The Empress Kneels in Her Palace to Admit Her Mistakes After Slaying Her Ways in the Female-Oriented

The messenger quickly replied, "General, it's true!"

"Really!"

"The people of Linjiang Shazui Water Village have kidnapped their chieftain Shen Du and sent him to Zhang Shi's army camp. Now... Zhang Shi has sent men to take over the entire Linjiang Shazui Water Village!"

Zhou Xiong's body went limp, and he almost fell to the ground.

The Linjiang Shazui Water Village, is it gone?

Fanshan Fort is long gone!

The food supply to Pukou City has been cut off and has not been restored!

How can he possibly defend Pukou City?

"Zhou Xiong!"

Granny Sun's voice rang out: "I don't think you can hold onto Pukou City."

"I advise you to reconsider surrendering."

"but……"

Granny Sun's face showed an unusual coldness as she said, "Even if you surrender now, I'm afraid you won't get any good treatment from the Duke."

"At most, you'll only have one life left."

"What else you want to achieve depends on your future performance."

"but……"

"On another note..."

"Wouldn't it be better to spare your life?"

Zhou Xiong could certainly understand the meaning behind Granny Sun's words.

Previously, Pukou City was impregnable. It was Ren Tianye who captured the castle on the road to Yunjing. If Zhou Xiong, as the garrison commander of Pukou City, had surrendered voluntarily, Ren Tianye would have certainly treated him with great courtesy, even if he did not regard him as a core member.

But now...

Pukou City was already leaking from all sides, making it far too easy for Ren Tianye to conquer. His surrender at this point...

The accounts we're settling with him are hard to say – is it the credit for his service to the enemy? Or is it punishment for him for holding Pukou City and refusing to surrender?

But Zhou Xiong is a man of such character.

He gritted his teeth and forced a smile, saying, "Surrender?"

"Keep dreaming!"

"I still have soldiers under my command!"

"Even if I fight to the last man, I'll gamble on reinforcements from Yunjing!"

"Surrender to Ren Tianye?"

"Maybe in the next life!"

Zhou Xiong has said this more than once.

Previously, Granny Sun had earnestly tried to persuade him, but now she only gave a cold snort: "Zhou Xiong, are you still dreaming?"

"Your soldiers?"

Do you really think your soldiers will obey you?

After a pause, ignoring Zhou Xiong's wildly changing expression, Granny Sun said calmly, "All this time, you've thought you've kept me under house arrest in your residence, but..."

"The person who has me under house arrest may not listen to you."

"I have already sent the message out."

"At this point, I'm afraid there are very few soldiers left who would obey your orders!"

……

The military camp within the city was solemn and quiet.

All officers, big and small, and all the leaders were mobilized, and all the troops were arranged in neat rows.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the Zhou residence.

They're obviously waiting for an answer!

The answer had been taking far too long, causing the crowd to begin whispering amongst themselves.

"Granny Sun sent a message saying that she would persuade General Zhou Xiong. Is she really going to be able to persuade him? I think if all else fails, we should just stage a military coup. To be honest, I can't wait any longer."

"Don't rush, we still need to trust Granny Sun. After all, Granny Sun was sent by the Duke, so we have to trust her."

"Alas, I'm afraid General Zhou Xiong is stubborn and inflexible. Although he has always treated us well before, the tide has turned. With the Duke here, justice will prevail. We can't miss this opportunity."

"Is it a matter of missing out or not? Once the Duke invades, we won't even have a chance to surrender. So, we should decide as soon as possible, charge in, put a knife to Zhou Xiong's neck, and I refuse to believe he won't surrender!"

"Yes, at most, we won't kill General Zhou Xiong, we'll just tie him up... Of course, if you're not willing to be the sinners, I'll do it!"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Just wait and wait. If General Zhou Xiong still doesn't surrender by tonight, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

……

Yingxia Tower!

Chen Liang opened the letter again.

It was given to him by someone in Zhou Xiong's household. The person who wrote the letter called herself Granny Sun, and said that she was sent by the Duke. After seeing through his actions, she asked him for help.

Chen Liang had read this letter countless times, but now that the moment had come, he couldn't help but read it again.

Then, he sighed softly.

"Lord Duke, you were indeed well-prepared!"

"People have already been dispatched to Pukou City."

"General Zhang Shi was also dispatched to cut off the grain supply to Pukou City, and he also took the opportunity to sweep through the outer areas of Pukou City."

"With the Duke's plan in place, what waves can a mere Zhou Xiong possibly stir up?"

"Pukou City will belong to the Duke sooner or later."

"but……"

Chen Liang's eyes narrowed: "Before that, I need to earn some credit for myself!"

As he was thinking this, the largest private room on the second floor of Yingxia Building had already been filled with members of the Pukou City Love Mutual Aid Alliance.

Once Chen Liang saw that almost everyone had arrived, he stood up and began to give a loud speech.

"Brothers, Zhou Xiong is still the garrison commander of Pukou City. This is utterly disgraceful to our Love and Mutual Aid Alliance!"

"Miss Wanqing's body is barely cold, and he's still serving as a garrison commander? I can tolerate this, but can the soul of love in my heart tolerate this? Can you tolerate this?"

Before anyone could shout, Chen Liang continued, "Brothers and sisters, we must settle this today."

"Do you dare to come with me tonight and break into the Zhou residence, or even the military camp? We...?"

"Let's cut Zhou Xiong's head off together."

"For the deceased Miss Wanqing..."

"To avenge ourselves!"

Chen Liang had always enjoyed a very high reputation in the Love Mutual Aid Alliance in Pukou City, and his words were very persuasive. In addition, the members of the Love Mutual Aid Alliance had been extremely dissatisfied with Zhou Xiong before.

This makes...

Everyone chimed in with agreement.

"What is there to be afraid of? For my beliefs in love, I am not even afraid of death, so why would I be afraid to charge into battle against a mere garrison commander of Pukou City?"

"Young Master Chen, we'll follow you wherever you say you will!"

"That scumbag Zhou Xiong killed Miss Wanqing with his own hands, ruining the sacred path of love in my heart. I've long wished I could tear him to pieces. Tonight, let's... go and put Zhou Xiong to trial!"

……

Chen Liang immediately said, "Alright, brothers and sisters, since everyone is so determined, then... tonight, wait for my signal."

"we……"

"Breaking into the Zhou residence, breaking into the military camp!"

"Trial of Zhou Xiong!"

"Please, Zhou Xiong, forgive Miss Wanqing!"

……