Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2344 A million-strong army besieges Kaifeng; the countdown to the demise of the Song Dynasty begins.

In the Battle of Wen County, Zhao She's 60,000 troops were completely wiped out.

This also means that after Bai Qi breached the southern barrier of Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, the eastern barrier of Kaifeng was subsequently breached by Li Jing and Xue Rengui.

Four hundred thousand troops of the Han Dynasty are about to converge on Kaifeng from all directions.

At this time, Kaifeng was where the last 60,000 troops of the Song Dynasty gathered. The shadow of national subjugation had already loomed over the hearts of each of them.

Sixty thousand troops—for a large city like Kaifeng, this number is definitely not much; it's barely enough to organize the city's defenses.

Even Zhao Kuangyin understood that from a defensive perspective, it was definitely not a good choice to place the last of his troops in a large city like Kaifeng.

However, the significance of the capital is entirely different; it is a city that must be defended.

If even the capital is abandoned, then the soldiers' last breath will be completely depleted.

In that case, even if we replaced it with another city that is easier to defend, it wouldn't make much difference.

Not to mention, without reinforcements, even if they were to capture a city, it would only be a matter of prolonging their lives and would not change their final fate!

Da Wu has already rejected their request for help.

In the early stages of the conquest of Yan, the Great Wu was unwilling to change its national policy of recuperation and development.

Therefore, the limited resources invested by the four minor dynasties helped them entangle Su Dingfang and Hulü Guang's two to three hundred thousand troops.

But as time went on this year, after three years of rest and recuperation, the Great Wu had fully recovered from the years of continuous warfare.

However, at this time, the Song Dynasty had already lost Hexi Circuit and Yangxi Circuit, and in a very short period of time this year, it also lost Guandong Circuit.

Once things had developed to this point, the demise of the Song Dynasty was already irreversible.

In addition, after three years of recuperation, Dawu had recovered from the wounds of years of war. However, the great war between the Mongols and the Golden Horde in the north, which was dividing up the Murong tribe, had also ended.

Under these circumstances, with the Song Dynasty unable to salvage the situation, the Wu Dynasty was naturally unwilling to wage a nationwide war against the Han Dynasty at this time.

If this had happened before the war against the Song Dynasty, when the Song Dynasty was still at its peak, perhaps the Wu Dynasty would have considered this possibility.

There's no other reason than that the prospect of waging a nationwide war for the Song Dynasty is not worth the effort they're willing to invest.

However, even if Emperor Wu was unwilling to lend a helping hand at this time, Zhao Kuangyin had at least made all the necessary arrangements.

The capital of the Great Song Dynasty, Kaifeng.

"His Majesty!"

The voice of Wang Renzhan, a trusted minister, rang out behind them, trembling with sobs, "Although we have made every effort to procure provisions for the city, the siege by 400,000 enemy troops is unlikely to last. Should we... should we consider..."

Zhao Kuangyin had other plans for Xie Guanying, one of the two heads of the Imperial City Guard.

At this time, the only person still by Zhao Kuangyin's side is another person in charge, Wang Renzhan.

"No need to say anything more!" Zhao Kuangyin turned around abruptly, his voice not loud, but his eyes were filled with an extreme calm.

"Although I was born into a noble family, I followed the army from a young age, rose through the ranks, and gained the empire in a chaotic world."

"Today, with the nation in peril, how can I follow the example of those who abandon the city and flee?"

"Brother Xuanyuan of the Great Yan Dynasty was able to fight to the death and sacrifice his blood for the country. Am I not as good as Brother Xuanyuan?"

"As long as Kaifeng exists, I exist; if Kaifeng perishes, I perish." He walked outside the palace, looked at the gray sky, and a sense of relief appeared on his face.

"Send the order to open the treasury and reward the army! Tell the soldiers that I am with them! I will personally beat the drums to cheer them on in front of this palace!"

Zhao Kuangyin's words were like the last torch, igniting the remaining tragic atmosphere in Kaifeng.

The emperor's determination to live and die with the capital spread throughout the six armies with each order.

Undoubtedly, this kind of thinking is the most effective way to boost the morale of the remaining troops, transforming this army whose morale is about to plummet into a desperate force.

All the treasuries in the capital were opened to the public, and mountains of money, silk, wine and meat were distributed to military camps.

On the city wall, the figures of the defending soldiers looked somewhat desolate in the cold wind.

Laborers were urgently conscripted to carry logs, stones, oil, and anything else that could be used as weapons.

The once bustling bluestone streets of the city are now replaced by a deathly still busyness, and a suffocating sense of impending war.

Zhao Kuangyin took off his dragon robe and put on his heavy armor with a coiled dragon design. Like Wang Yu, Zhao Kuangyin was just over ten years old when he was thrown into the military camp.

Throughout this chaotic era, the Song Dynasty has fought countless battles, and Zhao Kuangyin has participated in almost every major and minor war fought by the Song Dynasty to date.

This final battle is no exception.

Born in the flames of war, and destined to die in the flames of war—perhaps that was his fate.

A few days later, the ground outside Kaifeng began to tremble.

First came the dust rising from the horizon, like a sandstorm constantly approaching.

Then, the heavy, thunderous footsteps approached from afar, perfectly synchronized, striking the hearts of every soldier guarding the city.

Black flags, like a forest of death, appeared one after another in the field of vision.

Bai Qi's 100,000-strong Han army arrived outside Kaifeng City ahead of Xue Rengui and Li Jing.

Three days later, Xue Rengui and Li Jing's nearly 300,000 troops arrived in a massive, dark mass.

From then on, the 400,000 troops of the Han Dynasty completely surrounded Kaifeng from all sides, leaving no room for escape. The military camps of the Han army stretched for almost a hundred miles.

Kaifeng, formerly known as Zhenxi City, a city ruled by the Zhenxi Zhao family for hundreds of years, now resembles a lone boat tossed about in a storm, completely surrounded by an endless black sea.

On the city wall, every defender could clearly see the despairing military formation below and feel the almost tangible killing intent.

Zhao Kuangyin ascended the city gate tower facing the central camp of the Han army, his gaze calmly sweeping over the enemy troops covering the hills and fields below.

He saw the familiar "Xue" banner, the "Li" banner, and many other banners of Han generals that he had heard of or had never heard of before.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, turned around, and took the pair of huge drumsticks from the servant's hands.

"Boom!"

A heavy and desolate drumbeat suddenly rang out from the top of Kaifeng city wall, piercing through the heavy air and clearly reaching the ears of every soldier defending the city.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Emperor Zhao Kuangyin personally beat the war drums, each beat striking the hearts of the defending soldiers, dispelling their fear and rallying their last strength.