The King of Qi did not want to surrender so easily. He was the King of Qi, and for hundreds of years, Qi had been a powerful state.

If they really fought desperately, they might very well be a match for the Qin state.

Hou Sheng's eyes flickered. He didn't want to die with the King of Qi. If he could persuade the King of Qi to surrender, he would have done a great service and might even be granted a title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households by the King of Qin.

Although the King of Qin had promised to confer a marquisate, a marquis with ten thousand households is not the same as an ordinary marquis.

"Your Majesty, are we really going to fight? What if we fail..." Hou Sheng reminded him.

King Qi hesitated once again, then waved his hand and said, "Let me think about it carefully!"

"Your Majesty, I take my leave!"

After saying this, Hou Sheng left the Qi King's Palace and then contacted the people of the Black Ice Guard.

"Please tell the King of Qin that I will do my utmost to persuade the King of Qi to surrender!"

Since Lu Li's last visit to Qi, Hou Sheng has been completely won over. He now wishes the King of Qi would surrender so he could enjoy the privileges of a Qin marquis, living a life of wealth and honor as his own local emperor.

Instead of living in constant fear, what if the Qin state really invades one day and then denies everything?

"Your Excellency is wise! I will certainly convey your words to the King!"

Five days later, while the King of Qi was still considering whether to surrender, Wang Ben suddenly led his troops south from the former territory of the Yan state.

They conquered cities and fortresses in one day, capturing fifteen cities in total.

When the King of Qi learned of this news, he was terrified.

"What did you say? You captured fifteen of my cities in just one day? How is that possible! Who is leading the army?" King Qi exclaimed in surprise and asked hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, it is Wang Jian's son, Wang Ben!"

The King of Qi was afraid. Among those who destroyed the State of Wei was Wang Ben. Although he was not as famous as his father, Wang Jian, no one dared to ignore his existence.

Half of Wang Jian's fame comes from his son, Wang Ben!

"Your Majesty, the Meng Wu army is also making moves, seemingly mobilizing troops. If the Meng Wu also sends troops, we will be attacked from both the north and south."

The Qin state acted too quickly; it's only been a few days!

Even if you surrender, shouldn't you give yourself enough time to think it over? But now it seems that the Qin state has no intention of giving you a chance at all.

Refuse to surrender? Then let's fight!

"What should I do? Prime Minister, what should I do?"

King Qi was completely dumbfounded. This Qin state was completely unpredictable and utterly devoid of morality!

Hou Sheng inwardly scoffed. They were aiming to unify the world, why should they talk about morality with you?

"Your Majesty! Forgive my bluntness, but it's not too late to surrender now!"

surrender......

The King of Qi was terrified by the Qin army's surprise attack, and now he probably only has the option of surrendering.

"Do we really have to surrender? I'm not willing! The foundation built by our ancestors over hundreds of years is about to be destroyed in my hands!"

Hou Sheng gritted his teeth and continued to persuade, "Your Majesty, does our Qi state still have any capable generals? Who can withstand Wang Ben? Who can withstand Meng Wu?"

"If we surrender now, Your Majesty can still obtain a marquisate with ten thousand households. But if we really continue fighting... just look at the fate of the states of Zhao and Chu!"

The King of Qi was immediately stunned, then sighed and slowly said, "Surrender! Surrender!"

After saying this, King Qi seemed to have all his strength drained away.

Upon hearing this, Hou Sheng was overjoyed and immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will draft the imperial edict immediately!"

Even if the King of Qi was foolish, he could see Hou Sheng's intentions at this moment.

If even the prime minister is single-mindedly thinking about surrendering, how could the other ministers of Qi possibly have any desire to resist?

The State of Qi was powerful for hundreds of years, but now it doesn't even have a single loyal minister.

In 221 BC, the State of Qi surrendered without a fight. King Ben accepted the surrender letter on behalf of the King of Qin, and all six states were destroyed!

The Qin state, Xianyang Palace.

When Wang Ben relayed the news back to Xianyang, Ying Zheng strode down the steps, nearly tripping.

"What did you say? The King of Qi has surrendered?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! The King of Qi has surrendered, and all of Qi's territory will belong to our Great Qin!"

Ying Zheng laughed heartily after hearing this, and exclaimed excitedly, "Good, good, good!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on sweeping across the six kingdoms and unifying the world!"

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Ying Zheng waved his hand and said, "Wang Ben has rendered a great service to the isolated! I will reward him handsomely!"

"Issue the order: Wang Ben is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Tongwu! He shall be rewarded with ten thousand acres of fertile land!"

"Wang Jian is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng and awarded ten thousand mu of fertile land!"

The courtiers were all astonished!

The Wang family is likely to become the most powerful family in the Qin Dynasty!

Wang Jian was already a Grand General; if he were to be granted a marquisate, his power would be even greater.

It could even be said that in the Qin Dynasty, apart from Ying Zheng, Wang Jian held immense power.

Wang Ben was already very outstanding and had a high reputation in the Qin state. Now that he had been granted the title of Marquis, the Wang family had two Marquises, which made the Wang family's influence even greater.

But Ying Zheng paid no heed to these concerns; Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben were, in his eyes, ministers who had followed him into power.

Wang Jian had already pledged his loyalty to him before he even assumed personal rule. When Lao Ai turned the tables, Wang Jian traveled thousands of miles to rescue him, and he was credited with the greatest contribution in the conquest of the six states.

It was just a title of marquis, and Ying Zheng didn't take it to heart.

"Court adjourned! I wish to personally deliver this good news to you, sir!"

When Ying Zheng excitedly brought Chu Jiu to Lu Li's villa, Lu Li had already left.

Only Lu Fusheng remained, waiting for the King of Qin.

"Fusheng, Master... Master is gone?" Ying Zheng asked in shock.

Lu Fusheng cupped his hands and said, "Brother Lu has returned to Guigu. Before he left, he asked me to tell the King that Li Si is needed to govern the country, and Wang Ben and Meng Tian are needed to resist foreign threats! The Black Ice Platform will be handed over to Chu Jiu starting today."

Upon hearing this, Chu Jiu suddenly looked up. His master had really handed over the Black Ice Platform to him.

Ying Zheng stood there, stunned for a long time, unable to utter a word.

The gentleman is really gone!

He truly never coveted power or position!

"Your Majesty, the gentleman hopes that you can govern the country well and stop the people from suffering the pain of war."

"In case of any emergency, Chu Jiu can send a message back to Guigu."

Ying Zheng nodded as he landed after devouring the soul, and walked out of Lu Li's villa.

The joy of unifying the world paled in comparison to the sorrow of Lu Li's departure.

Ying Zheng was truly puzzled as to why Lu Li insisted on leaving.

"Chu Jiu, has the master never trusted me at all?"

Ying Zheng thought that Lu Li left because he was afraid that Lu Li would do something like "the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dog is cooked".

But Ying Zheng never thought that way. He always regarded Lu Li as his best confidant, friend, and even family member!

“Your Majesty, no, Master simply doesn’t like officialdom,” Chu Jiu explained.

Although he didn't spend as much time with Lu Li as Lu Fusheng and the others, he knew Lu Li very well.

From the time Lu Li began teaching them, he saw Lu Li's ambition: to unify the world and enable the people to live in peace and prosperity.

He disliked war, but only by using war to stop war could the world have a brief period of peace!