She completely scoffed at Su Renzhong's reply: "Hmph, you don't want to fight, but the battle has already begun. Showing mercy to the enemy shows you're no good general!"
The war has already begun, so his answer is completely untenable.
What he should be doing now is not showing mercy to the enemy leader on the battlefield, but killing her or capturing her alive and taking her back to Eastern Chu to negotiate for Eastern Chu to cede cities and territories, so that he can be promoted and ennobled!
Su Renzhong also scoffed at her idea: "You are the Empress of Xiliang. How could you, as the ruler, understand what a war between two countries means to the people of both countries? You only want to win the war and seize territory, but do you know how many soldiers will die, how many parents will lose their children, and how many children will lose their parents in order to win a war?"
She suddenly frowned; she really hadn't thought about this question!
All she wanted was to win this war and secure more territory for Xiliang.
However, since it is war, there must be sacrifices. As soldiers of Xiliang, their duty is to fight, and protecting their homeland is also their responsibility. To expand their territory, such sacrifices must be made, and this is the price that Xiliang must pay!
Su Renzhong seemed to see through her thoughts and let out another cold snort: "As a leader, have you ever thought about what the people really need? What leaders want is to expand their territory, or even unify the world, but what the people need is simply to live in peace and prosperity. A war will cause the people to lose their money, lose their loved ones, and even destroy their hopes for the rest of their lives. Peace and happiness are what the people really want, not how much more territory their country has expanded!"
She was offended by his words and retorted defiantly, "That's quite a high-sounding statement, as if your Eastern Chu doesn't want to expand its territory!"
This war wasn't started by Xiliang alone. It's because both countries had the idea of competing for or invading each other's territory that the war broke out. It's not as if Xiliang unilaterally started the war.
Su Renzhong sighed softly and softened his tone, saying, "I didn't mean to blame you. I was referring to those in power, including the emperor of our Eastern Chu, not just you, the Empress of Western Liang."
Su Renzhong softened his tone, and she finally felt a little better. She pouted and said, "You're quite something, daring to question your monarch! If you don't want to fight, then don't come."
Su Renzhong looked helpless: "I am not the emperor, I am just a general, I cannot disobey the imperial decree."
...She was speechless again.
What he said made sense. Wars are things that are ordered by the emperor. For example, in the case of Xiliang, all the ministers opposed the war with Dongchu, but she insisted on going to war with Xiliang.
Of course, the Emperor of Eastern Chu must have the same idea as her, so he also wanted to start a war with Western Liang!
She had never thought she had done anything wrong before, but now she was suddenly confused.
Did she really do something wrong?
Thinking of the soldiers who died on the battlefield these days, their vibrant appearance in life and their tragic state after death seemed vivid in her mind, making her heart even more troubled.
The two sat facing each other, and neither spoke for a long time.
Su Renzhong kept adding firewood to the fire, then suddenly he stood up and limped away.
Seeing him about to leave, she instinctively wanted to ask him something, but looking at his back, she was too embarrassed to ask.
After Su Renzhong left, she looked around at the pitch-black surroundings, then glanced at the seemingly endless cliff top above, and then looked down at her own injuries, feeling so anxious that she was about to break out in a cold sweat.
The cliff is so high, it would be very difficult for her to climb up on her own.
The crucial point is that she's still injured. Her boots are torn, her toes are all blistered, and her palms are scraped so badly they almost exposed bone. Fortunately, she's wearing armor, which is ruined, but thankfully her injuries aren't too severe.
Even so, it would be very difficult for her to climb the cliff on her own in her current physical condition!
That cliff is so high, it would take a long time to fall down, so climbing it must be even more difficult. If you accidentally fall halfway down, you'll be crippled if you don't die!
As she thought this, her mind became even more confused.
When Su Renzhong returned carrying a bundle of firewood, he saw her holding her scarred hands above the fire as if she were warming them: "What are you doing?"
The sudden sound snapped her out of her daze. Seeing him return carrying firewood, she was inexplicably delighted: "Where have you been?"
The question that she hadn't asked before came out smoothly now, and there was even a hint of grievance in her tone.
Su Renzhong waved the handful of firewood in his hand: "We're out of firewood, so I'm going to gather some and scout out the way."
As Su Renzhong spoke, he gestured with his chin towards him and asked again, "What are you doing?"
She glanced at the abrasion on her palm, withdrew her hand, and said, "The wound has been bleeding. I thought I'd heat it up to make the blood clot and stop the bleeding."
...Su Renzhong looked at her speechlessly.
She really is an empress!
It's amazing that they could come up with such a bizarre way to stop bleeding, but this method doesn't actually stop the bleeding!
Su Renzhong put down the matches, threw some into the fire to make it burn brighter again, then limped over to her and took her hand.
"What are you doing!" She immediately withdrew her hand, looking at Su Renzhong warily, ready to attack him at any moment.
"I'll help you stop the bleeding." Su Renzhong pulled her hand again and took out the herbs he had just picked from the bottom of the cliff from his pocket.
He had originally planned to heal his injuries himself, but now it seemed he would have to heal her first.
She watched as Su Renzhong picked a few herb leaves, chewed them, and then spat them out, intending to smear them on her hand. Startled, she screamed again, "What are you doing?!"
Damn it, is he going to smear the medicine he chewed on her hands?
Just as she screamed, Su Renzhong actually spat the chewed medicine into her palm.
"Ah!" She was suddenly startled by something, and her scream startled the birds that were perched at the bottom of the cliff.
At that moment, she wished she could chop off her own hand.
She desperately tried to pull her hand away, but Su Renzhong was too strong. He held her hand tightly, and she couldn't pull it away at all.
Su Renzhong originally wanted to apply medicine to her, but she kept moving and was very agitated. In order not to waste his medicine, Su Renzhong directly pressed her acupoints.
"Su Renzhong, how dare you!" She realized her acupoints had been pressed and became furious, shouting angrily.
Su Renzhong ignored her completely and rubbed the herb he had chewed onto her palms and wrists.
Where the herbs he had chewed had been applied, she felt as if a million ants were crawling on her, and the discomfort made her wish she could cut off her own hand!
But Su Renzhong had no intention of letting him go. After wiping his hands, he grabbed her foot.
She panicked completely and screamed again, "Su Renzhong, you're dead if you dare touch my foot!"
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