As soon as Xiang Yan left, the situation immediately turned for the worse.
While Xiang Yan was present, he could still cow the crowd.
But now that Xiang Yan was gone, who would listen to him?
Instantly, more people were willing to lay down their weapons.
"I'm willing to lay down my arms, don't kill me, I just want to go home!"
"I'm willing to lay down my arms, don't kill me, I just want to go home!"
"I'm willing to lay down my arms, don't kill me, I just want to go home!"
A torrent of phrases expressing a desire to return home poured from the mouths of these Chu soldiers.
In such a situation, even if other Chu generals wanted to stop them, they were powerless.
They were not Xiang Yan, they lacked the same prestige to command everyone's obedience.
Therefore, all they could do was watch as a large number of their soldiers laid down their weapons, and the Qin army under Lin Tian continued to press their attack.
This had a profound impact on them.
Not to mention the terrifying combat effectiveness of Lin Tian's army, the very act of these soldiers willing to surrender was enough to shake the morale of many.
Especially for those soldiers who also wished to go home, their hearts were wavering.
Such wavering meant they could, at any moment, follow suit like the other soldiers and lay down their weapons.
Thus, the Chu generals could only frantically issue their orders.
"Soldiers, do not be afraid, we have numbers, there is no need to fear. Continue to fight, kill these Qin soldiers, they cannot defeat us!"
"This is our city, and our soldiers are on the city walls. We have every advantage here. Soldiers, simply focus on killing the enemy with all your might. This battle, we will surely win!"
If such words had been spoken earlier, they might have had some effect.
But now, they only served to maintain the fighting momentum of the Chu soldiers. Beyond that, they were utterly useless.
Especially after the Chu generals finished speaking, Lin Tian's army launched firebombs, and the situation changed entirely.
The explosions of the firebombs, coupled with the screams of the Chu soldiers, directly shattered the defenses of many hearts.
Initially, they still had the will to resist Lin Tian's army's advance. But with the firebombs, they could only focus on retreating, with no regard for resisting Lin Tian's army.
As they retreated, someone shouted,
"Quick, retreat! We're falling back! We can't hold on anymore, we can't withstand the Qin army's assault!"
"Quick, withdraw! We can't keep fighting them, it's too disadvantageous for us!"
"Retreat! Hurry up and retreat! I don't want to die, I don't want to die here!"
The momentum of Lin Tian's army's attack was now so powerful, so overwhelming, that the Chu soldiers knew they could not possibly withstand it.
Therefore, even without orders, they wanted to retreat, they wanted to escape.
They had even begun urging those behind them to retreat quickly.
Their demeanor was as if they had encountered beasts more ferocious than jackals, tigers, and leopards, and their sole thought was to escape for their lives.
Once this momentum of fleeing took hold, it could no longer be stopped.
The morale of the Chu army was already fractured, and with some soldiers having already laid down their arms, the remaining Chu soldiers had essentially lost their will to fight.
In fact, many soldiers in their army, as they retreated, also discarded their weapons.
They put down their weapons not just to save their lives, but to take a gamble.
A gamble on whether Lin Tian was truly as he had said, willing to let them return home, to reunite with their families.
Therefore, they were willing to surrender, willing to become prisoners of war.
And the number of soldiers doing so was not small.
Consequently, the Chu army collapsed like a mountain, falling with astonishing speed, forcing the Chu generals to issue retreat orders to their soldiers.
"Retreat, quickly retreat! This city is not suitable for us to fight in. We will go to the next city, we will defend the next city!"
"We'll cede this city to the Qin!"
The Chu generals said this, naturally, to prevent their army's morale from weakening too much.
However, in the current situation, no soldier cared what the generals were saying.
Their hearts held only one thought: to escape and to survive.
Therefore, they ran with great speed, and the massive army quickly fled the area.
Without deliberate pursuit, Lin Tian's army did not manage to catch up with the retreating Chu army.
Finally, Lin Tian could only watch as they withdrew from their city like a receding tide.
Subsequently, Lin Tian turned his attention to those soldiers who had abandoned their weapons and were willing to surrender.
How these individuals were to be handled was closely tied to Lin Tian's subsequent plans.
"You, you are truly willing to surrender?"
"We are willing to surrender, we are truly willing to surrender!"
"Then you guarantee that once you return home, you will not join the army again, nor will you oppose our army!"
"We, we guarantee it. Once we return home, we will stay in our homes and will not join any army!"
"Very well, lay down your weapons, remove your armor, and return home!"
Lin Tian's words stunned the Chu soldiers.
They had originally thought that if Lin Tian were to release them, there would be many stringent conditions.
Indeed, they might not have been released at all.
Therefore, after laying down their weapons, they had already begun to regret it.
However, at this point, regret was of no use.
So, they could only gamble, gambling that Lin Tian might truly spare them.
They were also resolving in their hearts that no matter the cost, they were willing to pay it as long as they could return home.
But to their surprise, Lin Tian made no demands, agreeing to let them go home immediately.
This situation was beyond all their expectations.
"Gener- General, are you serious?"
"Of course. I always keep my word! After all, you are all pitiable common folk. Therefore, you may go home!"
"But remember, you are not to oppose our Qin army again!"
"We won't, we won't oppose the Qin army again!"
"Thank you, General, thank you for giving us a way to live!"
As for whether they would oppose the Qin army in the future, Lin Tian was unconcerned.
What he cared about was the impact that releasing these soldiers would have.
Within Qin, there would naturally be no significant repercussions, and no one would dwell on the matter.
But within Chu, the impact of this event would be immense, and it would profoundly affect many hearts.
...