Chapter Thirty-Six: Yi Que! Yi Que!

  Zhao Jun's iron cavalry advanced too quickly.

  Taking advantage of the dark night, ten thousand Zhao cavalry lay in ambush on a small hill ten miles east of Yique's East Gate. After receiving the "Qin army" internal response fire signal, the Zhao army relied on the momentum of the people and the power of the horse, and it only took a moment to rush into Yique City.

  The Qin army tried to resist stubbornly, but unfortunately the huge disparity in strength between the two sides was not something that the bravery of the soldiers could make up for. The Qin army on the city wall resisted for less than a quarter of an hour before suffering heavy casualties.

  "Wang Lei, what's to be done now?" Looking at the Qin army being forced back step by step by Zhao Jun, Gong Sun Yun was anxious and grabbed the five hundred masters who had brought him here.

  "Governor! For now, the only plan is to defend to the death and wait for reinforcements. There are still 3,000 troops in the city, they must have heard the commotion here by now. Once the reinforcements arrive, we'll launch a desperate counterattack, perhaps there's still a chance to survive."

  "Defend to the death and wait for reinforcements?" Gong Sun Yun muttered to himself.

  Relying on the 500 Qin troops on the city wall? No, now there are less than 200 Qin troops left. Before reinforcements arrive, they will be exposed and killed on the city wall. Moreover, there are only 3,000 main forces in the city! At present, the enemy's iron cavalry is overwhelming, with at least over 10,000 people, how can the mere 3,000 Qin troops be a match for the enemy? It seems that the fall of Yique City is inevitable.

  "No way, I won't die here. I still have a great life ahead of me, I don't want to die yet." Gong Sun Yun muttered to herself.

  "Wang Li, I see that the enemy is numerous and strong, resisting will also lead to death. Why don't we surrender?" Gongsun Yun, as a scholar, came up with what seemed like the only way to survive.

  Wang Li looked at Gongsun Yun with disgust and said, "Governor, surrendering is a capital offense! We old Qin people don't have cowards! Governor, just stay behind me safely. As long as I'm not dead, you won't be in trouble."

  Surrender? That would be a crime against my family! If I can only die in battle tonight, then so be it! The military spirit of the old Qin people cannot be lost! Wang Lei told himself secretly.

  Just as Wang Lei was about to turn around and kill the enemy, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. When he looked down, he saw that a long sword had pierced through his chest. Wang Lei turned around with an incredulous expression, only to see Gong Sunyun's ferocious face.

  "Governor, you..."

  "Wang Lei, when the city falls, both of us will be guilty of death. Surrendering is still a thread of life, don't blame me for being ruthless and cruel, blame yourself for not knowing the times."

  After finishing speaking, Gong Sun Yun kicked open the soft and weak corpse of Wang Lei with one foot, raised his sword and shouted loudly: "Wang Lei is dead, I order you all to surrender!"

  The Qin soldiers turned their heads to look, and the five hundred masters Wang Lei who should have commanded them had already died in battle. The nominal governor, Lord Gao, held up a bronze sword and ordered surrender. The Qin army, which was originally retreating step by step, now had no intention of continuing to fight. In the chaos, some people followed the officer's orders, dropped their weapons, and knelt down to surrender.

  There were several Bochang and Zulang who wanted to re-motivate the soldiers to fight again, but unfortunately, the crossbow arrows of the Zhao army made it impossible for them to speak.

  "Spare those who surrender!" The Zhao army took advantage of the momentum to launch a psychological attack. Having lost their commander, the Qin army, which had been wavering in its resolve, finally knelt down piece by piece and begged for mercy under the bronze swords of the Zhao army.

  At the east gate of Yique City, the main generals of the Han and Zhao armies saw Gong Sunyan being escorted.

  Looking at Gong Sunyun crawling forward and kneeling down to beg for mercy, the main general of the Zhao army, Zheng You, felt a barely perceptible sense of disgust. However, despite his disgust, Gong Sunyun still had some use value at this moment, and he couldn't bear to turn cold the heart that had surrendered to the Qin army.

  "Are you Gongsun Yun, the Governor of Yique?" Zheng Yun asked aloud.

  "How dare I? How dare I? The guilty minister is indeed Gong Sun Yun."

  Zheng Yun didn't waste any words and directly asked, "You come tell Ben Jiang, how many Qin troops are still in Yque City at present?"

  "Reporting back to Your Excellency, each of the four gates has 500 guards on night duty. Currently, there are still 3,000 guards within the city."

  It seems that the garrison of Yique is still 5,000 people, and the intelligence he obtained was correct. Zheng Yun nodded secretly.

  The crown prince looked at Gongsun Yun, who was kneeling under the horse, and secretly rejoiced. With this, Yique could be considered as having been taken down. The mere three thousand Qin troops were not even in his eyes.

  Gongsun Yun looked at the two nobles in front of him, who were barely concealing their joy, and immediately volunteered: "This humble minister will lead the way for the great army and eliminate this rebel force. As their commander, they should still listen to my order to surrender."

  "Hurry up and bring the road!" Zheng Yuanshen was overjoyed.

  As soon as he received the order, Gong Sun Yun immediately led the way with a smile. Now that he was tied to the same rope as Zhao Jun and Han Jun, Gong Sun Yun was more anxious than anyone else to resolve the 3,000 Qin troops inside the city. If he could persuade them to surrender, it would be a great achievement! His own life would also have a greater chance of being preserved.

  Inside Yique City, the Qin army's large camp.

  The killing shout from the east gate had long awakened the sleeping Qin army, and soon the rumbling sound of horseshoes echoed through the north, south and west gates.

  "Could it be that bandits have raided the city?" This was the Qin army's first reaction, but where would there be so many bandits. Hearing the distant sound of war horses outside, there were at least several thousand cavalrymen. Did they dare to raid a city heavily guarded by the Qin army?

  Doubts returned to doubts, the Qin army was still swiftly preparing for rescue under layered command. At this moment, all four gates of Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei had shouting and killing sounds, and the city of Yique was in danger every day. No matter what kind of enemy it is, the three thousand Qin army will crush them, let them know that Yique City is not a place where they can come and go as they please.

  "Something's gone terribly wrong! Countless Zhao cavalry are pouring in from the east gate. Governor Gong Sun orders you to reinforce the east gate immediately. If you're late, it'll be too late."

  A Qin army soldier hastily entered the account and reported the news of seeking help to three 250 masters, who are now their highest military officials.

  "What? How did Zhao Jun get in?" A second lieutenant excitedly grabbed the soldier who brought the news.

  "Easy, Old Sun." Another of the 250 leaders stepped forward and separated the two men. He turned to Xiaobing and asked, "Tell me, where is the governor now? How many soldiers does Zhao have?"

  The little official nervously took a few deep breaths and hastily replied, "The governor is now at the east gate, Zhao's iron cavalry is rolling in, and it's hard to see the edge of them, there are at least tens of thousands of riders."

  "How did they get in? How did you guard the city?" Er Wu Bai Zhu shouted, who had been silent all along.

  "This......" Qin army soldier stuttered.

  "Speak, or I'll kill you." The next second, a bronze sword was drawn out and pointed at the Qin army soldier.

  "Yes, yes... It was Governor Gong Sun who ordered the gate to be opened. I heard it's a messenger from the great general Hu Yang." The little soldier spoke vaguely.

  "Never mind, Old Chen. Don't bother with the trivial matters." A second-in-command waved his hand to signal the soldier to retreat and said, "We should deploy our troops quickly! The soldiers outside are almost ready."

  However, before the 3,000-strong Qin army could even leave their camp, they were surrounded by more than 7,000 Zhao soldiers. After several waves of arrow showers, Gong Sun Yun made his move.

  "My fellow brothers, I am Gong Sunyun, the governor of Yique. The cruel Qin dynasty has been invading everywhere, causing chaos throughout the land and leaving people homeless. Now heaven's punishment has arrived, the 100,000-strong army of Hu Yang was defeated at Wild King, and the combined forces of Zhao and Han have taken control of all four gates of Yique. I have surrendered to Zhao and Han, abandoning darkness for light. For your own good, I advise you all to lay down your arms and not die for the cruel Qin. The great states of Zhao and Han treat their prisoners well, those who wish to continue serving in the army may do so, while those who do not will be given land."

  "What? The great army of Hu Yang has been defeated?"

  "What? Yique City has fallen?"

  "How could the governor surrender? It's all over! Even if we rush out and go back, it will be a crime punishable by death!"

  "Where can you escape to? Haven't you heard that the 100,000-strong Zhao and Han armies have already surrounded Izumo?"

  Gongsun Yun's one sentence was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves. The Qin army, which was already in a state of panic and confusion, heard so many messages at once, and what's more, they were from their former commander, now an enemy, making them even more flustered.

  The three commanders looked at each other, their eyes filled with a sense of helplessness. The morale of the troops had already collapsed, and it was impossible to fight against such overwhelming odds. In the end, the three men led their troops out of the camp with a sorrowful expression.

  "Clang, clang", the sound of weapons falling to the ground announced the surrender of the last resistance force of the Qin army in Yique, and also declared the loss of Yique.

  In this battle, 2,400 Qin soldiers were killed and the remaining 2,600 surrendered. The armies of Han and Zhao suffered only a few hundred casualties.

  Twenty years after the fall of Yique to Qin, it was finally returned to Han. However, in the hazy morning light, no one noticed a lone rider galloping away from the west gate of Yique.

  After daybreak, the timid citizens of Izhao cautiously opened their doors. Looking around, they saw the mighty armies of Zhao and Han on the streets, but not a single trace of the Qin army was seen. It was only then that the people of Izhao realized that Izhao had changed hands overnight.

  Tian Hu followed the crown prince's orders, excitedly going to gather the three elders and post notices, busy with joy. Every face of the Han army was filled with comfort, pride, and excitement, even walking with a vigorous spirit.

  Messenger after messenger came out of the east gate of Yique and went to Ye Wang. Since Yique had fallen, the next strategy of the allied forces needed to be adjusted. The 40,000-strong Korean rear army must speed up its march, and the Wei and Zhao armies in Ye Wang also had to hurry to Yique to join forces.

  Under the stimulation of victory, however, within one day, the 40,000-strong army of the violent Di arrived at Yique. Three days later, the 140,000-strong armies of Zhao and Wei also arrived at Yique and set up camp.

  There are two more! Bai Qi is on stage.