"Those dead soldiers, they don't look like Qin soldiers. They, they look like our Chu soldiers!"
"Chu soldiers? How is that possible? Our Chu soldiers are all on the city walls! Besides, why would our Chu soldiers attack our Chu soldiers?"
"I know our Chu soldiers wouldn't attack our own troops! But they look so familiar. These people, they look like... the King's personal guards!"
"What? The King's personal guards? Are you sure?"
The mention of the King's personal guards sent a shockwave through all the Chu generals.
If these soldiers were under someone else's command, they could investigate slowly and figure it out.
But if they were the King of Chu's personal guards, that was a different matter entirely.
If the King's personal guards had fled, then in a sense, the King of Chu himself could be in mortal danger.
After all, these were the guards who stayed by the King of Chu's side.
If they were no longer with him, who could protect the King's safety!
At this moment, these generals had not yet realized that it was actually the King of Chu who had ordered these soldiers to charge.
In their minds, they were still worried about their King's safety.
Therefore, when they noticed something was wrong with these personal guards, their first reaction was to rush into the royal palace to ascertain the King of Chu's safety.
"Should we go into the royal palace and report this matter to the King?"
"At such a critical juncture, we must report to the King. Even if we can perish, the King cannot!"
"Alright! Then we'll go to the royal palace!"
Their hearts were still filled with worry for the King of Chu's safety, so they ultimately decided to enter the royal palace.
On one hand, to report the matter to the King of Chu, and on the other hand, to confirm if the King was safe.
However, as soon as they led a small contingent into the royal palace, they immediately sensed something was amiss.
Silence. The royal palace was unnaturally quiet.
Even the brightly lit royal palace had no lamps lit tonight.
This made all the generals feel that something had happened in the royal palace.
Their first thought was that the King of Chu had met with misfortune and might have been abducted by those personal guards.
But as they looked closer, they quickly found that something else was wrong.
Not only the King of Chu was missing from the royal palace, but also the palace maids, concubines, and even many eunuchs.
More importantly, not a single lamp was lit in the royal palace, and no area was in disarray.
This situation did not at all resemble a kidnapping.
Instead, it looked more like an orderly evacuation.
This forced the generals to ponder deeply.
"There's not a single place in disarray here. Was the King really abducted by those people?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. According to our soldiers, none of them were bound when they left, and they evacuated very orderly!"
"Then, then the King... did he leave willingly?"
At this question, all the generals fell silent.
Based on their judgment, their King had indeed left willingly.
Of course, that was just a polite way of putting it.
In other words, their King had abandoned them and fled their capital.
Now, their palace was without a King, and they had to face the Qin army alone.
As for their King, he had already fled for his life.
This was devastating news for all of them.
Especially for many among them who were loyal to the King of Chu and were willing to defend their Chu capital precisely to protect him.
But now, their King had left first. Did they still need to defend it?
What was the point of their steadfast defense of the capital?
"Then what... what do we do? Should we reveal this matter?"
This question left all the generals in silence.
After a long pause, someone among them finally spoke:
"Let it be. We will pretend we know nothing about this matter. When other ministers discover it tomorrow, we will then act as if we know."
"The King wishes to flee, and we, his subjects, can only help him one last time!"
As he spoke these words, the general felt a profound sense of despair.
He knew that after the King's departure, the Chu state was truly finished.
However, even if the Chu state perished, it was good that some people could survive.
Thinking this, the general spoke again.
"Let's go. We'll maintain normal duty tonight and defend the city as usual. When dawn breaks tomorrow, each of us will go home to pack our things. Whether we survive will depend on our luck!"
They still held loyalty for the King of Chu and were willing to defend the city for him.
However, the King of Chu had directly disregarded their loyalty.
Such an action left the generals of Chu heartbroken.
It also led them to decide that from now on, they would no longer defend the city, but would flee for their own lives.
However, as they walked out of the royal palace, their hearts were filled with bitterness.
"Your Majesty, you are too heartless! How could you abandon such a vast empire and countless subjects so readily!"
"The great state of Chu is about to be lost. What a profound tragedy!"
Even these subjects felt a sense of sorrow for the King of Chu's actions.
However, they were unaware that their King was currently on a boat, being served by beautiful women, living a life of carefree bliss.
After the generals returned to the city, although their hearts were uneasy and they wished they could flee with their families immediately, they acted as if nothing had happened and continued to defend the city.
But as soon as dawn broke the next day, their expressions changed drastically.
"Summon the soldiers. I have a few words to say to them!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers in the army did not know what their general intended to say.
But they assumed it would be words of encouragement.
After all, the Qin army was about to attack, and if they didn't encourage them to fight valiantly now, many among them might become hesitant.
However, when they finally stood before their general, his words left them utterly bewildered.
"You should all flee!"
"Flee from here. You don't need to defend the city anymore. Take your families and escape, or simply surrender to Qin!"
"What?"
"General, why is this?"
"General, are you joking with us?"
Their general's words caused much confusion among many.
They didn't understand why their general would say such things at this time.
This led some of them to subconsciously suspect that their general had betrayed Chu and surrendered to Qin.
Such disloyal words further ignited anger in many.
However, the next moment, they were stunned by their general's words.
"I am not joking with you. You are free to flee!"
"Because last night, the King fled with his palace guards. The enemies we encountered yesterday were the King's entourage!"
...