Nandun was facing a disaster. There wasn’t anywhere on the walls on Nandun that were clean and tidy. If the wall was not destroyed, it was covered in blood.
“Men! Charge!” One of Yangzhou Army’s general in the Urban Army shouted as he took out his sword. The general led the soldiers in the charge. This was the tenth time they attacked the city. Corpses were also scattered below the walls. These corpses belonged to the defenders of Nandun and also their brainwashed citizens. The brainwashed citizens all fought bravely and to the death. Their casualties numbered over sixty thousand men.
The Yangzhou Army also suffered many casualties. Nearly ten thousand were killed. As for the Nandun Army, they could no longer be differentiated from the common citizens as when a defender die, the nearby citizens would pick up his weapons and armor to fight.
Catapults were used, not only causing damage to the walls but to the citizens behind the walls. As the walls could not hold onto the boulders, it was natural for it to fall onto the people and houses below. In a short while, the citizen’s hatred became even stronger.
“Milord. This…” Zhang Liao muttered. He was a valiant warrior who have seen thousands of his enemies die. However, even he felt his heart ache from this battle as the enemies were just common citizens instead of soldiers.
“Are you afraid of the large number of people?” Lu Bu asked while looking ahead. Yangzhou’s generals had led their elite troops to brave the dangers. Even then, from time to time, they would be killed.
“But…!” Zhang Liao wanted to advise against attacking as these people weren’t soldiers. Even Lu Su was hesitating. When Cao Cao attacked a city and killed three thousand common citizens, he was already mocked as a butcher. Now, there were hundreds and thousands of soldiers in Nandun. Wouldn’t this be too cruel?
Lu Su also started to wonder if joining Yangzhou’s Army was a good idea when their Lord is a butcher like this.
“Wenyuan. Since when have you become so merciful?” Lu Bu asked coldly. “You weren’t this merciful when you followed me beyond the Great Wall.” The Wolf Cavalry struck fear in the hearts of their enemies beyond the Great Wall. To protect the citizens of Bingzhou, they would go outside the walls to fight the enemy. Occasionally, they would come across foreign villages. They would then kill everyone including women and children. This was to protect their own citizens as Bingzhou was so large and had little resources.
Zhang Liao who was also a member of the Wolf Cavalry was just as much of a butcher compared to Lu Bu. As a deputy general, his hands was definitely stained with blood.
“That is different! Those are foreigners but these people are Han citizens!” Zhang Liao replied. He could be ruthless to foreigners even if they were children. This is because he knew that if he did not kill these children, the citizens of Bingzhou would suffer. Especially in the future when the child grows up and becomes a warrior.
“What is the difference? If we do not attack Nandun, we cannot defeat Yuzhou. Then the people of Yangzhou will suffer even more! You yourself know of Liu Bei’s methods. He will not let take things lying down. If you let him go, he will make his comeback. These pitiful citizens you spare will be carrying weapons and armor to attack Yangzhou. Are the Yangzhou citizens not Han as well?” Lu Bu shouted at Zhang Liao.
“Look at the officials and the soldiers. All of them were once common citizens.” Lu Bu reminded Zhang Liao. The number of times Zhang Liao was taught by Lu Bu could be counted on one hand.
“If you are kind to the enemy, you are just being cruel to yourself! If you do not have the heart to harm Nandun’s citizens, do you have the heart to let Yangzhou’s citizens suffer?”
“I…” Zhang Liao hesitated. Meanwhile the Yangzhou Army was driven away again as their corpses piled up.
“If you are compassionate, that is good. Capture Nandun and make sure that our people at Yangzhou did not suffer for nothing. Capture Nandun and pacify Yuzhou. Conquer the Central Plains. Then everyone can live in peace and harmony. Liu Bei would no longer be able return and harm more people!” Lu Bu was saying that being a butcher now was worth it if it could ensure peace in Yuzhou and Yangzhou in the future.
“Killing people to stop killing?” Lu Su felt like he learned something new from Lu Bu’s words. He was certain that these did not originate from Lu Bu as Lu Bu himself hesitated at the start when attacking Nandun. These words must have come from the King of Shu.
Even though Liu Bei was a hypocrite, he performed well as a benevolent lord especially to the citizens of Nandun.
Cao Cao ruled through the virtuous Way of the King by using the rightful Emperor’s authority.
As for Sun Ce, he followed the tyrannical Way of the Hegemon, similar to Lu Bu. Although he used strategy, he believed in the sword. They boast in taking the enemy general’s heads.
As for the Liu Mang, he did not follow all three methods. He did not weep like Liu Bei. He did not control the Emperor. He did not have martial prowess like Sun Ce.
However, Liu Mang had all three values. He was benevolent enough to set his tax at thirty percent. He also went to Jingzhou to obtain provisions for his citizens. While Liu Mang did not have the Emperor with him, he had authority as the King of Shu. If one were to be calculative, even Jingzhou belonged to him. Lastly, though not as strong as Sun Ce, Liu Mang had enough martial skill to protect himself.
Liu Mang’s weren’t as good as any one of the other three in their specialized values but Liu Mang had a little of everything. This made Lu Su curious. Lu Su wanted to see what Liu Mang was really like. This caused him to want to devote himself to Liu Mang.
“I understand!” Zhang Liao finally understood what Lu Bu was trying to tell him and knelt. “Milord. Zhang Liao Zhang Wenyuan requests to be sent out to battle!”
Lu Bu did not look at Zhang Liao as he gave his reply. “If you cannot capture Nandun in three days, you do not need to come back!”
The carriages were opened and the trunks were taken out.
“Could it really be provisions?” The soldiers wondered as they worked. When the trunks were also opened up, they finally saw weapons and armor.
“Spendthrift Qi! Is it all weapons and armor?” The other soldiers did not dare believe it.
“Are these for us?”
“How would I know? Let us just wait and see!” Spendthrift Qi replied in a bad mood.
“Give your weapons and armor to your immediate superior then come and take one set!” An official from the industrial zone said to the soldiers.
“Understood!” The soldiers who already took off their equipment handed it over before receiving their new ones.
“Ouch!” One person suddenly cried out in pain.
“What’s wrong? Did the armor not fit you?” The official asked. As the armor was mass produced, it would not fit everyone’s body. That was why cloth was used to smoothen out the spiky edges. This could harm the soldiers so the smiths would need to be warned.
“No!” The soldier quickly shook his head bashfully. “I am fine.”
“Are you sure?” The official asked again.
“I am really alright!” The soldier replied again.
Just as the official was about to leave, someone else suddenly spoke up. “Eh? Why are you bleeding?”
“Who asked you to be so talkative?” The soldier said in annoyance. He finally explained that he cut himself when he was testing the sharpness of the sword. He injured himself as it was sharper than expected. The official finally stopped caring about it and told the soldier to bandage his injury.
“Xiao Liu! Do you think this armor suits me?” Spendthrift Qi wore his armor and held his sword. “Do I look like a general?”
“Spendthrift Qi! If you are a general, you will drag this army down!” One person mocked.
“Get lost! What does this have to do with you?” Spendthrift Qi said resentfully. However, it was also true that Spendthrift Qi looked a little like a general with his new armor.
These were all the new armors from the industrial zone. Normally, these kind of armors were only reserved for generals. However, the improved technology made it possible for such armors to be mass produced quickly enough for common soldiers.
“Are you Spendthrift Qi?” Someone called out from behind while Spendthrift Qi was admiring his new armor. “Do you want to be a general?”
“What nonsense are you asking? Who doesn’t want to be general?” Spendthrift Qi replied before turning around. At this moment, someone immediately berated him.
“Spendthrift Qi! Who taught you how to speak?” One person had to scold him before Spendthrift Qi turned around. The moment he did, his expression immediately fell.
“Ge-Ge-General!” Spendthrift Qi thought it was only Zhang Hu when he turned around but realized that Zhang Liao was also there. Spendthrift Qi immediately realized that he was in big trouble. There were no good endings when one provokes their superior officer.
“General! Spendthrift Qi is a veteran that had always charged in front. He simply did not realize that you were behind him, please forgive his mistake!” Zhang Hu may have scolded Spendthrift Qi but still pleaded leniency for his sake.
“General. Spendthrift Qi may have made a mistake but he did not mean to offend you.” Ge Jun also spoke up. If Spendthrift Qi was not so fond at gambling and had a less foul mouth, he would have already became a commander of 100-men instead of just a squad leader leading five men.
“Am I so petty in your eyes?” Zhang Liao asked with a smile but he did not look at Zhang Hu and Ge Jun.
“We don’t dare!” Zhang Hu and Ge Jun lowered their heads. The other soldiers also lowered their heads. No one dared to provoke the hellishly strict Zhang Liao.
“Are you Yan Xiao Liu?” Zhang Liao asked the person standing beside Spendthrift Qi.
“Yes!” Xiao Liu replied shyly.
“Spendthrift Qi! Let me ask you, do you want to become a general?” Zhang Liao turned back to Spendthirft Qi and asked.
“I…” Spendthrift Qi did not know how to reply. If he says no, he can no longer show his face to his companions. He would be known as a guy who only knew how to brag. If he says yes, he might offend Zhang Liao.
After thinking for a while, Spendthrift Qi shouted loudly. “I want to become a general!”
His voice was clear. Yet the moment Spendthrift Qi shouted out his words, he immediately regretted it. This is especially true when he saw Zhang Liao’s smile. “I am dead. I am definitely dead.”
“What about you?” Zhang Liao asked Xiao Liu.
Spendthrift Qi pleaded in his mind for Xiao Liu to say no. He did not want Xiao Liu to follow in his footsteps and die for nothing.
Xiao Liu shyly asked. “Are generals wealthy?”
“Yes.”
“Then I want to be a general!”
“We are finished.” Spendthrift Qi pronounced his own death penalty. Contrary to his expectations, Zhang Liao laughed loudly and said something shocking.
“Good! Spendthrift Qi! Yan Xiao Liu! The two of you will become my Xiliang Cavalry’s general!”
