaves of a conquered nation, homeless dogs? They had no retreat. To protect Xiliang, they had to fight desperately.

The Xiliang soldiers fought with their backs to the water, all holding the determination to sacrifice their lives to protect their Kingdom, charging forward fearlessly.

The Great Zhou soldiers on the city walls knew their emperor was here—Jiangzi City absolutely could not be lost!

And the civilians in the city, even more afraid of Xiliang’s tradition of massacring cities, feared that when the Xiliang army entered the city, they would be treated as Xiliang traitors and killed swiftly. They worked even harder to transport all materials that could resist the enemy.

By afternoon, the Xiliang army showed signs of exhaustion, and the Great Zhou troops on the city walls were too tired to draw their bows.

Du Sanbao rushed to Bai Qingyan’s front and cupped his hands: “Your Majesty! Our fire oil is almost gone, and even the wine in the city that could catch fire is nearly finished. I see the jars are used up too! I just went to check the armory—if Xiliang maintains this attack intensity, the arrows in the armory will be shot clean by tomorrow morning!”

Du Sanbao now regretted it to death. If only he knew why he had raided the camp early, provoking Xiliang to attack the city prematurely…

Originally, if they had followed His Majesty’s original plan, they should have waited until the messages were delivered before starting the fight. Whether Xiliang divided forces to deal with reinforcements from Yecheng Pass or went to rob Bailong City’s grain supplies, it would have reduced pressure on Jiangzi City. But because of his rashness in angering Xiliang, it led to Xiliang attacking the city early!

Du Sanbao blamed himself endlessly—this was all his fault!

His Majesty was the young commander of the Bai Family Army—didn’t she know it would be good to raid the camp the night before Xiliang’s siege? She must have calculated after visiting the armory and granary… She was afraid that a surprise attack would provoke Xiliang to attack the city early and they couldn’t hold Jiangzi City, but he had been presumptuous and rash.

Bai Qingyan’s breathing was heavy. Because the Great Zhou army’s blocking offensive had gradually weakened, the Xiliang army had already broken through their shooting range. In the distance, Xiliang soldiers were already carrying scaling ladders up the city walls and setting them against the walls.

It seemed General Cui Shanzhong was no longer thinking about feigning an attack. After confirming that Bailong City’s grain would be delivered today, he wanted to capture Jiangzi City before General Yang Wuce from Yecheng Pass arrived with reinforcements, while also obtaining the grain, capturing her, the Great Zhou emperor, alive, then turn to ambush and eliminate the Yecheng Pass reinforcements, holding her hostage to attack Yecheng Pass.

“Your Majesty, Du Sanbao has already dug through the secret passage. Why not have General Du reopen the passage and let the Bai Family guards escort Your Majesty out first!” Wei Zhong stepped forward.

Du Sanbao nodded vigorously: “Your Majesty! You leave the city first. Rest assured… Du Sanbao will defend Jiangzi City to the death! While the city stands, we stand! If the city falls, we die!”

“It’s not time to take that step yet!” Bai Qingyan said, adjusting her breathing.

She knew that her presence was the morale of the Great Zhou soldiers. If she abandoned Jiangzi City and fled, the Great Zhou army’s morale would collapse!

This battle had been fought all night and was just beginning.

How many times had the Bai Family Army been trapped in cities? Her grandfather, father, and uncle could all hold fast with the Bai Family Army when short of grain and weapons—what reason did she have to retreat?