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

On that day, the officers and soldiers who retreated from the Gukou Fortress were beaten by the people inside and outside the city like rats crossing the street.

As for the reason, it was naturally a false military report that claimed foreign invaders had entered the country.

In normal times, if a commoner dared to lay a hand on a government soldier, especially a Di person, it would be a capital offense.

Now, not only can the common people openly beat up these soldiers, but they also receive strong support from the local government.

How dare you say that Wu Zhaoguo lost? Are you questioning the Emperor's decision?

The Emperor himself said the foreign barbarians were defeated, yet you claim they have invaded the capital? Isn't that a crime of deceiving the Emperor?

No matter how the officials and soldiers explained and described the fall of Gukou, the people of Zhongdu, who had long been influenced by the British, wouldn't listen to a single word.

In short, Wu Zhaoguo cannot lose; it must win. Anyone who says they will lose will be beaten.

"Beat them, beat these sons of bitches to death! All they do is eat, drink, gamble, and whore. They always try to cheat and shirk their duties during training. Now that they've run into a bunch of bandits and can't beat them, they're saying they've encountered foreign barbarians? At least make your story believable."

Bairjia, the prefect of Zhongdu, held a purple clay teapot and kept encouraging the people to attack the guards. They beat the guards until they were black and blue and kept kneeling down begging for mercy.

After a brutal beating, a constable grabbed a soldier by the braid and asked menacingly, "Tell me, have the foreign barbarians really invaded?"

The soldier, whose face was swollen from the beating, said, "Really, really..."

"How dare you speak so harshly!"

The constable was furious. He kicked him to the ground and then beat him with fists and feet until the soldiers cried out in pain.

"Speak! Speak up! Did my Wu Zhao Kingdom win? Did the foreign barbarians lose? Speak! Speak to me!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong, stop fighting! Wu Zhao Kingdom has won! Those aren't foreign barbarians, they're just a bunch of bandits!"

Finally, the soldier was so frightened that he had no choice but to kneel down and beg for mercy, lying through his teeth.

The constable was finally satisfied and stopped, saying to the people around him, "Did you all hear that? They're just a bunch of bandits, not some foreign barbarians, hahaha."

His tone and expression were incredibly imposing.

"What are you doing!"

Just then, Xue Dutu was pushed and shoved by a group of armored soldiers to the front of the crowd.

Upon seeing him, Baierjia immediately put down the purple clay teapot and stepped forward to bow: "Oh, it's Lord Xue. Have you encountered bandits?"

"Bandits? What bandits?"

Xue Dutu was furious.

"The foreign barbarians are almost at Zhongdu, what are you doing here?"

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Even the usually polite Bairjia now had a dark expression.

He said in a deep voice, "Lord Xue, I know you are a favorite of His Majesty, and I have served you diligently on a daily basis."

But you can't just blatantly lie like that in broad daylight.

"What did you say?"

Xue Dutu was shocked and looked at Bairjia in disbelief.

Bairjia said, "His Majesty has already said that our soldiers fought bravely and have long since contained the invading foreign barbarians within Jiankang City, awaiting their fate."

May I ask, where exactly do these so-called "foreign barbarians" come from?

"It's all true!"

Xue Dutu roared loudly.

"I saw it with my own eyes; there were huge ships anchored on the sea off Gukou, belching black smoke."

They would unleash a devastating thunderbolt, capable of shattering mountains and splitting rocks. Lian Renxin was hit by one of those thunderbolts, leaving only her buttocks!

"It's full of nonsense!"

Bairja immediately interrupted his description.

"What foreign barbarians, what big ships and black smoke? It's clearly just a bunch of bandits and outlaws. You couldn't hold the port, so you came up with such a lame excuse to try and cover it up."

Xue Dutu was completely dumbfounded: "What nonsense are you talking about? What bandits? They're clearly foreign barbarians..."

"Alright, Lord Xue, stop pretending. Everyone already knows."

Bairja interrupted him directly.

"They are clearly a bunch of bandits. To insist on calling them foreign barbarians is one thing, but to say they encountered foreign barbarians is another. Lord Xue, are you trying to embarrass His Majesty?"

Xue Dutu was immediately enraged: "What I said is true. If you don't believe me, come with me to see for yourself."

As he spoke, he began to tug at Bairjia's official robes.

"What are you doing? What are you trying to do? Let go!"

"Didn't you hear me? I told you to let go!"

"Guards! Xue Dutu has rebelled!"

Bairja shouted, and the scene spiraled out of control again.

"Kill this bastard!"

The next moment, the angry crowd rushed forward and, under Bairjia's deliberate guidance, knocked Xue Dutu to the ground.

Even his personal guards were surrounded by a dozen civilians and slapped several times.

The scene was quite chaotic, with rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and even foot bindings flying everywhere.

Bairjia seemed to think the atmosphere wasn't lively enough, so he brought in a large group of yamen runners and mingled with Xue Dutu's men once again.

"Beat them! If they die, it's on me! His Majesty said he won, and you still say you encountered foreign barbarians? Are you saying His Majesty lost?"

"Lord Xue, I never expected that besides making money and playing with women, you would also be such a good storyteller. I underestimated you before."

"The foreign barbarians have long been defeated by our Wuzhao Army and dare not utter a sound!"

Bairjia, arrogant and haughty, kept ordering his subordinates to punch and kick Xue Dutu and his men.

"Bairjia, I'll fuck your ancestors!"

Enraged, Xue Duotu turned ashen-faced, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and died on the spot amidst the beating of the crowd.

Seeing that Xue Dutu was dead, Bairjia smiled faintly, ordered everyone to collect the body, and then began to shout to the people: "Remember this, everyone, this is the consequence of opposing His Majesty."

Such people who spread falsehoods and mislead the public deserve to die. From this day forward, I do not wish to hear any more news about foreign barbarians. All of this is false, do you understand?

Even a prominent figure like Xue Dutu was beaten to death, so what could the ordinary people do?

In short, during this period, the study of winning was rampant in various parts of the north, and anyone who dared to utter even half a word about losing would be met with strong suppression from government departments at all levels.

Whether you are a Di person or a local commoner, Wu Zhao Kingdom must win, win big and win big.

However, while the city of Zhongdu was still immersed in the atmosphere of Yingxue, Shen Lang had already assembled his army and marched towards Zhongdu at dawn the next day.

The Gukou Fortress was only twenty li away from Zhongdu, and seven thousand Chu soldiers had arrived at the city gates in less than an hour.

Looking at the towering city walls, Shen Lang had no intention of negotiating and directly ordered the entire army to launch a general attack.

By the time the defenders in Zhongdu reacted, the Chu army's siege ladders were already set up on the city walls.

"Oh no! The bandits have attacked the city!"

After the soldiers guarding the city wall cried out in alarm, chaos erupted.

When they finally managed to gather together, they found a group of heavily armed Chu soldiers already aiming their rifles at them.

"Don't move! Drop your weapons!"

"Don't kill us, we surrender, we surrender."

The garrison of Zhongdu didn't even have the courage to resist. They all put down their swords and knelt on the ground to surrender to the Chu army.