Breakfast was simple: a few steamed buns and a bowl of porridge. After finishing the meal, we prepared to break through the encirclement.

The barbarian troops breached the capital and besieged the imperial city. They had prepared themselves for certain death, but it seemed that was no longer necessary. After breaking through the siege, they headed to Tongyu Pass to join up with the soldiers there.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and everything was hazy and indistinct.

The barbarian camp was completely silent, except for a squad of sentries pacing back and forth in front of the camp gate.

It seemed the barbarian soldiers were still asleep, and this was the best time to break out. The soldiers quietly opened the gates of the imperial city and approached the barbarian soldiers' camp.

The barbarian soldiers patrolling in front of the camp never dreamed that the palace guards would break out at this time. Before they could even shout, they were killed by the soldiers who rushed up.

At this moment, the Fourth Prince shouted, "Charge out!"

More than 10,000 soldiers rushed towards the camp like a tidal wave. The barbarian soldiers came out to intercept them in the chaos, but were immediately killed by the charging soldiers.

These soldiers who broke through the siege were all guards from the palace. Each of them was carefully selected and had strong combat capabilities. They charged forward and killed many of the barbarian soldiers.

They quickly passed through the enemy's camp and rushed towards the city gate.

By the time the soldiers realized what was happening, the Fourth Prince and his troops had already left and were no longer able to catch up.

Sullivan was still fast asleep when he was woken up and learned that the garrison in the capital had broken out. He was shocked.

Since the garrison in the imperial city has broken out, it means that the emperor has left the palace. When did he leave?

Sullivan immediately led his troops into the imperial city, which was now completely empty; not a single person could be seen.

Sullivan could understand the garrison breaking out of the palace, and he could also understand the emperor breaking out with the army.

However, there were still many palace maids and eunuchs in the palace, as well as numerous princes, grandsons, and princesses. These people could not possibly break through with the army.

It was already broad daylight when Sullivan asked Zhang Debang what was going on, but Zhang Debang was even more confused.

Seeing Sullivan so angry, Zhang Debang was a little frightened.

"Prime Minister Zhang, tell me what happened. Did they fly away?"

"Your Majesty, I really don't know how they left the palace."

"Since we can't get out or fly, could it be that we have to go underground? Tell me, is there a passage from the palace to the outside?"

Zhang Debang was taken aback at first, then said decisively:

“Your Majesty, I can assure you that there is absolutely no tunnel leading out of the palace. I have lived in the capital for decades and have never heard of such a thing.”

Sullivan glared at Zhang Debang and said:

"There are many secrets in the palace. It's normal that you don't know them. Can you guarantee that there are no passages leading out of the palace?"

Zhang Debang was speechless. Sullivan's words were true; the palace did indeed have many secrets unknown to outsiders.

Sullivan immediately ordered a thorough search of the palace to find any passage leading outside, even a rat hole.

Soon, someone discovered something amiss. In a secluded spot within the palace, they found a sewer with a very large outlet. Judging from the traces left at the scene, someone must have entered or exited this sewer.

This was a major discovery, and someone immediately reported it to Sullivan.

"Your Majesty, we have discovered a sewer in a secluded spot within the imperial city. This sewer is somewhat unusual; it may be a passage leading outside the imperial city."

"Is that so? Just as I expected. Take me there to investigate."

After Sullivan finished speaking, she went to check, giving Zhang Debang a fierce glare as she left.

Zhang Debang shuddered in fright. It seemed the emperor had escaped through that passage. This matter had nothing to do with him, but it appeared Sullivan was going to use this as a pretext to punish him.

If the emperor escapes, he will lose his throne and his dream may be shattered.

But he was also very puzzled as to how there could be a passage leading outside from inside the palace; he had never heard of such a passage before.

He quickly followed Sullivan, wanting to see what was going on.

This is definitely a sewer; rainwater flows in from here when it rains.

At the entrance to the sewer, a square cover was lifted to the side, revealing a dark entrance.

The smell here isn't pleasant, but what does it matter when you're trying to escape?

Sullivan immediately sent several soldiers down to investigate. The soldiers carefully entered through the hole.

As soon as the group reached the cave entrance and began to feel their way forward, they suddenly heard a "whoosh" sound from below, followed by several screams, and then silence.

Those above were taken aback; it seemed they had been ambushed. The soldiers above immediately shouted to those below, but there was no response from the sewers.

Sullivan was completely bewildered. Whether the people who had just gone down had been caught in a trap or were ambushed, the people above had no idea. What should they do now?

Sending more people down to investigate might result in more deaths, and Sullivan was unwilling to do such a foolish thing. He looked at Zhang Debang.

Zhang Debang was terrified. Could Sullivan be sending him down? If he went down, wouldn't he be going to his death?

“Prime Minister Zhang, don’t be afraid. I won’t let you go down. Can you tell me what’s going on? After all, you are most familiar with the situation here,” Sullivan said.

“Your Majesty, although I live in the capital, I am not familiar with the palace. This is indeed a sewer, and there may be a passage in the sewer that connects to the outside world. This passage may lead to the outside of the city.”

"Prime Minister Zhang also believes there is a passage leading out of the city. Do you know how long this passage is and where the exit is?"

After considering for a while, Zhang Debang said, "If this passage leads to the outside of the city, it will be at least ten miles long. If such a large project is built, no one will be unaware of it."

Besides, if there really were such underground passages in the palace, then the palace wouldn't be safe.

"What Prime Minister Zhang means is that what's below isn't a passage, but a cave where people hide. How is that possible? If that were true, the palace guards wouldn't have abandoned the city and tried to break out."

They would only break through and leave this place after the emperor and his family had left the palace. If there were people in the passage below, they would probably be some guards.

These people stayed behind to hold us back, allowing their emperor to escape as quickly as possible. Our immediate task is to eliminate the rest of the army and then pursue them along this passage.

Sullivan lived up to his reputation as the King of Nanyuan; his guess was correct. Last night, after the emperor and his entourage escaped through this passage, they quickly left the capital.