Kaoshan Wang arrived at the foot of Beiling City and saw that the soldiers on the city walls did not attack immediately.
He did not want to harm the people of Beiling City, as he had personally managed it before.
"Fang Shijie! Hand Su Fan over to me! Otherwise, I will break in!"
Kaoshan Wang only knew Su Fan and Fang Shijie. Now that he was in Fang Shijie's territory, he naturally had to demand the person from Fang Shijie.
Xu Tian, standing on the city wall, looked worried.
"Su Fan is the commander of the Bandit Suppression Camp. We are the Vanguard Camp. Su Fan is not here!"
Xu Tian immediately explained to Kaoshan Wang.
But how could Kaoshan Wang believe him?
"You're talking nonsense! Su Fan was just in your military camp. And the Vanguard Camp isn't fighting on the front lines, so how could they come to Beiling City? Are you trying to fool me!"
Kaoshan Wang cursed loudly, thinking he was being treated like an idiot. Why would the Vanguard Camp come here to help the Bandit Suppression Camp? Was the front line not tense, or had Xia Yuan lost his mind?
Xu Tian was speechless. He felt like he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
"I won't waste my breath with you. Either hand over Su Fan, or have Fang Shijie come to see me!"
Kaoshan Wang did not recognize Xu Tian and did not want to waste time with him, demanding to see Fang Shijie.
Xu Tian was a bit hesitant. At this point, there was no need to avoid suspicion.
"Go find City Lord Fang."
Xu Tian had no choice but to send someone to invite Fang Shijie over. Since the other party had specifically asked to see Fang Shijie, Xu Tian relented to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Kaoshan Wang was not in a hurry and gave them time to find the person.
Soon, Fang Shijie was invited over.
"Camp Commander Xu, thank you for your trouble."
Fang Shijie did not expect that just after he sent out his letter, Xu Tian would send someone to find him.
"City Lord, the other party wants to see you. What do you think?"
Xu Tian was very respectful to Fang Shijie and said hesitantly.
Fang Shijie walked to the edge of the city wall and looked down.
Fang Shijie squinted and looked closely at the person below, and was suddenly shocked.
Kaoshan Wang!
Fang Shijie did not expect that the person who had cornered the Vanguard Camp to Beiling City was Kaoshan Wang!
"Fang Shijie, hand over Su Fan, and I will withdraw my troops. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Kaoshan Wang also saw Fang Shijie's arrival. He recognized his old friend at a glance.
Fang Shijie was suddenly a little scared.
He knew very well who Kaoshan Wang was. He was a man of his word. If he said he would attack, he would truly attack.
"Su Fan is not in our Beiling City. You've come to the wrong place!"
Fang Shijie was also somewhat helpless. He had no idea where Su Fan was at the moment.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'll give you one night to consider. If I don't see Su Fan by tomorrow morning, you and your Beiling City will be buried with me!"
Kaoshan Wang gave Fang Shijie an ultimatum, giving him only one night.
After speaking, he withdrew his troops and set up camp not far outside Beiling City.
Not long after, Kaoshan Wang's reinforcements arrived, with over a thousand more infantry soldiers.
Fang Shijie's brow furrowed.
Three thousand men attacking the Vanguard Camp, which now had less than six hundred men. Even with the advantage of the city walls, the Vanguard Camp would not be a match.
"Camp Commander Xu, what should we do now?"
Fang Shijie asked Xu Tian as if he had lost his backbone.
Xu Tian pondered with a serious expression for a moment.
"There are only two ways to resolve the current crisis."
Xu Tian said to Fang Shijie.
Fang Shijie's heart leaped with joy.
Two ways! It seemed Xu Tian was very confident.
"First, find Su Fan and hand him over to the other party. They will naturally keep their promise and withdraw their troops."
Xu Tian stated the first method.
"We don't even know where Su Fan is now. How can we find him?"
Su Fan had designed the Vanguard Camp to be in this predicament, so he would definitely not be in Beiling City. Therefore, the first method could be directly discarded.
"Then the second method is to send someone to the front-line military camp to ask the General for reinforcements."
Xu Tian proposed the second method, but this method required Fang Shijie to take a risk.
Because Fang Shijie's cooperation with the General was usually handled through Xu Tian. Now that Xu Tian was not present, Fang Shijie would have to contact the General directly, which was risky as it could expose their relationship.
Fang Shijie's brow furrowed.
This method was indeed risky, but there was no other way at the moment.
"This is the only way."
Fang Shijie nodded, agreeing to Xu Tian's suggestion.
Although it was risky, he had no other choice, otherwise Beiling City would be finished.
One night was enough for someone to travel between the military camp and Beiling City.
That night, Fang Shijie personally wrote a letter, sealed it with his personal seal, and sent his confidant to the front-line military camp overnight.
Su Fan had not returned to reality all night, constantly monitoring the battlefield situation.
Although it seemed calm now, the battlefield was ever-changing. You never knew what would happen next, and a moment's oversight could lead to missing the best opportunity.
As midnight approached, Fang Shijie's man finally reached the front-line military camp.
The soldiers at the camp naturally stopped him.
He immediately presented Xu Tian's orders.
"By order of Camp Commander Xu of the Vanguard Camp, I am here to report to General Cao Yuanqing!"
After the soldier checked the orders and found them to be in order, he let the man in.
However, not long after the man left, one of the soldiers went directly to report the matter to Xia Yuan.
Xia Yuan smiled slightly upon hearing this, finally revealing his true colors.
...
In a certain tent, Cao Yuanqing was resting when he suddenly received a report from a guard that someone with Xu Tian's orders wanted to see him.
Cao Yuanqing immediately sat up.
"Let him in!"
Soon, Fang Shijie's man was brought before Cao Yuanqing.
The man looked around the tent, confirmed there was no one else, and took out the letter he was carrying.
"City Lord asked me to give this to you."
Cao Yuanqing frowned slightly, looking vigilant.
"What City Lord!"
He said this, but his body honestly reached out and took it.
Upon seeing Fang Shijie's personal seal on the letter, he immediately knew it was genuine and not Xia Yuan testing him.
After reading the contents of the letter, his brows furrowed.
He immediately got up and walked out.
"Someone, summon all the light cavalry in the camp, and follow me!"
Cao Yuanqing had no time to delay and immediately gave orders to his subordinates.
Light cavalry was the fastest moving troop type and the best reinforcement for Beiling City.
"General Cao, why are you mobilizing troops in the middle of the night?"
Xia Yuan appeared out of nowhere, leading a group of elite soldiers and generals, and asked Cao Yuanqing.
"Your subordinate greets the Great General!"
Cao Yuanqing immediately saluted Xia Yuan.
"First, answer my question, General Cao?"
Xia Yuan looked coldly at Cao Yuanqing, unmoved.
Sweat broke out on Cao Yuanqing's forehead.
"Your subordinate is conducting a late-night exercise to train soldiers and prepare for unexpected situations."
Cao Yuanqing explained, gritting his teeth.
"Then what is General Cao holding in his hand?"
Xia Yuan's cold gaze fell on the letter in Cao Yuanqing's hand, which he hadn't had time to destroy.