Chapter 1362: Kicking the Widower's Door at Night [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
The two spears crossed above the enemy general's neck and plunged into the ground.
Mouthfuls of foul blood gushed from his mouth, splattering across half his face, some even sticking to his eyelids and threatening to flow into his eyes. He was like a stranded fish, filled with resentment but powerless to change his fate. Seeing this amidst the chaos of battle, the lieutenant cried out urgently, "Don't harm my lord—"
Shen Tang grabbed his defeated subordinate and pulled him up from the ground.
"Keep an eye on him, don't let him die."
It's not that every enemy should be wiped out.
What's the point of expanding territory if you don't have any capable people at your disposal? She doesn't have much time to cultivate loyal followers of her own right now; she can only expand her territory while simultaneously selecting the best. The enemy general was still struggling when he was captured. Luo San glanced at him, and when no one was looking, he struck him in the abdomen with a palm strike.
Just moments ago, seven or eight burly men couldn't subdue him; he was harder to control than a pig. But with Luo San's sudden action, the enemy general immediately became obedient. In the blink of an eye, he was bound hand and foot and placed under special prisoner restraints.
The enemy general was still reeling from the underhanded trick he'd just pulled, his eyes wide open, meeting Luo San's gaze: "You—"
He had some recollection of Luo San.
We had drunk together before when we were reporting to the capital.
He was utterly disappointed and shouted at the top of his lungs, "You scoundrel! I thought you were a real man, but you've turned out to be a thief and a lackey!"
Luo San said, "Young people should not create bad karma with their words."
Firstly, he hadn't submitted to Xiahou Li; he was merely owing her a favor and looking for an opportunity to repay it. Secondly, even if he did submit to Queen Xiahou Li, her bottom line was far higher than the upper limit of the Qi Kingdom's ruler. Submitting to the former would make him a lackey, so what would submitting to the latter make him?
The enemy general angrily exclaimed, "You scoundrel!"
Seeing that his struggles had intensified again, and that his internal wounds were showing signs of rupture and widening, and that the soldiers who were suppressing the enemy general had been overturned and fallen on their buttocks, Luo San couldn't help but sigh and say, "Young friend, in my opinion, you've only been paid by the Qi Kingdom for a few years. The Qi Kingdom pays you to sell your physical labor. To put it bluntly, what's the difference between you and a landlord's long-term laborer? Look, you and these soldiers are all working for someone else. Why make things difficult for them? Don't be so shameless and end up losing your life."
The enemy general's anger intensified: "Who are you calling a farmhand?"
Luo San considered changing the word: "Thugs?"
The farmhands are the ones who do the work, while the thugs are the ones who guard the house.
Using the analogy of a farmhand is not quite appropriate.
Upon hearing this, the enemy general nearly lost his will to fight Luo San to the death, but Luo San, seeing the situation, delivered another blow to the enemy's dantian. The soldiers suppressing the enemy general were exhausted and sweating profusely: "Lord Luo, please stop talking."
The enemy general, panting like a trapped beast, said, "Lord Luo? So it was the traitor who promised you a title and a high position that made you betray us."
Luo San said, "Why can't I do it myself?"
He doesn't need to be granted a title; wherever he goes, he's already a "Luo Hou" (a title implying high rank and status).
The enemy general clearly did not understand the meaning behind his words.
Or rather, even Luo San's former subordinates didn't know his true past and strength; a few close confidants at most knew that his strength wasn't as simple as it appeared. The entire Qi Kingdom's court, including enemy generals, would be even less aware that they had a colleague who was a 20th-rank Marquis.
No matter how the enemy general struggled, it was an undeniable fact that he was severely injured and captured alive by Shen Tang in three rounds. The defeat of the commander and the obstruction of the deputy commander's rescue directly led to the complete collapse of morale. Shen Tang had successfully caught a fat rabbit: "If you don't cooperate, starve yourself for two days."
A courageous warrior resists hunger, but ordinary soldiers do not.
The enemy general is prepared to remain loyal to Qi Guo, watching his long-time subordinates starve to death, or will he obediently submit to her and start a second spring in his life? She tore off a rabbit leg in front of the two fat rabbits: "I'll see."
I caught two rabbits in one day.
One in the morning, one in the evening.
"Hmph, you really think you can kill everyone?" The enemy general declared that he wasn't easily intimidated and never responded to force!
"Why not?" Shen Tang tore off a piece of meat and said to Gu De, "You Rong, tell him what we are!"
Gu Dedao said, "We are 'thieves'."
The official seal of the Qi Kingdom's court confirms its legitimacy.
Shen Tang echoed him, "Did you hear that? I am a vicious thief. If I had any conscience, I wouldn't have gone against your 'harmonious and peaceful' Qi Kingdom court, which is 'loved by all the people,' wouldn't I? Look, the clothes we wear and the food we eat are all taken from those commoners who are being squeezed dry by exorbitant taxes. We have no surplus grain at home, and we can't even feed ourselves. Where would we get the rice and grain to feed your men? If we can't feed them and can't release them, what else can we do but kill them? It's a helpless situation."
"you--"
Shen Tang chuckled as he spoke chilling words: "Generals, be sensible. To comply or not to comply! Your loyalty and integrity may earn you a good reputation, but how can you live with your conscience if you cause the deaths of hundreds of innocent brothers? I don't like to force things; a forced marriage is never sweet. So, You Rong, have someone dig a pit. Dig it before dawn. If they refuse to comply, kill them all and bury them in it!"
Enemy general: "..."
What kind of "not forcing" is this?
"Bah! Does this thief think he can scare people away?"
The other person had less severe injuries and was even more stubborn.
Shen Tang looked down into his eyes, his imposing aura almost making him unable to lift his head. Just when he thought Shen Tang would draw his sword and kill him, Shen Tang suddenly grinned. He bent down slightly, lifted the bound man up with one hand, strode towards the construction site, and threw him overboard into the pit.
Shen Tang patted the dust off his hands: "You supervise the work."
Fat Rabbit No. 2 stared wide-eyed at the nascent pit.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
With his dantian sealed off, and without the continuous support of martial energy, his physical strength alone was enough to give the dozen or so young and strong soldiers quite a headache.
Fortunately, Fat Rabbit No. 2 was tightly bound, his hands tied behind his back, greatly limiting his strength. He was alone, while the soldiers could be continuously replaced. The two sides were locked in a stalemate for fifteen minutes, and the work in the pit continued. Only when Fat Rabbit No. 2 was exhausted and pressed to the edge of the pit did the struggle temporarily come to an end.
Luo San watched Shen Tang tear into the cold rabbit leg and taste it, and said with some worry, "Your Majesty's actions will make them secretly resentful."
Today's actions are also inconsistent with Lady Xiahou's usual character.
Shen Tang said indifferently, "Let them hold a grudge."
Holding grudges only shows a narrow-mindedness and will make it difficult to achieve anything in the future.
To be honest, aside from a couple of threats and a little physical pain, she didn't cause any further damage. She acted swiftly, minimizing casualties among their old men. If it had dragged on, there would have been far more than a hundred corpses on the ground.
While appeasement can certainly win people's hearts and minds.
but--
Shen Tang honestly replied, "Recruiting and pacifying takes time and effort."
Where does she find the time to play these games?
Violence is one of the rules of chaotic times.
Shen Tang was just following a trend.
Luo San said, "What if they really refuse to submit? What if they are determined to live and die with Qi and remain chaste for the King of Qi?"
Shen Tang remained silent for three seconds.
"Even a toad can get its way to a swan. It's not surprising that a good-for-nothing like the King of Qi has a couple of loyal followers. If they really want to risk their lives for this chastity arch, how can I refuse? Kill these two, and then bury them in the same grave as their king."
These two people put her in an awkward position, and she couldn't retaliate.
Letting them go is not an option, but killing them would prevent them from knowing whether Shen Tang had massacred their former subordinates. In this way, Shen Tang would have a way out, and the two of them would reach a spiritual climax, completing the achievement of "martyrdom for their master," which could be considered a win-win situation.
Luo San clicked his tongue inwardly.
He became even more certain that Xiahou Li would not be content to be subordinate to anyone.
Her previous reluctance to reveal her ambitions was undoubtedly because she still needed the King of Kang to act as a shield, drawing attention and buying herself time to grow stronger. Once she was fully capable, that would be the day she truly "remained silent for three years, but when she did, it would be astonishing!"
He said, "What kind of hero would willingly be subservient to someone else?"
Shen Tang had no idea what Luo San was imagining. After she finished eating the roasted rabbit, she meditated and cultivated for three or four cycles. As soon as she opened her eyes and exhaled the turbid air, she received the good news that two fat rabbits were willing to submit.
Yeah, if they don't give an answer soon, they'll be digging a huge hole.
"You two generals have suffered."
Looking at the two men who looked pale and sickly, Shen Tang smiled and untied them one by one, then had someone bring them clean water to wash their faces.
Neither of them wanted to accept the favor, but they had no choice but to.
They all suppressed their emotions and quickly washed their faces.
"...Since we have already agreed, we will not easily break our promise. We also beg you, my lord... my lord, to keep your promise and not harm a single one of our old subordinates!" For the first time, they felt that the word "lord" was so difficult to pronounce. His tone was stiff and sounded like a provocation.
Shen Tang seemed oblivious to the unusual tone in their conversation.
He laughed and said, "That's natural."
He turned and told Gu De to urge the progress of digging the pit.
The two then witnessed a scene that left them speechless.
The soldiers, who had been slowly and methodically digging the pit, suddenly became excited and quickly began digging. The pit's progress bar was filled in no time. The two men almost couldn't sit still, but before they could jump up, Shen Tang pressed their shoulders down, rendering them unable to move.
"Generals, please don't be anxious, you have misunderstood."
This pit was indeed used to bury people, but not living people; it was used to bury soldiers who died in the chaos of battle.
She said, "Dig deeper, so we won't be bothered by wild animals."
The commotion was too loud to be kept secret from the woodcutters who made a living by chopping wood.
Meat is a precious food in chaotic times; it can be from animals or humans. Every time a battle breaks out, if the battlefield isn't properly managed, fearless commoners will always sneak in to steal the corpses. Therefore, even if she doesn't cremate the bodies, she'll dig a pit four or five meters deep to bury them. Let alone wild animals, even ordinary people with tools would find it difficult to dig that deep in a short time.
The two suppressed their anxiety and continued watching.
In the end, it turned out that things really were just as Shen Tang had said.
The bodies were neatly arranged at the bottom of the pit, without being carelessly discarded or piled up, and even the soldiers' clothes were not removed.
At least we didn't come into this world naked and leave it naked.
The two silently observed the discrepancy and carefully noticed that the numbers were incorrect.
They exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke first. It was Shen Tang who took the initiative to say, "To be honest, my military doctors are quite skilled. They treat all the wounds that can be saved and then transfer them over. That's why the number of patients is relatively small."
It wasn't that she concealed the casualties, nor that she disposed of some of the corpses as food. It's just that words alone aren't enough; they wouldn't easily believe her. Shen Tang also had a way to deal with the two men: simply make them meet the captured deputy general. When these people met, the prisoners had just finished eating a meal of dry rations. The deputy generals still had a conscience; their commander was likely dead, so why would they accept the enemy's kindness?
"My lord/General—"
The disheveled group reunited, holding hands and gazing at each other with tearful eyes.
The two fat rabbits, looking at their respective officials with surprise, hurriedly asked, "Thief...did that person torture you?"
The lieutenant's face was clean, and his hair, disheveled in the chaos of battle, had been neatly tidied. Aside from the worry and weariness that lingered in his eyes, he didn't look like he'd been abused…
"No, not at all."
"But they refuse to reveal our lord's whereabouts, and we are very worried." Looking at his lord's bruised and swollen face, the deputy general felt heartbroken and was about to cry. "Our lord has suffered. It is my fault for failing to protect him."
The two fat rabbits fell silent.
They realized that Shen Tang's harsh words were all lies.
The large pit was dug to properly dispose of the fallen soldiers, and the captured soldiers were not threatened or mistreated; instead, they were given some dry rations. Shen Tang's actions of slapping them twice and then giving them two sweet treats left the two feeling uneasy. Only when their anger reached its peak did they realize they had misunderstood his good intentions, and a sense of guilt arose inexplicably.
They thought they had compromised and endured shame to submit to the thief in order to achieve the best outcome, only to be told that they had been judging the thief by their own petty standards; the thief was not a bad person at all. In fact, he was a good person.
One of them sighed, "Sigh..."
Now that things have come to this, what else can they do?
They could only go along with it and see how things went. The deputy general and the others looked at them in confusion, and the two men didn't know where to begin.
Luo San, who watched the whole thing: "..."
He felt that something was off about this scene.
Shen Tang smiled strangely: "It's right that it feels strange."
Luo San asked in detail, "What do you mean?"
Shen Tang argued vehemently: "It's like when I kicked a widow's door at night... no, I mean, a widower's house. The young widower was a single father with two children. I saw that he was beautiful and charming, but he was terrified of me. Without asking any questions, he grabbed a stick to hit me. I subdued him, and he thought I was going to force myself on him. He tried to fight to the death but failed, so he could only whine and submit, hoping I wouldn't kill his young child. But then he discovered that I had simply come to rescue him because his roof was showing signs of collapse. I didn't kill his young child and treated the three of them, the orphan and the widower, kindly. At that moment, the beautiful young widower discovered that I was handsome and dashing, and secretly thought to himself, 'It's not so bad to be with her. She looks like a proper and virtuous lady.'"
Luo San: "..."
After a long pause, he finally managed to stammer out, "Didn't you tear down the roof?"
Shen Tang nodded in agreement, then argued, "Wasn't it because the roof was old and in disrepair that I managed to poke it open? Whether the roof is broken or not is not important. What is important is that the young widower completely follows me after this incident."
"...Am I also that young widower?"
This is simply not something that can be applied to.
The queen laughed and said, "How could Lord Luo be a widower?"
Luo San wisely refrained from pursuing the matter further.
He rubbed his temples.
Perhaps it was because he had lived too long, or perhaps it was because he had too good a temper, but he didn't take the teasing in Shen Tang's words to heart. As the old saying goes, in chaotic times, the strong rule. What difference did it make whether he was a "young widower" or a "young widow" in her eyes, given his immense power?
"No wonder the Queen gets along so well with that scoundrel Gongxi Chou."
These two are indeed birds of a feather.
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There are only two days left in December, hang in there!
May this year end smoothly, and may everything go smoothly next year.
P.S.: To be honest, I'm quite worried. "Retreat the Emperor" has been serialized for so long, and the average daily subscriptions haven't increased at all, yet it's still holding onto second place in bestsellers. Won't I starve if I release a new book in March?
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