Fu Xiaoguan's words were spoken in a very calm tone, but they struck Peng Chengwu's heart like thunder.
His eyes were red, and he suddenly raised his head and roared, "He is the king, and I am the subject! What can I do? Do you think I have a heart of stone?"
Fu Xiaoguan raised the corner of his mouth, his voice still gentle: "So, you are not worthy of being a general!"
"You are the general of the northern border army. Don't you know the importance of Yanshan Pass? Don't you know the importance of Xinzhou City? Don't you know the importance of the people? He is the emperor, he may not know, but you are the general guarding this country's gate!"
"A general on the battlefield is not bound by his sovereign's orders. Don't you understand such a simple truth? Actually, we're talking in the dark, and I know why you abandoned the border. He must have told you that I'm far more dangerous than the barbarians... Don't you agree?"
Peng Chengwu lowered his head. After a long moment, he slowly said, "You are the Emperor of the Wu Dynasty after all. Under your leadership, the Yu Dynasty has seen significant changes in both military and economic aspects over the past two years."
"If you become the emperor of the Wu Dynasty, then the Wu Dynasty will inevitably rise... The Wu Dynasty is already very powerful. If you manage it for another three to five years, who in this world can rival it?"
Fu Xiaoguan tore off another rabbit leg and began to gnaw on it. After Peng Chengwu finished speaking, he turned and asked, "So, my life is more valuable than the lives of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in the battles of your northern border troops, and the lives of the 500,000 civilians in your Xinzhou City?"
"If you return safely, the number of people who will die in the Yu Dynasty in the future will probably be ten or even a hundred times more than it is now!"
"Why do you think I would harm the Yu Dynasty? If I wanted to harm the Yu Dynasty, why would I stay in the Yu Dynasty for these two years? Why would I build Wofeng Road?"
Peng Chengwu opened his mouth in astonishment and was speechless.
Fu Xiaoguan smiled calmly, "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. He's scared, and I understand why he wants to deal with me. I even wrote you a letter before this. I hope that if he's really scared, you won't be afraid. You just need to hold Yanshan Pass or Xinzhou City, and I will hand over this vast land of Desolate Country to him!"
Fu Xiaoguan's voice became low and stern. "You're a soldier. I thought you were a pure soldier like Peng Yuyan! But I was wrong about you. You ended up getting involved in politics."
"You can't handle politics. Now, the Heaven Sword Army has sent back over 200,000 troops to reinforce us, Tuoba Feng has sent 500,000 troops towards Xiaoheyuan, and your border troops of over 200,000 are hanging around behind my Divine Sword First Army..."
Fu Xiaoguan leaned forward and stared at Peng Chengwu. "My Divine Sword Army is going to fight the barbarians! Let me ask you, are you still going to point your swords and spears at the Divine Sword Army?"
Are you still going to point the swords and guns in your hands at the Excalibur Army?
Peng Chengwu couldn't turn back and was too embarrassed to answer!
At this moment, the sound of galloping horses' hooves came from all directions, becoming more and more intense, and the sound of them stomping on the snow was like a storm.
Bei Wangchuan looked up, but Fu Xiaoguan was still staring at Peng Chengwu.
He was betting that this great general still had the blood of a soldier and the honor of being a soldier of the Yu Dynasty.
It was the northern border troops who came and surrounded the place.
One general swung his sword and was about to speak when Peng Chengwu raised his head and shouted at him, "Back off!"
"Great General!"
"I told you to back off!"
The cavalry retreated ten feet. Fu Xiaoguan withdrew his gaze, looked at the blazing bonfire, and said earnestly: "These are the best soldiers of the Yu Dynasty. If they guard Yanshan Pass, there is no way the barbarians will break through the pass and move south."
"You know that the Northern Frontier Army sold eighty red-coated cannons to the barbarians, and you also know that someone sold four thousand flintlock rifles to the barbarians, because this was originally intended to deal with me."
"The barbarians attacked the pass for seven days without success. The battle was fierce, but I didn't show up. So you had two of your generals kill the soldiers who had been defending the gate for seven days, open the gate, and let the barbarians in."
"I naively thought this was true, but I didn't expect them to be hiding quietly in Songgang."
"I won't hide it from you. I've indeed been watching the battlefield there. I witnessed the fall of Xinzhou City after ten days of defense. I also watched over half a million civilians leave Xinzhou and head for Pingling Mountain. I knew the barbarians would definitely hunt them down, and I didn't want to save them... because if you don't care about their lives, why should I?"
"It was you who arranged the explosion in Xinzhou City that made me realize that you actually cared about me, but you just couldn't help yourself."
"So I saved them, but ended up falling into your trap. Luckily, your men still had a conscience, and they fired warning shots, allowing me to escape."
"I wanted to just leave, but I didn't expect that the two groups I thought were rebels would actually rush towards the 60,000 barbarians who were chasing them like moths to a flame."
"It was only then that I realized there were real men among the northern border troops!"
"They used their blood and lives to atone for their sins and defend the honor of soldiers!"
Fu Xiaoguan took a deep breath. "Everyone must die one day. Some people's death is lighter than a feather, while others are heavier than Mount Tai! Their death is heavier than Mount Tai! Because they died in a battle with the barbarians!"
"But what does this mean for you now? Do you really think that with just over 200,000 border troops and a few thousand guns in hand, you can really defeat the Excalibur Army?"
"They will die at the hands of the Excalibur Army! Such a death... is lighter than a feather!"
Peng Chengwu lowered his head deeply, and Bei Wangchuan looked at Fu Xiaoguan in shock.
Fu Xiaoguan sighed and said, "You can't come up with such a plan, and Emperor Xuan can't think of such a cruel plan. I don't know who made this plan, and now is not the time to investigate."
"Now, I ask you to raise your head. Act like a true soldier, like a true general, and lead these two hundred thousand men to join the Divine Sword Army in conquering the barbarians!"
"Don't let them die too easily!"
Fu Xiaoguan ended his words here, and Peng Chengwu opened his mouth and let out a long breath.
He stood up suddenly and said, "I just hope that in the future, you can still remember that Yu Dynasty is the land that gave birth to you and raised you."
He strode forward, gnawing at a rabbit leg.
He walked into the army, and the army galloped away.
Fu Xiaoguan laughed, and Bei Wangchuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Aren't you afraid that he'll return to the army and kill us both?"
"After all, he is a soldier of the Yu Dynasty, and he hates the barbarians more."
Bei Wangchuan was stunned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Then... since he said this, will you attack the Yu Dynasty again in the future?"
Fu Xiaoguan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "He is a soldier. He is not good at playing politics."
"And I... am nothing."
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