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

After the fall of Jiankang, the Chu army entered the city and quickly took control of all the key roads, rapidly approaching the inner city.

When the people in the city saw the Chu army enter, they not only did not feel resistance, but even kept clapping and cheering.

"Where did these heroes come from? Well done! Beat these sons of bitches until they're crying for their fathers and mothers!"

"Heroes, do you need me to lead the way? I know the way to the inner city; the families of the officials and military officers are all there."

"Keep fighting, heroes! We support you in killing all those corrupt officials!"

This abstract scene truly surprised Lü Meng.

Those who didn't know better might think they were the Wu Zhao Army, here to reclaim the lost territory seized by foreign enemies.

Pei Ju, standing to the side, remained calm: "Commander, you don't need to be surprised. In the eyes of the upper echelons of Wu Zhao, the commoners are not even considered human beings."

Lü Meng: "They all have hands and feet just like us, so why aren't they considered human?"

Pei Ju: "Do you still remember what the Commander talked about in class about the impact of nomadic settlement?"

Lu Meng nodded: "If nomadic peoples settle in the interior and become the ruling class, this country is destined to be turbulent and chaotic."

Pei Ju: "The Wu Zhao Kingdom is such a case. It originated from a different race, and its civilization was originally nomadic and hunting, yet it occupied the territory of a settled civilization."

In truth, the rise and fall of dynasties, the collapse of structures, and who ultimately prevails are not important matters. The key issue is what happened after the Wu Zhao Kingdom's leadership seized territory from settled civilizations.

Without transforming its ruling style, continuing with a horse-centric governance philosophy, how can this country not descend into chaos?

Lu Meng's pupils contracted: "You mean, based on materialistic concepts and observations of actual phenomena, you conclude that the core of Wu Zhao Kingdom's operation is horses?"

Pei Ju nodded: "Yes, the core control force of the Wu Zhao Kingdom is the backbone force centered around those hundreds of thousands of martial artists."

You can think of them as horses, since they all fought on horseback, and their cooperation with other vassal tribes formed the current state of Wu Zhao Kingdom.

The people who support these elite troops are the commoners of Wuzhao before you. They are not even human, but rather hosts with blood packs.

Animals that specifically provide fresh nutrients for schistosomes—that's their essence.

Lü Meng: "So, you mean that if we occupy Jiankang, we will not only avoid being attacked by the local people, but..."

They might even support us, but how can they be sure we won't be the next parasites sucking their blood?

“The situation among the common people of Wuzhao couldn’t be worse than it is now,” Pei Ju sighed. “Look at these people, how many of them are dressed smartly?”

After a long silence, Lü Meng immediately ordered: "All troops, listen to my command! Attack the inner city with all your might, at any cost!"

"Yes!"

……

Inside Jiankang's inner city, Qi Delong led several thousand garrison troops, hiding behind the city walls, intending to rely on the city's thick fortifications and the resources stored within to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

"Don't be afraid. The city walls are reinforced with molten iron. They can't break through. As long as we hold our ground for a few days, we can launch a coordinated attack from within and without to wipe out these foreign barbarians in one fell swoop."

Qi Delong kept encouraging the officers and soldiers guarding the surrounding area, trying to dispel their fear of the Chu army in this way.

Just then, Lü Meng's two brigades of 7,000 soldiers had already assembled outside the inner city.

Upon seeing this, Qi Delong immediately held his breath and ordered the crossbowmen to bend down and hide behind the parapet to await further instructions.

Outside the inner city, Chu soldiers calmly set up defensive fortifications.

Before long, the two machine gun positions on the left and right were ready.

The improved Maxim heavy machine gun, now fully air-cooled, was already set up and aimed at the inner city gate.

Meanwhile, the individual mortar fortifications were also ready, awaiting only Lü Meng's order to launch a general offensive against the inner city of Jiankang.

Lu Meng glanced at the silver pocket watch in his hand, and as the hands approached two in the afternoon...

"beat!"

bang bang bang-

The next moment, sixteen individual mortars fired simultaneously at the city wall.

Boom boom boom——

The 88mm grenade exploded on the city wall, instantly creating a cloud of smoke.

Caught off guard, the defending officers and soldiers were routed by the Chu army's artillery fire. Even the soldiers of the military camp let out bloodcurdling screams under the bombardment.

Da da da--

The next moment, the heavy machine gun roared as it poured out its contents.

On the spot, more than a dozen soldiers of the defending army fell into pools of blood, their bodies covered in a mist of blood, under the special care of machine gun fire.

With mortars and heavy machine guns, the Wuzhao garrison was immediately suppressed and unable to move at the start of the war, and even peeking out became a luxury.

Suddenly, a white-armored archer from the military camp seized the opportunity and, using his comrade's corpse as cover, poked his head out of the crenellation.

At the same time, a cold, sharp arrow was also thrust out.

Bang~

But the next moment, a sniper rifle rang out, and a speeding bullet struck the white-armored warrior directly in the head, taking his life on the spot.

Snipers who have found their sniping positions are tasked with eliminating enemy soldiers who are not covered by machine guns and artillery.

The mortars continued their relentless bombardment, and the deadly roar of the machine guns never ceased.

Within just a dozen minutes, more than 400 soldiers of the inner city garrison fell under the baptism of artillery fire.

More than 200 officers and soldiers were injured and carried back to the rear.

This fighting style, where he could only take hits without being able to fight back, was extremely agonizing for Zidron.

The difference in tactics and skills meant that even when facing elite warriors whose individual skills far surpassed their own, the Chu soldiers were not afraid.

The guns in their hands could easily take their lives.

After an hour of fighting, Lü Meng observed the inner city through his binoculars and, after confirming that the defenders' lines of defense had most likely collapsed, decisively ordered his infantry to begin capturing the city.

While the heavy machine guns were temporarily cooled down, the light machine guns took their place, providing fire support for the Chu soldiers who were climbing the ladders to scale the city walls.

When the first Chu soldier climbed the city wall...

"My men! Fight these foreign barbarians to the death!"

"Kill!"

Qi Delong, who was lying on the ground with disheveled hair pretending to be dead, suddenly got up and slashed at the young Chu soldier with his sword.

The remaining soldiers who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead to lure the Chu army also sprang to their feet and charged toward the Chu soldier with a roar.

boom--

The Chu soldiers were startled and, in their panic, pulled the trigger.

Unfortunately, the bullet only grazed the armor plate on Zidron's shoulder and did not cause any real damage.

Finally, Zidron slashed his neck with a knife.

This is the first casualty in battle since the Chu army arrived in Wuzhao.

bang bang bang-

But his achievements were destined to end there.

Just as Qi Delong and the other officers and soldiers were preparing to fight the Chu army to the death, the Chu soldiers on the other ladders all leaned out and fired all the bullets from their Garand rifles at them.

In the blink of an eye, 270 defending officers and soldiers, including Qi Delong, perished under the guns of the Chu army.

"Open the city gates immediately!"

The leading company-level officer immediately took over the defensive line and ordered the soldiers to open the inner city gates, welcoming the main force to charge into the inner city.

Lu Meng glanced at his pocket watch.

At this time, it was 4:05 PM.

Two hours and five minutes later, the inner city of Jiankang changed hands.