Diqin Designer

Chapter 478 Threatening Qin Nianqi
Hearing the cheers around them as Qu Tong's relatives and friends were beheaded, Zhao Yue and the others felt even more grief-stricken and felt sorry for Qu Tong!
There was no evidence whatsoever that the General had defected and informed on them, yet these people convicted him and executed his relatives and friends. Clearly, they wanted to use the General as a scapegoat, shifting the blame for their current predicament onto him in order to appease the public.

But this is extremely unfair to the general. The general is so loyal, yet these people not only framed him with false charges, but also did not spare his relatives and friends. If the general knew about this in the afterlife, what would he think?

Seeing the fate of Qu Tong's relatives and friends, Zhao Yue and others began to waver in their loyalty. If these people dared to push Qu Tong out to take the blame and execute his relatives and friends today, would they do the same to them in the future?

The answer is obvious: if one day they need to be pushed out to take the blame, these people will not hesitate for a moment, and will not only smear them, but also bring disaster to their families.

After executing Qu Tong's relatives and friends, Xiong Xin and the others returned to their camp. Although they had temporarily stabilized the people's hearts by convicting Qu Tong and executing his relatives, their threat remained, and they had to find a way to deal with it.

A nobleman from one of the six kingdoms said, “The Qin dogs will not let us go, and those barbarians are also our enemies. If the barbarians join forces with the Qin dogs, our situation will be even more precarious. There is only one way out for us: rebuild our ships and leave this island before the barbarians and the Qin dogs find us!”

Given their relationship with the Qin people, it would be difficult for them to surrender. Even if they had the idea of ​​surrendering to the Qin people, they could not say it openly in this camp. They could only contact the Qin people secretly. After all, the reason they gathered together was to oppose the Qin and restore the old country.

The method is indeed the only one they currently have available, but it's not very effective and has many problems.

Another nobleman from one of the six states said, "How can we possibly build enough ships in such a short time? Even if we do manage to build them, how can we ensure that they won't be discovered by the Qin people?"

The nobleman from the six nations who suggested building ships as soon as possible said, "Now that things have come to this, do we have any other options? It is indeed not easy to do, but we have no other choice. If we want to survive, we must leave the island as soon as possible."

The people inside the tent fell silent. They had truly been driven to a dead end, a situation even more desperate than when they were forced to leave China by boat.

Back then, although their rebellion was quelled by Wang Ben and they were forced to flee like stray dogs, at least they had a boat to take. Now, they don't even have a boat and are trapped on this island.

The Qin people deliberately destroyed their ships so they couldn't escape, and then slowly wiped them out on the island.

Another nobleman from the six kingdoms said, "Even if we escape from the island and reach the sea, where should we go?"

Even if they build a ship and escape the island, the vast ocean awaits them. Where will they find shelter? The ocean is far more dangerous than the land. Will they be able to find another place to settle down?
Many nobles from the six states remained silent, knowing that this crisis would be difficult to overcome unless they were willing to surrender to the Qin people, but even if they did surrender, the Qin people might not accept it.

After the meeting in the camp ended, Zhao Yue returned to his temporary residence. As night fell, several strange cries were heard, and several figures slipped into Zhao Yue's residence.

The quarters were dark, with no lights on. Several figures sat in different places, and one of them whispered, "What do you gentlemen think of the General's matter? I don't believe the General would betray us! Those people have no evidence, yet they framed the General and even implicated his family..."

The figure spoke with anger, defending Qu Tong. Another figure chimed in, "I don't believe it either. They just want the General to take the blame so they can appease the others. Didn't you see the soldiers clapping and cheering after the General's relatives were killed?"

Another figure said, "The Great General was loyal and devoted, but after his death, not only was he pushed out to take the blame, but even his relatives were not spared! Today it's the Great General, but who knows if it will be us tomorrow?"

This was exactly what they were worried about. Those people were too unscrupulous, accusing a loyal minister of a fabricated crime and even killing his relatives, making them fear that they would follow in Qu Tong's footsteps.

At that moment, a figure said, "That's why we've gathered here tonight!"

Everyone's images froze instantly, and they all fell silent.

After a short while, someone finally spoke up: "Do we really want to do that?"

Upon hearing this, the figure sitting next to the first figure asked, "What, you've changed your mind?"

The figure shook his head and said, "I'm wondering if the Qin people will accept our surrender. Right now, we are weak, and the Qin people have an absolute advantage. Even if they don't accept our surrender, they can still annihilate us all."

"Besides, we regard the Qin people as enemies, and the Qin people regard us as remnants and enemies in return. Why should the Qin people accept our surrender?"

These figures gathered here in the dark tonight because, after witnessing the execution of Qu Tong's relatives and friends during the day, they felt that Xiong Xin and others were not worthy of their loyalty and decided to seek another way to make a living, thus giving rise to the idea of ​​surrendering to the Qin Dynasty.

One of the figures said, "The Qin people may indeed not accept our surrender, but do we have a choice now? Do we really want to build a ship and leave the island with those people? That would be a real dead end!"

Another figure spoke up: "It's not impossible for the Qin people to accept our surrender: First, if they accept our surrender, with our help, the Qin people can eliminate those people more quickly and easily; second, after our surrender, the Qin people can emulate the old story of 'buying horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold.' By spreading the news of our surrender throughout the world, the Qin people can demonstrate their magnanimity and encourage more people to surrender."

"Therefore, I believe that the Qin people will not only accept our surrender but also treat us well. However, we must surrender to the Qin people before others. Don't be fooled by the fact that the gentlemen in this tent are sworn enemies of the Qin people and are determined to fight them to the death. Who knows how many of them are thinking of surrendering to the Qin people?"

If others surrender to the Qin people first, then the preferential treatment given to those who surrendered first will fall to the others.

Another figure said, "If we don't surrender to the Qin people, we will definitely die. Do you really expect to build a ship, leave the island, and find a suitable place to settle down? Only by surrendering to the Qin people can we have a chance to survive for ourselves and our families."

Indeed, the plan to build a ship and leave the island to find a suitable place to settle was too unreliable. Surrendering to the Qin people would have been a better chance of survival.

One of the figures stated, "I believe we should surrender to the Qin people; at least surrendering to them would greatly increase our chances of survival. What do you all think?"

Another figure said, "I agree, but this matter must be carried out in secret and not made public. If we are discovered, we will suffer the same fate as the general."

Another figure added, "Not only must it be done secretly, but it must also be done as quickly as possible; the longer it is delayed, the more likely something bad will happen."

After several figures decided to surrender to the Qin people, one of them asked, "What kind of preferential treatment do you think the Qin people should give us after we surrender?"

Their surrender to the Qin people was not unconditional; they had their own motives! One figure replied, "Putting everything else aside, we must get the Qin people to guarantee our safety. As for official positions and money, those are not worth mentioning. You must understand that it is we who are voluntarily surrendering to the Qin people, not the other way around."

The Qin people could easily refuse their surrender, but they needed to surrender to the Qin people to save their lives. Under such circumstances, how could they have any room to negotiate or bargain with the Qin people?
It's already good enough that the Qin people didn't deliberately make things difficult for them and instead offered them harsh conditions!

After agreeing on how to surrender to the Qin people and the conditions to be offered, the figures sneaked away under the cover of darkness, as if nothing had ever happened.

A few days later, north of Ryukyu Island, on the flagship of the Qin Navy, the Zhenqin, Meng Tian was looking at a piece of cloth. A bloody smell emanated from the cloth, the smell coming from the words on it.

Following Meng Tian's gaze, one could see blood-written characters on the cloth, written in the Great Seal script used before the Qin Dynasty.

After examining the cloth, Meng Tian looked ahead and saw several people dressed in barbarian clothes kneeling on the ground.

Meng Tian placed the cloth on the table in front of him without saying a word, only tapping the table lightly with his right index finger, making the kneeling men feel uneasy. They really didn't know how this famous Qin general would deal with them.

Upon learning that the Qin general leading the Qin army was none other than Meng Tian, ​​the group was greatly shocked. How could they, people from the six states, not know of Meng Tian's reputation?
He was a top-tier Qin general, second only to Wang Jian and his son. He had achieved great military exploits when Qin conquered the six states and was highly valued by the King of Qin. Unexpectedly, the Qin people sent him here, which shows how deep their obsession was with hunting them down.

This was a misunderstanding on the part of the group. The main mission of the Qin navy was to find Liuqiu Island for Qin, conduct preliminary reconnaissance of the island, and establish an outpost in preparation for the arrival of the main force to hunt down these remnants of the six kingdoms. It was just a coincidence that they encountered each other.

Meng Tian had told his advisors that the priority should be completing the main task, and the elimination of the former nobles of the six kingdoms on the island should be secondary. However, the current development of events has exceeded Meng Tian's expectations.

However, Meng Tian was not an inflexible person. Since things were developing in a direction favorable to Qin, he would naturally make some adjustments to the original plan.

Amidst their unease, after a while, Meng Tian smiled and said, "Don't you all know that the Great Qin no longer uses the Great Seal script, but now uses the Simplified script?"

The people who came to deliver the letter were completely bewildered. What is "Jianshu"?
Meng Tian added, "I've forgotten that before you left the Central Plains, the bamboo slips of our Great Qin had not yet circulated throughout the world, so you naturally wouldn't know about them."

It turned out that the new rules were issued by the Qin state after they left. After they left, the Qin state seemed to have undergone many changes and became stronger, while they did not make any progress and even became weaker.

Looking at the group, Meng Tian asked, "In this cloth, your lord says he wants to surrender to the Qin Dynasty. Why do they have this idea? And how can I trust them?"

One of them said, "General, our lord sincerely surrenders to the Great Qin and is not deceiving you. Our lord wants to surrender because of an incident... Does the general know General Qu Tong?"

“Qu Tong?” Meng Tian thought for a moment, but did not remember knowing any famous generals from the six states with that name. He replied, “'Qu' is one of the three major royal families of Chu, but I do not remember knowing any general named 'Qu Tong'.”

General Qu Tong regarded Wang Jian and his son, as well as Meng Tian, ​​as his greatest enemies during his lifetime, yet no one else knew who he was or had any impression of him.

The man then said, "General Qu Tong was the one who built this water fortress!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian laughed and said, "So it was him. He knew the importance of this place and built a water fortress to guard it. He is quite capable. If it weren't for the Qin Dynasty, he might have been able to hold it. But what does this have to do with your lord's surrender to the Qin Dynasty?"

The man said, “General, this is of great importance! May I ask, is General Qu Tong here with you? This is what the lord instructed me to ask you!”

Meng Tian did not hide anything from this person and replied, "When we arrived at this water fortress, we did not see any General Qu Tong. Instead, we saw a general leading his soldiers in a fierce resistance, fighting to the death and refusing to retreat. He was eventually killed, and his body has been burned."

It turns out that General Qu Tong had already died in battle and had not informed the Qin people. Those people had truly wronged the general.

The man said, "But according to the King of Chu, General Qu Tong did not die in battle, but betrayed us and informed the general, which is why the general was able to send ships to destroy our vessels!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian roughly guessed what had happened, and squinted his eyes, saying, "So, the current King of Chu has convicted Qu Tong, and your lords believe that Qu Tong is loyal and would not betray you, thus becoming dissatisfied with the King of Chu and others, and having the intention to surrender to Qin?"

"The King of Chu not only convicted the General of treason and betrayal, but also executed the General's relatives. Our lord is worried that he will follow in the General's footsteps. If those people can treat the General like this today, they can treat our lord and his family in the same way tomorrow."

Meng Tian nodded. If loyal and righteous people are treated like this, this group will not last long. Others will be afraid of being treated the same way, so everyone will feel insecure, distrust each other, and gradually become alienated. Once people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to reunite them.

Meng Tian then asked, "Since your lords want to surrender to Qin, what benefits can they offer Qin, and what benefits do they want to gain from Qin?"

"General, we can provide Qin with information on the whereabouts of the King of Chu and his men, acting as Qin's inside agents to help them annihilate them! As for the benefits Your Majesty desires from Qin..."

The man paused, then continued, "Our lords only wish for the Qin Dynasty to protect their lives; they dare not ask for anything else."

This surprised Meng Tian. The generals from the six states who sent people to surrender did not make any extra demands. They only hoped that Qin would protect their lives after they surrendered.

However, this is a very smart choice. The current situation is that Qin has an absolute advantage and they are at a disadvantage. They are the ones who need to show their sincerity to Qin, not the other way around.

If someone fails to see the situation clearly and doesn't understand their own worth, thinking that their surrender is helping the Qin Dynasty, they can then try to bargain with the Qin Dynasty and make all sorts of demands. Not only will the Qin Dynasty not agree to these demands in the end, but they will also annoy the Qin Dynasty.

Instead of imposing any additional conditions, they only asked Qin to spare their lives. This pragmatic approach actually gave them a good chance of getting Qin's approval.

(End of this chapter)