"The Qin army is here, the Qin army is slaughtering its way through!!"
"We can't stop them, we absolutely cannot stop them!!"
"Heavens! Who will save our Wei Kingdom, I don't want to die!!"
Although there were over two hundred thousand Wei troops here, Lin Tian's army's internal and external assaults directly caused the morale of these two hundred thousand troops to collapse.
Especially after their main general, Wang Yi, died at Lin Tian's hands, the situation became even more dire.
The vast Wei army, leaderless, was left to be slaughtered by Lin Tian's forces.
Even with over two hundred thousand soldiers, their combat effectiveness was less than that of a hundred thousand.
Some even surrendered, which in turn encouraged others to surrender as well.
This chain reaction accelerated the defeat of the Wei army.
Not long after the sun had risen, Lin Tian's army had completely occupied this border region.
Besides those who were burned to death or killed, a large number of Wei soldiers chose to surrender.
Their surrender meant that Lin Tian's army had completely captured the Wei border.
However, when Lin Tian's army began to count the surrendered soldiers, they discovered an unexpectedly large number.
Over 150,000 troops surrendered, reaching a total of 170,000 men.
Such a large number exceeded Lin Tian's expectations.
It truly indicated that the Wei army lacked significant combat power.
Therefore, even though Lin Tian's army had captured the Wei border, there was no overwhelming sense of joy.
After all, this battle had been unexpectedly easy.
However, while Lin Tian's army was not deeply affected, this was a devastating blow to the people of Wei.
Previously, the Wei people already knew that Lin Tian's army was powerful.
But they never imagined that Lin Tian's army would be so overwhelmingly strong.
In just a few days of fighting, their Wei Kingdom had been defeated.
Considering that Wei had fielded 300,000 troops while Lin Tian only had 150,000, countless people cursed in anger.
"300,000 troops defeated like this, what use are these people!!"
"I've said it before, those generals are useless, they couldn't withstand Qin's Lin Tian's offensive, yet they still provoked Qin's Lin Tian, this is clearly asking for trouble!"
"It's over, our Wei Kingdom is in grave trouble this time, without these 300,000 troops, Wei simply cannot defend itself!!"
Anyone with eyes could see that without its 300,000 troops, Wei was essentially crippled.
With 300,000 troops, their Wei Kingdom still had a fighting chance.
As long as their army held, their Wei Kingdom would be safe.
But without 300,000 troops, the situation was entirely different.
Without these 300,000 troops, it was as if Wei's gates were wide open to Lin Tian's army.
Lin Tian's army could go wherever they pleased.
No one could stop them, and they could not be stopped at all.
This filled countless Wei people with sorrow; their Wei Kingdom was truly finished.
Fortunately, Lin Tian's objective was clear. Although he had taken Wei, he did not harm the Wei populace and instead headed directly for the Wei royal capital.
This brought both sorrow and relief to the Wei people.
They were fortunate to be alive; surviving in this era was the best outcome.
Therefore, countless Wei citizens chose to wait and see, quietly anticipating the changes in Wei.
While the Wei citizens could afford to wait and see, the Wei officials could not.
The King of Wei, in particular, was now extremely anxious.
"What should we do? What do we do now?"
"Your Majesty, with our current forces, we clearly cannot fight the Qin army!"
"Indeed, Your Majesty! With our current strength, we can either surrender or make a stand! A stand gives us a sliver of hope, but surrender..."
Surrender was self-explanatory; if they surrendered, their lives might not matter as much.
However, upon hearing this, the King of Wei was indeed contemplating surrender.
As his generals had said, with their current forces, it was difficult to withstand the Qin army's offensive.
Under such circumstances, it might be better for him to surrender to Qin.
At least the Kings of Han and Zhao had been treated with courtesy by Qin after surrendering.
If he surrendered to Qin, the situation should be similar.
While such a life would be far from that of a Wei King, at least he would be alive and not live in constant fear.
Therefore, the King of Wei harbored an impulse to surrender to Qin.
However, his personal impulse did not mean that his ministers shared the same sentiment.
Especially the way Qin dealt with the old nobility of the three kingdoms was something Wei's officials could not accept.
Confiscating their land and wealth, reducing them to ordinary people who lived by farming.
This was more unbearable than death.
Thus, they all spoke up, advocating for not surrendering.
"Your Majesty, it seems we only have the path of a resolute defense!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! The name 'Tyrannical Qin' has long been known throughout the land. If we surrender, I fear the common people will be massacred by Qin, so we must not surrender at all!!"
"Your Majesty, the people in our capital can be completely self-sufficient. If we seal off all roads, we can hold out for a few years without issue! Given Qin's Lin Tian's character, he's unlikely to stay here for years. Therefore, we can wait for the Qin army to retreat and then reclaim our former glory!"
Upon hearing this, countless ministers agreed.
Even if they sealed the city and the people faced hardship, and their lives became less comfortable, it was still far better than surrendering everything and becoming commoners.
Therefore, numerous ministers advocated for sealing the city.
Hearing this, the King of Wei hesitated.
He wanted to surrender, but he could not be the first to speak of it.
Especially at this moment, when the ministers were all in favor of sealing the city, if he proposed surrender, it would likely incite their wrath.
He might even be branded as cowardly and ineffective.
Therefore, the King of Wei ultimately did not voice his desire to surrender and tacitly agreed to their plan of sealing the city for defense.
With this strategy in place, the citizens in other parts of Wei fell silent, but the residents of the Wei royal capital erupted in an uproar.
"Let us out, let us out, we don't want to stay here anymore!!"
"Let us leave! We will starve to death if we stay here!"
"Please, let us leave and give us a way to survive! If we continue to stay here, our entire family will starve to death!"
Sealing the city was the most detrimental to the common people, hence many wished to leave, seeking a way to survive.
However, the ministers who proposed sealing the city had not consulted them, and after sealing it, it was even less likely they would be allowed to leave.
...