"Thank you for your efforts, General Shi," Wu Song said as he climbed onto the battlements.
"It is my duty to ease Your Majesty's burdens," Shi Jin replied.
Wu Song nodded. "What were the garrison's casualties?"
"Your Majesty, of our fifty thousand defenders, more than twenty thousand were killed," Shi Jin reported. "But the enemy suffered even greater losses. I estimate they lost roughly half their men."
Wu Song nodded. "Good. You did well, General Shi. Tomorrow, we will open the gates and meet them in battle, crushing the Song Army in one decisive blow."
Shi Jin nodded. "Your Majesty, I heard the Song generals say that Great Liao and Great Song have joined forces to destroy our Great Ming."
"Do not worry, General Shi," Wu Song said. "The chancellor has already made all the necessary arrangements. By attacking our frontier, Great Liao is courting its own destruction. Once we have dealt with the Song Army, I will lead the campaign myself, subdue Liao, destroy the Jin, sweep through Mongolia, and unite the north."
"With Your Majesty's divine wisdom and peerless martial prowess, Great Ming will surely unite the realm and sweep all lands beneath heaven clean," Shi Jin said.
The next day, Guan Sheng and the others were preparing to march around Zhuozhou and attack Great Ming elsewhere when, to their surprise, Great Ming opened the city gates. Overjoyed, they ordered their army to form ranks and prepare to attack.
Wu Song and Shi Jin led fifty thousand soldiers out through the gates and deployed them in battle formation. Shi Jin called out to Guan Sheng, "General Guan, please come forward. I would like a word."
At this, Guan Sheng urged his mount forward and rode into the space between the two armies. "What do you wish to say,