With the fall of Yuyang City to the mighty Qin army, two months swiftly passed.
The 300,000-strong army of Wu'an Camp had divided its forces into 50,000 elite troops and another 50,000 logistical personnel were assigned to oversee the surrendered soldiers. At the same time, the rest pushed forward in full force against the State of Yan.
Now, most of Yan's territory had fallen under Qin's control, and the capital, Ji City, was within reach.
"General!"
"We are now merely thirty miles away from Ji City," Zhang Han reported loudly as he rode forward.
"Good!"
"Pass down my order advance at full speed!"
"By nightfall, we will set up camp outside Ji City," Zhao Feng commanded.
"Understood!" Zhang Han nodded, then turned and shouted, "General's orders march at full speed towards Ji City!"
From the moment Zhao Feng first mobilized his forces, it had only taken three months to reach the enemy's capital.
Even with a significant numerical advantage, such a feat was near impossible, given Yan's vast territory and Ji City's location in the eastern region.
But under Zhao Feng's command, Yan's army had been crushed, with only a few scattered garrisons remaining while the rest had retreated into Ji City.
Moreover, the battle-hardened warriors of Wu'an Camp far surpassed any other army in combat prowess.
With no capable generals left to lead, the King of Yan had no choice but to entrust his palace guards with command.
Despite having recalled the 70,000 frontier troops, the city's total force barely exceeded 200,000. Of these, only the frontier soldiers had any real combat experience; the rest were untrained and weak.
"Report!"
"Your Majesty!"
"A grave emergency!"
"The Qin cavalry is advancing rapidly!"
"They are now less than twenty miles from the capital!"
A soldier rushed into the court, breathless with urgency.
"Too fast!"
"How could they move this quickly?"
The King of Yan frowned, fear creeping across his face.
Despite all his efforts to resist, the overwhelming might of Wu'an Camp had crushed his hopes.
Yan's army was no match for Qin.
"Has Sima Lin not returned yet?"
The King of Yan turned to his ministers, his voice filled with anxiety.
"Your Majesty, Sima Lin has yet to return."
"None of us know his whereabouts."
A minister stepped forward to reply.
"What of the northern frontier?" the king asked urgently.
At this question, many ministers hesitated, their expressions troubled.
Finally, one of them stepped forward and spoke solemnly,
"Your Majesty… After the border troops were withdrawn, the Donghu crossed into our land."
"As for the specifics, we are unable to determine due to the Qin invasion."
Hearing this, the King of Yan's face lit up with joy instead of concern.
"The Donghu have crossed the border? That is precisely what I wanted!"
At this moment, he no longer saw the need to hide his actions.
His words struck the court like a thunderclap, leaving all the ministers in shock.
"What?!"
"Your Majesty, how could you conspire with the Donghu?!"
"The horrors of foreign invasion have been witnessed throughout history!"
"The Donghu are ruthless they see our people as mere livestock! If they cross the border unopposed, it will be a massacre for our northern kin!"
"Your Majesty, how could you do such a thing?!"
One minister stepped forward, his face red with fury as he rebuked the king.
"How dare you speak to me like this?!"
The King of Yan was enraged, pointing at the minister with fury.
"Betraying our people and colluding with outsiders is the ultimate crime!"
"This is a disgrace that will echo through the ages!"
"You are shaming the ancestors of Yan!"
"You are unworthy of the throne!"
The minister, undeterred, pointed directly at the king and shouted.
"Silence!"
"Guards! Drag him out!"
"Throw him in the dungeons!"
The furious King of Yan ordered his palace guards forward.
But before they could act, more ministers stepped forward.
"Your Majesty has lost all virtue! Conspiring with foreign invaders is a sin that will be cursed for generations!"
"To serve such a ruler is a disgrace!"
"A humiliation that will last forever!"
"A true ruler of China would never collude with barbarians! Have you no shame?!"
"You are a disgrace to the throne!"
"You are unfit to be king!"
"Traitor!"
One by one, ministers stood up, their voices filled with righteous fury as they condemned the king.
A glance around the court revealed that at least half of the hundred ministers present had risen to denounce their sovereign.
In the vast lands of China, many states existed, but they all shared a common heritage.
The northern nomadic tribes, however, were outsiders.
Allowing them to invade unchecked would lead to the slaughter of their people.
Anyone who still held loyalty to their nation, anyone who still believed in their cultural identity, could not stand for this betrayal.
The King of Yan was shaken.
He had not expected so many ministers to rise against him.
For the first time, doubt crept into his mind.
Had he made the wrong decision?
But the very next moment, he clenched his teeth and steeled himself.
"I am the King of Yan!"
"I rule over the people of Yan! Who are they to question me?!"
His rage reignited as he stood and pointed at his ministers, his voice filled with defiance.
"For the survival of Yan, any sacrifice is justified!"
"Qi and Chu have abandoned us! Qin is pressing in on all sides!"
"Calling upon the Donghu was my only choice!"
"This is all Qin's fault!"
"As King, I must do whatever it takes to preserve Yan!"
But as he looked around, he saw nothing but contempt in the eyes of his court.
The ministers who had once bowed before him now looked at him with hatred and disdain.
Their silence was louder than their words.
For in their hearts, they had already cast him aside.
The first minister to speak out, Yan Chen, looked utterly despondent as he pointed at King Yan and shouted, "Foolish ruler! Even now, you refuse to repent?"
"What you've done is even worse than King You of Zhou's infamous folly!"
"You, Ji Xi, shall bear the burden of eternal disgrace!"
"We are ashamed to serve you as ministers!"
"To collude with foreign tribes such a crime of treason, we shall not bear!"
"With the foreign invaders crossing our borders, you are the sinner of the northern frontier's people!"
One after another, the ministers erupted in furious condemnation.
At this time, their anger was genuine.
In this era, betraying one's people was an unforgivable crime.
Even in death, they would not bear such a disgraceful stain on their names.
As the hall filled with waves of condemnation, King Yan completely lost his temper. With a furious wave of his hand, he roared, "Treason! Treason!"
"If you all seek death, then I shall grant it!"
"Guards! Seize these treasonous ministers at once and execute them all!"
His command to kill cast a chilling atmosphere over the entire court.
Yet, even in the face of death, none of the ministers who had denounced King Yan backed down.
A large force of imperial guards stormed into the hall. But as they looked upon the dozens of ministers who had stood up to curse the king, they hesitated.
They had heard the debates in the court.
Their king had colluded with foreign invaders.
With the border troops withdrawn, wouldn't that leave the northern frontier defenseless against the barbarian horde?
As they realized this, rage welled up within them silent but undeniable.
However, bound by their duty to the king, they dared not act against him.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Seize these traitorous ministers at once!"
King Yan's face twisted in fury as he shouted at his hesitant guards.
Just as the soldiers, torn between conscience and duty, prepared to act
"Report!"
"The Qin vanguard has arrived at the city gates!"
"It appears they are preparing to launch an attack!"
A commander responsible for defending the city rushed into the hall.
"What? Weren't they still twenty miles away? How did they arrive so quickly?"
King Yan's face changed drastically.
He could suppress his ministers with his authority as king.
But against the mighty Qin army, his so-called "royal authority" meant nothing for Zhao Feng had come to destroy it.
Outside Jicheng, nearly a hundred thousand cavalrymen had arrived.
With a single command from Zhao Feng, they had advanced off schedule and now stood before the city gates.
"Three months now, we stand before Jicheng."
"Tomorrow, we shall breach the city and capture King Yan."
"The Yan kingdom shall fall."
Looking at the towering city before him, Zhao Feng smiled.
"General, now that our army has arrived, shall we order a volley of arrows to intimidate the Yan forces?" General Zhang Han suggested.
Zhao Feng pondered for a moment, about to approve the plan
"Report!"
"A confidential report has just arrived!"
A personal guard galloped over, clutching a sealed document.
Zhao Feng took the report and read it.
His expression immediately darkened.
"Outrageous!"
"King Yan Ji Xi he is truly despicable!"
For the first time, an unprecedented fury burned on Zhao Feng's face.
Zhang Han and the surrounding generals were all taken aback.
They had never seen their commander so enraged before.
"General, what has happened?" Zhang Han cautiously inquired.
Without speaking, Zhao Feng handed the confidential report to Zhang Han.
Zhang Han took it, and read through it, and his face, too, turned dark with fury.
"Outrageous!"
"How dare he call himself a king?"
"To think he would collude with the foreign tribes!"
"No wonder he withdrew the frontier troops into Jicheng he wanted to clear the way for the barbarians to invade!"
"Despicable!" Zhang Han roared in anger.
"What?"
"King Yan colluded with foreign invaders?"
"He dares?"
"That treacherous scoundrel! How is he fit to rule?"
"General, give the order! Let's take this city today!"
"When foreign tribes invade, all of China must stand together this has been the law since ancient times!"
"If they cross into the north, the people of Yan will be slaughtered. We cannot allow it!"
One by one, the generals stepped forward, all seething with fury.
Even though it was the people of Yan who would suffer first, the generals of Qin already saw them as their own subjects.
If the barbarians crossed the border, the result would be nothing short of a massacre.
Every general understood this.
King Yan had withdrawn his border troops, and the foreign invaders had surely taken notice sooner or later, they would come.
But to actively collude with them? No one had expected such an unforgivable betrayal.
After taking Yuyang, Zhao Feng led his forces in a rapid march, conquering city after city to reach Jicheng in just two months.
His goal had been to subdue Yan quickly, so he could reinforce the northern frontier and prevent any opportunity for invasion.
Yet now, it seemed they were too late.
"At first, I thought King Yan had withdrawn his forces purely for defense, in hopes of saving his kingdom."
"I had believed that, perhaps, he could still be redeemed."
"But now, knowing that he has colluded with the enemy…"
"He has sealed his fate."
Zhao Feng's voice was cold as he gazed upon Jicheng, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
The barbaric foreign tribes of this era had never been civilized. Even though Zhao Feng had never seen their cruelty firsthand, he had the memories of his past life he knew exactly what they were.
They were beasts. No, worse than beasts.
Pillaging, slaughtering, and burning entire cities to the ground were not mere possibilities; they were certainties.
Wherever they passed, they left a trail of devastation.
"General, please give the order!"
Zhang Han knelt on one knee.
"General, please give the order!"
The other generals followed suit, bowing before Zhao Feng in unison.
"Wait."
"The soldiers guarding this city are the very same who once defended Yan's northern frontier. I refuse to believe they have no sense of righteousness."
Zhao Feng raised his hand, his gaze carrying an unprecedented solemnity.
The Yan King's actions
A betrayal of the Huaxia people.
Once word spread, he would be reviled by all under heaven.
Throughout history, those who betrayed their people have always been condemned, and regarded as traitors to their own kind.
"Form ranks!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Zhao Feng issued his command.
Then, spurring his horse, he charged toward Ji City.
"All troops, heed my order and prepare for battle!"
Zhang Han immediately relayed the command.
On the city walls of Ji City,
as they watched the Qin army forming,
the defending soldiers atop the walls all wore grim expressions.
After the Yan border army had been redeployed, almost all of the city's defenders were from the border forces.
For one, they were formidable warriors; for another, they were seasoned veterans of battles against the northern tribes.
Naturally, the Yan King relied on them to hold the city.
"General Gongsun!"
"A Qin cavalryman approaches!"
A commander of the city guards reported to Gongsun Guang, the general of the Yan border army.
"He must be here to persuade us to surrender. No need to panic," Gongsun Guang said in a deep voice.
The commander nodded and said no more.
Although the Yan King had appointed him to lead the defense, he had little battlefield experience and lacked the strategic acumen to command troops effectively.
Thus, he relied heavily on Gongsun Guang.
Before long
Zhao Feng arrived at the city gates, mounted on his steed.
"Who commands this city's defense?"
Zhao Feng's voice rang out.
Gongsun Guang turned to the city guard commander beside him.
"General Gongsun," the commander said, "though His Majesty has entrusted me with the city's defense, the troops stationed here are all from the border forces. You should hear what this Qin general has to say."
Gongsun Guang nodded and stepped forward.
"This general is Gongsun Guang," he announced.
"I am Zhao Feng, Commanding Officer of the Wu'an Army, Great Qin's Supreme General," Zhao Feng declared.
"Zhao Feng!"
At the mention of this name,
Gongsun Guang, the city guard commander, and all the soldiers on the walls were visibly shaken.
They had not expected Zhao Feng to be so bold as to approach the gates alone.
A single volley of arrows could have sealed his fate.
"I have long heard of General Zhao Feng's reputation," Gongsun Guang said.
"However, if General Zhao is here to persuade us to surrender, I can tell you now it is futile."
"Though our state of Yan is weak, we will not defy the king's command. We will never surrender."
Zhao Feng's voice remained cold and resolute.
"I have come here today with only one thing to say."
"If you still choose to serve the Yan King after hearing it"
"Then when I breach this city, no soldier will be spared!"
His words carried an unprecedented severity.
Gongsun Guang's expression did not change, but inwardly, he was alarmed.
"Two armies at war do not slay envoys," he said gravely. "If you have something to say, speak."
"The Yan King has betrayed his people he has colluded with the northern tribes."
"At this very moment, their armies have already crossed into Yan territory."
"Are you aware of this?"
Zhao Feng's voice, reinforced by his internal energy, carried across half the city wall.
"What?!"
Gongsun Guang's face changed drastically, and the city guard commander beside him turned pale.
"Impossible!"
"Our king would never be so foolish!"
"The northern tribes are wolves at our doorstep His Majesty would never ally with them!"
"General Zhao, cease your lies!" Gongsun Guang declared, his face filled with disbelief.
"This intelligence was gathered by Great Qin's spies. See for yourself."
Zhao Feng did not waste words.
He took out a sealed report, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it up toward the city wall.
The report landed beside Gongsun Guang.
Hurriedly, he picked it up and unfolded it.
The moment his eyes fell upon its contents
His face turned ashen.
Written within
Just a single line:
"The Donghu army has marched south. The Yan border is left undefended. Xiangping has already fallen to the enemy. The city has been massacred. Few survivors remain."
"No this can't be!"
"His Majesty would never betray us!"
"When he redeployed the border troops, he assured us that reinforcements would be sent to guard the frontier!"
"How could this have happened?"
Gongsun Guang's entire body trembled as if his very soul had been wrenched away.
Xiangping was his homeland.
Though his family had been sent to Ji City as hostages, many of his relatives still resided in Xiangping.
The city guard commander took a glance at the report his face turned just as pale.
"The Yan King conspired with the northern tribes he sought to use them against Qin!"
"This was his true reason for withdrawing the border forces," Zhao Feng said coldly.
Gongsun Guang lifted his head in despair, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Zhao Feng.
"General Zhao… is this true?"
"War is full of deception," Zhao Feng replied.
"But today, with my army already at your gates, I do not need such trickery."
"You are all veterans of the border wars you know firsthand the ruthlessness of the northern tribes."
"Every moment wasted means more innocent lives lost in the north of Yan."
"Though China is divided into many states, we are all one people."
"My mission here is not only for Qin but for all of Huaxia."
"But whether you believe me or not"
"The moment I return to my ranks, we will attack the city!"
"And when we breach these walls"
"Not a single soldier will be left alive!"
Zhao Feng's eyes were filled with unyielding determination.
Between warring nations, surrendering soldiers might be spared.
But those who betrayed their kind
He would show them no mercy.
Zhao Feng cast a glance at the Yan soldiers on the walls, their faces filled with turmoil.
Then, he issued his final warning:
"Soldiers of Yan's border army!"
"The Yan King has betrayed our people, forsaken his duty, and committed treason!"
"If you still choose to stand by such a traitor"
"Then I, Zhao Feng, swear this when we take this city, none of you shall live!"
With those words, he turned his horse without hesitation.
Before leaving, he spoke one last time:
"In half an incense stick's time"
"I shall lead my troops to attack!"
"From that moment forward"
"There will be no mercy!"
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