Chapter 1063 Brothers
Shen Tu Tai paused for a moment, then said, "They feigned surrender. In order to avoid arousing our suspicion, even most of the soldiers at Hulao Pass were unaware of the truth. Therefore, Your Highness wanted to take this opportunity to recapture Hulao Pass. Now, some people have surrendered naturally, but there are still some... their wives and children are probably in Luoyang, and they are unwilling to surrender, so they have risen up in rebellion."
"..."
“We’ve been dealing with this for the past two days, and we’ve had a few fights with them.”
"..."
"The situation has temporarily stabilized, but Liang Shide will certainly not be willing to lose Hulao Pass so easily; he will definitely launch another offensive. Therefore, His Highness is currently deploying troops, firstly to reinforce the defenses of the surrounding passes and prevent them from falling into Liang Shide's hands again, and secondly—"
He stopped halfway through his sentence because he noticed that Shan Tong'er wasn't listening.
The child's head was hanging low, as if he could barely bear the weight of his mind and the complex emotions within it, as if he were about to be buried deep in the ground.
Seeing him like this, Shen Tu Tai sighed inwardly.
He said, "Master Shanyu is not dead yet."
Upon hearing this, Shan Tong'er's shoulders twitched slightly. He slowly raised his head to look at Shen Tu Tai, his large eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and joy.
Shen Tu Tai added, "But he won't survive either."
"...!"
"He refused to surrender. His Highness promised that if he surrendered to us, he would go back to Hulao Pass and persuade his subordinates to surrender. If that were the case, we would face fewer obstacles and be able to take Hulao Pass without bloodshed, which would be good for both them and us. But he refused to agree no matter what."
"..."
"We fought those battles in the last two days and lost a lot of brothers, but we finally managed to hold Hulao Pass."
"..."
"Now, the first thing Your Highness needs to do is—"
Before he could finish speaking, and without needing to, Shan Tong'er immediately understood. He gasped and immediately rolled out of bed. Shen Tu Tai, watching him, didn't stop him. However, when Shan Tong'er stood up, he was so weak from sleeping for so long and not eating that he almost fell. Shen Tu Tai reached out to support him, and Shan Tong'er grabbed his arm and whispered, "Brother Shen Tu, where is His Highness? I need to go—to beg him."
Shen Tu Tai said, "His Highness is still handling military affairs in the main tent, but he will be heading to Hulao Pass soon."
The kind boy immediately understood.
On the other side, the tent was completely silent except for the soft scratching of a brush against rough paper. Normally, this sound would convey a sense of tranquility and peace, but at this moment, it carried a strong sense of murderous intent.
After writing the last word, Yuwen Ye tossed the dossier in his hand to the soldier kneeling before him and said, "Go."
The soldier accepted the order and immediately turned and left.
Everyone standing inside the tent followed the scroll until the soldier walked out of the tent. But just as they were about to look away, another familiar figure hurriedly entered the tent. It was Shan Tong'er, who had been unconscious for two days and was now pale and panicked as she rushed in.
As soon as he entered the tent, he saw the crowd lined up on both sides, with Yuwen Ye sitting in front. He immediately stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness."
"..."
Upon seeing him, everyone wore complex expressions.
Yuwen Ye remained calm and said, "She's awake."
"I--"
“Rest well now that you’re awake. Shen Tu Tai also told me that you were slightly injured when you fell off your horse at Mengjin Pass a few days ago, but you haven’t had time to rest because you had to rush here. Take advantage of these two days to recover properly, because there won’t be time for you to rest after this.”
After saying that, he looked up and waved to Shentu Taiyi, who had followed Shantong'er in: "Take him away."
Shen Tu Tai bowed and was about to bend down to grab Shan Tong'er's arm when he was stopped by Shan Tong'er's hand. Shan Tong'er looked at Yuwen Ye with red eyes and choked out, "Your Highness, are you going to kill my elder brother—are you going to kill Shan Shiyu?"
Yuwen Ye lowered his eyelids, paused for a moment, and said, "Shouldn't I have killed him?"
Shan Tong'er's throat tightened.
He had fought alongside the army, and even though he had practiced Buddhism for several years and had some compassion, he had witnessed how life was cheap on the battlefield and understood the strict military regulations. People like Shan Shiyu, who feigned surrender but then went back on their word, would surely die if captured. Under normal circumstances, he would not have had the standing or the inclination to raise this issue.
Ke Shan Shi Yu was no ordinary person.
Shan Tong'er lowered his head and said softly, "Your Highness, can you spare his life?"
Upon hearing this, the people around looked at each other, their faces showing signs of pity. Mu Xian hesitated and raised his head, seemingly wanting to plead with Shan Tong'er as well. However, before he could speak, he saw Yuwen Ye slowly stand up, walk around the table to Shan Tong'er, and look down at him.
He said, "I can spare his life."
"...!"
Upon hearing this, Shan Tong'er immediately raised his head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him.
But the next moment, his eyes dimmed.
Because Yuwen Ye said clearly, word by word: "If he really surrendered."
"..."
"If he hadn't intended to assassinate Nie Chong."
"..."
"If, during these two days of our attack on Hulao Pass, he had genuinely surrendered and persuaded those stubbornly resisting at Hulao Pass to surrender, we could have avoided the carnage of these past few days..."
"..."
"If he had done even the slightest thing, I would have spared his life."
With each word he spoke, Shan Tong'er's eyes grew dimmer. By the end, his eyes were completely black and lifeless, and he seemed to have fallen into an abyss, devoid of light and vitality.
Yuwen Ye said, "You ask me to spare him, but how can the soldiers below remain calm?"
"..."
"Who can pay for Nie Chong's life?"
"..."
"As long as he is alive, the whole world will know that he pretended to surrender to me, Yuwen Ye, and killed my general without any punishment; in this way, when we attack Luoyang in the future, no one will surrender. Our path will only become more and more difficult."
"..."
"Because of all this, I must kill him!"
His last words had already decided the fate of Shan Shiyu. Shan Tong'er burst into tears, crying so hard that his whole body convulsed. Shen Tu Tai naturally understood Yuwen Ye's considerations, and he also understood that he wanted to tear the person who killed Nie Chong to pieces. But seeing the child crying like this, he couldn't bear it. He bent down and said in a deep voice, "Ninth Prince, His Highness is right."
The people around them nodded silently.
Shan Tong'er remained kneeling on the ground, choking back tears as she said, "Your Highness, but he... he is mine..."
Yuwen Ye looked at him coldly.
“Good boy, who among those standing here and those buried underground is not your brother?”
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