Chu Chen immediately ordered the fourth team, previously led by Li Mengdie, to charge into the city. Li Mengdie, after reaching the city gate tower, held her ground for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. The soldiers of the Yun Yue Kingdom had already occupied one side of the city walls, and numerous scaling ladders were being propped against them.
A large number of soldiers began to ascend the city gate walls via the ladders, and Li Mengdie charged forward once more.
This time, her objective was not to engage in a pitched battle with these Imperial Guards, but to open the city gates!
To truly secure the city gates, soldiers climbing via ladders were insufficient. The gates had to be opened to clinch victory!
This task could only be accomplished by her. At this moment, the defenders of the city gates would undoubtedly include elite troops, so the mission had truly just begun.
Li Mengdie launched another assault on the Imperial Guards, who retreated while fighting, forcing them into a corner.
"All of you, get out of the way. I can spare your lives, otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"It is inevitable that your Wei Kingdom's capital will be captured. There are still a hundred thousand troops outside the city. Do you really think you can resist them?"
Hearing this, the Imperial Guards hesitated. One of them suddenly pointed at Li Mengdie and said, "Don't believe her words. She must be at the end of her rope now and unable to force her way through, so she's trying to trick us."
"Just hold on a little longer, and we'll drive her back."
Upon hearing this, the other Imperial Guards rallied: "Yes, let's fight hard and drive her back."
"Indeed, our reinforcements will arrive soon, and our Emperor is still in the city. How could they possibly let them capture the capital?"
Everyone present fought with renewed vigor, which instantly ignited Li Mengdie's anger.
"Very well, since you wish to die, I shall grant you your wish."
Li Mengdie had not intended to kill any more lives, but since they insisted on not surrendering, she would show no mercy.
Although she had been fighting for so long, her combat power had not diminished at all; instead, it had been stimulated to achieve a breakthrough.
"You are no match for me. Letting you surrender was already the last chance I gave you."
With that, Li Mengdie waved her hand, cutting down the soldiers before her, leaving them scattered and fallen.
The soldiers behind them gasped in shock at this scene.
However, they only paused for a moment before quickly regaining their composure and charging forward to engage Li Mengdie.
These men had only one thought in their minds: they could not let Li Mengdie succeed in opening the city gates!
At the same time, more soldiers rushed forward, fighting alongside Li Mengdie, which significantly eased her pressure.
However, for Li Mengdie, it made little difference. Even if she were to fight alone, opening the city gates was only a matter of time.
The appearance of other soldiers, however, put immense psychological pressure on the Wei Kingdom's Imperial Guards, and they gradually began to falter.
"Why are we still fighting so hard? Looking at the situation, we probably can't hold on much longer. It's better to find another way out."
"Are we going to flee? If we surrender now, will His Majesty harm our families?"
"What are you thinking? His Majesty will surely be captured first. He won't have the time to worry about our families."
"That makes sense. In that case, should we surrender?"
"Then let's surrender. It won't harm our families anyway. We've fought this hard, why keep struggling?"
One person saying this did not have a significant impact, but soon, the majority of the Imperial Guards began to say the same thing, and everything changed qualitatively.
"I surrender, I surrender."
"I surrender too, don't kill me."
Two Wei Kingdom Imperial Guard soldiers suddenly declared their surrender, only to be cut down by their comrades with two swift blows.
This startled the soldiers who had wanted to surrender.
However, they quickly regained their composure. Three soldiers standing very close to the two simultaneously attacked and eliminated them.
Following this, the rout became unstoppable. One soldier after another dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.
The soldiers behind Li Mengdie rushed forward, forcing them to crouch by the side with their hands raised at sword-point.
Li Mengdie, meanwhile, directly rushed to the side of the city gate and pushed open the massive bolt.
She then looked at the soldiers behind her and gestured for them to advance.
The soldiers immediately understood and rushed forward to pull open the city gates.
The massive city gates slowly swung open, and the soldiers outside the city, seeing this, immediately swarmed in.
Chu Chen could not help but smile at this moment.
If nothing else, the gains from this campaign to capture Da Liang City were already substantial.
However, he was certainly not content with this. He intended to take a significant bite out of the Zhao Kingdom next.
The capture of Da Liang this time was not predicted by the simulation system, which surprised him somewhat.
But this was not necessarily a bad thing. Defending Da Liang City would require dividing his forces, which would have a certain impact on his subsequent plan to capture Handan City, but it was not a major issue.
Capturing Handan City was a task that had to be completed and must not be affected.
Handan City was the truly easier stronghold to control, not easily subject to the pressures of a large army.
"All troops advance! Ensure the Wei Kingdom's royal family surrenders within half an hour."
With Chu Chen's order, the first team of twenty thousand men advanced towards the city gates at maximum speed, sweeping away the more than a thousand Imperial Guards behind the gates like a destructive force.
Even though these Imperial Guards were strong fighters, they were no match for the three thousand heavy armored soldiers and offered no resistance to these twenty thousand troops.
The twenty thousand soldiers quickly occupied various gates, rapidly changing the allegiance of Da Liang City.
The second, third, and fourth teams, totaling sixty thousand men, were stationed by Chu Chen outside the city, ready to deploy at any moment. This also served to prevent harassment of the citizens of Da Liang City.
Although they had occupied Da Liang City, the war of hearts and minds had just begun.
To firmly hold Da Liang City, it was not enough to conquer it by force; one must also win over the hearts of its people.
Otherwise, with constant rebellions within Da Liang City, it would be exceedingly difficult to gain their allegiance.
The first step in winning them over was naturally to avoid harassing the citizens of the city during the change of banners, allowing the city to operate as it did before.
This would minimize the citizens' resistance.
Of course, the armed forces could not be maintained as they were. At most, they would be given a basic number of household guards to maintain their own safety, with the rest being absorbed into the army.
In fact, after the Yun Yue army entered the city, they would not need so many guards. Chu Chen's first team, in addition to defending the city, could handle all security matters.