He Xin put himself in Mei Meng's shoes.
In an instant, he could empathize with her.
"...What a fool! If Xin were Mei Jinghe, he would never stay behind to cover the retreat and let his liege escape first." He Xin knew a fair bit about the renowned Mei Meng. Given her temperament, she would have looked down on anyone who did such a thing. "The sons of Jiangdong are many and talented; who can say they won't rise again? But the southwestern allied forces are divided in heart. How could they compare with those 'talented sons of Jiangdong'? They're just petty men with their own schemes. There's no chance they'll rise again. Since the outcome is already decided, she might as well seize the opportunity to imitate the Overlord."
Escaping would mean barely surviving. Better to fight one last, glorious battle in the face of adversity. At least she could reclaim some ground in the eyes of posterity and earn a reputation for dying with honor. No matter her strength or ability, when the histories mentioned her in the future, the mere fact that she "died on her feet" would give her more backbone than nine out of ten warlords. Besides, what kind of leader fled while her subordinates fought with their backs to the river?
If He Xin's lord had been that kind of coward...
He would have had a heart attack on the spot!
That was what it meant to be a martyr.
For the sake of righteousness, he could sacrifice not only himself, but his lord, too. If his lord refused to be sacrificed, well... He couldn't imagine how disappointed Mei Meng must have been.
"Clinging to life and fearing death is only human nature," Shen Tang said.
Rationally, she could understand the Sovereign of Qi