novelden Chapter 1839 Surrender!
Chapter 1839 Surrender!
The rising sun dispelled the chill of the night, but it could not dispel the thick smell of blood and gunpowder that filled the city of Hongdu.
Surrounded by a group of elite cavalry and Jinyiwei, Chu Ning rode his horse slowly into the city that had just experienced the baptism of blood and fire.
All I could see were broken walls, charred wooden beams, and lingering fires.
On the streets, Chu soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, carrying the bodies of the dead from both sides separately, and the groans of the wounded were heard everywhere.
Although the city had fallen, the air was still filled with an atmosphere of depression and sadness.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
A thunderous roar shattered the morning silence. Ran Ming, his shiny bald head and blood-soaked body, came running towards Chu Ning with great excitement. He rushed to the front of Chu Ning's horse and saluted loudly: "General Ran Ming, I pay my respects to Your Majesty! Thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing, Hongdu City has been completely captured by our army!"
Chu Ning nodded slightly, his face showing no joy. He simply asked calmly, "How was the outcome of the battle? Where is the defending general Geng Hui?"
Ran Ming immediately reported excitedly, his voice as resounding as a bell: "Your Majesty! The Han army's commander, Geng Hui, has been personally beheaded in the streets east of the city!"
"Of his fifty thousand defenders, a count revealed approximately thirty thousand killed in action, with fifteen thousand captured by our army! Only about four or five thousand remnants managed to break through the north gate at night!"
This battle was a brilliant achievement. They captured such a strong city at a considerable cost and almost wiped out the defenders.
Ran Ming's face was filled with pride, but then he remembered something and asked, stroking his bald head, "Your Majesty, should we still follow the old rules and kill all of the 15,000 captives?"
He made a gesture of wiping his neck.
In the past, when dealing with stubborn enemies, especially the core elite, the Chu army often adopted extremely cruel means to intimidate all sides.
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning slowly shook his head.
He glanced at the Han army surrendered soldiers who were under centralized custody, with expressions of fear and despair on their faces, and a calculating glint flashed in his eyes.
"No need. This is not the time."
Chu Ning's voice was steady and full of authority. "Now is the time to use our men. The war is just beginning. Moreover, this Han army has been able to hold out for so long. Their fighting spirit and quality are both excellent. It would be a pity to kill them like this."
He paused, his tone firm, "I wish to subdue them and use them for my own benefit."
Upon hearing this, Ran Ming's eyes lit up and he grinned, "Your Majesty is wise! Leave this matter to me, Ran! I'll go talk to them and see to it that they will submit obediently to Your Majesty!"
He shook his fist, which was as big as a casserole pot. It was obvious that his so-called reasoning was not so gentle.
Chu Ning glanced at him unhappily, with a hint of helplessness in his tone:
"With your appearance and voice, I'm afraid you haven't convinced me with your reasoning, and you've already frightened me into refusing to surrender. Now, leave. I'll handle this matter myself."
Ran Ming smiled awkwardly, scratched his head, and obediently stepped aside.
Chu Ning tidied up his clothes and armor, and surrounded by a group of guards, he rode his horse to the huge training ground in the city.
At this moment, 15,000 surrendered Han soldiers were surrounded in the center of the venue, looking dejected and terrified. They were surrounded by densely packed Chu soldiers with their swords drawn and bows strung.
Chu Ning rode his horse to the high platform in front of the formation, his eyes like lightning slowly sweeping over the black mass of surrendered soldiers below.
He summoned his inner strength, and his voice was clear and penetrating, reaching the ears of every surrendered soldier:
"Soldiers of the Han Dynasty!"
Just five words made all the surrendered soldiers raise their heads and look at the young Emperor of Chu with complicated eyes.
"I know that your hearts are filled with fear, resentment, and perhaps even loyalty to your former master."
Chu Ning's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable power: "But do you know why it is me standing before you, and not your Emperor Liu Xiu?"
He paused slightly, as if letting everyone think, and then began his persuasion, or perhaps intimidation: "I, Chu Ning, have been determined to end the centuries-long conflict and wars that have plagued the nine dynasties in the Central Plains since I ascended the throne six years ago!"
His voice gradually rose, with a domineering air of contempt: "Six years! Only six years!"
"I personally led the iron cavalry of the Great Chu, annihilated the powerful Zhao in the north, conquered the fierce Yan in the east, crushed the mighty Qin in the west, pacified the hegemonic Jin in the south, fought for supremacy in the Central Plains, and subdued the Wei Kingdom. Not long ago, I even made the Zhou Kingdom surrender without bloodshed!"
Every time the name of a dynasty came out of his mouth, it was like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of the surrendered soldiers.
They had heard of these deeds long ago, but now that they were spoken by the conqueror himself, it was even more shocking.
"Of the nine dynasties now in existence, six have already been incorporated into the territories of the Great Chu! Only the Southeastern Tang remains, along with the Han, to whom you owe your allegiance—a lingering Han!"
Chu Ning's voice turned cold: "And you Han people, after the battle of Hongdu, all your elite troops were lost!"
"The 170,000 soldiers and horses that Liu Xiu has are just a temporary collection of troops. How can they stop the mighty army of the Great Chu?"
He declared with absolute certainty, "I will crush the Han Dynasty, sweep away the world, and unify the nine dynasties of the Central Plains. This is the will of heaven and the trend of the times! No one can stop me!"
The training ground was completely silent, with only Chu Ning's voice echoing and the heavy breathing of the surrendered soldiers.
Many surrendered soldiers had already revealed expressions of hesitation and despair on their faces.
Although what Chu Ning said were the words of the enemy, every word hit the nail on the head in reality, making it impossible for them to refute.
Chu Ning looked at everyone's reactions and knew the time had come. He made the final choice, his tone calm but filled with cold murderous intent: "Now, I give you two choices."
"First, recognize the current situation, abandon the dark and join the light, and submit to the Great Chu."
"I will forgive the past. You can still serve in the army and earn titles, salaries, and property through your military achievements. One day, you can share in the peace and prosperity of a unified world!"
"Second..."
His gaze suddenly became as sharp as a knife: "You are so stubborn and unwilling to repent, willing to be buried with Liu Xiu! Then, this is the day you die!"
Deathly silence enveloped the training ground.
The surrendered soldiers looked at each other, their faces full of struggle.
Loyalty to the old master, fear of death, and confusion about the future are intertwined.
Finally, a timid soldier in the crowd could not bear the tremendous pressure.
He fell to his knees with a thud, crying out, "I...I am willing to surrender! Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
If there is one, there are two!
"I am willing to surrender too!"
"Surrender! We are willing to surrender!"
Like a dam collapsing, voices of begging for mercy and surrender rose and fell, quickly merging into one.
More and more people fell to their knees.
In the end, almost all of the 15,000 surrendered soldiers chose to surrender.
Perhaps they are not sincere, but in the face of absolute military deterrence and seemingly irreversible trends, this is their only way to survive.
No one wants to die, even the most loyal soldiers after being captured!