I, a useless prince, started with the Xiang Yu template.

outside the city.

The barbarian army marched in a vast and imposing formation, their ranks perfectly aligned and their aura overwhelming.

As Yelü Aguda rode his tall horse, his gaze swept contemptuously over the city wall. Looking at the disheveled soldiers on the wall, armed with crude weapons, and the fact that most of them were emaciated civilians, he immediately laughed loudly, his tone full of disdain and mockery.

"A rabble! A bunch of old, weak, and disabled soldiers and farmers, yet they dare to stand in the way of my Northern Barbarian elite? They're utterly overestimating themselves!"

The generals around him echoed him, their faces full of arrogance.

"General, look at those people on the city wall! Their legs are trembling with fear; they're utterly defenseless!"

"Even if there were twice as many of these two-legged sheep wielding hoes, we still couldn't hold them off!"

"Those cowards in the city don't dare to really fight us; they're just clinging to life!"

"Once we take the city, we can take all the gold, silver, and beautiful women we want. Following our commander, this war has been so enjoyable!"

"The soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty are utterly useless, and the local officials are cowards as cowards!"

The group chatted back and forth, their words filled with unrestrained mockery, completely disregarding the garrison of Hebei City.

Yelü Aguda suppressed his smile, waved to one of his lieutenants, and gave a cold order.

"Go to the city and tell the prefect that as long as he opens the city gates and surrenders with his people, I will spare the lives of all the people in the city."

If they resist, on the day the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared!

"Yes, sir!"

The lieutenant accepted the order, rode alone towards the city gate, and when he was a few dozen paces away from the city, he reined in his horse and shouted loudly towards the city wall.

"Listen up, defenders on the city walls! Our Northern Barbarian army is pressing in, Hebei City will surely fall!"

My commander has given the order that as long as the city gates are opened and the city is surrendered, the lives of all the people in the city will be spared!

If they insist on resisting, once the city falls, we will massacre the entire population, leaving no one alive!

Zhang Zhen stood on the city wall, hearing everything clearly, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He wouldn't believe a single word of the barbarian army's nonsense.

The barbarian soldiers were brutal by nature, burning, killing, and looting along the way. Even if they surrendered, they would only be slaughtered at their mercy, their property would be stolen, and their people would be killed. They had no way to survive.

Only by holding out to the death can we have a chance to wait for reinforcements.

He picked up the megaphone and, with all his might, shouted loudly towards the city below.

"I am the Prefect of Daqian Commandery, and it is my duty to defend this territory. I swear I will never surrender! If you want Hebei City, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers and civilians on the city wall gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes resolute, ready to fight to the death.

Yelü Aguda heard everything clearly from within the formation. When he saw that Zhang Zhen refused to surrender, the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a face full of gloom and violence.

Too lazy to waste any more words, he suddenly drew his curved sword from his waist, raised it high above his head, and gave a stern order to the entire army.

"Attack the city! All troops, march out and break through Hebei City, leave no one alive!"

"kill--!!"

At a command, the barbarian army outside the city roared deafeningly, and the attacking troops pushed ladders and battering rams like a tidal wave, frantically rushing towards the city wall of Hebei City.

The ladder slammed against the city wall, its grappling hooks gripping the battlements tightly.

The barbarian soldiers roared as they climbed the city walls, while the defenders fought desperately.

The stones fell, smashing the heads of the barbarian soldiers.

Boiling oil was poured on, scorching the skin and flesh, making a sizzling sound.

A volley of arrows was fired, the rain of arrows piercing the air and felling the front-line barbarian soldiers.

Zhang Zhen stood atop the city wall, sword in hand, and roared fiercely, "Hold on! Drive them down! Anyone who retreats even a step will be killed without mercy!"

The people fought desperately alongside the defenders, moving stones, shooting arrows, and pushing ladders; no one retreated.

Outside the city, Yelü Aguda reined in his horse to watch the battle, his brow furrowed.

He thought that once the army arrived, Hebei City would fall in an instant.

But this group of old, weak, disabled soldiers and civilians actually withstood the first fierce attack.

The attacking soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and the front-line barbarian soldiers retreated repeatedly, causing the offensive to collapse instantly.

"Retreat!" Yelü Aguda roared angrily, his face turning ashen.

A motley crew managed to hold off his elite army.

Disgrace! Utter disgrace!

He gripped his riding crop tightly, lashing it hard against his horse's back, and roared, "All troops, charge! Regardless of casualties, launch a full-scale attack! I want to see how long they can hold out!"

A new round of attacks has begun.

The barbarian soldiers charged forward recklessly, climbing over the corpses of their comrades.

As the defenders suffered increasing casualties and became exhausted, their battle cries grew hoarse, yet they still stubbornly held onto the city walls.

The attack never stopped from dawn to afternoon.

Wave after wave of barbarian soldiers charged, only to be repelled time and again.

Hebei City remained firmly in the hands of the defending troops.

Yelü Aguda was thoroughly enraged.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the impregnable city walls, raging with fury.

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

"A county town, a bunch of ragtag soldiers, and we still can't take it after all this time!"

The generals around him remained silent, none daring to speak out.

Yelü Aguda took a deep breath, his eyes turning extremely sinister, and gritted his teeth as he ordered, "Pass on my command: in one hour, surround us from all sides and launch a full-scale attack!"

"Attack the city walls from four directions: east, west, south, and north! Regardless of the cost, breach the city in one fell swoop! Today, Hebei City will be utterly crushed!"

The military order was delivered, and the barbarian army quickly formed ranks.

In the afternoon, war drums sounded simultaneously from all four sides.

The barbarian army launched a fierce attack from all four sides of the city wall at the same time.

This threw the defenders on the city wall into complete chaos.

Cries for help were heard one after another.

"Simon can't hold out any longer! Quickly, send reinforcements!"

"Too many barbarian soldiers at the East Gate! Quickly send reinforcements!"

"There are too many ladders at the north gate, we can't hold it! Requesting reinforcements!"

The 15,000-strong garrison was barely able to defend the city, and now, surrounded by enemies on all sides, their forces were quickly dismantled.

The city walls everywhere are under attack; there are no soldiers to be mobilized and no reinforcements to be sent.

The defending troops were overwhelmed and their defenses crumbled.

Taking advantage of their numbers, the barbarian soldiers climbed the city walls one after another.

The blade cleaved into flesh, and blood spurted out.

The defending soldiers fell one after another, their screams echoing incessantly.

They were not a regular army to begin with, and they were powerless to fight back against the fierce barbarians.

Sections of the city wall were breached, and battlements were occupied.

Barbarian soldiers swarmed onto the city walls like locusts, hacking and slashing at anyone they saw.

Zhang Zhen, accompanied by his personal guards, rushed towards the breach and fought to the death with his sword.

"Fight them! Hold the city walls!"

He killed several barbarian soldiers, and his body was already covered in wounds, his official robes soaked with blood.

But there were too many barbarian soldiers, who surrounded them layer by layer, their swords and spears like a forest.

One by one, his guards fell, until only he remained.

A barbarian general swung his axe, and Zhang Zhen raised his sword to block, but he was no match for the strength, and his sword was knocked away.

The next instant, the spear pierced his chest.

Zhang Zhen staggered a few steps, collapsed on the city wall, his eyes wide open, staring into the city, and then he was lifeless.

The prefect died in battle.

The city walls have completely fallen.

From the barbarian army's all-out attack to the fall of the city walls, it took no more than half an hour.

I couldn't even hold on for a day.

"The city gates have opened!"

The barbarian soldiers charged down from the city wall, headed straight for the city gate, killed the guards, removed the bolts, and pushed open the heavy city gate.

With a creak, the city gates swung open.

Outside the city, barbarian soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, poured into the city in droves.

"Kill! Rob!"

"Wealth and women, they're all ours!"

Roars and wild laughter echoed throughout Hebei City.

The burning, killing, and looting began.

The barbarian soldiers stormed into the houses, smashed open the doors, and looted everything they could find, including gold, silver, silk, grain, and livestock.

Anyone who resisted even slightly was killed on the spot.

The people cried out and fled, but had nowhere to hide.

The streets were littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed.

Men were hacked to death, the elderly and children were trampled on, and women were brutally violated. Cries, shouts, and the barbarian soldiers' savage laughter intertwined to create a living hell.

The house was set on fire, thick smoke billowed, and flames shot into the sky.

The once bustling streets and alleys were now engulfed in flames.

The common people hid in corners, cellars, and inside houses, trembling with fear, but they were still found by the barbarian soldiers, and their lives were taken with swift and decisive blows.

The cries were deafening, but there was no one to help.

The barbarian soldiers indulged in revelry and committed atrocities.

The entire city of Hebei was completely turned into a killing field.