Before he could reply, Zheng Quchi continued, "You killed your commander in front of the Julu army. You are truly lawless and extremely arrogant. Are all the Julu army members so disrespectful and insubordinate?"
Her words had no effect on Mo Ye and his group; they didn't even take them seriously. However, they did have some influence on the soldiers who fought bravely alongside She Kou.
Mo Ye's killing of She Kou was completely unexpected to them. Besides shock, they were filled with more doubt and anger.
"Why? Lieutenant Mo, why did you kill General She?" they asked, their eyes red.
Mo Ye sneered, "Why? Julu Kingdom doesn't need a commander who surrenders to the Ye army. Since he has lost, he can choose to die on the battlefield or commit suicide to preserve his honor. The only thing he cannot do is live a life of dishonor and grovel before the Ye army."
"Is this your standard, Mo Ye? Then why did you repeatedly lose to my husband, Yuwen Sheng, and not choose to die on the battlefield or commit suicide to preserve your honor?" Zheng Quchi loudly refuted him on behalf of the Julu soldiers.
Mo Ye seemed to see through Zheng Quchi's intentions. He crossed his arms, tapped his arm lightly with his fingers, and said with a half-smile, "I am neither a general of a country nor a commander-in-chief of a war. I am not responsible for the overall war effort, nor am I required to uphold my reputation. Furthermore..."
He raised his long neck, his expression contemptuous and cold, and said: "She Kou's poor command caused our Julu Kingdom to lose face in the Six Kingdoms Military Trial. Julu Kingdom has no need for such an incompetent general. I, the King of Dai, executed him as a statement to Julu Xiang Ye. The army of Julu—will rather die than surrender. Do you hear me?"
A sharp shout rang out, startling the Julu army. After a long while, their expressions changed, and the dissatisfaction and anger aroused by Zheng Quchi were completely wiped away by righteousness and pride.
How could Julu Kingdom possibly lose to Ye Kingdom? This matter must not be leaked. Only by wiping out the Ye army can we wash away the shame of their previous defeat and surrender.
"The army of Julu would rather die than surrender!"
"The army of Julu would rather die than surrender!"
Seeing that Mo Ye had turned the unfavorable situation into an advantageous one with just a few words, Zheng Quchi was impressed by Mo Ye's keen insight and leadership, which were far beyond Zheng Quchi's reach.
But he was wrong. She incited the Julu army's indignation not to make them oppose Moye. Of course, she knew that no matter how much people argued, they were still family and country members, and they would never rebel and submit to her, or stand with her to betray Moye.
She gave Liu Chaiji a look, then glanced at the Julu army they had captured, a smirk spreading across her face.
Liu Chaiji was stunned for a moment.
Why was Lieutenant Zheng making faces at him?
What an idiot!
Zheng Quchi could only quietly make a gesture of pressing his hand against his neck, then purse his lips and glare angrily.
Now, Liu Chaiji understood.
"Take down the Julu army!"
At the command, the Ye army, which had been stunned by the tense and oppressive atmosphere, suddenly snapped to attention, grabbed their weapons, and quickly took down the unarmed Julu army.
Before long, the remaining thousand-plus Julu soldiers were taken hostage by the Ye army.
Seeing that she had hostages in hand, Zheng Quchi realized that her earlier efforts to stir up trouble and distract them had not been in vain, and she was able to take control of the captured soldiers in one fell swoop.
"Zheng Quchi, do you think you can threaten me with their lives?"
Zheng Quchi took a deep breath and said, "This is not a threat. Who are you, Mo Ye? Would you let them hold you back? Of course not."
"Now that you know, what are you doing?"
“But you wouldn’t be so heartless as to shoot them all, would you?” Zheng Quchi said firmly.
Mo Ye frowned slightly, and after going through her words in his mind, his eyes widened slightly. He finally understood what she meant by "not a threat".
It wasn't a threat at all; it seemed she intended to use their Julu army as a shield. Once he ordered the troops to fire, the Julu soldiers, who had been held hostage, would then serve as human shields.
She was gambling, gambling that he still had a shred of humanity, gambling that he wouldn't truly disregard the lives of these more than a thousand loyal soldiers, gambling that after killing the army commander, he couldn't bear the guilt of more than a thousand soldiers dying unjustly at his hands.
He could disregard public opinion, but he could not ignore the demands for accountability from the King of Julu and the civil and military officials of the court.
No matter how capable he is, he can't possibly control everything.
"Zheng Quchi, Zheng Quchi, it's such a waste that you're only a craftsman." Mo Ye's body was like a blazing inferno, his pupils contracted, and his white teeth turned cold: "You can try to see if I care about these people's lives."
It's like a gamble. Zheng Quchi and he are on opposite sides. She clearly has a bad hand, but she's betting all her chips. Who will win and who will lose? Let's see who has the greater courage.
If he follows her, she will undoubtedly lose.
If he is fooled by her, then she might have a chance to turn the tables.
Her heart was filled with trepidation and tension, a suffocating fear gripping her heart, but on her face was a ruthless determination to die with him: "Mo Ye, don't gamble with desperate people, because they have no way out!"
Mo Ye was taken aback.
Zheng Quchi turned around: "Take your men and retreat!"
The Ye army, holding the Julu army hostage, retreated step by step. The Southern Chen army and the Hongsheng army dispersed and watched the situation from a distance. They saw that Ye's adjutant Zheng made a decisive decision in such an urgent situation, winning a chance for the Ye army to survive. They couldn't help but admire his courage and perseverance.
Many men could not compare to her. With her narrow shoulders, she supported an entire Ye camp. With her delicate female body, she shouldered the responsibility of thousands of Ye soldiers. She did her best and worked hard.
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