It was at this moment that Meng Ran's wife cried and begged.
"My lord, the southwest has fallen, Yizhou is gone, your troops have all surrendered to the Eighth Prince, and even Gao Wancheng has been captured."
Meng Ran's wife and children's words struck him like a dagger.
That's all...
How could that be? The men of the Southwest are all brave and fierce, how could they have surrendered?
I don't believe it.
Zhao Shi'an gave Xiao Liu a meaningful look.
Xiao Liu put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Then, with a whoosh, several corpses were dropped down in front of the city gate.
Meng Ran had sharp eyesight and recognized them at a glance as his most capable subordinates.
He looked at them one by one, his heart aching as if it were being torn apart.
"You brat! Give me back my life!"
He brandished his broadsword and charged towards Zhao Shi'an on horseback, his posture and appearance clearly indicating that he wanted to fight to the death, not even caring about his family.
Xiao Liu and his men blocked Zhao Shi'an's path. Meng Ran didn't even touch Zhao Shi'an before being shot in the shoulder by an archer on the city wall and falling off his horse.
After all, he was the fiercest general in the southwest. He pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and continued to charge forward. Another arrow shot from the city wall hit his knee.
Meng Ran continued to struggle to his feet. The people he brought couldn't bear to watch any longer and surrounded him, trying to take him away.
But Zhao Shi'an wasn't about to let him go. Dozens of people appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.
"I, Meng Ran, swear to never surrender, even at the cost of my life."
As he spoke, he grabbed his subordinate's knife and tried to slit his own throat, but this did not work. An arrow coming from the direction of the city gate struck his arm, and the knife fell to the ground.
"Meng Ran, if you surrender now and come to the palace with me, your family's lives can be saved. If you resist to the death, you and your family may die and suffer the pain of being torn apart by chariots, leaving no complete corpse. Even in the next life, you will not be able to be a human being."
Meng Ran cursed loudly, but did not continue to struggle.
When Meng Ran's men saw him like this, they all put down their weapons and surrendered.
Xiao Liu had Meng Ran tied up.
Zhao Shi'an led Meng Ran into the city.
All four palace gates were now under the control of the Imperial Guards, who were constantly monitoring signals from outside the city.
If the Crown Prince's men haven't arrived to rescue us by this time, it means we've already won.
Seeing a carriage speeding towards them from afar, the leader of the Imperial Guards initially thought it was Meng Ran's men coming to meet them. However, as the carriage drew closer in the darkness, they realized something was amiss.
A tall mast was erected on the iron-skinned carriage, and a person was tied to the mast.
This person was no stranger to the leader of the Imperial Guards; it was none other than Meng Ran.
Xiao Liu stood in front of the two carriages, which were running side by side, and shouted loudly: "Yizhou has fallen, Meng Ran has been captured, you all must surrender!"
Xiao Liu called out three times in a row, and the carriage had already quickly arrived at the palace gate.
The commander of the Imperial Guards struggled for a moment, but quickly regained the morale of his troops.
With Meng Ran's defeat, Princess Wu'an only had them as her last line of defense, so naturally they had to guard this place well.
"Stop this carriage!"
Dozens of archers aimed at the carriage, and Xiao Liu turned and entered the carriage. The arrows made a thud as they struck the carriage's metal.
Before the second wave of arrows arrived, the carriage suddenly fired countless hidden arrows, catching the Imperial Guards completely off guard and killing them. Before they could even retreat, the carriage fired something else.
After the thing landed, it filled the air with thick smoke, causing them to cough incessantly and unable to open their eyes.
Moreover, amidst the thick smoke, someone opened the palace gates, and the carriage entered the palace directly through the smoke.
The imperial guards hurried to give chase, but then someone reported that a large number of troops had already entered the city.
*
Princess Wu'an led the Imperial Guards in a fierce battle with the people of Fengyulou, and both sides suffered heavy losses.
As time ticked by, it became even more difficult to proceed once dawn broke.
"Bring in the archers and shoot them all down! Don't waste any time!"
In the lamplight, Princess Wu'an's eyes gleamed with a fierce light.
All the imperial guards in the palace gathered here, and the emperor's palace was surrounded by layers of guards. Even if the people in the Wind and Rain Pavilion inside the emperor's palace could protect the emperor for a while, it would be impossible for the emperor and the crown prince to leave here alive under such tight siege.
The sounds of fighting emanated from inside the palace, and Princess Wu'an's eyes grew increasingly ruthless.
As dawn broke, Princess Wu'an's violently beating heart gradually calmed down.
It's all over now, everything's fine.
But before she could fully relax, a member of the Imperial Guard came crawling over.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened, something terrible has happened..."
Before the imperial guard could finish speaking, a sharp arrow pierced the air and struck him directly in the back, killing him instantly.
Princess Wu'an's eyes turned cold as she heard the sound of the carriage rolling over the ground.
The commotion grew closer until two warhorses pulling a metal carriage came into view, at which point Princess Wu'an's eyes narrowed sharply.
Not only Princess Wu'an, but even the imperial guards beside her gasped in shock.
They weren't afraid of the carriage itself, but rather of the people tied to it.
Meng Ran, the Grand Marshal of the Yizhou Army, was known as the most valiant general in the Southwest.
This was also the biggest reason why they were made to follow Princess Wu'an in committing such a treasonous act.
But now Meng Ran actually...
Xiao Liu stopped the carriage and stood at the front, looking in the direction of Princess Wu'an.
Princess Wu'an looked at Meng Ran in disbelief.
"General Meng, what's going on..."
"You traitors, surrender at once!"
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