Chapter 1525: Chapter 1442: Killing His Wife

“The 30,000 troops closest to Wuyang have already surrendered, probably the entire main force of the 17th Army,” the adjutant awkwardly reported the latest developments to the gaunt Liu Zhian.

Rather than calling it a battle report, it was more like the collapse process of Liu Zhian’s forces: The northernmost troops heard the news of Wuyang surrendering the city and received the command to surrender from Qin Country, so they naturally laid down their weapons and chose to surrender.

These soldiers had long lost the will to fight, weary of defeat after defeat, and they were well aware of their own condition.

In just a few days, they ran hundreds of kilometers north with only a small amount of self-carried food, and their ammunition was pitifully scarce.

To make them launch a frontal assault on the Tang Country’s military in such a state was no different from sending them to their deaths. So, upon hearing the news, they immediately chose to surrender.

Seriously, if they didn’t surrender now, would it still be in time to raise the white flag when Tang Country’s tanks and armored vehicles rolled in and planes began bombing?

Were they supposed to use their Maxim machine guns and Mauser rifles with bayonets to confront the main battle tanks and jet planes of Tang Country?

“The 17th Army is pretty much finished. What about the 31st Army following behind?” Liu Zhian asked with a bitter smile.

His troops were in extremely dire condition. After receiving orders, he frantically commanded his troops to move north for reinforcement but ultimately failed to arrive in time.

This indirectly caused his current embarrassing situation: The entire corps stretched over more than a hundred kilometers of road, in a ‘Single Line Serpentine Formation,’ with no combat capability whatsoever.

If they wanted to fight, at least the rear troops would need to catch up, the middle troops would need to spread to the flanks, and the troops towards Wuyang would need to pull back to form a “circumferential defense” in order to continue combat.

However, the problem was, to swiftly support Wuyang, Liu Zhian’s troops carried almost no ammunition. The previous plan was to replenish ammunition, supplies, medicine, and food upon reaching Wuyang. But halfway there, the supply station Wuyang was lost…

With only a few days’ worth of ammunition and food, even if Liu Zhian’s troops huddled together, they wouldn’t last more than a few days.

So Liu Zhian had to either retreat to Nanjiao City, which hadn’t yet been overtaken by the Tang Army and was still under control of Liu Zhian’s rear troops.

Or he had to move north to Wuyang, seize back the Qin Country capital from the Tang Army, and then regather strength to continue negotiating with Tang Country on behalf of Qin Country.

The problem was, the Tang Army ahead consisted of two Corps: Strauss’s 3rd Corps and Bolton’s 2nd Corps. At its peak, Qin Army could barely repel one of these Tang Country Corps, achieving such an event was a rest in peace smile in the afterlife. Now they were to fight both simultaneously; the outcome was crystal clear.

“I’ve sent someone to contact the 31st Army, but haven’t heard back yet,” the adjutant awkwardly replied to Liu Zhian’s question. The Tang Army had initiated electromagnetic interference, disrupting almost all communications with Liu Zhian’s troops.

With the troops scattered and communication problems, this battle was practically decided. Liu Zhian was acutely aware that as time passed, the number of troops surrendering would only increase.

Wuyang had already been occupied by the Tang Army, in other words, the righteousness stood with the Tang Country. Qin Country had already fallen, Emperor Qin had surrendered… In such circumstances, asking soldiers to keep fighting was an act of defying the current.

Gradually, most would accept reality obediently, lay down their arms and surrender, and return home to live quietly. This was the trend, fitting human nature.

Therefore, without a quick decisive battle, it was a dead end. Liu Zhian understood the dead end ahead. He just hoped that with his remaining life, he could extend the vitality of the Great Qin Empire he served a bit longer. After all, the Great Qin Empire was his belief, his sole pillar till now.

“Don’t rely on the 31st Army anymore, have the troops deploy defensively, dig trenches, build fortifications! Requisition all civilian houses from nearby villages, and conscript the civilians for construction!” Liu Zhian waved his hand and instructed his adjutant.

In his view, the disconnected 31st Army was likely to have also surrendered. Without the protrusions of the 17th Army and 31st Army, the Tang Army from Wuyang’s direction would soon close in, and if he wasn’t prepared, they would be devoured in an instant.

The adjutant immediately stood to attention and saluted, agreeing before leaving the command room. Liu Zhian turned to his Captain of the Guard and asked, “Has my family arrived?”

“They have arrived, just next door, General,” the Captain of the Guard replied, with a somewhat bleak expression.

Liu Zhian said nothing, walking straight out of the command room to the next room to meet his wives and children.

He carefully looked at his son, then his wife, forcing an awkward smile: “You’ve enjoyed wealth and honor with me for so many years, but now good days are over…”

As he spoke, he drew the pistol from his waist, asking his wife grimly: “Your husband sends you off, do you have any last words or wishes?”

“…” Liu Zhian’s wife closed her eyes, saying nothing. She naturally knew that with Liu Zhian’s temperament, this day would come. She neither spoke nor begged, just stood there awaiting death, while her daughter cried out desperately beside her. Liu Zhian’s son turned pale; he didn’t want to die, but he was also powerless.

“Bang!” A gunshot echoed in the room, and Liu Zhian shot his wife dead with his own hands, then without hesitation, shot and killed his crying daughter.

His concubine knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, but she, too, was shot dead. His son, terrified into wetting his pants, also couldn’t escape Liu Zhian’s bullets in the end.

This Qin Country General remained unyielding until the end, shedding not a single tear as he ended the lives of his entire family.

With each successive gunshot, the cries gradually silenced, leaving the room filled with corpses, blood flowing like rivers…

That day, news of Liu Zhian’s massacre of his kin and his determination to fight to the end spread to all sections of the Qin Army, while a Tang Country broadcast of the amnesty for all but the leaders also reached Qin Army hands.

Hours later, the Nanjiao Qin Country garrison surrendered, and the Zhennan City Qin Country garrison telegraphed acceptance of Emperor Qin Ying Duo’s surrender edict, opting for unconditional surrender to the Tang Army.

The Tang Army progressed unimpeded, encountering no resistance, quickly reaching their destined positions. In one night, the Qin Army, numbering hundreds of thousands, dwindled to tens of thousands, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Tang Army soldiers…

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