Upon hearing this, the ministers who followed Tian Jian panicked. They all spoke at once: "Your Majesty, the Qin army is like wolves and tigers. Even if we fight... it will only be sending our soldiers to their deaths in vain!"
"Foolish!"
Tian Dan's cold gaze swept over the ministers who had tried to dissuade him, "You eat the king's food and are loyal to the king. At a time of national crisis, how dare you surrender to Qin?"
As if finding an outlet for their anger, the group immediately launched a verbal attack on Tian Dan. In an instant, spittle flew everywhere, creating the impression that they wanted to drown him.
Just as the King of Qi was still hesitating, the Qin army, which had launched its offensive, was less than two or three hundred meters away from Linzi City. Tian Jian could even see the ferocious smiles on the faces of the Qin soldiers.
For him, the State of Qi was at a critical juncture of life and death. For the Qin army, the glory of destroying the state was within reach, and promotions, riches, and honors were just around the corner.
The wicked man's expression was equally unpleasant. According to historical records, King Tian Jian of Qi was viewed with utter disdain. Unexpectedly, even with the enemy at the city gates, this fellow remained unmoved.
He had thought he could intimidate Tian Jian and force him to surrender, thus saving his soldiers from dying in vain. Tian Jian's lack of appreciation enraged the wicked man.
At that moment, anger welled up in his heart and evil thoughts took hold of him. The wicked man coldly shouted, "Issue the order: when Linzi falls, massacre the city!"
The loud shouts drowned out the sounds of battle and even reached King Tian Jian of Qi's ears, causing him to tremble.
"Archers, fire!" At this moment, the Qin army lieutenant general roared the order.
In an instant, a dense barrage of arrows rained down on the city wall like locusts, startling the surrounding guards who hurriedly raised their shields for cover, fearing they might injure Tian Jian, who stood there dumbfounded.
Arrows rained down from the sky, a dark mass falling onto the city walls. Qi soldiers fell to the ground in droves in an instant. Some soldiers with non-fatal wounds clutched their wounds and rolled on the ground in pain, uttering cries that sent chills down Tian Jian's spine.
Tian Jian had never seen such a bloody scene before. He was so frightened that he lost his mind and his face turned completely pale.
At this moment, a minister, taking advantage of Tian Dan's unpreparedness, snatched a long sword from a soldier beside him and stabbed it fiercely into Tian Dan's heart.
"Zhang Ning, what are you doing?"
"Stop! Have you gone completely insane?!"
This shocking turn of events prompted countless veteran officials to shout their condemnation.
Holding the blood-stained sword in his hand, Zhang Ning wore a maniacal grin. "Old man, if you want to enhance your own reputation, why drag the King, us, and the soldiers and civilians of the city down with you?!"
Tian Dan clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at Zhang Ning, who had killed him. He then turned his head with difficulty to look at King Tian Jian of Qi, but in the end, he could not utter a single word and died.
"It's time! Follow me, Grand Commandant, and kill!"
The wicked man charged ahead on horseback, his eyes gleaming with intense murderous intent. He wanted to personally breach the city walls and behead King Tian Jian of Qi to appease the Qin soldiers who had died in vain.
Even if the Qi army loses its fighting spirit, even a slight counterattack will surely cause countless Qin soldiers to bleed and sacrifice themselves!
"Kill! Kill!"
The Qin army followed the wicked man and charged straight towards the city gate.
King Qi stood atop the city wall, ignoring the murdered Tian Dan, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the dark mass of Qin soldiers charging towards him.
Just then, more bad news arrived.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the north gate is about to be breached by the Qin army!!" A Qi army lieutenant general, his face covered in blood, rushed over, his voice trembling with tears.
Upon hearing this, King Qi's vision blurred. Looking at the situation, he sighed helplessly, "There is no way to reverse the situation. Today, I will become a king who has lost his country."
On the verge of despair, an unprecedented sense of sorrow welled up in Tian Jian's heart.
He knew that his momentary lapse in judgment not only concerned his own life and death, but also the lives of the soldiers and civilians in the entire city of Linzi.
When the city falls, that wicked man will absolutely do what he said he would do and carry out the massacre of the city!
"Your Majesty, surrender!"
One minister, with tears streaming down his face, pleaded, "The destruction of the country is not our wish. What does it matter if we die? But there are still hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the city..."
At this moment, Tian Jian's mind was in complete turmoil. He was too lazy to even ponder the truthfulness of these people's words, whether they were acting out of selfishness or out of concern for the people.
"I've surrendered...I've surrendered!" Tian Jian, with tears in his eyes, ran to the top of the city wall and let out a hysterical roar of resentment.
"Whoa..."
The wicked man pulled on the reins, stopping his warhorse, and looked up at Tian Jian, who was disheveled on the city wall.
At this moment, the two were estimated to be only about 100 meters apart!
The wicked man smirked coldly. He had prepared for Tian Jian to put up a stubborn resistance, but this fellow had given him a pleasant surprise. He shouted, "Qin army, listen to my command! Cease your attack!"
The Qin army's offensive receded like a receding tide, and the battlefield suddenly fell into a deathly silence.
The wicked man slowly spurred his horse forward, each step heavy and powerful, as if each step was treading on the heart of the King of Qi.
Standing atop the city wall, Tian Jian was filled with mixed emotions. He knew that his decision would mean the demise of the State of Qi, and that he would become the ruler of a fallen kingdom.
But he knew even better that if he did not surrender, hundreds of thousands of people in the city would face a massacre, and Linzi would become a place of utter devastation.
The wicked man finally arrived at the city gate. He looked up at Tian Jian, a sharp glint in his eyes, "King Tian Jian of Qi, now that you have chosen to surrender, why don't you open the city gate immediately?"
Tian Jian waved his hand weakly, and immediately a minister happily descended the city wall. Then the city gate slowly opened.
The Qin army surged into Linzi City like a tidal wave, busy confiscating the weapons of the Qi soldiers inside the city and taking them into custody under strict guard.
Tian Jian was escorted by the Qin army to the evil man. At this moment, his eyes were empty, and his heart was filled with endless anger and sorrow.
The wicked man's lips curled up slightly as he said mockingly, "Tian Jian, you should be glad that you made the right choice at the crucial moment."
"It has been a long time since I personally led an attack on a city. If I had arrived at the city gate just now, it would have been too late for you to surrender."
"All living things in Linzi will perish under Qin's sword, and the entire city of Linzi will become a dead city!"
"At that time, you will not only bear the name of a king who has lost his country for eternity, but you will also leave behind endless infamy, all because of your selfishness, which has led to the city of Linzi becoming a casualty of your downfall."
His words contained some twisted logic and heresy, but Tian Jian had long since lost the will to refute them. He simply listened blankly, knowing in his heart that no matter how he tried to explain, the judgment of history would ultimately fall mercilessly on his shoulders.
Tian Jian's thoughts drifted back to the past, to those once lofty ambitions and dreams, which had now all vanished like bubbles.
He once dreamed of becoming a wise ruler and making the State of Qi prosperous under his rule. However, reality was so cruel. He never imagined that his rule would end in a humiliating surrender.
The wicked man ignored him and roared, raising his sword, "The State of Qi is destroyed!"
"Wind, wind, strong wind!"
"The Qin state is mighty! The Grand Commandant is mighty!"
Immediately, cheers from the soldiers erupted like a roaring mountain and a tsunami.
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