"Quick! Faster! We must reach Xinzheng City!"
"Never mind the Qin army chasing us. Our priority is to protect the King. We won't hesitate to sacrifice tens of thousands of soldiers."
"We must reach Xinzheng with all possible speed!"
The Han army had completely lost sight of the Qin army pursuing them. Their sole thought was to reach Xinzheng City and protect their King.
As long as the King was safe, everything could be salvaged.
However, upon reaching the outskirts of Xinzheng City, they were stunned by the scene before them.
Ahead of them, a large number of soldiers stood like a city wall, blocking their path.
More importantly, these soldiers were incredibly familiar to them.
These were the cavalry troops they had previously sent to reinforce Xinzheng.
Yet, at this moment, the cavalrymen were not only unarmed but also separated from their horses.
Many of them, like defeated roosters, squatted dejectedly on the ground, obstructing their advance.
The sight was utterly perplexing.
"What are you doing?! Weren't you ordered to rescue the King? Why aren't you rescuing him and instead blocking our way?!"
"Indeed, where are your warhorses? Where are your weapons? What on earth are you doing?!"
At this point, they had no understanding of what these cavalrymen were doing.
However, upon hearing their questioning, the cavalrymen merely lifted their heads and made no further move.
It was as if the approaching Han army, and their supreme commander, were strangers to them.
Such behavior almost drove their supreme commander to madness.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going into the city to rescue the King? Do you believe I won't have you executed right now?!"
Under this threat and intimidation, the cavalrymen finally provided the Han commander with an answer.
"The King has surrendered! He has surrendered to the Qin! Our Han... is lost!!"
"What? Impossible!!"
"Earlier, the King himself stated in front of everyone that our Han had surrendered to Qin!"
"Besides, look at the banners on the city walls! Xinzheng City has changed hands!"
As these words were spoken, countless gazes turned upwards.
Indeed, they saw the black Xuanbird banner of Qin flying on the walls of Xinzheng City. At this sight, the morale of countless soldiers crumbled.
"Qin's banner! It's really Qin's banner!!"
"Surrendered! The King actually surrendered!!"
"We're too late! We are ultimately too late!!"
These Han soldiers could sense that they had arrived too late.
That was why their King had directly announced surrender before they could.
Now, they looked at the tightly shut city gates ahead and the vast Qin army behind them, causing countless Han soldiers to lose their will to fight.
Subconsciously, they began to lower their weapons, preparing to surrender.
However, this was not the outcome their Han commander wished for.
He was extremely anxious and still wanted to resist.
But General Teng behind him clearly saw the Qin banners on the city walls, as well as the large characters that Lin Tian had specifically ordered the soldiers to write.
[Han has Surrendered!]
Upon seeing these words in Qin script, General Teng's body trembled.
Even without definitive proof, he could guess the general situation.
Therefore, General Teng looked at the large number of Han troops ahead and shouted urgently:
"The King of Han has surrendered! Why do you not quickly lay down your weapons?!"
This shout initially shocked not the Han soldiers, but the Qin soldiers behind General Teng.
They wanted to ask, "How did Han surrender?"
However, they were not foolish and knew this was not the time for questions.
Among them, some intelligent commanders picked up General Teng's words and shouted:
"The King of Han has surrendered! Do not resist futilely!"
"The King of Han has surrendered, your Han is no more, quickly lay down your weapons!"
"Those who lay down their weapons will not be killed; those who resist will perish!"
These words continued to echo in their ears, and the other Qin soldiers also reacted.
This was not the time for them to dwell on such matters. Their most important task was to capture these Han troops.
Thus, a large number of Qin soldiers, following General Teng's lead, continued the shouts.
Eventually, it became a unified roar from the Qin army:
"Surrender!"
"Surrender!"
"Surrender!"
The immense sound put tremendous pressure on the Han soldiers.
Finally, someone could no longer hold on and dropped their weapon.
This act of dropping a weapon was like a spark igniting a prairie fire, prompting countless Han soldiers to discard their weapons.
The Han commander still wanted to struggle, but when those around him had laid down their arms, he realized he was powerless to change the tide.
Following suit, he despondently dropped his weapon.
Only when the Han commander surrendered did General Teng truly relax his tension and breathe a sigh of relief.
"Phew! We've finally stabilized the situation. If it had gone on longer, the outcome would not have been so clear-cut!"
"But that Lin Tian fellow is truly reckless! I only told him to sneak attack Xinzheng from Maling and draw the Han army back, not to actually conquer Han!"
"Sigh! It seems the credit will have to be shared even more!"
Although General Teng spoke with a hint of complaint, his face was beaming with joy.
Lin Tian was his subordinate. Now, he and his subordinate had surrounded and occupied the Han capital, Xinzheng, and conquered Han.
The merit of conquering a nation was enough to be recorded in history and passed down through the ages.
Such immense credit, even for a steady general like Teng, could not suppress the inner joy.
More importantly, the conquest of Han this time had cost very little in terms of manpower.
It could be considered a true and significant victory.
General Teng already foresaw that the King would reward them handsomely this time.
As for what kind of rewards, General Teng was uncertain.
But he knew that he would soon be able to enter Xinzheng City and claim the treasures within.
This was the wealth of an entire nation; how could he miss it?
"Go, collect their weapons, and confine them with the prisoners, registering them all!"
"Simultaneously, send troops into Xinzheng City to assist General Lin Tian in managing the city, especially to guard the Han King's palace!"
"This is the most important place in Han, it cannot be easily desecrated or trespassed upon!"
What General Teng intended to do was, naturally, to secure the wealth within the Han King's palace.
However, the words he uttered were very pleasing to the ear.
At least, the Han people listened and felt somewhat comforted.
...