Before confiscating their property, they emptied the imperial city and exiled them!

"This is truly a blessing from heaven! We have actually received the favor and protection of the heavens; it's a miracle among miracles!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

"That's right! They must be terrified after suffering such a heavy blow, running away in a panic! From now on, we can finally live a peaceful and worry-free life!" Another person was also extremely excited, gesturing wildly.

Originally, Zhao Ming stood on the city wall, looking at the scene of devastation outside the city, his heart filled with relief and joy after escaping death.

However, just when he thought the crisis was over, an unexpected scene unfolded—the enemy troops not far away, who should have fled in panic like stray dogs, showed no sign of retreating.

Instead, as if they had regained their spirits, they organized their troops in an orderly manner and slowly advanced towards Yuncheng.

The bright smile on Zhao Ming's face froze instantly, as if he had been frozen in place.

He stared wide-eyed at the approaching enemy in disbelief, his lips trembling slightly, and it took him a while to come to his senses.

He stretched out a trembling finger and pointed it directly at the enemy troops who had arrived at the city walls.

He screamed at the top of his lungs, "You...you promised to give us three days! How come you've gone back on your word and attacked ahead of schedule?"

At this moment, Zuo Qi, the leader of the Northern Rong people, raised his gleaming broadsword high, his eyes wide with anger.

He roared at Zhao Ming on the city wall, "Hmph! You actually have the nerve to mention some bullshit gentleman's agreement to me? If it weren't for you bunch of despicable and shameless scoundrels plotting behind the scenes..."

They launched a surprise attack on our camp under cover of darkness and burned down all our granaries. How could we have ended up in this predicament? This is utterly outrageous!

Upon hearing the other party mention the burning of the granary, Zhao Ming couldn't help but feel secretly delighted despite his current perilous situation.

After all, the fire attack did inflict heavy losses on the enemy, giving our side a temporary advantage in this life-or-death struggle.

However, when his gaze fell once again on the dense, menacing enemy troops below the city walls, the slight sense of triumph that had just risen in his heart was quickly replaced by endless fear.

As the enemy was about to launch an attack, Zhao Ming felt his legs trembling uncontrollably, and his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

So he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He began by trying to explain in as calm and sincere a tone as possible: "You've really overestimated us. If we truly possessed such extraordinary abilities, how could we be trapped within these high city walls?"

However, the Northern Rong soldiers, who were already furious, were no longer listening to his earnest explanation.

A fierce-looking Northern Rong general with a face full of scars was seen brandishing a large, gleaming sword.

He roared at the city wall, "Stop babbling! You only have two choices: either hand over the guy who dared to set fire to our camp, or obediently open the city gates and respectfully welcome us into the city."

"If you dare to show the slightest thought of resistance, hmph... when we successfully breach the city and storm in, the first thing we'll do is take your dog's life!"

Hearing the enemy soldiers' fierce and brutal words below the city, Zhao Ming felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his whole body trembled involuntarily.

His legs felt weak and trembling, and he stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

Those eyes, which were once bright and spirited, were now filled with deep fear, as if they saw death approaching them step by step.

He kept muttering to himself, "This really has nothing to do with us, we really didn't do it..."

At that moment, driven entirely by an instinctive desire to save his life, Zhao Ming grabbed a soldier standing next to him in a panic and pushed him against the city wall without hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, as if he had grasped at a straw, he pointed at the unfortunate soldier.

He shouted hoarsely at the enemy troops below the city wall, "He! He did it! It has nothing to do with me!"

Although the city gate tower was over four meters high, through the hazy view, one could still vaguely make out that the soldier was extremely thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

He was being held tightly by Zhao Ming's arm, and his whole body was trembling with fear, like a withered leaf in the wind or a grain of rice in a sieve.

The Northern Rong people's eyes were already red with anger at Zhao Ming's actions, like burning flames.

They roared angrily, "You shameless scoundrel! Do you really think we're all utterly stupid and easily fooled?"

Before he finished speaking, one of the Northern Rong people had already hurled his heavy broadsword with all his might.

In an instant, the blade flashed, whistling through the air, heading straight for Zhao Ming on the city wall.

As the gleaming broadsword was about to cleave into Zhao Ming's body, he was terrified and shrank back, instantly collapsing to the ground, no longer daring to move an inch.

At this moment, the situation was extremely critical. Zhao Ming's heart was pounding violently, making a "thump-thump" sound, like a wild beast trapped in a cage, desperately trying to break free of its restraints and burst out of its chest.

Recalling his actions just now, Zhao Ming knew perfectly well that he could no longer deceive the enemy troops on the other side.

At this critical moment, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning—since the other party did not believe that the thin soldier was capable of doing such an earth-shattering thing, then they might as well push Song Huai'an out to take the blame.

After all, back in the day, when Song Huai'an fought valiantly on the battlefield, he was once bestowed with the supreme title of "God of War"!

If we use him as a scapegoat, the other party will surely believe it without a doubt.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ming rushed towards Song Huai'an's location without hesitation.

At this moment, Song Huai'an was organizing the defense in the city when he suddenly saw Zhao Ming running over in a panic. Before he could ask what was wrong, Zhao Ming grabbed him by the collar.

"General Song, we have no choice but to ask you to do this now. The Northern Rong people outside the city are convinced that you are the one who burned their grain supplies. If you do not step forward, the entire city's inhabitants may be slaughtered."

Song Huai'an was stunned, but then he realized that Zhao Ming wanted to use him as a scapegoat.

But he did not struggle. He simply said calmly, "I have lived an upright life, yet today I must bear this injustice. So be it. I only hope that my sacrifice will bring peace to the people of the city."

Zhao Ming dragged Song Huai'an to the city wall and shouted towards the outside of the city: "The person you are looking for is here."

Upon seeing Song Huai'an, the people of the Northern Rong indeed believed him to some extent.

Just then, a clear and melodious female voice rang out: "General Song is a loyal and righteous man, and would never do such a thing."