Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

When Lu Chen heard Du Yongyuan's reply from the soldier who delivered the message, he was not surprised at all.

In ancient times, a military general's relatives were no different from hostages. If the general betrayed them, he would surely suffer the fate of having his entire family executed.

Of course, there are also those cold-blooded individuals who, for their own survival and future, completely disregard the lives of their families and choose to surrender to the enemy.

If Du Yongyuan is that kind of person, even if Du Yongyuan really surrenders, Lu Chen wouldn't dare to use him, and might even eliminate Du Yongyuan in the end.

Du Yongyuan's first refusal actually made Lu Chen feel that Du Yongyuan still had some humanity, and that only such a person was worth persuading to surrender.

If Du Yongyuan is only thinking of himself and is extremely cold-blooded, then such a person will be impossible to control in the future.

the next morning.

After getting up, Lu Chen gathered all the military officers together for a brief military meeting.

When the generals heard that the prince had summoned them, they thought Lu Chen was going to attack Ziyang City and were very excited. However, when they arrived at Lu Chen's study, they realized that Lu Chen had other plans.

At this moment, Lu Chen glanced at the generals around the sand table and then said, "Yesterday, I sent a letter of surrender to the garrison commander of Ziyang City, but he refused to surrender."

Upon hearing this, a military officer said, "The other side is so ungrateful that they dare to refuse Your Highness's offer of surrender. Your Highness, why don't we send troops to attack Ziyang City now?"

At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Lu Chen's face, eagerly awaiting his answer.

Lu Chen said calmly, "We will definitely send troops, but it won't be a real battle."

This……

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Not a real fight?

Is there such a thing as a fake war?

Lu Chen continued, "The soldiers of Ziyang City are all from Great Xia, and you are also from Great Xia. As a vassal king of Great Xia, I naturally do not want to see Great Xia people killing each other."

Xuan Yuan Chen understood Lu Chen's meaning. Lu Chen wanted to show his benevolent side so that he could win people's hearts.

but……

Xuanyuan Chen then said, "Your Majesty, I understand your meaning. However, the garrison commander of Ziyang City has refused to surrender. If we don't actually attack, how can we occupy Ziyang City and continue our southward march to destroy the Qi Kingdom?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "That's simple."

"Send men to Ziyang City later to remind the soldiers there to stay away from the north city wall, as we will attack the city at noon."

Hearing this, the generals were puzzled. Why did they have to remind the enemy before attacking them? What kind of tactic was this?

Lu Chen continued, "At noon, have the artillery bombard the north city wall of Ziyang City. Once the wall is breached, immediately cease the attack."

Xuan Yuan Chen suddenly realized that Lu Chen's plan was to use the power of artillery to intimidate the soldiers of the Great Xia.

Once the soldiers of the northern kingdom have witnessed the power of artillery, they will surely be afraid to fight.

Xuan Yuanchen said, "Your Majesty, I understand. I will immediately arrange for someone to remind the garrison of Ziyang City."

They then began to take action.

Soon.

Outside Ziyang City, a group of Northern rebels appeared, carrying some strange objects in their hands.

Upon seeing the arrival of the northern cavalry, the Xia soldiers quickly informed Du Yongyuan, who immediately went up to the city wall and ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle.

However, Du Yongyuan then noticed that the Northern Kingdom had only sent a few hundred cavalrymen, which did not seem like they were going to attack. Moreover, they seemed to be carrying something strange.

Just then, a soldier from the Northern Kingdom shouted through a makeshift megaphone: "At noon today, the Northern army will attack the North City. Our King, out of consideration for you all being subjects of Great Xia, has specially sent us to remind you to stay away from the North City gates at noon, or you will bear the consequences!"

Du Yongyuan was stunned when he heard the shouts from the northern soldiers.

Before the Northern King attacked Ziyang City, did he send someone to inform them in advance?

Is this what martial ethics are all about?

Could it be that the Northern King has not yet given up on persuading me to surrender, and therefore deliberately had someone notify me in advance in order to put final pressure on me?

If I do not surrender before noon, the northern army will likely launch a real attack on the city.

Just as Du Yongyuan was thinking this, the soldiers from the Northern Kingdom continued to shout: "The weapons used by the Northern Kingdom are far beyond what your physical bodies can withstand. Withdraw from the North City Tower before noon, or you will bear the consequences."

At this moment, the cavalrymen from the North spread out on their horses, took out some arrows without arrowheads, tied some leaflets to them, and kept shooting arrows at the city walls.

Seeing this, the Xia soldiers thought the Northern soldiers had already launched their attack.

Just then, an arrow flew straight towards Du Yongyuan, and a soldier quickly warned him, "General, be careful!"

Du Yongyuan did not panic. He raised his hand, grabbed the arrow without an arrowhead, took the leaflet off the arrow, and began to read it carefully.

The leaflet's content was very simple, similar to what the northern soldiers were saying: they were told to move away from the city walls at noon because the northern kingdom was about to launch an attack.

Du Yongyuan immediately reassured them, saying, "Don't panic, the Northern Kingdom hasn't launched an attack yet."

At this moment, a lieutenant also grabbed an arrow, opened the leaflet and glanced at it. Then he chuckled and said, "How ridiculous! The Northern Kingdom is about to launch an attack, and they're telling us not to defend the city? Are they expecting us to just watch them storm the city?"

Du Yongyuan glanced at the deputy general who had spoken, and then said, "Deputy General Liu, you will lead your troops to guard the north gate at noon today."

Deputy General Liu immediately replied, "Please rest assured, General, I will absolutely not allow the Northern soldiers to approach the city gate!"

Du Yongyuan didn't say much. He looked at the northern cavalrymen who were still shouting in the distance, and was thinking about something.

He had heard that the weapons of the Northern Kingdom were very powerful, but they had never seen them before.

Before attacking the city, the Northern King sent someone to remind them how powerful his weapons were. Although it seemed like he was trying to intimidate them and make them surrender quickly, Du Yongyuan felt that there was another meaning behind it. That is, the Northern Kingdom's weapons were indeed very formidable. The Northern King was trying to win people's hearts, so he sent someone in advance to warn them not to hide on the city wall.

Du Yongyuan frowned, pondering what kind of weapon it was that made the Northern King specifically send someone to warn them not to guard the city wall.

The more Du Yongyuan thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. The most important reason why he had specifically asked Deputy General Liu to guard the north gate was that Deputy General Liu was not one of his own. Since the northern soldiers were attacking the city, he wanted to see just how terrifying the northern weapons were.

If someone dies in that time, it won't be one of our own.

Du Yongyuan then arranged for more soldiers to guard the city gates, seemingly taking the northern siege very seriously. However, the soldiers he assigned to the city walls were all seasoned veterans who didn't really listen to him.

Next, several hundred cavalrymen from the North shouted outside the north gate of Ziyang City for half a day. Not only did the soldiers of the Great Xia know about this, but soon the people in Ziyang City also knew about it.

The common people didn't really care who was the emperor, but war was a disaster for them. They were terrified that the northern soldiers would start burning, killing, and looting after entering the city.

For a time, the people of Ziyang City were filled with panic.

The morning passed quickly. Although Du Yongyuan was not guarding the city wall, he was not far from the north city.

At this moment, Deputy General Liu was completely unaware of the danger approaching. He stood on the city wall, quietly watching the northern soldiers push the strange carts to a spot not far from the northern city.

He thought to himself, "Du Yongyuan is such a coward, actually letting me guard the city gate."

He was planning to tell Emperor Xia about what had happened today when he returned.

Just then, a continuous drumbeat sounded outside the city.

Du Yongyuan stood on the rooftop, frowning as he looked towards the north of the city.

The sound of drums signifies that the Northern army has begun its attack. Come on, let's see just how powerful the Northern weapons are, enabling the Northern Kingdom to defeat the northern barbarians and even force the Great Wu to cede territory and pay reparations!

At the same time, an iron ball flew directly to the north city gate tower. Upon seeing the iron ball, Deputy General Liu was unimpressed. He shouted, "Prepare..."

boom……

Before Deputy General Liu could finish speaking, the cannonball exploded, instantly collapsing the city tower. Deputy General Liu and his soldiers on the tower were blown to pieces.

Du Yongyuan, who was far away, heard a loud bang and saw the city gate collapse instantly, and he was stunned.

But the bombardment from the north had only just begun when, a moment later, another loud bang rang out, and a huge hole was blasted through the city gate of the north city.

Du Yongyuan was completely stunned on the roof. Then, one shell after another rained down from the sky, and all the soldiers on the north city wall were wiped out in one fell swoop.

Seeing the flying debris from the city walls and the limbs of the soldiers, Du Yongyuan finally understood why the Northern King had sent people to shout outside the northern city for a long time before attacking it.

Du Yongyuan strongly suspected that if he were still on the city wall in the north of the city, his body would probably be completely mangled by now.

Are these the weapons of the North?

terrible!

How can we fight this war?

With such terrifying weapons in the North, the Great Xia Dynasty has absolutely no chance of winning.

For a moment, Du Yongyuan was overwhelmed by fear.

About an hour later, a huge breach was blasted into the city gate, and the city wall collapsed. If the northern soldiers were to attack now, the 200,000 soldiers inside the city would be completely helpless.

But just then, the loud noises stopped, and the sound of drums came from outside the city.

Du Yongyuan immediately led his men to the north city, where the situation was extremely dire, with almost none of the soldiers guarding the city having intact bodies.

At this moment, the soldiers behind Du Yongyuan had lost all will to fight; their eyes were filled with fear.

Through the gap in the city wall, they could clearly see the Northern army not far outside the northern city, but the Northern soldiers showed no signs of attacking; they stood still, seemingly waiting for something.

The royal flag of the northern kingdom fluttered in the sky; that blood-red flag instilled fear and dread in everyone.

At this moment, one of Du Yongyuan's confidants said, "General, what should we do now?"

Their 200,000-strong army was originally only there to defend the city and did not intend to confront the Northern army head-on. But now the walls of Ziyang City have collapsed, and the Northern army could rush in at any time. What's the point of defending the city?

Are they using people to plug that huge gap now?

After glancing at the Northern army in the distance, Du Yongyuan said, "The fact that the Northern Kingdom has not launched an attack proves that the Northern King intends to continue negotiations with this general."

Just then, the sound of drums came from outside again. Upon hearing the drums, the soldiers behind Du Yongyuan thought that the Northern Kingdom had launched another attack, and they were all trembling with fear. However, to everyone's surprise, the Northern Kingdom soldiers did not attack, but instead retreated.

Seeing that the number of Northern soldiers outside the North City was decreasing, Du Yongyuan and his soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the Northern weapons continued to attack them, they would probably be cut into pieces soon.

If even such sturdy city walls couldn't withstand the weapons of the Northern Kingdom, how could their bodies possibly withstand them?

At this point, Du Yongyuan ordered, "Clean up the battlefield!"

As soon as he gave the order, the soldiers quickly sprang into action to clear the battlefield. While cleaning up the bodies of the defending soldiers, the soldiers once again had thoughts of surrendering.

Surrender quickly became the collective consciousness; no one believed they could defeat the Northern army, whose weapons were simply too terrifying.

In the dead of night.

Du Yongyuan sat at his desk, staring blankly at the dim candlelight.

He was analyzing the current situation in his mind and what he should do in the future.

According to Emperor Xia's wishes, he should pretend to be no match for the Northern army and then flee. However, the war has only just begun, and if he were to lead his troops to flee, even if it was Emperor Xia's intention, he would probably be punished by Emperor Xia if he returned to the capital.

Moreover, given the current strength of the Northern army and the terrifying power of its weapons, the possibility of the Northern King ascending the throne is very high.

Du Yongyuan believed that even if the Zhao King's army encountered the Northern Kingdom's army, they would only be defeated and forced to flee in all directions.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Northern King will most likely become the next Xia Emperor. Furthermore, since the Northern King is the Xia Emperor's son, he is qualified to inherit the throne.

At this point, Du Yongyuan had already begun to consider surrendering. Even if he escaped with his soldiers, he would still have to face the Northern King's army when the Northern King attacked the capital.

However, his family is currently in the capital, and if he surrenders, his family will surely die.

Moreover, the army includes the Emperor Xia's shadow guards. If he were to surrender, the shadow guards would likely attack him immediately.

Just then, a soldier's voice rang out from outside, "General, the Northern King has sent an envoy!"

Du Yongyuan immediately said, "Please come in right away."

A short while later, a soldier from the Northern Kingdom entered Du Yongyuan's study. The soldier took out a letter and said to Du Yongyuan, "General Du, this is a letter written by our King himself."

Du Yongyuan took the letter from the soldier without hesitation, then opened it and read it carefully.

Upon reading the contents of the letter, Du Yongyuan's previous concerns vanished. He hadn't expected the Northern King to have made so many arrangements. (End of Chapter)