Chapter 468: Pengcheng Breaks

The State of Chu has reached the moment of life and death. Without criminal reinforcements, Pengcheng is destined to be unavailable. So the royal general Xiang Quan proposed to escort King Xiang Kuang of Chu and the Crown Prince's royal family to break through the siege and retreat to Guangling County to plan for the future. However, this proposal was told by Prime Minister Fan Ting that it was not feasible because King Xiang Kuang of Chu would not leave.

Fan Ting's words made Xiang Quan very puzzled. Why did Xiang Kuang refuse to leave even though he had the chance to save his life? So he asked Fan Ting.

Faced with Xiang Quan's confusion, Fan Ting sighed and said, "Oh, General Xiang, we met the king yesterday, but the king had completely lost his fighting spirit. He was indifferent to the war with the Zhao army. He only wanted to see him if the emperor still remembered the friendship between the king and the minister when the city was broken."

"Why is this? Although Pengcheng cannot defend, our Great Chu has other places, and we can continue to deal with the Zhao army. The enemy of Zhao State is Deng State and Qin State, and we will never be entangled with our Great Chu for too long. As long as we block the offensive of the Zhao army, the Zhao army will retreat after a long time. Why is the king like this?" This made Xiang Quan even more puzzled. In his opinion, although Pengcheng was destined to be unable to defend, the Chu State still has Xia Pi and Guangling. Given the pressure of Deng State and Qin State, the Zhao army will devote energy to Chu State not too long. As long as it blocks the unstoppable offensive of the Zhao army and drags the war into a protracted war, the Zhao army will definitely retreat. He also believes that Xiang Kuang and Fan Ting are also clear about this truth.

Fan Ting glanced at Xiang Quan indifferently, then looked up at the direction of the palace and said, "General Xiang, the king is tired. In the past ten years, our great Chu has suffered many misfortunes. From a powerful country that controls the world, it has now fallen to the point of rest. The king has carried too much. Ten years ago, the Long family brothers mutiny, and the king fled in a hurry. Although he received the support of a group of generals in the army, it made the great Chu fall into division and eventually died in the hands of Qi. Eight years ago, the Qi army besieged Xia Pi. In order to protect the ancestral temple, the king chose to surrender. Although he was later restored with the help of General Zhang Di, his escape and surrender that year became the eternal pain for the king. Therefore, when facing the same choice today, the king hopes to be a dignified person, and he does not want to escape again."

After hearing Fan Ting's words, Xiang Quan's expression became depressed. The Pengcheng mutiny ten years ago caused the Chu State to fall from the altar and survive to this day. It was not easy. However, I didn't expect that after struggling for so long, I could not escape the fate of a country that was destroyed. Xiang Quan understood Xiang Kuang a little, because ten years ago, he surrendered to the Long brothers for his family. Eight years ago, when the Long brothers coerced Xiang Guang to surrender, he did not resist and went to Linzi with Xiang Guang. This was an indelible shame in his heart.

"Then how should my bloodline be preserved? The people of Zhao will not agree to our surrender. Once the Zhao army breaks the city, we may be a massacre, and my bloodline of our Chu people will probably be cut off." Xiang Quan said, he was not worried about death, he was only worried that the bloodline of the Xiang clan would be cut off. The surrender and rebellion eight years ago became one of the important factors that the Qi and Wei coalition forces regretted the Central Plains. It had long covered the reputation of the Xiang clan. Even if they took the initiative to surrender, the Zhao army would not accept it.

Fan Ting said: "I have already thought about this. Now my four counties in the Great Chu, Pei County, Pengcheng County, and Xiapi County have long become the treasures of Zhao State. Only Guangling County is unharmed. I want to use Guangling County as a bargaining chip in exchange for a glimmer of life for the Xiang family!" Most of Pei County fell into the hands of the Zhao army, and the same is true for Pengcheng County. Although Yu Zilong defended Xiapi City to death, it could not be stopped for a long time. Now the only value in the entire Chu State is Guangling County.

"Taking Guangling County to exchange for a glimmer of hope? How to exchange it?" Only Guangling County is complete in the four counties of Chu State, and has not been poisoned by the war. However, Xiang Quan did not understand the specific operation.

Fan Ting calmed down and continued, "Six years ago, the people of Chu made me notorious. Looking at the world, the only one who has the courage and ability to accept my Chu people is Deng. When the city is broken, I hope General Xiang can break through the siege, go to Guangling, meet the third prince, and merge the entire Guangling County into Deng. Zhao State is as sure as the Central Plains. Guangling County is facing the Yangtze River in the south, and can threaten Jiangdong at any time. Guangling County does not matter in the hands of our Great Chu, but Deng will never let it fall into the hands of Zhao State. Maybe Deng State is already preparing. As long as you take Guangling County to seek the protection of Deng State, Deng State will definitely not refuse. As long as you enter Deng State, you will be safe and you don't need to worry about being killed. But you must remember that after entering Deng State, you will never think about restoring the country. In the future, there will be no greater Chu in the world."

When he said the last sentence, Fan Ting looked very lonely. As a Chu person, who had experienced the glory of Chu, how courage does it take to say that there is no such thing as Chu in the world? How desperate is it?

"I understand!" Xiang Quan nodded. He also knew that this was the only way out for the Xiang clan. As for restoring the country, Xiang Quan dared not think about it. Restoring the country is no longer the same. The reason why Chu was able to restore the country by chance was because even if the elite of Chu surrendered to Qi, they were still in the hands of the Chu people and were still loyal to the Chu people. However, once they surrendered to Deng, the Deng people would not let such a thing happen again. The troops of Chu would definitely be dismissed or split. In this case, how could they restore the country?

"Bang! Bang!" Outside the city, the Zhao army's offensive continued, and it was getting stronger and stronger. It was not much time before Li Rubing decided to break the city in three days. In order to avoid military law, the elite troops of the 100,000 Zhao army took out their energy and rushed to the city wall. The siege cars kept hitting the city gate. The gate of Pengcheng, which had been guarding for many days, was finally bombarded by the Zhao army.

On the 8th day of the eighth month of Qianyuan, the Zhao army broke through the gate of Pengcheng and entered the city. The Chu army was immediately defeated and fled everywhere. In order to vent the resentment that had been over for many days, the Zhao army massacred the Chu people in Pengcheng, and the entire Pengcheng was suddenly filled with sorrow.

Outside the palace, Xiang Quan brought a thousand elite troops here to say the final farewell to Fan Ting. Some children from the Xiang clan were evacuated with Xiang Quan. After all, the fate of the entire Xiang clan cannot be placed only on the third prince of Chu. Xiang Quan's family and Fan Ting's family were also accompanied by Xiang Quan's family. After all, they could not abandon their bloodlines for the royal family, and they were not that great.

"General Xiang, are you sure?" Fan Ting had just said goodbye to his family, then walked to Xiang Quan and said.

Xiang Quan nodded and said, "Don't worry, Fan Xiang, I have made all preparations. After Zhao's army entered the city, they slaughtered them without any defense. They would never have thought that I would leave at this time."

"That's good. Since that's the case, then let's set off. After arriving in Guangling, remember what I said, don't restore the country. Only in this way can the Chu people survive." Fan Ting was worried that Xiang Quan and the others would still have the unrealistic thought of restoring the country, so he was a little worried, so he reminded him again.

"I remember, take care of Fan Xiang!" Xiang Quan nodded heavily, indicating that he understood, so he ordered the army to set off and leave before the Zhao army had even captured the palace and blocked the city gate.

After watching Xiang Quan leave, Fan Ting looked at the murderous aura that soared into the sky not far away, sighed deeply, turned around and walked into the palace. He was going to accompany King Xiang Kuang of Chu to complete his last journey, and to fulfill his loyalty to the State of Chu for the last time, just like his father.

When they arrived at the Overlord Hall, Xiang Kuang had already taken the prince and the concubines in the Palace to wait in the Overlord Hall. Fan Ting knew that they were waiting for the arrival of Zhao Jun.

"Secret Fan, you're here after all!" Xiang Kuang was surprised at the appearance of Fan Ting, because he knew that even if the whole world abandoned him, the prime minister would not be able to do this in front of him.

"The king is determined to die for his country, how dare I not follow me?" Fan Ting looked at Xiang Kuang and said with a smile. Then Fan Ting looked at the trembling prince of Chu who was standing beside Xiang Kuang, and sighed secretly. In fact, Fan Ting had thought about letting Xiang Quan take the prince with him, but later he thought about it. If the prince disappeared, the Zhao army would definitely not give up and would definitely pursue him. Maybe Xiang Quan and others could not escape, so they gave up this idea.

Shortly after Fan Ting entered the Palace of the King of the Kings, the Zhao army rushed to the palace. All the Chu troops blocked along the way were massacred by the Zhao army. However, when the Zhao army rushed to the Palace of the King of the King of the King of the King of the Kings, they saw the fire that soared into the sky. It turned out that King of the Chu Kingdom had burned himself, and the princess, prime ministers and concubines in the harem died with Xiang Kuang.
Chapter completed!