Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2651 Still Vigorous in Old Age 35.0
Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian exchanged a glance, agreeing with what Chu Han had said.

Whether it was the Liao or the Jin dynasties, those responsible for charging were ordinary soldiers, and a considerable number of them were not even ordinary soldiers.

Ordinary soldiers were ordinary people from various tribes of the Liao and Jin dynasties. They followed their tribal leaders to fight in order to survive. If they didn't have problems making a living, they wouldn't have joined the army.

The tribal chiefs had to pay these people a certain amount, and the amount couldn't be too low, so for many chiefs, this was a considerable expense.

Whether it was Yelü Nan, Yelü Lan, or Xiao Fengqi, they all said that raising an army was actually the most expensive thing. Of the businesses that the Yelü brothers ran together, and the businesses that Xiao Fengqi and the Qi family did in secret, only a small portion was used for their own benefit; the vast majority was used to raise an army.

As for those who charged ahead on the battlefield, responsible for charging and fighting, most of them were slaves owned by the tribes. The tribal leaders did not need to worry about the life or death of these slaves. They did not even need to pay them much. As long as they were given one meal a day, they would be able to make these slaves work for them like crazy.

It is unclear when it began, but a saying circulated in the Liao and Jin dynasties that if these slaves made great contributions on the battlefield and survived, they would have a great chance of being freed from slavery and becoming commoners. If they made even greater contributions, they might even be promoted to become new nobles and achieve true upward mobility.

This is not a pipe dream, but something that actually happened.

For example, the female generals under Wanyan Ping were originally slaves who rose through the ranks based on their military merits, while the generals under Yelü Lan who commanded troops were originally slaves of the Xiao family.

Therefore, such a precedent gave many slaves hope. They all hoped to change their origins and status through a war, so much so that even knowing that there was a pit of fire ahead and that they might die, they still rushed forward regardless.

Of course, besides this, there is an even more important reason: if they retreat or desert in the face of battle, they will not survive when they return.

“No matter where you are, deserting or retreating in the face of battle will not save you. It’s no big deal.” After hearing Shen Cha’s words, Xue Ruitian waved his hand. “As for this removal from the register, I’ve heard of it before, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

"It's true, but it's extremely rare." Shen Cha sighed softly. "Over the years, as far as we know, the number of people who have truly escaped slavery can be counted on two hands. You could say that out of ten thousand slaves, only one or two can escape slavery, right?"

“That’s true.” Xue Ruitian nodded. “The female generals under Wanyan Ping’s command were actually chosen because they saved her life on the battlefield, and they also grew up together. So, once Wanyan Ping had the power to make decisions, she elevated her close friends to new positions of authority. As for the Xiao family members…” He looked at Shen Cha and said, “I’m not very clear about them.”

"Actually, they're similar to those female generals like Wanyan Ping. They once saved Xiao Fengqi's father, and they did indeed achieve numerous military exploits on the battlefield—not against us, but against the Jin Kingdom. They even captured the Jin general Hachimu alive. Even without the life-saving grace, they could have been exempted from the Jin Kingdom's status based on that alone. However..."

“Such military achievements are very difficult to obtain, and they also require the appreciation of the master, as well as other miscellaneous factors. All of these must be considered together before it's possible to be released from slavery, right?” Seeing Shen Cha nod, Xue Ruitian raised an eyebrow, sneered, and said, “But those tribal chiefs and nobles won't say these things to the slaves. They'll only say that by working hard and achieving merit, they might be able to be released from slavery and live the life of an ordinary person. As for when that goal can be achieved, that's not something the tribal chiefs and nobles consider.” “But…” Xia Chen thought for a moment and said, “Will those slaves believe that?”

"Believe in what? That you can get rid of your citizenship?" Seeing Xia Chen nod, Shen Cha sighed. "Maybe you know it's a lie, but you're still willing to believe it, at least there's hope, isn't there?"

“That’s true.” Xia Chen sighed as well. “Xiao Cha, please continue.”

“Let’s continue talking about the city gate, right?” Seeing everyone nod, Shen Cha continued, “At that time, the city was short of troops. If we wanted to preserve our strength, we could only rely on tricks. In winter, we froze people into statues, and at other times we burned them. So, the area near the city gate was all scorched earth. It wasn’t until the Shen family army arrived and repaired the city gate and the entire Jiaping Pass that this place began to resemble a city.”

“That’s true.” Shen Haolin nodded. “When I first came here, they said this place was a city. Xiao Tian’er and I couldn’t believe it. It’s even worse than the villages we’ve seen before.”

“Haolin is right.” Xue Ruitian sighed and said, “That’s why we cried back then. We never imagined that there would be such a dilapidated place in the Great Xia.”

“You guys haven’t seen it, these two were crying.” Chu Han thought back to the scene at the time. Although many years had passed, he still found it very funny. “It was so touching. The onlookers didn’t know why they were crying. They even asked them if they couldn’t find their way home. There were even kidnappers who wanted to take the opportunity to abduct them. Luckily, I arrived and was able to take them away.”

"And the one who tried to abduct us is the very person our great-uncle was chasing, right?"

"Hmm!" Chu Han nodded. "Although he was so scared when he saw me that he tried to run away, I had already sent my men to follow him. So, he didn't even run a few steps before I caught him. He's not a kidnapper; to be precise, he's a tomb raider."

"A tomb raider?" Shen Cha raised an eyebrow. "Did he dig up some incredible tomb that made my great-uncle chase him all the way from Jiangnan to the border?"

"He's incredibly audacious, forcibly entering the imperial tomb of a previous dynasty." Chu Han sneered. "No, to be precise, he already went in, but because he triggered a trap inside, all his companions died, and he narrowly escaped. Although he escaped, as the saying goes, a thief never leaves empty-handed, and he still managed to take some things out of the imperial tomb. If he hadn't sold these things, no one would have known that such a thing had happened. But tomb raiders, the reason they go down into tombs is to take things out and exchange them for money."

"So it got found out, but shouldn't this kind of case be handled by your great-uncle?"

"That's how it was supposed to be, but this kidnapper has a murder on his hands." Chu Han looked at Shen Haolin, then at Xue Ruitian, Song Yaojia, and Xia Chen. "You should have heard about the kidnapping and murder of Grand Tutor Du's grandson, right?"

"Grand Tutor Du?" Xia Chen frowned slightly. "I know. That case was extremely horrific. The murderer was ultimately executed by slow slicing."