Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Big brother~~"

Inside the imperial city, upon learning that her army had been utterly routed by the Chu army in a single battle, and that Fang Hanshan had been killed on the spot, Shi Xiushuang collapsed onto the dragon throne, heartbroken.

"Back when we first raised our army, we were like brothers, vowing to find a way to survive for the people of Wu. But now, how could you have left before me!"

The wailing and crying for their parents also affected the other bandits inside the palace.

"Second Chief, now that things have come to this, shouldn't we think about what to do?"

"The Chu army is at the city gates and could launch a general offensive at any moment."

"Second Leader, now that the First Leader is gone, you must pull yourself together, otherwise, what will become of our great cause?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiushuang looked at the bewildered crowd in the hall and tried her best to calm herself down.

"Yes, we brothers have worked so hard to build this empire, and we haven't even enjoyed a few days of wealth and honor yet. How can we let the Chu army benefit from it all for nothing!"

He immediately composed himself, sat upright on the dragon throne, and began issuing orders.

"The Chu army is too powerful; we cannot fight them head-on. We should rely on the city's strong walls and wear them down."

"The Chu army has come from afar, and they probably don't have that much food on hand. Once their supplies run out, they will surely retreat on their own."

As soon as he finished speaking, a leader named Zhao Erlv raised a different opinion: "Chief, the Chu army is currently very powerful, and the people in the capital are in a state of panic."

Now that our rebel army has just suffered a defeat, those aristocratic families, upon learning of the Chu army's arrival, will surely be restless. If they secretly collude with the enemy, it will be extremely disadvantageous for us.

Shi Xiushuang: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Zhao Erlv: "Why don't we take advantage of the fact that the Chu army has not yet entered the city, and have our righteous army withdraw from the capital and retreat to the southern border? Perhaps we can preserve our foundation."

Upon hearing that they were to withdraw from the capital, the other leaders, including Shi Xiushuang, all looked troubled.

Although the Wu Kingdom suffered great disasters in various places, the capital was still very prosperous compared to other places.

It is said that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

Having experienced the thrill of prosperity, no one wants to go back to the precarious existence of the past.

"No, the capital was hard-won by our elder brother, how can we just give it up like that!"

Shi Xiushuang made a decisive decision and rejected Zhao Erlu's proposal.

"Those powerful families dare to collude with the Chu army, so let's just slaughter them all!"

"In short, our righteous army has achieved what it has today with great difficulty, and we must not hand over this capital to others!"

boom--

No sooner had he finished speaking than a faint cannon shot rang out from outside the palace gates.

"what happened?"

Shi Xiushuang was startled and immediately stood up.

A minor leader, covered in sweat, ran into the hall.

"Second Chief, the Chu army has attacked the city!"

Upon hearing this, the hall erupted into chaos.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

Shi Xiushuang loudly reassured everyone.

"The capital's walls are thick and strong; the Chu army won't be able to break through in a short time. There's no need to be nervous!"

"Report~"

The next second, another underling rushed into the Golden Palace.

"Second Leader, something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong! Tell me quickly!"

"The Chu army! The Chu army has entered the city!"

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiushuang jumped off the dragon throne and grabbed the minor leader.

"How come the Chu army entered the city so quickly? Stop spreading rumors and misleading the public!"

The minor leader's face twitched uncontrollably: "It was the eunuchs Su Zhenwei and his gang. Seeing the Chu army's strength, they took advantage of our inattention and quietly opened the city gates, letting the Chu army in!"

"Ah~~"

Shi Xiushuang roared and shoved the henchman aside.

"That spineless castrated dog! He ruined my plans! How hateful, how infuriating! Ugh!"

Enraged, his eyes widened in fury, and he slammed his fist into a pillar inside the hall.

"Second Leader, what should we do now?!"

Everyone turned their attention to Shi Xiushuang and knelt down in front of him.

Shi Xiushuang kept rubbing her hands together, and after listening to what everyone was saying, she simply straightened her face.

"My comrades, there is no turning back now. Let's fight the Chu army to the death!"

With a single command, he instantly gained the approval of the other leaders.

"Yes, fight with them!"

"Fight!"

"Summon all brothers immediately and drive the Chu army out!"

"it is good!"

……

After entering the city, the Chu army immediately dispersed into platoons and began the final encirclement and suppression of the bandits in the streets and alleys.

"shooting!"

Bang bang bang bang bang——

After a burst of gunfire, dozens of bandits in an alley fell instantly into pools of blood.

The platoon leader, expressionless, waved his hand, signaling to continue clearing out the bandits hiding in the shadows.

Gunshots rang out throughout the city, and thick black smoke rose continuously from the houses in the distance.

On the city wall, Shen Lang stared coldly at the scene before him, while Su Zhenwei waited cautiously beside him.

This was the first time the eunuch had witnessed the sharpness of the Chu army's firearms, and he was so frightened that his legs went weak. His eyes were filled with terror as he looked at Shen Lang.

Suddenly, Shen Lang asked, "Eunuch Su, how many powerful families are still in the city?"

Su Zhenwei hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the general, there were originally 20,000 noble families in the city, but they have all been ravaged by bandits, and there are currently less than a thousand left."

Shen Lang frowned and instinctively covered his nose with his hand.

He really disliked the pungent smell of the eunuch.

"Weren't their deaths all your fault?"

Upon hearing this, Su Zhenwei was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground.

"General, I had no choice at the time. The Emperor abandoned us and fled to another place. There was no one to guard the city, so I fell into the hands of the bandits. It's really not my fault."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang leaned down and patted his head.

Suddenly, he grabbed the back of his neck.

"If I remember correctly, you were also a military supervisor, weren't you? When your master ran away, you ordered all the soldiers in the city to give up resistance."

They opened the city gates to let the bandits into the capital, and when things went wrong, they claimed no responsibility? Hahaha.

He patted Su Zhenwei's face with a smile.

Do you think I'm a fool?

"General, this servant..."

Shen Lang didn't give Su Zhenwei a chance to speak further, and directly stood up and shouted, "Men, drag this old eunuch dog who has brought disaster to the country away and shoot him."

Upon hearing this, Su Zhenwei immediately soiled himself and cried out, "General, spare my life! I had no choice! Please have mercy!"

"You surrendered and then rebelled again, which shows you're just a fence-sitter. Why keep you around to harm my Chu army? Drag you away!"

Soon, two guards dragged Su Zhenwei down from the city wall, and no matter how much he begged for mercy, it was to no avail.

The other eunuchs, witnessing this scene, also fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.

"And those few, drag them all away and execute them all!"

"General, spare our lives! Please spare us!"

Suddenly, a series of wailing and howling sounds rang out from the city wall.

But Shen Lang showed no mercy and ordered his men to take them away.

A short while later, a burst of gunfire rang out from below the city.

After executing the group of eunuchs, Shen Lang continued to look into the distance through his binoculars.

At this moment, Lü Meng reported: "Commander, the bandits in all the streets have been quelled. Qu Yi and Meng Gong's troops have reported that the main army has surrounded the capital."

Shen Lang glanced at the sky and realized that it had already gotten dark without him noticing.

"Notify Qu Yi and Meng Gong that before midnight, all bandits within the imperial city must be wiped out, with no survivors!"

"understand!"

"Furthermore, notify all the prominent families in the city to assemble at the palace after midnight. Those who fail to arrive on time will bear the consequences!"

"As ordered!"

After loudly accepting the order, Lü Meng immediately went to carry out the mission.

After he left, Shen Lang sighed and took out a handwritten letter from Jiang Mengxuan from his pocket.

"My wife has already set off from Jinling. We must completely stabilize the situation in Wu before she arrives in Wu County."

"The bandits are already at their wits' end. Now, the only unsettling factor is the Heavenly Dao Sect."

Thinking of this, Shen Lang's eyes turned cold. He recalled Ye Mo's hint to him before he left, which was that he hoped to wipe out the Heavenly Dao Sect as well, and then frame the bandits or the former rulers and ministers of the Wu Kingdom.