Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 562: Shogun
"Grand Marshal's order, each hundred-man team shall nominate five people to gather at the great banner!"

More than a hundred cavalrymen were scattered throughout the camp, repeatedly propaganda.

Some newly reorganized centuries were at a loss, but under the urging of other veterans, they selected five people, put on relatively neat armor, carried swords and spears, and went to gather at the banner.

There were soldiers maintaining order near the big banner. Every time someone came, they would be assigned a position to stand, and a circular array surrounding the giant chariot gradually took shape.

In the western area of ​​the camp, Black Bear was inspecting the scene of the baggage camp where the victims were killed.

The two centurion supervisors who were in charge of the action and four team officers stood by with their heads lowered.

Lu Cui looked nervous, but not too nervous.

When Black Bear checked, he found that there were still some injured but not dead. He turned his head to look at the two centurion supervisors and said, "You guys did a great job in taking the time out of your busy schedule to finish off the enemy."

Upon seeing this, Gao Jun took a few of his personal soldiers and pulled the wounded soldier out from the pile of corpses, and cut the leather ropes that bound his hands with a knife.

More guardsmen put down their spears and halberds and went forward to search for the wounded.

Black Bear came in front of the two centurions and raised his right hand to show his palm. Gao Jun immediately handed over the horsewhip on his waist.

Holding the horsewhip, Black Bear whipped the two centurions on the face, leaving their skin torn and flesh exposed. Blood immediately flowed and dripped down their chins.

The two centurion commanders gritted their teeth and held on, but Black Bear bypassed them and whipped each of the four team officers in the face.

After the beating, he threw the whip to Gao Jun and said in a slow tone: "I think you are just following military orders. I won't investigate further. Go and treat your injuries."

"Here."

Watching the six people walking towards the wounded camp, Black Bear turned to look at Lu Cui: "What do you have to say?"

"Your Majesty, the situation is urgent when the two armies are fighting. I believe I have done nothing wrong. Even if I have made a mistake, it was only a harsh one."

"Nearly a thousand people, and you just killed them all, and you still tell me it wasn't a big mistake?"

Black Bear said as he put his hands together and tied them up: "I promised them that I would not kill them. They believed me, so they tied their hands and watched the battle in the camp. No matter whether the two sides win or lose, they will not be implicated. I am very curious, if they tie their hands like this and the whole camp riots, how many people can be killed or injured?"

At this time, Liu Bei rode his horse closer, and Zhang Fei beside him whispered in his ear, telling him about the unexpected incident.

"I don't mind if a thousand prisoners die, I can capture more. But they are the baggage soldiers I recruited. No matter how lowly they are, they are still my soldiers. It is not your turn to kill them!"

Black Bear looked at Lu Cui, whose body began to tremble: "You are a disciple of Bo Ji Gong. Go and write a letter home, and then accept the punishment."

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Lu Cui immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"

"You are committing a crime, not a mistake."

Seeing that he was still trying to crawl over, Gao Jun stepped forward and kicked Lu Cui on the shoulder. He then lifted Lu Cui up to steady him and whispered, "If you want to die, then die. Don't bring shame to Cai Xue and the villagers."

Lu Cui's legs were weak and he couldn't stand at all.

He looked at Gao Jun, a fellow villager from the same county, with tears streaming down his face. Two of his personal soldiers stepped forward and lifted him up.

Several shogunate officials wanted to step forward to persuade him, but when they saw the undignified scene of Lu Cui kneeling down and begging for mercy, they immediately hesitated.

Saving Lu Cui is in the best interests of the vast majority of people.

But now everyone with a little common sense knows that Lu Cui is dead, and his death can quickly appease and rally the morale of the newly recruited soldiers.

If Lu Cui is not dead, not to mention the newly recruited soldiers, even the surrendered soldiers of Xianyu Fu who were previously recruited would become dissatisfied.

Yuan Shang's main force is still intact. The Wuhuan cavalry were defeated but not routed and are still wandering around. Now they have only eaten up the Zaohu and Tian Yu's troops, and there is still a fight to be done.

Compared with the morale of the army, let alone one Lu Su, even if there were a hundred Lu Su standing there, they would be executed.

Soon, Lu Cui was taken away, his crimes were read out on the chariot, and he was executed in public.

If someone of his status is to be killed, he should be ordered to commit suicide to preserve his dignity, or he should be hanged and displayed in the camp.

This time they did not execute him by beheading. Instead, Lu Cui was tied to a wooden stake near the big banner and stabbed with spears and halberds by representatives sent by each team.

By the time the execution was over, the body had turned into a pool of blood and mud.

Black Bear did not go to watch the execution, and Liu Bei was not interested in it.

No matter how severe the punishment is, the purpose is just to kill and to achieve the effect of killing.

It's not for fun or to watch. We are all people who have experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood. What kind of death have we not seen?

In the barracks, Dian Wei stood behind Black Bear, and behind Liu Bei stood Zhang Fei.

After several of his personal soldiers set up the food and left, Black Bear said, "This war involving millions of soldiers and civilians in the two states could have been avoided."

Liu Bei did not deny it, his expression was a little gloomy: "When I passed Juyongkou, I sent two groups of messengers to the Grand Marshal, but there was no response. One was to explain the inside story, and the other was to take the Hengshan Road to meet up with the Grand Marshal. During this period, I did not receive a reply from the Grand Marshal, so I stayed in Pingcheng."

"It's a coincidence. I only know that Lord Xuande went to Dai through Juyongkou, and I don't know anything else. There is also a secret report saying that Lord Xuande is trying to pacify the heroes of Dai County, and he wants to mobilize all parties to surround and kill me when we meet."

Black Bear also spoke frankly. He examined Liu Bei and said, "In my opinion, either Lord Xuande has been sidelined and has no information or there is a conspiracy waiting for me. Rather than passively accepting and breaking the moves, it is better to take the initiative. I changed my mind and went out of Wuruan Pass through Feihukou, but I didn't expect Hebei to hate me so much. Now it's good. The enemy and I are clearly distinguished. We can defeat and eliminate them one by one."

"Eh~!"

Liu Bei just sighed and asked, "How does the Grand Marshal plan to place me?"

"It depends on whether Gongsun Kang knows what's good for him. If he does, Lord Xuande will be the general who conquers the barbarians and govern the five counties of Liaodong. In the future, he will establish a vassal state here to defend China."

"If he doesn't know what's good for him, Lord Xuande will attack him. But of the six western counties of Youzhou, I can only give up Liaoxi County to Lord Xuande to garrison."

Black Bear said with a smile: "If Lord Xuande can't even take down Gongsun Kang, I think there is no need to discuss many things."

Liu Bei restrained his expression and said, "Is the Grand Marshal so confident that he can defeat the Yuan family?"

"We can defeat him tonight. Lord Xuande, do you want to negotiate terms?"

"Yes, I want to protect the post of Wuhuan Captain, with the righteousness of controlling the Wuhuan tribes, and with the reputation of Grand Marshal Po and Tadun, it will not be difficult for Gongsun Kang to pacify him."

Liu Bei paused, and seeing no rebuttal, he continued, "I will move the people in Dai County who have rebelled against the rebellion to Liaodong."

"Yes. Then please ask Lord Xuande to write a letter so that I can ask General Yunchang to rush to Juyongkou."

Black Bear agreed immediately. Many things outside the battlefield could be compromised.

The most important thing now is to end this war.

He immediately took out a piece of silk book from his arms and handed it to Zhang Fei, who stepped forward and handed it to Dian Wei.

After reading it, Black Bear turned around and shouted, "Come in."

Gao Jun led two military officers in, and Black Bear handed over the silk book: "Give it to General Yunchang personally."

"Here!"

Gao Jun responded in a high voice. Liu Bei looked at Gao Jun's profile, then at Black Bear who was not wearing a mask: "Grand Marshal, is this the son of a high-ranking Langjiang?"

"It was him. After Gao Shun died, his five brothers returned to their hometown and later went to Yizhou to seek refuge with their fellow countrymen. When I invaded Shuzhong, only two of the five brothers survived, and his younger brother Gao Guang was also in my Qinghua Camp."

Black Bear gave a simple explanation, and Liu Bei observed him again and again. After confirming that there was no trace of Lu Bu on Black Bear's face, he felt relieved: "Why does the Grand Marshal think so highly of this man?"

"I respect his father as a person and feel sorry for him, so I take him in as a confidant. Although he is dull, he is still a talented person."

Black Bear said casually, then changed the subject and said: "For a person like me who has few relatives, I don't need someone like Gao Jun. I can't rely on Cai Xue's disciples, right?"

Liu Bei understood this very well. Those who had followed him until now were either military men from humble backgrounds or descendants of large families.

The existence of big surnames is unreliable.

Even though he and Chen Deng admired each other and treated each other as brothers, it was impossible for Chen Deng to risk the future of his clan for him.

Similarly, Chen Deng died in a confusing manner, and Liu Bei would not be angry and raise an army to seek revenge.

After the main key issues were discussed, the two began to eat immediately, and even Zhang Fei sat next to Liu Bei to eat.

The war will start later, and Liu Bei will also join in.

Only when you are full can you fight until dawn.

If things go wrong, you will have to fight day and night until the other side completely collapses.

Yuan's army was fighting to protect their ancestral wealth and the core officers were determined to fight. Even if Yuan Shang was captured, it would be difficult to shake Yuan's army's will to fight.

This was a bloody battle, and Liu Bei didn't like fighting this kind of battle.

(End of this chapter)