Hamodi's words shocked Zhang Debang. He had not expected that the eldest prince, Li Hui, had been captured and had fallen into the hands of the foreigners.

Hamodi's words have some credibility; the eldest prince, Li Hui, is indeed that kind of person, and he is absolutely capable of doing things that would humiliate and destroy the country.

Hamodi was watching Zhang Debang's facial expressions, sensing the changes in his heart.

To make Zhang Debang feel that he had no way out, he continued:

"Once the capital is captured, your emperor will be arrested, and the civil and military officials of the court will also become prisoners. By then, it will be too late for the Prime Minister to cooperate with us."

We've told you everything we need to know, and we're not afraid of you revealing our secrets. If the Prime Minister wants to arrest me, then send someone over. Since I dared to come to see the Prime Minister, I'm not afraid of being arrested.

Hamodi's words were flawless, leaving Zhang Debang with no choice but to believe them.

At this time, Zhang Debang was still going through a fierce internal struggle. He had two paths before him: one that would bring him wealth and honor, and the other that would make him a prisoner.

If he agrees to the demands of the foreign kingdom, he could potentially become the ruler of the Great Northern Dynasty. In that case, his fate would either be one of eternal fame or eternal infamy.

Seeing Zhang Debang deep in thought, Hamodi was in no hurry and sat quietly in his chair, waiting for his reply.

As dusk approached and darkness began to envelop the earth, the luminous pearl on the table emitted a bright light, illuminating everything in the room, making it unnecessary to turn on any lamps.

Finally, Zhang Debang made up his mind and made his choice. He asked:

"When are you preparing to attack the capital, and what do you need me to do?"

Hamodi was secretly pleased. Under his combined approach of kindness and coercion, Zhang Debang finally yielded and sided with the foreign country.

"That depends on the Prime Minister's decision. Once we attack the capital, we must take it."

At that time, the enemy army will launch a full-scale attack, storming in through the main gate, with the aim of drawing all the garrison troops in the capital over.

Based on our observation, the south gate is undefended and there are not many soldiers guarding it. The Prime Minister can open the south gate and the soldiers lying in ambush there can then attack the city.

Once our soldiers enter the city, the capital will be captured.

If the Prime Minister is willing to help, the casualties of our soldiers will be greatly reduced. At that time, the Prime Minister will attack the capital for us and make great contributions. Our vassal state will also keep its promise.

After entering the city, we began to arrest the emperor and civil and military officials of the Great Northern Dynasty. Once the emperor is arrested, the prime minister will become the emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty.

As for whether the Prime Minister will change the dynasty, that's the Prime Minister's business; we won't interfere, and we will even support him.

Zhang Debang considered for a moment, then spoke:

"Then in ten days, I will send a trusted confidant to your military camp to find you. At that time, we will work together from the inside and outside to take over the capital."

"That's right. This is the first time the Prime Minister has cooperated with a foreign country. After the Prime Minister becomes the emperor, there will be even more cooperation between us."

Hamodi spoke with great passion, and Zhang Debang listened with fervor. The two finally reached a sordid agreement, for which countless brave men of the Great Northern Dynasty paid with their lives.

During this period, Zhang Debang began preparations. He carefully observed the south gate of the capital. Since there were no enemy troops stationed outside the city, there were not many soldiers guarding the area, usually only one or two hundred.

However, he could only mobilize about a hundred trusted men, and it would be quite difficult for such a small number of people to control the garrison here.

However, he quickly came up with a solution: as the prime minister, it would be quite convenient for him to do some things in the capital.

During this period, the barbarian soldiers cooperated with Zhang Debang's actions, hurling insults at the city gates every day.

What's even more unsettling is that the barbarian soldiers built siege ladders and catapults right in front of their camp. After the catapults were completed, they loaded them with stones and tested them, finding that they worked well and were perfectly capable of being used for sieges.

The sight of these siege weapons was chilling, and the news quickly reached the palace.

The emperor was truly frightened this time and immediately summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

"Your Majesty need not worry. There are currently 100,000 garrison troops in the capital and tens of thousands of guards protecting the palace. The barbarian troops will not be able to breach the capital."

The 100,000 barbarian troops outside the city are short of supplies and can only hold out for a month at most, after which they will retreat without a fight.

They had originally hoped that Shang Wei's 100,000-strong army would join forces with them after capturing Shuixian Village and take the capital.

To their surprise, Shang Wei's army was completely annihilated, shattering their plans.

What they are doing now is just bluffing, with the aim of disrupting morale and finding an opportunity to attack the capital.

What we need to do now is to hold our ground and defend the four city gates.

Those siege weapons, though seemingly powerful, were no ordinary city walls, so the catapults were of little use.

"What our soldiers must do now is patrol day and night and defend the city," said Wu Gang, the Left Chancellor.

"Yes, Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Wu said is true. The army of the foreign kingdom may seem powerful, but in reality, it is utterly vulnerable."

Zhao Shaofu of Shuixian Village only had a few thousand men, yet he managed to wipe out Shang Wei's army of 100,000. In my opinion, they were just a bunch of pigs and not worth fearing at all.

"Moreover, the First Prince is going out to consolidate his troops this time. As long as he can bring back 20,000 to 30,000 men, we can form a pincer movement against the barbarian army outside the city, and eliminating them will not be difficult," the Fourth Prince said.

Everyone knew that the eldest prince was not going out to consolidate his troops, but rather to seek refuge.

All the officials knew that the Fourth Prince's words had a hidden meaning, and they also understood that he was speaking to the Emperor.

However, the words of the Fourth Prince and the Left Prime Minister did reassure the ministers quite a bit. Now all that needed to be done was for the emperor and his ministers to work together to defend the capital.

Right Chancellor Zhang Debang stood to the side, saying nothing. The barbarian soldiers had not yet announced the capture of the eldest prince.

Once the news is announced, it will inevitably cause chaos. At that time, he will open the south gate and let the barbarian soldiers into the city.

That evening, the barbarian soldiers outside the city were on patrol when they suddenly noticed a man sneaking towards the military camp. They immediately went up to question him.

The messenger told them that he was sent by Prime Minister Zhang and wanted to see Hamodi.

Hamodi had already instructed these men to be on patrol, and since they knew this man was there to deliver a message, they didn't ask any further questions and immediately took him to see Hamodi.

Hamodi was overjoyed to see that Zhang Debang had finally sent someone, and took the man to see Sullivan, the King of Nanyuan.

Sullivan immediately summoned the messenger and inquired about the situation in the city.

The messenger told Sullivan that Zhang Debang was ready in the city and planned to open the south gate at noon tomorrow, so that the barbarian army could take the opportunity to attack the city.