The next day, before dawn, Cao Yuan began to appoint his generals.
"Han Gui, Deng Yu, Liang Hongqiao!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I order you three to lead your respective troops. As soon as the three breaches are open, immediately charge in and seize them! If the breaches cannot be opened, that is Shen Jing's responsibility! But if the breaches are opened and you fail to hold them, this commander will execute you without mercy!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"Yuan Dingguo, I order you to lead your troops to seize the city gate. You must open the city gate within two quarters of an hour!"
"Yes!"
"Ning Ji!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Once the rebel army flees, you are to immediately lead your troops to pursue and kill them! This commander has only one requirement: for Prince Ji, I want him alive or his corpse! If Prince Ji escapes, you will face military law!"
"Yes!"
"..."
As he began to appoint his generals, Cao Yuan's entire demeanor changed.
Orders were issued from Cao Yuan's mouth, and the entire main tent was filled with a chilling aura.
Pei Ji remained silent, watching quietly.
For this battle, he was merely an observer.
He only cared whether Shen Jing could open the breaches; other matters did not require his concern.
If Cao Yuan couldn't even handle this much, what was he leading troops for?
As Cao Yuan completed his arrangements, everyone began to move.
Shen Jing, Du Heng, and Fan Qinghu also prepared themselves, each carrying two satchels of explosives and several wooden sticks as backup.
Before entering the tunnel, Shen Jing gravely instructed the two: "Remember, after lighting the fuse, run out as fast as you can. If you run too slowly and die, don't blame me!"
"Mhm, mhm."
Seeing Shen Jing speak so earnestly, the two nodded repeatedly.
After giving Du Heng a few detailed instructions, the three entered the tunnels separately.
Watching the three enter the tunnels, Cao Yuan couldn't help but feel a secret apprehension, "Duke Qi, is this... really going to work?"
Although he hadn't witnessed Shen Jing testing that thing yesterday, he had asked the soldier responsible for lighting it afterward.
According to that soldier, despite Shen Jing making that thing sound so dangerous, it was actually just a somewhat louder fart.
Could this really collapse a city wall?
If this could collapse a city wall, wouldn't tens of thousands of them farting at the wall be even more effective?
"What do you know!"
Pei Ji glared at Cao Yuan, saying boastfully, "This is called resonance!"
"What is resonance?"
Cao Yuan was puzzled.
Pei Ji paused slightly, explaining, "It's the same principle as a large army marching over a bridge..."
With that, Pei Ji repeated to Cao Yuan all the things Shen Jing had used to trick him.
Cao Yuan listened in a daze; although he didn't understand, he put on an enlightened expression.
"Alright, alright! There's no point telling a brute like you about these things; you won't understand."
Pei Ji waved his hand calmly, "Since Shen Jing is so confident, we just have to watch! Whether it works or not, won't we know soon enough?"
Cao Yuan chuckled dryly, staring intently ahead.
Damn it!
He needed to atone for his sins now!
If this kid Shen Jing was just boasting, then there would be trouble later.
Thinking this, Cao Yuan grew even more nervous.
Time passed bit by bit; Shen Jing and the others had been in the tunnels for a while.
Cao Yuan looked at the sky.
A sliver of fish-belly white had already appeared in the sky.
At this time, the rebel army inside Yuping Pass should be eating.
Breaking through the city wall now would surely catch the rebels off guard.
However, as the sky grew brighter and brighter, and there was still no movement from the city wall, Cao Yuan's anxiety grew.
Not just him, even Pei Ji was starting to get a little impatient.
Cao Yuan hesitated for a moment, then asked Pei Ji again, "Should we send someone in to see what exactly..."
Boom!
Before Cao Yuan could finish his sentence, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed in his ears.
Before Cao Yuan could fully react, he saw the distant city wall begin to collapse with a thunderous crash.
"It collapsed! It collapsed!"
Cao Yuan was overjoyed, pointing with bloodshot eyes at the collapsing city wall.
It really collapsed!
Shen Jing really did it!
At this moment, Cao Yuan suddenly had an urge to hug and kiss Shen Jing.
Savior!
He truly was a savior!
"What are you howling for!"
Pei Ji suddenly turned his head, roaring, "Why aren't you beating the drums and advancing! Are you waiting for the rebels to react and block the openings?"
"Right, right!"
Cao Yuan suddenly jolted, shouting loudly, "Beat the drums, advance!"
At Cao Yuan's command, the soldiers guarding the war drums immediately struck them.
"Thump-thump..."
The majestic drumbeats rang out.
"Kill!"
Receiving the order to advance, Han Gui and Fan Qinghu could no longer suppress their excitement, roaring as they charged towards the breaches in the city wall.
...
Inside Yuping Pass.
Prince Ji was awakened by the earth-shattering shouts of killing.
"What's going on?"
Prince Ji sat up abruptly, demanding in a panic, "Where are those shouts of killing coming from?"
Could it be that someone had rebelled again?
Impossible!
He had ordered Master Leng to personally oversee things!
If someone had rebelled, Master Leng would surely have known in advance?
It couldn't be that Master Leng had rebelled, could it?
"Your Highness, this is bad!"
Just then, a guard rushed in, flustered, "The imperial army has broken in!"
"What?"
Prince Ji's face changed drastically; he didn't even bother to put on clothes, rushing off the bed and grabbing the guard, demanding with fiery eyes, "How could the imperial army break in? Who opened the pass gate?"
"No one opened the pass gate!"
The guard replied in a panic, "I heard a few loud bangs suddenly come from beneath the city wall, and then the city wall collapsed..."
"Nonsense!"
Prince Ji roared, "The city wall of Yuping Pass is impregnable! How could it collapse? Even if lightning struck, it wouldn't collapse the city wall!"
Such a sturdy city wall could absolutely not collapse!
Prince Ji couldn't accept this fact, convinced in his heart that someone must have colluded with the enemy and opened the pass gate!
Seeing that Prince Ji didn't believe him, the guard didn't bother to explain further, hurriedly saying, "Your Highness, let's escape quickly! If we don't flee now, it will be too late!"
"Why are you panicking?"
Prince Ji tried hard to keep himself calm, "We'll just kill them back out!"
With that, Prince Ji immediately ordered someone to help him put on his armor.
They hadn't lost!
They hadn't lost yet!
As long as they repelled the imperial army, they could still rely on the sturdy city wall to hold out.
As long as they held on until the Qiang people sent troops, they would have a chance to win!
"Your Highness!"
The guard shouted, grabbing Prince Ji, "The city wall has collapsed! Our cause is lost; let's escape quickly! Someone, take His Highness and evacuate!"
With that, the guard ordered the guards outside to carry Prince Ji, who hadn't even fully donned his armor, and run out.
The city wall had collapsed!
The imperial army was continuously pouring in!
How could they possibly drive the imperial army out?
It's over!
Everything is over!
If they didn't flee now, they wouldn't even have a chance to escape!
"Let go of this king!"
"Let go!"
"This king hasn't lost yet; follow this king to drive the enemy out!"
"Bastards, you bunch of bastards..."
Prince Ji roared in fury and indignation, but it was useless.
A group of guards lifted Prince Ji onto a horse, fleeing desperately without a clear path...
