Chapter 186 Death Has Its Dignity
Yan Ju had no idea when death would come to him.

After all, even if the guards wanted to escape, they would be at risk of being crushed to death by their colleagues who were knocked away by the bronze python.

As time went by, the slaughter of the bronze python finally ended.

Only a few dozen people were left standing in front of the bronze python, but they were exhausted and covered in wounds.

The giant bronze python looked at them, with cruel red light flashing in its eyes, as if it would attack again at any time.

However, at this moment, Gongsun Ce suddenly said: "Enough."

His voice was calm but full of majesty. After hearing his voice, the bronze python immediately stopped attacking and slowly retreated to his side.

Gongsun Ce looked at the surviving guards and said, "Surrender or die."

"I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender..."
The moment Gongsun Ce asked them whether they would surrender, the tense nerves of this group of remaining guards finally broke.

They were also desperate, but they could not escape the threat of death whether fighting or fleeing, so they could only choose to fight to avoid waiting to die on the spot.

Gongsun Ce clapped his hands, and the Luowang killer who had been lurking in the dark appeared and tied up everyone in front of him.

Gongsun Ce then pressed the mechanism on the bronze chariot, and the bronze python shook its body on the spot. After making sure that there were no hero fragments left on its body, the bronze python turned back into a bronze chariot.

Gongsun Ce's bronze chariot was pulled by Dian Qing, Bingzhu and Qian Dasi Ming. Gongsun Ce's purpose this time was naturally to subdue Li Mu.

With Handan City captured and King Qian of Zhao captured, what reason did Li Mu have to be loyal to the State of Zhao?

After all, in addition to patriotism, Li Mu also had another major obsession - to expel the Huns.

He was not the kind of person who would die for his country when it was destroyed, and would not consider sacrificing for the people.

At this time, Li Mu had already withdrawn his troops into the palace while fighting and retreating.

King Qian of Zhao has already fled, but Li Mu is still defending the last royal palace.

This wave is about the king. Why should he surrender before fighting?
Wang Jian looked at the palace wall in front of him, took out the bronze megaphone that Gongsun Ce had rubbed, and shouted in the direction of the Zhao Palace: "Li Mu, Handan has been captured, and Zhao is about to perish. Why do you have to resist?

"The Grand Commandant of the Qin State is willing to accept your surrender. If you are willing to surrender, you will be promoted to the rank of General, with the same status as me, and Yanmen Pass will continue to be under your rule. The Great Qin State is willing to support you in driving the Xiongnu north."

Li Mu did not have a loudspeaker, but he himself had already reached the level of a grandmaster. With the blessing of true energy, his voice was also accurately transmitted to Wang Jian's ears.

"I am loyal to my master. If you want me to surrender, please break down the gate of my palace first!"

When Wang Jian heard Li Mu's words, he knew that Li Mu had been shaken. If they could break through the gate of Zhao Palace, Li Mu would definitely surrender.

Expelling the Huns and restoring peace on the border was one of Li Mu's ideals. Therefore, after the gate of the Zhao royal palace was broken, if he could continue to realize his ideal, he no longer had any reason to continue resisting.

Especially now, Gongsun Ce's bronze chariot slowly approached the gate of the Zhao royal palace, followed by the captured King Qian of Zhao.

Gongsun Ce took out a loudspeaker and shouted to the Zhao palace, "It's a deal."

"I am willing to accept the defeat."

After seeing King Qian of Zhao being captured by Gongsun Ce, Li Mu didn't know why but felt neither amused nor helpless.

This is the king he serves, and this is the State of Zhao to which he is loyal.

Li Mu's mind raced and he thought of Qu Yuan.

The State of Chu was not worthy of Qu Yuan's martyrdom, and the State of Zhao was not worthy of Li Mu's martyrdom.

Wang Jian stared at the palace gate in front of him with a sharp gaze. Behind him were tens of thousands of Qin soldiers, who were lined up in an orderly manner, waiting for the general's order.

Wang Jian took a deep breath. He knew that the battle that would truly destroy the State of Zhao was about to come.

The Zhao royal palace was destroyed, Li Mu surrendered, and Zhao no longer had any effective force to continue resisting.

"attack!"

At Wang Jian's order, the Qin soldiers rushed towards the palace like a tide.

Li Mu stood on the city wall, looking at the Qin army swarming like ants below, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Although those fearless Hun-version dragon-blood warriors had all died in the sea of ​​fire, the remaining Qin soldiers were also rare elite troops in the world, and their momentum was truly impressive.

"Fire arrows!"

At Li Mu's command, the archers on the palace walls drew their bows and shot arrows at the oncoming Qin army.

Arrows fell like rain, and the Qin army's shield bearers raised their shields to defend themselves.

However, the density of the arrows was beyond imagination. Many shield bearers were shot and fell to the ground, but new shield bearers immediately filled the gap and continued to charge forward.

The battering ram teams, each consisting of ten men, advanced forward with difficulty under the cover of shield bearers.

Their target was the gate of the palace, and only by breaking through this gate could they end the battle.

However, Li Mu did not give them this opportunity. He ordered his soldiers to raise their spears and light them at the gate of the palace to form a wall of fire.

The moment the battering ram broke open the palace gate, Wang Jian saw the burning spear behind the door.

In the flames, the figures of Zhao soldiers were looming. They held spears in their hands and rushed towards the Qin army fearlessly.

Wang Jian immediately ordered his men to shoot arrows, which rained down upon the Zhao soldiers.

However, under the protection of the shield bearers, the Qin army's arrows did not cause much damage to the Zhao soldiers. The flames on the spears burned more and more vigorously, and the gate of the palace turned into a wall of flaming spears.

However, the Zhao soldiers did not retreat. They still stood behind the wall of fire and resisted the Qin army's attack with spears and shields.

Wang Jian looked at the sea of ​​fire and the Zhao soldiers in front of him, and a feeling of respect welled up in his heart.

For Li Mu, and even more for these Zhao soldiers, it is said that leaders should follow suit, but King Qian of Zhao's cowardice did not affect these soldiers at all.

However, the general trend cannot be changed, and the outcome will not change because of the bravery and fearlessness of these Zhao soldiers.

Under the continuous attack of the Qin army, the soldiers of Zhao gradually lost their ability to resist.

The gate of the palace was breached by the Qin army. Li Mu looked at the Qin soldiers pouring in, and a hint of relief flashed in his eyes. What had been destined to happen had finally come to an end.

“Stop resisting!”

Wang Jian stood in the main hall of the palace and shouted loudly.

His voice echoed in the empty hall, sounding exceptionally clear.

Li Mu stood at the other end of the hall. He looked at Wang Jian and the Qin soldiers pouring in and took a deep breath.

"I, Li Mu, have fought for the State of Zhao my entire life. Although I have been defeated today, it is still an honor." Li Mu said slowly, "I am willing to keep my promise and lay down my arms and surrender."

After saying that, he drew out the Zhenyue Sword from his waist and threw it on the ground.

With Li Mu's surrender, the soldiers of Zhao State also laid down their weapons.

"Take them into custody!"

At Wang Jian's order, all the Zhao soldiers except Li Mu were arrested.

Gongsun Ce's bronze carriage slowly drove into the open space outside the hall. Li Mu immediately clasped his fists towards Wang Jian and said, "Please pass on the message, General Wang Jian. I have no other request but to fight with General Gongsun."

Wang Jian took a deep look at Li Mu. He knew that Li Mu had followed Pang Nuan for quite some time, and they had a master-disciple relationship.

Fighting with Gongsun Ce was Li Mu’s last obsession, and Wang Jian nodded.

"No need to announce it, I'm here." The curtain of the bronze carriage was lifted, and Gongsun Ce suddenly appeared on the square outside the hall, "Li Mu, come out and fight."

"promise!"

Li Mu raised his toes above the Zhenyue Sword and the Zhenyue Sword jumped into Li Mu's hand.

Li Mu tapped the ground lightly with his toes, and the next moment Li Mu came in front of Gongsun Ce.

Li Mu clasped his hands together and bowed to Gongsun Ce, "Greetings, General. After this battle, I am willing to die for you."

Gongsun Ce nodded and said, "Very good. You will serve under me. Everything will remain the same. You will still guard Yanmen Pass. However, in addition to fighting against the Xiongnu, I order you to capture as many Xiongnu as possible."

Li Mu was a little puzzled, "Why?"

Gongsun Ce put his arm around Li Mu's shoulder in a familiar manner, and then took out a parchment scroll from his arms, on which were simple graphs and calculation formulas.

"You see, A Zheng is the King of Qin. He needs to build a mausoleum, a palace, rebuild the Great Wall, and construct ditches.

Not to mention the materials, the manpower alone for these buildings would cost at least three or four hundred thousand. Rather than letting our own family suffer, it is better to let our neighbors suffer a little.

You see, in addition to the Xiongnu in the north, there is also the Donghu whom you fought before, and the Donghu will soon be reborn.

In addition to the north, there are also the Western Regions, Nanyue, Baiyue...

If you really look into it, there are other tribes and small countries further west across the Western Regions. As long as you fight far enough, you will not have to worry about lack of labor.

These alien races really deserve to be used without any use, and we don’t need to let them eat too much. If they really starve to death or die of exhaustion, it’s not our fault. We can only say that their physical fitness is too poor and they don’t work hard enough to exercise. "

Li Mu's mouth twitched unconsciously. Although he didn't use the people of the seven countries as forced labor, wasn't it a bad idea to use the other ethnic minorities as livestock?

Gongsun Ce saw what Li Mu was thinking and patted Li Mu on the shoulder, "No, the animals still need to rest, but they don't."

Li Mu suddenly felt that he was burdened with too much sin.

"Ahem." Li Mu coughed and forcibly pulled back the unfinished battle, "Captain, the battle between you and me has not yet begun."

"Oh, come on, come on, I've finished the fight a long time ago, let me continue with my plan to introduce you to my neighbors as hard labor."

Gongsun Ce’s idea was quite simple, which was to classify first and then merge.

The Qin people enjoyed the convenience brought by the military merit system.

People from the six countries need to exchange military merits in order to enjoy the conveniences brought by the military merit system.

The foreigners were first subjected to hard labor, and after the Qin army conquered new places, they were transformed from hard labor to supervisors.

The supervisor then transformed into a member who could exchange military merits for conveniences.

If we could unify the entire Blue Star and gradually transform all people into Qin people, there would be no difference.

All the people under the rule of the Qin State must be made aware that they are Qin people and be proud of it.

During the Tang Dynasty, even beggars would not accept charity from outsiders. This is a sign of strong self-confidence.

(End of this chapter)