"The Shouchun Waiguo was attacked by Qin general Zhao Tuo?"
"Your Majesty, please surrender to the Qin people?"
"The Palace of Chu has fallen into the hands of the Qin army. The king, his sons, his grandsons, the princes and noble officials of the Manchu Dynasty were all captured by the Qin people and escorted northward?"
When bad news one after another came to Huaiyin City from the west via fast horses.
The tens of thousands of residents in Huaiyin City, as well as the nearly 100,000 Chu troops outside the city, were all plunged into chaos and panic.
"The king surrendered to Qin, and our country of Chu was destroyed!"
"Jingchu is dead, what should we do?"
"The Qin army is about to head east, what should we do?"
Not only the Chu civilians and army sergeants were panicking, but even leaders such as Gongzi Qi and Xiang Yan were so shocked by the news that they turned pale and looked horrified.
Because Shouchun fell much faster than they expected.
"Shouchun is a mighty city in the world, and my brother has tens of thousands of troops. How could Zhao Tuo's twenty or thirty thousand men attack the outer city?"
"Zhao Tuo is so powerful!"
Young Master Qi looked shocked. In his mind, the young man standing next to Li Xin with a weak smile appeared in his mind.
He knew that Zhao Tuo was very capable, so when he was in Chen Ying, Prince Qi stood on the high city wall, looked at Zhao Tuo's back as he left the city, and said, "If you can't collect it, then destroy it."
Prince Qi believed that with his participation, Li Xin's attack on Chu would definitely fail miserably. By then, Zhao Tuo would be in danger of being captured and killed in the defeated army.
Even if Zhao Tuo manages to escape and return to Qin, he will definitely be defeated by this defeat just like Li Xin. He will be punished by the King of Qin for his crimes, not to mention being directly thrown into the cold palace, and his future will be bleak.
Therefore, when Li Xin attacked Chu, he did not take Zhao Tuo into consideration.
Unexpectedly, in that battle, although this son did not change Li Xin's tragic defeat, he found a different way. Not only did he avoid the humiliation of the defeat, he also won a great victory that surprised the world and became a hero in the hearts of the Qin people.
When Prince Qi heard about Zhao Tuo's various deeds, especially the great victory in Surabaya, he couldn't help but feel a touch of regret in his heart while sighing.
"This son is not from Qin. It would be great if he could be used by me."
Now, he even heard that Zhao Tuo defeated a hundred thousand Qi troops, forced Xiang Qu to be killed, and even attacked the outer city of Shouchun. The regret and regret in Young Master Qi's heart became stronger and stronger, and he even felt a trace of regret.
.
He clearly has a chance to get Zhao Tuo.
When Zhao Tuo followed Wang Jian and returned from conquering Yan, his son Qi was still the Changping Lord of the Qin State. He was the right prime minister of the Qin State and had great power in his hands.
If he had known that Zhao Tuo was so good at fighting, he would be a famous general. He should have ignored his shame and directly asked for him from Qin Wangzheng. With his status at the time, as long as he found some excuses, I believe Qin Wangzheng would not refuse.
.
In that case, he could bring Zhao Tuo to Chen Ying for training and turn that young man into his son Qi's man.
Let Zhao Tuo serve the Chu State, so it will be the Qin people who have a headache now.
"There was once an opportunity to get Zhao Tuo in front of me, but I didn't cherish it. Now that I think about it, it's too late to regret it."
While Young Master Qi was sighing, several other Chu generals directed their anger at King Chu of Chu.
"Could it be that he is a pig carrying the cud?"
"That's Shouchun City. It has high walls and solid walls, and there are tens of thousands of young and strong soldiers in the city. How could he not even last a month, and Zhao Tuo used 20 to 30 thousand people to break through the outer walls! He was forced to feed the dogs and pigs.
, how incompetent!”
Jing Tong, Qu Mao and other Chu generals cursed angrily and directed all their grievances on Fu Chu, who surrendered to the Qin army, because this thing was so unexpected.
How could you, the majestic King of Chu, surrender so quickly?
Even Xiang Yan was stunned for a long time when he heard the news.
He expected Shouchun City to be able to withstand the Qin army for two or three months, but in less than a month he received news that Shouchun City had been destroyed and the King of Chu had surrendered, which completely disrupted his plan.
"Our army has not yet been organized, and there has been no response from the princes in various places. We have already surrendered. The situation is not good for me!"
Just as Xiang Yan worried, the next situation became more and more serious for the Chu people.
Immediately after the news that Shouchun City was broken and the King of Chu surrendered to Qin, there was an envoy from the Qin army.
These envoys from the Qin people traveled all the way eastward, and wherever they passed, they announced the last edict of the King of Chu to carry the cud.
"There is no virtue in not being in the valley, and Jingchu has committed many crimes. Now it is Qin's captives, which is also the destiny of heaven. All the cities and towns of Chu should be returned to Qin, respecting the order of not being in the valley, and obeying the will of heaven..."
This was an edict issued by King Chu of Chu in order to please the Qin people. He ordered those Chu cities that were still resisting to open their doors and surrender to the Qin army. He also asked the Chu people who were holding swords and halberds to put down their weapons and go to Qin.
The obedient people of the country.
This is the order of King Chu.
In actual circumstances, this edict has great significance.
It gave many Chu people who wanted to surrender to Qin but were hesitant and wary, a name and a step to surrender.
You see, our king surrendered to Qin, and even issued an edict asking us not to resist the Qin army. Therefore, our surrender to Qin was done in accordance with the king's edict and in accordance with the destiny of heaven.
If I surrender, my surrender is justified and irreproachable.
On the contrary, those who hold the banner of anti-Qin are actually traitors who have betrayed the king's order.
These edicts were spread throughout the country through envoys from the Qin army and the Chu people who visited the cities and towns along the way, and their influence was very great.
When the news reached Huaiyin, it even caused panic among the Chu army gathered here.
Some of the nearly 100,000 Chu troops gathered outside the city of Huaiyin were civilians who had been forcibly recruited. These people only wanted to survive and eat, and had no loyalty to the Chu State.
But there are still some who are truly loyal to Jingchu. They are patriotic. When they heard that Xiang Yan and Prince Qi were recruiting troops and food, they came to join them one after another.
Now these people saw that the news that the Chu Kingdom was dead and that the king ordered them to surrender was spread everywhere. Their originally full patriotic passion was instantly suppressed, and a look of confusion appeared in their eyes.
Shouchun was captured by the Qin army. The king surrendered to the Qin people and ordered them not to resist.
So is it really meaningful for them to gather here and raise the banner of resistance against Qin?
To sum up in one sentence, with the surrender of King Chu of Chu, the hearts of those who resisted Qin began to collapse.
Chu people lack a leader.
Under such circumstances, Xiang Yan stood up.
The white-haired Ling Yin of Chu State stood at the top of Huaiyin City and roared angrily at the frightened Chu people.
"He usurped the throne by regicide. He was a treacherous minister and a murderer, and should not be king! Now that he has surrendered to Qin to offer Ying, it is even more of a shame for our Chu people! We, An Neng, surrendered because of him, so we consider Jingchu to be dead!"
"Today, I will tell you that my country of Chu is not destroyed!"
"Jingchu has been a country for 800 years, and all the ancestors of the past generations have been able to open up thousands of miles of mountains and rivers in Jingchu! Even after going through many hardships, we people in Jingchu have never surrendered!"
"Today, although Fuchu surrenders, we, the people of Chu, have a new king!"
"The new king has ascended the throne and will enshrine the state of Chu. He will lead our warriors from Jingchu and Chu to fight to the death with the Qin people and fight to the end!"
Under Xiang Yan's filial piety, Chu generals such as Jing Tong and Qu Mao responded in kind.
"Chu has a new king, we will never surrender!"
Amidst the bursts of loud shouting, those Chu people and martyrs who were originally confused suddenly woke up. The flames that were about to be extinguished in their chests burned brightly again, and the light of hope bloomed in their eyes.
That's right, Fu Chu has surrendered, and we have a new King of Chu!
If Chu has a new king, then Chu will not be destroyed!
Amid bursts of loud shouting, Prince Qi, who was dressed in the attire of the King of Chu, walked up the city wall step by step.
He is in his forties, fair-skinned, modest in appearance, and has always presented himself as a handsome gentleman.
But today, he was wearing the uniform of a king, and his face was flushed with excitement.
He stood on the city wall, listening to the cheers that reached his ears, and felt the blood in his body burning.
"I am Xiong Qi, my surname is Xiong, a descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, and a descendant of Zhu Rong!"
Xiong Qi spoke to the Chu people below the city.
"Now the Qin Lingchu is being violently attacked, and the country is in danger of overthrowing. The mediocre ruler has to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his own life, and sell his land to the people of Qin. This kind of behavior is a betrayal of the foundation of our ancestors! Xiong Qi is not talented. At this time of crisis, he is willing to stand up.
Go out and lead you all to fight against Qin, drive out the Qin people, restore our land of Chu, and complete our Jingchu State!"
"You guys, would you like to follow me!"
After a brief silence, there was a roar of mountains and tsunamis.
"We are willing to follow the king and fight against the Qin people together!"
"Your Majesty is victorious, and we are willing to die for your Majesty!"
At this moment, outside Huaiyin City, the shouts shook the sky.
After being confused, the Chu people gathered here finally found the target of their allegiance again.
They swore an oath of service to the king on top of the city!
If Chu has a new king, then Chu will not be destroyed!
In those bursts of cries.
Xiong Qi held his head high and stood upright, his eyes flashing with excitement.
this moment.
He is no longer Lord Changping.
He is no longer Young Master Qi.
Instead, he was the king who shouldered the hopes of countless Chu people and led the Chu people to expel the Qin army and restore the homeland of Chu.
King Qi of Chu!
…
Five days later.
When the news that Xiong Qi proclaimed himself king in Huaiyin reached the Qin army camp outside Shouchun City.