You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Xingqing Prefecture, Western Xia Imperial Palace, Chongzheng Hall.

It was the height of summer, but the atmosphere inside the hall was even more stagnant and cold than in the dead of winter.

The tall pillars support the deep dome, the painted decorations are mottled, exuding a sense of melancholy from the passage of time.

A few rays of sunlight shone through the high windows, casting pale spots of light on the smooth brick floor. Instead of dispelling the gloom, they only accentuated the sense of unease deep within the palace.

The air was filled with the scents of aged spices, leather, and an indescribable mixture of decay and anxiety characteristic of a dying dynasty.

Emperor Li Renxiao of Western Xia, who was only thirty years old, seemed to have aged ten years overnight.

He was dressed in an ochre-yellow dragon robe and wore a golden crown. He should have been in his prime, but his brows were furrowed and his face was ashen.

Sitting on that large but seemingly empty dragon throne, his fingertips unconsciously tapped the cold armrests, producing a monotonous and anxious "tap, tap" sound.

His gaze swept over the dense mass of kneeling officials below the prince.

Most of the high-ranking officials, both civil and military, who were usually so spirited and assertive in the court, now had their heads bowed and dared not meet his gaze. The hall was so quiet that only their heavy breathing could be heard.

"Speak up! Are you all mute?"

Li Renxiao finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed his hand on the armrest, his voice hoarse with anxiety.

"It's been over twenty days!"

"The Song army marched out of Xiaoguan Pass, captured Yanzhou, and advanced with unstoppable momentum!"

"Urgent dispatches from the border are arriving like snowflakes!"

"Yue Fei's vanguard is now less than 700 li from my Xingqing Prefecture!"

"You usually engage in lofty discussions, quoting classical texts and all that; what about now?"

"I ask you, given the overwhelming force of the Song Dynasty's military campaign this time, what should my Great Baigao Kingdom do?"

"How should we deal with this?"

His Highness remained deathly silent.

After a long while, the Privy Councilor raised his head, coughing shakily. His white beard trembled slightly, and his voice was hoarse: "Your...Your Majesty."

"This time, the Song army... is different from the past."

"According to the defeated soldiers at the front, their army mostly carried a strange firearm that made a thunderous sound, shot out bursts of light, had an extremely long range, and could pierce armor as easily as rotten wood!"

"Our border troops rely on the fortified city and are skilled in archery and horsemanship, but..."

"But often, before they could even engage the enemy, they were bombarded by bullets, suffering heavy casualties, and their morale collapsed instantly..."

"Yue Fei's military strategy always emphasized winning through both orthodox and unorthodox tactics. Now, with such powerful weapons at his disposal, he is even more formidable..."

The Minister of War interjected, his tone grave: "Your Majesty, we have carefully verified numerous reports of defeats."

"The speed of the Song army's advance was astonishing."

"They do not rely on large numbers of cavalry to outflank the city, nor do they insist on swarming attacks. Instead, they often use their firearm arrays as a vanguard to destroy our city walls from a distance, suppress our archers and crossbowmen, and then their infantry follow up to easily scale the walls..."

"Our army's usual tactics of cavalry charging into enemy lines and holding cities are proving ineffective against these tactics."

"The results are far from minimal!"

A general who had just returned to the capital from defeat suddenly raised his head, his face still bearing the marks of smoke and fire, and his eyes still showing lingering fear.

"Your Majesty! This humble general witnessed firsthand the Song army's musket array; bullets rained down like locusts from a hundred paces away, and even our heavily armored troops could not withstand them!"

"The soldiers charged, but before they had reached thirty paces, many had already fallen!"

"The sound was deafening, the firelight blinding, the warhorses trembled, and the ranks fell into chaos!"

"This...this is absolutely beyond human control!"

"In this battle, it wasn't that the soldiers didn't fight to the death, it was truly... truly..."

He choked up, and ultimately didn't dare to say the words "unbeatable," but the meaning was crystal clear.

A sense of pessimism and despair, like a plague, permeated the palace.

Another minister said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, Emperor Zhao Gou of Song has been infallible in his strategies and has been invincible in every battle since the Northern Expeditions."

"The Jin Dynasty was so powerful, having been established for a hundred years and dominating the north. Yet, within a year, it was completely wiped out, its ruler was captured, and its ancestral temples were destroyed."

"Now, carrying the might of annihilating the Jin dynasty, with all its elite troops deployed, and possessing such unheard-of weapons..."

"Our Great Bai Gao Kingdom, in terms of territory, population, wealth, and military strength, is far inferior to the Jin Kingdom. How can we possibly contend with them?"

"In my opinion," an elderly minister with white hair said slowly, as if he had used all his strength, "it is for...for the preservation of the ancestral temple."

"To save millions of lives within our borders from utter devastation... perhaps... perhaps the only way is... to send envoys to sue for peace, and submit a petition... to surrender..."

"Submit?!" Li Renxiao, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly stood up from the dragon throne, his eyes bloodshot, pointing at the old minister, and then looking around at the crowd below the throne.

"You want me to surrender? To surrender to Zhao Gou?"

"Do you still remember what became of Wanyan Dan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty?"

"Being castrated and enslaved, forced to serve as a coachman and stirrup driver, suffering endless humiliation, was worse than death!"

"His concubines and princesses were all merely playthings for Zhao Gou!"

"If I surrender, I will be handing over my life, my fortune, the honor of my ancestors, and your future to that tyrant, to be slaughtered at his mercy!"

"This is the brilliant idea you've come up with for me and for the nation?!"

His roar echoed through the hall, carrying the madness of someone at their wit's end.

The courtiers were so terrified by his outburst that they fell silent and prostrated themselves on the ground.

However, silence itself is an answer.

After a long silence, the old minister who had proposed surrendering slowly raised his head again, tears streaming down his face, yet his expression carried a sorrowful and resolute air of someone who had seen through the ways of the world: "Your Majesty..."

"Knowing the fate of our benefactors, we understand that surrendering now is worlds apart from surrendering when our city falls, our country is destroyed, and we are captured after exhaustion!"

"The Jin ruler resisted to the bitter end, causing the capital to be reduced to ashes and the imperial family to be almost entirely slaughtered, thus suffering this great humiliation."

"If Your Majesty can assess the situation and voluntarily relinquish the title of Emperor, present a map, and submit the entire country to demonstrate submission and non-aggression, perhaps..."

"Perhaps this could earn us a bit of leniency from the Song emperor, preserve our clan, and allow us to enjoy wealth and honor..."

"If we wait until Yue Fei's army besieges the city and his firearms breach the palace gates, then... everything will truly be over..."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" Several more ministers kowtowed, their voices filled with pleading. More and more people silently bowed their heads, their attitude self-evident.

Seeing the almost unanimous surrender of His Highness, Li Renxiao felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, as if all the strength in his body had been drained away.

He slumped back onto the dragon throne, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with a mixture of resentment, fear, anger, and profound helplessness.

He knew that these officials might not be entirely without selfish motives, but he could not refute the logic in their words.

The bloody example of the Jin Dynasty was right before his eyes, and the new tactics and speed of the Song army's advance terrified him even more.

Is there really any hope in resisting?

You may surrender...

Zhao Gou's infamous reputation and his treatment of prisoners...

"Get out...get out! All of you, get out of my sight!" He waved his hand impatiently, his voice weary. "This matter...I need to think about it some more..."

"Your Majesty, we take our leave..." The officials, as if granted a pardon, hurriedly bowed and withdrew from the hall, leaving behind only the oppressive atmosphere and the emperor's heavy breathing.

Only Li Renxiao and the old eunuch Yeli Zhong, who had watched him grow up, remained in the hall.

Nori Tadashi was hunched over, his face etched with deep wrinkles, and his eyes were filled with worry.

"Your Majesty..." Yeli Zhong moved closer to the imperial steps, his voice extremely low, like a whisper, yet carrying a chilling intent.

"This old servant...this old servant has also heard something, but I don't know if I should tell you..."

"Speak!" Li Renxiao said with his eyes closed, rubbing his throbbing temples.

"There are rumors circulating among the people... that merchants who have returned from Song have vaguely mentioned that Emperor Zhao Gou of Song... seems to... seems to have a certain quirk."

"He was most fond of women of noble birth and those who had been married before... He took almost all the beautiful concubines and noble ladies of the Jin Dynasty's harem into his possession..."

"Your Majesty, if it really comes to that, what will become of the ladies-in-waiting and princesses of the harem...?"

"Enough!" Li Renxiao suddenly opened his eyes and interrupted sharply. His face was deathly pale, and his lips were trembling, but he could no longer utter any words of rebuke.

Nori Tadashi's words were like a poisoned dagger, precisely piercing the corner of his heart that he feared most and could not accept.

His own concubines, his pampered daughters...

Like the women of the Jin Dynasty, they were sent to the Song palace to serve their enemies.

Do not!

Absolutely not!

The immense shame and fear brought about by this idea even outweighed the anxiety about their own fate.

He clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, not even noticing the blood seeping out.

The thought of surrender became increasingly heavy and difficult to decide because of this new and more unbearable concern.

Perhaps... perhaps we should wait and see?

Are the Song army's firearms truly invincible?

There are still 100,000 troops at the border, and fortified strongholds...

Just as he was in a state of utter confusion and caught between a rock and a hard place, a guard's urgent and frightened voice came from outside the palace gate:

"Your Majesty! Urgent dispatch! Latest military reports from Huanqing and Yanzhou routes!"

Li Renxiao's heart sank suddenly, an ominous premonition washing over him like a bucket of ice water: "Present...present it!"

The guards entered the hall and held a box containing urgent reports high above their heads.

Yeli Zhong hurriedly stepped forward to take it, checked that the sealing wax was correct, opened it with trembling hands, took out a piece of silk inside with blurred writing that was soaked with sweat and blood, held it with both hands, and presented it to Li Renxiao.

Li Renxiao took a deep breath, grabbed the book, and eagerly unfolded it. His eyes quickly scanned the hasty and scribbled words, which conveyed boundless despair.

The next moment, he seemed to be frozen in place, his entire body stiffening on the dragon throne.

His eyes were wide open, but his pupils contracted sharply, as if he were seeing the most incredible and terrifying sight in the world.

The fingers gripping the silk trembled violently, causing the entire military report to rattle.

On the silk were a few words, yet each one struck him like a thunderbolt, shattering his soul:

"On the day of Yiwei in the sixth month, Song general Yue Fei led the vanguard with a musket formation and engaged in battle at Lingzhouchuan."

"Our 100,000 elite border troops were arrayed along the river, but before any battle could even begin, they were bombarded by bullets, suffering countless casualties and their ranks crumbling..."

"The Song army took advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack, and our army was routed. More than 70,000 were killed or captured... Lingzhou fell that day."

"In the following five days, the Song army divided its forces and advanced rapidly. The towns and fortresses along the way either surrendered out of fear of the power of their firearms, or offered only slight resistance before being overrun by muskets..."

"Twenty-seven cities, including Yan, Xia, Yin, Sui, Jing, You, Ling, Wei, Long, Shi, Hong, Ding, Shun, An, and Lan, successively changed their flags..."

"The Song army's momentum is like a prairie fire, impossible to approach."

"Your Majesty, weeping with grief, humbly beg you to make a swift and wise decision..."

one day!

Just one day!

The main force of 100,000 border troops was wiped out!

Within a few days, they captured twenty-seven cities!

This is no longer a war; it's a devastating sweep!

It was a complete and utter crushing defeat!

"Clang..."

The silk slipped from Li Renxiao's weak hand and fell onto the cold gold brick floor.

The last shred of hope, the last bit of courage to wait and see, was utterly crushed in the face of this brutally honest battle report.

resistance?

What can we use to resist?

Could the flesh and blood of soldiers withstand a hail of bullets as fierce as the roar of thunder?

Can the city walls of Xingqing Prefecture be more fortified than the 100,000-strong army of Lingzhouchuan?

It’s over.

It's all over.

Overwhelmed by immense sorrow and resigned despair, he was completely engulfed by the tide.

After a long while, he slowly looked at the old eunuch, Yeli Zhong, who was also pale and trembling beside him:

"Go... and convey my decree..."

"Summon...all the ministers who just left court...back..."

"Let's reconvene..."