The number one spendthrift woman in the capital actually brings glory to her entire family?

"Yes, yes, yes! Please give us your orders, sir, and we will certainly do as you command!"

"Very well, from now on, I am Lord Kus, understand?"

"Yes! Understood! Understood, sir!"

"Ok?"

"Yes! I understand, Lord Kuss!"

"Alright, pack these things up, we'll head into town right away!"

"Yes! We'll handle it immediately! We'll handle it immediately!"

……

So, Fang Jiu and the others quickly buried the bodies of Kus and the others, and then the group slowly rode towards Taran City.

"Sir, are you also from the Liao Dynasty?"

Listening to Sikong Jin's pure Liao Dynasty imperial accent, Fang Jiu asked cautiously.

Sikong Jin turned her head, squinted at him, and said coldly, "Why so much nonsense? Do you want to die? Do I look like a rebel like you?"

From the conversations along the way, it was vaguely understood that Fang Jiu and his group were honest, simple people from the vicinity of Talan City. With this in mind, Sikong Jin began to have some thoughts.

"Yes! Yes! I deserve to die! Please forgive me, sir!"

Fang Jiu hurriedly apologized in a panic, but he also realized that the mysterious young man in front of him was very likely someone sent by the Dayong Dynasty.

"You can decide for yourselves what to say and what not to say later."

Sikong Jin said casually.

"Yes! We understand, sir!"

Are there any Liao soldiers in the city now?

"Your Excellency, the Liao soldiers have not entered the city. They have only been operating around Talan City. A month ago, all the Liao soldiers secretly withdrew from Talan City and set up camp on the border near Talan City. It is only a few dozen miles away from Talan City."

Fang Jiu replied in a low voice.

Similar to the intelligence previously reported by the scouts, the Liao Dynasty did not openly attack the Yong Dynasty.

"How many of them are there?"

"At most five thousand men, all cavalry, I heard they were originally the Liao garrison stationed in Tata City!"

Sikong Jin snorted coldly and said indifferently, "You dare to secretly collude with the Liao people, attempting to incite a border uprising. Aren't you worried that the Dayong court will punish you?"

“My lord, we have no choice. We don’t want to rebel. Many of our brothers have wanted to leave for a long time. We’ve heard that the people in the south have already rebuilt their homes and are doing quite well, but we’re still trapped in Taran City. The commander won’t let us leave the city, and our families are all inside. We have no choice but to…”

"Who is your leader?"

Sikong Jin continued to ask.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the previous commander was Ma Yuan, but for some reason, he suddenly died two months ago. Then, the stewards recommended Pang Quan, the former lord of Talan City, to be the new commander. Originally, after hearing that the ministers sent by the court had resolved the famine and uprisings in the south, Commander Ma had already planned to disband the rioting brothers. But unexpectedly, he suddenly died. The new commander said that we were rebelling, that we were traitors! And that our relatives were all collaborators with the rebels. He said the court would not let us go, and that we could only survive if we risked everything..."

"And then he planned to lead you to attack Chongzhou City? And he even formed a faction with the Liao people, becoming their lackey?"

"My lord... my lord, spare us! We had no choice. Commander Pang controls nearly 20,000 elite soldiers in Talan City. If we disobey, they will arrest us! When Commander Ma attacked Talan City, he personally opened the city gates to welcome us in. He also secretly killed the governor of the city. It has nothing to do with us..."

Now, Sikong Jin finally understood why such a fortified city as Talan, heavily guarded, was so easily breached by a group of rioting mobs!

Internal and external cooperation!

Pang Quan acted as an inside agent in the city, while the soldiers of the Liao Dynasty assisted outside the city. These rioters became their guns, causing unrest on the northwestern border!

……

By the time they arrived at the city gates of Taran, it was already completely dark.

As envoys secretly dispatched by the Liao Dynasty, Sikong Jin and Fang Jiu quietly entered the heavily guarded city of Talan under the cover of night.

However, upon entering Taran City, Sikong Jin was stunned by the scene before her.

The scene before my eyes was utterly desolate—by the dim firelight, I could vaguely see exposed, charred ruins, dilapidated houses and shops lining both sides of the street, and piles of garbage littering the wide, potholed avenue. A gust of wind would whip up clouds of dust, and a faint, unpleasant stench wafted through the air. Groans and cries could be heard intermittently.

Sikong Jin lowered her head and looked in the direction of the sound. She then discovered that on the side of the street or in a corner of a broken wall, there were groups of women, children and elderly people with dirty faces and disheveled hair huddled together.

Their bodies were emaciated, their eyes were sunken and dull, their clothes were tattered and filthy, and they were barefoot and curled up, looking lifeless and miserable.

Sikong Jin looked around carefully. Since entering the city, she had been walking forward, and almost every street was like this. It was practically a refugee camp!

These tragic scenes came into Sikong Jin's view, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, his expression becoming very heavy. He turned to Fang Jiu beside him and asked, "Just how many refugees have gathered in the city?"

Fang Jiu and the others sighed and replied with grave expressions, “Sir, there are over 100,000 refugees gathered in Taran City. Most of them are family members and relatives of the rioting soldiers. Famine and war have destroyed their homes, leaving them displaced and homeless. They can only temporarily huddle in this city. The commander-in-chief said that as long as Chongzhou City is captured, their homes will be rebuilt. They are all waiting for that day…”

"Rebuild their homes? More like build them graves! Trapping them like this, who would believe in rebuilding their homes!" Sikong Jin sneered inwardly.

"Let's go, sir, the Marshal's Mansion is just ahead!"

Fang Jiu pointed to a luxurious and grand mansion in front of him and said.

Sikong Jin nodded, spurred his horse forward, circled around the high wall, and soon arrived at the back gate of the heavily guarded, tall, and magnificent mansion.

Fang Jiu had the guards at the gate go in to announce his arrival, while he himself led Sikong Jin into the mansion first.

After walking a few steps inside, a lean, weasel-faced middle-aged man emerged. He wore a luxurious brocade robe, and his small eyes gleamed with a cunning glint. Surrounded by several guards, he walked towards the entrance.