Outside Linzi City, the Qin army camps were connected with each other, with black flags fluttering on their faces, majestic and majestic. Zhao Tuo was sitting in the tent, frowning at the military slips in his hands.
In the Battle of Zhencheng, the great commander of the Qi State, Ma Tianchong, committed suicide and died for his country. Nearly 100,000 Qi troops in the city surrendered. Including the Qi people captured by the Qin army on the Pu River battlefield and under the city, the number of prisoners exceeded 160,000.
With such a number of people, the daily consumption of food and grass alone is an astronomical figure. Fortunately, Zhencheng surrendered peacefully, and the large amount of food hoarded by the Qi people in the city became the spoils of war for the Qin army, so there will be no danger of food shortage for the time being.
But with so many Qi troops, even if they are disarmed, being imprisoned in the rear is a big hidden danger.
According to Tu Sui's letter, in the past two months, the Qi prisoners were suspected of being restless, and some people were clamoring about Zhao Tuo's previous promise to release them back home, intending to cause trouble.
After Tu Sui beheaded many Qi people, he temporarily suppressed the restless hearts of these prisoners. However, if the matter was not resolved as soon as possible, it would eventually involve a lot of Qin army's energy and easily lead to instability in the rear.
Zhao Tuo put down the slip and looked at Li Shiqi, who was sitting at the bottom. Li Shiqi understood what General Zhao meant with just his eyes and confirmed: "General, don't worry. From what I can see, there are only a few people in Linzi City."
Except for others, everyone else is willing to surrender. The King of Qi and the Prime Minister of Qi are both cowardly and greedy, and they will definitely not choose to resist. Linzi will surrender in these two or three days." Zhao Tuo nodded.
Historically, the Qi State was so frightened that it surrendered after the Qin army approached the capital. Judging from the current situation, the result should be similar.
"Send someone to send a message to General Tu. First, release the Qi people who are native to the cities controlled by our army on both sides of the Jishui River, and let them return to their hometowns to promote the virtues of our Qin army and calm the hearts of the people. As for what has not happened yet,
In the cities that surrendered to our army, those Qi prisoners will be kept temporarily and escorted to Linzi. They will be released in batches depending on the situation." Zhao Tuo thought for a while and then issued the order.
After Qi Wangjian surrendered, he could let the Qin army take over Qi's cities with Qi Wangjian's order, thus achieving Qi's victory in one fell swoop.
But there is no guarantee that some die-hard ministers will defend the city and resist. At that time, these local prisoners will be of great use, allowing the Qin army to win over the local people and pacify the Qi region faster.
Just after Zhao Tuo decided what to do with the prisoners, Li Shang strode in from outside the tent and said happily: "General, the King of Qi has sent an envoy!" Li Shiqi put his palms in his hands and laughed and said: "Congratulations, General, the King of Qi has sent an envoy.
The envoy must be discussing the matter of surrender, and the general's victory in destroying Qi is already within his grasp!" Zhao Tuo raised the corners of his mouth slightly, looked at Li Shi and said: "Sir, relying on his lips and tongue, he stood up and said to surrender ten thousand times.
The great achievements of the country should be remembered in history. Even Su Qin and Zhang Yi will be hard to match." After the two exchanged compliments, Zhao Tuo sat upright and said: "Bring the envoy of the King of Qi with you."... Two hours later.
.
King Qi's Palace. King Jian and Tian Jian, the two fake brothers of Qi, gathered together again.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Tuo said that as long as your Majesty surrenders his country, he will protect your lives and ours. Regarding the matter of the Five Hundred Miles Land, he said that the final situation must be decided by the King of Qin." Tianjia spoke and asked the envoy.
The situation was reported back.
King Jian of Qi frowned and said: "So he can't decide the five hundred miles?" Tian Jia whispered: "Your Majesty, Qin rules the country by law. The authority of the King of Qin is higher than that of ten thousand people. The five hundred miles of fiefdom are like this.
It is indeed up to King Qin to have the final say."
"In my opinion, Zhao Tuo's words are truly sincere. If he really agrees on the spot, and even explicitly states that he will give land to a certain place, then we really have to be careful about whether he intends to deceive.
He won’t be like Zhang Yi back then.”
"Otherwise, let him send someone to report to Xianyang, discuss with the King of Qin, and agree on the ownership of the land of five hundred miles, and then we can open the city and surrender to Qin?" King Jian of Qi pursed his lips, although he had mentioned the land of five miles before.
It doesn't matter, but in fact, he is still very concerned about those five hundred miles.
Tian Jia's expression changed, Chen Chi had made it very clear to him. As long as he could convince King Qi Jian to surrender, he would be able to please the King of Qin. Not only would he not have to face trial, but he would also be able to keep his wealth and life.
But if the time is delayed until the King of Qin loses his patience, the Qin army breaks through the city, or someone else steals the city gate and surrenders, then Tianjia's end may not be good.
Regardless of whether there is five hundred miles of land, that is the treatment given by King Qi Jian and has nothing to do with his Tianjia. Thinking of this, Tianjia gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, this approach is absolutely undesirable. The King of Qin is stubborn and claims to be
As the only king in the world, if the king bargains with him, I am afraid that the King of Qin will be angry, and it is also possible to directly send troops to attack the city. By then, we will become prisoners of the Qin army, and then everything will be lost."
"Now the situation is in the hands of the Qin people. Linzi is under siege by the Qin army. We have no power to fight back, so we might as well behave well. Only by surrendering voluntarily and making the King of Qin happy can we save our lives and get more benefits.
"Qi Wangjian's face was uncertain, but he finally sighed: "Okay, what you said makes sense. Then we will make an agreement with the Qin people that tomorrow we will open the city and surrender to the Qin people."
"This is very good, so that we can survive. However, I am afraid that someone will stop the surrender to Qin this time. It is necessary to control some people." Tian Jia said, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
…
"The king sent an envoy from Nancheng to meet the Qin people? What does he want to do?" Tian Dan said with a dark face.
Tian Rong nodded with a heavy face and said: "The guard of Nancheng is the king's son-in-law. He has always been unruly and disobeyed our orders. This time the envoy came and went, I also listened to what Sima Yongmen said. Brother, at this time
, the king sent an envoy out of the city to see the Qin people, I am afraid he has really made up his mind to surrender."
"The king wants to surrender..." Tian Dan murmured, his face turning from black to white. He turned his head and looked at the endless Qin army camp outside the city, his body shaking a little.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! There are powerful enemies outside and a surrendered king inside. Even if he has a passion for serving the country, what is the use? At this moment, someone walked quickly
He walked to the top of the city and reported: "General Tian Dan, the king sent someone to summon the general to the palace to discuss the city defense." Tian Dan immediately came back to his senses and said to Tian Rong in surprise: "Ah Rong, the king has summoned me to discuss the city defense.
Do you think it is because he and Zhao Tuo have not reached an agreement and the Qin army is about to go to war, so he summoned me to the palace to arrange important city defense tasks?" Tian Rong frowned and looked at his cousin's face.
With a hopeful look on his face, he felt that this possibility was unlikely, but he couldn't say anything. He could only nod and said: "It is possible."
"In that case, I will go into the city to meet with the king and discuss important matters of city defense." Tian Dan nodded and walked towards the bottom of the city.
But after taking a few steps, he suddenly looked back and looked at Tian Rong. This time, his face looked a little heavy.
"Qin is strong and Qi is weak. No matter whether they surrender or not, Qi will not be able to escape its fate."
"Arong, I, Tian Dan, am a descendant of the Tian family, and I should be loyal to the country. I am the deputy general of the Great Sima. I did not die in Zhencheng. I should die in Linzi this time. Only in this way can I live up to the Tian family's ancestral temple and the lower level.
Live up to the great Sima’s kindness.”
"But you can't die here. No matter what happens next, you should save your life and return to Dicheng to save your clan."
"Here, only one of us, Tian Dan, needs to die for our country." Tian Rong said anxiously: "Why do you say such words, brother? I, Tian Rong, am willing to fight to the death in Linzi with my brother, and I will not do anything greedy for life!" Tian Dan however
With a calm face, he said: "Dicheng Tian family, the elders are cowardly, the younger ones are immature, and my younger brother Tian Heng has a hot temper. In addition, he is young and energetic. In the future, he may violate Qin law and bring down the clan, so he needs your support.
You must promise me!" Looking at Tian Dan's eyes, Tian Rong thought of his hot-tempered brother Tian Heng, as well as Tian Dan and his son, and finally nodded and said: "Rong follows brother's order." Tian Dan then
He nodded with a smile, turned around and walked down the city wall towards Qi Palace.
He was not a stupid person, and he knew that the reason why King Qi summoned him to the palace was because the negotiations had broken down and he needed to discuss city defense matters.
It is also possible that the negotiation was successful... After a while, Tian Dan walked into Qi Palace. Outside the main hall, he was removed from his sword by the guards, and then he was allowed to enter the palace.
King Jiangao of Qi was sitting on the king's couch in the palace, and Prime Minister Tianjia was also sitting beside him. Apart from this, there was no trace of Jimo officials, Tai Shiwen and others. On the contrary, there were armored soldiers guarding the palace.
Tian Dan's heart trembled. He took a deep breath and knelt down to worship Qi Wangjian on the couch.
"Chen Tian Dan, pay homage to the king."
"General, please rise." Qi Wangjian nodded, and then went directly to the topic without any further words.
"General, you have worked hard to defend the city these days. You will no longer have to defend the city in the future." Tian Dan was startled. Although he had already suspected it in his heart, blood still rushed to his cheeks at this moment. He said angrily: "Your Majesty has decided to surrender to the Qin people.
"Really?" King Jian of Qi nodded and said: "Of course, now Qin is strong and Qi is weak, the Qin army is surrounding Linzi, and the trend of destroying Qi is irresistible. I don't want to harm the lives of hundreds of thousands of Qi people in Linzi City, and want to follow the example of Grand Sima in Zhencheng.
What he did was to surrender the city to the Qin Dynasty to avoid the disaster of swords and soldiers." Is it following the actions of Da Sima?
Tian Dan was stunned for a moment, then he realized what he was doing and said with an angry smile: "Your Majesty, after surrendering to the Qin Dynasty, are you going to kill yourself for the country like Great Sima?" Qi Wangjian's face was stagnant. He had no time to live even if he wanted to.
Thoughts of committing suicide.
Seeing Qi Wangjian's embarrassed expression, Tian Dan felt increasingly sad.
"Tian Dan is willing to guard Linzi with the loyal people in the city until the last moment, fight bloody battles with the Qin people, and never surrender. The king must also be loyal to the country, so that he can still be regarded as a descendant of the Tian family!" Tian Jia said angrily: "Bold Tian
Damn, you actually want to force your Majesty! Now it is the general trend of Qin to destroy the six kingdoms and annex the world, and it is destiny for Your Majesty to unite the country and surrender to Qin. How dare you persuade Your Majesty to go against the will of heaven and capture the left and right for me!"
His sword was confiscated outside the palace. When faced with the approaching soldiers, he did not resist, but just screamed and screamed.
"My ministers are about to fight to the death, why does the king surrender first?"
"Take it down! Lock him up first!" Tian Jia roared, and asked the soldiers to take Tian Dan down. However, the sad cries still echoed in his and Qi Wangjian's ears, making their brothers feel embarrassed and embarrassed.
ashamed.
After a moment of silence, Tian Jia said: "Tian Dan has been captured, and his brother Tian Rong can be captured with only a few soldiers. In this way, there will be no obstacles for us to surrender to Qin." Qi Wangjian nodded, thinking of just now
The appearance of a field.
He couldn't help but sigh: "Tian Dan is a loyal man of our Qi State and a descendant of the Tian family. If you don't want to kill people indiscriminately, let's lock him up in the palace first. After his brother was captured, he was also temporarily detained like Tai Shiwen and Tian Lang.
Detain them until they surrender to Qin tomorrow, and then release them." Tian Jia nodded silently.
Qi Wangjian raised his head and looked outside the palace. A flash of sadness flashed in his eyes. The Tian family's Qi country was about to perish in his hands.