North of the Feng Kingdom, the situation was utter chaos. With Cloud Prefecture's complete fall, the people of the realm had utterly lost faith in the court.
For a time, the people of several northern provinces of the Feng Kingdom began migrating south in droves, terrified of dying beneath the iron hooves of the bandits.
The court therefore became certain that, with the troops currently at its disposal alone, it simply could not contend against the menacing bandits.
At last, amid grief, Emperor Taiwen issued an imperial decree to move the capital south.
Fleeing in panic and defeat, the ruler of a kingdom felt as though his heart were bleeding.
With this retreat, even if the Feng Kingdom did not perish, he would be nailed forever to the pillar of historical shame.
The legacy accumulated by the former emperors through countless dynasties had been ruined so thoroughly in his generation.
Although crossing Little Cui Ridge would guarantee absolute safety, for its treacherous mountains formed a natural defensive line that ordinary armies would find exceedingly difficult to cross.
Yet if they wished to fight their way back in the future, they would face layer upon layer of difficulties. He was leaving his descendants an enormous problem!
With this thought, Emperor Taiwen even felt the urge to cut his own throat in the Golden Palace Hall.
"How had it come to this? How had it come to this?!"
Within his bedchamber, Emperor Taiwen sighed mournfully without cease. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a homeless cur.
Preparations for Sheng Tian's southward evacuation were in full swing, while an inescapable gloom shrouded the entire Imperial Palace.
This resplendent imperial city, dazzling with gold and jade and steeped in boundless luxury, was about to change hands.
At the very last moment before