Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 271 265. Surrender
"How is this possible?! How could the Han army break through our defense so easily!"

Zhuge Ke was facing the Han army for the first time, and he regarded the loud noises just now as thunderbolts and didn't pay much attention to them. At this time, he was in the city with He Qi, so he didn't see the situation at the city gate and the river, so he had this question.

"Alas. It seems that the Han army has activated the magic. Our army is mainly composed of new recruits. When they first see the Han army's magic, they may be so frightened that they won't even beg for mercy."

He Qi was relatively familiar with the situation of the Han army. Since the Eastern Wu suffered two major defeats, He Qi and Lu Dai, the only remaining senior generals, had also done a lot of research on the Han army.

Although they didn't know the principle of the Han army's magic, they had heard of its actual effects. Palm thunder, thunder and fire, fire on the ground...

With the loud noise at the city gate and the dead silence from the city wall, He Qi knew what had happened after a brief thought. Now the Han army was using magic to attack the city, and he was unable to stop them.

"Immortal magic?! What kind of immortal magic? It's ridiculous! I don't believe that the Han army is really so powerful!"

A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Although Zhuge Ke had heard of it, he did not believe in the so-called magic. He just thought it was an excuse deliberately made up by the deserters in order to save their lives.

"My lord, please get on board quickly. Whether the Han army used sorcery or magic, the city gate has already fallen. It is inevitable that the Han army will enter the city. We cannot continue to fight here, but retreat to the back city."

He Qi could only appease the furious Zhuge Ke with kind words. Now that the morale of the Wu army had fallen, it would be better to take advantage of the fact that the new soldiers in the city who had no idea what had happened on the city wall were still somewhat organized and immediately evacuate them. There was still a glimmer of hope.

If they insist on fighting in the streets, it will be a pipe dream. Generally, street fighting has to rely on the leadership of grassroots officers. After all, there are so many alleys, and the generals at the top can only command one or a few of them at most. The rest depends on the ordinary officers and soldiers to decide for themselves.

How can these useless recruits fight in street battles? They will probably pee their pants when they see the Han army. It is better to retreat as soon as possible and retain some manpower.

At least after this battle, these new recruits can rest and recuperate, so they won't be so vulnerable when facing the Han army in the future. It can be considered as training through war.

"General He, don't you feel ashamed for retreating without a fight? In our Great Wu, there are only ghosts who died in battle, and there is no such thing as a general running away!"

Although Zhuge Ke was still young at this time, his character had already shown some signs of the future. Facing He Qi's order to retreat, Zhuge Ke was extremely opposed and even began to question He Qi.

"My Lord, in war, we cannot care about the gains and losses of a city or a place. If we all die here, how many soldiers will we have left? The Han army will just have to march straight in. It is better to retain our strength and continue to consolidate the defense line. There is still a glimmer of hope."

He Qi knew that Zhuge Ke was just talking like that because he had no experience in battle, so he tried his best to persuade Zhuge Ke. If Zhuge Ke insisted on not obeying, then He Qi would have to offend this young master and kidnap him.

"It's unreasonable! We still have 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers who can fight. How can we give up so easily? If you want to leave, go ahead. I will defend this city!"

"Someone, come here, it's unfair for the young master to be tied up!"

Zhuge Ke was still doing his own thing. He Qi could only sigh. With a command, his personal soldiers held Zhuge Ke down and tied him up with several ropes.

"He Qi! How dare you do this! When I return to Jianye, I will inform my father and His Majesty!"

Zhuge Ke cursed loudly as he was carried to the boat by He Qi's personal soldiers.

"Fortunately, we expect that the Han navy will not be able to enter Pengli Lake for a while, so there is still time to evacuate." He Qi thought about it. The Han army had not removed the hidden stakes at the entrance of Pengli Lake, which meant that their warships could not enter Pengli Lake to pursue their remnants.

"Quick, gather the soldiers who are still obedient to orders and board the ship. We will retreat back to Danyang County."

After dealing with the troublesome young master, He Qi didn't have time to care about other people. He could only gather as many people as possible and leave as quickly as possible.

Soon, more than 3,000 soldiers obeyed the order and boarded the ships. At He Qi's command, all the remaining ships of all sizes in Chaisang City set out and headed east, preparing to retreat to Danyang County along the Yangtze River.

"Alas, there is always a way... I don't know what the way will be..."

He Qi was also a veteran general, and he knew that what he had just said to Zhuge Ke was just psychological comfort. If the Han army could use magic to break through Chaisang City, could they not use magic to break through Jianye City?

Retreating continuously now was the best course of action He Qi could take. If all these troops and himself were trapped in Chaisang, then Lü Dai would probably not have to fight anymore.

However, the soldiers' exclamations soon brought He Qi back to reality from his daydreaming.

"He... General He, it's... it's the Han army..."

A soldier rolled and crawled to He Qi, trembling and pointing at the distance. He Qi came to his senses and looked around, and found that a fleet of Han army ships had blocked his way, and they were not small ships, but large ships such as battleships.

"Oh no! How did the Han army get past the hidden stakes?! Hurry up, head south to Yuzhang County!"

He Qi was also panicked. He had thought that the Han army would be troubled by the secret agents for a long time. He had never expected that the Han army had already entered Pengli Lake, let alone that the Han army was chasing him.

Now they met on a narrow road. He Qi's side was already a defeated army, and their ships were not warships, but mostly large transport ships. He Qi knew there was no chance of winning at a glance, so he could only order the fleet to turn around and head south, preparing to take the waterway to the county seat of Yuzhang County.

But how could the Han navy let go of this achievement? As the flag fluttered, the Han navy's ships, big and small, rushed towards He Qi's fleet like beasts seeing meat.

In less than an incense stick of time, He Qi's fleet was surrounded by the Han army. What made the Wu army even more desperate was that they could see more Han warships approaching from a distance through the gaps in the Han army's encirclement.

"General He...what should we do..."

The new recruits were panicking, and could only look to He Qi, their only supporter. He Qi looked around and saw that some Wu soldiers in small boats had surrendered to the Han army, and the Han army ordered them to stay on the boats with their heads in their hands and not move.

He Qi half-pulled his sword from his waist, intending to fight back. But when he saw the Han warships' decks filled with various crossbows, catapults, and archers ready for battle, and his own empty decks with only panicked soldiers huddled together, He Qi knew he was doomed today.

"Alas...surrender."

He Qi finally put his sword back and ordered his soldiers to hang up the white flag as if he had lost his soul.

(End of this chapter)