Yunnei City, which had lain lifeless for more than half a year, suddenly erupted like a volcano. Everywhere, people were shouting, running, hacking and killing, and fleeing.
Peddlers and porters, refugees and bailiffs, bold adventurers and armored soldiers, officials and wealthy merchants were all thrown into chaos.
The local garrison troops and commandery soldiers, who held an absolute advantage in strength and numbers, fell into confusion and bewilderment. Without any orders, some faithfully performed their duties, striving to defend the barracks and storehouses; some sat stunned, watching chaos spread without asking, intervening, or moving; others scattered in small groups and joined the torrent, trying to take part in the uprising and distribute grain, though some merely wanted to loot while the fire raged.
Among them, the last group was clearly growing, while the first was visibly wavering and dwindling.
It was easy to imagine that, without a leader from the government or military stepping forward, they would ultimately choose to join the riot and become part of the uprising.
At this point, the few people who knew the situation already understood that only one thing would truly decide the uprising's success or failure-whether the Youzhou garrison troops and Wang Rengong's personal soldiers surrounding the Yuchi Lineage's settlement in the west of the city could turn back the raging tide.
In fact, beneath the citywide chaos, the bloody battle in the west that would truly decide the uprising's success or failure had already erupted.
Wang Rengong's personal troops and the eight hundred Youzhou garrison troops, entirely unaware of his death, encountered an unexpected assault... They had never imagined that a mere local magnate's household, trapped like a turtle in a jar, would dare launch a desperate counterattack, much less one so decisive and powerful.
The man leading them wore a full