The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 671: City Break, Massacre

Wei Yong frowned, his eyes slowly sweeping over the rows of soldiers standing solemnly behind Wei Zi. In the dark night, only the faint light of torches illuminated the darkness.

After all that had happened just now, there was nothing unusual about these soldiers, and their formation was still neat and straight.

He knew that these were indeed Wei Zi's trusted personal soldiers, who could not be provoked with just a few words, and they must be very powerful.

However, Wei Yong gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Does the Prime Minister really want to go against the will of heaven?!"

His voice echoed in front of the palace gate, loud and stern: "The King of Qin is a holy monarch appointed by heaven, and he should obey the will of heaven and the people! At this point, does the Prime Minister still want to lead the soldiers to act against heaven? Do you want the soldiers to sacrifice their lives for the foolish king?!"

"Soldiers, are you also going to go against the will of Heaven? Are you also going to go against the will of Heaven for a foolish king? Aren't you afraid of being punished by Heaven?"

Wei Yong's impassioned speech indeed made Wei Zi's men hesitant, and they whispered and discussed among themselves.

Wei Zi's face was solemn, his brows knitted tightly, and he immediately responded loudly: "It's not against the will of heaven! It's just for the last loyalty to the emperor!"

"I agree to surrender to the Qin State!"

"The war between Qin and Wei is over!"

"Wei Yong, you have achieved your goal for the people of Wei!"

"Then why are you unwilling to let the king surrender for the sake of the Wei family, the former king, and the king?"

"What on earth are you thinking?! Whether to fight or not is up to you, not me! Not the loyal soldiers!"

"It's you! Do you want to continue the civil war?"

Wei Zi's words stabilized the army's morale, and made the soldiers, who had just been moved by Wei Yong's speech, look at Wei Yong suspiciously, regardless of whether they were enemies or friends.

Wei Yong's face became even darker.

Wei Zi remained calm and continued:

"Also, with the chaos today, Daliang is leaderless and the city is doomed to fall. It's one thing for you to surrender before the city falls, but it's another thing to surrender after the city falls."

"Even if you are lucky enough to survive, that will be after the city is captured. How many soldiers do you have left? What is the value of surrendering? Even if you still have great achievements, I think it will be far from what you expected."

"And will the minister who murders his master have any good end?"

Wei Yong and Wei Zhao, both of them looked even uglier.

Wei Zi continued, "Listening to the increasingly loud shouts and cries of killing, it won't be long before the city is captured. You'd better think about it as soon as possible."

"Let the king surrender first. You can surrender now. The Qin State still knows your contributions, and the impact on you will not be great. This is the best result for everyone. Let's give everyone a little dignity."

As the conversation progressed, the surroundings became noisy, with the two sides confronting each other with swords drawn. More and more people approached the palace gate, and the sounds of footsteps and armor colliding intertwined.

With the situation so chaotic, there was naturally an endless stream of people coming to ask for instructions. Although some came to support Wei Yong and his men, Wei Yong knew in his heart that everything Wei Zi said made sense, and if they really delayed any further, it would be too bad.

The original intention was to cut the Gordian knot, stir up riots, have the Qin army attack the city, assault the palace, and capture the King of Wei. These were all carried out simultaneously, and everything went smoothly.

The only difference is that he has been blocked by Wei Zi at the palace gate for a quarter of an hour. If he is delayed any further, I am afraid that everything Wei Zi said will come true.

Wei Yong made a prompt decision, forced a smile, and said, "Okay, what the Prime Minister said makes sense, so let's listen to him. It's for the sake of our Wei family anyway. We will trust the king once more."

Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and did not refute.

King Wei Jingmin, who was standing by, was as pale as paper, with mixed feelings. When Wei Zi said he was going to kill him, he was so scared that his whole body trembled, his eyes widened, and he didn't want to die anyway.

He was now filled with regret. If he had asked for conditions similar to those offered by King Zhao when he was negotiating the terms, everything would probably be over now.

But now
Ugh.

There is no medicine for regret in the world.

To be fair, Wei Zi has done his utmost and has strived to obtain the best outcome for him.

Wei Zi nodded: "Okay. Then please allow my soldiers to march with the soldiers under your command, Zuo Xiang."

"You" Wei Zhao couldn't help but get angry. Just as he was about to speak, Wei Yong quickly waved his hand to stop him.

"Okay, let's do as the Prime Minister says!" Wei Yong forced himself to smile.

Then he whispered to Wei Zhao, "There is no time to waste. Let's just leave it at that. The Prime Minister will not create any more trouble. That will be bad for everyone!"

Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and said nothing more.

Wei Zi ordered loudly: "Listen to my orders and march with the soldiers under the command of the left prime minister. If you find that the king and I have been killed or forcibly detained, take action immediately! Don't worry about the safety of the king and me!"

"Yes!" The voices of more than a thousand soldiers responded, making Wei Yong's face even paler. He knew that these were Wei Zi's most trusted confidants. If things really got chaotic, it would not be difficult to delay them for an hour or two.

After Wei Zi finished speaking, he calmly walked to Wei Yong's side, his posture as straight as a pine tree: "I am beside the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister should not have any scruples. Untie the king, it is not decent for a king to be tied up like this?" Wei Zi sighed deeply, the sigh was full of vicissitudes and fatigue, and advised King Wei Jingmin: "King, things have come to this point, take the initiative to surrender. The chaos in the city is like this, and the people are suffering, so let's end it."

King Jingmin of Wei sighed deeply, looked lonely, and nodded weakly.

Wei Zhao looked at Wei Yong with a questioning look in his eyes, and Wei Yong nodded.

After King Jingmin of Wei was untied, he gently shook his sleeves, and they slowly fell like fallen leaves in the wind.

He sighed and said, "Let's go, my left prime minister, my great general, let's surrender now."

The four of them gathered the rebel troops along the way, put down the rebellion, and quickly rushed towards the largest city gate.

However, it was a step too late.

Daliang, the city was broken.

The people of Wei's left prime minister and general cooperated with the Qin army from inside and outside, and there was chaos everywhere in the city. The most important leaders, King Jingmin of Wei, the left and right prime ministers, and the general, none of them were in charge.

There was no organization at all in the entire city. Many ordinary soldiers had already fallen into chaos and had really started to fight. The remaining ones who could remain stable could only hide and protect themselves. The few who could continue to hold their posts had no will to fight.

In this situation, if Meng Wu, Li Xin and Gai Nie still cannot capture the city, then the three of them are really not worthy of being placed with high hopes.

After breaking into the city, the Qin army followed Meng Wu's orders and strictly prohibited the killing of civilians, but they were required to kill as many Wei officials, nobles and officers as possible who did not surrender immediately!
Who made Daliang such a mess that it is difficult for them to surrender collectively now?
The Qin army has not had such a good opportunity to gain military merit without restraint for many years. Now that they have received the order, they will naturally act without any scruples.

King Jingmin of Wei gathered almost all the middle and high-ranking noble officials and even their entire families in the country to Daliang City. Now what Daliang City lacked the least was nobles and officials.

Taking these people's heads is much better than taking civilians' heads, and the military merit added is much more than that of ordinary soldiers.

Moreover, taking the heads of civilians is usually not verifiable. If you end up losing more than you gain, it will be even more of a loss.

Meng Wu looked at the city of Daliang, where there were deafening cries of killing and endless crying, with his face as calm as the sea. He thought about what his father said to him before he died.

"My son, remember, you must always be loyal to the king. Don't listen to anyone else but the king."

"You should think more about the king. The king is a benevolent and holy monarch. There are some things that the king cannot do, so we, the frontline soldiers on the battlefield, need to do them while the war is going on."

"If there are things that are beneficial to Daqin but are inconvenient for the king to do, then you should do them!"

Meng Wu remembered these words firmly.

The good things of Wei, mainly land, were all in the hands of the nobles. Wei was located in the Central Plains, with a small land area and a large population. If too many nobles were left behind, it would be detrimental to the advancement of the Qin Dynasty's land policy. Moreover, the personal connections were complicated, and too many old officials and nobles were left behind, which was detrimental to the Qin Dynasty's rule.

The rewards for the soldiers are also a problem.

Now we have such a good opportunity. Almost all the noble officials in the country are in Daliang, and they are leaderless and have no organization. They are very easy to kill. We must kill more of them.

After his death, his property was confiscated and his property was seized on the grounds that he had acted against the will of heaven and against the Qin Dynasty.

This is most beneficial to Daqin.

If Wei State had surrendered smoothly, it would have been less comfortable to digest.

It's just like eating a melon. If it's a whole melon, you really can't eat it. You have to split the melon into small pieces and remove the seeds. Only then will it taste good.

Today is destined to be a sleepless night for Daliang City.

The Qin army that broke into the city started killing soldiers, nobles and officials without hesitation. They would not even kill those who surrendered. Only those who voluntarily dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender would be spared.

In this situation, there must be people who were killed by mistake, and there are many who did not surrender in time. Even among Wei Yong and Wei Zhao's subordinates, and even officials who were loyal to the Qin Dynasty, there must have been people who were killed by mistake. That can only be said to be a necessary price.

If you die in the chaos of battle, your death is in vain. If you don't surrender in time, you deserve to be killed.

When Wei Yong and his men met the Qin army, they almost got into a direct conflict. It was only because Wei Yong reacted quickly and ordered everyone to lay down their weapons that the negotiations were successful.

Seeing that the Qin army was so fierce and murderous, no one dared to delay.

Wei Yong immediately asked King Jingmin of Wei to meet Meng Wu immediately and tell him to surrender with the left and right prime ministers and the general.

The Qin army took them out of the city to meet Meng Wu. Meng Wu secretly thought it was a pity that not enough people were killed.

So I deliberately took my time.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, it was not until Wei Zi gave several glances to King Jingmin of Wei and Wei Yong that King Jingmin of Wei suggested several times that they quickly enter the city to help quell the war that Meng Wu agreed.

Meng Wu also entered the city with them, accompanying King Jingmin of Wei and his men. They each gathered their troops, quelled the war, restored order, and gradually took over the city of Daliang.

The smoke of war is finally dissipating.

(End of this chapter)