The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"The ancients said that when a country is about to rise, it listens to the people; when it is about to fall, it listens to the gods."

"But now, the people have all been captured by Qin, and the gods have also abandoned Chu. What can Bu Gu do?"

King Chu Fu Chu stood on the palace with his hair loose, watching the eight land gates and eight water gates of Shouchun being broken within a day and night, and the Qin army flags appearing in the once prosperous "Ying City" in the north of the city. The resistance of the outer city has become weaker and weaker. Nearly 10,000 soldiers and civilians poured into the inner city, and the rest were locked outside by the closed palace gates, leaving them to the Qin army.

Now, the only thing standing between the King of Chu and the Qin army is the high palace wall and the moat formed by the Zuo Du of the Fei River and the Xi Du of Shaobei. Many years ago, Chunshen Jun, who was ordered by King Kaolie of Chu to build Shouchun and the palace city, seemed to have been worried about such a day. In addition to taking into account the splendor, he also built the palace into a solid fortress.

But even if it was as solid as a rock, it was useless. The King of Chu, who had no people around him and no gods above his head, could only hold on for one or two days at most with this lonely city facing the attack of 100,000 Qin troops.

The King of Chu didn't want to watch anymore. He turned his head and threw the Zuo Guang guard on the palace wall. He let the long clothes behind him drag on the ground and walked towards the lotus platform where he liked to feast and have fun most on weekdays.

The southern Chu people loved lotus very much. The King of Chu often let his concubines wear lotus as clothes and play in the water together. It was the beginning of May in the lunar calendar. The lotus flowers under the high platform were blooming in pairs, and the faint fragrance was refreshing. However, the King of Chu had long lost the mood to appreciate it.

The state of a country is like a lotus, which has its ups and downs, withering and flourishing. When it is prosperous, it fills the pond, but when it is declining, not a single leaf can be seen on the water surface.

In the summer of next year, the lotus leaves will bloom again, but when the sun rises tomorrow, the State of Chu may no longer exist.

Tears flowed from the eyes of King Fuchu of Chu: "Even since our ancestors Yuxiong and Xiong Yi served King Wen of Zhou and were granted the title of princes, it has been 800 years, and there have been 42 kings. However, today, the country of 800 years will eventually perish in my hands!"

Cai Ci, the "gatekeeper" who had been following closely behind him and in charge of the entrance and exit of the palace, wept and bowed: "Chu was actually destroyed by King Huai and King Xiang, and the king has tried his best to save it!"

Fuchu shook his head: "I am covered with lotus leaves, but the water is too big to wear. I am proud and beautiful, and I am against the integrity of my left and right."

"Back then, Song Yu thought that the short coat made of lotus leaves was beautiful, but it was too loose to wear; this is just like King Huai boasting about his civil and military achievements, thinking that he was upright, but in fact he relied on flatterers and despised loyal ministers. I am the same. I valued Wu Ling, Zuo Tu and others, but I was suspicious of Xiang Yan and Changping Jun. If I had been cheering up since I ascended the throne, I wonder if I could have changed the ending of destruction?"

At this point, he also began to reflect.

"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have killed my brother to seize the throne a few years ago. Or when my brother Xiong Qi returned to Chu, I wouldn't have sent him to Jiangdong, but handed over the throne to him! I could be a free and easy gentleman, sailing far away, and keep myself safe..."

Not to mention, half a year ago, he actually took great pains to send people to spread rumors about the life stories of the two brothers, King You of Chu and King Ai of Chu, but in the end, it all became a joke.

But it was too late to say all this now. King Fu Chu of Chu wiped away his tears, turned around, and asked Cai Ci: "Is everything ready?"

"Firewood and ointment are all ready."

Cai Ci raised his head. Although King Fu Chu of Chu had many shortcomings, at least he was determined to die for the country.

"I will do my best to stop the Qin people and bid farewell to the king!"

After saying this, Cai Ci bowed three times and left in a hurry.

Outside, the sound of the Qin army fighting and attacking the city continued for a long time. After bathing in the lotus pond, the King of Chu put on a formal dress and staggered to the stage. However, he saw that the stage was full of jewels and jades. His concubines and maids were all crying below the stage.

The King of Chu wanted to die, but his concubines all wanted to live and were unwilling to follow his will.

"I have heard that when King Wu of Zhou entered Chaoge, King Zhou of Shang covered himself with pearls and jade and burned himself in the fire at Lutai. I never thought that I would have such a day..."

The King of Chu laughed at himself: "Even if Fuchu died, he would not be able to face his ancestors. I just don't know where the unfilial Daji is?"

"Ji Mi is willing to be Daji for my brother!"

A delicate girl wearing bright and gorgeous clothes stood out from the line of young girls and bowed her head on the ground: "Ji Mi is willing to die with my brother, rather than be a captive of Qin!"

This is the youngest daughter of King Kaolie of Chu. She is only sixteen years old, which is the best age for marriage. However, her originally gentle eyes are full of determination to die, even more resolute than the King of Chu.

This sister has always been strong-willed. Because Fuchu killed King Ai of Chu, she didn't say a word to him for five years. Today, when the fall of Jingchu is imminent, she let go of the past grudges.

"Okay..."

King Fuchu of Chu was stunned for a moment, then laughed and asked her to follow him up the platform! He took the torch that the palace maid handed over tremblingly.

"Your Majesty!"

At this moment, there was a burst of shouting behind him. It was Zuo Tu and others who were favored by the King of Chu who kept bowing on the steps of the high steps, urging the King of Chu not to do such a foolish thing.

"Wang Jian outside has sent someone to shoot a letter inside, saying that Qin and Chu are relatives for twenty generations. If the King surrenders, the King of Qin may let the King live without worries, become a rich man, and even have a fiefdom..."

The concubines and palace maids under the high platform also cried and persuaded the King of Chu that it was better to live than to die.

"Villain! Flatterer! You don't want to die with the king, but you are still here to persuade the king to surrender! Don't you see how the King of Qin humiliated King Huai of Chu after he entered Qin?"

Princess Ji Mi of Chu was young and innocent. Although she was a woman, she grew up listening to Qu Yuan's stories and regarded Qin as an enemy. At this moment, she angrily rebuked Zuo Tu and others.

"Yes, Chu has a king who lost his country, but no king who was captured. You don't need to say anything more. If you can die with the one who is not willing to die, then die together. If you can't, then leave..."

The King of Chu held a torch and walked to the highest point of the platform. There were piles of treasures in the Chu Palace. Looking at the only inch of the country left under the platform, looking at these treasures that the kings of Chu had painstakingly collected, and listening to the constant retention behind him, Fu Chu's eyes flickered.

When death is close at hand, people will hesitate instead.

"People say that the phoenix burns itself to ashes every five hundred years, and then reborn from the ashes, and the cycle continues, thus becoming immortal..."

Ji Mi raised his chin and said, "I wonder if my brother can light a raging fire like our ancestor Zhu Rong today!"

After hearing this, the King of Chu did not think of Zhu Rong and the phoenix, but saw two hunched charred corpses.

He shuddered and let go of the torch in his hand.

But he did not throw it on the pile of firewood, but into the lotus pond below. The fire in his heart was extinguished, leaving only a few wisps of green smoke...

"I can't die without being hungry."

"I don't want to die either!"

He left the platform with a pale face, leaving behind Ji Mi who couldn't believe it, and crawled to the steps in a panic!

...

Men Yin Cai Ci organized the last thousand or so Wang Zhi Zuo Guang, trying his best to resist the Qin people's tide-like attack, and buy some time for the King of Chu to die for his country.

However, he felt something was wrong, because the fire on the lotus platform had not been ignited for a long time...

Just as he was wondering, the second door behind him opened with a bang, and King Chu Fuchu, accompanied by Zuotu and others, walked out unscathed.

Cai Ci was stunned.

"Open the door and surrender to Qin!" The King of Chu was silent, while Zuotu was in high spirits. He had always advocated peace talks and surrender to Qin.

Seeing this scene, Cai Ci understood and began to curse: "King, where is the courage of the former King Xiong Qu to refuse the title of China, and the ambition of King Zhuang of Chu to conquer the Central Plains?"

"If you open the door and surrender, I can get a small town and live a life of wealth and honor, and my two or three sons can also survive..."

King Chu Fuchu murmured, not even daring to look directly at Cai Ci and Zuo Guang's guards.

Cai Ci was filled with grief and indignation, but the attitude of the King of Chu had already demoralized the palace guards. He tried to stop them, but was pinned to the ground by Zuo Tu's men and had his head broken.

Watching the slowly opening palace gate and Zuo Tu kneeling down with a surrender letter in his hand, Cai Ci could only bang his head on the ground and cry bitterly:

"Sad! The royal family of Chu was also a phoenix bird. If it didn't sing, it would be amazing. How majestic and wise. But their descendants have become cowardly and afraid of death, and they can be satisfied with a mere rotten rat from the King of Qin!"

...

"It turns out that the inside of this gate is so luxurious and magnificent."

As the first batch of Qin soldiers ordered to follow Wang Jian into the Chu Palace to take over the defense, Hei Fu heard the two country bumpkins, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying, pointing at the tall gate above their heads and the phoenix sculpture with its wings spread out, and marveled at it.

At the side of the long palace corridor, groups of Chu people, Zuo Guang Palace Guards, were silently waiting for them to enter the city. Zuo Tu, who had just gone out to present a surrender letter, and a middle-aged man with disheveled hair were kneeling in the front, bowing to Wang Jian and the generals to accept the surrender. They were probably the King of Chu, Fu Chu.

But Hei Fu's attention was attracted by the Chu people on both sides. He saw that a Chu official with a bloody head was still being held down by someone. He raised his head with difficulty and looked at the Qin army entering the city in an orderly manner, with tears on his face.

Looking back at the towering gate behind him, and comparing it with the scene in front of him, Hei Fu suddenly remembered a World War II photo he had seen in his previous life: the French people wept along the way when the German army passed through the Arc de Triomphe to enter Paris.

Despair, grief, and helplessness, these are the emotions of the Chu people.

Hei Fu felt a little sympathetic towards those who were unfortunately born in Jingchu and this era, but he had no sympathy for this country that was self-contained, failed Qu Yuan, and fell from advanced and powerful to declining and withering.

"The people are not the people of the lost country, but the king is the king of the lost country!"

He straightened the bronze helmet on his head and looked at his men. Everyone's eyes were full of pride and expectation for the Chu Palace in front of them. Unlike the last time when Wei was destroyed, this time, as the Anlu soldiers who made more contributions in the war to destroy Chu, they were allowed to enter the palace to take over the defense and move property and treasures.

The war was over. Wang Jian, who had already experienced several annihilations, turned a blind eye to his troops secretly taking some things and hiding them on their bodies...

Eight hundred years of collection, forty-two generations of management, the elite of Jingchu, tripods, jades, gold nuggets, and gravel, plundered from people for several generations and years, piled up like a mountain...

An unimaginable treasure house has opened its door to Hei Fu and his men!