Chapter 185 Ministry of War: The Debate on Slaughter and Brutality Congratulations to Immortal Bitao on the arrival of her new dog...
"The Ministry of War, acting on behalf of Heaven, questions Bi Tao, who seeks to prove her immortal position as the master of the laws of Heaven and Earth. If you were the commander-in-chief, and the two armies were engaged in battle, and the enemy used our prisoners of war and civilians as human shields to drive us to the front lines, would you kill them or retreat?"
As soon as the Ministry of War posed the legal question, Bitao's consciousness was pulled into an illusion.
Bitao realized she was standing in a tent when the tent was suddenly opened and a young general burst in.
"Grand Commander! Something terrible has happened! The Huaiqing army, in desperation, has pushed all the soldiers we had previously captured, along with the women and children they had abducted from the Wudu Mountains, to the front lines as human shields!"
"They clamored for us to withdraw, saying they would kill one of our soldiers if we didn't withdraw within fifteen minutes! They tied our soldiers to tanks, stripped them naked, and shot them to death with a hail of arrows. Their methods were so vicious and cruel that they were utterly insane!"
Following closely behind the young general, another general came in: "Once the heavy snow closes the mountains, and spring comes next year, these bastards, having gone hungry all winter, will surely harass our border people like vicious wolves. We cannot retreat at this time!"
Bitao was clad in a full suit of steel chainmail, which extended from her neck down to her feet. Her long hair was tied high on her head in a bun that could be tucked into her helmet.
The memories flooding into her mind were quickly processed, and she knew that she was now the Grand Commander of an army of 50,000 men.
These two young generals were her left and right wing deputy generals, respectively.
Before sending out troops, she made a pledge to the emperor that she would drive the invading troops from Huaiqing Kingdom, which borders Tang'an Kingdom, back to Huaiqing's capital before the snow fell this winter.
The army advanced with unstoppable momentum, but upon reaching the Wudu Mountains, the terrain proved too complex for them to handle, unlike the Huaiqing army, who were already accustomed to such terrain.
The Huaiqing army had already launched several surprise attacks on them, and Tang An's army had lost thousands of men. They had finally managed to force a large number of Huaiqing's elite troops to the cliffs of the canyon, and it seemed that they could annihilate them.
As a result, they used the soldiers captured by Tang An and the civilians plundered from the surrounding area as human shields, forcing the army to stop advancing.
In the current situation, if we advance recklessly, the thousands of captured soldiers will die without dignity, and the innocent civilians will be slaughtered.
Forcing an advance would not only lose the support of the people by disregarding their welfare, but even if the battle was fought brilliantly, it would be buried by impeachment petitions from the court officials.
However, if they retreat, it is already late autumn, and not only are their supplies insufficient, but once winter comes and the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, it will be impossible for them to retreat to Huaiqing Kingdom and attack the Huaiyuan Kingdom army scattered like stars in the Sadu Mountains.
That would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.
The emperor also sent several eunuchs to supervise the battle, and Bitao, the commander-in-chief, was put on the spot.
Bitao stared at the sand table in front of her, without immediately answering the two deputy generals' questions.
"The right-wing army attempted to break through, but was hampered by the human shields. However, those people were indeed massacring our prisoners of war; they had already killed several!"
"General, if this continues, the morale of our army will collapse!"
The Huaiqing army massacred soldiers of Tang Anguo. If they had only killed them, that would have been one thing, but they stripped them naked, tied them up with ropes like livestock, and pushed them in front of people. A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!
Bitao looked solemn as she memorized the entire map on the sand table.
Then he said, "Pass on my order to send a supervisory team to negotiate with them, and we will withdraw our troops if they hand over the civilians."
Bitao stuck her finger into a patch of sand and said, "The army will retreat twenty li and enter Wudu City."
The right-wing deputy general was clearly unwilling to give up. He pointed to a spot on the sand table and said, "But Grand Commander, there is no better opportunity than this. They have been forced to the cliff above the canyon. As long as we can advance, I can guarantee that we will annihilate their entire army within three days!"
Following the right-wing deputy general's finger, Bitao looked towards the canyon, then looked up at him and said, "Let's withdraw. Good opportunities are created by people."
In the army, orders are strictly obeyed, and the left and right lieutenants received their orders and went out.
The other side refused to hand over all the people, and in the end only handed over the women and children they had plundered.
Bitao led a large army to escort women and children into Wudu City.
Along the way, several supervising eunuchs sent by the emperor were making outrageous remarks about Bitao.
They said she shouldn't have delayed the battle because of her womanly compassion, and so on.
Her two lieutenants couldn't stand the argument and argued with those people, but Bitao let it go in one ear and out the other, completely ignoring these few jumping and croaking "little frogs".
On the first day after entering the city, Bitao ordered scouts to disperse into the mountains and forests to familiarize themselves with the terrain.
On the second day after entering the city, Bitao summoned the medical doctors in the army and talked with them all night.
On the third day after entering the city, scouts reported that the Huaiyuan Army had been taken out of the canyon by the main army stationed in the Wudu Mountains, and, along with the prisoners and the remaining civilians, returned to the Huaiyuan Army's ranks in the Wudu Mountains.
A few more days passed.
Bitao remained inactive and even sent people to tie up several "little frogs".
They spent their days in the house cursing Bitao for deceiving the emperor and plotting rebellion.
The vice generals of the left and right wings approached Bitao: "Grand Steward, the Huaiyuan army has successfully established contact with the capital of Huaiyuan. New supplies of provisions and the lost horses are on their way!"
At this moment, Bitao began to screen people from the group.
They selected those who were agile and skilled in surprise attacks, and then launched a surprise attack.
They attempted to plunder the enemy's food and supplies, but the enemy was prepared, and this raid failed.
The morale of Tang An's army was low and the troops were demoralized.
Five days later, scouts reported that a plague had broken out in Huaiyuan Army. The disease was spreading very quickly, and even the newly supplied horses in the army were not spared.
The Huaiyuan army was strong and healthy, and their horses were even more robust and healthy, but... no matter how good the heroes or the horses, they couldn't withstand three bouts of diarrhea.
What's more, he was vomiting and had diarrhea, and couldn't eat or drink anything.
Bitao waited another five days and then leisurely led her army into the Wudu Mountains. The enemy's commander was unable to get up, and Tang An's army won without a fight.
Bitao rescued the prisoners of her army who had been captured, as well as the civilians trapped by the Huai'an army.
After three doses of medicine, the prisoners and civilians were "brought back to life".
Bitao then took the prescription and talked to the "little frogs" again.
"You all know what plague is. When it spreads, whether it's royalty or a general on horseback, no one will die a undignified death."
"The warlords didn't get to see that scene. When I led my troops into the Wudu Mountains, the commander of Huaiyuan fell down and no one took care of him. He even soiled a bed."
Bitao seemed to smell a foul odor and put her finger under her nose.
She looked at the supervising eunuchs with pity and said, "Gentlemen, you are all delicate and precious. What if you catch the plague?"
This is a blatant threat.
They could report to the emperor, and even boldly fabricate and exaggerate the military situation in the area.
However, if someone actually dies from the plague, it's considered a natural disaster, and the emperor won't blame the general at all.
So all the little frogs stopped jumping altogether.
The illusion shattered, but Bitao still felt a little unsatisfied.
The Yin Goddess Jade Maiden of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods looked at Bitao with admiration in her eyes.
Bitao was using... the plague treatment formula from the real world within the illusion of the First Medical Department.
As for the plague... it was created by the "medical doctors" in the army.
It wasn't a real plague at all; it was medicine.
The battle to raid the supply rations was just a smokescreen. What Bitao was really doing was having the scouts silently poison the water source in the Huaiyuan Army's encampment in the Wudu Mountains.
She poisoned them! She wiped out tens of thousands of enemy troops in just a few days.
What's even more outrageous is that Bitao was able to remember all the medical principles the real-world healer knew, based on the memories she gained from the first debate and being sent into that body.
She discussed the prescriptions with those military doctors specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, and in the end, she was the one who finalized which medicines to use.
What terrifying memory ability!
Moreover, the water source is running water, so it's impossible to cure an entire army with drugs in one go.
She first used medication to cause some soldiers in the Huaiyuan army to experience vomiting and diarrhea, symptoms that would actually subside within two days. The Huaiyuan army also had accompanying military doctors.
However, the medicinal powder under the peach is for clearing heat and purging fire. This medicine doesn't have much of a taste, so you can't taste it at all when it's cooked into food.
Even if doctors examine them, they won't be able to detect that the soldiers have been drugged.
The Huaiyuan Army soldiers were very strong and robust, and their lineage, which allowed them to survive the winter in the snow-capped mountains, meant that they wouldn't carry too much medicine when marching; they were more focused on being well-fed.
It's never good for someone to have lingering symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
When the army ran out of medicine, they had to buy medicine from nearby towns.
With the two armies at war and the borders tightly closed, the soldiers of Huaiyuan bypassed Wudu City, where the Tang An army was stationed, and disguised themselves as merchants to enter the border market, which the two countries had agreed to keep from interfering in each other's war, to buy medicine.
Bitao arranged for medical doctors to wait in the towns surrounding the trade market.
The women and children who had been rescued earlier were pale, thin, and ragged. Their husbands were being held captive, and their chances of survival were slim. They all looked desperate. We asked them to play the victims of the plague. They were put down in a makeshift shed outside the city and didn't even need to wear makeup.
Then, a military doctor disguised as an ordinary physician told Huaiyuan Army that these symptoms were a plague and that it must be controlled as soon as possible.
The word "plague" is like a silent thunderclap.
Every year, countless people die from this natural disaster in every country.
Especially in the military, where densely populated areas are located, it would be a disaster if an epidemic started to spread.
Therefore, they definitely need to quickly isolate symptomatic individuals for treatment.
The capital of Huaiyuan Kingdom is located in the north, where winters are long and snow disasters are frequent, but there are no floods, which are most likely to cause plagues. The climate means that plagues are not prevalent in their country, so their military doctors are not skilled in treating plagues and they have to hire doctors from the civilian population.
Bitao's people took the opportunity to infiltrate the enemy army, and this treatment... made the enemy truly fall into Bitao's trap.
The medicine that is ingested will indeed relieve the symptoms, but the more people who infiltrate, the easier it is to administer the medicine, and the easier it is to administer the medicine to their "plague," the faster it will spread.
Because the prescription was genuine and the medicine did indeed provide relief, no one suspected that the folk doctors "coerced" by the Huaiyuan Army were the root cause of the plague's spread.
Then, predictably... they were all wiped out.
It's not some profound strategy, but in warfare, throughout history, what matters is blood and guts. The victor is king, the loser is villain, and even death is glorious.
Very few people would resort to such a sneaky scheme, and even fewer could create a "plague".
Bitao also captured tens of thousands of enemy soldiers.
Moreover, if this were a real star realm, Bitao would surely be promoted and richly rewarded for keeping these tens of thousands of prisoners of war alive but not well enough to survive, and for returning to the imperial city to fulfill the emperor's orders.
After all, she didn't just "drive the Huaiyuan Army back to its homeland," she directly plundered tens of thousands of soldiers from other countries.
These people were brought back to Tang'an Kingdom, and now it was Huaiyuan Kingdom's turn to ransom the prisoners.
They can easily get a ten-year truce agreement by demanding exorbitant sums.
It would be even better if they didn't redeem themselves. The Huaiyuan Army soldiers could easily be used as slaves, since they are in good health. They could be harnessed and used to pull millstones, or scattered and sent to mine coal, quarry, or clear land—all would be quite good.
They had previously humiliated the Tang An soldiers, making them unable to die with dignity, so Bi Tao decided to let them live to create benefits for the Tang An Kingdom, serving as slaves until death.
Above the clouds, Bitao opened her eyes, looked in the direction of the two immortals from the Ministry of War, and answered their questions: "I choose to fight without bloodshed."
"This..." The Yin Goddess Jade Maiden of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods wanted to speak, saying that Bi Tao had won.
However, this debate was designed to examine her state of mind when faced with difficult choices.
It's like someone pointing to a yin-yang symbol and asking Bitao if it's black or white, and Bitao replies, "It's round."
Just as the Goddess Liuding was about to speak, the Yang God Jade Man beside her spoke first: "This cannot be considered a victory for you; your answer is completely irrelevant."
Bitao looked at Yangshen Yunan, who frowned and said, "The questions I, the Ministry of War, ask you are to examine your heart of killing and compassion."
"However, now that you have broken through to the next level, I will give you another chance to answer."
With a wave of his hand, Yang Shenyu Nan changed the illusion, and Bi Tao entered the illusion again.
This time, the scene changes; instead of forcing the enemy to the cliffs of a canyon, the two armies clash on a plain.
The Wudu Mountains have been transformed into a vast plain, with no water available for the peaches to be "poisoned." The climate has also completely changed, turning into summer.
They still face the question of whether to advance or retreat.
Bitao knew that Yang Shen Yu Nan had a problem with her because of Tai Chi and insisted that she start over... Fine, fine.
When the tent flap was opened, the deputy general who came in to report was none other than Yang Shen Yunan himself.
Bitao: "..."
Does he hate her that much? He actually stepped in to stop her himself?
Yang Shen Yu Nan is now Bi Tao's right-wing general. After explaining the current situation to Bi Tao, he looked at her and waited for her to make a decision.
Bitao still ordered the army to retreat.
Then I spent the whole night looking at the sand table.
They even brought scouts to the camp to get a good look at this recreated "illusion."
Later, they brought in medical doctors.
Every day thereafter, he sent out the ordnance officers in the ranks to make purchases, buying many nets at the market.
Yang Shen Yu Nan was wary of Bi Tao repeating her old tricks and poisoning Huai Yuan's army. Every day, he asked Bi Tao what to do and watched as the medical doctors prevented them from stockpiling medicine for the plague.
Bitao didn't hide anything from Yangshen Yunan, but Yangshen Yunan couldn't guess Bitao's next move.
After buying the nets, Bitao sent her officers out in separate teams to catch many of the poisonous earth bees that were commonly found on the plains.
On the eve of the Huaiyuan Kingdom's army's challenge, Bitao ordered her men to launch surprise attacks from multiple directions from their camp.
They fought and then left, howling and yelling, seemingly just there to annoy them.
The next day, when the battle began, Bitao's team covered their helmets with nets and released the poisonous bees they had captured for many days, specifically to sting the enemy army.
Undeterred by the poisonous bees, Bitao and her companions charged forward after the enemy's vanguard, which was in control of the prisoners, was thrown into disarray, and seized the prisoners and civilians.
Then the war officially began, and poisonous bees were released every day; the poisonous bees were their vanguard.
This victory was still a very impressive one.
Before the battle, Yang Shen Yu Nan was not protected by a net, and no one reminded him. His weapon must have been tampered with as well. He was stung by earth bees and could not speak. His gaze towards Bi Tao was very complicated.
Bitao used a feint, leading a surprise attack on one side while simultaneously scattering honey from the earth bees into the enemy's armory on the other.
Honey is extremely sticky, and even if it's wiped off, it will leave a scent that wild bees can recognize.
Wild bees are extremely vengeful. After their hives are destroyed and they've been kept in captivity for so many days, once they're released, they'll follow the scent of honey and sting their victims.
Moreover, all the nets in the nearby towns have been bought up by Bitao, and Huaiyuan Kingdom can't deliver them in time. On the battlefield, you can cover your face with a cloth, but your eyebrows and eyes still have to be exposed, right?
As a result, a portion of the captured Huaiyuan army were swollen up like frogs that had become spirits.
The army triumphed, and the illusion shattered once more.
When Yang Shenyu returned to the clouds, his first reaction was to touch his face.
The swelling, pain, and piercing itching seemed to linger on my face.
He knew that Bitao was doing it on purpose, but thinking about how the poisonous bees had been invincible these past few days, his gaze towards Bitao took on a different look.
Bitao replied to him, "Was my answer perfect enough this time? None of the prisoners or civilians died."
However, after a moment of contemplation, Yang Shen Yu Nan still said, "You're still not answering the question."
Then, seemingly determined to make things difficult for Bitao, he led her into an illusion.
The terrain changed again, this time turning into jungle warfare.
In the jungle battle, Bitao utilized the venom of a poisonous snake.
The poisoned arrows were extremely effective, killing instantly upon contact with blood. She poisoned the enemy army in large numbers, once again perfectly rescuing prisoners and civilians.
Yang Shen Yu Nan "misstepped" and fell into a deep pit where Bi Tao gathered poisonous snakes, and was bitten and howled.
But even back in the clouds, he was still unconvinced.
So, the next thing to happen was a water battle.
He was thinking about naval warfare; surely Bitao wouldn't be able to use those poisons anymore?
As expected, Bitao retreated for many days in a row.
They had many large kites made and purchased a lot of kerosene.
Then, on a particularly good day with the right wind direction, I personally led people to "fly kites".
The kite, carrying kerosene, landed on the boat and burned the Huaiyuan army, causing them to cry out in agony.
The Huaiyuan Army had no other options but to jump overboard and be captured, or to be burned alive.
Bitao won another great victory.
Returning to the clouds, Yang Shen Yu Nan escaped the predicament of accidentally "falling into" a barrel of kerosene, being burned, and then being thrown into the water.
The smell of kerosene still lingered in his mouth and nose.
He looked at Bitao, but his eyes had completely changed.
He was killed by Bitao in revenge many times, but as a member of the Ministry of War, his favorite thing was naturally leading troops into battle.
The most revered were the ancient war gods.
Bitao's methods of leading troops were different from any of the ancient gods he had read about in the ancient books.
But... but she's really amazing!
The pain of being burned by the oil transformed into a different kind of fervor, which was now suppressed in his eyes as he gazed at Bitao with admiration.
With a wave of his hand, he was about to pull her back into the illusion.
He wanted to continue practicing with Bitao! This time, he would be her opponent! He wanted to know how many more tricks she had up her sleeve!
Looking at his overly ardent gaze, Bitao smiled slightly and said, "Immortal Master, you don't necessarily have to choose between killing and mercy. All's fair in war. Why fight a bloody war when there's a way to subdue the enemy without fighting?"
Bitao didn't want to waste any more time, so she straightened her posture and replied to Yang Shenyu: "If one day I am out of options and the country is destroyed, even if the other side holds my weakness and I am condemned for all eternity, I will make the choice to never back down."
"To stop killing with killing is to refrain from killing."
Yang Shen Yu Nan repeated, "To stop killing with killing is... not to kill."
"Okay. Hahahaha!"
You won!
He did not create any more illusions, even though he was still eager to continue "playing" with Bitao.
But Bitao gave him a real answer, so Yangshen Yunan naturally wouldn't make things difficult for her anymore.
Yang Shen Yu Nan indeed harbored resentment towards Bi Tao Shi Zhe for attacking him and causing him to lose face.
But Yang Shen Yu Nan, being a martial god in the Ministry of War, was not truly a despicable villain. He grew up following the traditions of the ancient immortal clan, his thinking was rigid, he looked down on Bi Tao's behavior, and he usually hated evil as if it were his enemy. He was also careless with his words and said some bad things about Bi Tao.
He never sought revenge, and even refrained from using his true spiritual energy to harm Bitao's attendant. This wasn't entirely out of fear of being accused of murdering a fellow immortal; rather, it was because he was well aware that speaking ill of others behind their backs was wrong.
But he decided that once Bitao was promoted to the rank of Grand Immortal, he would personally go to apologize to her!
In the eyes of the God of War who commands troops, the strong are always respected.
Bitao's unexpected victories in these battles completely won over Yang Shenyu Nan, even inspiring him to revere her.
He must find an opportunity to re-enter the illusion and properly spar with Bitao.
When Bitao heard Yang Shen Yu Nan say that she had won, she tilted her head slightly, somewhat surprised.
Did he stop trying to find other reasons to stop her?
What was even more surprising was that when the two looked at each other, the Yang Shen Yu Nan, whose eyes were filled with undisguised fervor, and whose previously aloof and unapproachable demeanor, now gave Bi Tao a somewhat silly smile.
He was born quite well; there's no celestial being who isn't good-looking. His gloomy face used to only make people feel unlucky, but now when he smiles, his slightly longer front teeth make him look like a clever little rabbit, with a touch of innocence.
He suddenly pointed to himself while looking at Bitao and introduced himself: "My name is Luohui. We'll enter the illusion together sometime in the future."
The Yin Goddess beside him stretched out a hand and silently covered half of her face.
Bitao: "..."
She knew that this Yang Shen Jade Man was named Luo Hui.
Bitao knows the names of all the immortals above the level of the Nine Heavens who frequently reside in the Celestial Capital.
However, the words "Luo Hui" (落晖, meaning sunset) are not considered auspicious for Bi Tao (碧桃, a type of peach blossom).
Because it was sunset, the sky was ablaze with color, a truly breathtaking sight.
But this means another whole day is about to pass! Several more years have passed in the lower realm.
Bitao interpreted Luohui's overly eager gaze as a sign that he was still unconvinced and wanted to argue with her.
She didn't have time to play with him.
Bitao had not specifically learned about Luo Hui, and was unaware that Luo Hui hated evil as if it were his enemy, had a fierce temperament, and was a martial arts fanatic.
For so many years he has had few rivals, but now that he has met a beautiful woman, his eyes shine like the stars in the sky.
Bitao withdrew her gaze and looked at Qingming.
The Azure Emperor also spoke up at the opportune moment: "In this debate, the Jade Peach Immortal wins."
Then the formation was activated, and the gifts of heaven and earth poured in. Bi Tao's heart chakra devoured the thief's soul, becoming perfectly integrated, from then on, evil poison could not invade, and her spiritual energy remained concentrated and undiminished.
With Bitao's fifth debater winning, only Lei's final debater remained out of the six departments.
Kunyi, the Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Realms who can represent the Thunder Department in debating with Bitao, has not yet returned since leading people to investigate the Mountain and Water Department of Jinghaiwang last night.
Bitao was anxious, but she had no choice but to wait.
Once the formation was deployed again, blocking the nurturing of the spiritual artifact, Bitao was once again drawn into the Silver River Net.
As soon as she connected, Bitao saw the comments on Yinhan Gu, with all the immortals lined up to congratulate her.
—Congratulations to Bitao Xuanxian on her victory in the debate!
However, Bitao glanced at the identical words below and noticed one that was different.
—Congratulations to Bitao Xuanxian on the birth of her new dog!
Bitao was taken aback; it was rare for her to hear something she didn't understand.
She looked down along that line and then she understood.
They were referring to Immortal Master Luohui.
"I'm all too familiar with Immortal Luo Hui's gaze. Isn't that the same way Tai Chi looks at Fairy Bi Tao?"
"Tai Chi, come back quickly! Someone's trying to steal Bi Tao Fairy from you!"
"I laughed so hard I couldn't get up. You were tortured/killed several times in Immortal Luohui's illusion, but you ended up falling in love with him, right?"
"Waaaaah... I also want to be Bitao Xuanxian's dog, but I'm just an ordinary person, indistinguishable from other immortals, and I don't even have the chance to come into contact with Bitao Xuanxian..."
"Wait until she finishes her debate, then go directly to her Palace of All Living Beings to find her. She's a very nice person, not at all arrogant!"
"Really……"
...
Comments like these were everywhere, leaving Bitao both amused and exasperated.
She moved to the lower realm competition arena and saw Mingguang leading a group in battle.
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