Chapter 118 Xiao Zhuo’s Routine
Shen Yuexi was stunned when she heard what Qiang Lin asked.
How did Qiang Lin know what she and Xiao Zhuo discussed in the tent?
She glanced at Qiu Liming, who only gave her the back of his head and shouted at the distant watchtower: "All of you, get ready. You're so lazy... Look at that guy, he's not even wearing a helmet, he doesn't look presentable at all!"
As he said that, Qiu Liming walked down the watchtower quickly, never once showing her his face. The speed at which he went down the stairs was almost as fast as if he was running away.
Shen Yuexi glanced at the captain next to her, who was looking at her with a bewildered expression. His expression seemed to be asking: Is this true?
She immediately made a judgment in her heart.
Qiu Liming is definitely involved in this. I'll have to catch him and question him later. Right now, I need to appease Qiang Lin first.
She said to Qiang Lin, "It's me."
Qiang Lin was a little confused and stared at Shen Yuexi on the watchtower, asking, "Which side are you from?"
This question made Shen Yuexi smile and said: "Of course I am from Dayan."
"You designed the repeating crossbow to kill us Western Rong people, yet you stopped the Yan army from burying our captives? I can't understand."
Shen Yuexi said, "You, the Western Rong, invaded our Great Yan territory. We designed the repeating crossbow to stop you and protect our people. Now that you have laid down your weapons and surrendered, you no longer pose a threat to our people. I believe that killing captives is wrong, and I will naturally stop it."
"You think so, but your husband doesn't." Qiang Lin clasped his fists and said, "We are enemies, but on behalf of these five thousand Western Rong people, I thank you for not killing me."
After saying that, Qiang Lin bowed to Shen Yuexi.
His gratitude came from the heart.
When the captives saw the Dayan soldiers digging pits in the distance, they panicked. The Xiliang cavalry were leaving, and they couldn't take the captives with them. The pits were clearly intended to kill them.
As the only captain among the captives, Qiang Lin decided to fight to the death. Everyone rushed out in unison, even if many were killed by crossbows, it was better than being buried in the ground and suffocated to death without resistance.
They had originally agreed on a time to start together, but he noticed that the Dayan army had stopped digging the pit again, obviously someone was trying to stop them.
Having escaped a desperate situation, there was no need to force the captives to charge through the crossbows. He was curious about who in the Great Yan army had stopped the attack. It wasn't until he personally asked Shen Yuexi that he learned that the person who designed the crossbows and prevented the massacre was the one who had done it, this seemingly weak and delicate girl in front of him.
This completely overturned his understanding of Dayan women.
Shen Yuexi said to Qiang Lin, "We are enemies, yes, but I don't want you to be our Great Yan's enemies. If you don't invade our Great Yan, we can be friendly neighbors."
The captain next to him was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly said to Shen Yuexi: "Madam, the Western Rong have been harassing our Great Yan for hundreds of years, and now their army is attacking our Xiliang city."
Shen Yuexi said, "Yes, that's why I said that if they don't invade us, I will design a weapon more powerful than the crossbow to deal with them."
The iron ore mined was turned into crossbows by the blacksmiths at the workshop. Once the captives were sent to the border, she would make a few cannons. She would also find time to craft Xiao Zhuo a set of armor, and the construction of a fortress should also be put on the agenda.
Many things haven't started yet.
Ignoring Qian Hu's admiring gaze, she said to Qiang Lin:
"Don't worry, I won't let the soldiers harm you. You also have to behave yourself. There's no food left for you here. We'll send you to the border tomorrow morning. There'll be food there."
Qiang Lin raised his hand to signal the surrounding captives, then shouted, "Crown Princess, Qiang Lin will remember your kindness."
Shen Yuexi was very satisfied with the result.
She did not ask the captives to be grateful to her. As long as they did not cause trouble and the Yan army sent them to the border safely, she would be thankful.
After descending the watchtower, Shen Yuexi returned to the general's tent and said to the sergeant at the door, "General Qiu, please come over here."
The sergeant showed an embarrassment and said, "Madam, General Qiu seems to have had an upset stomach and has diarrhea. He said he needs to stay in bed and rest."
Shen Yuexi smiled slightly and said to the sergeant, "Go tell General Qiu that my garlic capsules are specially used to treat diarrhea. I will personally deliver the medicine to him right away."
The sergeant shuddered, holding his tilted helmet with his hand and said, "Madam, please wait a moment."
After saying this, the soldier ran away.
Shen Yuexi walked to the table and sat down. She reached out and touched the teapot. The water in it was still hot, so she poured herself a cup of tea.
Qiu Liming must be hiding something. She won't stop until she gets the answer.
After drinking half a cup of tea, the sound of armor could be heard outside the tent, and Qiu Liming opened the curtain and walked in. In Shen Yuexi's eyes, he looked like a child who had gotten into trouble and was forced to see his parents.
This man who dared to fight against the fierce general of Xirong, did not even dare to raise his head in front of Shen Yuexi, but clasped his hands together and saluted:
"Meet the madam."
"General Qiu." Shen Yuexi said, "You also know why I asked you to come."
"Uh... Madam, I dug that pit myself, it has nothing to do with you, my lord."
Shen Yuexi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Before she could ask, she confessed everything.
"Don't lie to me. How could you, the generals, act on your own without my husband's orders?" She put on a stern face and pretended to be angry. "Tell me the truth right now."
Even if she had never served in the army or fought in a war, she knew these basic principles. If there was no order from the commander-in-chief and the generals acted on their own, wouldn't that be chaos?
Qiu Liming hesitated for a moment and said to Shen Yuexi, "Madam is a kind-hearted person, unlike the lord."
"What happened to my husband?" Shen Yuexi felt something was amiss. "Tell me quickly."
"My lord..."
Qiu Liming hesitated again and again. Shen Yuexi had saved his life, and he couldn't bear to hide it. He had no choice but to tell her the truth.
Xiao Zhuo's practice of burying surrendered soldiers alive was already well-established. During the war against the Northern Di, he often led elite cavalry in surprise attacks on the enemy, appearing and disappearing with uncanny swiftness, inflicting immense fear on the enemy. Qiu Liming was one of his generals. In each battle, a large number of prisoners were often captured. Xiao Zhuo never spared any of them, burying them all alive.
In the eyes of the Beidi people, Xiao Zhuo, who always annihilated his opponents, was the incarnation of the devil. Even Beidi children dared not cry when they heard Xiao Zhuo's name.
"You...are you telling the truth?" Shen Yuexi couldn't believe her ears.
In her impression, Xiao Zhuo had always been elegant and gentlemanly, but she hadn't expected him to be so completely different when leading troops in battle. She had once thought Xiao Beiheng was the cruel one. If what Qiu Liming said was true, then compared to Xiao Zhuo, Xiao Beiheng was nothing.
"This time, I thought the Lord was going to kill the surrendered soldiers as usual, so I ordered the soldiers to dig a pit in advance..." Seeing Shen Yuexi's look of disbelief, Qiu Liming quickly explained, "Madam, the Lord had no choice but to kill the surrendered soldiers. If he had taken a large group of prisoners, he would not have been able to fight."
Shen Yuexi waved her hand to stop Qiu Liming: "General Qiu, stop defending him. Have you ever seen a sheep eat a human?"
"No... never."
"Murderers always have various reasons." Shen Yuexi held her forehead and said, "He didn't let me go with him this time because of this, right?"
Qiu Liming panicked and said hurriedly, "My lord said that war is inherently cruel, and as a woman, my lady is not suitable to participate. My lord also said that if... if..."
"If what?"
Qiu Liming swallowed his saliva and said with difficulty: "If he has a soft heart, he will never win the battle."
Shen Yuexi remained silent.
What Qiu Liming said made sense. After all, she wasn't the one going to the battlefield, so it was easy for her to talk without any worries. If she really led the troops to war, would she also become as cold-blooded and ruthless as Xiao Zhuo for the sake of victory?
For someone like Xiao Zhuo, would his heart become colder with each battle, and eventually turn him into a killing machine with only victory in his eyes and no emotions at all?
A Xiao Zhuo like that, even if he wins every battle, is not what she wants.
From the history she knew, there had always been generals who buried surrendered soldiers alive, and there had also been generals who treated prisoners leniently. War was cruel, but in the end, those who won were those who were popular.
How can a person who acts cruelly be a popular person?
This alone is enough to overturn Qiu Liming's point of view.
She possesses the magical power to help Xiao Zhuo, and she will not let Xiao Zhuo get lost in the bloodshed. This is her responsibility as a wife.
She raised her head and heard Yang Cong's voice outside the tent.
"Let's eat, let's eat. Every prisoner will have a bowl of porridge."
"It's incredible that the villagers of Xiaogang Village would actually cook for these Xirong thieves."
Someone asked amid the noisy voices.
"I didn't want to at first, but when I told them they could take whatever they wanted from the camp, they all rushed to cook..."
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