"What?"
Upon hearing Cheng Pu's order, the operations staff officer was startled.
After calming himself down slightly, the operations staff advised, "General, once we kill all those prisoners and build a mound of heads, the Parthian army that follows will definitely think that our army does not accept prisoners."
They will definitely fight to the death then, and it will be difficult for our army to subdue them!
"Hmph, they're just a bunch of bandits who slaughter civilians. If we take them in, they'll only cause trouble. It's better to kill them now!"
Cheng Pu snorted coldly, completely ignoring the advice of the operations staff.
"But General, have you considered that we are far from the Han homeland and rely on our reputation when we fight abroad? If the enemy offends us, we can make an example of them."
However, if word gets out that they are killing prisoners of war, then enemy troops in other places will surely fight back to the death.
This would not only cause great trouble for other brother units that followed, but could even affect the future hegemony of the Han Dynasty!
Seeing that Cheng Pu was unmoved by reason, the operations staff tried to persuade him from a strategic perspective and by discussing possible future scenarios.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Pu glanced at his advisor and said, "I am well aware of what you are saying!"
"Then you still...?"
Cheng Pu smirked: "I never said for our soldiers to make a move!"
"Forehead……"
Upon hearing this, the operations staff officer was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "General, do you mean to let those Parthian people take action?"
“That’s right!” Cheng Pu nodded with a smile: “The prisoners were killed by the Parthian people, what does that have to do with our Han army?”
"Furthermore, according to the plan of the Chu envoy, if we want to gain a foothold here and organize the Parthian people for our own use, we must use both kindness and severity."
Through that decisive battle, we have already shown them our military might, so now it's time to show them some kindness.
The greatest favor would be to let them kill their enemies and avenge their family members who perished in the war!
Of course, the most important point is to leave these people with no way out but to follow us all the way..."
As he finished speaking, Cheng Pu lowered his voice and gave the other person a look.
"General, you are indeed a man of profound wisdom and foresight. I admire you!"
After listening to Cheng Pu's explanation, the operations staff officer suddenly understood and his face was full of respect.
No wonder he can be a general, while I am just a strategist. In terms of strategic thinking alone, we are far inferior.
"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. I still need to write the battle report!"
With that, Cheng Pu patted the operations staff officer on the shoulder, then turned and walked into the city.
Subsequently, the operations staff officer ordered someone to summon Kemolai and the others to his side.
After glancing at everyone, the operations staff officer said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, our army is here only to assist and protect you, and has no other intentions. Therefore, those Parthian prisoners should naturally be handed over to you for disposal."
Whether to release them, keep them, or "behead them and build a mound of heads," is entirely up to you!
As he spoke, the operations staff officer emphasized the phrase "beheading and building a mound of heads."
Kemolai stepped forward respectfully and said, "The Han army is benevolent and righteous, giving us a chance for revenge. We are extremely grateful!"
"The Han army is benevolent and righteous; we are deeply grateful!" The others also stepped forward to express their gratitude.
Subsequently, the operations staff ordered that the more than 10,000 Parthian prisoners be handed over to the 35,000 able-bodied civilians led by Kemolai and others.
Looking at the Parthian soldiers who were trapped and kneeling on the ground, a flash of hatred appeared in Kemolai's eyes. He then looked at the young and strong civilians standing beside him with knives.
"People, the Han army is benevolent and righteous, giving us a chance to kill the enemy and avenge our hometown elders!"
Now, raise your weapons, cut off the enemy's heads, and show those guys that we are not livestock to be slaughtered at will!
Kemolai wasn't stupid; he naturally understood the meaning behind the battle words just now.
Now, these young and strong people are filled with hatred. The Han army handed these prisoners over to them, but they did not intend to let these Parthian prisoners live.
As Kemolai finished speaking, the able-bodied people raised their scimitars and slashed at the necks of the Parthian prisoners.
In an instant, heads rolled to the ground, and the gushing blood stained the yellow ground crimson.
Looking at the heads scattered on the ground, the young and strong civilians, breathing heavily, also showed a look of satisfaction at having avenged their great hatred, and were filled with gratitude towards the Han army.
"Throw their bodies into the pit and bury them. Collect their heads and build a mound of skulls!"
"yes!"
Upon hearing Kemolai's order, the able-bodied people quickly sprang into action.
Of course, in addition to the more than 10,000 prisoners, they also did not spare the Parthian soldiers.
In less than half a day, a huge mound of skulls made up of nearly 30,000 heads stood tall on the official road north of Linshan City.
Thanks to the Han army's great victory today, the people in Linshan City felt much more at ease, and most of them went to bed early after dinner.
As night deepened, in the quiet city of Linshan, a few rooms still had faint lights on.
Kmolley sat behind the desk with his eyes slightly closed. On the desk were a quill pen and a piece of white cloth without any writing on it.
At this moment, Kemolai was also constantly reflecting on what he had seen and heard in recent days.
Just as Sakhozi had previously guessed, Kemolai was indeed a descendant of the Persians, and also a thorn in the side of the Left Chancellor, Ardassian, planted in Anshun.
However, one thing is certain: the reason why Kemolai desperately tried to stop the Sakhqi army was not out of political struggle, but simply to save his own life and the lives of the people under his rule.
Through the great battle during the day, Kemolai also realized that the Han army had the strength to protect the people under its rule.
Right now, his only worry is what will happen to him and the people if the Han army withdraws one day.
This place is not Han territory after all, and the Han army will have to leave sooner or later.
After much deliberation, Kemolai could only come up with two solutions.
First, it would help the Han army to take over dozens of cities south of Ansu, hundreds of miles of land, and the southern sea area as Han territory. In this way, the Han army would station troops there for a long time to defend the country, thus ensuring the safety of themselves and the people under their rule.
Of course, most importantly, if the Han army wants to manage this territory thousands of miles away, it will definitely need the help of the locals, and as the first person to surrender to the Han, I will definitely be given an important position, which is much better than being a small city lord.
Secondly, it was to overthrow Parthian rule and rebuild the Persian Empire.
However, this is also difficult to achieve. After all, so many years have passed. If it were possible to restore the country, it would have been done long ago, and there would be no need to wait until now.
"If the Han army can help, there might be a chance of success!"
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