Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

Chapter 648 The Crisis of Yingtian Prefecture

Faced with the relentless firepower of three thousand crossbowmen, Lü Yan remained silent.

Indeed, it was his faulty intelligence that led to the disastrous defeat of the attacking soldiers.

"retreat!"

With a gong sounding, the Lord of Ningguo City shouted loudly.

These siege cavalry knew they couldn't withstand more than a few volleys of arrows, and had long been in a state of panic. Now, upon hearing the gong, they immediately cowered like birds and beasts.

The reason why the cavalry was called the Iron Cavalry was because the warhorses had horseshoes on their hooves. This not only protected the horses' hooves, but also made them a formidable fighting force.

However, when the iron cavalry panics, disaster is bound to follow.

The hard hooves galloped wildly, each kick causing a massive rollover when they struck the surrounding warhorses.

In an instant, thousands of cavalrymen were thrown into chaos, and countless warhorses and soldiers were trampled to death.

Of the 5,000-strong force, half were lost on the return journey. Even those who survived were covered in wounds and their fighting strength was greatly reduced.

After being shot down by a volley of arrows, the dozens of Lotus Palace disciples ran faster than rabbits. Their cowardly and fearful behavior was completely different from when they were charging into battle.

Gu Qingyun's face turned ashen; as a martial arts master, he was the first to flee.

Tang Jianshan's cheeks burned, unsure how to explain to Lü Yan.

With their cowardly and self-serving nature, how could they possibly breach the gates of Yingtian Prefecture?

"Master Lü, what should we do now?" the City Lord of Ningguo asked weakly.

These cavalrymen were his lifeline; the loss of even one was painful, let alone the loss of thousands. He even considered retreating.

In any case, Ningguo Prefecture is strategically located, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the emperor sends a large army to attack, he is confident that he can hold his ground.

At worst, we'll fight to the death; I doubt the king has the guts to do that.

He remained the local tyrant of Ningguo Prefecture, a place beyond the reach of the emperor.

Lu Yan's eyes were dark and uncertain as he stared coldly at the defenders on the city wall. He gritted his teeth and said, "I suppose there are only these three thousand crossbowmen in the city. Tomorrow morning, we will launch a general attack, and the gates of Yingtian Prefecture will surely fall!"

The Lord of Ningguo City, after all, led an army of 30,000, and with the assistance of experts from the Lotus Palace, his strength was comparable to that of an army of 50,000.

The city only had 10,000 garrison troops, and even with the addition of the 3,000 crossbowmen, it was only equivalent to a strength of 20,000 men.

"The disciples of Lotus Palace must be at the forefront, otherwise I won't play with you," the City Lord of Ningguo said angrily.

He was, after all, an ambitious man, and had been preparing for this day for a long time. He couldn't just retreat because of three thousand crossbowmen.

But he's not stupid; he won't let the Lotus Palace use him as a pawn again.

The main force in the battle was the Ningguo Mansion's private army, with the Lotus Palace only playing a supporting role. Now that they were being sent to the forefront, Lü Yan found it hard to accept.

With the arrow already on the bowstring, he didn't want to offend the City Lord of Ningguo, so he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Alright! Tomorrow morning, Lotus Palace will send out a thousand outer disciples and a hundred inner disciples to lead the charge."

Upon hearing this, the Lord of Ningguo City was greatly encouraged and patted his chest, saying, "The Ningguo Prefecture's private army will come out in full force and will surely break through the city gate within half an hour."

On the city wall, the king said to Zhou Xiyin with reverence, "Thank you for your kindness, young lady. I will remember it forever."

These three thousand crossbowmen are the guarantee for protecting Yingtian Prefecture, and only Zhou Xiyin can persuade them.

Faced with the fate of the nation, the monarch would rather bow down to Zhou Xiyin.

These words startled Zhou Xiyin, who hurriedly bowed. If the king hadn't reached out to help her up, she probably would have knelt on the ground.

It must be said that the king was very good at winning people's hearts; a simple "thank you" was enough to make Zhou Xiyin go through fire and water for him.

She simply found a chair, sat on the city wall, and planned to keep guarding it.

The three thousand crossbowmen had no choice but to continue guarding this place.

Lin Xiaomei panicked and grabbed Zhou Xiyin's hand, trying to leave: "Sister-in-law, if you catch a cold, my brother will not let me off the hook."

Aside from concern, Lin Xiaomei was mostly afraid.

She was a master of the White Lotus Realm, and her strength was several times greater than Zhou Xiyin's, almost dragging her away.

Zhou Xiyin was quite shrewd, and pretended to be angry, saying, "If you don't listen to me, I will definitely tell my husband and see how he deals with you."

Lin Xiaomei immediately backed down, her hair standing on end. She seemed to hear Lin Ping's voice in her ears: "You brat, how dare you disobey your sister-in-law? Are you itching for a beating? I'll whip you until your butt is bruised and swollen."

"Little sister will go get bedding for sister-in-law right away. We'll sleep here from now on. If anyone dares to take a step forward, I'll chop off their head."

Lin Xiaomei chuckled and replied in a fawning tone.

This girl's speed is absolutely amazing. She quickly brought over the bedding and even instructed Su Boming and the others to bring over a wooden bed.

This is wartime, is it really okay to sleep in a bed in public?

Zhou Xiyin smiled wryly but did not refuse Lin Xiaomei's kind offer.

"Your Majesty, the Lotus Palace harbors wolfish ambitions and will likely not retreat easily," said the Left Commander of the Thousand Armies with concern.

"Alas..." The king sighed, finding no practical solution.

"What is the situation with Lin Ping? Has he already repelled the army of the Daye Dynasty?"

Faced with the immediate trouble, the king's first thought was of Lin Ping.

"It's all just my imagination. The opponent is Bai Tiantian, who has an army of 100,000. It's already an incredible feat for her to keep Xuzhou from falling. How could she possibly win?"

Seeing the Left Commander of the Army bowing his head in silence, the King shook his head again.

This seems like a desperate attempt to find a cure. How can one expect Lin Ping to solve the crisis in Yingtian Prefecture?

In other words, Lin Ping didn't even have enough vegetable leaves to wrap his bottom, so how could he possibly give a piece to the king, unless it had already been used?

"Your Majesty, look! The enemy has already lit their cooking fires. They usually need to rest. Why not take this opportunity to catch them off guard?"

A rough, uncouth man's head is always straight, but Lin Ping's head is like Mount Akina.

"With just these 10,000 defenders? What are your chances of winning, my lord?" the king asked, both amused and exasperated.

"Less than one-tenth," the Left Commander of the Thousand Armies replied truthfully.

The enemy is merely resting; they have not lost their fighting capacity. Once they open the city gates, they will launch a frenzied attack.

"Perhaps tomorrow will be the day they launch their full-scale attack," the king said weakly.

"Heaven has forsaken my Wu Kingdom; I have failed my ancestors..."

A king who has lost his country not only has to face the humiliation of his enemies, but also the condemnation of his own heart.

The empire our ancestors fought tooth and nail to build, countless brothers died in the process, and he squandered it all. The ruler has no face to face his ancestors in the afterlife.

To boost the morale of his soldiers, the king donned his armor and stayed with them all night.

Before the sun had even risen at dawn, the enemy had already begun beating their drums. The air was filled with a deafening roar, each beat sending shivers down the spines of the defenders.

"Lotus Palace disciples, heed my command! Attack the city!" Lü Yan shouted, and more than a thousand disciples surged toward the city gate like a torrent.

At the same time, nearly 30,000 private soldiers from Ningguo Prefecture also launched a total uprising.