The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 642: So This Is What the Emperor Looks Like

Inside Jianye City.

Guanqiu Jian stood in the imperial palace, looking at the many Wu ministers kneeling in front of him, and formally accepted their surrender.

Immediately afterwards, Guanqiu Jian ordered Sun Hao to issue an edict, demanding that the garrison commanders in various places surrender.

After the emperor was captured and surrendered, the rest of the people had no intention of resisting at all.

Guanqiu Jian finally had the opportunity to rest in Jianye.

In fact, after a thousand-mile raid, Guanqiu Jian's army had greatly lost its combat effectiveness. If they encountered another army coming to block them, the outcome would be unpredictable.

When Guanqiu Jian led a large army on such a charge, even if the morale was high, there would naturally be a time when they would be exhausted.

However, Fan Shen became the last general to stop Guanqiu Jian, and after Sun Hao was captured, no one dared to attack Guanqiu Jian anymore.

Guanqiu Jian's army began to rest in Jianye, except Guanqiu Jian, who had not yet rested.

Although Sun Hao was captured and the Wu Kingdom was destroyed, the problems of the Wu Kingdom were not completely solved.

On the front line, Shi Ji and Ding Feng still had an army of nearly 100,000, while in Danyang, Lu Kang was leading his troops approaching.

Based on Guanqiu Jian's understanding of them, he was afraid that these people would not be willing to surrender easily.

Among them, Guanqiu Jian was most worried about Lu Kang.

His army was really exhausted to the extreme. If Lu Kang attacked quickly at this moment, Guanqiu Jian would have to die with Jianye.

This is also the reason why Guanqiuji was anxious to let the army rest.

As Sun Hao's edict spread to various places, counties and prefectures along the way began to surrender one after another.

This situation is just like the situation in the Shu Kingdom back then. The generals were still fighting, but the emperor had already surrendered. Even if the generals wanted to resist, they no longer had the right to do so.

Sun Hao was no longer tied up. As a surrendered minister, he sat next to the surrendered ministers.

A new minister looked at him in surprise and asked the people beside him, only to find out: Oh, so this is our Emperor!

Many ministers of the Eastern Wu may not have recognized their emperor because Sun Hao did not allow others to see him.

Not all ministers are like this.

Guanqiu Jian did not sit on the throne of the emperor. He was different from Deng Ai. He sat beside the throne of the emperor, leaving the seat above it empty to indicate superiority and inferiority.

Guanqiu Jian met with many ministers of the State of Wu here and appeased them.

But not all ministers were willing to surrender.

The soldiers escorted a man into the hall.

The man kept struggling, and the two soldiers could hardly catch him.

He was brought all the way to Guanqiu Jian, and when the ministers saw him, they all lowered their heads.

Only Sun Hao looked at the useless people under his command with disdain.

The man looked up at Guanqiu Jian angrily and demanded, "You bastard! Cao Rui treated you like a brother and entrusted you with important matters before his death. Where is his son Cao Fang?"

There was no trace of emotion on Guanqiu Jian's face.

He asked, "Lou Xuan, you were originally a commoner. Sun Xiu, the Lord of Wu, raised you from humble beginnings and entrusted you with important tasks. Where are his wife and sons today?"

The man's face flushed red, and he suddenly turned his head and looked at Sun Hao.

"Sun Hao! Where is your bravery?! Why don't you commit suicide and sacrifice yourself for your country?!"

Sun Hao was furious.

This man was called Lou Xuan. He was upright and strong-willed, so he did not get along with his colleagues and was not promoted for many years. After Sun Xiu came to power, he promoted him to be the Censor. When Sun Hao came to power, he was promoted to the position of Minister of Agriculture.

He had repeatedly gone against Sun Hao's wishes in the court and always advised Sun Hao against it. Sun Hao had long wanted to kill him, but he did not do it because of the upcoming war.

Hearing his shouting, Sun Hao subconsciously reached for his waist, but found nothing. The dagger he was so familiar with was nowhere to be found.

If the dagger was still there, he would use it to poke the other person's eyes.

Sun Hao touched nothing and cursed, "How dare you, old thief, be so rude to me?!"

Guanqiu Jian looked at the person in front of him. To be honest, he admired upright people like him very much.

Unfortunately, this is the enemy.

When the entire city of Jianye surrendered, this man alone led his servants in resistance, intending to set fire to the granary and call on the rest of the people to attack Guanqiu Jian.

Guanqiu Jian looked at him deeply and then ordered: "Execute his entire clan."

Now it's a war, and both sides are enemies. No matter how much we admire them, we cannot show mercy. If such a person survives, and the people of Jianye see that there is no punishment for rebelling, then Jianye will be in big trouble.

Only by suppressing these uprisings in the most brutal way can we ensure the safety of our own people.

Although Guanqiu Jian admired him very much, he could only order the execution of his entire family at this moment.

Lou Xuan was obviously not afraid, he was still cursing.

He angrily rebuked the emperor and all the officials in the court.

He scolded these people, calling them cowards, disloyal and treacherous villains. Jianye clearly still had an army, and the ministers clearly had private soldiers in their homes. There were also many royal families in Jianye. Why did they surrender so easily?!
Faced with Lou Xuan's scolding, some people lowered their heads in guilt, but others felt it was irrelevant.

They had suffered a lot over the years, especially after Sun Hao came to power. What kind of life had they been leading?
They were threatened with death at any time, so Sun Hao drafted various cruel and perverted criminal laws. The ministers lived in fear, and every day was a test of life and death!

Who can bear this?!

It has come to this point, what else can we do but invest?
Let them fight to the death with Guanqiu Jian for someone like Sun Hao? Even if they defeated Guanqiu Jian, what would happen?
Guanqiu Jian was just one of the enemy army. If he left, there were still Hu Zun, Wen Qin, and Wang Ji. When they came in, they might be executed along with their entire family because of Guanqiu Jian's deeds.

It would be better to just surrender and save your clan.

Lou Xuan was dragged out just like that.

When he saw this man's appearance, Guanqiu Jian knew in his heart that the affairs of the Wu State might not end so quickly.

Although the Wu Kingdom also had a large number of loyal brothers, it also had quite a few ministers and generals with strong blood.

As Sun Hao's edict spread to all directions, more and more people knew about this matter.

"General! Guanqiu Jian has succeeded."

The deputy general who delivered the message suddenly knelt in front of Lu Kang and burst into tears.

Lu Kang, riding on his horse, looked at the deputy general and suddenly fell silent.

"What about Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty has surrendered. Guanqiu Jian has captured Jianye. Your Majesty has issued an edict demanding that all generals lay down their arms and surrender to the Wei people."

The deputy general's words immediately caused an uproar here.

The weapons in the hands of a deputy general fell directly to the ground.

Lu Kang looked towards Jianye City dimly and did not speak for a long time.

At this moment, Lu Kang was only two days away from Jianye.

He pursed his lips, probably thinking of how Guanqiu Jian did it. This guy must have abandoned the baggage, traveled light, rushed straight to his own emperor's carriage, defeated Fan Shen's army, and then opened the door to Jianye through the emperor.

Lu Kang couldn't help but praise: "Burn the boats and cross the river."

"Guanqiu Jian possessed the spirit of a hegemon."

The lieutenants looked at him blankly.

The emperor's surrender made them lose their will to fight and they lost the goal they were fighting for.

And they don't know what to do at this moment.

Will Cao Wei massacre them?
Will they be able to see their families alive?

Lu Kang sighed again, "How incompetent I am! I commanded a vast army, yet I only watched Guanqiu Jian march forward without even fighting him once, and yet I was defeated miserably."

"General, what should we do?"

The deputy general asked timidly.

Lu Kang looked at the many generals in front of him and saw the complicated expressions on their faces.

The emperor took the lead in surrendering.

Even if Lu Kang encouraged them, I'm afraid they would no longer be willing to follow him to attack Jianye.

Lu Kang said calmly, "If you are willing to obey the imperial edict, then lay down your weapons as ordered, return to the nearest county, and wait for the Wei army."

The deputy generals said nothing more, saluted Lu Kang, turned around and left.

Over the years, the army stationed in southern Jing has fought with the State of Wei for many years. They are already exhausted. Now that the emperor has surrendered, they really have no reason to fight again. They have to obey the imperial edict.

But there were also a few people who never left.

"General, what if you are unwilling to comply?"

Lu Kang looked at them and said, "If there are those who are unwilling to obey the imperial edict, then follow me to Jianye, defeat Guanqiu Jian, and rescue His Majesty."

He began, "I predict that Guanqiu Jian's army must be exhausted after a thousand-mile raid and no longer have the strength to fight. If we can reach Jianye in time and contact the loyal and righteous people in the city, we may be able to defeat Guanqiu Jian and recapture Your Majesty."

A deputy general asked worriedly, "What if it doesn't work?"

"Only death."

Lu Kang looked at the crowd and said, "I will lead my soldiers to Jianye. Your Majesty has treated me well since he ascended the throne, and I cannot let Your Majesty down. If anyone is willing to follow me, please come with me."

After Lu Kang finished speaking, he continued to ride his horse towards Jianye.

At this moment, Lu Kang's army was divided into two, and many people still followed Lu Kang firmly.

Apart from Lu Kang, the situation in other places was not optimistic. The troops that received Lu Kang's orders and prepared to rescue chose to surrender after learning that the emperor had surrendered, and acted directly according to the imperial edict without any intention of resistance.

It was not until the news of this matter reached the front line that Shi Ji, Ding Feng, and even Wen Qin, Hu Zun and others learned about it one after another.

For a moment, the entire front line suddenly stopped fighting and fell into a strange silence.

Sun Hao's decree directly shattered the morale of the front line.

Shi Ji had no time to cover up the news, and with the help of someone with ulterior motives, it spread throughout the army, and soldiers came to inquire about it one after another.

They seemed to have lost the faith to continue fighting.

(End of this chapter)