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

boom--

An armor-piercing bullet landed on the arrow tower behind Yelü Fangye, sending stone chips flying and scattering in all directions. The shockwave also blew the two archers on the tower off the tower.

Wanyan Zongbi dusted himself off and rushed to Yelü Fangye's side, shouting, "It's too late! Retreat immediately! Xiangzhou City has already fallen!"

Yelü Fangye shouted back, "If Xiangzhou is lost, Shangjing will have no shield. Are we really going to retreat?"

"If we don't retreat, we'll all die here!"

As soon as Wanyan Zongbi finished speaking, another cannonball landed on the wall of the barbican.

The scattered fragments of stone directly buried the golden figures, who had no time to dodge, in the pile of stones.

"Get out!"

"it is good!"

Yelü Fangye immediately sounded the retreat horn.

As the somber bugle sounded, Wanyan Zongbi also roared, "Withdraw the troops! Quickly, go to the stables and fetch the horses!"

Amidst the roar of cannon fire, the Jin soldiers who had retreated to the northern gate's barbican immediately mounted the warhorses they had just brought.

Wanyan Zongbi leaped onto his warhorse with a sideways movement and waved his hand sharply: "All troops, listen to my command, retreat!"

Call——

After a chorus of neighing warhorses, more than six hundred cavalrymen filed out of the north gate.

Seeing that most of the people had left, Wanyan Zongbi pulled on the reins and said to Yelü Fangye, "What are you dawdling for?"

Yelü Fangye shouted, "I'll go find more warriors to retreat with us, Prince, you go first!"

Wanyan Zongbi: "Then you should be careful!"

After saying that, he spurred his horse and charged straight out of the city gate, with twenty guards following closely behind.

As soon as Wanyan Zongbi left, Yelü Fangye immediately drew his longsword and shouted, "Warriors, stay behind with me to cover our retreat!"

boom--

Another shell landed on two cavalrymen who had just mounted their horses not far away, instantly causing a shower of blood. When the dust settled, the horses and cavalrymen had vanished without a trace.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

Just then, a gunshot rang out.

Soldiers from the Independent Brigade arrived.

Amidst the hail of bullets, swathes of Jin soldiers fell to Garand's guns.

"I'll fight you!"

A Jin soldier decisively drew his bow and shot an arrow, but unfortunately, in the tense and chaotic environment, the accuracy of the arrow was extremely poor.

He fired seven arrows in one go, but not a single one hit the target.

Bang~

Ding~

With a gunshot and the crisp, pleasant echo of the magazine being ejected, the archer fell straight down after a bloody hole was shot through his chest.

Yelü Fangye's pupils dilated as he watched more and more Song soldiers approach. He roared and launched a desperate charge against them.

But the next moment, a gleaming array of bayonets approached and pierced directly into his body.

"Uh~"

Feeling the heat gradually being drawn from his body, Yelü Fangye lay motionless on the ground.

The surrounding air seemed to quiet down; he couldn't hear anything, and his vision and consciousness began to blur.

In his hazy vision, he could only see a pair of large feet standing in front of him.

Yelü Fangye tried to open his eyes to see who it was, but the next second...

puff-

The cold spear pierced straight through his chest.

With a forceful twist of Zhong Lue's hand, Yelü Fangye coughed up blood and breathed his last, ending his forty-three-year life.

"General Zhong, the rebellions throughout Xiangzhou have been quelled!"

"Inform General Yue that Xiangzhou Prefecture has been captured and we await further instructions!"

"Yes!"

After the messenger left, Zhong Lue climbed the city wall and ripped down the golden banner hanging on the top of the wall.

"The end of the Jurchens has come!"

……

On the other side, hundreds of Jin soldiers who had retreated from Xiangzhou Prefecture fled towards Shangjing without stopping, led by Wanyan Zongbi.

They rested in an abandoned village around dusk after confirming that Yue Fei's army showed no signs of pursuing them.

Looking at the Jin army remnants, who were terrified and demoralized, Wanyan Zongbi sighed deeply.

Of the 632 people who escaped from Xiangzhou Prefecture, less than 400 remain. The rest either died of exhaustion during their escape or quietly left the group to flee on their own.

But Wanyan Zongbi had no time to deal with these scattered soldiers and deserters; he was about to face an even more difficult situation.

Because, apart from Xiangzhou Prefecture, of the four prefectures that were crucial to the foundation of the Jin people, only Shangjing had complete fortified defenses.

The remaining areas of Jianzhou, Haixi, and Yizhou were basically inhabited by nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles, and no large-scale defensive measures were implemented.

This is also related to the national conditions of the Jin Dynasty. After all, the characteristics of a cavalry nation are mainly plundering, and their tactics are also mainly offensive.

Defense is the area where almost all cavalry civilizations are least adept.

With enough cavalry, offense is the best defense; there is no need to spend a lot of manpower and resources to repair the seemingly useless city walls.

This is the consideration of the cost of war, and it is also the biggest difference between cavalry civilizations and infantry civilizations.

After all, the benefits a cavalry civilization gains from attacking an infantry civilization are far greater than those a military civilization gains from attacking a cavalry civilization.

However, this is based on the premise that infantry civilization is in decline. Once the situation begins to reverse, or infantry civilization discovers that there is huge strategic value in the soil of cavalry civilization, the situation will change dramatically.

In the battles of Bianhe and Xiangzhou, Yue Fei wiped out nearly 300,000 elite troops of the Jin army. Now, the remaining defenses around the city are weak and unable to stop Yue Fei's army from advancing towards Shangjing.

Wanyan Zongbi was keenly aware of this, knowing that the situation was out of control, but there was no way to reverse it.

"Fourth Prince, have something to eat."

A guard handed the last remaining dried meat to Wanyan Zongbi.

Wanyan Zongbi shook his head: "The Jin army has lost all its elite troops. The old, weak and new soldiers in the capital city are no match for Yue Fei's attack. The only way to win now is to abandon the other three prefectures and fight Yue Fei with our backs to the river."

Thinking of this, he immediately said to his guards, "You must immediately notify Jianzhou, Haixi, and Yizhou to summon all males of the Great Jin Dynasty who are twelve years of age or older to enter the capital and await orders. There must be no mistakes."

Before his guards could raise any objections, Wanyan Zongbi had already remounted his warhorse: "Everyone, let's head to the capital!"

……

On the other side, after Yue Fei's army captured Xiangzhou Prefecture, they spent three days cleaning up the battlefield and seized more than two thousand intact horses. Then they set their sights on the direction of Shangjing.

Han Ming: "A secret report was sent by an unofficial member of the Jingwei Division. Wanyan Lie has built a fortress eight miles long outside Shangjing City in an attempt to hinder our army's advance."

Yue Fei: "It's alright. As long as we have enough cannons, we can break through even the strongest city walls."

Han Ming nodded: "Commander, the three-day rest period is over. Can the army continue its march now?"

Yue Fei did not reply immediately, but instead turned his gaze toward Bianjing.

"Wait a little longer, I think we'll have results soon. The capital is currently in a state of unease and panic."

Let's give them some more unease and make the situation even more chaotic.