Chapter 25: Surrender (Part II)

"Boom!"

A cannonball soared over the city wall and struck within the city, leaving the resting soldiers of the Shun Dynasty in a state of sheer terror.

Shi Nai was burning with anxiety. He turned to those beside him and urged, "We cannot let the rebel forces continue their bombardment. Find a way to take out their cannons!"

"What way is there?" one man retorted. "The enemy's cannons are powerful, have long range, and are incredibly accurate. They destroyed more than half of our artillery this morning. Now, the defending soldiers are too afraid to even stand on the walls, and even if they do, they cower in fear."

"I refuse to believe there is no way!"

Gritting his teeth, Shi Nai donned his armor and ascended the stairs to the city wall, followed closely by several others who feared for his safety.

Taking cover behind a tall corner tower, Shi Nai peered out. He saw the forces of Prince Qian densely packed below, laying siege in an orderly fashion. They were whittling down the defenses bit by bit, filling the moat, and pushing battering rams toward the city gates. More than a dozen siege ladders had been erected, allowing the rebels to overlook the city's defensive layout.

"Quickly send men to the east corner tower! The rebels are organizing an assault!"

Shi Nai did not know much about warfare, but he could see that the rebel army was fierce while the imperial troops were timid. He could also see that the defenses at the east corner tower were thin, and the rebels were massing there in great numbers.

"Understood!" A messenger hurried off to relay the order.

But just as he was about to descend, a commotion erupted from below the city wall, accompanied by shouting. Soon, the unrest began to spread.

"They've surrendered!"
"The Emperor has surrendered!"

Hearing these shouts from the soldiers below, the faces of those on the wall turned pale.

"Who is shaking the morale of the army?! Send men at once to seize those who are shouting!" Shi Nai roared.

A young soldier rushed up to the wall, saluted hurriedly, and said, "My lord, an imperial decree has arrived. The Emperor has ordered that we are to cease all hostilities against the forces of Prince Qian!"

"...What?!"

Shi Nai and the surrounding generals loyal to the imperial court were struck with disbelief. They had been ordered to fight to the death that very morning; how could they be willing to surrender by the afternoon?

"Who brought the decree?" Shi Nai asked in a deep voice.

"It is the Prince of Zhongshun!"

"Where is he?"

"In the gate tower, speaking with Lord Wang."

When Shi Nai finally confronted the Prince of Zhongshun, he demanded bluntly, "Your Highness, did the Emperor order you to open the city gates and surrender?"

"Not at all. The Emperor has ordered me to call for a ceasefire!" The Prince of Zhongshun let out a long sigh and said, "The Emperor is compassionate toward his soldiers and is therefore willing to abdicate in favor of Prince Qian. However, the terms of the abdication and the subsequent conditions for our treatment have yet to be negotiated with Prince Qian tomorrow."

During the peace talks two days ago, the greatest point of contention had been the Yongning Emperor's refusal to abdicate. Now that he was willing to step down, everything else could be discussed.

"Sigh!" Shi Nai let out a long, weary breath. "If it is not a surrender by opening the gates, why declare that we have surrendered? Now that the soldiers have heard this, morale has collapsed even further. Before Prince Qian even arrives, this city will be impossible to hold!"

"This..." The expression of the Prince of Zhongshun wavered.

Wang Ziteng added helplessly, "I told His Highness not to broadcast this to the others, but it is too late now."

"It was my moment of folly!" the Prince of Zhongshun lamented. "I was only thinking of having you stop the fighting sooner to prevent Prince Qian from losing more soldiers..."

Everyone understood the reason. Prince Qian had once declared that for every one of his soldiers killed, he would execute three princes. The Prince of Zhongshun had been living in constant fear of this, which was why he was so desperate to halt the fighting.

Wang Ziteng said, "Since that is the case, let us contact Prince Qian as soon as possible. Someone, copy several documents for me; we shall fire them over on arrows!"

***

In the camp of Prince Qian’s army, Chu Yan was observing the siege through a telescope. He noticed an anomaly and squinted at the city wall. "Something is wrong. Why has the imperial army's resistance suddenly diminished so much?"

"It seems they have fallen into chaos," Chu Ming said with a smile, also raising his telescope.

"It doesn't look like it... Good! Our men are on the wall!"

Chu Yan’s spirits lifted. His soldiers had scaled the battlements, though due to the angle, he could not see the situation on the wall itself. However, it was vaguely apparent that the imperial army was not immediately counter-attacking to reclaim the positions. The two sides seemed to be in a standoff. The strange situation caused the intensity of the battlefield to drop significantly.

Before long, a messenger on horseback delivered several arrows with letters attached to Chu Yan. The letters were identical. Chu Yan read them quickly, tossed them aside, leapt onto his horse, and galloped toward the front line, followed by his generals.

Upon reaching the edge of the now-filled moat, Chu Yan learned the truth: a hundred imperial soldiers were in a standoff with the few rebel troops who had climbed the wall. The imperial soldiers had declared that the Emperor was willing to surrender, demanding, "We will not move, so you of Prince Qian's army must not move either—do not climb the walls anymore!"

Thus, the situation had frozen, and both sides had stopped firing.

"My Lord!" Li Changjin, who was commanding the front line, arrived with a letter, having learned of the Prince of Zhongshun's decree.

"Your Highness, beware of a trap," Xu Zhiyi cautioned, saying nothing more. The situation was already quite clear.

"The bastards! They only surrender now!" Xiahou Xin cursed. Ma Ji agreed, adding, "If they wanted to surrender, they should have just opened the gates. Fiddling around like a woman—if the talks fail tomorrow, won't we have to fight anyway?!"

Chu Yan's subordinates voiced their agreement. After a day of siege, they knew that breaching the capital was merely a matter of time.

Chu Yan remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield. His battle-hardened soldiers were gathering around, waiting for their Prince to issue an order.

"If we can reduce casualties, that is for the best," Chu Yan said. He ordered his men, "Write a letter for me, and bring me my bow."

His guards rushed to fetch writing materials. Chu Yan dictated to Chu Ming: "Tell them, either open the gates, or do as I say: hang ten large white cloths on the walls with the words 'Willing to Submit to Prince Qian' written on them, and command the soldiers to shout it aloud. Once I see this, I will withdraw my troops for the time being and negotiate with them tomorrow."

Xu Zhiyi praised the plan: "Your Highness, a brilliant strategy! This will utterly dismantle their morale. Even if their surrender is false, once everyone knows it and says it aloud, the lie will become the truth!"

The rough-hewn generals finally realized the wisdom of the plan. Moments later, Chu Ming finished the letter, tied it to an arrow, and respectfully handed it over.

Chu Yan took his longbow, drew the arrow, and fired it through the window of the city's arrow tower across the moat.

After waiting for a while, Xiahou Xin grew impatient. "Are the imperial troops not going to hang the white cloth?!"

"Don't worry, I gave them a quarter of an hour," Chu Ming said. Chu Yan had not specified a time, so Chu Ming had estimated one himself.

The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. The soldiers further from the walls sat down to rest, while those nearby, including the few on the wall, remained in their armor, continuing their standoff. The laborers who had been filling the moat did not stop, continuing to widen the path.

About a quarter of an hour later, a massive red cloth slid down from the wall, bearing the words in black ink: *Willing to Submit to Prince Qian!*

Both inside and outside the walls, an uproar broke out. The resting soldiers surged forward, squinting at the red cloth. Upon recognizing the words, they were overcome with joy.

"My Lord said white cloth, why did they use red?!" a general asked with a mocking laugh.

"I imagine they think white is a bad omen, like mourning for their old Emperor."

The generals roared with laughter. Even the steady Chu Ming could not help but beam with joy. Listening closely, one could hear the soldiers of the Shun Dynasty beginning to shout that they were willing to submit to Prince Qian. Now, even if the city wanted to reorganize its defenses, it would be ten times harder than before.

"Your Highness, shall we withdraw?" Xu Zhiyi asked with a smile.

"Not yet. What about the other gates?"

"I will send men to check at once!"

Before long, it was confirmed that red cloths had been hung at every gate. The news that the imperial court intended to surrender and that the Emperor would abdicate to Prince Qian spread through the 100,000-strong army. A wave of commotion followed, with soldiers cheering "Long live Prince Qian."

Only then did Chu Yan give the order: "Sound the gongs, withdraw the troops!"

Hanging the red cloth was not just for the people inside; it was for his own soldiers to know. If the city reneged, his soldiers would feel betrayed, and when they returned to the battlefield, they would be filled with a fury that demanded release. Of course, if that fury were not managed well, it could easily turn into looting or a massacre of the city.

Ma Ji chuckled. "They got off easy. If they had surrendered a day or two later, we would have stormed the city—what would there be left to talk about?"

"His Highness cherishes his soldiers; this is as it should be," Xu Zhiyi said.

"Talk to them? No, no, no need to talk." Chu Yan laughed, shaking his head. "As long as there are clever people inside that city, they should open the gates tonight!"

Ma Ji’s eyes lit up. "My Lord, I will lead men to guard the gates tonight. As soon as they open, I will storm in!"

Chu Yan nodded. "Just secure the gates. Do not move further inside."

The sound of gongs soon echoed. The forces of Prince Qian surrounding the walls began a slow withdrawal, and those few who had climbed the wall retreated step by step, returning to the ground via their ladders.

Chu Yan remembered them and said to Li Changjin, "Though those men who climbed the wall did not fight, they returned alive. Record their merit as 'First to Scale'."

"Yes, Your Highness!"