At this moment, Lin Tian had no intention of attacking the state of Qi.
After all, he had just conquered the state of Wei, and his army needed to rest.
Unexpectedly, shortly after his army returned to Xianyang, the state of Qi sent an envoy, announcing their willingness to surrender the entire nation.
This declaration shocked countless people, and even Lin Tian had never anticipated it.
Lin Tian knew that historically, the state of Qi had gradually weakened and eventually ceased to exist.
After the Qin state conquered the other five states, the remaining Qi state could not resist on its own.
By the time the Qin army reached Qi, the state was no more.
However, he had not expected that Qi would choose to surrender voluntarily at this juncture.
Lin Tian himself found such an event hard to believe.
Ying Zheng, in particular, directly questioned the envoy:
"Your state of Qi is willing to surrender the entire nation? Is this news true?"
"It is true, we come with sincerity from the state of Qi!"
"This time, we have not only brought the map of our entire state of Qi, but also the symbol of our royal authority, the Qi King's Sword!!"
"As long as the state of Qin is willing to treat our state of Qi kindly, our state of Qi is willing to surrender the entire nation!!"
Having spoken, the envoy from Qi knelt on the ground, awaiting the Qin King's decision.
Instantly, discussions erupted throughout the court.
"The map and the Qi King's Sword have been presented, they are truly surrendering!"
"Indeed, after all, the state of Qi was inherently weaker than other states. Their surrender is only natural!"
"It's not entirely natural; it's simply that General Lin Tian's army is too powerful. So powerful that Qi knows they have no ability to resist, hence their surrender!"
"The state of Wei was conquered with such ease. With such formidable combat power, even if I were the King of Qi, I would choose to surrender! For if we didn't, once the Qin army arrived, it would mean utter destruction for our nation!"
"Hahaha! This is also due to the deep prestige of Great General Lin. Others dare not resist, and this is all the Great General's accomplishment!!"
In the court, the number of people speaking favorably of Lin Tian had clearly increased.
Many had already formed a guess about Lin Tian's true identity.
Given this speculation, any attempt to belittle or frame Lin Tian, or to show him no favor, would be courting disaster.
Therefore, each and every one of them presented themselves as extremely cordial.
Ying Zheng was also very pleased to hear these words.
Because Ying Zheng believed that these people were absolutely correct.
If it weren't for Lin Tian leading the army to conquer four consecutive states, Qi would not have surrendered so easily.
Among these achievements, Lin Tian's contribution was the greatest.
There was also another aspect: with the conquest of Qi, they would have conquered five states.
At that point, when Qin conquered the state of Chu, they could then publicly announce Lin Tian's identity and rightfully make him the Crown Prince of Great Qin.
Therefore, Ying Zheng was filled with anticipation.
"If your state of Qi is truly willing to surrender the entire nation, then I, the solitary ruler, would not be opposed to treating you favorably!!"
"Convey my message to the King of Qi: if Qi is willing to surrender the entire nation, the King of Qi will receive the highest treatment among all surrendered kings!!"
"As for the officials and nobles of Qi, not only will their treatment be a thousand times better than that of the old nobles of the four former states, but their descendants will also be able to serve as officials in Great Qin!!"
The so-called thousand-fold treatment was essentially five thousand mu of land.
Such a reward was absolutely beyond the dreams of ordinary citizens for their entire lives.
But for many nobles, it was akin to falling to the bottom.
However, compared to the nobles of the four former states, their treatment was indeed very good.
One had to consider that many of the old nobles from the four states only had five mu of land.
If they diligently cultivated these five mu, they might only produce enough food for their families to survive throughout the year.
There was no possibility of becoming rich, not even a chance to turn their fortunes around.
More of the old nobles did not know how to farm.
Looking at their land, they were utterly bewildered.
In the end, with no other recourse, they took their families and committed suicide together.
This situation was not uncommon.
Many of these old nobles had long lost their ability to manage their own affairs.
With only five mu of land, it was not enough for them to hire others to help them cultivate it.
But now, the nobles of Qi would have five thousand mu of land, and they would certainly be able to survive.
While not necessarily living in affluence, they would at least not starve or be raggedly dressed.
Therefore, at this moment, the envoy from Qi did not voice any objections.
After hearing the preferential terms offered by Ying Zheng, he genuinely returned to relay the message to the King of Qi.
This message caused an uproar in the state of Qi.
"What? The preferential terms are only five thousand mu of land? Is this considered preferential treatment? I myself own more than five thousand mu of land!"
"Five thousand mu of land, with not much wealth, how are we supposed to live with our families? Isn't this a death sentence for us?"
"No, no, these terms are absolutely unacceptable. If we surrender to Qin under these terms, aren't we simply restricting ourselves and handing over our own wealth?"
Many officials and nobles found these preferential terms hard to accept.
Thinking of their vast fortunes being reduced to a mere five thousand mu of land, many felt a pain akin to having their flesh cut off.
But at this moment, the King of Qi spoke:
"Qin has already offered terms. Do we have any reason not to accept them?"
"We must remember that if the Qin army attacks, let alone five thousand mu of land, you might not even have your lives!"
"Without sufficient strength, our state of Qi has lost the right to enjoy anything!"
The King of Qi saw this matter very clearly.
He knew that the terms offered by Qin were based on the premise that Qi was willing to surrender the entire nation.
If Qi tried to negotiate or refused to surrender,
then Qin would inevitably send troops to Qi.
At that time, forget five thousand mu of land, these people would lose everything and might even die in the war.
As for him, the King of Qi, while he might not die, his treatment in Qin would likely not be good either.
Therefore, he had to remind the ministers of Qi.
Upon hearing these words, the ministers of Qi also calmed down.
They understood that they had no room for negotiation.
Thus, after deliberation, they finally decided to agree to Qin's preferential terms and surrender the entire nation.
To this end, the King of Qi was willing to personally travel to Qin to submit the letter of surrender.
At the same time, he would remain in the state of Qin.
As soon as this news broke, the state of Chu could no longer hold back.
...