The sudden appearance of women and children gave the soldiers in the city a moment of relief.
The entire Chen Clan?
These people were Chen Sanshi's family?
But...
Hadn't rumors previously spread through the city that Chen Sanshi was a spy for Cloud Top Palace and Qing Kingdom?
Why had he brought an entire family of women and children to Kunyang?
"Brothers!"
Chen Sanshi stood atop the city wall, his voice ringing through the night like a great bell: "Now that things have come to this, where is there any road of retreat? It is nothing more than death or victory!
"Even if we abandon the city and flee, how many of us can make it across the river alive?
"Why not stay and fight to the death?!
"Brothers, all you need to do is hold out for a few days. I, Chen, will bring reinforcements and crush the enemy in one stroke!
"Today, I, Chen Sanshi, leave my wife, children, and the entire Chen Clan within the city to show my resolve!
"If the city falls and its people perish, let the Chen Clan die first, then the disciples of the Sun Clan and my sect! Is that enough or not?!"
That impassioned speech
left every soldier deeply ashamed.
Of course, this referred to the Legitimate Emperor's forces.
As for the Northern Liang Army, even if Chen Sanshi explained nothing, his prestige alone would have been enough to make the brothers defend the city unto death without retreat. The trust and tacit understanding between them had long surpassed that of any army in a thousand years.
But the Legitimate Emperor's troops were an exception.
They came from garrisons, sects, aristocratic clans, and even rebel armies that had accepted amnesty. They were a motley assortment to begin with, so their