Three days later, the surrender ceremony was held as scheduled, outside Yongding City's eastern gate.
Having received the news, the Tianqi Army had entered Yongding City's outskirts early and taken over the royal city's defenses in advance. After a century, Yongding City had changed hands once more—or perhaps, for the first time since its founding, surrendered without a battle.
The royal city's citizens had also flocked out at the news, packing the open ground outside the eastern city until not even water could pass through.
They had suffered far less from the war than those in other towns, but the Tianqi Army's relentless advance had still placed immense pressure upon them. Food had been rationed, and curfews had become commonplace. Everyone feared that a drawn-out siege would erupt here. If not for the rumors that the Tianqi Army strictly upheld military discipline and had never massacred a city to vent its fury, the city might well have descended into chaos on its own first.
Thus, when they learned that the Bureau of Military Affairs had decided to surrender, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Rather than feeling disheartened, they eagerly discussed the matter. To most Xu State citizens, changing rulers was hardly something difficult to accept. After all, the Empress of the Qi State was not some foreign barbarian; there was nothing shameful about being ruled by her.
On the contrary, quite a few people even looked forward to the arrival of this female sovereign, wishing to see her beauty and bearing with their own eyes.
So when she stepped out from among the imperial guards and ascended the surrender platform one step at a time, the densely packed crowd immediately stirred.
She was a woman brimming with heroic spirit.
Her long black hair was not tied up, but flowed