All that is happening in the city now is also a strategy planned by Tong Meng, and it was he who proposed these strategies above the court and were accepted by Chen Xuan. He did this for two purposes, on the one hand, he could completely drag down the Chen family of the imperial family, who was originally trapped in the beast, in this city, and on the other hand, he could use the last elite army of the Chen family of the imperial family to thwart the offensive of the Qi army. In this way, it can also win the maximum benefits for leaving the country, which can be described as a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

This is also a choice made by Tong Meng in desperation, Chen Xinyu exerted strong pressure on him, not only did he have to deal with and fool the royal Chen family, but also whether he could let Qi Guo know their true purpose, this matter really made him very distressed. Thinking about it, this is the only way to barely be able to achieve the best of both worlds.

When Tong Meng's henchman rushed to Xicheng and left the city less than half an hour, the guards loyal to the royal Chen family had completely closed the gate of the city, and the situation in the entire city became tense in an instant. At this moment, this guard saw a very familiar figure outside the city, he appeared alone outside the city gate, and the soldiers on the city tower also recognized this person as Zhao Ling, the general who had left the country. At this moment, the soldiers on the city tower were confused, the Thorn City was lost, and Zhao Ling should have been captured, how could he return to this place so unscathed?

Now the figure that appeared in the wilderness outside the city was none other than Zhao Ling, the general of the Chen family of the imperial family, who finally rushed back to the city after three days of galloping, but his current state of mind was completely different from the previous one who led the army to garrison Thorn City, and now that he has expressed his sincerity to the Qi State, his interests should be put first in the Qi State, and his identity has changed from the general of the Chen family of the royal family to the envoy of the Qi State. Of course, this layer of window paper does not need to be pierced now, because this matter is the existence of completely blocked news, except for the few people who participated in the banquet and a few of Li Fu's personal guards, no one knows the reason for this.

Zhao Ling sighed deeply, he came all the way unimpeded, of course, because he was the general of the Chen family of the royal family, but in fact, it was because the Chen family of the royal family comprehensively reduced its forces and retreated the army to the city, and even the four surrounding garrison counties were almost unmanned, leaving only dozens of people to guard it. Although Li Fu understood that this was a helpless move, doing so was tantamount to accelerating the demise of the Chen family of the imperial family. Once the Qi State and the departing army join the city, how long will they be able to support it, and how many troops will be willing to die for the royal Chen family?

Zhao Ling urged him to step forward and shouted loudly: "I am the general Zhao Ling! I have something very important to go to meet His Royal Highness King Che, please open the city gate quickly!"

The soldiers on the city tower looked at each other, they didn't dare to be the master, after all, this was their former general, Zhao Ling's reputation in the army was also very far-reaching, coupled with the prestige of Zhao Ling's wife Kong Hong in the city, almost every soldier's family was taken care of by them. As a result, these soldiers naturally respected Zhao Ling and Kong Hong very much.

But now the situation is so critical, and Zhao Ling is a general who has returned from the defeat of Thorn City, these soldiers really dare not take this responsibility. So, the soldiers immediately gathered around the two captains of the city gate to discuss what should be done now.

The two captains of the city gate thought of a way to get the best of both worlds, so the two soldiers hurried down the castle tower to the palace to report the news to King Che. And these two city gate captains who were originally patrolling on the city towers on all sides hurriedly rushed to the west city tower of the city, and saluted with their fists: "Ma Yan (Liu Xian), the city gate captain, has seen the general!"

Zhao Ling naturally knew these two city gate captains, and when he was not transferred to leave Checheng, in order to restrain Wang Ren in Checheng, he also began to cultivate his trusted henchmen. This Ma Yan and Liu Xian were his original henchmen, and later, he was transferred to leave Checheng, and these two people were given to Wang Ren by the army, but Zhao Ling still believed that the two of them could still be trusted. If he can successfully return to the city, then these two people will be a breakthrough for him to secretly dispatch troops in the future.

Zhao Ling also clenched his fists and saluted back: "I haven't seen the two generals for many days, and I look very good, I wonder if His Royal Highness King Che has any orders for me now?"

Ma Yan and Liu Xian's emotions are also very complicated now, on the one hand, in the city, they have been repeatedly excluded by Wang Ren and bullied by Wang Ren's generals because they are Zhao Ling's henchmen, they have already held their breath in their hearts, and they are also not foolish and loyal. They also see that the royal Chen family is gone, but the status of the two of them is not high, for fear that they will not be taken seriously if they secretly contact Qi or leave the country. But now, Zhao Ling's return made the two of them seem to see some hope. But they didn't dare to show it, now the Chen family, the royal family who has been repeatedly frustrated, Chen Xuan has almost stopped trusting anyone, he has wantonly sent spies to spy on every general, and the two of them are now serving as the captains of the city gates, so they have also received strict surveillance, and every move may have a big problem at any time. So, naturally, they didn't dare to make any outrageous moves.

Zhao Ling also understood the hardships of Ma Yan and Liu Xian, so he didn't mention other things, maybe it was not time to mention these things now. Therefore, Zhao Ling waited patiently at the gate of the city for the next development, to see if the royal Chen family suspected that his return at this moment had other intentions.

After a while, a figure appeared on the city tower, and there were gray-clothed guards around this figure to protect him. Zhao Ling's eyes were excellent, and he recognized this person at a glance as one of Chen Xuan's most trusted eunuchs. The appearance of this eunuch also made Zhao Ling's heart temporarily put down, and it seemed that the royal Chen family did not suspect what he was doing when he returned now.

In fact, Zhao Ling is still very entangled in his heart, whether he really wants to help the Qi State to act, during the period when the rule of the country is still in the city, he is just a hundred people who have left the country. It was Chen Xuan who took a fancy to him, and promoted him all the way to a position that he couldn't have imagined, and helped him marry a wife he liked very much. The loyalty and gratitude he had for Chen Xuan in his heart was not comparable to ordinary people. Generally speaking, Zhao Ling would not be able to betray the royal Chen family no matter what.

But the current situation is really complicated, on the one hand, as the commander of the army in Thorn City and the general of the royal Chen family, Zhao Ling sees the situation in front of him very thoroughly, and at this moment, it has become an almost unattainable thing for the royal Chen family to turn around. It is believed that in a short time, the army of Qi and the army leaving the country will be under the city, and when the time comes, it will be the time when the royal Chen family will be destroyed. Now no matter how stupid and loyal to the royal Chen family is, Zhao Ling is not a fool, he will not do this. Moreover, Kong Hong can influence his thinking, can make him abandon his original thoughts, and when he thinks of his wife, Zhao Ling can't take care of many others for the time being. The only thing he can do now is to try his best to save the lives of the nobles of the Chen family of the royal family, which can calm his complicated and tangled heart a little.

At this time, the eunuch held up a jade-colored scroll in his hand, which was the edict of Chen Xuan, the head of the Chen family of the royal family. The soldiers and officials on the city tower immediately knelt down on one knee, and even Zhao Ling, who was standing outside the city gate at the bottom of the city tower, jumped off his horse and knelt down to receive the edict.

"Zhao Ling is a loyal and righteous person, if he returns to the city, he will be allowed to pass through the city, and he will not be stopped! Those who violate the order will be beheaded!" Just a simple sentence made Zhao Ling smile bitterly in his heart for a while, and even had a trace of regret. Chen Xuan trusted him so much, but he did such a thing, was he a little too unkind?

Zhao Ling's heart was extremely complicated now, he took a deep breath, and told himself not to think about other things at all, just enter the city first. Anyway, he can't say well what will happen in the future, and if the royal Chen family is doomed, it is not something he can stop by himself.

So, under the order of this edict, the soldiers on the city tower began to pull the lock rope, and at the same time, a group of more than 100 soldiers rushed down from the city tower, and these 100 people worked together to slowly open the west gate with the soldiers on the city tower. Zhao Ling got on his horse and rushed directly into the city. As Zhao Ling's war horse disappeared outside the city gate, the soldiers of the royal Chen family on the city tower moved together again to close the city gate again.

The wilderness outside the city was calm again, but as the breeze blew across a small hill, a light suddenly flashed from the mound hidden under the hill, and the light flashed directly in the place, and if anyone really saw this scene, most of them would be frightened

Three days later, the 30,000 troops of the Qi State took the lead in crossing the Rayong Pass, which was now almost unguarded by troops, and came directly to a place less than forty miles away from Checheng and set up camp. But the Qi army was not in a hurry to attack, but just stationed troops here like this and did not carry out operations. According to the discussion of insiders of the imperial Chen family, the current Qi army is mainly waiting for the arrival of the army leaving the country, and the armies of the two sides are jointly attacking the city in two directions, so that the imperial Chen family will definitely be defeated. But there are also people in the know who believe that the Qi State is to consolidate their current occupation, and even want to further occupy the city, and do not take the departure of the country into account.