Hangu Pass Military Camp
"Reporting to the Supreme General!"
"After three days of siege, the Wei army stationed in Liyang City has been defeated by our forces."
"However, Pang Wu did not engage in prolonged battle; instead, he withdrew his troops to Qiusha City."
A general entered the command tent and reported.
"This Pang Wu is determined to delay our advance to Wei's capital at all costs."
"Judging from the current situation, it will take at least three months for us to reach Daliang, and that might not even be enough," Li Xin said with frustration.
"If the Wuan Camp unites with us, the capital of Wei will have to withstand an attack from two of Great Qin's military camps."
"Wei Wuji must have given Pang Wu strict orders to stall us," Huan Yi said calmly, his expression unwavering.
"Supreme General," Li Xin lowered his voice, "have you received any updates on Wuan Camp's movements?"
"For over a month now, Wuan Camp has made no progress, as if they've abandoned the attack on Wei's capital, waiting to merge with us before advancing."
Huan Yi glanced at Li Xin and replied, "Say what you truly mean."
"Since Wuan Camp has not taken action, why not send them west to deal with Pang Wu? That way, we can unite our forces to destroy him before proceeding to attack Wei's capital," Li Xin suggested, clearly displeased.
Hearing this, Huan Yi frowned, his gaze carrying a hint of displeasure. "Since when have you become so narrow-minded?"
"Supreme General…" Li Xin's face changed slightly.
"On the battlefield, we compete for military merit."
"The king ordered both our Hangu Camp and Wuan Camp to set out together, not just to cooperate in the conquest of Wei, but also to let us compete against each other."
"What makes you think Wuan Camp should give up their achievements to support us?"
"What makes you believe that is reasonable?"
"If we had reached Wei's capital first, would you have chosen to divide your forces to assist Wuan Camp instead of focusing on capturing the capital?"
Huan Yi's words carried a lecturing tone.
Upon hearing this, Li Xin's face showed a trace of embarrassment. He lowered his head and remained silent.
"A general in the field must adapt to the battlefield."
"Zhao Feng has commanded troops for several years now have you ever seen him abandon a mission halfway?"
"I believe that over this past month, he must have been strategizing how to take Wei's capital," Huan Yi said with confidence.
"But intelligence reports say that Wei's capital has been fortified into an impenetrable stronghold. Even entry and exit require suspension baskets, the city walls are incredibly thick, and the gates are sealed. Aside from a direct assault, there is no way in. What other means could Zhao Feng possibly have to breach the city?" Li Xin asked, full of doubt.
"Only those within the battlefield can truly understand how to break the enemy's defenses."
"Li Xin," Huan Yi sighed, "you are not much older than Zhao Feng, yet you are far inferior to him."
"I know your mindset you see yourself as superior to Wang Ben and Meng Tian."
"But you lack their composure and have an arrogance they do not."
"If you continue on this path, you will inevitably make a grave mistake one day."
Huan Yi's tone was serious, both as a superior and as an elder offering guidance.
"I will remember the Supreme General's teachings," Li Xin responded immediately, though his expression showed that he had not truly taken the lesson to heart.
Perhaps it was just his nature.
Huan Yi shook his head, choosing to say no more.
Li Xin was indeed a capable general of Qin, but his noble background had cultivated in him a sense of superiority, making him arrogant and difficult to temper.
Qiusha City
On the City Walls
"Supreme General," a deputy general reported with a grave expression, "the Qin army's attacks are growing fiercer. We have suffered heavy losses, morale is dwindling, and there have been many deserters."
"If this continues, we won't be able to hold off the Qin forces for much longer."
"Our lord has ordered us to hold the Qin army back at all costs," Pang Wu replied sternly.
"Even if we fight to the last soldier, we must not retreat!"
"Understood," the deputy general saluted, no longer protesting.
"How many soldiers do we have left?" Pang Wu asked solemnly.
They had been battling Qin for nearly half a year, with constant losses in both troops and supplies.
The Hangu Camp of Qin had an army of 300,000, though not all were deployed at once.
His forces originally numbered 250,000, and they had been scattered in defensive positions.
"Supreme General, we originally had 250,000 troops, but after nearly half a year of battle with the Qin army…"
"Many have died, many are wounded, and many have fled."
"Now, our remaining combat-ready troops number less than 150,000," the deputy general reported sorrowfully.
In less than six months, they had lost nearly 100,000 men.
And this estimate was likely generous realistically, they probably only had 130,000 to 140,000 left.
The toll on the Wei army was staggering.
"Pass my orders."
"We will hold this city to the last man."
"Anyone who abandons their post will be executed!"
"Anyone who attempts to desert will be executed!"
Pang Wu issued his orders without hesitation.
"Understood!"
The Wei generals dared not disobey.
Just as they were about to leave, a scout rushed in.
"Report!"
"Supreme General, a Qin army has appeared at the rear of the city!"
The scout was visibly panicked.
"What did you say?"
"A Qin army at the rear?"
Pang Wu's brows furrowed deeply, his expression shifting to alarm.
Though he had been retreating, each time he fell back to a new city, he fortified it completely, ensuring the Qin army remained west of them and unable to approach Wei's capital.
Now, a Qin force had appeared behind them.
There was only one explanation.
This Qin army had come from their capital.
"Hurry! To the rear gate!"
"General Cao, you will hold the front gates do not let the Qin army seize the opportunity!"
Pang Wu's face was stern as he quickly made his way to the rear of the city.
Rear City Walls
Before the gates stood a Qin force no larger than 2,000 soldiers.
They lined up in formation but made no move to attack.
"It is the Qin army."
"They could not have bypassed my defensive lines. That leaves only one possibility they came from our capital."
"Could it be… something has happened to Daliang?"
Pang Wu's face darkened.
If the capital had truly fallen, then his remaining 100,000 troops would be surrounded, cut off from their kingdom.
Even worse, if the capital had been taken, they would have no support resistance would be futile.
"What of our king?"
"What of our ruler?"
"What has become of them?"
None of these questions had answers.
"Supreme General, could Daliang truly have fallen?" a deputy general asked worriedly.
"Our king is there. The capital is as strong as an iron fortress Qin can't breach it."
"This must be a reconnaissance force."
Pang Wu thought for a moment before declaring with certainty.
Perhaps he was also trying to bolster his courage.
Of course, he had great faith in Wei Wuji.
When Wei Wuji ordered the reconstruction of the city walls, he had been present. The level of fortification, the thickness of the walls such defenses were impossible to breach by human effort alone.
At that moment
The Qin soldiers on the city wall moved.
A Qin cavalryman swiftly rode toward the city, holding something in his hand.
"General!"
"A Qin soldier is approaching! What should we do?"
"Shall we fire?"
A nearby Wei officer asked as archers on the city wall drew their bows, aiming at the approaching Qin rider.
"No one is to act without my command!"
Pang Wu raised his hand to stop his soldiers, his gaze fixed on the scene below.
As the Qin rider neared the city, he was revealed to be Zhang Ming, the personal guard commander under Zhao Feng.
"Where is General Pang Wu of Wei?" Zhang Ming raised his head and called toward the city wall.
"I am he," Pang Wu replied, frowning.
A sense of unease gripped his heart as he looked at the Qin soldier before him.
"I am Zhang Ming, the personal guard commander under Great Qin's General Zhao Feng."
"By my general's command, I bring something for General Pang Wu."
Zhang Ming let out a chuckle and tossed an object toward the city wall.
"Be careful, General!"
The surrounding Wei officers were alarmed, but the object landed lightly at Pang Wu's feet.
"Stand down," Pang Wu commanded.
His unease deepened, yet he bent down to pick up the object a royal edict from Wei.
"This is our Great Wei's royal decree…"
Recognizing the official format of the decree, Pang Wu's heart pounded.
With a mix of anxiety and dread, he slowly unfolded the edict.
The moment his eyes fell upon the words, his face turned deathly pale. He quickly snapped the decree shut.
"Outrageous!"
"You dare use such despicable tricks to forge my Wei kingdom's royal edict?"
Closing the decree, Pang Wu glared at Zhang Ming, his voice filled with fury.
"If even your royal decree could be forged, your kingdom would have long ceased to exist."
"This is your king's handwriting, bearing the official seal of Wei."
"Your kingdom… has fallen."
"Your capital has already been taken by Great Qin, and your king has surrendered."
"General Pang Wu, there is no need for further pointless resistance."
Zhang Ming's words carried weight, echoing in the ears of the Wei soldiers.
Pang Wu's expression darkened.
The surrounding Wei officers and soldiers also turned pale.
"Impossible!"
"The capital is personally defended by His Majesty, with nearly 400,000 troops stationed there. No matter how strong the Qin army is, they couldn't possibly have breached it in just a month!"
"You must be lying!"
"We are not fools!"
"The capital is unbreakable! His Majesty is a master strategist he could never lose!"
Even before Pang Wu could speak, his officers erupted in protest, unwilling to believe Zhang Ming's words.
"Your king… is dead."
"The vast majority of the 400,000 troops guarding the capital have already been annihilated."
"Your city of Daliang no longer exists."
Zhang Ming's voice was solemn.
"Impossible!"
"Even if each of your Qin soldiers could fight ten men at once, you still couldn't have taken the city in a month!"
"Daliang is not a city that can be breached by human effort alone!" A Wei officer shouted, still in disbelief.
"If I were to tell you…"
"That your capital was not taken by human force, but by the power of heaven and earth?" Zhang Ming sneered.
Then, he retrieved a sword from his saddle and threw it toward the city wall.
The blade whistled through the air.
With a sharp thud, the sword pierced the ground, standing upright upon impact.
The moment they saw the sword
Pang Wu's body trembled. An overwhelming sense of helplessness engulfed him.
One look was enough.
He recognized it instantly.
This was Wei Wuji's sword the legendary heirloom of the Wei royal family.
If he failed to recognize this, he would be unworthy of his position as a Wei general.
"His Majesty… Could it be that he has…"
Seeing this sword, Pang Wu despite his unwillingness to believe turned ashen-faced.
"Before his death, your king issued a final challenge to my general."
"Before that, he instructed all Wei soldiers not to throw their lives away in vain."
"Today, I come bearing your royal decree, ordering you to surrender."
"This is done in consideration of our shared Huaxia heritage, to prevent further bloodshed among your tens of thousands of men and civilians."
Zhang Ming's voice was firm as he delivered the ultimatum.
Hearing these words
Confirming the death of Wei Wuji
Pang Wu's body swayed, nearly collapsing.
At the last moment, he grabbed hold of the city wall, barely managing to steady himself.
"What… What has become of His Majesty's remains?" Pang Wu asked in a trembling voice.
"General Pang Wu, rest assured."
"For a righteous and loyal ruler, my general would never show disrespect."
"General Zhao Feng has already laid Lord Xinling to rest in the imperial temple atop Daliang Mountain, so he may forever watch over the land that once belonged to Wei."
Zhang Ming's reply was immediate.
Wei Wuji had held immense prestige in Wei.
If his body had been desecrated, it would have made surrendering the Wei troops impossible.
Of course
Zhao Feng would never have allowed anyone to disrespect a man of such loyalty and righteousness.
Even as enemies.
Wei Wuji was also worthy of respect.
"Where is the Great General Zhao Feng?" Pang Wu asked again.
"My lord general is in the rear," Zhang Ming replied without any concealment.
"Sigh..."
Pang Wu let out a long sigh and turned his gaze toward the Wei soldiers on the city wall.
They were all living, breathing people. Many of them had originally been mere farmers, forcibly conscripted into the army.
And now, their lives were in his hands.
"Your Majesty...
Did you truly mean 'no meaningless sacrifice'?"
"What kind of desperate situation could have made you say those words?"
"You said this once before, back when I left the capital," Pang Wu lamented in his heart.
Had Zhang Ming not spoken those four words"no meaningless sacrifice" Pang Wu might still have clung to a sliver of hope for the Wei capital.
But it was precisely those four words that left Pang Wu with no choice but to believe.
Because when Qin had first launched its attack, Wei Wuji had once said:
"If the day ever comes when Wei can no longer hold out… If the day ever comes when I, Wei Wuji, fall in battle…
If you cannot bear it, I will say these four words "no meaningless sacrifice.'"
Hearing them now, Pang Wu did not need any further deliberation. He surrendered.
"Please, inform your general," Pang Wu said, his voice filled with resignation.
"I wish to meet with Great General Zhao Feng."
"My lord general is in the rear, waiting at any time," Zhang Ming responded, then turned his horse and galloped away.
Watching Zhang Ming's retreating figure, Pang Wu turned back, his voice weak and weary.
"Open the gates."
"Great General!"
"Are we really… surrendering?"
Several Wei officers reacted with visible distress.
"The capital has fallen."
"His Majesty is dead."
"Our army is surrounded by Qin forces. If we do not surrender, what else can we do?"
"Do you truly wish to lead these tens of thousands of soldiers to their deaths?" Pang Wu said with a bitter smile.
"But General, could this be a trick? Could it be deception?"
"Perhaps that sword was forged by Qin to fool us."
"What if the capital has not fallen, and this is all a scheme to make us surrender?"
One Wei officer voiced his doubts.
The others nodded in agreement.
It was simply too difficult for them to believe that the capital could have fallen in just a single month.
"The words 'no meaningless sacrifice'..."
"His Majesty secretly told me this phrase before."
"He said that if I ever heard these words, then I must surrender."
"Do you truly think I, Pang Wu, am the kind of man who fears death?"
Pang Wu let out a helpless, bitter chuckle.
Hearing this, the officers fell silent.
A moment later, the city gates creaked open.
Pang Wu, his steps unsteady, walked out of the city.
Behind him followed a group of Wei officers.
When they reached the ranks of the Qin army's elite guards, Pang Wu looked up and saw Zhao Feng at a glance.
"Pang Wu of Wei..."
"Submits himself in surrender."
Without any hesitation, Pang Wu knelt before Zhao Feng.
Seeing Pang Wu's decisiveness, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Feng's otherwise cold face.
The war against Wei…
Perhaps it would truly be over within a month.
"Wei has fallen."
"Now, it all depends on how the King of Qin will reward me."
"At the very least, my noble rank should advance by one tier."
"My path to the position of Grand Marshal is now more secure."
Zhao Feng pondered in his heart.
At his current rank, the only higher position left was that of Guowei the supreme commander of the nation's military forces.
In the terminology of later dynasties, this would be the equivalent of the Grand Marshal of an entire kingdom undoubtedly the most esteemed military officer.
But that position came with great opposition.
It required overwhelming military achievements ones so great that no voice could challenge them.
And experience.
As for noble ranks…
Zhao Feng had already reached the fifteenth rank, making him second only to his father-in-law, Wang Jian, among the entire court.
However, after this campaign, his rank would be on par with his father-in-law.
Of course, Huan Yi might also be promoted by one-tier.
But thinking carefully, if Huan Yi could rise by one rank, then Zhao Feng might have a chance to rise by two.
Ultimately, it all depended on how the King of Qin decided.
For now, Zhao Feng's immediate task was to organize the deployment of troops and manage the hundreds of thousands of civilians within the fallen city of Daliang.
A single misstep could lead to a plague outbreak, and that would be catastrophic.
Time passed in a flash.
Xianyang City
"Victory report!"
"Great victory over Wei!"
"Great victory at the Wuan military camp!"
"Make way, all of you make way!"
"Great victory…"
A swift messenger galloped through the gates of Xianyang, rushing toward the palace.
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