As Yue Yun, who had just reached the drawbridge and was preparing to charge across, heard the shouts from the city walls, he instinctively raised his telescope to look in that direction.
As expected, he saw many civilians dressed as Han people on the city walls.
They were trembling with fear at the sight of the siege, and through the gaps in the battlements, he could even see people who had wet themselves out of sheer terror.
He hatefully lowered the telescope and then said to his subordinates behind him, "Retreat!"
The first wave of the attack, without even crossing the moat, was forced back like this.
Seeing that their stratagem had worked, the Jin soldiers on the city walls immediately became arrogant.
"Hahahaha, I thought the Yue Family Army was so capable, but they are as timid as women!"
Upon hearing of this, Yue Fei also found the situation troublesome.
With the divine spear, he wouldn't have cared how many reinforcements were inside the city, but the Jin people's move was truly disgusting.
Niu Gao was so angry he puffed out his beard. After thinking for a moment, he suggested.
"Marshal Yue, we've captured quite a few Jin prisoners on our march. In my humble opinion, we should escort them to the city and if they dare to kill our Han civilians, we'll kill the prisoners!"
"No killing prisoners!" Zhang Xian quickly objected.
Niu Gao looked at him unhappily, "Why can't we kill them! They are using our Han people as shields on the city walls. If we don't use this method, how can we attack the city!"
Yue Fei glared at him, "Zhang Xian is right, killing prisoners is not an option. We must think of another way!"
Without killing prisoners, and with the Jin people using Han civilians as shields on the city walls, the siege could not proceed.
For a time, everyone in the grand tent fell into silence.
"Marshal Yue, how about entrusting this matter to the Beggars Sect?" In the tent, Elder Hong Qiye stepped forward with a smile and volunteered.
"What is the esteemed leader's opinion?" Yue Fei looked at him with some surprise.
Hong Qiye said confidently, "Marshal Yue may not know, but my Beggars Sect disciples are spread across the land, north and south. Wherever there are beggars, there are Beggars Sect disciples!"
"The Jin people have resorted to such despicable tactics. We can't do anything outside the city, but it's much easier to act from within."
"As for how to do it, let this beggar keep it a secret for now. You just wait and see."
Seeing his confident demeanor, Yue Fei nodded in agreement.
"Very well, we will trouble your esteemed sect."
"Thank you, Marshal Yue, for your trust!" Hong Qiye was about to leave the tent when he was stopped by Xuzhu.
He smiled and said to Yue Fei, "Marshal Yue, please wait. My Lingjiu Palace can also help a little with this matter."
Yue Fei did not know Hong Qiye's plan, so he cast a questioning glance at him.
Hong Qiye chuckled, "I've long heard of the Lingjiu Palace's unique skill of begging. It's a rare opportunity to witness it. Let's go together!"
With that, he grabbed Xuzhu's arm and exited the tent. He then whispered a few words to several Beggars Sect elders waiting outside.
The old men grinned and then went their separate ways.
All large cities are connected by waterways and moats, and Beiping City is no exception.
Before long, a group of Beggars Sect disciples retreated from the west gate. They openly jumped into the moat, holding shields above their heads to guard against arrows from the city walls.
They were going to enter the city through the waterway!
The Jin soldiers on the city walls saw this and immediately guessed their intentions.
Thus, they began to throw countless stones from above the waterway, completely blocking the passage.
But at this moment, a few signal arrows were suddenly shot from behind the Yue Family Army, and then those Beggars Sect disciples retreated.
This greatly puzzled the Jin forces. Not to mention them, even Yue Fei didn't know what was happening.
After that, Hong Qiye returned to the grand tent with a mysterious expression.
"Marshal Yue, rest assured. Those signal arrows were shot by the beggars. We just need to wait, and the city will soon be lively."
Time rewound a bit. Just as the Beggars Sect disciples were approaching the waterway, a group of women dressed in Lingjiu Palace attire had already circled to the north of the city.
There were no Song army guards here, so the Jin soldiers on the city walls were fewer compared to the other three directions.
The Lingjiu Palace female disciples moved with great agility. Under the noses of the Jin army, they rushed to the city walls and leaped upwards.
The city walls were several Zhang high. As they paused in mid-air, they suddenly thrust their daggers towards the city walls. The rammed earth city walls were penetrated by them like this.
Using the daggers as leverage, their hands pulled, and their bodies rose again. Then, they took out two more daggers from their waists and repeated the process.
As they were taking action, the Jin soldiers on the city walls could not stand idly by. They poked their heads out and shot arrows directly from above.
Arrows rained down from above, but these women, with unperturbed expressions, continued to move upwards while dodging.
These people had all joined the Lingjiu Palace from a young age and had long since disregarded their lives.
The daughters of ordinary families, doted on by their parents, would not join a sect, would they?
There were not as many feuds in the martial world as rumored. Most of them were survivors of Jin army atrocities, homeless, and could only find a place to settle, or they were picked up and raised by elders of the palace from a young age.
Stimulated by the thought of revenge, they exerted their skills to the fullest!
Although some people missed their footing, fell, or were hit by arrows during the process, the remaining ones continued their actions.
While it sounds slow, the entire process took only a few tens of seconds.
The archers had only shot two volleys of arrows before they had leaped onto the city walls.
Facing them in close combat, these Jin soldiers were almost incapable of fighting back against them. However, they did not linger and used grappling hooks to catch the battlements before leaping into the city.
After landing, they rolled and quickly disappeared into the streets.
The Jin soldiers guarding the city finally felt that something was wrong and quickly sent someone to report to Wanyan Dan and Wanyan Zonggan.
The messenger did not dare to delay, but by the time he reached the imperial palace, it was already too late.
The hall was filled with traces of fighting. Three fingers lay in the bloodstains on the ground. Wanyan Dan sat on the dragon throne, with a imperial physician bandaging him.
The owner of those three fingers no longer needed to be guessed.
The man immediately knelt and reported, "Your Majesty the Emperor, this is bad, someone has leaped over the city walls from the north of the city and broken in!"
"Bang!"
Wanyan Dan casually picked up a vase and smashed it at him, roaring, "Useless! You are reporting only after people have already entered the palace to assassinate! What use are you useless people!"
"Guards, drag him out and behead him!"
The Jin soldier was dragged out in a daze.
But the next second, a "thud" sounded from outside the hall, like an arrow embedding itself into wood.
Soon, a guard ran in with an arrow. A strip of cloth was tied to the arrow shaft.
On the cloth was written a line of small characters: If you dare to harm civilians, next time I will take your dog life!
This kind of incident did not only happen in the imperial palace. In the city, any official's residence suffered assassinations, poisonings, or kidnappings to varying degrees.
Apart from those who failed, or could only injure the target, within half an hour, over thirty Jin officials of rank five or above in the city were killed!
Wanyan Zonggan, who received the news, was stunned for a moment. After a long while, with a dark expression, he said to a maidservant beside him, "Serve this king to urinate!"
A look of disgust flashed across the maidservant's face. This old immortal took a long time to urinate, and only a few drops came out at a time.
Not to mention the foul smell, if it accidentally splashed on one's hands, it would be sticky.