Chapter 1474

This sudden turn of events left Shentu Bei stunned.

Although Shentu Bei was wearing armor and had a sword at his waist.

Shentu Bei was not a military officer, but a civil official.

Guo Tu had launched his attack suddenly, and Shentu Bei had not sensed it at all.

Moreover, Shentu Bei had not expected Guo Tu to pull such a stunt.

"Guo Tu, you... are you crazy?" Shentu Bei dared not move his body, but he still shouted angrily at Guo Tu behind him.

Shentu Bei's personal guards had all been stabbed and left in a pool of blood by this time.

The remaining officials around them were also stunned when they saw this scene.

Guo Tu held the dagger in his hand and, holding Shentu Bei hostage, retreated toward the Nanmen behind them.

"Shentu Bei, you colluded with Duan Yu and defied the imperial court's orders. You thought you could do it secretly, but the court ordered the Xianbei cavalry to enter the pass to wipe out Duan Yu, yet you practiced double-dealing, using the excuse of returning to the court for confirmation, when in reality you were just waiting for Duan Yu's troops."

While speaking, Guo Tu had already retreated to the Nanmen where they had entered.

Because the main Xianbei army was currently massed north of Pingcheng Pass, and the area behind the south side of Pingcheng Pass was Great Han territory, it was not fortified.

Only a few soldiers stood before the gate.

Seeing this scene, the few soldiers were stunned where they stood, not knowing what to do.

"Guo Tu, you are spouting blood! When did I ever defect to Duan Yu?" Shentu Bei argued loudly: "I was considering the people of Bingzhou, considering the imperial court."

Bingzhou?

Heh.

A cold sneer appeared on Guo Tu's face.

That Bingzhou is Duan Yu's Bingzhou; it is no longer the imperial court's Bingzhou now.

Bingzhou Inspector Zhang Yang had already surrendered, and if given time, Bingzhou would inevitably be taken into Duan Yu's pocket.

By then, would this Bingzhou still be the Great Han's Bingzhou?

Did the imperial court not know the potential consequences of what Shentu Bei said about letting the Xianbei into the pass?

Or did the Grand Tutor Yuan Kui not know?

Those people in the imperial court knew better than anyone.

It was just that... what did the common people count for in the eyes of the Luoyang court?

In places like Liangzhou and Jiaozhou, some had even submitted memorials to abandon them directly, let alone a Bingzhou that was already on the verge of no longer belonging to the Great Han.

Duan Yu gaining Bingzhou would only increase his strength.

Under these circumstances, even if it meant destroying Bingzhou, not giving it to Duan Yu was the consensus of everyone.

It was just...

Some things could be done, but they could not be brought out into the open.

When the Grand Tutor Yuan Kui suggested letting the Xianbei into the pass, and when the Empress Dowager agreed to this strategy.

Bingzhou... and the people of Bingzhou, had basically already been abandoned.

Just a Bingzhou, just a few hundred thousand people.

It was better than Duan Yu reaching Luoyang and driving out those powerful nobles in the Luoyang court.

This was something the vast majority of people in the Luoyang court had already tacitly agreed to.

Shentu Bei did not understand, so...

He could only become the scapegoat.

"Open the city gate." Guo Tu said to the guards behind him.

The guards held long swords and walked toward the Nanmen.

The few soldiers in front of the Nanmen did not know what to do for a moment.

"You cannot open the gate, you cannot open the gate." Shentu Bei shouted loudly.

"Hmph." Guo Tu let out a cold snort: "Do you also want to bear the charge of rebellion along with Shentu Bei and have your nine generations executed? Let's see who dares to stop me."

The soldiers did not know what the consequences of opening the city gate would be.

But Guo Tu had already made it very clear about the execution of nine generations for rebellion.

After a brief moment of distraction, the few soldiers chose to stand where they were.

As the Nanmen opened, a smile appeared on Guo Tu's face.

Outside the Nanmen of Pingcheng Pass, dust and smoke rose everywhere.

The Xiongnu cavalry led by Yufuluo charged into the Nanmen of Pingcheng Pass at an extremely high speed.

Seeing a large number of cavalry charging in from the city gate, Shentu Bei's face turned ashen.

Only one thought remained in his heart.

It's over.

"In your next life, learn to be a smart person." Guo Tu's voice rang out behind Shentu Bei.

Then Guo Tu pushed Shentu Bei forward.

Shentu Bei's body was pushed by Guo Tu into the charging Xiongnu cavalry.

Bang!

Under the impact of the sturdy warhorses, Shentu Bei's body flew out like a kite with a broken string.

When Shentu Bei's body landed on the ground, it was trampled by the large number of galloping warhorses.

"Charge in, leave no one alive."

The long saber in Yufuluo's hand pointed into Pingcheng Pass.

In an instant, Pingcheng Pass was in chaos, with people and horses falling everywhere.

The few soldiers who had just been standing in front of the city gate did not even have time to escape before they were hacked down into a pool of blood by the charging Xiongnu cavalry.

When the setting sun dyed the clouds the color of congealed blood, the iron hooves of the Xiongnu and Xianbei shattered the entire Pingcheng Pass.

Li Ying, a fifteen-year-old garrison soldier who had been recruited only a few days prior, was pinned to a wooden pillar of the watchtower by a curved saber; the broken spear handle was still clutched in his palm, and beads of blood dripped from his eyelashes into his wide-open phoenix eyes.

Below the city tower, a crimson stream flowed over the bluestone slabs.

The corpse of the city defense Captain, a man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, now had only half his facial skin clinging to his skull, with green-headed flies crawling in his empty eye sockets.

Inside the city pass, there were cries and wild laughter everywhere.

The bald Tuoba Liwei dragged a young girl by her long hair and kicked open the door of a shop nearby.

The panicked shopkeeper and his assistants hiding inside were still clutching wooden sticks and hoes.

Tuoba Liwei sneered, lifted his thick arm, and threw the frail girl onto the table in front of him.

The shopkeeper and assistants in the room were so frightened they retreated repeatedly.