Chapter 1099: Entering the City (1)

The city gate slowly opened, revealing the neatly dressed Qi army outside, with Qi Xiuyuan taking the lead in his armor. When he saw Qi Haoran standing safely inside the city gate, he slowly heaved a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but smile.

The Jin people in the city, on the other hand, had sorrowful expressions on their faces. Looking at the solemn Qi army outside, they could not help but kneel on the ground.

As soon as the person in front knelt, the people behind naturally followed suit.

Qi Xiuyuan led the soldiers of the three armies into the city under everyone’s welcome.

The citizens in the city walked out of their houses one after another and gathered on both sides of the street. They silently watched as the Qi army came from afar. When they saw the people in front of them kneel, they also knelt down.

However, the kneeling commoners had three expressions. The faces of the Jin people were numb and carried a hint of sorrow. On the other hand, the Han people were so excited that they cried tears of joy. They knelt respectfully on the ground and congratulated the new ruler in a low voice. On the other hand, the ethnic minorities who were neither Han nor Jurchen had blank expressions on their faces. They knelt on the ground and watched as the Qi army headed towards the palace of Great Jin.

The Great Qi army quickly headed for the North City Gate and replaced the Jin soldiers who were still resisting the enemy above.

As the South City Gate was very far from the North City Gate, the Jin soldiers in the North City did not know what had happened here. When they saw the sudden appearance of the Qi army, they thought that the South City Gate had fallen. Immediately, they turned around and aimed their weapons at the Qi army.

The person guarding the North City Gate was Wulie’s trusted aide, and had long received the news. When he saw that the Qi army had arrived, he knew that the Emperor was dead. With a roar, he asked the soldiers to put down their weapons with red eyes. Just as he raised his saber and was about to commit suicide, General Yuan was one step ahead of him and knocked down the weapon in his hand. He looked at him for a while and said expressionlessly, “My Emperor has no intention of executing you. Just put down your weapons and wait for punishment.”

With that, General Yuan got someone to escort him down and quickly took over the North City Gate.

When the Yuan army, who was still attacking the city outside, saw the Qi army suddenly appear on the city gate tower, they were in an uproar. “The Qi army entered? Damn it, did that bastard Wulie gather all his troops at the North City Gate to deal with us? How did the Qi army breach the South City Gate so quickly?”

“Quickly inform the Khan that the Han people have entered the city. What should we do? Should we still fight?”

It was chaos outside the Central Capital. Not long after, the Qi army entered the city, and the news of the fall of Great Jin spread throughout the Central Capital.

Among the commoners in the city, some were happy while some were sad. However, the Yuan army outside the city was only left with frustration. They had sacrificed so much and had not even taken down half of the city gate, but now, the Han people had entered the city.

“Damn it, why are the Jin soldiers still guarding the North City Gate when the Han people have already entered the city? Shouldn’t they go to the South Gate to provide support? In terms of hatred, Great Jin and Great Qi have been enemies for hundreds of years. Whereas we’ve only fought for five years. Why are they fighting us to the death?” Ogedei’s subordinates quarreled.

Ogedei was silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, “No, there hasn’t been any movement from the other three city gates for the past few days. How could the Han people attack the city? Are you sure you saw it correctly? You sure it’s Han people on the city gate tower?”

“How can that be fake? They’re wearing the clothes of the Qi army. Most importantly, the person standing in front is General Yuan of the Qi Dynasty. Half of his hair has turned white. Having seen him in person before, I’m definitely not mistaken.”

Although the others had never seen General Yuan before, they all recognized the Great Qi military uniform and agreed.

Ogedei walked for a while with a livid expression. “Suspend the siege and check out the situation first.”

Ogedei turned around and went to a tent at the side. Inside, there was a person who was covered in injuries. When he heard the commotion, that person looked up and tugged at the chain on his body. When he saw Ogedei, he said with a smile, “Why? Did my honorable Majesty encounter a problem?”

Ogedei’s face was ashen. “Li Zhang, I’ve treated you well, but you and Xue Ji betrayed me.”

Li Zhang looked at him coldly and closed his eyes without saying anything.

Ogedei took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart. He asked, “The Qi army appeared on the city tower of the Central Capital. Is this your Great Qi’s scheme?”

Li Zhang frowned. Thinking of Prince Rong’s actions and character, he laughed out loud and said, “Ogedei, you’ve calculated everything, but you never expected Great Qi to enter the city without expending a single soldier, right? Hahaha, this is owing to the foundation of a vast country. You’ll never be able to compare to it!”

“A vast country? Your Great Qi has only had one Emperor.”

“His Majesty has great strategies and aspirations, while also being of an upright and virtuous personality. Even if he’s only the first, you’re nowhere comparable to him.”

“You!”

“Ogedei!” Li Zhang shouted. “Ask yourself honestly. Have you really not let me and Xue Ji down? Have you not let Great Qi down?”

“What right do you have to criticize me when you’re just a spy from Great Qi? There’s no right or wrong between countries. Today, I’m the one expanding my territory, but who knows, someday it might not be your Great Qi who makes the first move.” Ogedei sneered. “So what if your Great Qi entered the city first? You only have a total of 400,000 soldiers in the north, while my other 400,000 can arrive in a day. At that time, my 600,000 will fight against your 400,000. Hmph, I don’t mind continuing to push the battle line south at all.”

Li Zhang sneered contemptuously. “I’m just a spy to Prince Rong, but to you, I’m a Military Advisor. Meanwhile, the troops of Great Qi are strong and capable. How can your soldiers compare to them? Not to mention 600,000, you won’t be able to enter even if you add another 200,000.”

Ogedei turned to leave. Having already found out what he wanted to know, there was no need to stay here any longer.

Qi Xiuyuan must have made a deal with Wulie, which was why Wulie opened the city gate and let them in.

He didn’t know what it was, but he knew that the city was definitely not peaceful now. It had to be known that there were at least 80,000 Jin soldiers in the city. Once it became chaotic, even if Great Qi had strong troops and horses, chaos would ensue for a period of time. Therefore, this was the best time to attack the city. Since his 400,000 troops would arrive tomorrow afternoon, there was really no need to stop the war.

At this moment, the city was indeed a little chaotic.

The Great Jin Emperor had committed suicide. Before he committed suicide, he personally ordered the city gate to be opened to welcome Emperor Qi into the city. More than half of Great Jin’s troops were placed at the North City Gate to resist Great Yuan.

The Jurchens in the city could not accept it. They did not understand why their Emperor wanted to commit suicide. Since he wanted to commit suicide, why did he choose Great Qi alone?

If the ordinary Jurchens only found it a little unacceptable, the ignorant soldiers guarding the North City Gate completely broke down when they realized that they had been abandoned by their Emperor. Since he had already decided to commit suicide and let the enemy enter the city, why did he have to give them a death order to guard the North City Gate?

While they were guarding the North City Gate, their Emperor went to open the South City Gate. What exactly were they guarding?

Many people thought of the gold, silver, and jewelry that had been thrown down yesterday. Ever since then, the Yuan army’s attacks had been incomparably aggressive. In order to guard the city gate, many comrades, brothers, and fathers had all died one by one. However, in fact, their Emperor had long decided to open the city gate. Since that was the case, why sacrifice them?

The collapse of their beliefs almost made them collapse.