Du Shun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had followed Liu Xiangnan's arrangements and made a tour of various places again. Otherwise, at this moment, everyone would likely be fast asleep.
Without a word, Liu Xiangnan quickly put on his armor and rushed to the South Gate to look down. Waves of Great Tu Kingdom soldiers were charging forward.
Furthermore, the Great Tu Kingdom soldiers attacked without any discernible pattern, each one fighting with a desperate fervor. Witnessing this, Du Shun couldn't help but worry, "My Lord, our forces at the South Gate are a bit weak. Perhaps we should... from other areas..."
Hearing this, Liu Xiangnan glared, "What did I say earlier? Pass down the order to stand down. The defenders at the South Gate must hold their ground for me."
Helpless, Du Shun retreated.
Just as the fighting ensued, the sound of hooves suddenly approached. Immediately after, someone ran up to Liu Xiangnan and bowed, "Reporting to my Lord, the North Gate has been attacked. The assault is also fierce."
Upon hearing this, a hint of a smile flickered across Liu Xiangnan's lips. Although it was so faint that it was difficult to detect, his mood clearly improved considerably because of it.
"Go back and tell the defenders to resist with all their might. Remain calm, reinforcements will arrive shortly."
The messenger hurried back to relay the message. Liu Xiangnan, however, acted as if nothing had happened and continued to watch the Great Tu Kingdom's enemy forces attacking below the city.
Seeing this, Liu Kai could no longer hold back. "My Lord, please send some troops. Transfer some men from the East and West Gates."
Liu Xiangnan waved his hand. "Look at these men below. They appear brave, but they lack any formation whatsoever, indicating they are not prepared for a full-scale assault. They are merely trying to distract us. I am not yet clear on their true intentions, so we will stand down and observe further."
At this time, Zhu Meng below still harbored his wishful thinking, continuing to execute his plan with attacks on all four gates in sequence. In his mind, he had fully achieved his goal of confusing the enemy. Then, with a wave of his banner, his elite troops advanced and launched a fierce assault on the South Gate.
Seeing that the enemy forces outside the South Gate had suddenly increased severalfold, the siege attack also became more organized.
Giant trebuchets were pushed forward. This was the true posture of a siege. At this point, Liu Xiangnan finally understood.
The attacks on other locations were mere feints. Only this was a genuine attempt to breach the city.
Without hesitation, Liu Xiangnan immediately waved his command flag. The other locations were to hold fast, and all the troops on standby were to be transferred to the South Gate!
As Liu Xiangnan made his adjustments, Zhu Meng outside the city remained oblivious, continuing to command his men to launch a frenzied attack.
However, as the fighting progressed, Zhang Liao began to sense something was amiss.
He spurred his horse to Zhu Meng's side. "General, something is not right. The soldiers on the city walls of Great Cang are increasing with every engagement."
In fact, Zhu Meng had also noticed it. He too had a premonition that something was wrong.
Logically, after his repeated troop movements, there shouldn't be so many soldiers up there. Yet, the soldiers of Great Cang were increasing, seemingly endlessly. There was only one possible explanation: his so-called brilliant plan had been seen through. If he continued to attack now, the only result would be more casualties.
But now, Zhu Meng had no retreat. If this attack failed, he would completely lose the trust of Crown Prince Qiao Na, and a disastrous outcome awaited him. With this thought, Zhu Meng gritted his teeth. "Advance! Commit all our fifty thousand men. Even if it's one for one, I must break open this South Gate."
Zhang Liao hurriedly advised, "General, these fifty thousand men are the foundation of our strength. If they are all lost, we will likely..."
Zhu Meng sighed. "Do you think I don't know that? But we have no other choice now. Even if we preserve these fifty thousand men and cannot capture Wànnián City, our fate will be the same!"
Zhang Liao said no more. He bowed and turned to leave.
Returning to his tent, Zhang Liao quietly packed his belongings and said to the few personal guards behind him, "I have spent my life in military service, only to follow the wrong person and participate in a rebellion with Zhu Meng. As for the outcome today, I have decided to meet my end. Do not follow my example; you may leave as you wish, and I will not stop you."
These personal guards knelt on one knee. "General, we are willing to follow you to the death!"
Zhang Liao waved his hand. "That is unnecessary. Today, General Zhu has decided to break through the city, and it will likely be a tragic defeat."
"While the situation is still unclear, you should leave quickly. If anyone asks, say that I sent you to deliver dispatches to other camps!"
Saying this, he handed forward his neatly packed personal belongings, placing them in the hands of a personal guard. "If you can return to our hometown, give these to my elderly mother."
Then he waved again. "Alright, you should leave quickly now. If you delay, you may not be able to."
After all, who wouldn't want to live? Hearing Zhang Liao's command, these personal guards knelt and expressed their gratitude again before hurrying away.
Having settled everything, Zhang Liao finally emerged from the camp again and, without regard for his own safety, charged forward towards the battlefield.
Indeed, everything unfolded as Zhang Liao had predicted. The battle was extraordinarily brutal, continuing until the sun rose in the east, and the outcome was roughly determined.
Liu Xiangnan, on the city wall, looked at the mountains of corpses of the Great Tu Kingdom soldiers below and shook his head with a sigh.
He Shun, standing beside him, appeared excited. "My Lord, Great Tu has lost at least fifty thousand men. If they continue to fight like this for a few more days, they will be depleted. They will have to retreat even without us counterattacking."
Liu Xiangnan naturally understood. The opposing side claimed forty thousand men, and now they had lost fifty to sixty thousand. If they maintained this intensity of attack, it was possible to lose a hundred thousand a day. After two more days, the enemy would naturally be unable to continue.
Liu Xiangnan could see it, and Crown Prince Qiao Na could also understand. Seeing that Zhu Meng had been unable to break through the city and was suffering increasing losses, his mood grew more irritable.
Just then, a guard hurried in.
"Reporting to Your Highness, news from the city."
Qiao Na's eyes lit up. This was like a lifesaver. "Quickly, what is the situation?"
The guard bowed. "Your Highness, Tie Niu and the others say that several days ago, Qiu Ye attempted to assassinate Liu Xiangnan and her whereabouts were unknown."
"After their extensive investigation, they finally found Qiu Ye's body. She was killed, and her head was severed."
Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Qiao Na slumped back in his seat.
"Alas, even the Black Wolf Guard could not deal with Liu Xiangnan. What kind of heaven-defying ability does he possess?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps was heard again from outside.
Then, a soldier rushed in. "Reporting to Your Highness, Zhang Liao, the strategist under Zhu Meng's command, personally led his troops to attack the city. He was struck by several arrows and is likely to die. Now Zhu Meng is personally charging forward."
Hearing this, Crown Prince Qiao Na's expression turned stern. He had always held Zhang Liao in admiration. Now that even Zhang Liao had fallen, it indicated that Zhu Meng was also out of options.
With this thought, he waved his hand. "Enough, enough! Withdraw the troops, withdraw the troops."