Shocking! Five men are in love with the same woman!

Only then did many officials remember Lingyan, and immediately suggested that the King of Beili capture Lingyan as a hostage to oppose the Great Zhao.

At this time, King Li of the North was already in great pain and suffering.

Upon hearing the minister's suggestion, he felt that the woman had probably already escaped.

But he still held a glimmer of hope and sent someone to check.

The result was a great disappointment.

She was nowhere to be seen in the mansion; she had vanished without a trace.

None of the servants in the manor knew when she had disappeared.

According to them, the Crown Princess was extremely fond of reading, so she would often spend several days at a time in the library.

They would also prepare food in advance so that they wouldn't disturb her while she was reading.

That's why, when the Crown Princess stepped into the library again a few days ago, they felt it was the same as usual and didn't think anything was wrong.

Upon hearing this, the officials finally understood.

It turned out to be premeditated.

He is really scheming.

So they were furious, so angry that their vision blurred, but they were helpless.

Given her cunning and premeditated nature, it would be futile for them to try to find her now.

Therefore, at this time, many officials were already thinking about how to pledge allegiance to the Zhao state.

King Bei Li was also filled with mixed feelings.

Unexpectedly, he was completely manipulated by this woman.

He thought he had controlled her with his poison.

But she never expected that she was never controlled by him from beginning to end.

It was all just his own wishful thinking.

She was no ordinary woman, so how could she let him manipulate her?

Besides the officials, the common people were also filled with unease and fear in the face of this sudden change.

The once bustling market was now deserted, with shops closing down for fear of being affected by the fighting.

Some people hurriedly packed their bags, preparing to flee the capital and find a safe place.

The entire imperial city was filled with an atmosphere of despair.

The people were like frightened birds, filled with anxiety and uncertainty about the future, as if the end of the world was approaching.

Meanwhile, in a secluded mansion in the Northern Li Imperial City.

Ling Yan was sitting opposite Chu Xiyao at this moment, and next to them was Lu Yanqing, who had arrived with his men not long ago to join them.

Lingyan met with Lu Yanqing on the very day he arrived in Bei Li.

When Lu Yanqing saw her, his eyes were also red. He gazed at her deeply with heartache and bitterness, but he choked up and couldn't say a word.

Then he stepped forward and hugged her tightly. After a long pause, he whispered to her, "Yanyan, I'm here."

Her voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable, yet it still sounded beautiful, and even had a unique charm.

After meeting him, Lingyan felt even more at ease and secure.

Then he patted him on the back and comforted him.

Lu Yanqing then calmed down.

Then she asked Lu Yanqing to prepare some things for her, and the two parted ways.

She escaped before the Northern Li court received news of the war.

However, she did not leave the capital city, but remained hidden within it.

After all, the Northern Li has not yet been destroyed.

The three of them sat together, and Lingyan spoke first: "Let the people leave if they want to. They will come back on their own afterward. We can't stop so many people with our manpower. What we need to do is control the troops in and around the capital. In addition to the Imperial Guards, there are the city defense battalions, local garrisons, and private soldiers raised by officials and powerful families."

The two people beside them listened quietly, their expressions extremely solemn.

Chu Xiyao then spoke up, "These private soldiers shouldn't be a big problem, because many officials and powerful families won't confront the Great Zhao head-on. Besides, they can't win. They only want to protect their families' survival or continue to enjoy wealth and glory. They don't have any concept of loyalty to the emperor or patriotism. They know they're fighting a losing battle, so they will never resist and will only surrender. Therefore, we don't need to worry about them before the Great Zhao army arrives. We can deal with them after the army arrives. Right now, the most important thing is the other armies."

Lu Yanqing nodded in agreement as he listened to Chu Xiyao's words, and then continued, "The local garrison can handle the situation once they arrive. What we need to do is stop them before they arrive."

Lingyan replied confidently, "Don't worry, we can definitely stop them."

Lu Yanqing naturally believed her and continued, "As for the city defense battalion, many of the soldiers in the city defense battalion are ordinary people from the areas surrounding the imperial city. Most of their families are also around the imperial city. So as long as we control their families, they will not act rashly. These things can be left to the brothers of the Shadow Division."

Lingyan shook her head in opposition, saying, "That's not appropriate. Although we can use their families to coerce them into achieving our goals, these people are just ordinary citizens. We can't drag innocent civilians into this. Doing so would also be detrimental to our ability to win back the hearts of the people of Beili later. They would harbor resentment. The reason why Nanjiang was brought under control so quickly was because we did not harm the people in the slightest. Fortunately, the city defense battalion only has 20,000 men. We can drug them and make them fall asleep. Once the dust settles, everything will be settled, and they probably won't resist."

Lu Yanqing pondered for a moment and nodded in reply, "Alright, Yanyan is very thoughtful. Let the Shadow Division handle the matter of administering the sleeping potion."

Chu Xiyao nodded in agreement and then said, "Then, only the Imperial Guards remain."

Lu Yanqing frowned and said, "The Imperial Guards are the closest to the Northern King, protecting him every day. Their loyalty to the Northern King is absolutely unwavering. Even if there are disloyal ones, they are probably very few. So they might even abandon their families for the Northern King. Since they cannot be won over or threatened, we have no choice but to fight."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yan said with a cold and solemn expression, "Then let's fight. How can we fight without any casualties? There will inevitably be bloodshed. Although we want to win with the least cost, the blood that must be shed will still be shed. We are not afraid. Let's fight."

Both of them nodded in agreement after hearing this.

Then Lingyan instructed Lu Yanqing: "Send men to guard all the key roads in the capital. If any officials try to escape, capture them alive if they are on my list of those who must die. If they cannot be captured alive, kill them. Do the same for those who are not on the list. Capture them alive if they can, but if they fight to the death and we lose our men in the process, then it is not worth it. Kill them all. In short, do not let any official leave the city."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanqing immediately and solemnly agreed.

Then Chu Xiyao asked, "What about the King of Bei Li? Won't he run away? Shouldn't we stop him?"

Lingyan shook her head upon hearing this and said, "No need. Even if he escapes, he'll be a stray dog. Knowing him as I do, he would never run away. He'd rather die as a king of a fallen kingdom than live like a rat hiding for the rest of his life. So let's not worry about him for now. We'll deal with him when things are settled."

After hearing this, the two said no more.

Now, everything has been discussed and agreed upon, and we are just waiting for the army to arrive.

However, before the main army arrived, troops stationed in several places near the capital rushed to the capital to come to the emperor's rescue.

In the past few days, Lu Yanqing's men have intercepted several officials who wanted to escape; they were all minor officials without family connections.

Because they all understood that the situation was hopeless and they had no family to protect them, they were afraid of being punished by the Great Zhao and wanted to escape.

Unexpectedly, they were stopped by the people of Da Zhao.

They weren't on the death list, so the Shadow Division wanted to capture them alive.

Unexpectedly, one of them tried to resist and was killed by the Shadow Division in the chaos.

Seeing this, the other officials also became obedient, and the Shadow Division members captured them alive very easily.

Now, troops stationed in several locations have arrived.

After Ling Yan and Chu Xiyao disguised themselves, they took the powerful weapons they had prepared in advance and went out of the city to fight them.