General Pei's death directly changed the balance of power in the world.
Qin's iron cavalry smashed through several defensive lines of the Chu army in succession, soon crossing White River Commandery, with the capital distantly in sight.
Besides the Qin army's overwhelming strength and the Chu army's lack of fighting power, there was another important reason for the army's smooth advance.
-the Qin vanguard was Prince Jing's army. They knew Chu far too well and were filled with hatred for the Imperial Court.
Under Zhao's silent assault, the Western Camp did not hold out long either. Those battle-hardened elite troops had lost their backbone, and the speed of their collapse exceeded everyone's expectations, even those of He Zhan and the Zhao generals. When the remnants of the Chu army scattered and retreated, the white mourning banners from General Pei's death were still hanging in the camp.
Whether one approached the Chu Capital from White River Commandery or the Western Camp, the way lay across ten thousand miles of fertile plains, without any natural defenses to hold. By then, Chu's cause was lost.
Reports from the front kept reaching the capital, and the air was thick with tension and despair.
The common people stood in the streets, reading the notices with numb, bewildered expressions. The officials in court and the various ministries had shifty eyes that seemed to look nowhere. The scholars in the academies had lost all their former spirit; they held their books like lost souls and gazed into the distance, their thoughts unknown.
Business at the brothels, on the contrary, became exceptionally good. Every night, the buildings along the rivers and lakes blazed with lights, packed to capacity.
With their nation's survival hanging in the balance, faced with grief and despair, they could only fill each night with