Zhang Debang carefully inspected the defenses of the South Gate, nodded, and admonished his soldiers to guard the city diligently and defend the safety of the capital to the death.
After Zhang Debang finished inspecting the south gate, he led his men away. The soldiers rushed forward and began to scramble for the meat buns in the wooden bucket.
There are plenty of steamed buns; one person can easily eat two or three.
After Zhang Debang left, he stopped not far away. He explained some things to the people around him and then left.
These people paused for a moment, then began to turn back.
The meat buns have thin skins and plenty of filling, and they taste really good. It's just a pity they're a bit small; you can swallow one in one bite. It would be great if there were more.
After finishing the meat buns, the steamed buns didn't taste as good, but there was nothing I could do; I still had to keep eating them. How could I have the energy to fight a war if I didn't eat?
Fortunately, there were no enemy soldiers at the south gate. If this place had also been attacked, these people wouldn't even have had time to eat steamed buns.
After the soldiers finished their lunch and drank some water, they began to feel pain in their stomachs, which quickly turned into severe cramps. They could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground, rolling around in agony.
The general defending the city realized something was wrong and knew something was seriously wrong. He wanted to go back and report, but it was too late.
Like his soldiers, he was in excruciating abdominal pain, unable to stand, and unable to even utter a cry.
At this moment, Zhang Debang's group of men returned. They ignored the soldiers rolling on the ground and went straight up to the city wall, lowered the drawbridge, and opened the city gate.
At the same time, a large number of barbarian soldiers suddenly emerged from the bushes not far from the south gate and rushed towards the city gate.
Without any warning, the south gate of the capital fell, and because it happened so suddenly, the people in the city were unaware of it.
More and more barbarian soldiers arrived, and all the barbarian soldiers in the military camp were mobilized, surging towards the south gate.
The barbarian soldiers who poured into the city rushed toward the main gate and engaged in a fierce battle with the guards there.
The guards at the main gate of the capital were doing their best to deal with the attacking barbarian soldiers when they were shocked to find a large number of barbarian soldiers suddenly appearing behind them.
Where did these barbarian soldiers come from? Did they fall from the sky?
At this moment, the main gate was in chaos. The soldiers were attacked from both sides and had no time to deal with the current situation. They had no choice but to fight a big battle with the enemy soldiers who rushed over.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the barbarian soldiers outside the city climbed up the city wall and joined the battle. Before long, the main gate of the capital was opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and the barbarian soldiers poured into the city like a tide.
At this time, there were 100,000 troops guarding the capital, of which only 10,000 to 20,000 were actually involved in the defense, while the rest were on standby.
But suddenly tens of thousands of foreign soldiers poured in, several times the number of the defending soldiers. After a chaotic battle, the defending soldiers were almost wiped out.
The entry of foreign troops into the city did not mean that they had taken over the capital. Only by completely eliminating the garrison in the capital and the guards in the palace could they be said to have controlled the capital.
After a large number of barbarian soldiers entered the city, they began to kill and set fires, turning parts of the capital into a sea of flames.
The people in the capital were in a state of extreme panic, desperately fleeing the city to seek refuge.
Inside the West Wing, the emperor and his ministers continued their discussions. The Great Northern Dynasty was in a critical period, needing to both fight the invaders and handle important domestic affairs without stopping.
At noon, the emperor prepared lunch and hosted a banquet for his ministers, inviting them to dine with him.
Before lunch was even ready, someone rushed in to report.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The city gates have been breached, and foreign troops have entered the city."
Upon hearing this, the emperor was so frightened that he almost fainted, and the ministers were also greatly alarmed.
This is impossible! The entire capital was protected like an iron barrel; how could it have been breached so easily?
Fortunately, the imperial city served as a barrier, preventing the barbarian troops from immediately storming the palace. Moreover, there were over ten thousand guards here, enough to hold them off for a while.
The emperor walked out of the west wing and came outside, followed by his ministers.
The imperial palace of the Great Northern Dynasty was a city within a city, heavily guarded. It would take the barbarian troops some effort to take the imperial city quickly.
At this time, the capital city was engulfed in flames and thick smoke, and the entire city had completely fallen.
The emperor couldn't understand how the 100,000 troops guarding the capital could be so easily defeated, falling after only half a day.
At this time, the garrison of the capital city and the barbarian soldiers engaged in fierce fighting. The garrison of the capital city was used to a peaceful life, and their fighting strength was inferior to that of the barbarian soldiers.
In terms of troop strength, the combined forces in the capital city are no weaker than the barbarian troops. If organized properly, it is entirely possible to drive the barbarian troops out of the capital city.
But by this time, panic had already gripped the capital. Some generals had lost their will to fight and began to flee. If the officials didn't want to fight anymore, the soldiers were even less likely to.
Of course, there were some very good generals and soldiers in the capital's garrison who did not back down and fought to the death.
The fierce battle lasted until dusk. When the battle ended, thick smoke still billowed over the capital, many houses were burned down, and the entire city was filled with the atmosphere of death.
Under the setting sun, the capital city was a desolate yellow, and the streets were littered with the corpses of soldiers, a truly gruesome sight.
Although the barbarian troops defeated the garrison in the capital, they also paid a heavy price, with 20,000 to 30,000 barbarian soldiers killed.
In Sullivan's view, it was entirely worthwhile, since his main force was still intact and his combat strength had not been weakened much.
Some residents of the capital city fled, while those who did not stay at home, too afraid to go out.
The palace still stands, but it has long been surrounded by barbarian soldiers.
It was already late, and it was estimated that Sullivan wouldn't take any action that night; a fierce battle was expected the next day.
Only then did the emperor learn the truth: it turned out that the Right Chancellor Zhang Debang had poisoned the guards at the South Gate and opened the gate, allowing the barbarian troops to enter the city.
The emperor nearly fainted from anger. He never expected that Zhang Debang would secretly collude with a foreign country and invite a wolf into the house.
What has happened to my Great Northern Dynasty? How can there be so many traitors? How did I become emperor? Why is God treating me like this?
The Great Northern Dynasty is currently on the verge of collapse. If I were to become a prisoner of a foreign state, the Li family's empire would be finished, and how could I face my ancestors?
The emperor looked around and saw that there were only a few civil officials and not a single military general.
I don't know how the Fourth Prince is doing. Based on his personality, he will definitely fight the barbarian soldiers to the death and never surrender.
The emperor's eyes welled up with tears. There were still many ministers in the capital; he wondered how they were doing.
Now, besides his own family, there are only a few old ministers in the imperial city. There are more than 10,000 imperial guards in the imperial city who are loyal to the royal family, but how long can they hold out against a powerful enemy?
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