Chapter 299 No One is the Protagonist
Surrender? Such words sound good, but no matter how good they sound, they cannot change the fact of surrender. Surrender is a very humiliating thing for a soldier. However, at this moment, the generals of the Yan army in the hall could not hear a single voice of opposition when facing what Yan Yi said.

Maybe some people are unwilling, but when facing Yan Yi, the general's accumulated prestige over the years makes these unwilling people dare not voice their opposition. But more people should be willing. After all, as Yan Yi's direct descendants, they naturally have no reason to oppose what Yan Yi decides. Although they themselves cannot figure out the key, Yan Yi, as a smart man, must be able to figure it out. It is enough for them to know this.

"Don't worry, everyone. The King of Qi has personally promised me that as long as you surrender, your wealth and status will be retained." Seeing that everyone was silent, Yan Yi naturally knew what these people were thinking. Although they might not necessarily oppose him, they still had some hesitation. If these doubts were not effectively resolved, under certain circumstances, they might turn into voices of opposition.

Since he wants to surrender, he must do it to the best of his ability. Only in this way can he get better treatment from the King of Qi in the future. If he can't even do something like surrender well, Yan Yi doesn't dare to have too many expectations.

"Did the King of Qi really say that?" Someone was tempted.

Surrendering means selling out Prince Xi of Yan, which is not a burden for most of them. Their hesitation is only for their own sake. They have been accustomed to a rich life over the years. If they surrender, they may lose all of these. This is what they care about most.

Now that Yan Yi actually said that the King of Qi had made such a promise, naturally more generals in the hall would be tempted.

"I think everyone knows who the King of Qi is. With his power, it is impossible for us to defend Yicheng. Back then, the Qin army couldn't even defend a powerful Qin city like Dingtao. Are we braver and more skilled in fighting than the Qin army back then?" Someone asked whether the King of Qi's promise was true, but Yan Yi was talking about the threat from the King of Qi. Although it seemed like the answer was irrelevant, it had an extraordinary effect.

There was no need to explain what Yan Yi said. Too much explanation would make him seem guilty. So after the inducement came the threat. One side was death, the other side was to continue to maintain wealth. The choice was already before them. Whether to be a rich man or a heroic ghost in the future depended on their choice.

Sure enough, when Yan Yi uttered these threatening words, the crowd, which was originally noisy, suddenly became quiet.

The King of Qi outside the city and the general inside the city said they were giving them a choice, but in fact they didn't give them a choice at all, because the other answer was really...

"We are willing to obey the general's orders." Yan Yi looked around at the crowd and secretly winked at someone in the crowd. The person he had arranged in advance stood up and took the lead in expressing his position.

With the appearance of the first person, the psychological burden of the second person seemed to be lightened a lot, followed by the third and fourth. When more people stood up, people's herd mentality broke out again. Amid the sound of clattering, in an instant, there was no one sitting in the entire hall.

The generals in the Yan army have made a common decision, which is to surrender to the King of Qi.

When surrender became the consensus of these Yan generals, the whole world became broader for them.

In the next three days, the generals of Yicheng, led by Yan Yi, quickly took control of the entire army, made relevant preparations, and restrained the generals, just waiting for the agreed time to surrender Yicheng.

Three days later, the sky was clear and the weather was good.

The tightly closed gate of Yicheng slowly opened, and teams of Yan troops, led by many generals, walked out of the city one after another, and lined up in front of the Qi army camp on the wilderness of Yan State with a completely unwarlike attitude.

Yan Yi stopped and concentrated, looking at the Qi army in front of him. Although he had already discussed the matter of surrender with Yang Chong, he still couldn't help feeling nervous at this moment. After all, it was a matter of life and death, so how could he not be a little uneasy? He had to know that from now on, the honor and disgrace of the rest of his life would not be under his control.

"Yan Yi of Yan State is here to surrender to the king." After seeing Yang Chong walking out of the Qi army's formation, Yan Yi immediately jumped off his mount, holding his military token and sword and walked forward. This was his authority, and from now on it no longer belonged to him.

"From now on, you are no longer the general of Yan State." Yang Chong took the military token and sword from Yan Yi, and drew out the so-called general's sword.

Yang Chong's action made Yan Yi tremble subconsciously, thinking that Yang Chong was going to attack him.

"If I launch a sudden counterattack at this moment, can I catch him? If I can capture the King of Qi, I will be the greatest contributor to the State of Yan." Yan Yi subconsciously came up with this thought in fear.

But he suppressed this thought the next moment. As Yang Chong had not taken action for a long time, few people had not heard of the legend about his martial arts. But just based on what Yang Chong had done back then, Yan Yi did not dare to think of taking action. The so-called courage that could not be stopped by ten thousand men was used by others to describe personal bravery, but for Yang Chong, it was a description of objective facts.

"From now on, you are a citizen of my Qi State." Yang Chong pretended not to see the muscles in Yan Yi's arms tensed in an instant. The so-called threat did not exist.

As Yan Yi formally surrendered to Yang Chong, the generals of various camps in the Yan army ordered their men to take off their armor and lay down their weapons.

Amidst the clanging sounds, there was no longer a single person wearing armor or holding a weapon in the entire Yan army formation.

However, just when the last man in the Yan army laid down his weapon, one of the Yan army generals who all lowered their heads suddenly rushed out. On his bare arms were strong muscles, and in his hand he was holding a sledgehammer tied with an iron chain, which weighed dozens of pounds and was swung by him.

It even points to where Yang Chong is from afar.

"Big Hammer, what are you going to do?" Yan Yi was shocked when he saw this. He thought he had controlled the entire army, but he never expected that at this moment, when everything was settled, a big hammer would suddenly appear.

Yan Yi, as a former general of the State of Yan, knew who Da Tiechui was. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the bravest of the three armies. However, Da Tiechui believed himself to be righteous and repeatedly refused his recruitment. As a result, he was suppressed many times by him, and as a result, he did not hold a high position in the Yan army.

Yan Yi's original intention was to suppress Da Tiechui for a few more years, and then he might be able to completely subdue him. However, Yan Yi never expected that he would encounter the current situation before that day.

Yan Yi was so frightened that his soul almost scared out of his wits. If Yang Chong knew that it was his order, then he and the people under his command would have no chance of survival and would definitely be crushed into powder by the angry Qi army.

As for whether the sneak attack by the big hammer would be successful, Yan Yi didn't even dare to think about it. If Yang Chong was someone who could be attacked by surprise, he would have done it long ago and there was no need to wait for the big hammer.

Sure enough, at the moment Yan Yi shouted, a loud thunder exploded from the sky, directly smashing the iron hammer that was shooting towards Yang Chong at an indistinguishable speed into pieces. At the same time, the big iron hammer that was still in a throwing posture suddenly became stiff and fell down.

Everything happened in a flash. The hammer flew out and the thunder fell. It was a shocking blow, but now it turned into dust, as if nothing had happened. But did nothing really happen?
In the Yan army's formation, countless people saw the earth-shattering blow of the big iron hammer, and countless more saw the sudden thunder in the clear sky.

Their knowledge is limited, and they have their own explanations for things they cannot understand. Things that people know but cannot understand are attributed to God.

At this time, Yang Chong was an incomprehensible existence to them, and accordingly, Yang Chong was equivalent to a god.

If they surrendered to a person, even if that person was the so-called King of Qi, it would be difficult for some people in the Yan army to accept it. But what if they surrendered to God?
That is not surrender, that is following God's will.

During this moment, the Yan army, which had just been in a state of dejection due to surrender, seemed to have another emotion.

God bears witness that the human heart is immortal.

From then on, Yicheng belonged to the State of Qi.

Since the people of Yicheng surrendered to the Qi army, the entire Dukang area no longer had any strength to fight against the Qi army.

At this time, the Qi army, which had already broken through to the city of Ji, had no worries. When the two Qi armies in the north and south joined together, Jicheng would be in their pocket.

As for the hundreds of thousands of Yan troops gathered inside and outside Jicheng, they originally lacked the fighting spirit, and now faced with the situation that most of Yan State had been occupied by Qi army, and facing the Qi army whose military strength was not inferior to their own, it was really hard to say how much determination they could still have to resist.

After all, even the great general Yan Yi has surrendered, so what tricks can they use to struggle?
"Yan Yi, you are a sinner of Yan State!" In Jicheng, in the palace of King Yan, when King Xi of Yan learned that Yan Yi led 100,000 elite Yan troops to surrender to the Qi army and offered Yicheng, he roared in despair and fear.

"Your Majesty, we must quickly find a way to make Qi withdraw its troops!" Yan Chunjun said in despair and fear.

He had offended the King of Qi severely in the past. Once the State of Yan was destroyed by the State of Qi, it would be a problem for him to preserve his wealth, let alone his life.

"You allow me to do this? Do you want me to go into battle myself?" Yan Wangxi looked at Yan Chunjun unkindly, feeling that his good brother was so hateful at this moment.

Today, King Xi of Yan has also realized that the advice his good brother had given him before were all bad ideas. When there was no external threat to Yan State, those bad ideas might not be so fatal, but at this moment of life and death, they are very fatal and even hateful.

"Your Majesty, war is impossible now, but we are not at the end of the road." Yan Chunjun also knew that King Xi of Yan could not be provoked at the moment, but there were some things he had to say.

If the State of Yan was destroyed, Yang Chong might have spared the life of King Xi of Yan in order to stabilize the people's hearts in Yan. This was a preferential treatment for a king. After all, a king generally does not kill another king. However, Yang Chong, the younger brother of King Xi of Yan and a powerful official of Yan, might not receive such treatment.

Therefore, Yan Chunjun knew very well that he had to save himself and must not fall into Yang Chong's hands under any circumstances.

But Jicheng no longer has enough strength to fight against the Qi army, and no one in the entire Yan State can defeat Yang Chong. What can he do to save himself?

After much thought, Yan Chunjun could only think of a way to survive. Since Yang Chong and the Qi army were right in front of him, he could only escape and flee to Liaodong.

The land of Liaodong is inhabited by various Hu people and is extremely cold and harsh. The State of Yan has been operating there for many years since Qin Kai seized the land of Liaodong from the Hu people. If he escapes there, although he will not enjoy the same living conditions as in Jicheng, with his status and position, no matter how harsh and cold the place is, it will not be as harsh as him.

"What else can we do now?" King Yan said impatiently.

"Liaodong." Yan Chunjun said.

"Liaodong?" King Yan was stunned when he heard this, but he reacted immediately. Liaodong was indeed a retreat that was not a retreat in the current situation. However, he would not go to a place like Liaodong as long as there was any possibility.

"It's Liaodong, brother king. As long as we retreat to Liaodong and build a strong city in the Liaoxi Corridor, we can keep the Qi army out. Although Liaodong is not a good place, it is stable." Yan Chunjun became a smart man again at this time.

"Liaodong, Liaodong!" King Yan pondered, he was already moved.

Although Jicheng is good, it is not a place to stay for a long time. Although Liaodong is bad, it has its advantages. At least Qi State will not covet such a place with nothing.

But giving up the capital is almost like half of the country's destruction. For a king, such a thing is too shameful, and it is even more unfair to the ancestors. The most difficult hurdle for a person is himself, and this is the case for King Xi of Yan right now.

"We can prepare to attack the city now, but there is no need to fight desperately. We just need to scare King Xi of Yan. Jicheng is a good place. It would be a pity if it is destroyed in war." At the foot of Jicheng, Yang Chong said to the generals on his left and right.

Although Yang Chong came this time to destroy the State of Yan, he never thought of completely wiping it off the map. The reason was that the State of Yan was thousands of miles long from east to west. If one wanted to completely destroy the State of Yan, the difficulty might not be high, but it would take a long time. Time was precious to Yang Chong, so Yang Chong only prepared half of the State of Yan. As for Liaodong, let it be the retirement place for King Xi of Yan first.

Therefore, what Yang Chong had to do now was not to capture Jicheng as soon as possible, but to intimidate King Xi of Yan as much as possible and force him to flee to Liaodong.

"Yes."

Following Yang Chong's order, a siege war not aimed at capturing the city began.

(End of this chapter)