The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

The western part of the city, the so-called "granary" of the city, is now a sea of ​​fire.

The orange-red, dragon-like flames devoured the night sky, casting an ominous glow over everything around them.

The mountain of hay, along with the tung oil that had already been poured on it, became the best fuel.

Fueled by the night wind, the fire burned ever brighter.

The towering flames were particularly dazzling in the night sky, an ominous sign that the capital was about to fall, visible to everyone inside and outside the city.

The garrison officer named Wang Wu, an inside man arranged by Wu Chengdao, took advantage of the moment when the main force of the garrison was completely drawn to the fierce battle at the South Gate and successfully set fire to the "tomb" that had been carefully prepared for them.

After doing all this, Wang Wu quietly slipped away as planned to report back to his master.

He believed he had accomplished something extraordinary.

Among the aristocratic mansions throughout the capital.

Wu Chengdao, along with the other family heads who participated in the conspiracy, stood on the highest pavilion of their respective mansions, gazing at the raging fire in the west of the city.

A smug and satisfied smile appeared on their faces.

"It's done! It's done! Hahaha!"

One of the homeowners excitedly pounded on the railing.

"The fire is so big, even if that brat Su Zhe had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't save it!"

"Once our supplies are lost, morale will collapse! We can simply stay home and wait for the city to fall!"

Wu Chengdao picked up the wine glass on the table and raised it in a toast to the distant firelight.

The image of Su Zhe kneeling and begging for mercy in despair flashed before his eyes.

He was preparing to celebrate his victory ahead of schedule.

But they did not receive news of the garrison's disarray or the collapse of morale.

What they received was a rapid knocking on the door.

No, that wasn't a knock.

"Bang!"

The main gate of the Wu residence, made of fine ironwood and covered with copper, was forced open from the outside by a brute force.

The door panel was shattered into pieces.

Outside the gate, squads of soldiers in black iron armor rushed in with blades, quickly taking control of all the main passages inside the mansion.

The leader was an old eunuch with a hunched back and a pale face.

It was Wei An.

With delicate fingers and a smile playing on his lips, he took small, quick steps into the brightly lit main hall of the Wu residence.

He looked up at Wu Chengdao, who was still holding a wine glass and looking bewildered, in the attic.

"Lord Wu, it's so late, are you still awake?"

Wei An's hoarse, high-pitched voice was particularly jarring in the night.

"Are you admiring the night view? Look at this fire, isn't it beautifully burning?"

The color drained from Wu Chengdao's face the moment he saw Wei An.

He forced himself to calm down, gripped the railing, and questioned sharply:

"Eunuch Wei! What is the meaning of this? Why have you brought troops and barged into my residence without cause? Do you know that I am an official appointed by the imperial court, and you…"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Wei An did not answer his question, but simply waved his hand lightly to the soldiers behind him.

Two soldiers dragged up a man who was half-dead and covered in blood, and threw him in the center of the hall.

That man was Wang Wu, who had just lit the fire and came to claim credit.

Wang Wu saw Wu Chengdao in the attic, and as if he had seen a lifeline, he struggled desperately and cried out:

"My lord! My lord, save me! You were the one who told me to set the fire, my lord!"

The cry sent a shiver down Wu Chengdao's spine.

His body swayed, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a "crack," shattering into pieces.

His face turned ashen.

He never expected that Su Zhe would act so quickly!

How long has it been since the fire started?

Wang Wu was caught so quickly! And he confessed so quickly!

He knew that everything was over.

It's not just the Wu family mansion.

At the same time, in the capital, all the noble families and mansions involved in the conspiracy were surrounded by troops who had been waiting in the wings.

A long-planned purge unfolded silently under the cover of night.

Just as the operation to capture the traitor was in full swing within the city.

On the city tower of the North Gate, Su Zhe stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching everything.

The flames in the west of the city, the shouts of battle in the south, and the commotion coming from all over the city—all of these were reflected in his unfathomable eyes, yet they failed to cause the slightest fluctuation in his expression.

A messenger came rushing from the south gate, kneeling on one knee and reporting urgently:

"Your Highness! The battle at the South Gate is at a stalemate. A breach has been made in the city wall. General Chen has led his troops to block it, but they have suffered heavy casualties. We request reinforcements!"

Before he finished speaking, another general in charge of the city's defenses also ran up.

"Your Highness! Fires have broken out in many parts of the city. Although people have been dispatched to put them out, the people are in a state of panic, and rumors are spreading. Please make a swift decision to stabilize the situation!"

Two urgent reports were placed in front of Su Zhe.

Each one represents a crisis that could shake the course of the war.

Su Zhe, however, remained unusually calm.

He ignored all the requests.

He slowly raised his hand, neither pointing to the south gate nor to the city.

His finger pointed to the northern barbarian camp outside the north gate, where they were still shouting and beating drums, thinking the city was in chaos and preparing to launch a general attack.

He gave an order to the commander of the Divine Machine Battalion beside him that surprised everyone.

"Divine Machine Battalion, open the gates, launch the attack!"

"What?"

The commander of the Divine Machine Battalion was stunned.

Open the city gates? Launch an attack?

At a time when the south gate is in danger and the city is in turmoil, why not choose to defend instead of taking the initiative to attack?

Moreover, it was about sending the Shenji Battalion, a unit primarily skilled in long-range strikes, out of the city to engage in field battles.

Isn't this crazy?

"Your Highness, please reconsider!"

"Execute the command."

Su Zhe's voice was not loud, but its authority was undeniable.

The commander felt a chill run down his spine and dared not raise any further objections, bowing to accept the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The north gate of the city slowly opened with a dull creak.

Outside the city, the Northern Barbarian army, which was gathering and preparing to take advantage of the chaos inside the city to launch a surprise attack, was somewhat dumbfounded by what they saw.

They assumed that the city's garrison was about to open the gates and surrender.

But what rushed out of the city gates were not unarmed surrendered soldiers, nor were they the cavalry they had expected.

Instead, it was eight hundred Shenji Battalion soldiers marching out in neat rows.

They lined up in rows, their movements perfectly synchronized, each holding a strange, black iron pipe, taller than a person.

Under the astonished gaze of the Northern Barbarian army, the soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion quickly set up a simple position outside the city gate.

The soldiers in the front row knelt on the ground, fixing the end of the iron pipe to the ground with a bracket, with the pipe opening pointing obliquely to the sky.

The soldiers in the back row pointed the nozzles of their iron pipes at the dense formation of the Northern Barbarian army in front of them.

An officer raised his command flag high.

"ignition!"

The soldiers of the Shenji Battalion took out tinderboxes from the leather pouches at their waists and lit the exposed fuse at the end of the iron pipe in their hands.

"laugh--"

The fuse ignited, emitting white smoke.

The Northern Barbarian army opposite them was still watching curiously, wondering what these Great Qian people were up to.

Followed by.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted.

Long tongues of fire and thick white smoke spewed from dozens of iron pipes.

Countless tiny iron pellets and projectiles were propelled by immense force, forming an impenetrable metal storm that swept over the hundreds of Northern Barbarian soldiers at the forefront.

The piercing screams didn't even travel far before being drowned out by the deafening noise.

The hundreds of northern barbarian soldiers were swept by an invisible giant scythe, their bodies easily pierced and crushed.

Blood and flesh, mixed with tattered leather armor, flew everywhere.

In just one encounter, a large portion of the Northern Barbarian army's vanguard was wiped out.

This is the ultimate weapon of this era that Su Zhe prepared for them—the primitive firearm!

The advent of the musket completely overturned the Northern Barbarians' understanding of the world.

This is not the kind of martial arts they can understand.

This was not a crossbow they were familiar with.

This is a kind of "sorcery" that they cannot understand or fight against.

That deafening sound was the roar of the gods, shattering their courage.

That terrifying power instilled in them an unprecedented sense of fear.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The officers of the Shenji Battalion calmly issued their orders.

The soldiers carried out the cleaning, loading, and ignition process at an astonishing speed.

Another round of volleys!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Another scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere.

After several rounds of continuous firing, the tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers outside the north gate were thrown into complete disarray.

They broke down.

They threw down their weapons, cried out, and turned to flee in disarray.

They were utterly terrified by the deafening noise and the hellish sight.

Su Zhe stood on the city wall, coldly watching everything unfold.

He looked at the fleeing enemy troops and gave new orders to the messenger beside him.

"Send a message to Chen Baipao, telling him that the enemy at the south gate will soon retreat."

"Have him guard the breach and prepare to receive our last guests."

Who is the "guest" he's referring to?

What other terrifying tricks does he have up his sleeve?