Chapter 1689: Chapter 1689: A Difficult Choice
"That’s good. These days you should intensify the efforts and absolutely make sure the Qin Army cannot rest easy," Ye Shikai nodded and said. This was exactly the effect he wanted.
"No problem, General, just watch," Man Cang finished speaking, then drew his sword and rushed out, "It’s almost time to rotate the attack on the camp. This time, I will personally lead the team."
Even a normal person would feel full-body fatigue if they didn’t sleep for one day, let alone for four or five consecutive days. Perhaps things were progressing even more smoothly than Ye Shikai expected.
Three days later.
The Chu Army, camp.
"After entering Sichuan, the troops will be divided into three routes. One route will head north to capture the passes. This is the only way through Han Zhong into Ba Shu. Once the passes are captured, the Qin Army will be unable to send reinforcements. The main force will head straight for Chengdu, which is a strategic location in Ba Shu. The last route will head south to prevent the barbarians from entering Sichuan. Remember, all troops must strictly adhere to military discipline, do not disturb the common people or there will be no mercy for those who kill, burn, or loot."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
"Report... reporting to the General, there’s a messenger from the Qin Army outside the gate," suddenly, a guard entered the camp to report to Ye Shikai.
"Let him in," Ye Shikai said calmly.
"Yes, sir."
Before long, the messenger from the Qin Army was brought into the camp.
"Greetings, General Ye."
"Rise," Ye Shikai sat at the main seat and said coldly. He took out his sword, and the scabbard hit the ground with a sound that made everyone present feel a shiver in their hearts.
"Thank you, General."
"You must be the messenger sent by Xu Zhi. I am busy, so whatever you have to say, get straight to the point," Ye Shikai didn’t waste words, getting straight to it. If he hadn’t guessed wrong, Xu Zhi sent a messenger to negotiate, an idea that had occurred to him for a while. After all, if he surrendered voluntarily, the court would surely have his family executed, but currently, they couldn’t fight back and had nothing to eat, so the best course of action was to try negotiating.
"General Xu wants to negotiate with General Ye."
"Haha."
Upon hearing this, not only did Ye Shikai laugh, but the more than twenty generals in the camp laughed as well, and it was a mocking laugh.
"Has Xu Zhi’s brain been kicked by a horse? In the current battle situation, they still want to talk terms with us?" Ye Shikai suddenly drew his sword, harnessed his Inner Strength, and instantly dashed in front of the Qin Army’s messenger, the blade resting on his neck.
"Spare my life, General," the Qin Army’s messenger thought Ye Shikai wanted to kill him. The speed was so swift, he fell to the ground in fear.
"Rest assured, in battles between armies, messengers are not to be killed, so I won’t kill you."
"Th-thank you, General."
"Enough has been said. If you want to negotiate, you need leverage. You lack this leverage, so don’t expect to negotiate. Go back and tell Xu Zhi to personally open the camp and surrender, or else... in less than three days, I assure you, no one in your camp will survive," Ye Shikai sheathed his sword, and the messenger, already weak with fear, was helped out of the camp by the guards.
"Even the messenger is so demoralized, it seems the Qin Army is truly terrified," Xu Jia slowly stood up, a look of pride on her face.
"Once the troops run out of rations, no matter how high their morale is, they’re too weak to resist. Today, Xu Zhi sent a messenger to negotiate, presumably because the camp’s provisions are nearly depleted. Tomorrow they’ll slaughter their warhorses for food, also, Xu Zhi isn’t a fool. Given the current situation, there’s no way they can expect reinforcements anymore. Holding on any longer is pointless."
This time, Ye Shikai’s prediction was right. The day after the messenger returned, Xu Zhi indeed opened the camp and surrendered.
One hundred thousand Qin troops removed their armor and weapons, emerging from their camp with dejected faces. They all looked very haggard, both hungry and exhausted, which was to be expected since they hadn’t slept well for several days and likely hadn’t eaten for a long time.
"General Ye," at this moment, a general slowly approached him, "I am Xu Zhi. Today, I surrender to General Ye, hoping the General will show mercy and spare the lives of my brothers."
"Your people look very hungry. Man Cang, instruct the cooks to make porridge and steam some buns for them to eat," Ye Shikai said calmly.
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you, General, thank you, General," Xu Zhi said repeatedly, being led away by a few Chu soldiers.
"General Wang, have you counted the numbers?" Ye Shikai inquired.
"The Qin Army has a military register, about seventy to eighty thousand people," Wang Lian responded.
"General, this many people eat up several thousand stone of grain every day. We still have two hundred thousand troops to feed. If this continues, I’m afraid it won’t be enough," Xu Jia said, worried. After knowing him for so long, he had always been calm and poised, but this was the first time Ye Shikai saw him troubled. Yet, it’s true that even the cleverest woman can’t cook a meal without rice, let alone now having to feed nearly three hundred thousand people.
"Think Tank, is there really nothing we can do?" Ye Shikai was genuinely reluctant from the bottom of his heart to do such a thing. He never considered himself a savior, but as a human, one should do what "a person" ought to do. Saving one life is an act of complete virtue, and if he had the ability, he’d rather save more lives than take them. But Xu Jia suggested he order the execution of the seventy to eighty thousand Qin soldiers.
Man Cang had the soldiers bring out porridge and buns, and the famished Qin soldiers rushed to grab food frantically. Although they were enemies on the battlefield, since they had surrendered, at least they were still human.
"General must not hesitate. We may give them something to eat now, but how long can we sustain them? If released, they would immediately be regrouped into a fighting force. When we march into Sichuan, how much would it cost us then? Please, General, reconsider," Xu Jia continued to persuade.
"Alright, I’ll think it over," Ye Shikai, with a mind in turmoil, waved his hand, returning to the camp alone. These days, he had already ordered the construction of four empty camps to serve as "POW camps" for the Qin soldiers. Once they surrendered, they were all confined within.
Deep into the night.
"Old Ye, I’m back."
"Shangguan, great, you’ve finally returned," Ye Shikai rushed forward to give the visitor a big hug.
"How did it go? Was there much loss?"
"What losses? We circled behind the Qin Army, burned their granaries, and blocked their escape routes, yet they didn’t even dare breach the camp gates," Shangguan Jian laughed heartily. "I heard seventy to eighty thousand Qin troops surrendered. That’s a major achievement."
"Yes, it is indeed a major achievement, but honestly, it’s also a hot potato," Ye Shikai chuckled bitterly.
"What’s wrong, Old Ye, is there a problem?"
"Of course, having seventy to eighty thousand Qin troops surrender at once, our supplies are already meager, and we simply can’t support so many people."
