It’s hard to break a phoenix’s destiny

Chapter 554: Liu Yao's Ruthless Military Administration

He felt a little dazed in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained the demeanor of a general.

He did not take the cake that Liu Cheng handed over, but just smiled and said: "You are still growing, you should eat more. If the Shaoying Group is short of food, feel free to come to Daddy's tent to find it."

"Thank you, father." Even though Liu Yao was so kind, Liu Cheng did not dare to go over and act rudely. He knew the rules very well, which made Liu Yao sigh a few times in his heart.

After inspecting the ruins, he was also somewhat frightened. The fire was indeed quite large. If the Young Heroes had managed to escape unscathed, they were truly lucky. "Why didn't you set up guards? This is a taboo in a military campaign! Even if you are all fine now, this general will still hold you accountable!"

"Yes!" The members of the Shaoying Group also straightened up immediately, "Let the general handle it."

"Who was on duty yesterday?" Liu Yao's voice became more severe. The young generals trembled all over, and Liu Cheng immediately raised his head and replied: "It was me, Qi Yue, Zhao Guang and Wang Shu."

“Why didn’t you fulfill your responsibilities?”

"We marched in the bamboo forest for three days, and we had to take a circuitous route through it. We were extremely tired, and I fell asleep in the quiet night. It was my son's fault, and I am willing to accept the punishment." Liu Cheng was quite loyal and took half a step forward on his own.

"You are the one who made the biggest mistake. The others should not be let off either." Liu Yao didn't care. He looked at the other three people. They were younger than Liu Cheng, thinner, and even in rags. They looked very pitiful. However, military discipline was like this. He couldn't let them off, otherwise he would have no way to be strict in the future. "Go to the big tent in front. Each of you will receive ten military sticks."

"Yes!" The four people agreed immediately without hesitation.

"Who saved you? This person should be rewarded." Rewards and punishments were clearly defined. Liu Yao recalled that these people had just said that someone had saved them. This was more than a hundred lives. "Where did this woman come from? How could there be a woman?"

"She's not some old woman." Liu Cheng pursed his lips. "She's just someone who helps us with laundry, mending, and treating the wounded. I met a very pitiful woman at the gate of Luoyang City more than two months ago. Seeing her help in treating wounds very quickly, I thought that we should also have someone like her to do some groceries for our Shaoying Group..."

"What kind of nonsense is this? What if she has family? Why do you let her follow us? Besides, we are going to fight!" Liu Yao was anxious again, "Don't the doctors have people there? If you need them, just go there directly. Why do you have to bring people with you? Why didn't you report it?"

"... I took them all..." Liu Cheng didn't know how to answer, and started to act like a spoiled child. "Father, I've asked this person, and her family has long been scattered. It's not easy for her to live as a woman, and it's dangerous even for her to go back to her hometown. I think she should follow us, and when she finds a suitable place, we can let her go."

"Bring the person here!" Liu Yao refused to listen to his explanation and directly asked his close followers to find the person.

"Hey, she went to pick wild vegetables and is not here now." Liu Cheng pouted again, "Then our clothes are torn, there must be someone to mend them."

"No!" Liu Yao's eyes flashed with coldness, "I don't care how others manage, my army must be cleared of all the idle people!" "Oh, father." Liu Cheng rarely begged Liu Yao, and he knelt down, "I'll find a place for her to go later. It's not good for a woman like her to go in this dense forest and deep mountain."

"Hmph, let's deal with this as soon as possible." Liu Yao looked at this face that finally revealed its childishness, and his heart softened a little. "Let her go as soon as possible. Of course, don't treat her badly. After all, she saved your lives. Give her some silver as compensation. Come to my tent later to get a hundred taels."

"Oh." Liu Cheng was a little unhappy, but seeing Liu Yao so serious, he couldn't say anything more, so he just nodded and agreed. Of course, he still had to receive the Ten Military Sticks, which was painful just thinking about it.

After turning around and leaving the resting place of the Shaoying Group, Liu Yao immediately said to his deputy general He Chi: "Send someone to check. There can't be any women in my team, not even old women."

"There are also several women on the doctor's side." He Chi grinned, "They are responsible for washing and boiling medicine."

"We have been losing battles one after another and running for three days and three nights. Do you think they have the stamina to keep up?" Liu Yao rolled his eyes at him. Although he had always refused to admit that he had lost the battle, he still said it at this moment. "If we keep running like this, we don't know where we will end up. That old man Liang Zong is chasing us so closely. We have to speed up."

"Yes." Deputy General He Chi also knew the current situation and immediately nodded in agreement.

Liu Yao led his men to continue checking the status of his team, walking through the bamboo forest. Because of the light rain and snow, the weather became even colder. However, his face became uglier. Because he found that in every camp, after the soldiers left, the cooks in the army would quietly smash the iron pots and bury them in the ashes.

And along the way, he found that many squads did the same. Iron pots were very precious to the army. After all, cooking on the march was a big deal. If these soldiers didn't even have food to eat, could they continue to fight hard?

The more he looked, the angrier he got. Liu Yao didn't even have the mood to continue walking. Instead, he shouted, "Get all the cooks here!"

He Chi was thinking about going to check on the doctor in a while, but he was called back by this shout, and quickly asked his men to call the nearest cooks over. These people were not young anymore, and because they had no fighting ability, they were arranged to cook for everyone in the back. Of course, they ran together when they escaped, so there was no difference.

Seven or eight people knelt in front of Liu Yao, not knowing why the general was so angry. They were all a little uneasy, lowering their heads and questioning each other with their eyes. This made Liu Yao even more angry, and he shouted directly: "Who told you to do this? You even smashed the iron pot. Don't you want to live? Or do you want to leave a secret signal to the enemy? In this weather, can't the soldiers have a bite of hot food?"

"The iron pot is too heavy, which is not conducive to...marching." A head cook answered tremblingly. He did not dare to say clearly that they were running away because they could not carry the iron pot.

"What a joke! You guys can carry it on your back during a war?" Liu Yao was so angry that he laughed and kicked him. The head cook immediately fell to the side, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. A younger cook next to him shouted, "General! My elder brother is right, this iron pot is really heavy, try running with it on your back!"

"How outrageous." Deputy General He Chi spoke up quickly, angering Liu Yao, who was afraid that these people would lose their lives.