Shen Liangyu followed beside Bai Qingyan without asking many questions. Glancing at the distance from here to Liu Guan City, he could already see the lights on Liu Guan City’s gates, and his heart understood what Bai Qingyan intended to do.

The distance from here to Liu Guan City was such that they could see a cluster of lights. Liu Guan City couldn’t see this place unless a fire started here; otherwise, Liu Guan City would know nothing of what was happening.

Their Young Bai Commander intended to intercept here those Liu Guan City soldiers who, after being ambushed by the Bai Family Army led by Cheng Yuanzhi, would try to return to Liu Guan City to report.

Looking at Bai Qingyan, who had already ascended to the imperial throne yet still crouched here with these soldiers setting ambushes, Shen Liangyu felt that their Young Bai Commander belonged to this passionate battlefield, not the scheming court.

It wasn’t that Shen Liangyu thought Bai Qingyan was a poor emperor, but Shen Liangyu knew… the Young Bai Commander certainly preferred the battlefield more. All the sons and daughters of the Bai Family were like this.

It was just that the Young Bai Commander was the Bai Family’s legitimate eldest daughter. She wanted to become an umbrella protecting the Bai Family descendants, the Bai Family Army, and even every soldier of Great Zhou. Therefore, she chose the court, allowing them to gallop freely without letting these passionate, patriotic soldiers be harmed by conspiracies and their sovereign’s suspicions.

He had seen the Young Bai Commander’s dashing, heroic bearing as she rode her swift horse with a silver spear as the vanguard. He knew… the Young Bai Commander was born for the battlefield.

“Send ten men to… guard the east gate. Don’t let Liu Guan City’s people report to Dongyi’s capital!” Bai Qingyan turned to tell Shen Liangyu.

“Yes!” Shen Liangyu responded.

Soon, Liu Guan City’s gates opened wide. The commanding general rode out swiftly, followed by soldiers in armor carrying golden spears who filed out in formation, rushing rapidly toward Gua Du City.

Bai Qingyan and Shen Liangyu with their men crouched here motionless, letting the reinforcements pass. Shen Liangyu was already growing restless.

She glanced at Shen Liangyu and said with a smile: “Don’t worry, you’ll have your battle…”

Shen Liangyu chuckled: “Following the Young Bai Commander, naturally there will be!”

Bai Qingyan smiled and asked another question: “I heard Cheng Yuanzhi say you envy Liu Pinggao for having someone close to care for him. When this battle is finished and we return to the capital, I’ll personally arrange marriages for you few who haven’t taken wives yet.”

If Father were still here, he would certainly worry about their marriages, too. It’s just that these years of upheaval… have delayed them.

“I’ll listen to whatever the Young Bai Commander decides!” Shen Liangyu scratched his head embarrassedly.

Soon, the Bai Family Army soldier Bai Qingyan had sent to watch Cheng Yuanzhi’s ambush point returned and told Bai Qingyan: “Young Bai Commander, not only were the Dongyi forces caught completely off guard by our Bai Family Army, but these Dongyi soldiers’ combat readiness isn’t very good—they’re not even as capable as our Great Zhou’s most ordinary Zhou army. It feels like there’s no difficulty for our Bai Family Army to kill them!”

When this soldier spoke, his tone carried some satisfaction and pride. Though there was some exaggeration, it wasn’t far from the truth.

Bai Qingyan said to Shen Liangyu, “Take one hundred Huying Army soldiers immediately and quietly infiltrate Liu Guan City. Use smoke signals, then open the city gates!”

Shen Liangyu was startled: “Young Bai Commander is setting an ambush here—isn’t it to intercept those Dongyi soldiers returning to Liu Guan City? Young Bai Commander would only leave one hundred people here, that won’t work!”

“Go with confidence! I know what I’m doing!” Bai Qingyan told Shen Liangyu.

On Cheng Yuanzhi’s side, he forcibly restrained his temperament, waiting only until all of Liu Guan City’s reinforcements had entered the trap before closing the net. In the night, faint sounds of killing and clashing weapons could be heard. Shen Liangyu immediately became fully alert.

“Fortunately, the Young Bai Commander chose a good location. Otherwise, if the ambush point had been moved a bit closer to Liu Guan City, Liu Guan City would have heard it.” Shen Liangyu gripped the saber at his waist. “I hope Old Cheng will let some through to me, too—don’t kill them all! If he’s eating meat, let me drink some soup too!”

Liu Guan City’s reinforcements never expected that Great Zhou’s Bai Family Army would set an ambush on their relief route. They were caught completely off guard. The Bai Family Army had set their ambush from high ground, and Dongyi had always invested more in their navy while investing less in infantry. This time, they faced the battle-tested Bai Family Army that had experienced the campaign to destroy Xi Liang, and they were beaten into a sorry state.

The general of Liu Guan City’s reinforcements, seeing that his soldiers were no match for the Bai Family Army and could only be slaughtered, urgently turned his horse around and shouted orders: “Fight your way out through a bloody path, return to Liu Guan City’s main camp! Quickly!”

Only by fighting their way out could they barely preserve some forces. Otherwise… they would probably all die here today!

Cheng Yuanzhi cut down a Dongyi minor officer with one stroke and shouted: “Today we can’t let any of them escape! Kill them all!”

In Cheng Yuanzhi’s eyes, such Dongyi forces had no fighting capability compared to their Bai Family Army—there was no difference. If they let these Dongyi soldiers escape under such circumstances, it would be an absolute disgrace to the Bai Family Army.

“General Cheng, General Cheng… the Young Bai Commander orders to preserve the soldiers’ strength for attacking Liu Guan City!” A messenger rushed quickly to Cheng Yuanzhi, who had become red-eyed, and shouted.

“Understood!” Cheng Yuanzhi responded, seizing the opportunity for another strike that finished off a Dongyi soldier. “After killing this group of weaklings, it won’t take much effort!”

Although Cheng Yuanzhi spoke boldly, soon the Dongyi forces, with their strong will to survive, had fought their way out through a bloody path. The leading Dongyi general, riding a swift horse, led his troops in a hasty retreat toward Liu Guan City, abandoning helmets and armor. He only thought of fighting desperately to return to Liu Guan City and defend to the death. After the Bai Family Army finished with Gua Du City, they would certainly need to rest and reorganize. As long as they could hold Liu Guan City… and request aid from the court, if the court wanted to fight, they would send reinforcements; if they wanted peace… they would certainly send people to negotiate.

Gua Du certainly couldn’t be saved, and going to Gua Du now wouldn’t be wise either.

Having led the Liu Guan reinforcements to escape the Bai Family Army’s encirclement, the Dongyi general couldn’t help but feel sorry for General Gong of Gua Du City. But when he led his defeated troops through the darkness and just saw the lights on Liu Guan City’s gates—like a dying man seeing a lifeline—he gripped the reins tightly and shouted: “Quickly! We can already see the city gate, quickly!”

Who would have known that as soon as the general finished speaking, arrows whistling through the air came rushing head-on, piercing straight through the Dongyi general’s throat and shooting him down from his horse.

The Dongyi soldiers who had been galloping frantically alongside their general, as if seeing hope, immediately stopped in their tracks.

The crescent moon was blocked by clouds, making this road leading to Liu Guan City even more pitch-black where one couldn’t see their own hand. The Dongyi forces, not understanding the situation and not knowing if there were also ambush troops ahead, could only raise their swords and remain fully alert.

Wind blew the clouds past, and the crescent moon emerged from behind the clouds. The frosty moonlight fell upon the woman not far away who rode a white horse and held a bow and arrow, with guards arranged in a line on both sides, holding repeating crossbows aimed at those Dongyi forces.