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After receiving Lu Chen's second letter, General Du Yongyuan did not immediately choose to surrender.

However, in the following days, the army of North Country did not launch an attack, and the soldiers of Ziyang City were all on edge.

Most of the soldiers understood that the main reason the North Country soldiers hadn't attacked after the city walls had collapsed was because the Prince of the North was persuading their General to surrender.

The soldiers were overwhelmed with panic. Having seen their comrades from Great Xia blown to pieces by artillery, they had long since lost the will to fight. They now only wanted to surrender, but the court would never allow it. If they did surrender, their families might suffer.

Of course, whether to surrender was not up to these low-ranking soldiers; the key lay in the intentions of their General and the deputy generals.

Several days later, General Du Yongyuan summoned his trusted deputy, Gao Yong, to his study.

When Gao Yong was summoned alone by Du Yongyuan, he realized that the General must have an important task for him.

General Du took Gao Yong to an underground chamber and, after confirming there was no eavesdropping, Du Yongyuan finally spoke, "Deputy General Gao, do you know why I have summoned you?"

Gao Yong said directly, "General, you raised me from the start and led me through many wars. I will absolutely obey your orders. If you have any special mission for me, just say it, and I will definitely fulfill the task you assign."

General Du patted Gao Yong on the shoulder and said, "With those words, I can rest assured."

Then General Du said, "I plan to withdraw a hundred thousand soldiers from Ziyang City. You will continue to hold Ziyang City and attract the attention of the North Country army."

Hearing this, Gao Yong was stunned. He thought that General Du was planning to surrender to the Prince of the North, but he did not expect General Du's real intention was to flee Ziyang City.

If it was about fleeing, it was not impossible, but after General Du took a hundred thousand soldiers with him, the remaining hundred thousand soldiers in Ziyang City would be even less likely to stop the North Country army's advancement.

Most likely, the remaining hundred thousand soldiers in Ziyang City would end up being blown to pieces by the secret weapon of North Country.

Seeing Gao Yong shocked, Du Yongyuan continued, "Once we withdraw, prepare the hundred thousand soldiers you lead for evacuation as well."

"I've pretended to agree to surrender to the Prince of the North, which should keep him at bay for a while. They shouldn't notice our movements."

Gao Yong asked with some concern, "General, do you really believe the Prince of the North will trust your surrender?"

General Du answered, "He will believe it. The North Prince is young and arrogant, and with such a fearsome weapon at North Country's disposal, he will certainly think I will surrender out of fear."

Gao Yong continued, "If you retreat like this and Ziyang City is lost, wouldn't the Emperor..."

Gao Yong stopped midway, feeling that if General Du fled, even if he did make it back to the Capital city, he would most likely be put to death.

To flee was to die, not to surrender was also to die. It might be better to simply surrender to the Prince of the North outright.

General Du sighed and then said, "I don't intend to flee; I am merely planning to withdraw to another city and seek help from the Prince of Qi."

Gao Yong immediately saluted and said, "I will definitely defend Ziyang City and buy enough time for your withdrawal."

Suddenly recalling something, General Du added, "Right, after I withdraw, I will send someone to deliver a letter to you. When you receive the letter, prepare to evacuate as well."

Gao Yong replied, "Yes, General!"

...

The next morning, when the sky was still dim, General Du Yongyuan quietly led a hundred thousand imperial soldiers out through the south gate. They moved so stealthily, fearing discovery by the North Country soldiers.

Watching the retreating figures of General Du leading the soldiers, Gao Yong sighed deeply. Although he had always followed General Du and had been promoted by him, being left to cover the rear made him uneasy.

General Du could have taken the entire two hundred thousand soldiers in one go, but he didn't, likely fearing that the North Country soldiers would notice and chase after them, resulting in none of them escaping.

With a hundred thousand soldiers remaining to cover the rear, even if the North Country army discovered General Du's intention to escape, the hundred thousand soldiers could delay them, buying sufficient time for General Du to flee.

Soon after General Du's hundred thousand strong force had left Ziyang City, they had not gone far when, upon reaching a canyon, a deafening blast of cannonfire erupted not far away.

Before long, General Du and his hundred thousand soldiers were trapped in the canyon by the North Country army.

The soldiers became panic-stricken.

When had the North Country soldiers gotten behind Ziyang City?

At this moment, General Du roared, "Nobody panic! Follow me and charge out!"

As he said this, General Du drew his sword.

However, just then, more deafening cannonfire erupted in the distance. Barrages of artillery shells fell before and behind the hundred thousand soldiers, raising dust and causing such terror that the soldiers had no idea where to run.

The artillery barrage soon ceased, clearly a tactic by North Country to intimidate them, signaling that there was no escape.

Soon after, a voice called out from the mountaintop, "The King's command: You are all subjects of Great Xia. Those who abandon their weapons and surrender shall be spared their lives, and after the war, you may choose to go home."

Upon hearing this, some soldiers immediately discarded their weapons. Seeing this unfold, General Du roared, "Do not surrender! Whoever dares to surrender, I will execute myself!"

By that time, no soldiers were obeying General Du's command, and more and more soldiers dropped their weapons.

Realizing the situation was beyond hope, General Du looked to the heavens and howled, "Your Majesty, it is your servant's incompetence for failing to defend Ziyang City. I shall atone with my death!"

With those words, General Du lifted his sword and slashed it across his throat.

Seeing that even Du Yongyuan had committed suicide by cutting his own throat, the soldiers who had initially planned to attempt a breakout had no choice but to abandon the idea of resistance.

Eventually, the entire army of one hundred thousand was captured.

At the same time.

Gao Yong also noticed the commotion in the south, and realizing that something was amiss, he quickly dispatched scouts to investigate the situation, and he himself went up to the southern city tower.

Before long, the scouting soldiers returned, their expressions filled with panic and their faces ashen.

Gao Yong hastily asked, "Speak up, what's happened!"

One of the soldiers replied, "The general encountered an ambush by the forces of North Country, and General Gao, seeing no way out, chose to take his own life!"

This...

Gao Yong's face instantly turned pale, and he collapsed onto the ground, weak and powerless, "How could this..."

"The forces of North Country had actually circled to the rear of Ziyang City to lay an ambush..."

In this era of warfare, battles generally required the capture of one city after another—without capturing the cities, the enemy forces inside could potentially escape and sever one's supply lines. If logistics were cut, the soldiers fighting at the front might end up in a rout.

Gao Yong was somewhat taken aback that the forces of North Country had not followed customary practices and instead bypassed Ziyang City to move to its rear.

What to do now...

The fact that the forces of North Country had moved to the rear of Ziyang City meant Ziyang City was now surrounded.

Du Yongyuan had already taken away an army of one hundred thousand, and now Ziyang City was left with only one hundred thousand soldiers. Considering that the walls had been breached and North Country possessed such powerful weapons, an attack by North Country would ensure that Ziyang City could not be held.

Gao Yong's face was filled with defeat as he sighed deeply.

At that moment, a soldier from North Country suddenly appeared below the city tower, shouting, "General Gao, here's a letter found on General Du, please take a look."

Seeing it was a letter delivered by a soldier from North Country, Gao Yong's brow furrowed, suspecting it was a letter urging surrender.

Gao Yong then had his subordinates take the letter from the North Country soldier.

However, when Gao Yong got hold of the letter, he hesitated for a moment. It was not a letter urging surrender, but one from Du Yongyuan.

What did this mean?

Gao Yong promptly opened the envelope and read the contents.

The letter was very straightforward; it simply told Gao Yong that if their evacuation failed, he should just surrender. It was almost as if Du Yongyuan had foreseen their fate.

Gao Yong sighed deeply once again. He did not for a moment doubt that the handwriting was anyone's but Du Yongyuan's, especially since Du Yongyuan had told him the day before that a letter would be coming.

There on the city wall, Gao Yong asked the soldier from North Country, "Is General Du truly dead?"

The soldier from North Country replied, "Aye, General Gao, General Du has indeed taken his own life."

With a definitive answer, Gao Yong no longer resisted and immediately told his subordinates, "Raise the white flag!"

Hearing this, those behind Gao Yong finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had feared that Gao Yong might seek to avenge Du Yongyuan and fight North Country's forces to the bitter end without regard for life. They had already prepared to join forces to kill Gao Yong and then surrender.

Since Gao Yong had taken the initiative to surrender, there was nothing more to say.

Surrender, for their general had already taken his life.

In the end, Gao Yong led the remaining defenders of Ziyang City out to surrender to North Country.

Several hours later.

In Lu Chen's study.

Lu Chen sat at his desk and said to the robust man before him, "General Du, what do you think of my arrangement?"

Du Yongyuan immediately knelt halfway and said, "Thank you, Prince, for sparing my life. From now on, I am willing to serve Your Highness."

Lu Chen continued, "I have already sent people to protect your family. Once the news of your 'suicide' reaches the Capital, I trust that the court will not trouble them. In a while, I will bring them to North Country. For now, you should stay in Anping City and keep out of sight."

Du Yongyuan said again, "Thank you, Prince!"

For Lu Chen, the two hundred thousand prisoners of Great Sum were still of great use. Stay tuned to empire

In ancient warfare, capturing a city was not the most challenging task—holding onto conquered land was harder.

After Lu Chen conquers Qi Country, he will need a large number of soldiers to occupy the cities won. If he lets the soldiers of North Country take over those cities, how many would remain by the time he reached the Capital?

Now these two hundred thousand prisoners can play their role. He could indoctrinate these two hundred thousand soldiers to become his own. He did not need them to be absolutely loyal; after all, he had no intention of giving North Country's weapons to them so soon.

With North Country's weapons as a deterrent, they would not dare to oppose North Country lightly.