According to the agreed plan, the emperor and several ministers disguised themselves as refugees and fled to Narcissus Village.
Left Chancellor Wu Gang, accompanied by the emperor and his entire family, traveled to Xinzhou Prefecture under the escort of a group of guards.
There were other people in the palace, but they were dismissed as soon as they left the capital and sent to escape.
As for the deadly traps inside the cave, they were set up by the Fourth Prince. Even if the barbarian soldiers discovered the passage, they dared not easily pursue them.
At the same time, the Fourth Prince ordered the passage to be blocked. Although this could not stop the barbarian soldiers from chasing after them, it could buy time for the emperor and others to escape.
Sullivan was unaware of all this. He believed there were ambushes in the passage, and that he needed to find a way to eliminate them.
In ancient times, without poisonous gas, the best way to attack underground passages was to flood them or smoke them out.
At this point, flooding is definitely not an option, as this is a sewer, and any amount of water will quickly drain away.
The only solution at present is fumigation, which is also the most direct and effective method.
After making up her mind, Sullivan had the barbarian soldiers bring a large amount of firewood, which they then burned and threw into the cave entrance.
Soon after, a raging fire broke out at the entrance of the sewer, producing a large amount of thick smoke.
Some thick smoke billowed directly from the cave entrance, but most of it entered the passage and spread deeper into it.
And so, the barbarian soldiers worked all day at the entrance to the sewers. If there had been anyone in the passage, they would have been suffocated by the fumes.
After another day, the temperature at the entrance of the passage finally dropped, and the smoke inside had mostly dissipated. Sullivan prepared to send people down to check again.
The barbarian soldiers who went down this time were well prepared. They were not only fully armed, but also equipped with shields in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
However, the people who went down this time did not find any traps or ambushes.
The soldiers searched forward and finally found a passage, which was clearly dug by hand.
Upon receiving the news, Sullivan ordered his troops to search the passage, but they found that the entrance to the passage was blocked after searching only a short distance.
"Open the passage and continue the search to find out where the exit is," Sullivan continued to order.
The soldiers struggled greatly to open the passage, only to find that it led to a sewer.
They continued to grope their way forward along the sewer, and after an hour, they finally crawled out of the sewer and onto the surface.
The soldiers determined their location and found that they were not outside the city, but inside the capital. They were quite a distance from the palace, but not far from the city gates.
Sullivan finally understood that this was the passageway connecting the palace to the outside world, and that if anything happened to the palace, they could escape from here.
The situation has been clarified: the emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty has been away from the palace for more than two days. Based on the deduction, it is highly likely that they fled towards Xinzhou Prefecture.
Zhang Debang expressed doubt about Sullivan's deduction. He had heard from Hamodi that the barbarian soldiers had captured the eldest prince in the direction of New State Prefecture, which meant that New State Prefecture was not safe either. How could the emperor possibly have fled there?
Seeing that Zhang Debang had raised a question, Sullivan gave him a disdainful look and said:
"It's a wonder you're the Right Chancellor of the Great Northern Dynasty. You can't even tell the truth of this matter. If we really capture Li Hui, we'll take him back to the foreign country directly."
His value is too great; how could we possibly tie him up and leave him to be shot by the defenders on the battlefield?
Sullivan's words completely stunned Zhang Debang. How could he have been so easily deceived? Was Sullivan's promise to make him emperor also a lie?
Sullivan saw through Zhang Debang's thoughts and said:
"Rest assured, my promise to you will not change, but the prerequisite is that you must capture the Emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty."
Judging from the current situation, your emperor should have fled to Xinzhou Prefecture, and eventually he will flee to Guzhou.
They have already been on the run for two days. I estimate that it will take them at least twenty days to reach Xinzhou Prefecture. We can still catch up with them in time.
Alright, I'll personally lead the men to capture them. You'll come with me. This time, you'd better keep a close eye on them and not let them escape again.
Zhang had no choice but to nod in agreement.
As for the emperor, that night, he led several ministers and an elderly family member out of the sewers and then left the capital.
Outside the capital, he ordered the Left Chancellor Wu Gang to take his entire family, under the protection of more than twenty guards, to Xinzhou Prefecture, while he himself took several senior officials to Shuixian Village.
As for the palace maids and eunuchs who escaped from the capital, they were told to find their own way to survive and flee for their lives.
The emperor and a few ministers changed into civilian clothes and mingled among the refugees, not standing out. But his family was a different story.
These hundred-plus people were either empresses, imperial concubines, princes, or princesses. They lived in the deep palace, enjoying a life of luxury.
Now they've suddenly become refugees and started a life on the run; how can they bear it?
Wu Gang knew that if they were to escape in carriages, at least twenty carriages would be needed to accommodate so many people.
The presence of such a convoy among the refugees was very conspicuous, and if the barbarian soldiers caught up, they would easily be discovered.
Having no other choice, Wu Gang had to bring in two ordinary carriages, where several empresses and imperial concubines, along with a few very young princes and princesses, rode in them, while everyone else walked.
Even so, their group still attracted attention, mainly because their clothes were too luxurious. Wu Gang found some ordinary clothes for them to change into.
In this way, their target became much smaller; at most, they could only be considered a wealthy family.
These princes and princesses were all aware of their current situation and behaved quite well, following the fleeing crowd towards the new prefecture.
Wu Gang calculated that if he traveled to Xinzhou Prefecture by carriage, it would take twenty days to arrive, but if he walked at that pace, it would take at least two months.
The guards around them, dressed as ordinary men, were protecting the royal family members. Although they were anxious, they had no choice but to follow behind and hurry forward.
Meanwhile, Sullivan, leading a light cavalry unit, spurred his horses onward toward the new state capital.
Sullivan knew that if the foreign army appeared on the road, it would cause panic, so in order to avoid this, they all changed into the clothes of officials of the Great Northern Dynasty.
This tactic worked; the refugees on the road were no longer flustered when they saw them.
Sullivan's light cavalry galloped along the road for several days without finding any trace of the Emperor and his family. If they continued on, they would reach the new prefecture.
Did they not flee to the new state capital? Sullivan stopped the group and began to discuss and devise a plan.
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