Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 252 What is Sunk Cost?
"General, your kindness is as broad as the sun in the sky. I admire you so much..."

The flattery of "Zhu Mingyuan" on the city wall was deafening, and no two words were repeated.

Even though Murong Ze knew that the other party was deliberately trying to please him, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy.

These southern barbarians are indeed trash, but they still speak very nicely.

After taking the city, you can consider sparing this guy's life.

Now, business is the most important thing. The Northern Di warriors are not like those Southern Dynasty people who would indulge in these things.

"That's enough!" Murong Ze said coldly, "This general has already given you a chance. Don't waste your time and don't let me down. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

Zhu Mingyuan's expression on the wall changed slightly, and then he forced out a flattering smile: "General, don't worry, I will make those ignorant guys pay the price. I will definitely not let you down, General, your expectations of me."

After that, he ordered the soldier next to him to give him the helmet. The other party was just a little slow, so he was beaten up.

Murong Ze saw everything he did. He sneered disdainfully, "What a useless waste."

After waiting for another half an hour, the shouting and screaming on the city wall gradually weakened.

Huo Qinghuang led his Ice Wolf Riders and swiftly and quietly stepped onto the city wall to report to Chu Shizhao: "Young Master, all the Dark Night Cult thieves hiding in the city have been wiped out. I can guarantee that there will be no omissions."

"Okay!" Chu Shizhao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After such a long delay, there is finally some good news.

Destroying the Dark Night Cult in Xueyuan Pass is an important move for him.

Even if he couldn't defend Xueyuan Pass now, he could still give the Northern Di cavalry a hard blow so that they would never be able to invade at will again.

"By the way, has that place been dealt with?" Chu Shizhao asked Huo Qinghuang in a low voice.

Huo Qinghuang nodded slightly: "Please rest assured, young master, I have someone to keep a close eye on them and will not allow anyone to approach easily."

At this moment, a rough voice came from far away: "Your Highness, I have brought the person here."

Just by looking at the tall figure, you can tell that it must be Li Batian.

And the little divine eagle beside him was Hengyi.

Their speed was even faster than Chu Shizhao had expected.

Chu Shizhao originally thought that they would only be able to reach Xueyuan Pass after the war broke out.

Things are urgent and there is no time to reminisce.

Chu Shizhao immediately said to Hengyi: "Arrange personnel immediately to evacuate the civilians and wounded soldiers in Xueyuan Pass."

Speaking of combat effectiveness, Chu Shizhao's direct troops are definitely superior to the defenders of Xueyuan Pass.

However, they had just completed a forced march and were not familiar with the defenses of Xueyuan Pass.

If we go straight to the city wall now, I'm afraid we will be worse than the defenders of Xueyuan Pass.

Therefore, they had no choice but to evacuate the people.

"Huo Qinghuang, send a few Ice Wolf Riders to assist them. Don't let any of the Dark Night Cult thieves go."

Hengyi also discovered those terrifying iron cavalrymen outside Xueyuan Pass that looked like they could suffocate people, and said worriedly: "Your Highness, please be careful."

After all, they are husband and wife. Hengyi can feel the strength of the Beidi cavalry, and he hopes that Chu Shizhao will not take risks on the front line.

But we also know that once Chu Shizhao makes up his mind, no one else's advice will be of any use.

All she could do was to complete the task assigned by Chu Shizhao as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, they are the ones in danger." Chu Shizhao's eyes looking towards the outside of Xueyuan Pass were colder than ever.

Murong Ze, who was at Xueyuan Pass, saw that the sounds of fighting had stopped, but Xueyuan Pass still had no intention of surrendering, so he couldn't help but become impatient.

At this moment "Zhu Mingyuan" appeared on the city wall again.

"General, we have killed all the stubborn elements in the city."

Looking at his excited look, he looks just like a dog wagging its tail to please its owner.

Murong Ze said coldly: "If that's the case, why don't you quickly open the city gate and let our Beidi army enter the city?"

Zhu Mingyuan on the city wall rubbed his hands hesitantly: "General, can you really guarantee that you will spare our lives after we surrender the city?"

"I'm not afraid of death, but these brothers under me have followed me for so many years. I always need some protection, don't you think?"

Murong Ze sneered disdainfully, talking about brothers. This guy was just worried that he would turn against him and kill him after the city was captured.

He had seen too many of these ballless southern barbarians.

"I swear to Changshengtian that as long as you open the city gate and surrender, I will never harm your lives. If I violate the test, my soul will never be able to return to the embrace of Changshengtian."

The Northern Di people’s belief in Eternal Heaven is no less than that of the Mongols.

This is known to everyone.

Once they swear by Changshengtian, they will never break their promise even if they die.

Murong Ze could see Zhu Mingyuan's ecstatic look clearly even from a distance.

This is really a villain whose fear of death is almost written on his face.

"I feel relieved with your words. General, please wait for a moment. I will immediately ask everyone to clean up the mess and welcome you into the city."

After waiting for so long, it was not in vain, and Murong Ze was very happy.

Originally in their plan, even if they could eliminate most of the generals at Xueyuan Pass, it would still cost a huge price to capture Xueyuan Pass.

The terrain here is special, with steep cliffs on both sides, and the only way to attack is from the front.

The wall of Xueyuan Pass is built against the mountain and there is no way to bypass it.

The city is high and the moat is deep, making it extremely difficult to attack.

It was also because of this that when Murong Ze discovered that the gate of Xueyuan Pass was closed, he chose to stop the army.

Their original purpose was to raid, so they did not carry much engineering equipment.

Forcing a project is not a wise move.

Murong Ze did not expect that the defending general Zhu Mingyuan's clever move would allow them to capture Xueyuan Pass so easily.

As time passes by.

Murong Ze felt that something was starting to go wrong.

Although the Dragon-Breaking Stone is heavy, moving it is not as difficult as imagined.

But it has been an incense stick of time and there is still no response. Why?

He could hear the hustle and bustle in Xueyuan Pass, but the city wall was eerily quiet.

"Zhu Mingyuan!" Murongze's roar easily passed through the city wall and spread far away. Soon, the sound of footsteps rubbing against armor came from far away.

"Here I come, here I come, General, you called me?" Zhu Mingyuan quickly appeared on the city wall.

"Why hasn't the city gate been opened yet?" Murong Ze asked angrily.

Zhu Mingyuan looked as if he had suddenly realized something: "I was still wondering what you were talking about, General."

"Am I not ordering the people in the city to sweep the streets and welcome our Beidi army into the city?"

"As you know, something happened in Xueyuan Pass just now. The city is full of blood and corpses. If you, General, saw this scene, it would be my dereliction of duty."

"Don't worry, we've almost finished cleaning and will be done soon."

Murong Ze was almost angry to death. Doesn’t this bastard know what priorities are?

"You idiot!" If Zhu Mingyuan hadn't been on the city wall, he would have really wanted to whip this guy.

These southern barbarians are so stupid.

"My Beidi soldiers are brave and valiant. How could they care about those corpses and blood? I order you to stop your foolish behavior immediately and open the city gate for me!"

Zhu Mingyuan was so frightened that he shrank his neck and tried to force a smile: "I understand, General, please be patient, I will immediately order people to open the black iron gate and raise the dragon-breaking stone."

This time, Zhu Mingyuan really didn't seem to be playing any tricks.

Murong Ze saw with his own eyes that many soldiers on the city wall were sent towards the direction of the city gate.

The next moment, neat calls of call were sounded.

He also clearly saw that the extremely huge gate was slowly pulled up.

"It seems that I thought too much. This guy is really just too stupid."

As soon as this thought came to Murong Ze's mind, he suddenly heard a sound of something breaking, followed by several screams.

Boom!

The black iron gate that had just been pulled up more than halfway fell to the ground with a loud bang.

Even though it is a hundred steps away from Xueyuan Pass.

Murong Ze could also clearly feel the huge shock caused by the huge gate falling down.

"Damn it! What happened again?"

The repeated deviations made Murong Ze inexplicably irritated.

Zhu Mingyuan ran back and apologized profusely: "I'm sorry, General, the iron chain that pulled the black iron gate broke accidentally, and someone was injured."

"But don't worry, I have already sent craftsmen to repair it. It will be completed in an hour at most. General, please be patient!"

"You..." Murong Ze wanted to curse, but he felt it was too embarrassing to argue with this loser.

"Hurry up and stop wasting my patience. Otherwise, even if you surrender voluntarily, I won't be breaking my oath to Changshengtian if I kill you."

Zhu Mingyuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Remember, remember, General, please believe me, I want to surrender to you wholeheartedly."

"Get out!" Murong Ze snorted coldly.

In fact, at this point, Murong Ze vaguely felt that he seemed to have been fooled.

After all, he is a sick person.

He might really believe it once or twice, but if problems keep occurring, something is definitely not right.

Murong Ze certainly didn't know that his current thinking was called sunk cost.

Because I have invested too much before, I choose to wait again and again.

If he launched an attack now, wouldn't all his previous waiting become a joke?

As the main general of the Northern Di army's expedition against the Great Zhou, he was foolishly waited for several hours with his army under the Xueyuan Pass after being fooled by a few words.

If this news gets back, his career as a general will definitely be over.

At this point, Murong Ze's only choice is to hope that Zhu Mingyuan is just stupid and does no good, and that sooner or later this idiot will open the city gates and welcome the Northern Di army into the city.

On the city wall, Fang Tang and Shen Dao, disguised as craftsmen, were desperately hammering on the broken iron chains.

Moreover, the location where they practiced with the iron chains could be seen by Murong Ze.

In fact, it is impossible for the iron chain responsible for lifting the gate to fail just because of a break.

After all, this is related to the safety of the city gate. All factors must be taken into consideration.

Only the Northern Di people who have never seen real city defense would believe such a thing.

"Lao Fang, move a little more boldly, so as not to let those northern barbarians notice the problem. Or are you going to give up so soon?" Shen Dao teased with a grin.

This guy used to be a blacksmith before he joined the army, so his every move seems to be real.

Fang Tang glared at him unhappily: "Stop your sarcastic remarks. If I were to chop someone up, I would chop for an hour without blinking an eye."

"I just can't do this kind of work!"

Huo Qinghuang frowned and stopped the two of them: "Don't talk. If the Northern Di people hear it, it will ruin the young master's plan."

Fang Tang and Shen Dao hurriedly lowered their heads and swung their hammers into the air.

The only sound left on the city wall was the clanging of iron.

An hour passed quickly, and Zhu Mingyuan said to Murong Ze awkwardly: "General, we have repaired the chain. But there is a small problem. The chain needs some time to cool down, otherwise it may break again when the gate is opened later."

Murong Ze urged impatiently: "Just pour water. Do you need me to teach you this?"

Zhu Mingyuan waved his hands hurriedly: "General, this is not something you can play with. If you pour water, it will definitely leave hidden dangers. The iron chain may break before the gate is opened, which will only waste more time."

"As the saying goes, sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. General, you are just waiting for me... No! Half an hour will be enough. Once the training is finished, I will open the city gate immediately."

Murong Ze's gaze was as sinister as a hungry wolf, as if he could dig a piece of flesh out of Chu Shizhao's body.

"General, I know you are in a bad mood now, but it's really not my fault. I didn't expect this to happen. Please give me another chance." Chu Shizhao was possessed by the spirit of drama and was almost crying with fear.

"I, Zhu Mingyuan, also swear to heaven that I surrender to the Northern Di with all my heart. If I tell even a single lie, I will give birth to a son without an asshole, and all members of my Zhu family will die."

This test was considered vicious, and Murong Ze couldn't help but believe it a little: "Humph, if you dare to lie to me, I will naturally send your entire family to the underworld to reunite with you."

Zhu Mingyuan was ecstatic: "Thank you, General. I will go and urge those useless craftsmen to work faster."

At the same time, he added in his mind: "The oath sworn by Zhu Mingyuan has nothing to do with me, Chu Shizhao."

It was naturally impossible to urge the craftsmen to work, so after leaving this section of the city wall, Chu Shizhao found Zhao Wenguang.

"Your Highness, you are amazing. With the time you have delayed, our defense supplies have been prepared. I am now confident that I can defend Xueyuan Pass!"

(End of this chapter)