In the evening, under the setting sun, Xiangxiang County was plunged into fear and chaos.
In the morning, the Xiang brothers, who had sworn solemnly and arrogantly, would lead three thousand of the Prime Minister's disciples to defeat the Qin army, attack Pengcheng in the north, and regain Jingchu.
However, their return did not bring about the so-called great victory. Instead, a large number of Xiaxiang soldiers who were chased by the Qin army were defeated.
When the Xiang brothers arrived at Xia Xiang's city, Xiang Tao couldn't help admonishing him: "Brother, we have brought out all the troops in the city. There are only fifty or sixty soldiers guarding the city. Even if we include us who have escaped, There are only a few hundred people, and it is impossible to defend the Qin army. The prime minister is no longer able to defend us. Let us quickly go to Huainan to join General Jingtong and fight the Qin army again!"
As he spoke, Xiang Juan looked back from time to time, with a look of fear on his face.
They were fleeing on horseback, but the Chu army's defeated troops blocked the road behind them, which prevented the chasing Qin army's cavalry from speeding up enough to give them time to escape.
But this cannot be too much time. The Qin cavalry may catch up at any time, and by then everything will be too late.
"Going to Huainan to join Jingtong?"
Xiang Liang sneered and said: "So we are going to abandon all the people in Xiangcheng? Women, children, and the elderly have abandoned our Xiang family's mansion and are like dogs in distress, being chased by the Qin army all the way to Huainan, bringing disaster along the way. Go to Ji'er."
Xiang Juan looked shocked, and he could hear the bad meaning in Xiang Liang's words.
He argued: "How can we bring disaster to Ji'er? If we act righteously, if General Jingtong hears about it, he will definitely raise the flag in response. They have been exposed. We go to join them. We are joining together to preserve our strength." Let’s fight against Qin together.”
"No, I have been exchanging letters with Jing Tong. He often said that you should think twice before doing anything righteous and don't lose your strength easily. He knew that our action this time was implicated by Zhang Liang and the time was not ripe at all, so Jing Tong We will not respond easily. Unless... I, the Xiang clan, can really defeat Zhao Tuo's army and attack Pengcheng, Jing Tong will raise the flag only when he sees hope."
Xiang Liang looked bitter.
It would be great if he could really do all this. Not only would the Xiang family be preserved, but he would also have hope of reviving the Chu Kingdom.
It's a pity that he met Zhao Tuo.
Xiang Liang went to the battlefield for the first time with no combat experience, and met a famous general of the time.
Just like when Zhao Kuo met Bai Qi in Changping.
such a pity.
Xiang Liang, like Zhao Kuo, has no chance to do it again.
Xiang Liang let out a long sigh, then turned to glare at Xiang Juan. He held the hilt of his sword with one hand and threatened, "Follow me into the city and return to your clan."
Xiang Tang was intimidated by Xiang Liang's gaze and did not dare to resist, so he could only lower his head and comply.
Not long after the Xiang brothers entered the city, two hundred Qin cavalry drove the Chu army to a rout.
"Hurry up and open the city gate and surrender immediately!" "Those who resist will die. Surrender and open the door!"
Even without the Qin cavalry shouting, the defeated soldiers of the Chu army had already started shouting for surrender.
Xiang Ying, a descendant of the Xiang family who was guarding the city, clenched his teeth and was shocked as he looked at the scene outside the city.
But thinking of the Xiang brothers who had just entered the city, they speculated that Xiang Liang might be going to resettle the clan and find a way out for the Xiang family.
Xiang Ying roared: "You can't open the door. The Qin people are tyrannical and will massacre the city. We will die to coexist with you... Uh..."
A sword penetrated Xiang Ying's chest from behind. He reluctantly turned around and saw that it was several of the Xiang family's child servants who killed him.
"Jun Xiang, we want to live!" the boy servant cried.
Another man stepped forward and cut off Xiang Ying's still-open head, raised it high on the city wall, and shouted outside the city: "We have killed the Xiang family, and we are willing to surrender!"
Following bursts of shouting, the city gate of Xiaxiang was opened by the defenders.
In the southeast corner of the city, in Xia Xiang's mansion, there was a lot of crying and howling.
The old man's cry, the woman's cry, and the children's noise became a mess.
"The Xiang family will be destroyed!"
Xiang Cang, the elder of the Xiang family, looks up to the sky
After shouting for a long time, he ran straight into the pillar and fell to the ground with a bloody head. A bunch of people rushed towards him and cried loudly.
Xiang Liang stood in front of the main room and watched this scene silently. After a while, he turned to stare at Xiang Juan and whispered: "Did you see that my Xiang family was destroyed by you, Xiang Juan, and that's why we were destroyed today?"
Xiang Juan's face turned pale and he said, "Brother, I didn't know it would turn out like this. I just wanted to kill Zhao Tuo. I thought Zhang Liang would take action. I was just doing a favor. Who knew that these things would happen."
"Yes, help, until now my Xiang family will be destroyed by the Qin people."
Xiang Liang let out a long sigh, then he pulled out the sword on his waist and pointed it at Xiang Tang. In the astonishment of the other party, he said solemnly: "So you can kill yourself to apologize, just like what you wanted to do before."
Xiang Juan was shocked.
In this situation where the battle was lost and the clan was about to be destroyed, Xiang Liang actually wanted him to commit suicide.
Xiang Mao's hands and feet were trembling a little. When he heard about the Qin army's attack, he really wanted to commit suicide due to self-blame and guilt, but was stopped by Xiang Liang's flying kick.
But after all, it happened before. Once a person musters up the courage to commit suicide but fails, it will not be so easy to commit suicide again. This is exactly the mentality of Xiang Juan today.
He shook his head and said: "Brother, we can't do this. If we die here, what will happen to Ji'er in the future? Ji'er is only fourteen years old. Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Tuo are even younger. They need the support of the elders."
Xiang Liang said coldly: "Jing Tong is more qualified to teach them than you. You have to know that the leaders of raising the flag to rebel against Qin this time are our two brothers. I am the general and you are the deputy general. We are both famous on the Qin people's list. If we don’t die, the Qin people will continue to pursue us until Zhao Tuo reaches Jingtong, and then everyone will be dead.”
"The Xiang clan in Xiaxiang City has no choice. We are the ones raising the flag this time. At this time, the only choice is to live or die with the clan, or to escape for our lives without leaving the clan!"
At this point, Xiang Liang's eyebrows were raised and his face was threatening.
Xiang Tang was silent.
He knew that Xiang Liang was right. He had brought such great trouble to the clan, but he had escaped when the whole clan was about to be destroyed by the Qin people.
In terms of the ethos of this era, he, Xiang Juan, is even more of a villain than a villain, and is not worthy of the name Xiang at all.
"What my brother said is that I was the one who caused the trouble. I should die as an apology and I can no longer implicate others."
Xiang Tam murmured, pulled out the sword from his waist, and placed it across his neck.
He sighed: "I, Xiang Juan, will have my entire life ruined by Zhang Liang's hands."
After saying this, Xiang wrapped his sword around and killed himself, and fell down heavily.
Such a scene caused the Xiang family's mansion, which was already in chaos, to ring out with various call signs again.
Xiang Liang looked at his brother's body on the ground and sighed softly.
Just like what he said to Xiang Tang, there is no one in this world who, as a noble child, would risk his own life and escape after causing trouble and implicating the clan.
That kind of despicable thing shouldn't be done by a descendant of the Xiang family.
The reason why he forced Xiang Juan to death was not only because of his honor as a noble and his unwillingness to abandon his clan and live in eternity, but also because of what he had just said to Xiang Juan.
He and Xiang Juan were the masterminds of this rebellion. If the two of them did not die, Zhao Tuo would definitely hunt them down and never let them go. No matter where they went, they would bring disaster.
Rather than doing this, it is better to end the matter with death, which can also protect Jingtong, Xiang Ji and others in Huainan.
"I have always been very careful in contacting Jingtong. Only Xiang Juan and I know his true location. Previously, when we sent messages, we had people forward them several times in the middle, so it was difficult for others to know the specific location. As long as we are both dead, Zhao Tuo will It’s impossible to investigate further.”
Xiang Liang breathed a long sigh of relief, which was actually one of the reasons why he forced Xiang Juan to be killed.
Out of his understanding of the character of his younger brother, Xiang Liang suspected that Xiang Tan had been caught by the Qin army and could easily be interrogated for information about Jing and others, so it was better to die.
Only the mouth of the dead is the harshest. "It's my turn now."
There was chaos outside the mansion
With shouts, a large number of Qin soldiers wearing black armor broke open the door and rushed into the Xiang family's mansion, with constant screams of surprise.
"Although the clan is gone, Ji'er and others are still there, so my Xiang family is not considered extinct."
Xiang Liang whispered, no longer hesitating, and directly put the sword in his hand across his neck.
"Father, brother, I'm coming."
After saying this, Xiang Liang committed suicide in the Xiang family's house. Blood splattered, bright red and dazzling.
After the sky darkened, Zhao Tuo, the martial arts lord of the Great Qin Dynasty, led the Qin army's infantry to arrive outside Xiaxiang City.
He saw Zhao Guang, who led the front army to drive away the defeated soldiers and capture Xiaxiang City.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has been controlled by our army. All the clans in the city have surrendered. The Xiang clan has also been arrested, except for Xiang Liang and Xiang Juan..."
Having said this, Zhao Guang felt a little embarrassed.
Zhao Tuo frowned and said, "Could it be that these two people abandoned the city and ran away?"
Zhao Guang shook his head and said, "That's not true. It's just that the two of them are dead. Now only their bodies have been found." "Is Xiang Liang dead?"
"Xiang Juan is also dead?"
"Why are these two people dead? Who killed them?"
Zhao Tuo's face was full of doubts. Although he had ordered to see people alive and corpses dead, living people are definitely more useful than dead people.
Soon, Zhao Tuo got the answer. "Why did you commit suicide again?"
Zhao Tuo looked stunned and blurted out the word "again".
He thought of Xiang Yan and Xiang Qu.
Now more people of the Xiang family who committed suicide after being defeated by him will be killed by Xiang Liang and Xiang Mao.
Why do Xiang people always like to commit suicide?
