Xiao Che's words, "Burn it all up," were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, silencing the entire military depot.
Even a seasoned general like Meng Wei was stunned by this order. He looked up abruptly at the young emperor standing tall and straight like a sword in the firelight, his face filled with shock and confusion.
"Your Majesty!" Meng Wei hesitated, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, "This...this is all grain in here! Although...although most of it is old and moldy rice, it can at least fill our stomachs. To burn it like this, isn't that too much..."
What a pity!
This is an instinct ingrained in the bones of every general who cherishes military rations.
Before Xiao Che could answer, Qian Canjun, who was lying on the ground, suddenly burst into a maniacal laugh as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Hahaha...hahahaha! He's gone mad! The emperor has gone mad!"
Like a dying mad dog, he propped himself up, tears streaming down his face, pointing at Xiao Che and screaming at Meng Wei, "Meng Wei! Did you hear that? He wants to burn the imperial grain! Burn the military supplies! This is treason! A heinous crime! If you dare to listen to him, you are an accomplice! Do you dare to die with him?!"
He thought he had grasped at the last straw. The emperor had gone mad, but as long as Meng Wei, the powerful general, retained a shred of reason, he wouldn't follow suit!
Zhang San and the others, as if seeing a glimmer of hope, cried out, "General, please reconsider! If you burn the granary, we'll all lose our heads!"
Indeed, a look of struggle appeared on Meng Wei's face. Reason told him that Qian Canjun was right. Burning down the military supply depot, regardless of the reason, would be enough to trigger a huge political storm if the news reached the capital.
However, Xiao Che merely glanced coldly at Qian Canjun, who appeared to be insane, his eyes showing no wavering but instead filled with endless contempt.
He ignored Meng Wei's hesitation and the villain's shouts, and kicked Qian Canjun, who was still laughing wildly, to the ground, making him swallow the rest of his words.
Then, Xiao Che bent down and picked up the dusty "real ledger" that Qian Canjun had dropped.
He walked slowly to the blazing brazier, the firelight casting flickering shadows on his face, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness.
All the soldiers present, including Meng Wei, held their breath, looking at their emperor in bewilderment, wondering what he would do next.
Xiao Che slowly turned to the first page of the ledger.
He held the ledger high and, in a clear, cold, emotionless voice—a voice loud enough for everyone to hear—proclaimed the first name:
"Wang Ergou, Third Company of the New Recruit Battalion, died in action at Heifengkou, awarded First Class Merit. Compensation: Thirty taels."
He paused here, his gaze sweeping across Qian Canjun on the ground like a blade, his voice suddenly rising:
"—Being embezzled!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he tore the page off the ledger with a "rip".
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he threw the page filled with sins into the fire!
"call--!"
The paper was instantly engulfed by the flames, turning into a wisp of smoke that dissipated into the night sky.
"This is not grain!"
Xiao Che's voice, as if coming from the deepest hell, carried endless chill and grief, resounding in everyone's ears:
"This is the blood of soldiers!"
He turned to another page and continued reading aloud:
"Li Sidan, scout battalion, has been guarding the border for six years. He has three winter clothes, all made of high-quality cotton."
His voice shifted again, filled with endless sarcasm:
"—Replaced! Replaced with rotten reeds!"
"Sizzle!"
Another page was torn off and thrown into the flames.
"This isn't an account book! This is the wronged soul rotting in the bellies of you parasites!"
"Zhang Dashan, cook, is entitled to 300 shi of new rice!"
"--Detained! Replaced with sand and moldy rice!"
"Sizzle!"
"Zhao Xiaohu, a member of the suicide squad, lost an arm and was crippled. He has returned to his hometown in glory and deserves a settlement allowance of fifty taels of silver!"
"—Fouled! Fouled as a deserter, and not paid a single penny!"
"Sizzle!"
Xiao Che's movements were like those of a tireless judge, reading out the list of the dead.
Every time he called out a name, he tore off a page and threw it into the fire.
Every name he uttered represented a once vibrant life, a loyal soldier.
Every page he tore off represented a heinous crime, a life swallowed up.
The tearing sound of paper and the whooshing sound of paper being consumed by flames intertwined to form a most tragic and furious requiem.
At first, the surrounding soldiers were simply shocked and puzzled.
But as familiar or unfamiliar names were read out, and as crimes they had personally experienced or heard about were revealed, their eyes changed.
Shock turned into anger.
What was initially incomprehensible turned into a deep sense of shared sorrow.
Among them, some knew the honest new recruit nicknamed "Wang Ergou" and knew that he had an elderly mother at home waiting for him to send money back for medical treatment.
Some of them had slept on the same kang (heated brick bed) with "Li Sidan" and knew that he was most afraid of the cold and that his hands would be covered in chilblains every winter.
Many of them had eaten moldy rice mixed with sand and worn reed clothes that didn't keep them warm!
It turns out that all the suffering and injustice they endured were meticulously recorded in this dirty ledger!
It turns out that their blood, sweat, and lives are nothing more than cold numbers on the ledger that can be erased or replaced at will in the eyes of these parasites!
An uncontrollable rage burned fiercely in the hearts of all the soldiers! Their chests heaved violently, their teeth clenched so tightly they made a "cracking" sound, and their eyes turned bloodshot as they stared intently at the group of corrupt officials who lay limp as mud on the ground.
If looks could kill, Qian Canjun and Zhang San would have been tortured to death a thousand times over!
Meng Wei was stunned. He stared blankly at the emperor standing before the firelight, proclaiming the sins of the people like a god descending to earth. The rational thought of "cherishing military rations" in his heart had long been replaced by overwhelming anger and shame.
As the commander-in-chief of Zhenbei Pass, he knew very little about the suffering his soldiers were enduring, and even once thought that the morale of the army was high! What a dereliction of duty! What a disgrace!
"Thump!"
Meng Wei knelt on one knee again. This time, he lowered his usually proud head and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty! This humble general... is guilty!"
Xiao Che didn't look at him. He tore off the last page of the ledger and threw the empty cover into the fire as well.
He turned around, facing the group of soldiers behind him whose eyes burned with the flames of revenge, and facing the ashamed Meng Wei. His voice was no longer cold, but filled with endless sorrow and determination:
"Keeping this moldy, rotten rice is the greatest insult to the heroic souls who died on the battlefield!"
"Rather than letting our soldiers eat this pig swill and risk their lives for the country, we should burn it all down and offer it as a sacrifice to the innocent souls who have been cheated, slandered, and devoured!"
His voice, like a resounding bell, struck heavily into everyone's heart.
All the soldiers' eyes were red. They remembered their fallen comrades and the injustices they had suffered. A surge of anger rushed to their heads, and they wished they could devour those parasites alive!
Xiao Che's gaze slowly passed over the crowd and finally settled on the old soldier, Li Daniu, who was huddled in a corner with tears streaming down his face.
The old soldier whose son was falsely accused of being a "deserter" and whose pension was embezzled was so badly received that he didn't even dare to cry out loud.
Xiao Che slowly reached out his hand and took a burning torch from a soldier beside him.
He held the torch high, the flame illuminating his young and resolute face, and the unwavering determination in his eyes.
He said something to the stunned veteran that everyone would never forget:
"Old General,"
He referred to an ordinary veteran as "general".
"You light this fire!"
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