The surrender of two hundred thousand troops not only shocked the Qin army but also the people of Chu.
When the Chu people learned of this news, they were all stunned.
Their first reaction was disbelief.
"Two hundred thousand troops surrendered? How is that possible? It's fake, this must be false news!!"
"Exactly, how could two hundred thousand troops surrender? Remember, Lin Tian's army only had one hundred and fifty thousand. Couldn't our two hundred thousand troops fight against Qin's Lin Tian's one hundred and fifty thousand?"
"Who spread this rumor? How could our two hundred thousand troops surrender? If all our two hundred thousand troops surrendered, would our Chu still have the ability to resist the Qin army?"
The people of Chu did not believe the news of the surrender of two hundred thousand troops.
They simply did not believe that so many of their troops would surrender.
Two hundred thousand troops, this would likely shock the entire world.
There had probably never been such a large number of surrenders in the entire world.
However, upon hearing this news, one person closed his eyes in despair.
"I knew it, I knew it would be like this! Our soldiers have no will to fight!!"
"It's over, it's over, our Chu is truly finished this time!!"
At this moment, Xiang Yan was filled with immense hatred. He hated the King of Chu, hated the officials of Chu, and even more so, hated those who pulled him down without any regard for consequences.
Earlier, he had known that their Chu army had no will to fight.
Therefore, when facing the Qin army, Xiang Yan's first reaction was not to engage, but to retreat.
Because he knew that if a real battle were to break out against Lin Tian's army, who knew how many soldiers would take the opportunity to surrender!
Once many soldiers surrendered, the Chu army would inevitably fall into chaos.
Thus, Xiang Yan was willing to abandon five cities rather than fight against the Qin army.
However, others in Chu were unaware of this and did not grasp the severity of the situation.
That General Wu had directly engaged Lin Tian's army.
And now, not only had they suffered a defeat, but they had also incurred such a shocking disgrace.
The surrender of two hundred thousand troops.
This was unprecedented and considered the ruin of Chu's foundation.
Although Chu still had some remaining troops, these were mostly new recruits. Even after some training, they lacked significant combat power.
As long as Lin Tian's army was willing, they could conquer their forces at any time.
Their remaining army could also be defeated at any moment.
Thinking of this, how could Xiang Yan not despair?
Yet, the soldiers escorting him to the royal capital were inflexible.
Under such circumstances, although these soldiers were fearful, they still escorted Xiang Yan to the royal capital of Chu.
As a result, the news of the Chu army's great defeat reached the Chu royal capital even before Xiang Yan did.
"Your Majesty, disaster has struck! Our Chu army has suffered a great defeat!!"
"What? How could we suffer a great defeat? Did Xiang Yan refuse to relinquish command of the troops? Did he deliberately let our army lose to the Qin army?? That can't be! Xiang Yan wouldn't do such a thing!!"
The current King of Chu no longer had the same trust in Xiang Yan as before.
Therefore, upon hearing of Chu's great defeat, the King of Chu's first thought was that Xiang Yan had caused their defeat.
He felt that there was a high probability that Xiang Yan was seeking revenge.
However, the soldiers' answer was not what he expected.
"No, General Xiang Yan is still on his way to the royal capital!!"
"It was General Wu! General Wu caused our army to suffer a great defeat!!"
"Half a day after General Wu took over General Xiang Yan's army, Lin Tian's Qin army launched an attack on our Chu cities."
"The moment they attacked, they unleashed a fierce assault and instantly breached our cities!"
"Our Chu soldiers could not withstand their ferocious onslaught, so most soldiers chose to surrender. General Wu was even killed by those who surrendered!!"
As he spoke, the soldier lowered his head, his gaze flickering slightly.
What he said was not the entire truth.
There were many embellishments.
For example, Lin Tian's army launched a fierce attack the moment they appeared, and their army could not resist.
In reality, those soldiers did not resist at all. The moment Lin Tian's army arrived, they surrendered with hardly any hesitation.
To say such things would be an utter disgrace.
Therefore, these soldiers who came to deliver the message did not speak of it.
The other ministers also did not notice this.
They were more concerned with General Wu's fate.
"Killed by surrendered soldiers? How is that possible? Wasn't General Wu surrounded by many of our soldiers? How could he be killed by surrendered soldiers? What kind of general is he?"
"General Wu had very few of our soldiers around him. Moreover, there were too many soldiers who surrendered, so General Wu could not resist them!!"
"Too many? How many soldiers surrendered? How many soldiers betrayed our Chu?"
"Two... two hundred thousand!!"
At the mention of two hundred thousand, all the ministers' mouths fell open.
On their faces, there was utter disbelief.
The King of Chu at this moment was completely stunned.
"Two hundred thousand? How could it be two hundred thousand? How could our Chu have so many soldiers surrender? Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!!"
"This is all true. Before, it was General Xiang Yan who kept those soldiers in check, so they didn't surrender in such large numbers. But after General Xiang Yan was replaced, no one could control those soldiers, so they all surrendered!!"
"They surrendered, all for the sake of going home!!"
As he spoke the last sentence, the soldier's voice became noticeably quieter.
But even this quiet whisper reached the King of Chu's ears clearly.
While in despair, the King of Chu also remembered what Xiang Yan had said before.
If the populace was not appeased, the soldiers of Chu would have no peace.
At the time, he had not taken such words to heart. At that time, the King of Chu was only concerned with his own wealth.
And since Xiang Yan wanted to seize his wealth, he naturally refused to listen.
But now, the situation was completely different.
What Xiang Yan had said before had come true, and their Chu army was in disarray.
The surrender of two hundred thousand troops had essentially hollowed out Chu's foundation and pushed them to the brink of disaster.
At this moment, the King of Chu was filled with regret.
...