Just as Li Mao was getting into his zone, he suddenly felt a deafening roar from beneath his feet.
"It's the battering ram! The Jin people's battering ram!"
Before Li Mao could figure out what was happening, a soldier standing beside him yelled out.
Following the direction the soldier pointed, Li Mao finally saw that, at some unknown time, the Jin forces had quietly pushed a giant battering ram right up to their position!
"Bastards! Burn it, burn it!"
Hearing the continuous rumbling from under his feet, Li Mao suddenly reacted. If this thing wasn't dealt with, the city gate beneath them would likely be smashed open by it sooner rather than later.
Han Qinghe had endured all day and only now made his move!
"Bring the naphtha!"
At Li Mao's command, several officers around him immediately began shouting.
Soon, people brought over jars, lit the rags tied to their exteriors, and hurled them heavily onto the battering ram.
After more than a dozen jars were thrown, the battering ram instantly became a colossal torch.
"My lord! Bad news, the north gate is breached! The north gate is breached!"
Just as Li Mao's tension began to ease, Chen Xia delivered another piece of devastating news...
"How is that possible? How could the north gate be breached! Where are the people at the north gate!"
Upon hearing this, Li Mao felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet all the way to the crown of his head.
He grabbed the messenger soldier by his collar, almost in a frenzy, desperately trying to elicit any different news.
"Those Jin soldiers appeared suddenly, and they brought two battering rams! My lord, you should make plans early!"
Before the soldier could finish speaking, Li Mao already heard the sounds of fierce fighting coming from the direction of the north gate.
The Jin army had entered the city...
"My lord, while there's still time, we should retreat. Your subordinate is willing to carve a bloody path for you!"
Hearing the shouts from the north gate growing louder, several of Li Mao's trusted aides knelt before him on one knee.
"Retreat? Where else can we retreat to?"
Listening to the sounds of battle, Li Mao's face was filled with bitterness.
"My brothers, I, Li Mao, have failed you. Zhen Ding City could not be held after all..."
"You have already fulfilled your duty to the nation. Flee for your lives while you still have time..."
In an instant, Li Mao looked as if he had aged twenty years.
After hearing his words, the soldiers still on the city wall fell silent for a moment before finally dispersing.
"My lord, as long as we live, we can rebuild! The fall of Zhen Ding is not your fault! Why must you do this!"
Watching more and more Jin soldiers appear on the city walls, the remaining few confidantes looked at Li Mao with anxious faces.
"You all go! I, Li Mao, have eaten the king's salt and should die with Zhen Ding. Now that Zhen Ding has fallen, how can I face living in this world?"
As Li Mao spoke, he closed his eyes in despair.
Seeing the increasing number of Jin soldiers and Li Mao's refusal to retreat, the remaining few, with no other choice, fought their way down the city wall.
"Your Majesty!"
"This subject, Li Mao, is incompetent and will atone with my death today!"
With one last glance towards Bianliang, Li Mao finally raised his sword and took his own life...
With the west and north gates breached, by the time Liu Xu realized, the Jin forces from the north gate had already completely surrounded them.
"Liu Xu, Zhen Ding has fallen, the outcome is decided! Will you still not surrender?"
As the city gate slowly opened, Han Qinghe, his face pale, finally entered Zhen Ding City.
"Hahahaha, Han Qinghe, you are Han yourself, born in Liao. The Jin rose to destroy Liao, and you not only failed to serve your country but also betrayed your lineage. Now you lead your troops to attack our Great Song. You, a man of utter shame, what right do you have to stand before me and clamor like this?"
"Bold! You are now trapped like a turtle in a jar. Lay down your arms, and I can overlook your actions in consideration of your service to the nation! If you continue to be uncooperative, do not blame me for being harsh!"
After hearing his words, the archers beside Han Qinghe immediately raised their bows and arrows, aiming at Liu Xu on the city wall.
With a final glance towards the east of the city, seeing the raging fires at his home, Liu Xu's face was filled with tranquility.
Having been husband and wife for many years, he naturally understood that his wife, with her strong will, would not be taken alive to suffer humiliation.
Now that his home was ablaze, his last lingering attachment completely vanished...
"Hahahaha, I am a great general, how can I die at the hands of such petty men!"
With one last look of reluctance, he glanced at the Zhen Ding city, now engulfed in blood and fire, wiped the last traces of blood from his sabre, and with a fierce gritting of his teeth, plunged the blade into his own heart...
"Have someone give him a proper burial..."
Looking at the corpse still standing on the city wall, Han Qinghe finally sighed after a long while...
"Boom— rumble— rumble—"
With Liu Xu's death, the entire Zhen Ding City fell completely into the hands of the Jin...
And just as Li Mao and Liu Xu met their martyrdom, the 100,000 troops brought back by Tong Guan outside Bianliang City received orders to march south.
"Grand Commandant, bad news! Prime Minister Fan has brought civil and military officials to block the entrance to the military camp, and they vow that anyone who tries to lead troops south will have to step over his body..."
"What did you say? How could he have known?"
Upon hearing this news, Tong Guan almost choked. He had chosen this moment precisely to avoid the obstruction of the civil and military officials and to quietly lead Zhao Ji south.
But unexpectedly, as soon as Zhao Ji's carriage entered the military camp, Fan Zhengguo caught wind of it and pursued them.
And not just him, but he had even brought so many officials...
"This... this subordinate does not know..."
Seeing Tong Guan trembling with rage, the subordinate generals beside him quickly lowered their heads.
"A bunch of useless fools!"
After giving them a vicious glare, Tong Guan angrily strode towards the camp gate.
But the moment he stepped out, he saw Fan Zhengguo and the vast entourage of dozens of officials behind him.
"Prime Minister Fan, why must you go to such lengths?"
Upon seeing Fan Zhengguo, Tong Guan wore a bitter smile.
"Bah! You, Tong Guan, are a high-ranking official of the second rank. In this time of national crisis, instead of thinking of loyalty to the emperor and country, you intend to flee the battlefield again, and you want to take 100,000 troops of the court with you! What right do you have to stand before me and say such things!"
As soon as Tong Guan opened his mouth, Fan Zhengguo directly took off his boot and hurled it towards Tong Guan's head.
"Stop them! Stop them!"
No matter how brave Tong Guan was, he dared not fight Fan Zhengguo, who was, after all, a prime minister of the realm. Helplessly, he could only brace himself and shout at the soldiers beside him.
"The memorial tablets of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong are here. I want to see who dares!"
As a few subordinate generals were about to step forward to intervene, Li Gang, holding two memorial tablets, suddenly shouted sternly.
With just a glance at the names on the two memorial tablets, the subordinate generals immediately recoiled and stepped aside.
What a joke!
With the ancestral tablets brought out, let alone Tong Guan, even if Zhao Ji himself, the retired emperor, were to come, he wouldn't dare to force his way through at this moment...