webnovelfull Chapter 708: Even if there are only three households in Chu, Chu will destroy Yan
Chapter 708: Even if there are only three households in Chu, Chu will destroy Yan
"General Xiang!"
Gong Yang Ge shouted loudly and said,
"I know you are loyal to your king and your country, and you would rather die than surrender, but if you think so, do you want to die with all these tens of thousands of Chu soldiers?
There are only 400,000 Chu troops left. Do you want them all to die?
How can you face the elders of Jiangdong?!"
"I am ashamed to face the people of Jiangdong, so I want to die!"
Xiang Qu suddenly pulled out his knife and said loudly,
"I came here with the Emperor's order to rescue the State of Wei, but I was afraid to face the Yan army alone. I could only stay in Yecheng, the border city, and wait for your Qian army to arrive.
By the time you arrived, the State of Wei had also been destroyed.
Then we fought against the Yan army again, but I still didn't dare to fight and watched you being surrounded. Because of my hesitation and anger, we lost everything.
I fought with the Yan army again, but they broke through my defense line in just one hour.
I ran all the way and the Yan army chased me all the way to the bank of Han River.
I have no way out and I don’t want to run anymore. Because of my stupidity, I have killed so many Jiangdong men!
Only death can atone for my sins!
I have no face to go to Jiangdong anymore!"
At this point, Xiang Qu burst into tears and continued to say to Gong Yang Ge,
"Ram, you are still young, you can swim to the other side, but I can't. I am old and can't swim anymore.
I will lead the Chu army to charge forward and withdraw your Qian army. Then you give the order that those who can swim will swim south with you, and those who cannot swim will surrender on the spot. The Yan army will not kill the prisoners, and they can also have a chance to survive.
I will also instruct my deputy commander Pang Lei to order the entire army to surrender after I die.
Gongyang, take those who escaped to Xiangyang to get supplies, then go to Jingzhou and take a boat back to Jiangnan.
I can die, but you can't. You are more useful than me, and you are smarter than me."
After saying this, Xiang Qu walked down the platform without looking back.
"General Xiang!"
Gong Yangge shouted, his eyes filled with tears.
For the first time in his life, he felt admiration for Xiang Qu.
No matter how they schemed against each other and looked down on each other before, they still fought side by side to the end.
At this moment, they are true comrades-in-arms.
Gong Yang Ge gave the order with tears in his eyes,
"Order the entire Qian army to withdraw and have all the generals come to see me. The Chu army brothers will help us fight for a chance to escape!
Go quickly! "
"As ordered!"
The messenger immediately went forward to deliver the message.
Under the command of Gongyang Ge and Xiang Qu, the Chu army pushed to the front line and fought with the Yan army, while the Qian army retreated to the rear.
But not all of the Qian army retreated, and many of them were divided and surrounded by the Yan army.
Gong Yang Ge looked at the generals and soldiers in front of him and said loudly,
"Everyone, you can see that our army was defeated in this battle and we are surrounded by the river.
Now, I give an order: all soldiers who can swim and are willing to run south with me, throw away your weapons, take off your armor, go into battle lightly, and swim across the river with me.
Those who could not swim and were unwilling to cross the river all stayed behind and surrendered to the Yan army.
Don't fight to the death anymore, and don't blindly follow me into the river and drown.
This is a military order. I order those who remain to surrender. The Yan army will not kill prisoners. I will leave you a way to survive. One day you can be released by the Yan army and return to your homes.
Now, the Chu army is buying us time. Don't hesitate and convey my order immediately.
Those who cannot swim are not allowed to enter the water, otherwise they will be punished by military law! "
In fact, there is no need for military law. People who can't swim will die if they go into the water.
When he was at the end of his rope, Gong Yang Ge tried his best to leave hope of survival to his soldiers.
The generals were all heartbroken, but they all knew that this was the only way.
As the generals conveyed their orders, most of the Qian army soldiers, who could not swim, chose to stay and surrender.
And only a very small number of soldiers could swim, less than 10%.
But this ten percent still has more than 8,000 people.
Gong Yang Ge said to these people,
"After you enter the water, no matter what happens, don't look back, don't save anyone, leave life and death to fate, and swim south to Peach Blossom Island.
Even if I were to drown, you wouldn't save me. With this kind of current, saving someone would be suicide. We'd both die...
If I fail to swim across, you must go to Xiangyang as quickly as possible to get food and supplies. There are still 20,000 local Chu troops there.
Get the supplies, go to Jingzhou immediately, cross the river by boat, and return to Qian State. Do you understand?"
"understand!"
These people put down their weapons, quickly took off their armor, and swam to the river to the south one by one.
Gong Yang Ge watched them go into the water one after another, sighed, and turned to look to the north.
He was waiting, and after all these people had left, he ordered those who remained to surrender.
These eight thousand soldiers who could swim all jumped into the river one after another and swam towards the center of the river.
Seeing that they were halfway through the swim, Gong Yangge finally felt relieved and turned to everyone and said,
"All Qian army soldiers, listen up and wait. After the Chu army surrenders, our army will also surrender!"
"As ordered!"
Everyone shouted these two words with tears in their voices.
"The mountains are high and the road is long, take care everyone!"
Gong Yang Ge gritted his teeth, turned and walked towards the river.
A soldier came running over holding a log.
"Marshal, this is for you."
"Thanks, brother!"
Gong Yang Ge gritted his teeth, took the log, jumped into the water, held the log with his left hand, and swam south with his right hand and feet.
A general of the Qian army took off his helmet and cried out,
"Congratulations, Marshal!"
"Congratulations, Marshal!"
All the remaining Qian soldiers shouted in unison.
Gongyang Ge wiped his tears and swam south without looking back.
The two coaches made completely different choices.
On the Chu army side, Xiang Qu rushed to the front line with his big knife.
He had instructed his deputy commander Pang Lei to stay in the rear and lead the entire army to surrender after his death.
At this time, he brandished a big knife and charged into the Yan army, swinging it left and right, roaring and killing the Yan army.
The veteran will never die, and one man can hold the pass!
This veteran used up all his military skills and all his strength to fight the enemy.
Generals died in hundreds of battles, and their bodies were returned wrapped in horse leather.
For him, dying on the battlefield is the greatest honor.
He no longer had the face to cross the river and face the people of Jiangdong.
"Kill! The Yan thief! Kill!"
Xiang Qu roared angrily.
He was covered in wounds, but he still fought to the death.
He was surrounded by Yan soldiers, who were holding spears and staring at him fiercely.
"Old General, the Yan army will not kill prisoners, surrender immediately!"
A Yan army soldier shouted!
However, Xiang Qu turned a deaf ear and just fought.
The soldiers looked at each other and thrust their spears forward together.
Xiang Qu's sword chopped off the head of a Yan soldier.
But several spears also pierced his chest.
Xiang Qu fell down helplessly. With his head full of white hair, he knelt on the ground and used his last bit of strength to roar to the sky.
"Even if there are only three households in Chu, Chu will be the one to destroy Yan!"