The Qin army camp in the southern suburbs of Xianyang.
The wicked man stood coldly on the high platform, looking down at the envoys from Shule, Yanqi and other countries kneeling below.
In the spring breeze, these once proud nobles now tremble like fish on a chopping board.
"Now you know to beg for mercy?" he sneered. "Where were you before?"
The messengers turned pale and dared not answer.
They had all witnessed the devastation in Kucha. The once prosperous city had been reduced to ashes overnight, and its inhabitants had been slaughtered. Corpses littered the fields, and rivers of blood flowed—a truly horrific sight.
"Grand Commandant," the envoy from Shule said in a trembling voice, "we know we were wrong. We only beg for your mercy, Grand Commandant, we are willing..."
"Have mercy?" The wicked man kicked over the table in front of him, sending cups and plates crashing to the ground. "Do you really think there's any room for mercy after betraying the Qin Dynasty?"
He paced back and forth on the platform, his gaze as cold as a knife: "This Grand Commandant would like to ask, when you colluded with the Xiongnu and Yuezhi, did you ever imagine this day would come? When you killed my envoy, did you ever imagine this end?"
The messengers trembled, cold sweat pouring down their backs.
How could they not know that this was the bitter fruit of their own actions?
But who could have imagined that the Qin army would be so ruthless as to wipe out the entire Western Regions!
"Grand Commandant..." The envoy from Yanqi Kingdom still wanted to beg for mercy.
"Enough!" the wicked man roared. "Guards! Pass down my orders!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Order Wang Li to attack Shule immediately!" His voice was icy. "Remember, anyone who resists will be killed without mercy! Men, women, young, and old—exterminate them all! After the city falls, leave nothing but barren land!"
He turned to Zhang Erhe: "Take ten thousand elite troops and go deal with Yanqi. This Grand Commandant will make these traitors know the price of betraying Qin! Remember, leave not a single one alive!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"And another thing!" The wicked man's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Go and send a message to Meng Tian. Tell him that I, the Grand Commandant, have ordered him to take the captured Yuezhi king to various cities for a tour. Let him see with his own eyes what fate awaits his allies!"
The order spread like wildfire throughout the army.
The Qin army began to split into several routes and advance into the Western Regions.
They are like a giant net, ready to capture all living beings on this land and send them to hell!
Beneath the walls of Yanqi.
Zhang Erhe gazed at the city walls, a sinister smile creeping across his face: "Send down the order, prepare to attack! Remember, this time there's no room for mercy. Kill! Kill them all!"
The improved "One Nest" gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Thousands of these divine artifacts stood in neat rows, like the fangs of death, ready to devour the city before them at any moment.
"put!"
At a command, a dense rain of arrows blotted out the sky.
The improved arrows whistled through the air, as if thousands of wasps were swarming towards them.
The defenders on the city wall had just raised their shields when they were pierced by those terrible armor-piercing arrows.
Rows of soldiers fell screaming as their bodies collapsed; even their iron armor could not withstand such terrifying power.
Even more deadly are the barbs; once an arrow pierces the body, pulling it out will tear open an even larger wound.
The wounded were in unbearable pain, rolling around and wailing on the city wall.
"Change magazine! Keep firing!"
The Qin army moved with fluid grace, changing their arrow quivers and launching a new attack in the blink of an eye.
They were like well-trained killing machines, ruthlessly reaping lives on the city walls.
"Your Majesty! We must retreat!" cried a minister beside the King of Yanqi in a panic. "If this continues, the city will fall!"
Sure enough, under this dense barrage of arrows, the defenders on the city wall were quickly wiped out.
The Qin army began to push the siege ladders, preparing to launch a strong attack on the city walls.
"Surrender! We surrender!" the King of Yanqi shouted hoarsely.
"Surrender?" Zhang Erhe sneered. "Now you think of surrendering? Too late! Issue the order: massacre the entire city, leave no one alive! Set fire! Burn it! Burn this city to the ground!"
The Qin army surged into the city like a tidal wave.
They divided into countless small teams, searching house to house. Anyone found alive, regardless of age or gender, was killed.
Cries and pleas for mercy echoed through the streets.
Some people tried to hide in the cellar, but were suffocated by the smoke from the fire.
Some people tried to escape by climbing over the wall, but were shot and killed by archers who had been lying in ambush.
Many more were hacked to death in the chaos.
Blood quickly stained the streets, and corpses lay strewn everywhere, the air thick with the stench of blood and burning flesh.
"Help! Spare me!"
A woman holding a child knelt down and begged for mercy, but was slashed down by a soldier.
In the palace, the King of Yanqi knelt on the ground, trembling: "My lord, spare my life! I am willing to offer up all my treasures..."
"Treasure?" Zhang Erhe sneered. "Your lives are worthless, what treasure are you talking about? Men, chop him up! Remember, do it slowly, let him taste what it means to wish he were dead!"
And so, a once-prosperous city was reduced to ashes in the flames.
By dusk, Yanqi City had become a ruin.
The streets were littered with corpses, unclaimed, and blood flowed like a small river, meandering among the ruins.
"Take a headcount!" Zhang Erhe ordered.
"Reporting to the General, in this battle, over 150,000 soldiers and civilians of Yanqi were killed. Not a single survivor was left in the entire city!"
"Very good!" Zhang Erhe nodded in satisfaction. "Send the order to pile these corpses up at the city gate. Let the people of other cities see what happens to betrayal!"
Meanwhile, in Shule City.
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