Tanhan Mountain, the royal court of the Xianbei.

As Tan Shihuai mobilized all the able-bodied men of his tribe to attack Juyan, the royal court was no longer as bustling as it once was. On the streets of the royal city, apart from a few women and children searching for work, it was difficult to see a single pedestrian.

On the city wall, only a few scattered squads of old soldiers were patrolling.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the royal banner hanging on the city wall swayed for a moment before returning to its original position.

An old Xianbei soldier with graying temples, accompanied by several of his old brothers, walked on the city tower of the East Gate, occasionally turning his head to look eastward.

After walking a few steps, the old soldier suddenly stopped, and his gaze toward the east held a hint of fear.

On the distant eastern horizon, a dense mass of dark shadows, billowing with dust, was hurtling toward them.

"Something's wrong!!"

The old soldier suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, and the other veterans behind him also jumped, looking at him warily.

"Where...where did this cavalry unit come from?"

As the approaching shadowy figure drew nearer, the Xianbei veterans on the city wall were all terrified.

Now, all the able-bodied men in the tribe have been conscripted by their king to attack the Han people in the south.

This force that suddenly appeared in the East must be the enemy.

"Waaaaah!!"

Soon, a series of urgent horn calls rang out from the city walls of the Xianbei capital.

The other veterans patrolling the city walls also grabbed their weapons and rushed to the east city wall.

Unfortunately, there were only a few veterans left behind, a mere eight hundred or so. Compared to the dense cavalry formations in the distance, this small number was practically nonexistent.

"It's over, it's the Han army!"

When they saw the great banner at the front of the approaching army, the old Xianbei soldiers on the city wall all changed their expressions, their eyes filled with despair.

These veterans, in their youth, had often followed the army to plunder within the territory of the Han Dynasty, and no one understood the hatred between the two countries better than them.

In their view, the presence of Han cavalry here could mean either that their king had suffered a defeat in the south, or that while the Han army was locked in a stalemate with their king, they had sent troops to harass their rear.

For these veterans, neither of these two situations is something they can bear.

"What...what do we do? We don't have enough men to hold out!" an old soldier asked his comrade beside him, his lips trembling.

"How would I know what to do? We're just a bunch of old folks, we can't fight them, we can't run away, what can we do but wait to die?"

The companion, too, spoke the most cowardly words with a defiant expression.

The situation was similar for the other veteran soldiers guarding the city walls; some were at a loss, while others resigned themselves to their fate and waited to die.

In their desperate wait, the Han army of nearly 30,000 men soon arrived at the foot of the capital.

Xi Zhicai, riding at the front of the procession, looked up at the city wall.

When Xi Zhicai saw that the city walls were filled with old soldiers with graying hair and simple weapons, a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Brother Zhicai, it seems that the Xianbei royal court is even more vulnerable than we imagined. With such defenses, our army can take it down with just one attack!"

Liu Bei also rode up to Xi Zhicai's side, looking at the city wall with a smile.

"Leave the siege to me!"

Sun Jian, who was standing nearby, also came over, his eyes burning with desire as he stared at the white heads on the city wall.

A thousand-mile raid to capture the enemy's capital—such an achievement, comparable to that of the Marquis of Champion, was undeniably tempting for a military general like Sun Jian.

Although this was an opportunistic attack, it did not diminish Sun Jian's desire for this honor.

"Alright, then I'll leave it to Wentai!"

Xi Zhicai and Liu Bei exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Then they turned their horses back to their formation and handed over the task of attacking the city to Sun Jian.

Neither Xi Zhicai nor Liu Bei nor Sun Jian had any intention of persuading them to surrender.

They came here for the honor of defeating the enemy's capital; how could they not kill some people?

Subsequently, under Xi Zhicai's command, 20,000 troops were dispatched to surround the west and north gates of the royal city, leaving only the south gate open.

Sun Jian also led 10,000 Red Ribbon Army soldiers from the East Gate. They dismounted, and the lumberjacks and engineers in the army began to search for timber to make simple siege ladders.

Although the Xianbei capital was built according to the scale of the Han Dynasty city, the city walls were not high due to the limited materials and the limited skills of the local craftsmen. They were only two zhang high.

This level of altitude would only be considered within the scope of some small towns in the Han Dynasty.

For the carpenters and engineers, building a ladder of this height was a piece of cake.

About an hour later, one hundred simple ladders were completed.

Five thousand attacking soldiers also lined up in neat formation and arrived at the moat outside the royal city.

Sun Jian, who was leading the team, walked to the front of the formation, holding a round shield in his left hand and an ancient sword in his right.

Sun Jian glanced up at the sparse old soldiers on the city wall and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Brothers, let's press on together, take the capital, and make our achievements, our wives and children will be rewarded, and our glory will be bestowed upon us in this very day!!"

"kill!!"

At Sun Jian's command, the soldiers responsible for attacking the city roared in unison and charged toward the Xianbei capital.

The first thousand soldiers carried a hundred long ladders and laid them side by side across the trench, forming a simple wooden bridge.

This method effectively ensures that soldiers will not fall into the trench after they fall.

Sun Jian, who was at the forefront, stepped on the crossbeams of the long ladder as if he were on flat ground, and in just a few breaths he crossed the trench.

"Fire...fire the arrows!"

Seeing Sun Jian charge across the moat first, the old Xianbei soldier on the city wall also drew his bow in panic.

Unfortunately, these veterans lacked strength, and even with the lightest horse bow, they could only draw it halfway.

Seeing the soft arrows flying towards him, Sun Jian simply swept his sword aside.

Soldiers attacking the city from the rear also crossed the moat one after another. The soldiers at the forefront drew their bows and nocked arrows, launching a counterattack against the defenders who were poking their heads out from the city walls and firing arrows.

In an instant, dozens of defenders who were unable to dodge were struck by arrows from below the city and fell down with cries of agony.

Upon seeing this, the remaining guards also hurriedly retreated, not daring to show their faces again.

The soldiers behind them also carried long ladders and rushed towards the foot of the royal city.

As for rolling stones, there wasn't a single one on the city wall. After all, there wasn't even enough stone to raise the city wall, so where would there be any extra stones to make rolling stones?

As the Han army erected the ladders and brought them towards the city wall, the Xianbei veteran gripped his spear tightly, hiding behind the battlements to avoid the arrows coming from below, waiting for the Han army to scale the walls for a final stand.

They knew that the Han army had attacked the city without saying a word, and had no intention of letting them go. Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well take a gamble and fall honorably on the city wall.