A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

The whole city.

The weather was sunny, and although the temperature in March was still quite cold, the sunshine made it a little warmer.

Li Rui is doing ideological work with the prisoners.

Mancheng is now Khitan territory, but before 938, it belonged to the Central Plains.

After the puppet emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, it was not until the Ming Dynasty that the area was brought back into the Han people's fold for more than four hundred years.

This was only seven years after the complete loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun in 938.

The majority of people living here are still Han Chinese.

Of the 1,700 captured defenders in the city, only 400 were Khitans, while the remaining 1,300 were Han Chinese.

Li Rui pointed to his hair and asked loudly.

"What is this?"

The prisoners remained silent, so Li Rui answered his own question.

"This is hair, it's the Han Chinese hairstyle! It's the Han Chinese headdress!"

Li Rui then pointed to the head of a Khitan man.

"What is this?"

The Khitan man, with his bald head, trembled with fear.

A bald head is a characteristic of their ethnic hairstyle, called "shaving the head".

In layman's terms, it means polishing the middle while leaving the sides untouched.

From the perspective of the Central Plains people's aesthetics, it was not only ugly, but also contrary to filial piety.

Li Rui did not continue to ask and answer his own question, because the 1,300 Han prisoners already understood his meaning.

They are Han Chinese; you can tell who their compatriots are just by looking at their hair.

Li Rui planted a knife in the ground and shouted at the prisoners.

"Those who want to remain Han Chinese, stand on the left! Those who don't want to be Han Chinese and want to be dogs for the Khitans, I'll personally shave their heads!"

Upon hearing this, many prisoners quickly ran to the left, but some remained standing still.

Before Li Rui could ask a question, one of them angrily retorted.

"Grandpa, you don't need to tell me, you're naturally Han Chinese too! But why are we dogs for the Khitans? Shouldn't we ask that damned emperor surnamed Shi!?"

"Yes! That's right! Do we want to surrender to the Khitan?"

"My entire family of four is in Mancheng. That dog emperor Shi Jingtang is eager to become a son of the Khitans, and he even sold us out to them. What choice do I have but to kneel down?!"

"That's right! Your emperor is unjust, so don't blame us for surrendering to the Khitan!"

Niu Ben, standing to the side, was about to roar in anger upon hearing these treasonous words.

Li Rui raised his hand to stop them, staring at the angry soldiers of the city, and said solemnly.

"You're right, that bastard Shi Jingtang truly doesn't deserve to be emperor. He's the one who has wronged you!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned!

Niu Ben was so anxious he almost jumped up!

He quickly whispered.

"Brother, you mustn't speak carelessly!"

Li Rui, however, said...

"What did I say wrong?"

Niu Ben was speechless.

Because any patriotic Han Chinese man would feel ashamed and indignant at Shi Jingtang's act of ceding land like a son!

However, the current court is the Jin Dynasty founded by Shi Jingtang, and the current emperor is Shi Jingtang's successor.

To so brazenly criticize the founding emperor of our dynasty is a capital offense!

However, Li Rui didn't care.

"Fellow countrymen, your surrender to the Khitan was not your fault! The fault lay with the court and with Shi Jingtang personally!"

If he wants to be a son, let him go and serve the Khitan alone! If he wants to cede territory, he should at least ask us, the valiant sons of Han, whether we agree or not!

These words struck a chord with the Han people who had suffered grievances and humiliations for seven years.

Overwhelmed with emotion, my nose stung and tears streamed down my face.

Who doesn't want to be a proud and upright Han Chinese?

Who would be willing to bow and scrape to those bald barbarians?

No matter what, it's all Shi Jingtang's fault!

Why should these honest, hardworking men from good families, who honestly farm and fight in the army, be forced to be subservient?

Those Khitans have been lording it over everyone in the city for seven whole years!

At this moment, someone finally spoke their mind!

Finally, someone understood their helplessness, and finally, someone dared to point at Shi Jingtang and curse him.

You're a fucking slut!

The more than one thousand soldiers in the city were all in tears.

"Ughhh! I've had such a hard time these past few years!"

"Those damned Khitan dogs! They've delayed paying our soldiers' wages for two years, forcing my family to sell our land and even our daughter!"

"What's that? My elder brother's family were honest and hardworking, farming just fine. But when the Khitan dogs came, they robbed the whole family of everything, even my sister-in-law was kidnapped by them, and we still don't know if she's alive or dead. My poor elder brother is still insane!"

Upon hearing the complaints of these soldiers from all over the city, some officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Camp could not help but speak out as well.

Most of them were from Dingzhou. If the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun still existed, their hometown would not have suffered from war.

However, Shi Jingtang sold the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, which made Dingzhou the front line directly facing the Khitan.

Moreover, without the Yan-Yun barrier, it was as if the Central Plains had lost its gate, allowing the Khitan cavalry to drive straight in and plunder as they pleased!

Which of these soldiers from Dingzhou did not have a blood feud with the Khitans?

Their hometowns were looted, and their relatives and friends were killed.

At this moment, the people of the city wept with deep emotion, and a feeling of shared suffering spread through the hearts of the soldiers of the Trapped Camp.

"Alas, brother, don't cry. You'll only make those Khitan dogs laugh at you."

"A man doesn't easily shed tears. What are you crying for? If you have the guts, pick up your sword and chop down a few more Khitan dogs!"

A group of grown men huddled together, their shared blood ties silently growing stronger.

Seeing that the time was right, Li Rui gave the order and shouted.

"Take the four hundred Khitan prisoners outside the city and behead them all! Those who wish to be executed, please take the blade!"

There wasn't much food left in the city, and Li Rui wasn't going to be so kind as to treat prisoners of war well.

Besides, these prisoners were Khitans, so killing them was no big deal; I felt no remorse whatsoever.

Those soldiers who had been humiliated by the Khitans, upon hearing that they still had a chance to avenge themselves, didn't care about anything else.

They all took their knives and ran out of the city.

Several high-ranking Khitan officials, who had bullied too many people, were nearly killed by those who wanted to behead them in a fight over a spot!

After a riot, the area outside the city was filled with corpses.

The Han soldiers vented their anger, and when they looked back at Li Rui, their gazes changed.

"May I ask your name, General?"

"Li Rui".

"General Li, please accept our bow!"

The entire city knelt down in a circle. Li Rui, with a serious expression, waved his hand and shouted.

"I accept this bow! But I tell you, the Khitan are powerful, and the whole city will not be able to be defended sooner or later!"

Our righteous army will retreat to Dingzhou sooner or later, and the Khitans will return sooner or later!

Upon hearing this, the soldiers who were feeling sentimental just a moment ago all changed their expressions drastically!

Li Rui seized the opportunity to speak.

"As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. I, Li Rui, guarantee that those who are willing to follow me to Dingzhou will one day recover Yanyun and return home in glory!"

Those who don't want to come with me, lay down your weapons and go home.

A riot broke out among the soldiers throughout the city.

Those soldiers who personally killed the Khitans were particularly distressed at that moment.

If they do not choose to follow Li Rui, they will surely die when the Khitans return!

Niu Ben frowned slightly and lowered his voice.

"Brother, this is inappropriate; it's suspected of harboring a private army."

Unexpectedly, Li Rui said seriously.

"Brother Niu, I am raising a private army. In these chaotic times, emperors change every three to five years. Without an army, it's as if your life isn't your own."

Niu Ben opened his mouth, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

He never expected that Li Rui's ambitions were so great.

After a long wait, the soldiers throughout the city finally reached a conclusion.

Only six hundred people were willing to follow Li Rui and seek development in Dingzhou in the future.

After all, no matter how eloquently they speak, most people would still be unwilling to leave their homes and families.

Li Rui didn't force the issue and made a decisive statement.

"These six hundred men will be given weapons and armor and will be stationed together to guard the city. The remaining seven hundred men will serve as laborers and will be released after the war ends."

Just as the reorganization of the Manchu army was in full swing.

A letter from the rear infuriated Niu Ben, who then launched into a tirade of curses.

"What do you mean by disagreeing with providing compensation for the fallen soldiers? And you want to execute our entire army? What is this damned commander trying to do?!"