Huangfu Rong led the last troop of soldiers into the main city. The city was in a mess, with weapons lying all over the ground, clearly a result of their hasty escape.
"Your Majesty, the soldiers in the city should all be stationed near the palace."
"Then head straight for the palace and issue the order: the Northern Empress must be captured alive!"
At this moment, Huangfu Rong was already prepared to capture Jin Shu.
Thinking back to the banquet, he had already shown Jin Shu enough face and sincerity, begging her to forgive him and stay in Da Zhou to give him another chance.
When in his life has he ever begged someone so humbly?
Jin Shu, however, showed no regard for their past relationship. After mocking him relentlessly, she left Da Zhou without hesitation.
This matter is a deep humiliation for Huangfu Rong. Today, he will make Jin Shu understand completely that becoming the ruler of a country is not something one can do at will. Sometimes, one must have self-awareness.
With the palace right in front of them, just as they had expected, the palace was now surrounded by soldiers. They stood there, motionless like statues, watching the soldiers of the Great Zhou rush over.
Huangfu Rong had no intention of giving Jin Shu another chance, so he gave the order directly.
"Except for the Empress, everyone else shall be killed without exception!"
With bows drawn and arrows nocked, and gunpowder prepared, 50,000 troops filled the entire city, while at most only 3,000 soldiers were stationed outside the palace.
"Even at a point like this, you still want to put up a stubborn resistance?" Huangfu Rong sneered and shouted.
"Prepare to fire!"
All the soldiers immediately raised their bows and arrows, aiming at the northern soldiers. Just as Huangfu Rong was about to give the final order, the northern soldiers standing in front of him suddenly knelt down.
This action surprised Huangfu Rong slightly; he clearly hadn't expected the soldiers from the Northern Kingdom to do such a thing.
Is this a sign of surrender?
But Huangfu Rong had no intention of letting them go.
Now they know to surrender? Why didn't they do this sooner?
Laughter echoed from within the Great Zhou army, with many men even relaxing and whispering mockery of the Northern soldiers to their comrades.
Then, at that moment, the soldiers in the first row, who were kneeling, suddenly pulled out long, black metal tubes from behind their backs in unison. They then made a synchronized, push-and-load motion, while the soldiers behind them also raised their muskets. They were all well-trained and their movements were remarkably uniform.
Before the Great Zhou soldiers could even react to what they were holding, the first rank of soldiers opened fire without hesitation.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
As a series of gunshots rang out, the Great Zhou soldiers standing at the forefront fell one by one.
In an instant, the scene was filled with blood splattering, gunshots ringing out, and smoke billowing everywhere.
By the time Huangfu Rong reacted, countless of his soldiers had already been killed or wounded. The soldiers standing at the back saw the tragic state of those in front, and their fear of unfamiliar weapons and death made them instinctively turn and run.
The soldiers at the back were unaware of what was happening, only hearing gunshots they had never heard before. However, when they saw the soldiers in the front row pushing and shoving like madmen, a strange panic quickly spread throughout the entire army.
The morale of the Great Zhou army was thrown into chaos.
Huangfu Rong himself was also shocked by the terrifying weapons of the Northern Kingdom, but as the emperor, he was naturally much calmer than ordinary soldiers. Seeing that 50,000 soldiers were in chaos, he shouted loudly.
"Don't run!! Turn around and fight! They only have three thousand men! If we can break through, we'll win!"
Of course, some brave men wanted to charge, but faced with such fierce firepower, the soldiers who rushed out were like weeds in a field, being cut down one after another.
The number of corpses in front of them increased, and the remaining warriors were so frightened that they dared not go forward anymore. They ran frantically towards the city gate. No matter what Huangfu Rong said, it was no use. Faced with a death with no chance of victory, no one dared to go up and die.
Seeing that the morale of the army was already in disarray, Huangfu Rong quickly weighed the pros and cons. It was obviously impossible to continue charging at this point. He had to leave immediately and give the soldiers time to react.
Huangfu Rong then ordered a retreat, and 50,000 troops swarmed toward the city gate.
But at that moment, the previously deserted streets and alleys suddenly burst forth with a large number of civilians armed with muskets. They jumped down from the rooftops, climbed out of the water tanks, and rushed out of the rooms. In short, all the civilians who had been hiding in various parts of the city suddenly appeared.
The unarmed civilians were the easiest to deal with; once the palace was captured, the people of the country would basically submit.
But these people of the North were like warriors charging into battle, their bravery and fearlessness even surpassing that of well-trained soldiers in the army.
The Great Zhou soldiers, who were already terrified by the guns and were fleeing in all directions, were now startled by the sudden appearance of civilians from all directions, and their formation became completely chaotic.
Gunfire erupted throughout the streets and alleys. Huangfu Rong, who was being escorted away from the main city by a large group of soldiers, was now in a daze.
This familiar feeling, this familiar taste, is just like the last time we attacked the northern frontier. We stormed in with great momentum, only to be defeated and forced to flee in disarray.
Huangfu Rong never expected that in just over a year, he would suffer two defeats, and the emperor of a country would be chased by pursuers like a rat crossing the street, in a sorry state.
"How could this be! How could there be so many people in the main city of the Northern Kingdom!"
Huangfu Rong roared and howled, and the generals who were escorting him out didn't care about anything else, they just shouted along.
"Your Majesty, it seems the people in the northern city haven't left. They've all hidden themselves, waiting for us to fall into their trap!"
They didn't expect that when the Great Zhou issued the proclamation, the people in the main city of the Northern Kingdom were the fewest among the thirteen cities to leave.
Most of these people were among the first group of refugees from various countries taken in by Jin Shu, as well as people from the northern frontier who voluntarily came to seek refuge. They had experienced a peace and tranquility they had never known in the first half of their lives, so how could they possibly give up and leave so easily?
Now, Jin Shu has helped them establish a civilian guard team, taught them how to use guns, and equipped them with the most refined weapons and armor. With Jin Shu as their powerful backer, the people of the main city almost unanimously responded to the call and volunteered to join the guard team to fight against foreign enemies.
Now, the 50,000 troops were completely disrupted by the Northern Kingdom's guards and scattered throughout the city.
The northern soldiers, who had been lying in wait, charged forward and killed the enemy with a single, precise strike.
Of the 50,000 troops that Huangfu Rong brought in, only a pitiful few thousand managed to escape to the city gate.
The thousands of people looked dazed and silent, staring at Huangfu Rong in disbelief, unable to utter a word after being beaten.
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