I was living in the Five Dynasties period, just after crossing the Zhongdu Bridge.

As Shen Lie lifted up the blood-stained head of Xiang Wen, the morale of the remaining Khitan soldiers also dissipated.

They dropped their bows and knives, and knelt on the ground, babbling incoherently.

Perhaps it was a plea for mercy, perhaps a curse, or perhaps it was reciting some order to surrender.

Barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue; this is an ancient proverb.

Logically speaking, if someone had shouted "Those who surrender will not be killed" at this point, most of these terrified barbarians would have surrendered.

In this chaotic Five Dynasties period, whether soldiers or barbarians, as long as one could survive, it didn't matter who one served as a dog for.

But Shen Lie didn't shout.

It wasn't that he didn't want to shout, but there was a rather awkward reason.

Firstly, he didn't know how to say "those who surrender will not be killed" in Khitan, and the soldiers under his command who were helping the capital were only able to say a few words of their local dialect, and there was no competent translator.

Secondly, keeping these people around is both useless and harmful.

If they were Han soldiers who had fled, they could be incorporated into the army to replenish its ranks; if they were warhorses and supplies, they could be seized to expand the army's equipment.

However, these Khitan soldiers, who could not speak the language and might turn against them at any time, would be a waste of the already limited food supplies if left behind, and would also require special personnel to guard them, making them a pure burden.

On the Guanzhong Road, where human life is as cheap as grass, compassion is reserved for one's own people, not for barbarians.

So, Shen Lie simply glanced around coldly, then slightly pressed his sword down.

Zhao Kuangyin understood this action. He naturally knew that leading a group of prisoners of war who did not speak the language and were strong in combat was a major taboo.

Shen Lie was a man who could share his rations with refugees when he was kind-hearted, but could also kill surrendered soldiers without batting an eye when he was hard-hearted.

What's this called?

This is called "a kind heart cannot command an army, and a righteous heart cannot manage finances."

"kill!"

A single, simple word determined the fate of these dozens of lives.

The screams lasted only a moment before silence returned.

The soldiers who had helped Fuweidu seemed to awaken from a deep dream only at this moment.

Looking at the corpses on the ground and the weapons still dripping blood in their hands, they felt both relief at surviving a calamity and an indescribable ecstasy.

It turns out that these Khitan barbarians who slaughtered the people of the Central Plains like two-legged sheep were also mortals, and could also be cut open with a single stroke.

Although fifty or sixty people were killed or wounded in this battle, those who survived stood tall with pride.

This is what is known as training troops.

Without seeing blood, one cannot know the art of war; without killing barbarians, one cannot know courage.

Thus, this band of bandits who had been entrenched outside Danzhou City and wreaking havoc in the countryside were completely eradicated.

The ground was littered with corpses; not a single person survived.

Shen Lie casually tossed the head of Xiang Wen to Liu Qing, who was cleaning up the battlefield, ignoring the soldiers who were digging up the corpses.

This is an unwritten rule in the army: letting the brothers profit from the dead is how morale is maintained.

He took a rag from his guard, wiped the blood off his hands, and walked toward a corner of the battlefield.

There, the man who had just been forced to call someone "father" was slumped on the ground.

He held the terrified child tightly in his arms, his whole body like a lump of mud, his eyes lifeless, his face covered in tears and humiliation.

His spine seemed to have broken in that sound.

To publicly acknowledge a thief as one's father is more painful than killing him.

The other survivors huddled together to the side.

In their understanding, if the wolves are driven away, what comes next is most likely a tiger.

These days, soldiers and bandits are in cahoots. Who knows if this army, which is using Chinese characters as its banner, might be even more ruthless than the Khitans?

Shen Lie walked up to the man.

The man shuddered and instinctively tried to kneel.

A blood-stained hand steadily supported his arm.

That hand was very strong and very hot.

"I...I'm a spineless coward...I called the thief 'father'..." the man muttered to himself, his voice filled with despair.

Shen Lie squatted down, not saying any comforting nonsense, but asked.

"What's your name?"

The man trembled, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out two words: "Wang...Wang Shen."

An extremely ordinary name, just like the wild grass covering the mountains and fields.

"Wang Shen".

Shen Lie pointed to the pile of corpses not far away, "Those people who bullied you are dead. Do you want to go over and kick them a couple of times?"

Wang Shen's lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything.

"You dare not?"

Shen Lie chuckled.

"So how do you plan to live from now on? By farming? Or waiting for some other rebel army to come and make you call them 'Dad'?"

Wang Shen lowered his head; his lips were already bleeding from being bitten.

This is the truth.

The weak have no choice these days.

Today we are bullied by the Khitans, tomorrow we may be met by the chaotic troops of some warlord.

As long as there's no knife in his hand, his knees will never straighten.

"This world is utterly rotten."

Shen Lie stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"If you want to live like a human being, you can't just kowtow. You have to make people fear you, make them kneel down and call you grandpa."

As he spoke, he glanced at Yang Ting beside him.

Yang Ting understood immediately, took the horizontal sword from his waist, and threw it, scabbard and all, into Wang Shen's arms.

The sword slammed into his arms, making Wang Shen shudder.

"My city of helping the needy is short of people, but it's not short of cowards."

Shen Lie looked down at him. "If you want to keep kneeling, throw away this knife and take the child home. If you want to fix this spine first..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group of equally pale-faced refugees around him.

"Would you be willing to join me in helping this perilous capital?"

As soon as he said that, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Wang Shen stared blankly at the knife in his arms.

He was a farmer, and the heaviest thing he had ever held in his life was a hoe.

But just now, he watched helplessly as these soldiers slaughtered those high-ranking Khitans like chickens.

If one could be a human, who would want to be a dog?

"I......"

Wang Shen reached out with trembling hands and grasped the knife.

"I'll go with the general!"

This roar, though sung in a sobbing tone, also carried a hint of resolute determination.

Shen Lie nodded, a satisfied look finally appearing on his face.

"Yang Ting".

"exist!"

"Assign him to the rear guard and give him half a sesame seed cake."

Shen Lie turned away, not looking at him again. "Tell him how to hold a knife, how to kill."

In this battle, more than sixty people died in Fuwei, but it also absorbed more "Wang Shen".

This is the logic behind the snowball effect in chaotic times.

Use flesh and blood to filter, use hatred to mobilize.

······

Half an hour later.

The team is regrouping.

The battle yielded a considerable amount of spoils. Although many horses were killed or wounded, more than forty intact warhorses were salvaged. Combined with the previous ones, the cavalry of Fuweidu could be barely reassembled.

More importantly, it's those heads.

This is hard currency.

Under Danzhou City.

The city gates were tightly closed, and the drawbridge hung high in the air.

The soldiers on the city wall were on high alert, their bows and crossbows nocked, their eyes fixed on the army below, which was flying Chinese characters.

Gao Yan, the governor of Danzhou, was standing on the city wall at this moment, his palms sweating profusely.

He's having a tough time.

A few days ago, in a fit of anger, he killed the Khitan governor, which felt satisfying, but fear followed.

Although the Khitan army has retreated, if they were to turn around and attack him, his small Danzhou would not be able to withstand it.

As for Liu Zhiyuan in Taiyuan, although he is nominally his new master, he has not yet received a formal edict of investiture, let alone reinforcements.

Now, suddenly, a force of soldiers has arrived outside the city. Judging from their banners, they are allies.

But these days, friendly forces can sometimes be more terrifying than enemy forces.

"Who is under the city?!"