Mountain and River Festival 301. The People Are Innocent

"Prince Ding, nice to meet you." Long Yang looked at the man in front of him for a long while, and finally slowly uttered a few words.

This was the first time that Longyang saw the world-famous Prince Ding. In a way, Mo Xiuyao was even more famous than his father, Mo Liufang, who was both a man of letters and a warrior, and had made outstanding contributions to the Great Chu. Because he did something that the Prince Ding had never done for several generations of the Dingguo Palace. That was to sever all ties with the Great Chu. From then on, the Mohist Army and Prince Ding truly became a force that was fighting for hegemony in the world. From then on, they truly got rid of the shackles of the Great Chu, and the success or failure of the Mohist Army would no longer have anything to do with the Great Chu.

The man in front of him was dressed in white clothes as white as snow, and his long white hair was casually scattered. He looked completely different from the bloody battlefield, but this made Long Yang feel a little dangerous. Long Yang believed in his intuition, even though he had not been to the battlefield for more than 20 years. The man in front of him was far from being as gentle and peaceful as he appeared. Under the clean white snow in the mountains, there was clearly a frightening bloody aura.

Mo Xiuyao looked at Long Yang calmly, playing with the blue and white porcelain cup in his hand nonchalantly, and said lightly: "Originally, I wanted to have a good chat with General Long and General Zhu. But General Long, I have to say... I am in a very bad mood now. General Long, do you know what the most annoying thing in my life is?"

Long Yang looked at Mo Xiu Yao and said in a deep voice: "Please ask King Ding to teach me."

Mo Xiuyao slowly put down the teacup, and the crisp sound of the teacup hitting the table echoed in the quiet room. "I was threatened. What I hate most in my life is being threatened. In addition, I am more curious about how General Long thought that I would give up the siege for those people from Da Chu?" As if he was talking about something funny, Mo Xiuyao slowly laughed out loud. Long Yang was silent for a moment, and then said: "I am wrong. Maybe... people become soft-hearted when they get old. If I were young, I would probably make the same decision as King Ding."

Mo Xiuyao nodded and smiled, "General Long is indeed able to understand me. In this case...is General Long ready to accept the consequences of your decision?"

Hearing this, Long Yang's face changed, and he said in a deep voice: "Prince Ding, you have already conquered Biancheng, why do you need to commit more crimes? This was done by me alone. If you are angry, you can take my life." Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, "I forgot to tell General Long that although General Long let most of the people in the city go last night. But... the Mo family army also captured a lot of Xiling soldiers. Barely... it can make up for the number of people who escaped, right?"

"Prince Ding..." Long Yang closed his eyes in pain, "I am responsible for my own actions. Even if Prince Ding cuts me into pieces, I will not say a word. Please... spare the innocent people and soldiers."

Mo Xiuyao pretended not to hear anything, waved to the people at the door, and said with a smile: "Take General Longyang to have a look..."

Outside the door, Zhuo Jing waved his hand and two guards came in and took Long Yang out. In the room, Mo Xiuyao slowly closed his eyes. After a long time, a deep voice slowly came out from under his snow-white hair, "These people... are so annoying! Father, big brother... wait until I kill them all and you can rest in peace... no one can hurt Ah Li anymore..."

After Ye Li finished dealing with the battlefield, she brought Feng Zhiyao and others back to Biancheng. The soldiers of the Mohist Army were sweeping the battlefield. The air was still filled with the strong smell of blood. As they walked along the streets in the city, soldiers who were cleaning the streets came forward to salute them from time to time.

Feng Zhiyao frowned and asked in confusion: "What's going on? Why is there no one in the city?" Even if the battle had just ended and the people were afraid to go out, there shouldn't be no one left. Even in the windows on both sides of the street, no one was peeking out. The whole city was silent except for the soldiers cleaning the streets. It was like a dead city.

The soldier in front of him hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ye Li and the others, and then said, "Princess, General Feng, the prince has just ordered all the civilians and captives to be taken outside the west city."

Ye Li frowned and asked, "Take him to West City? What for?"

"Outside the west city... is the execution ground of Biancheng."

"Execution ground?" Feng Zhiyao thought for a moment and said, "What important Xiling generals have been captured? Long Yang or Lei Tengfeng? No, even if they are captured, there is no need to rush to execute them now, right?" Killing Long Yang would be fine, as it would dampen the morale of Xiling, but Lei Tengfeng's identity is much more valuable alive than dead. The third son of Feng was so dizzy that he forgot that Lei Tengfeng had just slipped away from him last night.

The soldier looked at Ye Li and said nothing. Ye Li frowned and said, "Tell the truth."

The soldier said in a deep voice: "The prince has ordered all the captives and the people of Biancheng to be killed!"

"What?!" Ye Li and Feng Zhiyuan were both shocked. They looked at each other and Feng Zhiyuan calmed down and asked, "What's going on?"

The soldier quickly told them about the day-and-night battle, including how Longyang had threatened them to withdraw by taking the people of Da Chu from Biancheng. Before they could finish listening, they hurried to the execution ground outside the west of the city.

A large open area outside the west of the city has been the execution ground since the construction of Biancheng. However, there is no doubt that the number of people who will be beheaded here today will be more than the total number of people who have been beheaded in Biancheng in the past few hundred years. Longyang was pressed by two Qilin soldiers, facing the execution ground and looking helplessly at the captives who were forced to kneel on the ground. Many of these people even had injuries on their bodies, but at this time they were forced to kneel on the ground and be stabbed.

The flat and cold bluestone ground was already stained with dark red blood, and it was obvious that the people kneeling now were not the first batch. Long Yang was held by the people behind him and could not move, his eyes were red with anger, "Enough! Prince Ding! Enough... It's all my fault, just kill me now!" Long Yang's eyes were red, and veins on his forehead were bulging. He was really wrong. In order to defend Biancheng, he accidentally angered a blood-thirsty lion that had been lying in wait for many years. Perhaps it was because he committed too many sins when he was young that he took revenge on these innocent soldiers and civilians in his old age.

"Prince Ding! Just kill me!" Long Yang roared.

Mo Xiuyao raised his lips and smiled, pointing at the people in the pool of blood below, "I won't kill you, General Longyang, just watch carefully. Look at how these soldiers and civilians died. It was you... who killed them. When two armies fight, I never harm the civilians. This time... you forced me to do it. After this time, I believe that the situation like yesterday will not happen again on the battlefield in the future. Am I right?"

"You killed innocent people like this, aren't you afraid of retribution?" Long Yang said sadly. In the past, Long Yang didn't believe in retribution, he only believed that man can conquer nature. But now, he has to admit that retribution does exist in this world.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "What retribution should I be afraid of? The Ding Palace has been loyal to the country for generations, what good rewards have they received?"

"Aren't the princess and the prince afraid?" Long Yang asked. As soon as he said this, Mo Xiuyao's frown suddenly turned cold. Mo Xiuyao suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Long Yang. His blood-quenching gaze made Long Yang shudder. He said in a fierce voice, "Kill her!" Looking back at Long Yang, Mo Xiuyao said coldly, "You'd better pray for Ah Li's safety, otherwise... I want all the people in the world to die with her!"

Hearing Mo Xiuyao's order, the executioner in the execution ground once again raised his knife...

"Stop!" A clear female voice came from behind. Everyone paused and saw a figure in white clothes falling in the middle of the execution ground like a white cloud. Ye Li turned around and frowned at the dark red bloodstains under her feet. Then she looked at the sobbing people around the execution ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it was not too late...

"Ah Li, why are you here?" Mo Xiuyao was startled, and his cold face showed a little warmth. He stood up and looked at the figure in white at the execution ground and asked softly. Ye Li raised her eyes and looked at the man on the platform above, whose white clothes were as white as snow and whose hair was as white as snow. His handsome face was filled with a hint of warmth and tenderness. She didn't think of the cold and ruthless voice just now.

Walking up the platform with Feng Zhiyao, Feng Zhiyao was the first to feel the sharp gaze of his own prince. He touched his nose helplessly and stood aside. The princess happened to come back at this time, it was none of his business.

"Ali, why are you here? Why don't you go back and have a rest after working so hard for several days?" Seeing the tiredness that could hardly be concealed between Ye Li's beautiful brows, Mo Xiuyao asked in a displeased voice.

Ye Li rolled her eyes at him helplessly. Who was to blame for her not being able to go back and rest?

"What happened? Why did it suddenly..." Ye Li asked in a low voice. If possible, she didn't want to ask Mo Xiuyao here. But now is not the time for her to choose a place. If she hesitates for a moment, nearly 100,000 people may lose their heads. In her past and present lives, Ye Li is still a soldier in her bones. She is not afraid of fighting or death. But killing prisoners and innocent civilians are obviously not within her moral bottom line. What's more, this is not good for the reputation of Mo Xiuyao and the Mo family army. A few years ago, Mo Xiuyao killed thousands of Da Chu soldiers in the northwest, which was criticized by many literati. If you add the civilians in the city, it is really not a good thing for Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiuyao frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "Ah Li, don't worry about these things. Go back and rest first, okay? I will go back to accompany you after I finish dealing with these things. We can rest in Biancheng for two days."

"Xiu Yao." Facing Mo Xiu Yao's obvious intention to change the subject, Ye Li frowned and looked at him quietly, with a hint of worry in her eyes, "Xiu Yao, I'm a little tired. Can you go back with me to rest first? We can discuss these things another day." Ye Li said softly, with a hint of fragility and fatigue in her voice.

Mo Xiuyao's heart softened, and he looked down at the shadows around Ye Li's eyes. He finally leaned over and picked up Ye Li and walked out. Ye Li leaned in Mo Xiuyao's arms, raised her head and winked at Feng Zhiyao. Feng Zhiyao nodded slightly, indicating that she would leave it to him, and then she leaned against Mo Xiuyao and closed her eyes. She was really tired after these few days.

Mo Xiuyao was holding Ye Li as he passed by the execution ground. His eyes swept over the kneeling Xiling soldiers. There was a trace of disdain and ridicule in his cold eyes. There were many strong and unyielding people among these Xiling soldiers. They had already renewed their determination to die after being defeated and captured. Now, seeing Mo Xiuyao's mocking eyes, how could they hold back? One of them spat fiercely and sneered, "Mo, if you want to kill me, then kill me. Twenty years later, I will be a good man again. I will definitely kill everyone in your Dingwang Mansion!"

Mo Xiuyao's eyes turned cold, and he said calmly: "In this case, I will grant your wish. Kill them all!" After that, he no longer cared about the people in front of him, took Ye Li away and walked out of the execution ground. The people who stayed behind looked at each other. The princess obviously meant not to kill anyone, but the prince ordered everyone to be killed. This became a problem whether to kill or not. Logically, they should naturally listen to the prince's orders, but in the past few years, the prince has never gone against the princess's wishes. Besides, the soldiers of the Mo family army are the most elite warriors, and everyone has the pride of being a warrior. Killing people on the battlefield is one thing, but they really can't bring themselves to massacre ordinary people who have no power to resist.

"General Feng, what should we do?" The general in charge of execution came forward to ask for advice.

Feng Zhiyao touched his chin and pondered for a moment. He pointed his chin at the group of people still kneeling on the execution ground and said, "Kill them all. Leave the rest alone for now." The prince said to kill them all. He deserved to die for insulting and cursing Prince Ding. But it was a pity for the hundred people who were with him. They could only be regarded as unlucky. Those who were kneeling on the execution ground were all killed. As for the others... of course, they had to wait for the prince and princess' orders. Feng Zhiyao thought silently.

The supervising general went to execute the order with satisfaction. Feng Zhiyao looked at the ashen-faced Long Yang and shook his head secretly. Long Yang also violated Mo Xiuyao's taboo, using the people of Da Chu as human shields. If Mo Xiuyao retreated once, the Xiling generals behind him would follow suit. More importantly, there were nearly a thousand Qilin who entered the city first. If Mo Xiuyao really ordered a retreat, Long Yang Teng would take action and the nearly a thousand Qilin who entered the city first would be in trouble. But... the prince was a little too angry?

Ye Li woke up from her deep sleep. It was already dark outside. She sat up and rubbed her brows. She felt something was wrong. Although she was very tired, she was not so tired that she fell asleep as soon as Mo Xiuyao held her in his arms. Suddenly remembering what happened at the execution ground, Ye Li raised her head and saw Mo Xiuyao sitting outside the gauze landscape screen, writing under the lamp. As if he heard Ye Li getting up, Mo Xiuyao put down his pen, stood up, walked into the inner room, and said with a smile, "Are you awake?"

Ye Li nodded and looked at Mo Xiuyao carefully. Under the light of the night pearl, his handsome face was smiling slightly, gentle and comfortable.

Ye Li leaned into his arms, looked up at his tired face and said softly: "Why don't you take a rest? Aren't we going to stay in Biancheng for two days to repair? If there is anything, it will be in time to deal with it tomorrow." Mo Xiuyao rested his chin on the top of her head. He stroked her soft hair and smiled faintly: "I can't sleep... I'll deal with all the things I need to deal with so that I can accompany you tomorrow. Ah Li, you have worked hard these days."

Somehow, Ye Li suddenly remembered Zhu Ling's expression before his death. The moon-white clothes covered with blood were lying on the ground stained dark red by blood, and his eyes were dim and lifeless... The smile on his face gradually faded, and Ye Li closed his eyes with a headache.

"What's wrong with A'li?" Mo Xiuyao asked softly.

"Nothing." Ye Li whispered, "I'm just a little tired."

Mo Xiuyao's eyes moved slightly, and he patted her delicate back gently, saying softly: "Since you are tired, then sleep for a while. We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?" Ye Li nodded. Leaning in Mo Xiuyao's arms did make her feel a little drowsy. Fighting the sleepiness, Ye Li whispered: "Xiuyao, war is none of the people's business. Don't kill innocent people. The people's hearts..."

Mo Xiuyao lowered his head and looked at the beautiful face that was gradually falling into a deep sleep. He lowered his head and gently kissed her, "Ari's heart is too soft, this is not good. She will be easily hurt. Innocent... who in this world is innocent?"

In the temporary study room of the prefect's mansion, Mo Xiuyao sat in a chair, looking at Feng Zhiyao and Qin Feng in front of him with a calm expression. Feng Zhiyao was extremely helpless, but he didn't dare to touch Mo Xiuyao's mold when he was obviously in a very bad mood. The lazy and leisurely smile on his face gradually turned into a stiff fake smile, and finally he could no longer maintain it.

Glancing at Qin Feng who obviously had no intention of speaking, Feng Zhiyao coughed lightly and said, "My Lord..."

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyes, looked at him calmly and asked, "Have you dealt with the people on the execution ground?"

"It's been dealt with." Feng Zhiyao replied quickly.

"Have you finished dealing with it?" Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Then, what are the prisoners in the prisoner camp outside the city?" Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, "The guy who insulted you and the people who knelt on the execution ground were indeed killed. Your Majesty, you are wise. As for the rest... didn't your Majesty give any instructions?"

"Oh?" Mo Xiuyao tilted his head, looked at him with a half-smile, and asked, "Then I have given the order now, you go and kill them all."

"Prince..." Feng Zhiyao said in a low voice with a bitter face, "Prince, please think twice."

Mo Xiuyao looked at him coldly. Feng Zhiyao continued, "Your Highness, our Mohist army has strict military discipline and never kills innocent civilians. If you kill these people in anger, the reputation of the Mohist army and Prince Ding's Mansion will be ruined. Moreover, the people of Xiling are brave by nature. If they knew that the Mohist army massacred the city, they would definitely help the Xiling garrison to defend the city. It would also be very disadvantageous for our future battles." Seeing that Mo Xiuyao was unmoved, Feng Zhiyao sighed in his heart and had to continue, "Moreover, the princess has a kind temperament and will definitely not approve of your actions. Why did your Highness make her unhappy for someone who has nothing to do with her?"

At this point, Feng Zhiyao raised his eyes and stole a glance at Mo Xiuyao. Seeing that his sword-like eyebrows were slightly wrinkled and it was obvious that he was also thinking, he breathed a sigh of relief. If the prince was determined to kill those people regardless of the consequences, then I'm afraid no one could persuade him.

After a long while, Mo Xiuyao said coldly, "Kill all the captives, and drive all the ordinary civilians out of the city. Feng San, if you can't handle it well, you can handle it yourself!"

Feng Zhiyao heaved a sigh of relief. In this era, there was no such thing as not killing prisoners. When countries captured prisoners on the battlefield, they were generally killed, except for exchange or slavery. Although Feng Zhiyao disdained to kill the Xiling soldiers who had no ability to resist, he also knew that these people must not be released. It would be troublesome to keep them for himself, and if Mo Xiuyao insisted on killing them, he didn't care much.

"I obey your command." Feng Zhiyao said respectfully, looked at Mo Xiuyao and asked, "Your Majesty, how should Long Yang...be dealt with?"

When Long Yang was mentioned, Mo Xiuyao's face darkened. He said gloomily, "Take Long Yang to the execution ground and let him watch how those Xiling people died."

Feng Zhiyuan finally understood why Long Yang appeared on the execution platform during the day. He shook his head in his heart. Long Yang had offended the prince too badly. No matter who tried to persuade him, it would be useless. "I obey your command. I will do it now."

"Don't let the princess know." Mo Xiuyao added slowly.

Feng Zhiyao and Qin Feng looked at each other. Could such a thing be kept secret?

"Yes. I obey your command."

After finishing the story, Mo Xiuyao did not let them leave. For a moment, both of them were a little confused. Mo Xiuyao stared at the two of them for a long time before asking, "What happened to Ah Li?" Both of them were stunned, and they did not understand what Mo Xiuyao meant. Mo Xiuyao frowned and said irritably, "Ah Li has been in a bad mood. What happened when you went out this time?"

The princess is in a bad mood?

The two of them lowered their brows and thought for a moment, but they couldn't think of anything that made the princess unhappy. The war had been going smoothly. Although the Mo family army suffered some losses, those were all expected and unavoidable losses. There was nothing else. Seeing that Mo Xiuyao's face was getting uglier and uglier, Qin Feng said, "General Zhu Yan's grandson Zhu Ling died after blocking a hidden weapon for the princess, and General Zhu Yan jumped from the tower in front of the princess and died for his country." Qin Feng thought for a while, and only these two things could be called special.

"Zhu Ling? Who is that?" Mo Xiu Yao asked.

Qin Feng told the whole story from beginning to end. Originally, Ye Li and Qin Feng only went to help Zhang Qilan deal with Zhu Yan who might come out and the Yasuo Army hiding in an unknown place. Afterwards, Ye Li and Lin Han sneaked into the Yasuo Army station alone. It was Ye Li who suddenly decided to do so, and she did not tell Mo Xiuyao, so he naturally did not know about it.

The more he listened, the gloomier Mo Xiuyao's face became. Feng Zhiyao, who was standing next to him, could not help but take two steps back without leaving a trace. When Qin Feng finished speaking, the study was silent. Feng Zhiyao waited bitterly for Mo Xiuyao's predictable anger. After waiting for a long time, he heard Mo Xiuyao's calm voice, "This king knows, you can go out."

well?

Feng Zhiyao was startled. Qin Feng glanced at him coldly and turned around and walked out. Feng Zhiyao shuddered and rushed out as well. In the study, only Mo Xiuyao was left, facing the solitary lamp on the table. "Zhu Ling... the dead still bothered Ah Li. It turned out that he died too easily!"

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

Well, actually Xiuyao has always had some psychological problems. It should be because he has been suppressed too much, or you can think of it as a sequelae of severe trauma or something! The calmer and more suppressed he is on the surface, the more terrifying he will be when he explodes. This is why Mr. Qingyun is worried about Xiuyao and wants A-li to go with him. Because Mr. Qingyun can see the undercurrents beneath A-yao's calm and suppressed appearance. Well... this is what I think, it is more true to examine party theories, party data, and party statements~