Cui Shanzhong was unwilling to accept this!

His eyes filled with tears!

Defeat came like a landslide. This feeling of powerlessness that Cui Shanzhong experienced… no one could truly understand.

“Old General, we can’t hold any longer! The situation is lost! We must quickly retreat to defend the palace! Perhaps we can hold out for a while longer! This subordinate will immediately send people out to request reinforcements!” Seeing Cui Shanzhong motionless, his deputy general shouted, “Old General cannot hesitate any longer! If we withdraw most of our forces back to the palace now, we might still be able to hold until reinforcements arrive!”

They couldn’t hold out…

Cui Shanzhong knew this!

Even if they retreated to the palace now, it would just be the futile struggle of a cornered beast.

When he, Cui Shanzhong, took command, he sent deployment orders to various cities, requesting troops!

Those willing to come had already come; those unwilling had let their messages sink without a trace.

Moreover, now that the Great Zhou-Yan allied forces had attacked Yun Jing, the defending generals of other cities who heard the news would probably be calculating whether to surrender to Great Zhou or Yan!

Who would still be willing to throw eggs against rocks, bringing forces insufficient even to fill the gaps between the Great Zhou and Yan armies’ teeth to come rescue the emperor!

“Report! Yan is attacking the east gate!”

“Report! The Great Zhou-Yan allied forces are attacking the west gate!”

“Report! Great Zhou is attacking the south gate!”

War reports were continuously delivered to Old General Cui Shanzhong and Li Tianjiao in the palace. Hearing that all four city gates were under siege, Xi Liang soldiers felt fear creeping into their hearts.

Whether Xi Liang soldiers or soldiers from other nations, what were they fighting for in battle? They fought for morale! And what was morale? It was hope!

Hope either came from their invincible generals and commanders!

Or from knowing their desperate fighting could win a chance of survival for the people behind them!

Or from the prospect of victory!

But what did Xi Liang have?

Their Old General, Cui Shanzhong, was indeed a famous general, but he hadn’t led troops for many years and was over eighty… constantly showing signs of inadequacy on the battlefield.

Protect Xi Liang’s people? But the Great Zhou never massacred cities after conquest. Instead, they gave grain to the people, distributed land and houses, implemented new policies, and treated the people as Great Zhou citizens! This attracted many Xi Liang people who knew of the Great Zhou’s benevolence to defect to the Great Zhou. Only a few people worried about the Great Zhou massacres and had fled early to southern Xi Liang.

Hope for victory? Now, Xi Liang’s Yun Jing was surrounded, with city gates already breached. Where was any hope of victory? Even retreating to the palace would just be desperate resistance!

“Pass the order – have the soldiers retreat to the palace to preserve our strength!” After giving this command, Cui Shanzhong turned his horse toward the palace and galloped away, preparing to return and reorganize defenses to defend the palace to the death.

Now, Cui Shanzhong could only hope that Great Zhou Emperor Bai Qingyan would arrive before their palace provisions ran out, so Xi Liang could present Bai Qingyu as a gift to Great Zhou and submit!

·

Inside the palace, the sounds of killing outside could still be heard.

Eunuchs and palace maids kneeling in the palace hall trembled and dared not raise their heads. Whenever sharp screams reached them, everyone would shudder, fearing that the Great Zhou and Yan armies had already reached the Xi Liang palace gates.

Li Tianjiao knelt above in the great hall, looking down at Bai Qingyu, who had awakened but was still very weak. He sat casually on the palanquin that had carried him here, covering his chest with his hand, showing no awareness of being a prisoner. That face-half gentle and handsome, half grotesquely scarred by burns-showed no expression, yet somehow made Li Tianjiao inexplicably uncomfortable, even sensing contempt.

“It seems… General Bai’s false surrender into Yun Jing City was done with a death-defying attitude.” She supported herself on the edge of the table with both hands, smiling as she spoke, “Or perhaps, you have something to rely on?”

Bai Qingyu lifted his eyelids to look at Li Tianjiao, his hoarse and terrifying voice speaking unhurriedly: “What does the Xi Liang Emperor mean by this? Xi Liang colluded with Yan and betrayed the Great Zhou. I was captured by Old General Cui Shanzhong, severely injured, and nearly died. How could I have something to rely on?”

Li Tianjiao’s smile turned cold: “Listen to the sounds of killing outside – isn’t this exactly Great Zhou attacking the city? With the Great Zhou attacking, you are the last card we, Xi Liang, hold in our hands. You know I won’t let you die!”

“The Xi Liang Emperor truly flatters me.” Bai Qingyu spoke slowly and gently.

“I won’t beat around the bush with General Bai anymore. Now, Xi Liang’s situation is hopeless. We, Xi Liang, only seek to survive and are willing to submit to the Great Zhou!” Li Tianjiao stood up and walked down from the high platform toward Bai Qingyu. “I hope… General Bai will remember that, regardless of everything else, Xi Liang saved your life. When you return, please convey to the Great Zhou Emperor that now both Yan and Great Zhou want to be the first to obtain Yun Jing. As long as Great Zhou is willing not to station troops in Xi Liang territory after Xi Liang’s submission and exempt Xi Liang from tribute for ten years, Xi Liang will bow to Great Zhou!”

Bai Qingyu lowered his eyelids, hiding the coldness in his eyes, rubbing his fingers as he spoke methodically: “Yun Jing is now besieged on all sides, with national destruction imminent. Does Your Majesty think… Xi Liang still has room to bargain with the Great Zhou?”

Li Tianjiao had already walked down from the high platform and stared at Bai Qingyu with a smile: “They say a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. It’s just asking General Bai to say a word or two – surely General Bai won’t refuse!”

“No matter how grand the hat Your Majesty places on me, I fear Bai Qingyu is powerless…” Bai Qingyu’s voice carried a light smile.

Li Tianjiao laughed once. She walked with hands behind her back, circling halfway around Bai Qingyu, then suddenly bent down and spoke above Bai Qingyu’s head: “General Bai is the Great Zhou Emperor’s blood brother and holds extremely high importance in the Great Zhou Emperor’s heart. When the Great Zhou Emperor learned of General Bai’s capture, she was so shocked that she went into premature labor and gave birth to twins. Disregarding her newborn children and her own body, she set out for Xi Liang the very day after giving birth. This shows General Bai’s weight in the Great Zhou Emperor’s heart…”

Bai Qingyu’s palms suddenly tightened. Elder Sister had premature labor?!

Was it because she learned of his capture, or… did she think Yan had betrayed Great Zhou? What about Xiao Rongyan? Hadn’t he delivered the message to Elder Sister?

Seeing Bai Qingyu’s body stiffen slightly, Li Tianjiao’s smile deepened: “If General Bai could agree, I… could send General Bai out of the palace right now.”

Unlike Old General Cui Shanzhong’s thinking, since Li Tianjiao knew Great Zhou and Yan were jointly attacking the city and had already opened the east and north gates, there was no point in holding onto Bai Qingyu to wait for Bai Qingyan.

Better to send Bai Qingyu out, first cease hostilities with Great Zhou, and proclaim submission to Great Zhou to the world. Then… if Yan continued attacking Xi Liang, they would be attacking Great Zhou’s territory.

This… was Xi Liang’s only chance of survival!

Otherwise, relying only on the Xi Liang palace with its meager grain stores, they probably couldn’t last more than a few days.

Since the general trend was already set, Li Tianjiao didn’t want Xi Liang soldiers to make meaningless sacrifices anymore. After all, as long as she could negotiate ten years without tribute and no Great Zhou garrison, she could rely on these forces to slowly develop again!