Chu Yao originally wanted to say that Chu Jie had basically been won over.

Since Yonggu Pass has been defended and, by a twist of fate, dealt a heavy blow to the Shiwu, preventing them from launching any further military campaigns for several years, it means a period of peace for a few years. Why, if they can continue to remain neutral, provoke conflict with Shen Tang and start anew?

Given Chu Jie's nostalgic nature, he was reluctant to leave.

If one can live a stable life, who would want to be constantly on the move?

But he swallowed the words back.

What they wanted was not for Chu Jie to submit and acknowledge her as the head of the prefecture, but for Chu Jie to submit to them wholeheartedly.

Otherwise, what would she be risking her life to venture deep into Shiwu?

He changed the subject: "Did our lord really take 30,000 heads?"

Shen Tang said, "No, not really. The army is very secretive when it marches, hiding during the day and going out at night. How could they dare to parade around with 30,000 heads? I used ears instead of heads, and I think Chu Jie wouldn't dare to deny it. Let him send people to count them slowly."

Chu Yao: "..."

That scene must have been quite spectacular.

It was indeed very exciting, but what was exciting was Chu Jie's expression.

He drank heavily last night and got up an hour later than usual. The camp cooks brought breakfast: millet porridge, steamed buns, and a dish of cooked pig's ears. He slurped it all down.

He was shirtless and brandishing weapons in the freezing cold.

I stopped only after I was drenched in sweat.

At this moment, soldiers came to the training ground looking for him.

He wiped his sweat: "What is it?"

After hearing the soldier's report, he paused.

He laughed and said, "Shen Jun is a man of his word. Let's go and see."

He didn't go alone; he also had a group of old men under his command called to come and see for themselves, because seeing is believing!

Because Shen Tang isn't universally loved, and military generals only submit to the strong, Chu Jie can't force them to accept Shen Tang. So, if he wants these stubborn and courageous martial artists to be convinced, then he should show them his strength!

Before long, everyone had gathered.

Everyone still smelled of alcohol.

Bai Su and Xu Quan clasped their hands in greeting to Chu Jie, and waved to order the soldiers to bring up the most special spoils of war from this trip.

Instead of the heads everyone had been eagerly anticipating, there were rows of earthenware urns, each taller than half a person. The urns were large, but surely they couldn't hold thirty thousand heads? A burly, straightforward man spoke up in a deep voice: "Young General, are all the heads that Lord Shen mentioned here?"

Bai Su calmly replied, "General Chu had previously asked the lord for 30,000 heads to build a mound of skulls, but the heads are not easy to preserve. The sheer number of heads would easily expose our army's movements during the march. Therefore, in accordance with military regulations, we used the right ear as the head."

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

All eyes turned to the pottery urns. Bai Su's clear, cold voice reached their ears: "The exact number hasn't been counted yet, but it should be over 30,000, all of them being ten strong young men. Also, there's a great gift that General Chu will be very interested in."

Chu Jie inwardly gasped.

Hearing Bai Su's words, he asked, "What kind of grand gift is it?"

She clapped her hands, and a soldier brought over a three-foot-long wooden box. Xu Quan opened the box and found a right ear with the bloodstains cleaned off, as well as several official seals that could prove her identity.

The soldiers strode forward and lifted the box high above their heads.

Chu Jie asked, "This is..."

Xu Quan explained to him: "During the attack on the capital of the Ten Crows, we were lucky enough to encounter a few big fish. Any one of them is worth hundreds or even thousands of heads of the Ten Crows' strongmen. General Chu can take a count; perhaps you recognize some of them."

And you know what—

Chu Jie actually found a "familiar face" among the official seals, and upon hearing Xu Quan mention "attacking the capital of Shiwu," his eyelids twitched violently. He believed Shen Tang wouldn't stoop to faking it, which meant that this young prefect had indeed led a group to stage a direct attack on the capital!

Even though the Ten Crow Kings' capital was poorly guarded, Shen Tang's side only had a little over two thousand men, and they were still deep in enemy territory without any support!

How could you dare?

Chu Jie took a deep breath and was the first to react.

His gaze was fixed on the dozen or so earthenware urns.

With his five fingers spread out, a crude axe materialized.

He strode forward.

Xu Quan even kindly made way for him.

Chu Jie grabbed an axe and smashed it hard against the earthenware jar. With a crisp sound, the jar shattered into pieces, and its contents burst forth, burying most of Chu Jie's calves.

A strong, strange odor erupted.

It filled his nasal cavity.

Chu Jie then smashed two more pottery urns nearby.

Each one was packed full.

To preserve them, they are also pickled with salt.

The piled-up shape looked exactly like the cooked pig ears he had praised that morning. Even seasoned veterans were stunned for a moment by this sight. The other veterans rushed forward to examine it carefully, and after confirming it was true, they burst into hearty laughter.

One of them slapped his thigh, tears streaming down his face, and exclaimed, "Good! Good! Good! I am completely convinced by this Lord Shen! He truly is a man of his word! From now on, my life belongs to Lord Shen. I will obey his every command, charge into battle, and have no complaints!"

Xu Quan asked, "Aren't you going to count them?"

An old general with white hair and beard spat and said with disgust, "What's the point of counting? This number is definitely over 30,000! These things should be dragged out and fed to the dogs! Why waste time counting them? I didn't expect Shen Jun to have such awareness and methods at such a young age. He's just right for me! I was worried that Shen Jun wouldn't be able to do it, that he wouldn't be ruthless enough. But I'm fine with it."

Everyone echoed, and Chu Jie said, "Let's just throw them to the dogs; there aren't that many stray dogs around for us to abuse. Let's take them all outside the city and burn them as an offering to our fallen brothers. May their spirits find some solace in heaven..."

The crowd clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Yes, sir."

Bai Su and Xu Quan were both somewhat surprised.

They thought they'd encounter some difficulties, but things went so smoothly. Once they learned about the blood feud between everyone and the Ten Crows, they could somewhat understand their feelings. Take the old general with white hair and beard, for example. Years ago, his daughter-in-law was taking her child back to her parents' home when they were ambushed by the Ten Crows' troops. Mother and child were captured, their skins were ripped off alive, and used to make two drums…

Among them were several close relatives and friends who were murdered, and their bones were used to make various ornaments that circulated in the Shiwu market...

Using human bones as ornaments is a trend in Shiwu.

Everyone in Yonggu Pass, from top to bottom, harbors a deep-seated hatred for Shiwu. If Shen Tang were to show Shiwu kindness and leniency, they would see it as utter betrayal!

You might as well go home and look at your own ass!

Look, isn't it the other way around in terms of brain structure?

During the memorial service, perhaps it was just Chu Jie's imagination, but Yonggu Pass, which was usually shrouded in cold winds and gloomy breezes, and whose sunlight carried a bone-chilling coldness, was unusually warm today, and even had a rare sunny day.

"I suppose the brothers who died in battle were quite satisfied..."

Led by Shen Tang, the crowd offered incense and paid their respects.

Looking at the huge, hastily erected pile of firewood, with flames blazing, and then at the not-so-broad back of the young prefect, Chu Jie could vaguely understand why Chu Yao had chosen Shen Tang, even at the cost of binding himself and handing over his life and death to the other party.

It wasn't just that Chu Wuhui was going all in; he genuinely saw a different kind of hope in Shen Tang.

perhaps--

The situation on this mainland really needs to change.