~
When Xiao Mo led his army back to the walls of the Wei Kingdom's Imperial Capital, the siege had just begun.
Qin Huo had never expected to take the Wei Kingdom's Imperial Capital in a short time.
Time was now on Qin Huo's side.
He intended to slowly wear down the resolve of the capital's soldiers and deplete its grain, carving away flesh with a slow blade until he slaughtered his opponent piece by piece.
Moreover, since the war began, Qin Huo had never harassed ordinary people and had even treated prisoners of war generously, earning himself a fine reputation.
As a result, most of the city's civilians and soldiers were not particularly steadfast in their will to resist.
A month passed.
The gates of the Wei Kingdom's Imperial Capital opened, and the ruler of the Wei Kingdom emerged with the imperial seal in hand, leading his civil and military officials out to surrender!
Qin Huo accepted their surrender with Xiao Mo and the other generals beside him.
With that, the Wei Kingdom fell.
The Wei Kingdom became part of the Qin Kingdom in its entirety, while its ruler and officials were all taken back to the Qin Kingdom's court.
Barring any unforeseen developments,
the Wei Kingdom's capable officials would be brought into service.
Its ruler would be granted an idle princely title and live out his days as a wealthy gentleman.
After all, killing the Wei Kingdom's ruler now served little purpose. On the contrary, he could serve as an excellent advertisement, giving other monarchs who might otherwise fight to the death some reason to hesitate.
After the victory banquet, Qin Huo left fifty thousand troops to guard the Wei Kingdom's Imperial Capital, then led Xiao Mo and the army back to court.
By then, four full years