Trouble arises from within.

The bloody battle in Bo Prefecture continues, but based on recent intelligence, the day of Yang Zhao's defeat is not far off.

It is quite a sigh-inducing situation; the Yang Family of Bo Prefecture, a clan that passed down for hundreds of years in the original timeline, is destined to perish in this timeline during Yang Zhao's generation.

After briefly reviewing the intelligence, Gao Yuan went back to his work.

Gao Yuan incorporated all five hundred soldiers of the Iron-Armored Army that Yang Bangyou gave him into the First Division.

After several years, the First Division finally reached its full strength of two thousand five hundred men once again.

As for the Second Division, it will temporarily maintain a scale of two thousand men; he would rather have fewer troops than accept substandard ones.

After screening the over ten thousand surrendering Bozhou Army soldiers, he kept over four thousand, expanding the City Defense Forces to thirty brigades, totaling fifteen thousand men.

Considering the imminent battle against the Great Qian Imperial Court's army, Gao Yuan left a full five thousand City Defense Forces along the Dian Prefecture and Jianchang line.

Adding the two main force units, the total strength is close to ten thousand men.

On January 24th of the second year of the Da Ye era, after a captain climbed onto the city wall and established a foothold, the defense of Tongzi County collapsed.

More and more Qian Army soldiers climbed onto the city walls, and the Bozhou Army began to rout completely.

Accompanied by the dull sound of mechanical gears turning, the gates of Tongzi County slowly rose.

Before the gates were fully raised, the ferocious Qian Army soldiers charged into Tongzi County.

Once street fighting began, the gap in combat capability between the two sides became even more apparent.

In less than two days, the defending troops were completely annihilated; over three thousand were beheaded, and the rest were captured alive.

The fall of Tongzi meant that the final barrier north of Zunyi was gone, and the battle for Bo Prefecture entered its final stage.

Subsequently, Jiang Huaizhen and General Ma Zhiyuan split their forces into two routes, capturing cities and forts along the way, arriving at the gates of Zunyi in less than ten days.

Looking at the endless camps of the Qian Army outside the city, Yang Zhao sighed up at the sky.

"It is truly Heaven that wishes to destroy my Yang Family!"

It was not that Yang Zhao had never considered surrendering, but unfortunately, Jiang Huaizhen's stance was very firm:

Unless Yang Zhao committed suicide and sent his head to Luoyang, nothing else was up for discussion.

No one knew who leaked this news, causing Yang Zhao to view everyone as a potential traitor now; whenever he went out, he had to bring hundreds of Personal Guards.

Even so, he still felt that some treacherous people wanted to harm him, and he always felt uneasy.

In fact, his intuition was correct; at this moment, in a secluded courtyard within the city, several people were gathered together to discuss.

"You have heard of the Great Qian Imperial Court's conditions, right?"

"We have heard. Clan Elder, you don't mean to..."

"Yang Zhao is ambitious but lacks talent; it is already a sin that he cannot handle the heavy responsibility of the family. Must he still implicate the family to be destroyed along with him?"

"It is a pity that this Yang Zhao is now like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, keeping a large number of guards with him all day long..."

"More than that, I heard he even wears soft armor while sleeping and keeps a horizontal blade in his arms."

"He is not afraid of accidentally cutting his own throat while turning over in the middle of the night."

"If that really happened, it would save us the trouble."

"I do have an idea..."

The group hurriedly leaned in to listen to the Clan Elder explain his plan, saying, "Do this and that, in this way and that way."

Seeing them nodding repeatedly, it must have been a good idea.

"You want to invite me to the Wen Hua Pavilion? No, I am not going."

Looking at the invitation sent by the Clan Elder in his hand, Yang Zhao waved his hand repeatedly with a look of disgust.

"They truly have leisure; death is at the door, and they still have the mind to seek out pleasure."

The messenger, however, did not panic.

"The Clan Elder said he wishes to invite you to discuss the life and death of the Yang Family; as for choosing a brothel, it is truly due to the circumstances, to avoid eavesdroppers."

"Is that so... Fine, fine. Tell the Clan Elder that I will arrive at the banquet on time."

The next evening, at the agreed-upon time, Yang Zhao arrived outside the Wen Hua Pavilion with five hundred Personal Guards.

Since it was a matter of discussing confidential affairs, Yang Zhao left the main force outside and entered the Wen Hua Pavilion with only ten men.

"With a formidable enemy at the gates, I am too busy to attend to everything. If you have any ideas, speak quickly."

As soon as Yang Zhao entered the private room, he wore an impatient expression. After confirming that the room was full of old geezers, he waved his hand.

Seeing Yang Zhao's signal, the Personal Guards retreated, only to be quickly pulled by people to sit at the wine tables.

"Family Head, it seems the Bo Prefecture Local Chieftain cannot be sustained, but the Yang Family of Bo Prefecture cannot perish at our hands!"

"Indeed, our Yang Family has lived in Bo Prefecture since the previous dynasty for over a hundred years; the Great Qian hasn't even been established that long. If it perishes at our hands, how can we face our ancestors in the afterlife!"

"Enough, enough, enough!"

Yang Zhao drank two cups of wine, impatiently interrupted the old geezers' rambling, and said sternly,

"Whatever you want to say, say it quickly. There is no need to beat around the bush."

The several old geezers looked at each other, and only then did they change their expressions.

"The Family Head should know the Great Qian Imperial Court's conditions for stopping the troops."

"Why, do you want to take my head to trade for your glory and wealth?"

Yang Zhao sneered.

"Then you are all overestimating yourselves! Guards!"

Yang Zhao slammed the table hard, but there was no response at all. Enraged, he slammed it again, but there was still no response.

When he angrily stood up, wanting to reprimand the Personal Guards, he only felt his vision go black, and a sense of powerlessness washed over him.

He immediately understood what had happened.

"You... you drugged the wine..."

"Family Head, this cannot be blamed on us; it can only be blamed on you for liking wine too much."

"Family Head, sacrificing yourself for the family can be considered a worthy death, hahaha!"

"Family Head, you can rest in peace; we will take good care of your wife and daughter."

At this moment, Yang Zhao was weak all over, only able to look at the shameless faces of the old geezers.

Subsequently, the old geezers pulled out the short blades they had prepared long ago from their robes and walked toward Yang Zhao with grim smiles.

Anger, powerlessness, regret—complex emotions swirled in Yang Zhao's heart.

A regional warlord, the head of the powerful Yang Family of Bo Prefecture, Yang Zhao, was thus beheaded.

However, things did not develop in the direction these old geezers had imagined.

Upon seeing Yang Zhao's head, some soldiers chose to submit, but many more angrily launched an attack on them.

"Kill, kill these traitors to avenge the Local Chieftain!"

"Avenge the Local Chieftain!"

In an instant, large-scale chaotic fighting broke out on every street in Zunyi.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the Yang Family members hurriedly opened the city gates and ordered men to take Yang Zhao's head to welcome the Great Qian Army.

Inside the Local Chieftain's mansion, a blood-covered Personal Guard led men rushing into the backyard.

Seeing two women, he knelt on one knee without a word.

"Madam, Young Miss, the city gates have been opened by traitors, and we cannot hold out for much longer. I beg the Madam and Young Miss to take the Young Master and leave quickly, to preserve your lives and avenge the Local Chieftain."

The older woman's eyes were red, and she shook her head while wiping away tears.

"I am not leaving; I want to stay here and accompany my husband."

"Madam..."

"You all go. Take Xin'er and Zhan'er and leave quickly; go as far as possible."

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman turned around, took the hand of the young girl in the yellow dress, and shoved a child into her arms.

"Xin'er, take Zhan'er and leave quickly. Change your names and live on; never think about revenge."

The young girl in the yellow dress looked dazed and said nothing; in the end, she was carried by the Personal Guards onto a carriage.

The carriage, surrounded by a group of people, gradually moved further and further away.

Not long after, a raging fire ignited in the magnificent and spectacular Bo Prefecture Local Chieftain's mansion.

The Great Qian soldiers who arrived in a rush could only shake their heads and sigh as they watched the towering flames.

The chaos in Zunyi County lasted for three days, and the troops loyal to Yang Zhao were completely annihilated by the elite Left and Right Martial Guards.

As for the carriage surrounded by the crowd, it left Zunyi County and headed west.