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

"Ugh, I'm so suffocating."

Inside a stable in the inner city of Huizhou, Lü Meng, following the secret passage indicated by Chen Zhong, led two hundred soldiers into the inner city.

After groping their way through the tunnels in the dark for more than an hour, once they saw the light of day again, Lü Meng's soldiers immediately prepared their weapons and began to advance towards the inner city walls.

At this moment, in front of the inner city wall, the defending officers and soldiers huddled behind the crenellations, not daring to peek out.

The outer city of Huizhou has completely fallen, and Chu army machine gunners have occupied high ground and are firing at the city walls.

In just over twenty minutes, more than fifty soldiers had been shot in the head, and they dared not show their faces again.

"Don't lie there! Get up and fight the enemy! Hurry!"

Zhao Qingshan, with a fierce face, grabbed a soldier who was huddled in a corner smoking a pipe and forced him to stand in front of the battlements to defend against the enemy.

boom--

Suddenly, a scorching bullet grazed Zhao Qingshan's scalp and pierced the stone wall behind him.

Zhao Qingshan was so frightened that he quickly covered his head and squatted down, cursing incessantly: "These bastards are too bullying! If they have the guts, they should fight me face to face with real weapons. What kind of heroes are these rats who only know how to rely on firearms?"

However, his complaints did not help the battle in the slightest, and soldiers continued to be shot and fall to the ground on the city walls.

At this moment, one of the soldiers could no longer bear the immense pressure and shouted to Zhao Qingshan, "Sir, let's go. If this continues, we'll all be killed."

"shut up!"

Zhao Qingshan roared angrily.

"If the inner city falls, we'll all die if the court investigates. Rather than that, we might as well fight to the death and get some compensation from the court!"

But the garrison soldiers scoffed, "We haven't received a single penny of pay for two years. Why should we risk our lives for those swine in the inner city!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingshan was shocked and stared wide-eyed at the soldier who had spoken.

"What did you say? Say it again!"

"Say it if you want. We're all going to die anyway, so why should we risk our lives for these scum?"

They call us southern barbarians all the time, treat us like dogs, do they ever consider us human beings?

"Shut up and stop talking!"

Zhao Qingshan felt a chill run down his spine; he never expected that these garrison soldiers would utter such treasonous words.

The families of military officers stationed outside the capital were granted special status by order of the emperor himself, a status far exceeding that of ordinary soldiers.

These family members have been bullying and oppressing the people in the inner city, becoming a local scourge that has caused immense suffering for both the common people and the stationed soldiers.

Normally, these soldiers would bow and scrape and pay their respects to the families of the military camp members; otherwise, it would be considered disrespectful and punishable, showing no self-respect whatsoever.

But now, at this critical juncture of life and death, these defending officers and soldiers are venting all the resentment they have accumulated over the years.

As soon as that soldier started, the expressions of the other officers and soldiers huddled behind the wall also began to change.

"Hehehe, Old Hei is right. They risk their lives even without pay, and they're about to die but they still want to protect these Di people. They really treat us like dogs."

"Don't insult dogs. At least a dog that obeys gets a bone to eat. But if we obey or not, we get a beating from these kinds of people. It's really humiliating."

"Brothers, since we're all going to die anyway, let's go all out. The women in this inner city are all gorgeous. Let's take advantage of their husbands while they're away and wreak havoc on them."

"Hehehe, you're thinking the same thing as me. Those pampered sissies are always showing off their sex appeal, it really makes me angry."

I really want to give them a good beating, so I can have some fun before I die, and make my life worthwhile.

"Yeah, brothers, let's go smash up the doors of those big shots, women, money, take as much as we can."

Soon, the garrison soldiers, one by one, became lewd and perverted, and began to crouch down and walk towards the city walls.

Zhao Qingshan panicked and hurriedly tried to stop them, saying, "None of you are allowed to go! Have you all lost your minds? Come back here, do you hear me?!"

"Once you do this, there's no turning back!"

I beg you, please don't do that!

However, no matter how much he cried out and begged, once the dark side of human nature awakens, it can no longer be suppressed.

"Let's go, let's go sleep with the rich man's wives! Anyone want to join us?"

"Me, me, me~"

A soldier shouted, which immediately drew cheers.

The city's defenses collapsed completely in the next moment, and more than two thousand defending officers and soldiers mutinied, putting the situation in grave danger.

Just then, Lü Meng's troops arrived at Wu Zhao's defensive line.

But when he saw the scene before him, he was momentarily dazed.

"What happened?"

"There has been a mutiny."

Upon hearing the words "mutiny," Lü Meng's pupils constricted sharply, and he decisively drew his gun, pointed it into the air, and pulled the trigger.

boom--

With a clear sound, the Huizhou garrison all looked up at Lü Meng.

The marines behind Lü Meng had all pointed their guns at them.

"Listen up, everyone! Surrender and kneel on the ground, and you'll be spared! Otherwise, you'll all be executed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers dropped their weapons and, without any instruction, gathered together and squatted down.

Lu Meng surveyed the area, then grabbed a soldier and asked, "Where is Zhao Qingshan?"

“Our Lord Zhao is still here, still on the city wall.”

"Leave twenty men to guard the city, the rest of you follow me to the city wall."

The anticipated street battle did not break out. Lü Meng left a squad of soldiers to guard the city walls and led the rest of his men to rush to the top of the city.

When they reached the city wall, they found that Zhao Qingshan had already committed suicide by swallowing gold.

From the moment the soldiers mutinied, he knew he would be punished by the court and could only try to gain sympathy by committing suicide, hoping that the court would show leniency and not harm his family.

After the city gates opened, Jiang Qin immediately led his troops into the inner city.

Upon meeting, Jiang Qin couldn't help but ask, "The swift capture of the inner city is beyond my expectations."

Lu Meng shook his head: "The garrison has mutinied, and many stragglers have gone to harass wealthy families in the inner city. The situation is very complicated."

Jiang Qin: "Then send a telegram to the commander immediately?"

Lu Meng thought for a moment, then took out his communication jade slip: "Commander, the inner city of Huizhou has been captured as planned, but a mutiny has broken out among the garrison. What should we do?"

After a brief silence, Shen Lang's voice echoed from the communication jade tablet: "Take over the inner city defenses first. As for the families of the inner city's military camp, protect them if you can, and if you can't, then let nature take its course."

Lu Meng was taken aback: "Does the commander mean to leave it alone?"

"Residents of the inner city who are willing to surrender to our army can be offered shelter."

Otherwise, then there's no need to pay attention; the people of Huizhou need an outlet for their frustrations.

"But if we indulge them like this, won't the officials and soldiers in other parts of Wuzhao regard us as a monstrous flood?"

"Lu Meng, who are we trying to win over? Think about that first: is it this corrupt regime or those people at the bottom who are suffering from oppression?"

If we unjustly protect those wealthy families, then in the eyes of the common people, how are we any different from the high-ranking officials of Wuzhao?

Do as I say. Some people are worth protecting, while others are not at all. Your job is simply to oversee the inner city's treasury's finances and defenses.

The rest are none of your concern; I, Shen Lang, will handle everything personally.

Lü Meng: "Yes, Commander, I will obey your orders."